this could take all day

"Best Girls Night Ever"

It was a Friday night and we were guy-less. Darin was working, and my friend Natalie's husband had taken their sons to Monster Truck Jam. So we decided to round up our lovely ladies and have a girls night. Natalie suggested taking them to The Melting Pot, and it seemed like quite an adventure to me. The girls were great on the drive to Tacoma and Natalie and I enjoyed some good conversation too.

We decided just to do cheese and chocolate at dinner and despite being a little worried about the hot pots in the middle of the table, all the girls were really well behaved. I wouldn't let Dani dip her own bread, but she was happy to let me do the dipping for her (something I was shocked about since she is usually all about doing things herself!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mmmm....chocolate....

 

 

Dinner was pretty fun. So was the party in the bathroom afterwards.

 

 

Wait, Dani didn't get in the picture.

 

 

Ahhh...much better.

 

After such a delightful dinner (at which Daisy kept loudly repeating "best girls' night ever!") we headed over to do a little shopping at Babies R Us. The girls spotted the car ride on the way in and we promised them if they behaved they could have a ride on our way out. Turns out the ride was 50 cents, and that's all the change we had on our way out. So it was time for all to pile on. What a fun time we had!

 

 

 

 

And despite the late hour, the ride home was equally enjoyable thanks to the portable DVD player we'd recently been given and Miss Cinderella.

Thanks for the fun evening ladies. Can't wait till our menfolk are all busy again!

 

meeting Baby Ethan

We have a new neighbor here in Parkwood East! And his name is Ethan. And he is delicious.

Our sweet neighbors welcomed their firstborn mid-January and invited our crazy crew into their hospital room to say hello.

Daisy got the first hold.

Dani was a little too wiggly and excited for a hold, but decided to climb up and check out the baby while Papa was holding him.

Is there anything better than a sweet newborn? As we were visiting, our neighbors reminded us that we might be bringing one of these home any day now. Kind of crazy. We have no idea what God has in store for us, but we are just a couple weeks away from being a licenced foster home!

They even let me have a turn!

Welcome to the neighborhood little man!

Snow!

(Major issues with typepad recently. Here I am trying again. I miss you guys!)

We had so much fun during the recent snowstorm. We kept hearing about impending snow, but waking  up to nothing. Daisy prayed for snow ("for lots of snow AND for it to stick) for three straight days before we got any. But we did get some, and it was great. And it kept us home for three days to play in it. So I think Daisy got her prayers answered for sure.

Here is a fun smattering of our pictures in the snow.

First time out in it.

 

Snow angel.

It's always a bit of a challenge to get up without destroying your art.

 

 We wandered over to the park where the normall mild slide had taken on some new characteristics with the addition of ice.

We were invited over to our friends house for more snow fun, including lots of sledding.

 

 

 

Daisy found a neighbor friend to have a snowball fight with.

 

 

And it was all a grand ole time until this happened. No one likes getting snow in the face, especially not a sensitive 4-year-old.

 

 

And what is it about snow that makes you want to throw your loved ones down in it?

 

 

I had just bought this purple snowsuit on sale for Daisy to wear next year (I love my bins in the garage that allow me to purchase off-season and sale items in bigger sizes!) Lucky for us it fit our snowsuit-less friend just fine.

 

 

A couple more of my cute snow girls.

 

 

 

 

 

The next morning we ventured out to the backyard where the girls were really enjoying munching on the snow.

 

 

 

Darin decided it would be fun to bury Daisy in the snow. She was pretty down with that idea too and laughed her way though it. (See what I mean about typepad? I have no idea why its now decided to give me this space for a text box.)

We also enjoyed a bit of a snow day treat, with the recipe I saw on my friend Sasha's blog. Darin said it tasted like vanilla ice cream. It was yummy.

The girls decided to eat their snack in the playhouse (aka: the giant doghouse that came with our house, Darin cut out the door a bit bigger and added windows.)

I ditched the party then to head inside, but Darin and the girls went to work on the snow fort. It was a pretty awesome cave I think.

On the last day of snow fun before it melted I headed out of town, but Darin and the girls finally got to create a "frosty". Daisy had been wanting to for a while, but her patience with waiting for the snow to be packable sure paid off. 

And what snow day would be complete without hot chocolate afterwards?

