There Were a Bunch in the Head...

... And the little one said, "move over, move over"... So they all moved over and one FELL OUT!!

You're Only As Tall As Your Heart Will Let You Be

The past couple of weeks, our hearts have let be pretty tall....  I will let you see for yourself.

For the Canada Day weekend, we went to Nana and Crampa's "number two" house, as my girls call it.  They are just beginning renovations and we got to be part of the demolition crew.  It was pretty fantastic.  We colored on walls, wore our shoes inside, rode the awesome mechanical horse, knocked holes in walls, played in the sunshine, ate giant popsicles, played with cousins, and went to bed late.  Alexis was so exhausted that she napped through the sound of drywall being knocked down in the next room.  That kid can sleep anywhere!  (It might run in the family... Take a look at this).

Next, we had Lily's birthday party.  It really was her first real birthday party...  (maybe her last, ha ha).  She chose who she wanted to invite... which included her primary class, some kids from her kindergarten class, and cousins (of course!).  Well, the kids seemed to have a good time.  I didn't get to take many pictures because I was busy doing other things... but here are a few.  Lily had a blast!  And her friends seemed to have fun too. 

 Here are some shots of Grammie and Grandpa helping to get everything ready for the party.  (Somehow they always get "stuck" helping with big events... like birthdays, moving, and putting doll houses together until 2am Christmas Eve.  And get this...  they are HAPPY to do it....   Thanks Grammie and Grandpa!  You are too good to us!).

Then... (as if that's not enough), Grammie and Grandpa took Lily, Alexis, and me to the Stampede Parade! 

I haven't been in years and have always wanted to take the girls... (I don't have any pictures, but it was wonderful... and, yes, Lexi fell asleep on a bus bench right in the middle of it.)

Then, we went to the Stampede!  It was really fun.  We went and saw the Superdogs and Ice show.  We at mini donuts, corn dogs, cotton candy, and chocolate-covered marshmallows.  (We even saw deep-fried pickles, but I was too afraid to try it).  We went to the Indian village and watched some of the traditional dancing.  When they announced the "inter-tribal" dance, Lily and Grandpa got up and danced with them.  I can't even tell you how excited Lily was....  but I'm sure you can guess...  Just imagine her big eyes accentuated by her glasses and her smile so big that you could see each and everyone of her shiny, white teeth.  

They got their faces painted....  They made buttons....  They filled up on junk food.....  

They were in HEAVEN!  (Oh, and Mom, Dad, and I had fun too... in case anyone was wondering!  haha).

Oh... and Lexi fell asleep in the wagon. 

It is going to be hard to get back to "normal" life after all that fun (and junk food)!  But, we have a few trips coming up, so maybe we won't have too.  :)

Five More Minutes, Please?

Today's weather was wonderful!  We spent every minute we could outside.  I even have some color on my arms and face, as well as freckles...  (My legs are hopeless)...  :)  So, of course after school, the girls and I got a huge watermelon and roast chicken and met Taylor at a park for a picnic.  (There was a huge group of teenagers who had the same idea.  Usually I hate it when teenagers take over a park, but this group of 20 or more were so much fun to watch.  They were playing games and eating and enjoying the weather as well.  Every now and then you would hear them all yell and laugh.  You couldn't help but feel carefree with that kind of energy around.  It was awesome!).  Aaaaanyways,we had a great time outside at the park.  I even snapped a few photos.  Go figure.

And we ended the picnic with a sweet snack. ..

Lily loves the cones with the caramel in the middle.

And I couldn't help but stop in the middle of the bike trail to take a picture of this moment.  It doesn't even catch the real magic, but that's what it was.  Imagine Lexi strolling along in the warm sunshine with her hero and a large pink popsicle.  It gave me that lump in my throat.  It also made me think how lucky Taylor is to have two girls who absolutely adore him.  Lucky... (and he knows it).

When we got home I didn't want to do anything...  But, I made myself get off my butt and go for a run.  I did the whole "loop".  I didn't run the whole way... I ran a little less than 3/4 of it (and that was more than I thought I could do since I have only been running half a loop for about 2 weeks... This was my first full loop trial run).  The tough part is the very last stretch...  It is all uphill and by the time I get there, my lungs and legs are burning.  But I set a goal  of 90 minutes to finish the whole thing and I did it in 80.  (Now I need to work on cutting that time by 30 minutes).  I WILL make it up that hill without stopping by the end of this running season...  Right?  THIS is my new favorite running song. (The video is pretty awesome too).  Maybe it will give me that extra "something" I need to run up that hill.  :)

Bizzzzzzzy Bee

I have been pretty busy so far this weekend... At least it is the good kind of busy.  I am starting to get a few things prepared for Lily's birthday party...   Without giving too much away (because of course I will be posting about Lily's birthday later...), I will show you two of my favorite projects so far...

One:  Cake plates...  Aunt Tami professed her undying love for cake plates (which I totally share) and I knew I needed to make some for Lily's upcoming party...

Lily and I had fun spray painting them on Friday afternoon.  (My favorite is the clear glass plate with the chrome candlestick...  Lily's favorite is the pink one...)  Aunt Tami's cake plates beat mine in price and looks...  But, each one of my cake plates only cost $3.00.  (That is without counting the spray paint, since I have had it for over a year... otherwise... add, like, 50 cents).  Pretty good I think.  We are still gonna jazz them up with pretty ribbons for Lily's party.  (Now all I have to worry about is making the food look as good as the plates...  EEEK!  Aunt Tami, I NEED your super cupcake recipe).  I am sure there will be cooking disaster posts in the near future...  :)

The next project I was so happy with was her birthday invitations...  I was going to order greeting cards from Costco, so I signed up online so that I could order them without having to go down there with the girls...  Somehow, they always trick me into getting an ice cream sundae....  Anyways, we will just say I signed up to avoid the extra calories...  BUT, because I was a first time user, I got 60 free 4x6 prints...  So.... I made my own "greeting card" using picnik and then sent them off into cyberspace (Costco)...  And they were done the same day!  WOW!  Here they are..

We haven't actually handed them out yet...  But she will hand them out to her primary class tomorrow and then to some of the kids at school on Monday.  She has 27 or 28 kids in her kindergarten class this year (there were so many new kids the last few months of school, that I lost count).  That is a crazy number to handle at home, so we are letting her pick 5 or 6 friends from school...  I am still not sure this is the best way... I don't want kids to feel left out and sad if they don't get an invite, but 28 is way too many.  At first, I was going to say no kids from school... but she has made some really great friends this year...  Plus, Lily has never had a real birthday party, so we will try it out and see how it goes.

On a totally different note... I have caught the "refashion bug".  (I just erased a huge story about why I have caught the bug.... but I feel like this post goes on forever).  Anyways, here is one of my latest refashions:

Shirt Before:

I got this shirt like 2 years ago... It is big and "airy" and has an asymmetrical hem.  (What was I thinking?  Oh yeah.  I really loved the neckline and sparkly beading around it... That's why).  I just couldn't wrap my mind around the rest of it...  So it has sat in my drawer for... approximately 2 years...  until now.  :)

I measured it against another shirt that fits really well and sewed... 

Now its the perfect shirt to go with the new maxi skirt I made.. (more on that later too).  :)

Lastly, I have been considering starting a new blog that will be about all the projects I am doing.  This is so that those of you who just want to know what/how our family is doing don't have to read all the "in-between" posts...  What do you think?  And... What would I call it?