the shay shay

so i finally finished a a quilt for me!

and

i'm in love.

i loosely used amy butlers free pattern from her site.

it was my first time paper piecing and i still don't know how i feel about the technique,

but i'm loving the rug inspired color combination!

i used some scrap pieces for the back to mix things up:

and the binding is kaffe fassett:

snow day

our neighborhood management put on a pretty sweet christmas party

it involved free food,

santa, real reindeer, pony rides, jumpy inflatables, prizes, and fake snow!

although the boy was too afraid to sit on santa's lap,

he had a ball in the snow, and loved his pony ride:

The Milk and Honey Maternity Frock GROSGRAIN GIVEAWAY!!!!

The Milk and Honey Maternity Frock GROSGRAIN GIVEAWAY!!!!

from my little family to yours...

merry christmas.

we hope your new year is full of the love of our savior, jesus christ.

christmas 2009

and just for fun:

our past christmas cards:

christmas 2008

christmas 2006

on christmas eve

the story of our savior's birth has been told-

while snuggled up in our christmas PJ's

santa has been left some cookies:

the children are tucked in tight:

santa has come and gone...

noel is working hard on her first quilting project ever...

and loving it!

while mrs. clause (yours truly) is starting the
binding on this fabulous quilt.

an episode of glee will be watched as we drift off to sugarplum sleep.

all is well.

another work out on the beach with noel

gingerbread house

this year, i decided to make our gingerbread house from scratch.

what the experiment it was!

i'm not sure i'll do it again just because it had such construction problems.

however, it was most enjoyable to be with my small little family and see the excitement of the kids.

here's our family night in photos:

the dough

                                           

guess who's here for christmas?

aunt noelie!

little miss is simply obsessed with her auntie. she adores noel's every move and plays with her all day.

*paisley's hat was lovingly made by my SIL molly. so precious! check out her etsy shop!

this morning, we ran lover's point trail. it was oh so freezing and windy, but sunny and well worth it:

also, noel just graduated on friday with her masters in physical therapy! words can't express how proud i am of this sister of mine. she is smart and determined and humble! all this hard work for something she is crazy passionate about. not one complaint has come from her mouth of how hard it has been, especially charging on through a divorce along the way. she is amazing and i know she will be the best physical therapist. i grabbed her this necklace off etsy for her graduation present. small, dainty, simple and humble; just like her:

our attempt at family pictures

we went cheap this year and just had a friend snap a couple shots of us at lovers point.

here are just a couple out takes:

boy:

friends:

paisley, eva, katelyn, & kavi

lovers:

dorks:

2 years

two years ago today, my older brother mark was killed in iraq.

he lost his life while protecting ours.

i don't have any profound words to describe his greatness, sacrifice, his kindness,

 his hilarious personality, etc...

so

i'll just say:

 i love you mark.

i miss you.

thank you.

i'll see you again.

jennifer, taylor, mark, shalynn

his words

oh my.

this boy has been cracking me up all day long!

phrases that he has said today:

* "just chill" *

* "take it easy" *

                * "i love you mommy" *  like a million times

what he also did today?


 * called me a penis.
 * had his first french kiss 
    with the girl next door.
             no joke...i witnessed them stick their tongues out and lick each other!

i promise, i'm a good mom.

really.

the trail

last week i packed the double jogger in the 

van while paisley played in the dirt:

we ran 4.5 miles along the beach:

          

it was heaven. 

except for the running part.

i detest running.

at our halfway point, the kids got out to play in the sand:

the boy discovered many things and never wanted to leave:

ocean

iphone music

kids

exercise

sand

playing 

homeless people

cheez-its

thoughts

nothing better.