Hope y'all had snow days that were as fun as ours!

 

 

my two dads

I'm putting the finishing touches on my second Christmas post tonight, but typepad is acting all weird and having issues with my photos and text. So I thought I'd write up a quick post to tell you a funny story that happened on Saturday night. Actually, I'll let Darin tell you. He's funnier than I am anyway.

Hello everyone. Long time. Did you do something different with your hair? It looks amazing. Well anyway, Deanna wanted me to tell you about a conversation that I had with my good friend and the godfather of our little girls, Tyler Ray. 

To set the stage, we all were going out to thank Tyler and Stacey (his wife, girls' godmother, etc.) for watching the girls as we took a CPR/1st Aid class for our foster care license. We wanted good food and since we were in Silverdale, the only real option was Silver City. This being Saturday night, the place was packed and with our table of 6, the wait was stated to be 30 minutes (it was more like 55). After a short rock-paper-scissors match between Deanna and I (she always wins) it was determined that Stacey and Deanna would stay and chat while Tyler and I took the girls across the parking lot to the mall to play for a few minutes while we waited for our table. I know, Deanna promised this would be funny, stick with me...

So we're walking through the mall parking lot, each of us is holding a little girl's hand, and the conversation goes like this:

Me: ...yeah, and in the mall is Hales, but we've heard that the food isn't as good as Silver City. 

Daisy (singing in the background to herself): The sun will come out, tomorrow...

Tyler: Hmm, that's too bad, their beer is good.

Me: Yeah. Oh well. (Pause) You know, I bet to some people we look like the gay couple that adopted two cute little blond girls. 

Tyler: Yeah, I was kinda worried about that perception too.

Me, along with Daisy (This is where the part of my brain that lives with girls all day, every day, kicked in): TOMORROW, TOMORROW, I LOVE YA, TOMORROW, YOU'RE ONLY A DAY AWAY. TOMORROW--

Tyler, interrupting: Um...the show tunes probably don't help.

Yeah, probably not. It also occurs to me that earlier I told you your hair looks amazing. What I meant to say is, "Grunt, hack, spit, belch. Yo!"

Have a FABULOUS day!!!

shepherd Dani

I'm still organizing pictures from December, and I came across this adorable shot that isn't gonna be the "it" picture from the day (there's another story I want to tell through POTD). 

Dani's Sunday School teacher captured this shot of Dani (on the left) and two of her classmates at snack time. The teacher had been amazed that all three kiddos had left their shepherd headgear on during the lesson and the snack time. So adorable, right?

We love our church and we love the teachers. 

November 21, 22, 23, 24, 25

Weekday lunch. Trying to make things a little fun.

I left some socks outside the girls' room while they were sleeping, so I could put them away in the morning. This is what I found in the morning. I love it when my girls are creative!

Dani was playing with toilet paper tubes. Made me laugh so hard when she put them on her arms. I thought she looked like Kristen Wiig's character on the Lawrence Welk sketches.

On Thanksgiving Dani was really excited about the jumping off the ledge game. She recruited everyone to join her too. (This was my first time capturing a picture from a video I shot, and I think it's pretty ok.)

Crafting it up with Gran.

November 16, 17, 18, 19, 20

Reading with Sapo/Christen.

Swamp park fishing. What a lovely fall day.

She had a bad cough and picked up this mask when we took her to the doctor. And now she wants to wear it all the time so she doesn't have to remember to cover her cough!

Off to a princess birthday party. Dani didn't want to dress up, so she wore a "princess" shirt instead.

We got to meet baby Eliza today, and hang out with her sweet parents. Mmmm...love me some baby.

Christmas Morning 2011

I didn't take too many photos on Christmas morning, I was busy soaking it all up and reveling in the joy. But here are a few, along with a few memories I don't want to forget.

Darin and I woke up at about 7:30, looked at each other, and wondered aloud when our girls would be awaking. Didn't take long for Daisy to stumble in our room, and then quickly to the bathroom. Turned out she'd had to go for a while, but was worried about the whole getting-up-with-Santa-around thing. Too sweet.

Growing up I was always allowed to open my stocking first, and didn't have to wait for anyone to be around to open it, and I am happy to pass along this tradition to my kids. So Daisy dug into her stocking while Gran walked the dog and Darin brewed coffee and made breakfast rolls. Me? I sat and watched her open. I love finding little things all year long to inlude in stockings, and had fun watching her open it all. Little toys and socks and bows and toothbrushes and bandaids and a new hat. 

