we ended the year 2010 with a new baby in the family, our sweet little nephew, jeremy… had a bunch of family visiting…went on a little road trip… had our biggest christmas tree yet…movie marathons… happy children… a shift in present giving- only 1 child in our family received toys this year 😦 wow… christmas came and went. and as i drove the kids to school this morning, i saw the lining of trees on the sidewalk, waiting to be picked up by the trash department. it's always a sad sight to see. this little wreath found a home in one of our frames as we are waiting for a print to go inside it. i may just leave it up for a few more months. 🙂
crafty holiday stuff
busy day for holiday crafting today! up first we have my post at 2peas! i used these martha stewart treat boxes to display, A: edible treats (mmmmm thank you trader joes!) and B: handmade ornaments.
yeah, that top left square didn't stand a chance while i was working on this project, obviously. 🙂
jenni bowlin buttons. i have dreamed of using tons of them all at once and now i finally have. yay! click here to see all the instructions (there's a fancy free PDF you can download and everything!) thank you 2p's for giving me the kick in the pants to create something i love. elsie even joined in. she did her own boxes and made daddy oatmeal raisin cookies for his birthday last week. yes, i'm purchasing lots of these boxes for future use. 🙂 JUST using Martha boxes make me feel ONE step closer to her. 🙂 i love her! HA!
and over at the KI memories blog, i've got these 2 cute boxes wrapped up all cute and simple. i'm inspired to use kraft wrapping paper and decorate with stickers!
and for our international loved ones in the philippines and australia, i managed to make some cards. WORLD RECORD people. 🙂 american crafts/dearlizzy made it so easy 🙂
i guess you can say i'm getting a little excited for christmas 🙂 and 2 weeks of sleeping in 🙂
happy december!
we have our tree! 
this is our biggest tree yet and we just love it! i'm so excited it's december. such a happy month! 
elsie did the majority of decorating and has since been pulling off certain ornaments at a time to play with them and then puts them back on the tree. last night chris overheard her playing with our nativity scene with some other ornaments. so cute!
around my house on a wednesday afternoon
i really love wednesdays. i thought i should take a picture of a recent project els and i started and then just started taking pics around the house. i have declared wednesday a project day with els as she gets real antsy since she doesn't have school. this is what we're making: american girl pom pom scarves. she got the box last week but i told her we wouldn't start till wednesday, our new found fun day 🙂 i love how she decorated the box with stickers. each day holding it and loving it till wednesday came along 🙂
new favorite little bowl from target on clearance 🙂
sweet gift from my good friend. now officially declaring caramel apple our scent this fall 🙂
another gift from above friend, succulent bowl. I am in love!
going through old pics and came across this. since it's almost halloween i stuck it on the fridge. kira's first halloween. so long ago! 😦
this came in the mail today. i love how when i lift the mailbox lid, it's right there smiling at me. 🙂 i love my cookbooks so…. i love_____ sooooo… (as elsie says) 🙂
little light reading 🙂 ha! i love this book so much. it has been an amazing read. i have the other one that isn't specifically for teens and that is equally as good. note, iced latte nearby and bookmark aka lovenote chris left me.
our front porch. pumpkins from last weekend's trip to the patch, our first time at a real patch! 🙂 els decorated one of them with these martha stewart bat transfers.
random, but i am so proud of this little pot, coming back to life after being eaten by snails 🙂
melt my heart!!! els loves nesting dolls. els loves these acorns she picked up from the orchard last weekend. i looooove her little display she made all on her own! (tinkerbell fairy house that she made after watching the new tinkerbell movie behind display) 🙂
and i'm back on my meal planning routine. wednesdays are crock pot wednesdays. it's a busy evening for us with kira having pep and then us going to church right after for a few hours. i love crock pot wednesdays. 🙂
and screenshot of my computer at 4:38 pm. cam writing a short story and listening to coldplay. i especially loved it when he got to this one. so good.
i love wednesdays. 🙂
our boys
i love that they go outside to play catch. just because.
and will stop to take a picture for mom. i didn't notice the propped football till i uploaded.
i love when their relationship is 'on'. 🙂
they love football, though i don't know if i could stomach it if they end up playing in high school. i'm just good with the front lawn. 🙂
KI Memories Blog Hop!
