Brody's Puppet Show & a trip to Lowes

A few days ago our sweet neighbors were cleaning out their children's toys and games that they have grown out of. As we were walking to drop off a treat to my amazing visiting teacher they had asked us if were in need of any toys or games. We pretty much have a good selection of games and toys which I shared with them and then they offered a Puppet Theatre. Right away Brody was drawn to it and I knew this was something the kids would love to play with. Brooke was being shy about it but deep down I knew she wanted it too. So we took the Puppet Theatre and it has been non-stop entertainment for the both of them. They LOVE it and we are so thankful to have such sweet giving neighbors! I'm planning on sending over a treat soon. Today Brody and I ventured out to Lowes. We bought a TON of wood. Like I'm good for who knows...6 months?? This was my Christmas haul since I plan on crafting everyone's Christmas presents this year for our families. Get this...I only spent $30!And that's including craft projects for me for the upcoming holiday season. I'm so excited! This summer I'm taking all of my plaques to my parents house where my dad will bevel the edges of my plaques to fancy them up. I'm really looking forward to getting a start on everything and planning and going through my pins on pinterest for ideas and inspiration. Right now I have 2 projects in the works. One for my mom for Mother's Day ( I think she will love it) and a spring project for me (I've been working on this for weeks I'll be lucky if finish before summer). Anyways, fun fun times! I'm looking forward to crafting my bum off in the next 3-4 months so I can enjoy the fall season and holidays with my family.

Concert Day and an Art Walk Board

What an AMAZING weekend!!! Brooke's concerts were phenomenal. Absolutely amazing. Bryan and I were able to go to her Friday night concert. Our seats were WAY up on the balcony section of the theater. They were crazy high up there! We had a great view of the stage but only if you were brave enough to lean against the balcony. I think I liked our seats way better when we went with my parents to her Christmas Concert in December. Those seats were amazing. Next time I'll be better about purchasing them earlier. I can't even begin to describe the experience of the concert. It really is something that everyone should experience. All of the choirs from the professional adults to the young singers (which Brooke is in) preformed beautifully. It honestly is like hearing angels sing from the heavens. Next semester Brooke moves up to the children's choir which is so very exciting. She will sing more songs and belong to an even larger choir (which is insane because I thought the young singers group which is 100+ singers was huge!). I was able to volunteer at the two other concerts the following day on Saturday and I really had so much fun helping out. It's so fun too see how things work backstage. It takes an amazing army of people to put together the these amazing concerts and I was so happy and I felt so blessed to work alongside such nice and dedicated people. While it's extremely exhausting it was worth every minute! My last photo collage is of the Art board I finally finished for the Art Walk this week for Brooke's class. I'm happy with how it turned out considering the urgency and lack of time I had to get it done on time. I'm so happy I was able to do this for Brooke's class even if it was a tad stressful. It felt great last week and this weekend to give up so much of my time to the concert and Brooke's school in my voluntary efforts. I love being able to give my time to those who give so much of their time and talents to my children. This week I'm going to try to get my house back in order and take a little time for me to craft some projects. Enjoy the pictures above! On a side note..how gorgeous is my sweet girl?!?! Her face was priceless when we picked her up on Friday after the concert and Bryan handed her a beautiful rose for doing such a great job.

Three

Brody turns 4 in about 4 months and he's really letting those terrible 3's shine brightly these past few months. At times it can be pure entertainment and at other times not so much. He's got so much energy that boy! Lucky for me he still naps everyday for about 2 1/2 hours. I love having my wild little shadow follow me around all day even if he's a tad crazy at times. I look miserable in the photos above, I wasn't though. I was just annoyed that he wouldn't smile but opted out for the crazy boy look instead.

