Pillowcases

I have a sweet friend and blog follower who is always spoiling my kids.  On Friday she dropped by with a surprise ...

Pillowcases for all of my kids' pillows.  She had made them out of starry night sky, fairy and princess fabrics.  The kids were thrilled to sleep on them. 

I wish that I had a picture of you Cari and all the kids with their pillows.  Thank you for ALWAYS being so good to us!

Rock Climbing

I got my kids really tired on Saturday, I mean REALLY tired.  They had basketball and soccer games (Nathan even played in three games!), but after the games instead of resting we headed out to go rock climbing.

I just couldn't resist ending the day at City Rock in downtown Springs.  It is an amazing place.  It also happened to be free for the weekend, and at $20 a person (rate with a harness) our family has to bank on the free days.  The boys took friends so that would have been $200 for us if it hadn't been free.  That's the problem with big families, the cost adds up quickly.  I figured that if we went at the end of the day after games there would be less people.  Luckily I was right the kids walked right in and started climbing.  They didn't stop until two hours later when City Rock was closing.

They had sooo many climbing lines and climbs to choose from with plenty of people to help. It was nice to have all the kids going at once instead of taking turns and waiting.  Sometimes they even raced each other.  Here is a picture from City Rock's website, of the main wall when they were building this facility. 

There is an overlook to look down on this main wall with climbing walls and caverns that you can climb without harnesses.  Here is another picture from their site.  I tried to get Stephen to do this tunnel.

OK Enough advertising for City Rock - on to MY pictures....

Kaylee was like a little Spider Woman.  She could scale the walls soooo fast.

Jacob was quite sweaty and red from climbing some of the harder ones.  He did ones that I would NEVER dream of doing.

I loved seeing the toes on the little girls curving and gripping to help them climb.

Ashley was all over the place, is that any surprise?

 

Jerrica loved the ring swings.

 

This is my favorite picture of the day -

 

Little hands clinging to rocks and NOT clinging to me.

The kids had a BLAST, however today there are MANY sore bodies and we aren't feeling quite as strong as we did yesterday.

3.14

Do you know what we celebrate on March 14th?

You don't?!?!

Well, let me tell you because we actually celebrated it today, since March 14th falls on a Sunday this year.

It is ........Pi Day!

Yes, that would be the number Pi (3.14) that is found in SOOO many places.

The school goes ALL out on this one.  The kids have T-shirts to wear.

They play games and do projects.  Here is one that Nathan did today.  Each bead represents a number and they had to string the number Pi.  The elephant represents the big number 3.

Did you know that  DNA, rainbows, the human eye, music, color, and ripples all have some natural roots in pi?  I didn't until the boys started talking about their Pi day.

Food is in GREAT abundance on this day.  Just think of all the pi food that there is.  Here are just some of the foods that were brought in:  Bagel bites, pepperonis, M&M's, Skittles, Fruit Loops, ....And of course some PIE!

What a fun way to learn about Pi each year!!!

Work

I love seeing little ones help with household chores.  Jerrica LOVES to work!  She hands dishes out of the dishwasher to older sisters putting them away.  She will sort and put the silverware away in their correct dividers.  After I go grocery shopping, she puts the potatoes from the bag into my basket in the pantry.  A favorite chore is this one ...

She will pull my laundry out of the washer piece by piece and put it in the dryer for me.

She thinks that she is all that when she is doing this particular job.  She's not much of a spot checker for me, but she sure saves me a few minutes of not having to transfer clothes.

She has always been such a good, not to mention cute little worker!

Finger Painting Bunnies

I saw this cute idea HERE and thought it would be fun to do with Ashley for an afternoon project.

We did have fun doing it.  I painted Ashley's hand and then of course she wanted to paint mine.  We then made grass with our fingers. 


I  should've done it with Jerrica too because she LOVES to paint, BUT I couldn't bring myself to deal with both of them and paint today.  Maybe another day...

Bags

We use bags ALL the time.  We have swim bags, scripture bags, library bags, sports bags, hiking bags, doll bags, even two Army guys bags. 

I just had another brainstorm for another fun little bag to make.  Now to patiently wait for the fun fabric to arrive.  (And if you are reading this Stephen, I used my piano money to buy the fabric!)

