thirty

i am now officially in my thirties. and so far- it's been way better than my twenties. i am not upset about it because apparently i still look young- 2 days before my birthday a woman thought i was 21, so that's not too bad.
aaron was gone for work on the actual day, but he took me out to my favorite restaurant a few days later. it was so good, especially since we haven't been there in about three years. he also got me a new chair. i have been looking at it for quite a while, but figured it was a far-off purchase. well, i came home from oregon to find it sitting in our living room. quite a nice surprise. i love it.

so now i need to re-do the ottoman in new fabric. good thing it was easy-peasy!

the night of my birthday, my wonderful friends Lyndsey and Jen twisted my arm and came over for dessert and card playing. Jen made a super yummy cheesecake (no i'm NOT just saying that) and Lyndsey brought over chocolate fondue. so no complaining about that!

cheers to thirty!

NW trip highlights

i know i know. i should have done this post a long time ago, but we have not stopped going since we got home.
we had a wonderful time up north. it's already on the books for next year- but aaron will go with us, thank goodness.
so here is a rundown of the awesomeness that we had.
- the first day we drove to ashland where we stayed with our wonderful friend Lari. she lives here, but has a home up there too, so it worked out perfectly.
-the boys were AMAZING during the twelve and a half hour drive. i can't stress enough how great they were. and no dvd player either. so proud of them.
-day 2, we drove another 8 hours to North Bend in washington- 45 minutes east of seattle, and stayed with my aunt diane and her family. i really wish we could've stayed longer than the 4 days we were there. we had such a great time. we went and picked blueberries at a farm (10 lbs for $11.80!!!) played card games and walked around the property with my cousins (they have 5 acres) picking and eating wild blueberries, blackberries, salmonberries and huckleberries. the boys loved being in the woods and were very excited to see deer and elk around. gavin thinks that deer are moose for some reason, and that cracked up my uncle scott. we went to the 100 years of north bend festival thingy and the kids had tons of fun at the parade and at the small carnival. although the Seattle SeaFair Pirates scared the hockey-sticks out of the boys with their cannons going off. good times. hopefully we will be able to stay up there longer next year. scott and the boys had so much fun with each other- scott tickled hayden so much one night that h peed all over him. and i love hanging out with ashley and kaitlyn. they are such awesome girls.
-we then went back down to springfield. i am SO SUPER grateful to have been able to stay with my friend Brenley and her family. it was so convienent- down the street from the Jolley's and down the street from Brynne too. i think it was a little overwhelming for her son McCoy having the boys around, but for the most part they got along fine and had some fun. brenley took us to see her new house and we were able to pick blackberries, which i used to make a pie for her later that week. hopefully she hasn't forgotten how to make crust yet. brenley was also super sweet to take some pictures of me and the boys (which i will post later). she is so talented and really captures the personality of whoever she is taking the picture of. when we got back to her house, brynne and emily were there and surprised me with a birthday party. i really miss these girls, and wish we lived closer. we haden't all been together like that for 7 years, so that was awesome. plus it was funny to have all 7 of our kids in the house under 5. we also got to go to saturday market. it's so nice that it hasn't changed one tiny bit. i got to get my favorite phad thai. oh man..... it had been way too long since i had that. and of course i bought some killer berries to bring home to aaron at the farmers market. they actually made it all the way home without me eating all of them! during the time in springfield, i also got to visit with another great friend- Nate. and i got to meet his adorable wife Lindsey. i'm thinking that we could be great friends-- if only we lived closer. i hadn't seen nate in about 8 or 9 years, and it was so wonderful that it was like no time had passed at all. we were the same old friends- just a bit older, and maybe a teeny-tiny bit more mature. the boys totally got along with him- so he is officially "uncle nate" now. i also was able to see a friend from way back, Joy. she looks great, and we had a good, although quick visit, and had some good laughs about things that happened 15 years ago. and the main reason i went up there in the first place was for jenni and michael's wedding. she was gorgeous- think of a princess- and that's what she looked like. everything at the reception looked amazing, and there were many people i hadn't seen in many years. i wish we were able to stay a few days after the wedding so i could see some of those people a little more, but i'll make sure to set some good time apart for them next summer.
-we drove back down to ashland and stayed with Lari again, then made the treck back home. it was so nice to see aaron after 2 weeks apart. i came home to a spotless house and a surprise that i will have to post about later.
it was a great trip. if the weather weren't so horrible the next 8 months, i would go up again. but i'd rather just wait until it's super hot here, and super nice there to go visit.

i have been sewing a ton lately. 1 dress, 4 skirts (just 1 for me so far), and i'm finishing 2 more skirts today (not for me). and i made some super cute "ruffle butt onesies" for emily that turned out great. and how awesome that i got to give them to her in person. and see 3 day old Carly. that was a treat. and spend time with spring too........
so just fyi i guess, the boys and i are going to the NW (the "granola belt" as aaron calls it) to see friends and family and to go to a wedding. we are leaving on thursday the 6th, and will be home around the 19th because gavin has kindergarden orientation on the 21! i can't believe it. so if anyone needs my cell phone # so i can come see you while i'm up there, let me know.

oh and how ironic is it that it's 100+ up there when i'm coming to visit? i thought i'd get a break!

easy peasy

so i made a super yummy, super easy dinner tonight and i had to share.
i get the Martha Stewart magazine called "everyday food", so it's from there. (which if you haven't heard of it or have never seen it, BUY IT NOW! it's really cheap for a subscription and totally worth it- i use the recipes a ton, and change them because they are so easy)
but it's online too- so here's the link. i followed the basic ingredient directions, but of course i totally changed it.
i added-------
1/2 tsp of tarragon
1/8 tsp of nutmeg
chopped smoked turkey- from the deli
i only used 1/2 a package of spinach
small diced red onion
cut up grape tomatoes
smoked fontina cheese
colby/jack cheese (instead of the cheddar)

all of that- i did to taste- meaning, put as much or as little as you want!
all though i'm not crazy about turning on the oven, it is a great, quick dinner. you can throw in pretty much anything- sausage, mushrooms, ham, bacon, bell pepper.... whatever!
hope some of you try it!

