Do you have an Uncle Mike?

i'm pretty sure that every family has an uncle mike. the obnoxious, male chauvinist, just plain ol' rude guy that you just love to hate.

if not...count your blessings. {i think}. because as much of a pain as he is there is a part of him that i absolutely adore. like when he holds my baby. he LOVES babies. all babies but he really loves my quiet, easy going babies. and my babies have all loved him. i love how the minute he takes hold of a child, he becomes human. i tease him about it.

so as much as he irritates us immeasurably, i love that he loves my baby and that my baby loves him!

The Bright Spot

the past couple weeks have been, well...
not fabulous.
all i can say is *ugh!*

BUT. as always there is always something to smile about and TAH-DA look what i got in the mail!
yep, lucky, lucky me, jeanette sent this to me. THANKS jeanette!!! i LOVE LOVE LOVE it!



and guess what else.
cheri has a blog. i know! it's about stinkin' time!!! YEAH. i {heart} cheri! oh and guess what! she's letting us quilt along with her. so if you want to make 'soot & ashes' go on over and get the instructions to make the blocks and don't forget to say hi!

All My Children

with all my kids under the same roof and dressed in their sunday best {except nolan} i MADE them {sinking heels, infectious eyeballs and all} gather for a group photo...

funny conversation that morning...
masyn, "sissy, you look pretty"
sissy, "thanks masyn."

masyn, "you look like a grown up"
sissy & me *chuckle*

yes. sissy, you do look like a grown up. when did THAT happen and how come no one asked if it was ok with me?!

Nolan & Austin

lena, shawn's cousin, came to visit and brought her son austin.
austin is a few weeks younger than nolan and we all met at nana's so that the boys could play.
trucks, bikes and baseball...great fun!

{six} months

at six months evyn is 17 pounds, crawling, standing up, still sucking her thumb, still as happy as ever, putting EVERYTHING in her mouth, {surviving} nolan, is a GREAT baby, doesn't care for any kind of baby food {*ugh*}, is the LIGHTEST sleeper ever! loves the tv (especially backyardigans and my, not so favorite, yo gabba gabba)

she's such a good baby, we love her to pieces!

First Day of School

it was a day full of firsts...
gavin started high school {holy heck!} and masyn started 2nd grade at a new school
nolan...well he went along for the ride.


gavin started the morning in a bad mood. he's got an infection in both eyes and is miserable, not to mention he really didn't want to go back to school.



masyn was nervous about starting a new school but made sure that i remembered to draw an "i love you" heart on her palm. (she saw a mom do it on a tv show about a month ago and told me i needed to do that and i did)

i didn't prepare myself for nolan's melt down, but it was nothing a smoothie couldn't cure!



at the end of the day, masyn made a new friend, vivian. nolan was fine and gavin "loved" it.

it was a GOOD first day.

bundt cake, bunting

and a pocket full of...{cherry sours}???

yep. that's what quilt class was all about.

"Unforgettable"

He Only Takes The Best...



God saw you getting tired,
And a cure was not to be.
So he put his arms around you,
And whispered, "Come to Me"



With tearful eyes we watched you,
And saw you pass away
Although we loved you dearly
We could not make you stay.



A golden heart stopped beating,
Hard working hands put to rest
God broke our hearts
To prove to us,



He only takes the BEST!!!

In Loving Memory of
Max Antoine van den Vrijhoef
"OPA"
November 9, 1924 - August 14, 2010

May you rest in peace in the presence of angels.
Until we meet again...

A Perfect Gift

for our {back 2 school} kiddos!

how stinkin' cute are these!!! click here to see more!

Crawling, Crawling

Crawling...

{ABC Art}

jamie from crafting chicks has a ton of great crafting ideas. being that school is starting {or has started} i thought i'd share this cute idea with you. i love the idea of making a cute abc book for nolan.

click on the link below for the post and all the info you need to make these.

{ABC Art} Back to School Brainstorm

The Bundt Cake

is the new cup cake...
when a friend asked me to help with a wedding reception, i immediately thought of a picture i had found of a bundt cake stand that was very similar to this one. my talented hubby was happy to make it for us. thanks honey!!!



my sister found a picture of a cake pedestal with the ribbon trim and it was the perfect addition to the tiers.



i found the ribbon and paper for the flags at michaels.



sharyn bought 2 of the cakes at nothing bundt cakes in poway, and the other 3 were made by rebecca and i. rebecca made the beautiful raspberry heart cake and it looked delicious!



the stand and the cakes were a hit.