Sledding

This is pretty much our life in Colorado right now.  The kids can't get enough of the snow :)  This is them in the back yard with their sleds going down the little hill.  They get along so good when they are outside together, and don't even mind that it was 25 degrees and windy. 

 

 

Daniel actually asked for me to take his picture laying in the snow. 

 

I know, shocker! I'm posting :)

Alot has happened since I last posted and I am going to be doing back posting, but here are a few pictures of the snow in Colorado since we moved from nice warm Arizona.  The kids are loving the snow, but we all miss home.  We have been here for about 5 months and are adjusting okay.  Jason is loving his new position running the campus here in Denver.  I have gotten a job working in the school district the kids are in.  I am working in the cafeteria and I enjoy it.  The kids have made many friends and Daniel is loving the basement.  He has his own space down there and plays his XBOX often.  Well, more pics to come later.

 

 

This was TOO good not to post!

Swim rack

I got tired of having swim suits and towels all over the patio, so I made this out of PVC pipe. 

 It works great!!  I just need to add another bar at the very bottom and one in the middle of the legs on each side to stabalize it more.  I ran out of pipe and had already been to Lowe's twice that day.  One of the workers at Lowe's told Jason "You are in here more than I am and I work here.  I should be asking you where things are."  In the last two weekends we have been to Lowe's I believe 6 or 7 times.  We did manage to get a few projects completed though.

Brave

The kids and I went to the movies today and saw Brave.  It was a very cute movie and we all enjoyed it.  Colin even went with us.  I got to thinking after the movie how when I was little there were only a few princesses.  Cinderella, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty were the only princesses then. 

Now there are 11 of them.  I just wonder how many there will be when Saige has kids.  Just something to ponder...  Why can't life be more like the happy fairy tales?  My life is very seldom perfect, chances are no rich prince is going to come along and save me, if I sang it sure wouldn't sound like that, and if I had done what some of these girls did I would have been grounded. 

 Looking at the below picture, Merida from Brave just looks different from the others and it wasn't a "typical" princess film.   Maybe that is what got me thinking.  

 And why don't we see these ladies like this ever?  I had to laugh when I saw this one.  It's the first one I had ever seen where they are all not standing with their beautiful dresses and flowing hair and smiling.  I think this group looks a lot more like true life   :) 

Suckers

These 2 children are always saying "I'm bored" as I am sure most of the kids say occasionally during the summer.  I was looking at a wonderful blog  http://sassysites.blogspot.com/ and there was a link to making suckers.  We have lots of hard candy in the house because we use it in our cotton candy maker, so I decided to give them something to do.  Daniel loves mashing up the candy, but wanted nothing to do with creating the suckers.  Saige and I had fun.  :)  We just mashed the candy up and then spooned the candy onto the baking mat.  Then placed it in the oven at 350 for about 6 minutes. They turned out pretty cute and had very different flavors. 

 It was neat to watch the candy melt.  After it was done, we just rolled a stick in the candy and then it cool.

Of course we had to make cotton candy while we were waiting for the suckers to cool.  Talk about a sugar high!

This one we just placed a whole hard candy in the middle.  Cool effect.

 Saige put some candy hearts in hers and it turned out so cute!

Yummy!

Rock pets

Tonight Saige wanted to do one of our summer projects.  She chose to make a rock pet.  She made a ladybug and I made a frog.  (Notice I did not put a close up picture of mine...I am SOOOO not an artist!)

Our rock pets are in the left corner under the bright flag.  The big plant is a jalapeno plant.  We use a lot of jalapenos and they make SUPER salsa.

Girl scouts

Saige has been in Girl Scouts this past year.  She has really enjoyed it and she has wonderful troop leaders.  Ms. Leah and Ms. Tammy are the best!!  Saige had a bridging ceremony this week.  She is going from Brownies to Juniors, still in the same troop.  She loves the girls that are in her troop also.  I love to watch them all, they are so polite and nice to eachother.  Troop 506 ROCKS!!  :) 

At the beginning of each meeting they do the pledge and the girl scout motto. 