Hi there! Thanks for stopping by during the KI Memories Blog Hop Over the Rainbow!
The KI Memories Design Team is hosting a Blog Hop this week to show you all the wonderful things we’ve been creating with KI Memories products.
To cutesy up my home with some fall tidbits, I made the little banner and hanging sign with Over the Rainbow Collection goodies! This collection will be arriving soon at your fave scrapbook suppliers! 
I've loved all the cute fonts that KI put out with this release! The sticklers are totally a staple in my scrapbooking stash, as are the new Quick Strips (border stickers!!!!)
Be sure to check out the entire Blog Hop this week for a chance to win at each stop! We’ll randomly select a winner from the comments on each individual blog, as well as the KI Blog. That’s 12 chances to win!! Entries will close on Sunday, October 17th at 11:59pm CST. Winners will be announced on Monday, October 18th both on the KI Blog and the individual blogs.
Here's what you need to do:
- Leave me a comment here telling me your favorite KI collection or product of all time.
- Leave a comment on the KI Blog for another chance to win.
- Leave a comment on the other DT members' blogs….the next stop on the hop is Caroline Ikeji, Gretchen McElveen and Shannon Tidwell on Wednesday, the 13th!
Thanks so much for stopping by! 🙂
getting in the groove
of just being us girls at home while the big kids are at school. next week she'll only be gone a few days a week so we'll still have a lot of one on one time. she was a bit sad that everyone was gone, so mom broke out the paints. paint always makes her happy! 
and then after a bunch of errands, we tried penguins frozen yogurt. yup still tastes like it did when i was a kid, too dairyish for me. i don't like dairy unless it's in my coffee or ice cream 🙂 she too prefers pinkberry 🙂 but she did get a cute balloon that matched her dress perfectly! 
there's a little peek into my house. it's been the home of a few of chris' coworkers from NZ so i've got quite a bit of cleaning up to do and there's still boxes to unpack. sigh. hopefully soon i'll be able to share more pics! 🙂
yesterday
was a typical day for her! she made her own fruit salad, chopped and mixed all by herself 🙂
her normal little chirpy self 🙂
lots of lounging around on the porch swing 🙂
big sister was going to pep and put orange prewrap in her hair and els had to do the same, but of course nothing lasts in els' hair, around the neck it goes! :)
today she is sick 😦 24 hours makes such a difference! hoping this time tomorrow is a full swing back to her normal self. always tough to see the kiddies under the weather!
welcome to the neighborhood!
the only photo we've unpacked, a favorite from jonathan canlas 🙂
we moved 2 blocks from our old home but it's like new scenery for the kids. after a walk and bike ride today, cam and els brought home these lovelies for me 🙂 i liiiiikkkeyyyy ❤
we're settling in nicely. kitchen and bathrooms and kids mostly unpacked. me, still pulling out random clothes out of boxes. chris, running to his mom's since his clothes are still hanging in the guest closet 🙂 but scrap stuff mostly unpacked into the garage. we've got a nice set up with the cabinets out there so i finally get my own scrap room, haha! i even put out our nice big area rug in there so it'll be cool once i organize. will take proper pics soon. i think we're all still in shock that we've moved, that this is our new home to build new memories. it feels like a vacation still. 🙂 minus the eating out and maid service. 🙂
it’s break
photo source from here.
and that's not my bed. but i wish it was. but it's break and i've spent lots of time lounging around and relaxing with the kiddos and hubby. i love it. love not having a schedule. love just being with everyone. love not being in front of the computer. love soaking it up before this weekend- busy weekend for us. then it's monday and bye bye to it all again till summer.
xoxo
watersix 