Why I do what I do

I am doing some duplicate posts, from this family blog, and my Restless Risa blog. The reason I am doing this, is we get our family blog printed off in a hard bound book every year, and it is kind of like a family journal. The other blog is not so much, just a journal of what I do to keep myself busy :) I will do duplicate posts if the item I am blogging about pertains to Wayne or the kids. Sorry if it's annoying to anyone who reads this.

Gift from Sophie's long lost twin :)

I came home yesterday, to find a package addressed to Sophie on the porch. When I saw who it was from, I was SUPER excited to see what was inside. I could barely wait for Soph to get home :) When she opened it, I about died at how cute it all was :) Haley is one of my most creative friends. I wish she would start a creative blog. So, here is a look at what she sent...

This is what was inside the box when we opened it.

A darling card.

With a super cute message. They chose {8} things that start with {S}! What a darling idea!!!

Sophie and Atticus were born hours apart, and Haley and I have special memories of being pregnant, and delivering our first born babies at the same time, in the same hospital.



Here is what was in the package:

"S" is for Sophie, because she's "So Sweet."

"Soap"

"Skittles"

"Swimsuit for some Summer"

"Sweet Tarts to Share"

"Scrapbook Paper"

"Stationary"

"Shirt"

I am SO LUCKY to have such a great thoughtful, talented, and creative friend. I love you Haley! Thank you so much! :) We feel so loved!

New toy for Daddy (I mean Sophie)

Wayne did not tell me he was doing this, and came home with a new 4 wheeler a week ago. I can't say I was happy about it, and he told me it was, "A surprise for me." Really...? This is not the kind of surprise I want, but look at Sophie's face! She is SO excited, so I guess we'll keep it :)

Conrad came home a few weeks ago, and the bunny hutch was open, and Black ears was gone... He was SO SAD! We looked all over the yard, and in the field behind our house, and didn't find him. We said a few prayers, but Wayne and I decided chances were very slim that we would find him, so we got Con a new bunny.

We had been home 5 minutes with the new bunny, when Kiley, the cute neighbor, found Black ears in the back yard. We learned a good lesson that day, to trust in Heavenly Father. He will always answer our prayers, just on his own time, not ours.

We named the brown bunny Dash, because it always escapes, and it takes us 10 minutes to get it back in the cage every time. We are thinking of letting it go in the field behind out house.

Man time with Poompah

Con was feeling a little left out on Soph's baptism day, and even called Yia yia in the morning to tell her he needed some attention. So, my cute dad took him fishing after the baptism - just the two of them. To say he was excited, would be an under statement. He was SO excited!

He was actually happy to pose for a few pictures, which is amazing for him... usually it takes creative persuasion on my part.

He really is SO CUTE!

Look at the... so excited to go fishing! Thanks Daddy :)

All strapped in the Cadillac, and ready to go!!!

They had a great time. Con caught 3 fish, and was excited to tell us all about it when he got home.

After the crowd...

After the crowds died down a bit, Sophie and Mia played a few games.

We hadn't heard from the boys in a while, and here's why:

They made a lovely mess... Con and Will spread mud all over the RV pad. Why you ask...? I have no idea, and I don't think they do either. I love that they wore their church clothes to do this, and it must have taken them a while, as they did it one small shovel full at a time...

Look at their faces, they know they are in trouble.

Wayne asked them how they were going to clean it up, and they had no idea... they just looked at it. Poompah rescued them, and squirted the driveway off later that might. I think every mom needs a little boy.

After the girls changed, they got out the bunnies.

Sophie pushed Blackears around in the shopping cart.

Mia drove Vanilla around in the car.

Kyler LOVES the bunnies!

It was a perfect end to a perfect, happy, sunny, sweet day.

So, I had two events that I am hosting this month... Sophie's baptism luncheon, and a baby shower. I thought about buying paper goods for each, and it seemed like a waste of money, and is not the most environmentally friendly thing to do.

I was at... you guessed it... DI the other day, and found these serving dishes and matching cups, and knew I had to have them. They had 30 matching pieces, and I was able to talk the manager into cutting the price almost in half, as I was buying the whole set. The next day, I found more trays that matched at Savers, and the next week, I found even more at another DI. I believe I have around 45 altogether.

What I like about glass dishes:

They are super sturdy, and don't bend when they hold a lot of food.
They are environmentally friendly.
They look beautiful!
They bring a different kind of elegance to a party.
Becasue they are from DI, I am not worrying if one gets broken. (Nothing did break, by the way, and we had a bunch of kids here.)
It was fun to watch people's faces as they picked them up, and were surprised to be holding a real dish!

I was too busy during the luncheon to take any pictures of food on the plate. I will try to remember on Saturday! It really did look pretty though. :)

S - O - P - H - I - A banner

So, I wasn't going to make a big deal out of this,
but I couldn't help it.
I LOVE banners, and wanted to make
a cute one for her special day.

I wanted it to be a little chunky, and chose
not to use my paper cutter.

If you want the same look, this is what you need to do...

Choose papers you like. I bought super thick ones (for the most part) from Hobby Lobby. Then I bought matching beads, and used string and tulle that I already had.

I chose thick paper, because I wanted to glue wooden letters on, for more depth.

Paint your letters, and glue them to the paper when dry. I just used regular Elmer's type glue from the dollar store, and it worked very well.

Poke small holes with a tack through your paper, and string the beads, tulle, and paper on in the order you choose. I had 3 papers that were thinner, and I ended up taping the backs, so the weight of the beads wouldn't force them to bow. Now that I have it, I think I am going to hang it in Sophie's room, or save it for a future birthday party or something.

The food!!!

The food at the lunch was fantastic! At the last minute, I agreed to let my nice girlfriends (who had been offering for months) bring food. My friends are the best cooks!

My mom, Wendy, Kristen, and Brittney brought awesome salads. Margaret brought carrots.

I thought it was cute to put pink malt balls in a jar... because the colors were pink and gray :)

Candy made these darling peanut butter bars, and put Sophie's initial on top with pink frosting. She is too cute.

Candy also made this cute pink something or other salad... can't remember what it's called. It was SO CUTE!

I have the best girlfriends and family! I love you all!

Thanks for your love and support!