I am sad when stages disappear and bags are no longer needed.  I had made this one probably six years ago when my boys were trying to tote their Army guys around.  I loved seeing them carry the bag outside and play with their Army men and then tote it back inside.  It makes me sad that I don't have any pictures of them playing Army guys and their massive set ups that they would do.  Anyway, I can't bring myself to get rid of it and the thousands of Army guys inside.  I will just keep it with other favorite toys to have.

Stay tuned for the latest and greatest bag ....

Planting

Mom and I put in an order to Gurney's that just arrived.  Just going through the seed packets and looking over my list got me so excited for Spring to get here.  Then I have a a few dozen little plants growing in my craft room that keep me excited.

I LOVE to see new growth.  I LOVE watching Ashley water and talk to my little plants.  She says things like, "Do you just like me because I give you water?..."  "You are getting so big, I'm so proud of you!"  I'm surprised that I don't have giant redwood trees growing by the way Ash talks to them.

Love Letters Book

During the month of February Katherine would post a famous love letter each day until Valentine's Day.  I LOVED to check it every night and was sad when she quit posting.  You can start at her first love letter post HERE.

I decided that it would be fun to print some of my favorites out and modge podge them into a chip board book.  I also decided that it would be fun to add some from my dad, grandpa and a few other ancestors.  If they were all in a book that could be set out during Valentines, then they would actually be read.

We are bombarded by divorce and cheating that it is so nice to get glimpses into "love" in a marriage.  I feel that love letters express sooo many emotions and feelings toward another.

So back to the little book.  I ended up getting a square seven inch board book from the Dollar Store and then printed up the pages that I had made in photoshop.  I just love how it turned out.


The majority of the letters are from the husband or boyfriend.  I know that women write just as many if not more to their love, BUT I don't think that men tend to hang on and treasure things as much as women do.  I also found that the majority were written when they were away from each other.  It is so true that "the heart grows fonder when it is apart from the one it loves."  My Grandpa Jones had written to my Grandma Jackie while he was working in Summitville in the mines.  My dad's letter is when he was in Arizona and my mom and I were still in Colorado.  Here are a few of the pages...




 
One of the ones from my Grandpa Jones had a profound thought, "The more I can do for you the happier I will be"  That should be MY motto for MY marriage.

Today emails are replacing letters.  Stephen used to travel a lot to Singapore.  He would write the sweetest emails.  AND I didn't save them!!!!  What was I thinking!!!  I told him that he needs to go back to Singapore to miss me and then needs to write me a letter.  We will see how that goes ....

Thanks again Katherine for inspiring my little Love Letter Book!

Guitar Girl

You know when you see a rock star, you always see the pictures or video from their early years.  Ashley can use these some day. 

She is LOVING the guitar right now and constantly has it in her hands EVERYDAY!

Here are some fun ones that I took this week. 

 

She may play Heavy Metal.  She definitely has the face for it. 

She also has a little singer by her side.

I'm curious how long this guitar phase is going to last.

Something about Boots

Jerrica LOVES boots, especially when they are her older sisters' boots.

I love these two pictures from the weekend.  I love her hair falling out of her braids.  I love that little finger she is sucking on, which she does a little too often.  And then I love those big boots.

I'm just glad that she can finally say the word, "boots" instead of always saying "boobs"!

Ritz Ranch Chicken

This is one of my most requested recipes.  I got it probably 8 years ago from an amazing cook and friend, Emily Flake.  Try it.  Your family will LOVE it!


You find more tried and true recipes here -

Story Time

It's a routine.  We eat lunch and then sit on the couch for story time.  Why do I do it this way?  They get full from lunch and then sit (nice and tranquil-like) to listen to stories.  It basically lulls Jerrica into her nap time and Ashley to be a little calmer.




We LOVE the Fancy Nancy books!

When the older kids are home from school sick, they too join us for story time.  We have a few family favorites.  This one is a favorite right now with Ashley.  It is such a clever little story.  One of the kids had me read it to their class when it was their reading day.  You can see it here - The Wolf Who Cried Boy


  Jerrica is always doing her own story time with her babies. 

