Camping with the Mableson's

The Mableson's invited us to go camping with them this past weekend and we couldn't resist! We went up towards Baumgardners. The Mableson's headed up earlier than us and the plan was we would find them. They weren't where we planned to meet so we had to go find them. They ended up by Johnson's bridge, which was really crowded and they were happy when we told them that wasn't where we were camping! We found a great spot by the river and made camp before dark. We had a great first night but it got pretty chilly. The next day we hiked, swam, and fished. We had a giant bonfire later and told ghost stories (not too scary, I didn't want to deal with bawling kids). That night was even colder! Saturday morning Van found a dead snake in the river and since Ross was gone to the bathroom, he was unanimously voted the target of our prank! It was priceless! The snake was then used on our camping neighbors who had showed up. They were freaked out until they realized it was dead! On our way home we stopped at another fishing spot. We've realized that we really need a boat or at least some friends who have one :) After being home for a mere 3 hours, Ila says to me "that was really fun, can we go camping every Thursday?" Wouldn't that be the life!

Here's the snake prank!

Grossest outhouse ever!!!

Handmade gifts

I forgot to mention these little "crafties" in my last blog and I'm sort of proud of them :) I love getting something handmade so I assume everyone else will too! For Kyan I made wooden blocks with gnome related pics on them and put them in an old Harry & David fruit box that I personalized with his name.

For Fia I made a doll. It's supposed to look like her. I gave it blue eyes and used ribbon to make curls for the hair. I also used fabric from her old pajama's to make it a little more personal.

I don't know how much Kyan plays with his blocks but Fia loved them while I was making them. She also likes her doll and will play with it when it's laying around, however that doesn't happen much since her big sister Liv loves it more. And just a little FYI, I recommend buying one from . Doll making was SOOOO time consuming and definately takes some experience (I've already mended Fia's doll twice!). Well that was my crafty brag for the day ;)

1st Birthday Gnome Party!

Well Fia and Kyan are officially one!! They had a gnome themed party and it was adorable! There were veggie garden and mushroom cupcakes, gnome pops, acorn kisses, and frog sandwiches. The kids ate on stump tables with toadstools for chairs, and there were gnome finger puppets for all the kids to take home.

I don't know if Fia and Kyan knew what was going on, but they liked the attention and they loved their first cupcake! Here are some cake-face pics:

Next came the presents, but since they were new to all this it was just Darcy and I opening them. With all our family and friends it was a pretty fun party, I can't believe they're one! Time goes by too fast. Good thing we have pics to capture the memories!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY FIA AND KYAN!

Idaho's largest garage sale!

I just got back from Idaho's largest garage sale, and it totally kicked my butt! I was sure it would only take me two hours...nope....try FOUR! I went with Erin and her MIL. My mom caught up with us a little later. We had a lot of fun and scored some major deals. Here's a pic of my "big" items:

I can't wait to plant my willow tree, I already spray painted the frames, and the window is up on my plant ledge. I also got an antique door knocker that I can't wait to put up. I wish I had pics of Erin and Kim's finds, they got some amazing stuff too! I really hope this becomes an annual event :-)

Easter Fun 2011

Easter was so fun this year. We started early and took our time enjoying this holiday. The girls wore their Easter dresses to church the week before Easter.

Then for FHE we dyed Easter eggs.

Our church had an Easter program on Saturday. They served breakfast, read some Easter stories, had a little petting zoo, painted faces, and had an Easter egg hunt. The kids had a lot of fun!

Finally painted my living room!

I have spent 2 1/2 years trying to decide how to paint my living room. My walls have all these awkward angles and they're really high for such a small space, so that made it even more complicated. Then I thought of this...

One giant, happy stripe! I'll admit I was a little nervous and unsure of how it would look but I couldn't be happier with how it turned out! Here are some more pics...

Valentine' Day

This is always a busy time of year for us. Van's birthday is the 12th, our anniversary is the 13th and then there's Valentine's day. This year was especially busy and I ended up just buying valentines for the kids to pass out at school. I was able to craft just a little though, I made a wreath that took minutes to make and the teachers got homemade valentines. I was even lucky enough to receive a homemade valentine! That sweet, little tart was adorable and delicious! Happy Valentine's Day!

Van's Birthday

Van is 8! I can't believe he is so big! We had a birthday party for him with all his friends and it was a lot of fun. I used his love for rocks as my inspiration for his decorations and activities. I got chocolate rocks, candy rock suckers and pop rocks from my local candy store . I used the chocolate rocks to decorate his oreo ice cream cake and put the leftover rocks in little sundae cups for snacking. I used an old candy jar to display the rock suckers and put the pop rocks by their take-home bags. The kids created homemade crystals as they started arriving and once everyone was here we went out back to smash open geodes. They LOVED that! We finished up with cake and presents. My family came down from Boise and my aunt took pics for me (will post soon). One of Van's gifts from us was his first set of scriptures and a journal, he said they were his favorite gift. Before bed he asked me to help him write his first journal entry. He is such a sweet boy and I am so proud he is my son.

Sean's Birthday

I made these turtle cupcakes for my "carmel loving" husband. They were a big hit!

Feeling Crafty

I made these "sweet" looking gifts for my friend's baby shower. The big cupcake is made with a really plush blanket and the boxed cupcakes are made of socks, onesies, and diapers. I am so happy with how they turned out!