Ms. Leah told each one of the girls what was special about them.  Saige's was that she is sweet.  She is always so kind to all the girls and makes sure that everyone is happy.  If someone wants the last pink poster, Saige would take the purple one.  I love that girl!

After the girls each got their balloons and were told what their special gift was, they let the balloons go, so they could share their gift with the world. 

 They don't have meetings until school starts again, but their troop is doing a "hydrating the homeless" project in July.  We are taking cases of water to the homeless shelter.  Saige is so excited about helping the homeless people. 

The many faces of Jason

Jason applied for a job within his company and decided that it would probably be best to cut his hair.  We were really hoping that he would get this position, and while interviewing him, he was asked if he would be interested in interviewing for a higher position in Colorado.  I was so proud of him, but scared for myself and our family.  It turns out that he didn't get the one in Colorado (I was secretly cheering when he told me) and he was told that the position here would not let him grow like he wants within the company.   I know it will all work out, I just hope it's soon!  (and in Arizona) :)

Just a little bit of a different look.  He cleans up pretty good and makes a handsom Biker to Businessman  :)

Brownies

Daniel decided to make us some brownies.  He got out the brownie mix and the oil and proceeded to "make" the brownies.  He wanted to do it alone and so he got it all in the pan and says "Oh, I forgot to spray the pan."  I told him that the pan needed to be sprayed and so Colin went over to help him.  It was then we found out that he forgot to add the oil, water, and eggs.  He had dumped the box mix straight into the pan and patted it down so nice and was ready to bake it.  It was so cute!  When we were laughing hysterically giggling, he says "Oh, I forgot the bowl and the other stuff"  :)  That boy can be so cute sometimes and so rotten other times.  I didn't have time to grab the camera for this one, man - I need a better camera on my phone!

 

Here he is after he mixed them properly.  These are gonna be delicious :)

Cute Mother's Day "Flowers"

I made these this year for the moms of the ADORABLE kids that I watch during the day.  I don't think any of them even know I have a blog so I decided to post them today.  If they see this,
I guess they will have to act surprised  :)  They turned out SO cute!  I always loved my kids hand and foot prints in art when they were little.  Tyler's size 13 foot isn't so cute now, but it sure is fun to look back at the ones he made years ago.  I put magnets on the back of these so they can decorate their fridge.

Summer to do list

Last summer we made a summer list and had alot of fun completing our list.  There were a few that we didn't get to do, but it gave us things to look forward to during the summer.  Saige is excited to get started on it.  I somehow ended up getting a few crinkles in it :( but oh well she doesn't care, so neither do I (although it bugs me everytime I look at it)

My trash to treasure

I have seen the faux metal wall hangings that some people have made. I love them and thought that I would give it a try. This cost me not one penny! It is made out of toilet paper rolls. It took a little bit of time to measure and cut and swirl all the rolls, but I am glad I did it. I just hung it up with a few clear push pins.

Postum

This little jar brings back SOOO many memories! My grandpa always used to drink this and it was such a special treat to sit down with him and have a cup of Postum. We always had to drink it the right way. There always had to be a breath of "awww" at the end of every sip. Last time I was at my grandma's house, I noticed that she still had a jar she has been savoring in her cupboard. Mind you, this was discontinued in 2007 :) Well out of curiousity I googled Postum and it lead me to an Amazon link where someone was selling ONE jar of Postum for $150.00! I could not believe it. Then I found Postum website and they are re-releasing it in the Winter of 2012. I am looking forward to getting a jar and teaching my kids the proper way to drink it. I miss my grandpa and I think even having a jar in the house will make me happy.

First of all, I don't want it to come across as I have a terrible life, but lets face it motherhood is NOT easy. I love my children (and my husband) and when they all listen to me, things go very well. Why can't they just realize that? lol - Sometimes I read a quote that I just needed at that moment. This happens to be one. Next time instead of going into the bathroom and screaming at the top of my lungs and then walking out calmly, :) I think I will step outside and get some air and think.

