A visit to Santa

Last Friday night we went into the city to go a visit Santa. Grandma came with us and Poppy ended up joining us as well. While we were waiting for Daddy and Poppy to finish work we went to check out one of the toy stores. Haylie loved it and was going around grabbing things off the shelves and bringing them back to the stroller. Lachlan loved looking at all the Lego. He especially loved one that you made into a quad bike! Amie and Caitlyn loved looking at all the barbies and anything that was pink. When Daddy and Poppy got there we went to visit Santa. There was only a couple of other people in line so we didn't have to wait long. At this Santa you could take your own photos which was fantastic.

Here are Amie and Caitlyn telling Santa their names and ages. They had no trouble talking to Santa.

Then I tried to get Haylie to say Hello............

....... but she wasn't really a fan of Santa! She just screamed and tried to get away. She was ok if I stood inbetween her and Santa, but even then she was still shaking. Lachlan also wasn't a big fan of Santa until he gave out some chocolate at the end.

We then went to another department store where they have a place called Santaland. It was really cool. There was a free train ride for the kids, you could write a letter to Santa or email him, they also had the Polar Express movie playing. We didn't see Santa here but the kids went around on the train, twice. There was hardly any people there so they stayed on for another ride!

After some dinner we headed over to the Magic Cave. Again, we didn't go to see Santa we just had a ride on the carousel and looked in the funny mirrors. Here they are next to the talking tree!

We to the other big toy store in the city and a big book store before heading home. Along the way we looked out for Christmas lights! It was a really fun night out. The kids ended up writing a letter to Santa while we had dinner and they got replies in the mail a couple of days ago. They were sooooo excited to get mail just for them.

Halloween and more!

So here are a few pictures from our Halloween Party! It was a huge hit and everyone had a great time. Mum took more pictures of everyone that was there, these are just a few that I managed to take before everyone starting arriving.

These balls turned out really cool. I got the idea somewhere on the internet. The smaller balls had skittle on them. I used a hot glue gun to attach them so you couldn't eat them. The big one had raspberry lollies that I put on using toothpicks so that they could be eaten.

I love all my potions. I found some of the labels on the net and filled them with coloured water and other lovely looking stuff.

Here is Ballerina Caitlyn. I know this isn't a very good photo. Mum got a better one. She is wearing Amie's ballet costume from last years dance concert.

Here is Ghostbuster Haylie. I very cute a simple outfit. She had so much fun just running around with all the other kids and eating lollies. I hardly saw her all night!

Here is Lachlan in his prize winning costume. He won the prize for best child's costume. He came up with the idea all by himself I just put it all together. He was a dragon, zombie, frankenstein and vampire!!

Here is Amie as a ballerina spider. She didn't want to be a scary spider! Her other legs are hanging by her side, she didn't like them all tied together.

Last, but not least are Buzz and I. We decided to go as Zombie Prom king and queen. The photos don't really show how truly gross we were. I had our clothes outside in the dirt and sun all week. They were all torn and had bits falling off. We had skin peeling off and we had dirt and twigs in our hair. I ended up winning the scariest costume prize!! All in all it was a lot of hard work, but it is always worth it.

And just to finish off here is a present I made for my friends baby shower. So easy and so cute. I found the idea in a couple of places around the net.

Have a great week!

Thoughts

I've seen these in a few place around the blogging world and thought that I would give it a try.

Outside my window . . . a lone girl is swinging on the swing dressed only in her knickers (It's 36c outside today!)

I am thinking . . . about all the things that I want to sew this week.

I am thankful for . . . my Mum for helping me with all my different projects. She always listens to my ideas and helps me work out which way to go.

From the kitchen . . . the dishes are piling up and I still need to think of something to make for dinner.

I am wearing . . . a pink top and olive green shorts and no shoes.

I am creating . . . Christmas outfits for my kids to wear to all the upcoming Christmas events. the first one is the Christmas pagent coming up in a couple of weeks.

