The reason I have been bad with blogging

Ok so just one of the reasons. I have been busy for probably over a month every night sewing and crafting for Christmas. These are two of my favorite things I made this year. It was a very felt Christmas this year for me and the many crafts I made. I have a new love of felt. These projects took some time, but I love how they turned out.

This is a wreath I made for my mother-in-law. (thanks Michelle for the directions)

It was a craft from JoAnn Fabrics, but I tweaked it a little bit to my liking and what not.

You cut out a ton of strips of felt and fold and roll and sew. Then I hot glued them on to a wreath. I love this wreath so much. I am going to make one for myself too, but I just needed a little break from the cutting, rolling, and sewing. I did buy enough felt though because it was 50% off.

This is an advent calendar I made for my sister. I saw one almost the same in Pottery Barn catalog for a lot of money and thought, "I think I can make that". So as a little picture from a magazine as a guide I just made it up as I went. You are supposed to put a little gift or candy in each pocket. I copied some of the pockets from PB, but made up some of my own too. I was very pleased with the outcome.

It is rather large. I think it is like 60" tall or something. I don't remember now.

The #'s from the one from PB are embroidered on, but I don't have a sewing machine that can do that all nice for me. So instead I printed out the number from the computer and cut them out of felt and hand stitched them on.

I will post more pictures soon of some of our adventures last week. Nate had the week off so we tried to do something fun each day. We did simple things from sledding, to driving around looking at Christmas lights, to making cookies, making gingerbread houses, taking a walk at the park and more. Unfortunately I do not have pictures of all these activities, but I will post what I have. (hopefully tomorrow) I also have some fun videos, but I can't get them to load on my computer.

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

So we went the day after Thanksgiving to cut down a Christmas tree. In all the previous years we have used our fake tree that we bought about 5 years ago from Walmart for $19.99. Needless to say it is quite small and scrawny. So this year we decided to go and cut one down. Nate actually had the day after Thanksgiving off and so we decided to take advantage of it. I was hoping to put our Christmas lights up and then go cut down a tree. Well we were getting a later start than I thought we would and said we should just wait until the next day to cut it down. Nate just wanted to go that day and said, "aren't you supposed to go and cut a tree down at night anyways". So I just remembered thinking, "I never remember doing that when I was a kid, it was always during the day". Well once we got there to cut down our tree we soon realized why you go during the day, otherwise you can't see to pick one out. We did bring a flashlight to help guide our way, but it still was a little tricky. It was only maybe 6 o'clock but it was already totally dark. Kali and Gwyn fell asleep on the way, but woke up shortly thereafter. It was a fun time regardless.

I just thought she looked so cute all bundled up.

The next morning

Kali and her crazy bed head.

Bristol Turns Five

So once again it has taken me a couple of weeks to post. Bristol turned 5 on November 10th. I can not believe how fast she has grown. She is full of imagination, loves to learn, draw, dance, and play with her baby sister. We had her birthday party the Saturday after her birthday. She chose several people from school and church. She was so excited for her birthday that she has been planning it for about 7 or 8 months or so now. She was so excited that she couldn't even sleep that morning and woke up early. I hope she enjoyed everything and am glad that all the birthdays are over for the next little bit. Now I just have Christmas left and then I can relax and breath a little.

She wanted a Cinderella cake again. I made one when she was two as well, but it was her birthday so I made what she wanted. This time I made a marshmallow fondant. It was pretty tasty and fun to make. I was tempted to use her Cinderella barbie doll for the top instead of the doll the pan comes with, but her barbie is pretty loved and has crazy matted hair now. So, I opted for the more tamed doll.

I was so lucky that the weather was actually really nice. I was hoping to have her party at the YMCA indoor play area, but it was already booked. I was not looking forward to having all of these five year olds in my house for a few hours. I had one game planned, but I wasn't sure what else I was going to do. Luckily since it was nice out we played some old fashioned games like red light green light, simon says, and duck duck goose.

Present time

The thing about the Cinderella cake is how to put the candles in.

Thought I would throw in a picture of Gwyn at the party to show you how big she is getting.