I love music! Somehow it always make me feel better. Here are two songs that I love.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=Y06GnOMqItw

Here are the lyrics for "Love and Laundry" by Point of Grace - The video is cute too!

Here I go again it’s another messy morning

Walk around the clothes that are covering the floor and

Take my kiss and coffee to go

Then put on my mascara while I’m driving down the road

I thought that I could do it all

Turns out I was crazy

Man I need an iPhone and a cleaning lady

We haven’t had a date night in what seems like forever

It might take a miracle to get myself together

Chorus:

Oh I wish that there were more than24 hours in a day

I haven’t found it yet but there’s gotta be a way

And I keep praying thatI can get everything done

And still have time for love

And a load of laundry

-

I’d sure like to relax laying in a bubble bath

But then I’d have to clean the tub and really who’s got time for that

There goes my day dream I’m just wishful thinking

Oh shoot I’m running late, I gotta make it to a meeting

I’ve been waiting for this moment all day, just you and me

The lights are low, next thing I know

We’re both drifting off to sleep
____________________________

I also love this inspirational song by Point of Grace. Remember, always turn up the music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=e7HFk6flUOQ

Wake up to the sunlight

With your windows open

Don't hold in your anger or leave things unspoken

Wear your red dress

Use your good dishes

Make a big mess and make lots of wishes

Have what you want

But want what you have

And don't spend your life lookin' back

--Chorus: --

Turn up the music

Turn it up loud

Take a few chances

Let it all out

You won't regret it

Lookin' back from where you have been

Cuz it's not who you knew

And it's not what you did

It's how you live

-

So go to the ballgames

And go to the ballet

And go see your folks more than just on the holidays

Kiss all your children

Dance with your wife

Tell your husband you love him every night

Don't run from the truth

'Cause you can't get away

Just face it and you'll be okay

--Chorus--

Oh wherever you are and wherever you've been

Now is the time to begin

So give to the needy

And pray for the grieving

E'en when you don't think that you can

'Cause all that you do is bound to come back to you

So think of your fellow man

Make peace with God and make peace with yourself

'Cause in the end there's nobody else

--Chorus--

These are just a few things that have been keeping me busy lately. I have been wanting to make this balloon wreath for birthdays for a while. I love the way it turned out and it will be so fun to hang this up for birthdays throughout the year. Here is a wreath that I made for Easter. I don't know why, but I have really gotten into wreaths lately. I think it would be fun to have one for every holiday.

This is Addy. We made easter baskets out of a paper plate. The kids loved carrying them around all afternoon putting the eggs in and taking them out over and over.

Mable

This is Mable.

Every year on this day for many years she has made an appearance for Jason's birthday. My mom made her for Jason as a joke and she has become "part of the family". Poor Mable had been transported to different places, placed in his truck and hung up so many times that we had to retire her last year. Jason only got a birthday e-mail from Mable this year, but it was still fun to hear from her. Happy Birthday Jason!

Honor Roll

Lately every post I have done is about Saige, but the boys hate for me to take their pictures and they don't talk much either. This is Saige at the Honor Roll assembly. She is on the top row on the right (above all the people walking around). I of course being the great mother I am left the house without my camera, so all I had was my phone. We are very proud of her for all her hard work at school :)

Bits of wood frame

There is a company down the street from me that makes things with wood. I think it's cabinets, but anyway, they put their scraps out for the public to take. I stop there once in a while and get some blocks of wood. They aren't big but they are perfect for different crafts and for free it's even better. Some of them are cut the same size and there are different kinds of wood. The oak pieces are my favorite. The other day Saige got out the paints and painted some of the blocks of wood and then we glued them together and made a picture frame. We haven't hung it up yet, but it is SOO cute, and she did it all by herself! I wanted her to do it pink and purple to match her room, but this is all Saige. I love it!