You deserve chocolate!

I purchased 10, yes 10 bags of Cadbury Mini eggs the other day. I mean seriously, who does not LOVE the mini eggs?!

For almost 2 years, I've been on the PTA (our school calls it FPAC) at the school. I'm over Teacher and Staff Appreciation. It's a lot of work however it's been so much fun to do things for the teachers and staff during the year.

I've learned that you can put almost anything in a treat bag, tie it with some ribbon, attach a super cheesy saying, and the teachers just love it. (they really don't get enough praise for what they do for our kids)
I had to get those mini eggs out of my house ASAP! :)

DIY Burlap wreath

I found this wreath tutorial on tatertots and jello and just HAD to make it. I only purchased the styrofoam wreath and burlap, the goal was to use supplies I already had. I didn't have the Scrabble tiles so I went on a treasure hunt in my craft closet and found this little frame. I spray painted it and made a digital picture for the inside. (I used the Echo Park digital kit called A Walk in the Park.)

DIY Burlap wreath

Things we forget...

My new favorite blog. Insightful and inspiring...LOVE it!

The Heidi Hookup

a digital layout from the awesome Cake Boss hookup from Heidi. Paige is still over the moon about this :) Thanks Heidi!

Springtime kit- Echo Park digitals

Template- Janet Phillips

fonts- Ballpark Weiner and Traveling Typewriter (dafont)

Jimmered

Who knew my crush had hops? Isn't this a sweet picture?!

We need a win tonight...

I {heart} fonts!

I have an obsession for fonts! Fonts are those fabulous things you just can't have enough of! These are some of my current faves. Most of these can be found at dafont, except for Pacifico and Lobster. I used Lobster on these scrapbook pages for B&P. It's my new favorite :)

Digital Scrapbooking...where do I start?

I've had several people ask me about digital scrapbooking. I love paper scrapbooking. I still make cards and use my stuff for various projects. I did it for years and I never thought I would go digital. Karin brought me to the digi side and I'm glad she did :) It's been a fun hobby.

Here's why I digital scrapbook:
-You can use things over and over again. I love alphabets! I love that I can buy a set and never run out of letters :)
-No mess! Bringing the supplies and everything out and then cleaning up the mess afterwards.
-Awesome deals. There are lots of freebies out there and designers usually have sales every weeek or quarterly.
-Making things in multiples. I love that I can create a layout and print as many copies as I need.
-The undo button...life saver!

So you want to get started but don't know where to go? There are all kinds of tutorials and videos. Ali Edwards is a great place to start. You can go here for tutorials and all kinds of videos. I love her stuff, can't get enough of it.

Jessica Sprague is another great resource.
Designer Digitals is another

If you have any other questions, just contact me :)

learning to fly

may the force be with you

my sweet little boys that I love beyond words...

scrapbook pages and my crush

How about the BYU basketball team?! I never thought Danny Ainge's record would be broken but Jimmer has done it! Yes, I have a crush on Jimmer. Me and every other BYU fan out there!I don't know what's gotten into me lately...I've been in the scrapbooking mood. That's always a good thing!

This template is by Cathy Zielske. I think this might be something that would be great to do each year as the kids get older. And I love the clean and simple design. Templates...they are the greatest things EVER!

strong, silent type

I can't think of a more perfect shirt for Heston...if you know him, he really is our strong, silent type :)

This is a template by Paislee Press (it was free when I downloaded it) She's got some super cute digi stuff that I just love.

I {heart} this sunshine

Sunshine does wonders for the soul...

Ostrich Festival 5k 2011

On Saturday, our family ran in the Ostrich Festival 5k here in Chandler.

Paige and I ran together. She took 2nd place in the girls 9 and under. Good job Paige! We had so much fun!

She was excited when they called her name...


Braden the running rockstar. He had been sick 2 days before but he still wanted to go out and run



us

the kids before the race

Aaron ran with Hes. He was one of the youngest kids there that actually ran. He told Aaron, "I'm running! I'm running!"
This picture kills me...his little legs and that huge t-shirt :)
My baby is growing up...




the kids with the cute little ostrich. Can you tell that they are standing here because Mom made them? :)
I'd like to take a moment and commend the people behind these costumes. It's hard and sweaty work. Some people hit you in the back of the head to see if you'll fall or flip you off when you try to wave at them...I can empathize...

i like this quote

reading lessons

I remember years ago being so impressed by my nephew Alec and niece Lexie and their ability to read at a young age. I asked my sis-in-law Alisha how she did it and she shared with me
this awesome book...

Braden was in Kindergarten when we finished this book and he was reading at a 2nd grade level. Paige made it through about 70 of the lessons (I slacked off...will you forgive me Paige?). I started Heston on his lessons in January and it's going great. After he gets home from preschool, we have lunch and then do the lesson. It's our little routine.

I made a chart like this for each of the kids. When they reach 50, they get to pick out a toy. And if they reach 100, they can choose another prize.

Stickers are the magic motivators. I went to Walmart and Hallmark and picked out stickers that represented everything Hes loves: motorcycles, Star Wars, Iron Man and dinosaurs. After he completes a lesson, he gets a sticker on this sheet.

There are many different methods and books on learning to read. Everyone is entitled to their opinion about it. I just wanted to share this with you because it's been such a positive thing for my kids and I'm sure Alisha would say the same thing. It's takes work and patience but when it starts to click, it's exciting!

Thanks Alisha!