Five Little Pumpkins

Kali has requested this video to be on the blog.

Happy Halloween...

...Just a couple weeks late. We had a fun time this Halloween. The girls are really getting into it this year. We first went to our ward Halloween party (which Nate was in CA when we went). Then trick-or-treating is called beggars night here and they move it to whatever day works best for going around. For instance I have been told it will never be on a Sunday (because of church) or a Friday night (because of high school football). It works out nice for us. It is also scheduled from 6-8. So you know how long people will be coming around for. Also everybody sits out on their driveways to pass out candy. It is nice because there is no need to go up to people's doors and wait for them to answer the door or not. I think it makes it faster and it is fun to have the whole neighborhood out. Nate once again worked this Halloween (well and the Saturday before which is the day we celebrated, hence my long explanation above) so I took the girls to a pumpkin patch during the day and then we went out trick-or-treating that night. Nate was able to come and join us for 20-30 min around the neighborhood which was nice. Let me tell you it is crazy though trying to get all the kids fed and dressed in Halloween costumes and out the door by 6 and by myself.

Halloween Night. Gwyn was a bumble bee, Bristol was a butterfly, and Kali was a ladybug. I should have had them stand up to get a better picture of their costumes, but hey the fact I got a picture taken was a miracle in its self. Kali's tutu has black spots on it and Gwyn's has stripes of yellow. She liked to suck on the tulle.

Pumpkin patch hayride.

Carving pumpkins. Sorry all of these pictures are backwards in order.

Before the ward Halloween party. Gwyn was not too happy.

Happy 3rd Birthday Kali!

Kali is 3! We had a party for her the day after her birthday. It worked out perfect because my mom had come to visit for Bristol's fall break from school and came just the night before. It was a crazy day with the primary program practice in the morning and then getting ready for her party. So her requests were to have balloons, a Dora the Explorer cake (or cupcakes), and presents. I think we fulfilled her desires and I am sure she had a great day.

I put Nate in charge of the games for the kids. He blew up the rest of the balloons and had them do a balloon waddle game. We were so lucky that the weather was absolutely beautiful for her party and the kids were able to play outside.

Kali has seen these cupcakes being made on TV and had wanted them for a while. They actually took less time to make then I thought they would. I was able to make different parts of them ahead of time so I am sure that helped. I just had to assemble last minute touches right before the party.

Mmmmm...cake is so good!

This was a scavenger hunt of sorts. I drew a picture of "Map" and drew a map with directions to the party favors (I used the idea from my sister when she made a treasure map for her son's birthday, thanks Lisa). They had to go to the waterfall, up the mountain (the stairs), through the tunnel (table with a blanket on it), and find the treasure box. It was a pretty big hit and super easy to do.

The waterfall.

Through the tunnel.

The treasure to be enjoyed by all.

Hope you had a happy birthday our little bug. We love you and are so grateful to have you in our family. You have quite a personality and keep us smiling and laughing often. We love you!

Gwyn Update

Can you believe that Gwyn is four months old? I sure can't. Time has flown by and she is growing so fast. She is still loved, almost too much, by her sisters. She is a little petite thing. She is really pretty easy going, but when she has had enough of something or is sick of something she lets you know by screaming. In other words, she doesn't give you much warning, all of sudden she is screaming. She is not a big fan of being in the car and knows that when we are putting her in her seat it is a sign of having to go in the car. She starts crying almost immediately when putting her in her seat. I am afraid part of her dislike for the car is that her sister is within arms reach and pesters her constantly. It is getting better though and I think Bristol is getting more used to her next to her so the constant hand holding and touching is slowly starting to lessen. Gwyn has rolled over now three times, but they are more fluke incidents. She would much rather play with toys sitting rather than laying down. She loves to stand while you hold her and is quite alert and loves people. She is our little joy and we love having her in our family. I can't believe how fast the time flies. These are just a few pictures from the last couple of months.

She doesn't fall asleep in her swing much any more, but whenever she did she always put her little hand on the tray.

We just started having her sit in this little walker. We have to stuff a few things in it to keep her propped up, but she prefers sitting up so this is a way that I don't have to constantly hold her.