Sacramento Zoo

We decided to take the girls to the Sacramento Zoo the day after Kayden's birthday. Yeadon's sister and her family couldn't make it up to Reno for the party, so they wanted to meet us at the zoo to celebrate with Kayden. Yeadon's dad came with us, so it was a pretty packed truck with me sitting in the backseat between the two carseats!!! Yeah... don't think I'll be doing that again anytime soon!

I know there aren't many pictures of the day... sorry! The animals weren't very cooperative, and neither were the girls! Such is life! We also went to a place right next door to the zoo called Fairytale Land... no pictures from there either! The girls were DONE by that point, so we called it a day. Overall, it was a good day spent with family... but, by the time we got home I was glad it was over!

THE LOOT

Here's an upclose pic of Kayden's crown... Now I just get to make three more! One for each girl in our family who has a birthday coming up...

Here are the dollies that I made Kayden and the carrying case they go in... Yes... I did make the clothes too!

And here is our princess! She wore this dress to school this week... The first thing one of the little boys said when she walked in: "Wow! She looks just like a princess!" You can bet Kayden was on cloud nine after that!

Birthday Celebrations!

My girlie turned 3 a couple of weeks ago! Can you believe it?? I sure can't. We started the day at IHOP where she got to open a couple of presents. We were going to meet Yeadon for breakfast but he was unable to meet due to work... Oh, well. We had fun anyway! Then we went to CDI, the company where Yead and I used to work. It's right by IHOP, so I figured I could show off my two cuties. Everyone there thought the girls were adorable and couldn't stop saying how big they were getting. I know, I KNOW!! Can't they just stop growing for a little bit?? After our normal day, we then went to pizza, because that's what Kayden wanted. My dad, grandpa, Yeadon's dad, and our little family were there to celebrate this special day. Kayden was SOOOO excited for days before her birthday and then when it came, she just didn't know what to do with herself. When she saw all the presents and her birthday cake, she was giddy! It was a fun day.

This was an ice cream cupcake cake. They did a great job of decorating it as "princess-y" as possible! It was pretty good too.
I made Kayden a lot this year. This is her birthday dress... LOVE IT! She loved it too! I also made the dolls and carrying case below. She likes changing the clothes on the dolls... or just letting them hang out in the buff... :) I also made the crown above. She wanted a birthday hat (don't know where she got that idea!), so I made her the crown. It's not quite what she wanted so she had a hard time at first liking it... but it grew on her!

Done and Done!

I have been working like a mad woman to finish up projects. I've come to the conclusion... it's so much more fun to start something than it is to do the tedious little things to finish something... I know, that's not something new to you, but I just never thought of myself as a "non-completer" of projects. But alas, I am! So, I've tried to finish things so I can move on to another project without having the feeling that something is hanging over my shoulder, waiting to be completed. So, in light of these new thoughts, I finished my house quilt and I made a baby quilt for my friend Jamie who is due any day now (or quite possibly has already had the baby!!). I love how both of them turned out. The stripey back on the house quilt is actually a thrifted duvet cover that I found at a hole in the wall thrift store. It's a Tommy Hillfiger or Ralph Lauren product... can't remember which, but MAN it sure was difficult to hand sew the binding on because of the high thread content. My fingers were bruised by the end of it! But, I LOVE IT! And Jamie didn't know that I was making the quilt for her... when I gave it to her, she LOVED it. That made my day... You know.. when you make something for someone you just never know how it will be appreciated and when it IS appreciated, all the work and love that went into making it is even more fabulous.

I'm now working on Kayden's birthday present, her birthday dress, and her birthday hat. I don't know where she got the idea about a birthday hat, but that's all she talks about. "Burfday ha, Mama, burfday ha!" Can't wait to show you the picutures of all this fun stuff!! Hopefully soon...

Easter Blessings and Crafty Goodness!

Happy Easter to you all! We had a crazy day, but it was beautiful and wonderful. My sister in law and her family and my mother in law came up on Friday night. All the cousins had so much fun playing together! Dress up was the most fun I would have to say... We all decorated eggs and just had an overall fabulous time. Kaelin... oh, Kaelin... She had one egg the whole night and by the time we were done she had cracked the egg so many times that the dye got inside... and a neon yellow egg was the result! Gross! Easter Sunday was a blessing. We took the girls to church and then over to Papa Paul's house to hunt for eggs. We had a great brunch and lots of fun.

I made the little chick to put in Kaelin's Easter basket. I was going to make one for each girl, but of course, my time management skills were not the best. Oh, Well! Maybe next year... I also finished a quilt that I have been working on since, um... Georgia! Yep, that's right... 6 years in the making! But... at least it's done, right?? And... last but not least... I made the girls their Easter dresses this year! Kaelin's was a breeze compared to Kayden's! Even with the zipper on Kaelin's it didn't compare to the ruffles and all the gathering on Kayden's. But... it was worth it to see them all dressed-up and beautiful for Easter!

Our day ended with Kaelin, Kayden, Susan (Yeadon's mom) and I sitting on the couch watching the Vegetales movie about Easter. It brought tears to my eyes as I realized just how amazing it is to be a mom and to be able to share the true meaning of Easter with my girls. To be able to freely talk about Jesus and His love for us. It truly made the whole day for me!

Auntie Pam

My fabulous Aunt Pam was in town a couple of weeks ago. She is a nun at Mount Saint Mary's Abbey in Massachusetts. We don't get to see her often so it was a real treat to have her here. She and the girls hit it off almost immediately. Of course, it took them some time to be 100% comfortable with her... but as you can see in the pictures, she soon became a fast friend.


I bet you never thought you'd be on the ground playing horsey with my girls, huh Aunt Pam?? We loved having you here and can't wait to see you again!

Swirly, Twirly, Girlies

So I finally made Kaelin her swirly skirt... She loved it! I was able to get this sweet picture of Kayden twirling aroung and Kaelin... Trying to twirl! Hope your week is going as well as ours!

Stress Relief

One of the things I do for stress relief is sew. You all probably know that, but I thought I just reiterate the fact... I love to sew! I have only been sewing for about 6 years, but I can't imagine not doing it... It relaxes me, almost like reading a book. So, since the beginning of the year, I've tried to get some sewing done here and there. I made the skirt for Kayden, my pin cushion, and here are some other things...




This is my notetaker... I made 7 of these babies for Christmas gifts this year and I never got around to making myself one. I needed something to hold my work calendar and business cards, so I made myself this beauty. I love it! The colors and prints are SO me!

I have also been working on this quilt top for a YEAR! I finally finished the top yesterday and had to show you. It's great, huh?? The girls just HAD to sit on it before I could snap some more photos... Their so cute, aren't they?!?