Everyone's Invited!

If you live within an hour of me, this is the place to be this Friday...
I didn't want to put our address on my blog, so if you want to come and don't know where I live, leave me a comment and I will email you.
Seriously, this is going to be a great party!!!

My Flowers

My Hibiscus tree opened it's first bloom. It's a little late since this summer has been so wet and cool, so I was thrilled to see my "blushing bride." (This is a Rose of Sharon Hibiscus called the Blushing Bride because of the white bloom with the kiss of red in the middle. I'm totally in love!)


My Morning Glory is also showing it's prettier side as it climbs my topiaries. Unfortunately, this is an annual and as soon as it's really beautiful, it will die and I will have to rip it out. I'm going to plant a perennial in it's place in the fall. Still, so pretty for now.
And now that they are snail free, my petunias are perking up and filling out along my front steps.

I've even managed to keep the flowers on my front porch alive. This is seriously the first year I have ever done it!

YAY ME!

Craft Day

Remember two weeks ago my sister, Cami, did a craft day for us? This week it was my turn.
We made playdough volcanoes.

I like to buy the tins that are used at Cafe Rio because it keeps the mess contained.

I made homemade, no cook, playdough. It's equal parts salt and flour and half the water. For four volcanoes, I used 6 cups flour, 6 cups salt and 3 cups water. Mix and you're done.

Then for the eruption, it's just good old vinegar and baking soda. I also add a little dish soap to make it more bubbly!

Then we had marble races. I cut a pool noodle in half, had the kids make a start and finish line and flags, then let them race marbles down it.
They got creative and started the race in another noodle.

Then they got really creative. I don't know what they're even doing here.

A great time was had by all!

For Dana...

In my excitement from getting my screens back up, I forgot to throw in pictures of my new paint job. This post is for my dear friend Dana Deluca, because when Bailey was just a few months old and crying nonstop, I wanted to paint my front room wall. Dana's husband was in Iraq, so she was here visiting and was nice enough (or crazy enough) to help me tackle this painting project. With her 2 kids added to my 3 (who included a destructive 2 year old Adeline and a crying baby), she strapped Bailey in the Bjorn, chased the other 4 around while making dinner, so I could paint! I'm a lucky girl to have such great friends.
Here's my original paint job
It's kind of a teal green. It was fun for a while, but as I do with most things, I got sick of it soon enough. However, I didn't have Dana around to help and didn't have a good enough grip on my life until recently to redo it.

This is actually the paint over the paint over the paint. I did it a mint green a few weeks ago (sorry no pic) and looked at it for a while in every different light, hoping it would grow on me, but it didn't. It was seriously such a quick and easy project, that I wasn't scared to do it again! It only took about half a day and now it's a beautiful robin egg blue. I lowered the mirror a bit and put the iron flourish above, which I'm thinking is a nice touch.

Don't worry, Dana, I still have many projects I could use your help on, so please please come see me!!

The Reapperance of My Screens

I told you they wouldn't be gone long. My beloved screens are now in my front room.

I saw this super cute idea and pulled it off myself. I just cut different scrapbook paper and glued it on each side of the star.

So cute...if I do say so myself!

My busy summer prevented me from pulling out my seashells until now

I LOVE this tray. It's the inspiration for my newly decorated front room.

I love this clock too

I was so shocked to find this frame that matches my tray! I had to have it!

Kate's Eternal Family

On Saturday, our sweet little Kate was sealed to her parents Bonnie and Joel Andrews. They adopted her from Guatemala 10 months ago. It was such a dream come true (for everyone) to watch Bonnie and Joel become eternal parents.
We love the Provo Temple.
Lucky mom and lucky girl with lucky friend!

What do you think of the bangs? (I was bored waiting in the car for John)
I kinda think I look like her-Caitlin from So You Think You Can Dance.