I finally gave in and let Darin wake up Miss Dani at 8:30. She was kind of out-of-it for a bit, so we settled in for morning rolls and she was pretty happy about that. Then it was time to let her attack her stocking. Similar things to Daisy, except that Dani also received some Yo Gabba Gabba underpants that she is very excited to start using. Here's to hoping that potty training in the new year goes well!

On Christmas Eve we moved TJ's box (he lives in front of the fireplace that we never use) and left some arrows on the floor so Santa would know where to find the stockings and his treats. Daisy had looked up in the chimney and was concerned that there was something in the way. I told her not to worry and mentioned to Darin that his bag of rags that kept the air flow down was worrysome to Daisy. So the great guy pulled out the bag and hid it away.

Here they are the next morning doing an inspection.

Santa even left a bootprint or two.

Gran gave the girls several new dress up outfits and they were happy to try them on right away.

We had planned to go to church on Christmas morning, but with Dani sleeping in and us taking our time, I looked at the clock at about 9:45 and realized there was no way we were going to make the 11:00 service. So we settled in and enjoyed even more time together at home.

After the presents had been opened we had our morning "brunch" of eggs and hashbrowns and toast and oranges. Daisy was really confused about why we were having breakfast so late, and it was fun to explain the concept of "brunch" to her. 

Eventually we decided to get dressed and brush our teeth and generally prepare to leave the house and head out on another Christmas adventure. More to come... 

 

Frightening?

Who knew that Madeline was such a scary tale?

November 11, 12, 13, 14, 15

We have this japanese maple in the front yard. Darin loves it. I don't. I think it blocks too much light from my front window. But right now, this red color is pretty stunning. 

Darin took the girls and met up with Papa Ty & Mama Stace at Latin's Cider mill. This is one of our favorite fall traditions and I was sad to miss it but enjoyed my 4-H weekend in Cathlamet.

One sneaky girl decided to nap in her sister's bed today. Oh well, at least she's sleeping!

Getting my ponytail all ready to donate.

She asks to paint every day.

November 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Happy Birthday to me! Darin made me my birthday crepes a day late, and the sweet guy got me special candles.

Time to vote!

Christen/Sapo is here to babysit for us each evening as we take our foster parent classes. The girls love her. I do too. 

We brought home a big box of apples from Eastern Washington, so it was timet to get to work making crisp. One for the oven and one for the freezer. Yummy.

First red cup of the year!

a homemade holiday

This year I decided to make as many Christmas presents as possible. I'd been inspired by so many amazing tutorials online and with the help of pinterest had started gathering them all in one place. It was so much fun to choose and create presents for people I love and I thought I'd share them here with you.

Our Mops theme this year is all about board games, so when it came time for Christmas gifts, I thought this little ornament would be perfect for our amazing and hard-working steering team. Thanks to Darin for his help on this little project too!

My sister-in-law had a scarf on her wish-list, and this little no-knit scarf had been in my bookmarks for a while. Darin actually did this one too. He was an awesome helper on my handmade holiday quest for sure.

My niece, Macey, received this friendship bracelet kit, which with several hours of TV watching was really easy to put together. I even included a bracelet for her on the front too.

3 young boys in our family received fort kits. I followed the directions and sewed strips of old t-shirt around sheets from the goodwill. We also included clamps, glow-sticks, flashlights, battery-powered candle and a rope. Darin designed the tag for the outside, so if you want to make one of your own let me know and I can share the tag with you.

We hung out with our almost-three-year-old nephew Caleb this weekend and he demanded we open up the kit and build the fort right away. All three kids (Daisy and Dani included) loved playing in the fort, especially when we turned off the lights and used the flashlight and glow sticks to light their way.

 

My high-school niece, Molly, received this ear bud pouch. Just don't look at it too closely. Even after my second attempt, it is a bit lopsided.

I enjoyed this easy project (used stickers instead of vinyl for the letters) of making "santa-tizer" for Daisy's preschool teachers. They loved them.

