Happy, Happy!!!

hope you all had a great st patricks day!
we did.
nolan turned THREE!!!

daddy was out of town so we had a st patty's day party
complete with friends, family and silly string!!!

stay tuned!!!

Long Hair. Don't Care...

we cut 10" off of masyn's hair to donate to a wigs for kids charity.
good thing it was after we decided to be pippy!

{masyn said, "it's been my dream to have really long hair, but it's not fair that i have hair and someone else doesn't so i'll cut it."} more often than not, she "gets it". proud of her!

Read Across America

masyn's school recently celebrated read across america day.
the kids dressed up as a book character and masyn, with the help of auntie, kenz, and karen, was pippy longstocking.



the sad thing is she didn't even know who pippy was until that day when we "got to know" pippy thanks to the internet.
i realized that my kids are missing out on all the "good" stuff we knew as kids. it's time to bring back the oldies but goodies...

i could go on a tangent here, but i'll refrain.
have a fantastic day!

The Blessings of a New Home

happy kids
happy old dog
fruit trees
fresh lemonade
beautiful views
a clean house (thx fly lady!)
poolside
fresh cut flowers
space, space and more space
room for friends
a place for everything
family
memories being made
teamwork and yardwork
joy

Evyn's Birthday Tree

nana & pa bought evyn an asian pear tree for her first birthday



as we prepared the soil, masyn and evyn observed



and the kids giggled

nolan helped

masyn watched



and the tree was planted

Strawberry Pillows!

how stinkin' cute are these!!!

chelsie sent me the link to these and i thought i'd share it with you. click here to head on over to purlbee to download the pattern.

so very cute! thanks chels (and becky!)

Happy Birthday Baby!!!

our fiesty, yet sweet, evyn turned ONE on saturday!!!
happy birthday sweet girl, what a blessing you are to each of us!



birthday girl
and
her guests

it was a wonderful day we are so grateful for the friends and family who shared her special day!
thanks for coming!!!

Evyn's Birthday Banner

my talented sister got the lovely task of making evyn's birthday banner
and she did a FABULOUS job!!!
thanks suz!!! love you!

ok. here's the funny part...
i set up the hoosier with picures of evyn and an autograph mat that i did for masyn's first birthday and love it. suz and i had a specific idea about how the banner should "drape" in the entry above the hoosier. kind of in a criss cross, but not to criss crossy way if you know what i mean. i grabbed the chair and the nail gun and we went to work. but as soon as shawn saw the nail gun he had to get involved :) (love you honey!)once i hung it, he didn't like it because "you couldn't see all the pictures". long story short, we had to re-hang it like you see in the above picture to make the man happy. holy moly. we don't like it hung this way. but we conceded and moved on with the rest of the party!

(suz...next time, we can't let him see the nail gun!)

A PINK First Brithday!

our sweet evyn rose turned ONE yesterday...
time flies when your havin' fun!

here's the party details...



i made her a shirt using the applique method
(i just googled applique tshirt tutorial and picked one) the skirt is from target.



i made paper flower toppers for the cupcakes, yummy sugar cookies and i found some really cute strawberry and cupcake marshmellows at walmart (they were a big hit). the flower headbands are at target in the dollar bin.



a pink flower party
simply perfect for a sweet ONE year old!

Decorating tips...

after scanning sheryl's home photos over and over for ideas, it finally hit me...

i'm missing greenery!

but...finding the right greenery was much harder than i expected. i did finally find topiaries at pier one, ikea and walmart (in case your lookin')

i really couldn't believe the difference one simple plant would make.

where have i been?

(before topiary)

(after topiary...again, hello.)

something that i have known for a long time is how a simple quilt can make a huge difference. my friends (who don't quilt) have no idea why i feel the need to make so many quilts, but they are far more useful than simply keeping you warm.

(before quilt and sprig of greenery)

(after quilt and greenery)

SO, lesson learned (thanks sheryl!)

if you are having a decorating dilema, add a bit of green and a quilt and you'll be amazed by the outcome!