She loves to line her babies at the base of the stairs and then read a pile of books to them.  I usually get annoyed at having to step over the books and babies, but I know that this stage will soon disappear and I will miss it.  I snapped a picture one day last month of her little set-up.  She freaks out when we try and clean it up before she has read ALL the books in the pile.


I guess I'm like Jerrica, I LOVE to read to MY babies!

Photogenic

Some of my kids are VERY photogenic.  I could snap one shot and it would be great of them, whereas some of my other kids...it seems like it takes a few more shots to get a good one.

This afternoon the girls were playing together with make-up as I was taking pictures of my chair and I turned and snapped a few of the kids.  EVERY single picture of Ashley turned out SOOO cute and I decided that she is definitely photogenic!  Then I decided to study a little about it tonight and thought that I would share what I found.

A photography school said, "Don't consider "attractive" as the definition of whether someone is photogenic.  Rather the way one conveys a mood or expression or tells a story or a feeling by their physical demeanor gives more meaning to whether one is photogenic or not"  The author on this one went on further to describe how some people just tense up around cameras and can't relax and be natural.  With my Ashley, she definitely can convey a number of moods and expressions.  I don't think that she can keep the SAME expression for two pictures in a row!

"Many photogenic effects can be produced with light. Soft or warm light with long wavelengths is very flattering. This is produced naturally by the sun during the "golden hour." This is one hour after sunrise or one hour before sunset. Golden hour light makes skin appear soft and even. There are no harsh shadows emphasizing disproportionate features. A prominent brow, a large nose or an overbite can be exaggerated in harsh light."   It's true these few shots were shot about an hour before sunset.  I LOVE the lighting in my house during that time!

Another interesting article I came across talked about how different lenses can create different effects on your subject.  "Camera lenses bend light in different ways depending on their design. Wide angle lenses spread images out so they can fit more into the frame. Telephoto lenses compress different focal lengths making things at different distances seem like they are right on top of each other. Taking a photograph of a face with a wide angle lens spreads it out and makes it look fat. Longer lenses used from further away make faces appear slimmer and more photogenic."  I think that whomever takes a picture of me needs to keep the longer lenses on their camera!

One thing that I DID NOT do in these pictures but have learned is to look down on your subject to photograph them.  Features are not flattering straight on compared to when they are looking up at you.  Even a slight height to look up at makes a huge difference.

Anyway, just wanted to share my photogenic Ashley and my facts about photogenics with you. 

  Thanks for always being my go to model!

The Chair

I have a little retreat room off my master bedroom.  Since we moved into our house it has always been a handy little nursery.

Now, I'm able to turn it into a craft/sewing room.  I knew that I wanted to keep with my bedroom colors so that it flows when the door is open.  The wall that has the doorway is a deep brown, so I thought it would be fun to paint the room a dusty blue that matches my comforter in the bedroom.  Are you following all of this?!?

Also I wanted a chair for my kids and Stephen to be able to sit on as they come in to visit and I'm working on a project.  The original chair looked like this

I deepened the wood stain and changed out the fabric and batting.  It now looks like this when you look into the room.

I can't decide whether to put the arm rests on or not.  It has a long seat and makes a cute chaise chair, but maybe it looks a little naked without the arms.  What do you think?

I love the different art work and pictures that I'm decorating with.  I will have to do more pictures when I finish my little room.  I love how bright and cheery it is.  It has two big windows.  One is to the side with my garden, which I LOVE to look out at during the summer.  The other is of Pikes Peak.  It really is a nice view.

Here now is the next project to go in my little room. 


I looked in furniture stores and Target and couldn't find nice REAL wood furniture.  Everything seems so cheap and they just don't have nice architecture features.  I always have to look back in time for furniture because that is what I like.  This little beauty was a steal off of Craigs List.  Look at the trim on the bottom.  The back is even beautiful

I feel like MOST furniture made today has the thin sheeting nailed to the back calling it good.  The other fun features are thin pull out table tops above the top drawers.  I think that is fun to have side work areas.  Then the bottom two drawers on one side is a built in file drawer.  I'm SOOO excited to do it and put it in the room.

I am so thrilled to be able to have everything in one room and to be able to have my sewing machine ALWAYS out and ready.

Any suggestions for my little craft room?  Should I add the arm rests to the chair?  Let me know what you think.