I am going . . . Banana's! My house is a mess, my kids are going silly and they are stuck inside because it is too hot outside and I have no idea of what to make for dinner!

I am reading . . . Deception Point by Dan Brown!

I am hoping . . . I improve my sewing skills and actually make something for me instead of always making things for the kids.

I am hearing . . . The fan blowing, children playing in the other room and a cartoon on the tv.

Around the house . . . the laundry is piled up, the dishes are too. I still have stuff outside from the Halloween party to put away, yet all I want to do is sew and be creating things!

One of my Favourite things . . . is going to the craft shop with me Mum and finding wonderful fabric with lots of good ideas of what to create with it!

A few plans for the rest of the week . . . Clean my house, feed my family, exercise and sew, sew, sew!

A picture to share . . . A nice cool ice block on a hot day!

PJ's and Dresses

I can't seem to stop sewing. I love it! I try to do something everyday. Getting ready for the Halloween party has made it hard this last week though. I did make some costumes, but it's not the same. Anyway here are some things that I have finished recently.

The first one is a dress for Amie.  It is like the first one that I did for Caitlyn. I really like how it turned out. Nice and bright for Summer!

The second one I'm in love with. I couldn't be happier with how it turned out. I got the idea here. The top half is a t-shirt from Target and the bottom half is a skirt that mum picked up at the Op Shop. I just cut the shirt where I wanted the waist to be, adding extra for seam allowance. I then cut the skirt making sure it was the length that I wanted once it would be added to the shirt, again remembering to add seam allowance. I then gathered the skirted and sewed it to the top. Then it was just some embellishment. I added a wide ribbon around the wait to hide the seam and I put a couple of ribbon bows on the sleeves to finish it off.


The third thing is some pj's for Amie. All the flannelette was on sale at Spotlight so the kids got to choose their favourite one to make into pj's.  Amie, of course, chose Barbie. For the shirt I made a heart template and then found a good spot to place it. I appliqued it on and then sewed around it. It's been washed a couple of times now and the edges are fraying nicely.

After Halloween I'm going to start on stuff for Christmas. I have so many ideas going around my head. I can't wait to start putting it all together!

My Baby Boy!

In a couple of days my baby boys turns 7 years old! Where have the last seven years gone. From the very start Lachlan has always been the quiet one in the family. As a baby he was so easy going and just went along with whatever we did. Nothing much has changed he is the quietest person in our house and he mostly just goes along with what we do.

Anyway to celebrate I just wanted to share some of my favourite baby photos with you.

I love you Lachlan and hope that you have a really Happy Birthday!!

Sewing

So these are some of my most recent sewing projects. I love how they turned out and can't wait to play with them a bit more and do some different versions. I can tell that I'm becoming obsessed with sewing because I dream about it!

I found the pattern for this peasant top here. It was sized for a baby so I thought it would be perfect for Haylie. I found this fabric in the clearance pile at Spotlight for $2m. Sorry about my pictures. Next time I'll take some with the girls wearing them.

Since the one for Haylie turned out so well I made one for Caitlyn too. I just added some length to the bottom, made the sleeves longer and made the top a bit wider. I absolutely love the fabric. Mum and I found it at Lincraft a little while ago. It's so bright a summery. I think that this one turned out a bit wide. Obviously I don't need to add as much.

I then wanted to make one that was a bit longer, more like a dress. I found this fabric at a store down south that Mum took me to, I can't remember the name. I love it so much. I love how this dress turned out. She hasn't worn it yet, but when she does I will definitely get pictures.

I love sewing these tops/dresses. They are so simple. They only take about 45-1 hour to make from start to finish. Like I said there are a few different variations that I also want to try. I also want to make it a bit bigger for Amie as well.

Photo Shoot

A little while ago I realised that since I had Haylie, nearly 18 months ago, we hadn't had any family pictures taken. My Dad is a photographer and has his own studio so over we went to get some family photos done.