4th of july

gavin became free of the oppressing tyranny of training wheels on independence day.

pretty stinking awesome!!!

mini-vacay

here are some pictures from the beach 2 weeks ago. it was perfect both days and we had a GREAT time.

am i really putting a picture of me in a bathing suit up here?

all the kids down at the water. they barely came up all day!

there were many sailboats sailing by which made it all the more relaxing.

chloe fell asleep on the first day. i love this picture!

and how could i bring Lyndsey down there and not take her to Balboa to have some famous chocolate covered frozen bananas? the kids didn't complain about that!

goodness

wow. we have been going non-stop for the last few weeks. i feel like we are never home. we are at the park, or at a friends house, and there has been lots of family stuff these last few weeks too, which we have to travel at least 2 hours to. and we have been at the beach. aaron has to stay the night out there, so we totally take advantage of the free hotel room and go out too. we have gone for the last two weeks and stayed in Dana Point, but then spend all day in Newport Beach. this last week, i dragged along my friend and her kids (she doesn't mind ;) ) and we had a few wonderful days at the beach. it's so nice to get out of the desert heat. hopefully we can do these mini-trips all summer. and they won't just be to orange county now because aaron got a promotion!!!
he is now the southern california district manager. it goes from santa barbara to bakersfield to the mexico border and everything in between. he is in charge of 10 people now, which means alot more work, but that's ok. he is totally capable of it. he will be gone probably 2 nights a week now too, which i'm not crazy about, but some of those we can go stay with him which makes it easier on everyone. i am so proud of him, he has deserved this for so long. he is finally getting the recgonition he deserves. good job sweetie!

craftiness

it has officially been summer for 2 weeks now, and for some reason, i am feeling very crafty lately. i think it's because i am tired of my house looking blah, and it's finally time to do something about it.
the first project that i did was an ottoman. we have plenty of seating in the living room, but one couch has the coffee table, and the other one has nothing. it's nice to put your feet up, right? so i went searching at our local thrift stores and found an ottoman with a good frame, good feet good size and awful fabric. perfect. and it was only 5 bucks. perfect! so i brought it home and stripped it down to just the wooden frame. then i went and bought fabric and new padding and all that. i decided that instead of my original plan to just re-upholster it, i would make a slipcover instead, so i could wash it when the boys get little boy grime all over it. our couches are leather, and i am used to just being able to wipe off gunk, and i didn't want the ottoman to get all gross. so i made a slipcover. i have never done it before, i didn't have a pattern, i didn't look on the internet for instructions- i just did it. and i am very happy with how it turned out. i bought some other matching fabric to make new pillows, but i am still deciding on the trim and style.
here is before (gross)

down to the frame....

and covered......

and with the slipcover on.


the next project i did was a baby shower cake for a friend. she is having her 4th child, and has NEVER had a shower before! so i wanted to make it fancy and special. since i wasn't getting paid for it, i tried out a new recipe for fondant. i have my recipe from school, but it's a pain to make, and i won't buy the Wilton stuff in the tub because it tastes gross. so i made it and it turned out pretty good. i know what to change for next time though, so that's good. she loved it, and that's all that matters.



the current project is for a certain someone, so i can't really post any pictures. but lets just say that it is super cute and super easy.
and when that is done, i will be doing a frame project. i'm thinking about going to the thrift store and getting a bunch of different shape and size frames, painting them the same color and putting them on the wall. no pictures inside- just the frame. not sure yet though. it's one of those things that looks awesome in someone elses' house, but not sure if it's for mine.
so in the mean time, we are enjoying this unusually cool weather (it feels like late october) and playing outside alot before we start to boil. oh yes, and i'm trying to not go insane.....

last day of preschool

i can't sleep because there is one of these bugs in the living room, and they just gross me out and give me chills and i just can't go to sleep now and aaron is asleep and he wouldn't be very happy if i woke him up to get it. so lame, right? (they are seriously gross though!)
soooooo i decided to do a post on gavin's preschool graduation. it was last friday, and it was awesome. they sang some songs which i will have to upload later because they are halairous. here are some super cute pictures of the "ceremony". g got to sit next to his best buddy Jake who will be going to a different school for kindergarden, but his little sister Jadyn (who has a little crush on g!) will start preschool with hayden in september. so luckly we will see him in the future. i am so grateful for his preschool. the teachers are great, and gavin has grown SO much in going there. i can't wait to see what hayden does there.

there is always time for a funny face...

his "diploma" and one of his awesome teachers Ms. Tami

gavin and his buddy Jake.

g getting ready to lead a song

this one is my favorites- gavin and his buddies Christopher and Jake.


i can't believe gavin is done with preschool. it seems like he was just in diapers. and now all of a sudden he is writing, reading (a tiny bit), riding a bike and being a big boy. time is flying by. i am totally enjoying this time with them, even if my patience is completely tested every day. there is nothing like little arms wrapped around you giving "big snugs". hopefully they won't ever get to big for sweet moments. i sure hope they last forever.

memorial day

sooo i know there are a TON on pictures, but we are just having too much fun with the new camera. we went up to arrowhead for the day, and went on a great walk and then had lunch by the lake and played a bit at the playground.
i signed g up for kindergarden on friday, and soccer on saturday. they both start in august. so i have a few months of "downtime", yeah right.