Three little ladies we love received crayon rolls (and coloring books). I had so much fun choosing the right fabric for each girl, and there was lots of sewing involved. I'm glad these were easy to make as I was battling a serious case of strep throat as I worked to get them finished and in the mail on time!

My sister requested a camera strap, which I was so excited to make. I combined this tutorial with this tutorial, and the ruffle from this tutorial to make what I think is one super cute strap cover. 

My sister also sent me a link to this ruffled flower scarf when I asked for her requests for homemade presents, and since the camera cover was so affordable I decided to give a go at this one too. It's not perfect (don't look at those edges too closely, please) but I think it turned out really sweet. I'd wear it!

And while not quite homemade by me, I ordered a jewelry kit from this etsy shop for my neice Maya, so she could make jewelry and hair accessories of her own. (I ordered the bright colored one, and loved that it included a mini bottle of glue too. The deal I used to purchase it is back, if you want one for yourself, click here.)

Our neighbors received bins of homemade carmel corn (Darin makes this too) but I don't have a picture of that.

Oh, and Darin made my teenage nephew a duct tape wallet, but no picture of that either. It turned out really cool though.

I was also inspired to do a little fun wrapping too.

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Yup, I think I like me some kraft paper!

How about some free tags?

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You can follow along my pinterest "gift" board as I gather more ideas for birthdays throughout the year, and Christmas next year of course. And if you need an invite to pinterest, let me know.

What about you? Did you make or receive any handmade gifts this year? What do you think of handmade gifts?

November 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Someone in this house is sick :(.

Daisy invented a game today. She drew a "board" and colored in some squares on it. Then she cut out tokens and drew an x on each one. We took turns putting the tokens on the colored squares. The one with the last token was the loser. Pretty simple game and I was pretty proud as she created it all by herself.

While I was sick and Darin was home with the girls, he pulled out his lego collection. They all had a great time together and I know Darin looks forward to many more lego building days with his girls.

Puppet show on laundry day. (I fold my laundry on the couch. I used to do it in my bedroom, but I like the couch and coffee table much better these days. Where do you fold laundry?)

While I spent the day with my sisters, Darin took the girls to a friend's house where in their backyard creek salmon were spawning. He reported it was pretty cool and the girls enjoyed trying to spot the fish.

 

October 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31

We partook in a busy bag swap at Mops. Our contribution was a bag of beads and cups for sorting. We also included chenille sticks for "stringing" beads too. Daisy helped me sort out the beads one afternoon and was a great helper.

Trying on the wings for our 2011 Halloween costumes.

Darin found a snail while taking out the trash, and brought him in for a bathtime visit.

A little downtime with netflix on Darin's phone.

Haircut!

Two adorable butterflies.

Halloween 2011

Halloween isn't really my favorite of holidays. All the scary stuff just isn't my cup of tea. But I do love the whole let-kids-dress-up-in-fun-costumes and then steal all their candy part.

This year with a little help Daisy decided she wanted to be a butterfly and Darin decided he could make her costume. (Daisy's first request was a princess, but after two years of princesses, I thought maybe we should think of something else.) Dani decided she wanted to be a frog, and we were able to secure a frog costume on loan. 

But as Darin went to purchase the supplies for the biggest-butterfly-wings ever, Dani changed her mind and decided to be a butterfly too. 

Daisy got to wear her costume to preschool and have a costume parade with the rest of her school.

A blurry wave.

I kept giving Darin a hard time about those giant wings (the poor girls had to walk sideways through doors) but everywhere we went people LOVED them. 

Daisy's sweet class and amazing teacher, Miss Lynn. (Could not get the colors right on this shot, so a quick BW conversion it is.)

When Darin got home from work that afternoon we donned the costumes again and headed outside to get some pictures.

This girl is learning how to work the camera.

This girl is a bit trickier, you have to get her on the move.

This may just be a favorite photo from the year.

We decided to spend the first part of our evening at a carnival hosted by a church just up the road. We all had fun playing games and eating dinner and treats.

When we got home my camera got put away while we trick-or-treated at a couple neighborhood homes, then handed out candy to kids that came by our house. I'm not sure if Daisy had more fun visiting other houses, or handing out candy to the kids who came to ours. She LOVED jumping up and running to the door every time it rang, until the one time a group of scary looking preteens came to the door and she just slowly backed up and told me I could take care of these guys.

One treat each and off to bed we went.