Here is my, nearly 7 year old, very handsome boy. At the moment he is very into the spikey hair. I can't believe how the time has gone. He is so very smart and is very passionate about whatever he is into at that moment. Right now it is all about BMX riding. He sets up jumps in the back garden and makes trails. He loves it! He is also a fantastic reader and loves to read all by himself. Just like his Mum!

Beautiful Amie! I think that this photo made the whole photo shoot worth it. She is such a poser and it is hard to get rid of the fake smile, but when you do it is like magic. I love and have always loved her eyes. Crystal clear yet so revealing. Amie is my dramatic one. Everything is a drama in her life, but she is so very loving. She is always willing to help and loves her brother and sisters. She is also very creative and loves to draw and colour in.
Next is my gorgeous Caitlyn. Ahe always makes me smile. She is so cheeky and funny. You can see the sparkle in her eye. She is always going 110% and has been since she was born. She is also very inderpendant. She knows what she wants and will go out and get it. This can cause problems at times but I know that this is a character trait that she will need as she gets older and goes out into the world.
Last, but definately not the least, is my baby, Haylie. Though she is getting bigger everyday she will always be my baby. She is my cuddler. She loves to love me. She loves to give kisses and hugs and loves to snuggle in your lap. Nearly every morning she comes into bed with us and cuddles, hopefully going back to sleep for a little while. I love watching her sleep! She doesn't talk yet, but I know that she will in time and when she does there will be no stopping her. She lets us know what she wants though!

Just for fun we took this picture. I love it!! It matchs them perfectly as well. Caitlyn never stops talking, Lachlan can never seem to find things and Amie has to be told things a few times before she hears you!

Thanks Dad for taking such beautiful pictures of my children.

Crafty Catch Up, Part 2

This post is all about sewing. I am loving being able to make clothes for my girls. I never thought that I would be into this so much, but I just love being able to create something completely original for my children. I also like to tell people that I made it.

The first one is a simple little shirred dress/top.  I admit that I cheated with this a bought the fabric with the shirring already done, but I just wanted to test it. I also bought some elastic thread so that I can try it myself.

I have seen these dresses all over the internet and have been dying to try one. I picked up the white shirt for $4 from Big W the other week.  The bottom part is from one of my old shirts. I love these colours together. Things to remember for next time, add a bit of extra fabric to the bottom part so that it gathers more and is a bit more flowy. (Is that a word?!?) I would also probably add a ribbon or something over the join.

Here is a close up of the flower I did. To do this I found an image I liked on my computer, printed it out and cut it out. I traced around it and ironed it onto the bottom of the dress. I then hand sewed around it to make sure that it stays on.

While Mum and I were on one of our daily walks we found an op shop that we didn't know was there and popped in for a quick look. Mum found this skirt and talked about turning it into a skirt for one of the girls. It was only $2 so I thought I'd try it. Here is the before picture.

And here is the after picture. I know that it doesn't look much like this but it turned out really cute.I measured the length that I wanted and then pinned and sewed around it three times to hold the pleats in. I then attached it to the singlet. It is meant to be worn with a shirt, cardigan or jumper over the top. When Amie wears it I will take a picture so you can see how cute it is. Not bad for $2 plus a singlet.

Crafty Catch Up. Part 1

Here is a catch up of some of the crafty things that I have been getting up to lately. Enjoy.

Last Sunday was Father's Day. It was also my Mum's birthday. I got these jars and filled them with all kinds of yummy chocolate covered things, put a few decorations on them and there you go simple, cute presents.

I love how the ribbon flower turned out on the top of Mum's jar. I made each pair of petals separately then just layered them on top of each other to make a flower.

I can't take credit for this one at all, but I still wanted to show it.  The dress is bought but my mum made the shrug for her.  I love all of the stuff that she knits.  I don't have the time or patience for knitting, but I love my mum to make stuff for my girls. Also I think buzz would have a heart attack if I started knitting as well!