Utah Symphony at Thanksgiving Point

I've been wanting to go to the symphony for a long time now. So when I saw that it was coming to the waterfall gardens at Thanksgiving Point, I thought it was a great chance. Plus, it sounded so romantic to listen to the symphony under the stars by the waterfalls, right?

Literally minutes after buying the tickets, I got a reminder email about fathers and sons the exact same night- DUH! I can't believe I forgot about that. With no refunds on the tickets and no desire to disappoint my 6 year old son (and the dad), I dragged along my great sister for a night of romance!

I took my little girls on a date for dinner, cupcakes and new Dora jammies beforehand. Then they got to play with Aunt Cara for the rest of the night

Aren't we a cute couple?

We had to have See's candy for intermission (and kettle corn during the show). It was all to wash down the cupcakes from after dinner.

We had a lot of fun people watching. Definitely something I couldn't have done with John!
We got a kick out of this middle age couple cuddling...UMM-hi...go home (You so know that's I would have been doing if I were with my hub- JK)

We also loved watching the two gay couples on a double date- AWK-WARD!

And here we are in front of the waterfalls...I promise

Independence Day

A day like everyone else's...
Freedom Festival parade. We love it!!!
Bailey loved waving at all the "princesses" (beauty queens)

Some of it was too loud for AddieSo much fun!!

high fives from the Provo Utah missionaries

Jonny and his friends stayed all night to save our place

which meant they didn't enjoy the parade as much as we did!

More high fives. This time from cosmo

This isn't a great picture, but this is my favorite part of the parade...the vets in the cool old tankGetting sprayed by the army

Even more high fives. Don't even know who this guy is.

Cougarettes!!!

Pirates stealing our treasure!!

Fairies

Belle

Then that night, BBQ and cul-de-sac of fire

I need help practicing what I preach

For family night on Monday, I gave a very stirring lesson on LIFE. Not life in general, but the life all around us. I have a large respect or soft spot, if you will, for living things. I love that I can cultivate and grow things to maturity; from my annual plants, to my vegetable garden, to my children. I believe that we should honor nature and let it run it's course. I don't agree with hunting. Even if you eat what you catch, you are still finding sport in killing. No, I'm not a vegetarian, but I should be.
I know that in small town Utah the high schoolers go out "shootin' stuff" for fun. Killing rabbits, rodents, snakes, whatever they can spotlight in the late night. I think it's so wrong.
I couldn't even look at the beheaded snake from my parents yard without feeling faintly sorrowful.
The other day Austin came inside with a story about trapping a spider in his sandbox and killing it. You know I don't even kill spiders in my house, so you can imagine how I feel about killing them outside. This is what brought on our lesson.
I bore testimony that all life is special and precious to God. Every living thing has it's purpose and if at all possible, we should let them be.
Am I raising controversy? I hope not. This is just how I feel.
So here's my problem, I got home last night and was so disappointed that some of my petunias on my front steps were really struggling. Upon closer examination, I found snails...EVERYWHERE!!


Shoot, I just taught my children to let nature be. But my petunias! They're looking so pretty and I spent so much time and money on them. What should I do?
I massacred them!! AHHH! I'm sick about it.
We went on a snail hunt and found dozens and dozens of them. Bailey had a ball helping me.Since finding out how awful they are to my garden I've just been throwing them in the trash, but I felt like that was a little inhumane as they would be spending days in a hot yucky trash can only to be crushed to death by the garbage truck. I don't want to crush them myself, so this was my solution
Seal them in a ziploc bag so they will suffocate quickly and die. I felt like Hitler, searching under and throw all my plants and between the rocks in my rock walls. I would pull them out and pile them up and my Nazi soldiers would put them in the bags for me. Austin kept telling me that he felt so sad for them, especially the baby ones. Oh my heart strings!!
I swept over a second time to find anymore that may have been hiding in attics or secret rooms behind bookcases. I found them all. They all went into the bags, sealed up, and then, with a prayer of apology, into the trash.
It was necessary for me. Wasn't it?