We always take one day during the week of our cabin trip and head up to West Yellowstone for dinky treasures we find at the souvenir shops, ice cream, and candy from the cute little shops.
And Johnny really was on that trip with us, but he and John were on the search for the perfect pocket knife, which they found-- and Johnny is one happy camper!
This baby is one animal! She NEVER stops moving, which I hear from people all the time. She wears herself out so hard that she sleeps wonderfully, but she is a handful. While we were at John's parents over the weekend, we had to keep her from shoveling handfuls of grass and dirt in her mouth, and this was the perfect solution! See how happy she is??
Words are not enough to express enough love or gratitude I have for John and the father he is. We love him and the kids adore him. They all get excited every day when they hear the garage lifting and wait at the door for him. I think it's awesome! And we've been so blessed with great fathers in our lives that are wonderful examples to live up to.
I can't believe that I haven't posted this sooner! David Archuleta was doing a book tour and came to Orem. I packed up the kids and Tyra and we went. It was so awesome, we were in heaven! Josie loves him and was a little star struck. Before we left she said, "Can I see David one more time?" So sweet! I will spare you the video, but here are a few pictures. 
Just when I think I'm over my Twilight Obsession ...
I realize I'm not. This move made me so happy, I seriously loved it, and had a hard time sleeping because I was so excited about it.
I remember when I got hooked, I bought the book used from Amazon because my cousin said she read it and liked it. I didn't even look at the back to see what it was about, just figured I'd go off her recommendation! It was right before we moved from Tucson. Before everyone had read the books, or even realized there was such a thing. I was so glad when I wasn't the only one obsessed with Vampires and Werewolves, it took a long time before I'd even talk about it to anyone because I sounded so crazy. Not that it's any more normal now ..
But I'm grateful for friends that are as goofy as I am and wear crazy Twilight Shirts OnLy To ThE MoViE (or so we tell each other).
Can't wait to see it again, two thumbs up from me!!
And the teaser for the new Harry Potter didn't hurt the experience either!
Annie has always been a busy body, always moving and grabbing everything in sight. She is our "human vacuum" and we have to keep all garbage picked up all the time. I'm not surprised that she picked this up so quickly. You should see the kitty run away from her!
One of the best things about Chicago is the food. Local food that you don't find anywhere else. Like a hot dog from Portillos or a pizza from Giordanos. YUM!
The shopping was also fun.
My mom and I experienced a local quilt shop in this cute little house that if you blinked you would miss it. It was amazing, called Quilter's Heaven, and it was!! 
And when you're downtown Chicago, American Girl place is a MUST. I think it makes me just as excited as my girls who have never been there! But they love their dolls and on this trip we brought Josie back Lanie.
We also got to ride the train downtown to the Lyric Opera House where my brother's graduation was. It was an awesome experience to be there, we are so proud of him and his wife for their hard work. All the graduation pictures are on a different camera, so I have nothing to show, but it was awesome.
I got to spend a lot of time with my niece and nephews and I'm so grateful for that! They live so far away that we haven't really had time to BOND. They were so sweet and we had such a good time and I really miss them like crazy. I wish I had more pictures!
We also spent a day at Six Flags. I am the biggest ride wimp ever. I don't like them one bit, being scared is not fun to me. I go for the refillable mug and popcorn. And to play with the kids. And try not to woof my cookies on the kids rides.
We're grateful to John's parents for taking our kids, flu and all. They had a great week, let me tell ya ...... I missed out on cleaning up a bunch of throw-up, from all FOUR kids! So extra blessings to my Mother-in-law!!
So this has been my theme for awhile now. I keep making flower earrings, flower corsages, I used it for my kids' teachers this year and last. I've had the most fun making headbands and pins and rings from cabochans I order online, and I made these cute pins out of fabric for my sisters-in-law for Mother's Day. They've worn them on their sweaters, purses, and would even be really cute on a headband. Anyway, I have this incredibly talented cousin, Allison, who runs this blog: http://www.cluckclucksew.com/ where I got this tutorial from. She is pretty darn amazing and smart and inspires me every day. We used to talk about being neighbors and I wish that was possible, but don't think it ever will be. For now I'm grateful for when I do get the chance to see her and until then, I'll keep copying everything she does.
So, I love getting mail. Who doesn't, right? Well, it's even better when it's this line of fabric that I've drooled over since it was released. My local quilt shop didn't even order this fabric in, so I'd never seen it in person. But I KNEW I H.A.D. to have it! So I found a sweet lady in Cedar City on Etsy that cut me about 1 cuts of it. I am in love, I don't know what I'm going to do with it yet, but I have plenty to make a couple different things. I just know that looking at it seriously makes me happy. John didn't understand when I told him it was the HAPPIEST fabric I'd ever seen. You know what I mean, right?
So Josie graduated from Preschool last weekend. She seriously had the best teacher E.V.E.R.! And she had such great friends in her class, she loved it so much. She'll graduate again from preschool next year, but Josie was my baby for so long it was hard to see her go to school this year. It's crazy that she'll be in school now every year until she's all grown up! We'll really miss her next year and every year after.