Here is another vest knitted by my mum.  I absolutely love it! The colour is gorgeous! But Haylie didn't have anything to go with it so I whipped up the skirt on Saturday afternoon to go with it. I love these colours together. I just pulled out a skirt that fit her and that I love and used it to make my pattern. I am so happy with how it turned out. And it was so easy. Catilyn is standing next to her ready to get her picture taken as well.

I made this block for my friends new baby boy. I love the colours. It was also easy to make. I wanted to make more so they could stack on top of each other but I ran out of time.

This is also for my friends baby. It's a sign to hang on the door. I love how the owls turned out. Super easy but super cute.

More Crafty Catch up coming soon!

30 Years Ago

Today is Buzz's 30th Birthday!! To celebrate these 30 years I'm going to list 30 of my favourite things/memories about him.

1. He loves me!

2. No matter how hard I try not to, he can always make me smile.

3. He is a people pleaser and will do anything for anyone.

4. I will never forget last Halloween when he was dressed as a beautiful fairy. Who knew he could look so good as a girl!!

5. Floating in our blowup boat in the middle of the lake looking up at the stars.

6. Going camping in the Utah mountains. Buzz was busy cooking dinner when a deer came right into our camp. It hung around for a long time! It was so cool to see one so close.

7. Nearly hitting a Moose on one of our many drives in the Jeep with the doors off and the roof off. The perfect thing to do on a hot summers day. It was always so much cooler in the mountains!

8. Seeing him cry when Lachlan was born.

9. His crazy personality.

10. Singing 'A whole new world' with me for On with the Show!

11. Watching him play with the kids on the trampoline. They love it when he bounces them really high. Plus when he is out there it gives me a bit of time to get some stuff done!

12. He makes the best breakfasts ever and is not happy with plain old cereal!

13. Sending me text messages just to let me know he's thinking about me.

14. His crazy 'fish-out-of-water' dance

15. The weird music he likes to listen to!

16. His crazy obsession with eating ice cream, even in winter. You should see the size of his bowl!

17. Seeing him take the time to show the kids something or teach them about something.

18. I love how he gets up in the middle of the night to see to the children. More sleep for me. They don't want me anyway!

19. Going on our first trip to Las Vegas for my birthday.  We had just found out that I was pregnant with Lachlan and the whole time we were away I felt sick. The next time we went back was with Mum and Dad when Lachlan was just 3 weeks old.

20. Driving across the the country with Buzz and my parents stopping at church history sites on our way to Nauvoo. We took our tents and sleeping bags and just found somewhere to sleep each night, either a campground or a cheap motel. So much fun!

21. Taking the kids to Disneyland. Buzz took Lachlan on rides that I never thought that Lachlan would like.

22. Going quad biking and trying to see the sunset together every time!

23. He is always quoting movies and then asking me which movie it's from. I can never guess because they are from really odd movies that I've never even heard of.

24. He always tells me I'm beautiful even if I don't feel it.

25. He gives me the best foot massages.

26. He had let me take up space in his office by letting me get a craft table, using the bookcase for all my supplies and now he is going to let me get a sewing table so I don't have to leave it out on the end of the dining room table anymore!

27. Leaving me messages written on the bathroom mirror!

28. Moving away from his family in America so that I can be near to mine!!

29. Singing to me, even if it is out of tune.

30. Spending the rest of eternity together. To Infinity and Beyond!!

Happy Birthday Buzz!!

Summer Dress

I made this dress! Yes, me, I made this dress! Can you tell that I'm really proud of myself.  I am thrilled with how it turned out.  When I bought this fabric I had no intention of ever putting them together but they really are made for each other.

I found the tutorial here at Lil blue boo.  She has many other wonderful tutorials that I also want to try.  The dress only took me about an hour to make. It is going to be perfect when Summer finally comes along.

I was even happy with how straight my lines were. I don't think that it looks home made at all and I would be proud to tell anyone who asked that I made it.

I also made one for Amie and one for Haylie but I don't have pictures of them yet.

Enjoy.