Updates and a Bulletin

I've done a few little updates to the kids' room. I pinned an idea on pinterest about using the scripture found in 1 Peter 3:3, and how it would be perfect in a little girls room or bathroom. I read it and immediately knew I wanted to put that in Brooke's room. I finished cutting and transferring it to her wall last weekend. I'm still on the hunt for a frame to put around it. Hopefully I can find one soon. Also we made an Ikea trip last week so I could buy some frames. I found the perfect curtains for my kitchen dining area and I was SO excited about it. I've been having curtain drama for months and it's finally over! While we were there we bought some canvas artwork for Brody's room. I've been eyeing this for quite awhile and since we were there and I don't travel to Ikea very often I decided to get it. We put it up and it looks fantastic. He was so excited about his world map. I plan on placing some sort of quote referencing serving a mission someday using vinyl but the map takes up so much wall space I'm still trying to figure out where it's going to go. I also still need to buy curtains for his room but it's going to have to wait since I'm sure it will be a few months before I can get back to Ikea. This week is crazy. I'm in the process of finishing a bulletin for Brooke's class for the upcoming Art Walk. I have 3 days to complete it and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't stressed out especially with this week being SO crazy busy. I managed to get a ton of it done this morning at home. My silhouette REALLY came in handy for this last minute project. Hopefully I can finish on time for the Art Walk!

These Two....

.... melt my heart. Brooke had a great softball game on Saturday. Brody was being a little stinker at the game but that's Brody lately. I'm ready for the terrible 3's to be over. This weekend was great. I was able to get some projects and crafts done and I'll post pictures soon. This week is going to be crazy but I'm excited. I'm really looking forward to Brooke's concert, hopefully I'll remember this time to take pictures.

Projects, Projects and More Projects.

Last week I was pretty sick. I had food poisoning from a pretty popular place out here in Arizona. It had been a very long time since I was that sick. It took me awhile to recover and to be able to eat food again other than toast. Before I got sick I had a few projects going. I'm finally getting around to finishing a few. I pinned a super cute chalkboard a few months ago on pinterest and I made my own little version of it for Brooke's room. I love it and what a sweet idea to write something new everyday on it for her to read. I also made some blocks for my entertainment center. I made the same set for my mom weeks ago and loved them so much that I decided that I needed a set too. I have about 3-4 more projects going on right now and I think once these are done I need to re-evaluate how I go about starting a new project...like how about finishing one before I start the next otherwise I end up like where I'am right now with 4 different projects semi completed. It's a busy few weeks for us with softball starting to wind down and Brooke's EVMCO concerts next week. I'm so excited for it. There's no better feeling than watching your child perform in a beautiful concert hall. I'm so very proud of her and her many accomplishments from softball to choir. Lately I've been reminded of just how fast she and Brody are growing up and that NOW is the time to soak in and cherish these precious moments with them because before I know it she'll be all grown up and those softball games and choir concerts will just be a distant memory of my darlings when they were children. Time needs to slow down, and I need to start working on finishing those projects!

Brooke and her Fedora

Last Saturday, after Brooke's softball game, I ran a few errands. Brody was home with Bryan napping and Brooke wanted to tag along. So we finished my errands and stopped at the mall to buy some hand soap at the Bath and Body Works store. They had a few outdoor vendors and something immediately caught my sweet girl's eye. She tried on this hat or as it's called a fedora, and did not want to take it off. She looked so darn cute that I could not resist so I bought her the hat. She wore it all weekend and now everyday after school she runs upstairs and puts it on. She's such a doll, I totally want one now. I don't think I could wear it as well as she does. We topped off our errands with a treat at Bahama Bucks. It was a great afternoon!

Football

We're not a big football fan house. I think the only time we ever watch football is when the Superbowl is on and even then we're not really in to it. A few weeks ago I got an inquiry to make custom blocks that said BAMA with an elephant. I spent a few days trying to figure out what this lady was using them for. Then after confirming her order she specified that it was for her favorite football team. Totally made more sense after that. I finished her blocks and soon after received another order for yet another football team...now I have 2 more orders pending. It's so funny, while I enjoy crafting and the extra cash deep down I wish it was inquiries for things other than football. Anyways now that those are finished I'm back to working on my non sports related things. I feel like my house is so bare with all my Easter decor down. I'm hoping this weekend I can work on crafting some cute springy stuff. This morning I went to Lowes with Brody. He doesn't care for the giant saw they use to cut wood. I totally do though and I'm grateful they offer services like that there.

Easter Fun 2013

Easter weekend was such great fun. We kicked off the weekend with Easter Pageant. The kids really enjoyed it, especially Brooke. She's growing up so fast and it's really neat to see her understand and ask questions about Jesus and why we celebrate Easter. Brooke also had a game on Saturday right after our fun Ward Easter Egg Hunt. She played catcher for the first time and she really loved it! We really enjoyed spending time together as a family this weekend. Spring in Arizona is so gorgeous, the weather right now is so amazing!