So last week a couple of Josie's little friends came over. Josie got my camera and her and her friend, Carson had a little photo session with Josie's doll, Robin.
I love how serious they are! Such a crack up!!
I turned another year older last week. I had a great week and weekend. I got to celebrate with some of my besties at dinner and ice cream. I got my house cleaned (yay! too bad it didn't last ...). John got me a new bike, a Dorothy-Wizard-Of-Oz kind of bike, with a basket and everything + a nice cushy seat. I'm so excited to ride it-- as soon as the sun decides to shine. Mother's Day is the biggest treat to end my birthday week. Without my 4 little ones, I wouldn't be a mother. They brought me breakfast in bed and Josie wrapped up a whole (whole) bunch of books from her bookshelf for me! I love the thought that goes into the gifts they make at school, they are so special. Best week ever!
I know Josie takes after me with her love for shoes.
But 3 pairs left in the bathroom? No wonder she can never find any!
This is my little brother, Mike.
He loves the Mariners.
He is graduating June 4th from Medical School.
He's going to be a Radiologist.
He's one of my greatest friends.
He's one of the goofiest people I know.
I get to go see him graduate in Chicago.
I'm so proud of him!
Oh YES he did!.jpg)
This week I've become John's full-time secretary. It's been overwhelming and interesting and exhausting. I told him yesterday, "All I want for my birthday is to wake up to a clean house so I'm going to work really hard today to get the whole house clean, top to bottom."
..... right .....
Hours spent at the computer and on the phone and finishing a couple projects left no time for showers or cleaning.
So at 4:00 John let me know that he hired a service to come and clean my house! I was a little shocked at first, and then excited! I didn't have to wipe crumbs off the counter today, or sweep them, or scrub toilets like I had planned.
3 hours after she started, my house is now sparkling and tomorrow I get to wake up and have the floors all cleaned, bathrooms cleaned, everything dusted and I love it. I only wish it would last. And I wish there was a laundry fairy. But at least now my house looks pretty inside and I'll go to sleep with less "to-do list" going on in my head.
Best Birthday Present E.V.E.R.
Sorry if this is over the top. I laughed about this for a week.
One day Josie was going potty and she came out excited as if a lightbulb had gone on in her head she said, "I know why boys stand up to go potty! Because boys have long bums and girls have short bums so they have to sit down!"
Ha! Good thinking!
Have you seen this movie yet?
If not, hurry up! It is one of the best!
We all loved it, except for Annie who would've rather been rolling around on the dirty, sticky, popcorn-y floor. 
Last night was the Pinewood Derby. Anyone else ever wait until the V.E.R.Y last minute to finish their car? We do. Johnny wanted it to be Night Fury from How To Train Your Dragon. I really did my best. Sadly, he didn't win. But, he loved his car and had a fun time. Next year, I won't show up a half hour before with my screwdriver and pliers to fix the weight and hope my 4:30 p.m. (nail polish ... shhhhhhhh) paint job is dry. We'll be ready!
And here's my cute chunk-a-lunk of a baby.
Hopefully our new beginning stays in the "dawn" range.
John had his last day today with his old practice.
We made some big decisions this month, sometimes it's hard being a grownup.
He is starting his own practice, and in this past month we've been very blessed. I think we experienced the "dark night", and now we're looking forward to the future!
Josie is about the sweetest girl. Ever. I enjoy her company so much that I will probably cry for a week the day she heads off to school all day. I truly don't know what I will do without her.
She makes me laugh every.single.day. Most the time I wonder where she came from.
Today at breakfast she made me laugh.
She looked at me all serious and said, "I really wish I was a princess." (after coloring this morning in a disney princess book)
I told her that she was a princess, she was my princess.
That wasn't good enough,
she said,
"But I don't have a crown, and I don't have a beautiful dress, and I don't have a fairy godmother, and I don't have a prince, and I don't have a glass slipper!"
I guess dress-ups aren't good enough, and I must not qualify as her fairy godmother.
This is Josie's favorite shirt. She would love to wear it everyday, and it explains her more perfectly than I ever could.
Definitely a girl after my own heart.
I think I am finally feeling better. Especially now that I have time to keep up with my housework and find time to read and finish projects. Here are a few sewing projects that I've finished up this month:
This is a table runner I started forever ago. 
I'm in love with the fabric I used in this and wish I would've made it bigger for a wall hanging so I could do this:
This is an apron that I made for my friend who is a room mom and wanted to give it to a teacher for Teacher Appreciation Week. I've never sewed a ruffle or a pocket before, or an apron for that matter. I love how it turned out and I'm in also in love with the fabric she gave me to use. It's called Wee Play for Moda.
My good friend is having a new baby boy next week and so I sewed her this car seat cover. It turned out really great and was easier than I remembered it being. 
As for now, I don't have anything else in the works. Which is kind of nice.
I was changing the sheets on Johnny's bed this morning, and this is what I found:
This was not the first time I've seen this. It makes me laugh every time! Especially when he can never find any socks!
