Fowler Family Fun

Wow! The week was crazy....

2012-02-12T14:23:00.000-08:00

Kamille got to bring home her diarama. She did it on a fresh water river. Brad helped her build it. She also had to write and read a report. She got a good grade.

On Monday a water pipe froze outside. Brad spent the entire night fixing it. Yuck.

The girls were jumping rope and Todd had to have one too!

My Mom came to visit and brought Todd birthday gifts. Everyone had fun playing with them.

Brad and I had our 11 year anniversary on Thursday.

Later that night the suburban broke down. Not good.

Todd woke up on Sunday morning with the chicken pox! It's a mild case since he has had the vaccine. He is really cranky. So sad.

Brad had to talk in sacrament meeting. So he took the girls and I stayed home with pox boy.

He has a lot on his feet! He says "ouch" when he walks!

(Kamille also got a mild case of the chicken pox when she was 2 even though she had been vaccinated.)

bubble gum necklaces

2012-02-07T05:16:00.000-08:00

We made these the other night. It was so fun! The girls love them. But I made them promise not to chew the gum until after Valentine's Day. Make them with your girls! Easy! Lots of tuts on the net.

over the weekend

2012-01-31T05:32:00.000-08:00

We went to Utah to shop! Left Friday afternoon and got home Saturday night. Yay! (I really miss shopping!) Brad also had to pick up some parts for his truck. The kids love going to Cabala's. Todd chased the fish around in the tank. We swam at the hotel. Brad and Todd got their hair cute while the girls shopped. It was a good trip.

2012-01-21T04:05:00.000-08:00

Todd @ two years:

pretends to be asleep

teases us

loves train, cars, and trucks

loves animals

can pick out and name a duck, fish, elk, moose, deer

loves dinosaurs

wears every body's shoes around

loves to color

loves play dough, I roll up a ball for him and he smashes it and then we do it again

closes his eyes when he smiles

wears 18 month clothes

size 6 shoe

24 lbs.

he licks us

pushes a chair over to whatever he wants to get

loves to go into his sisters' room and play with their stuff

loves to look at books and have them read to him

still has to have a cookie and milk when he wakes up

pulls the girls' hair

snuggles with Mom and Dad

probably says 75 words, he's a talker

if he wants to leave the store or somewhere, he will grab my hand and say "ready, ready"

has green eyes and strawberry blond hair

watches t.v. now, favorite shows are Dino Dan, Chuggington, Max & Ruby, and Cars movie

loves to throw balls

has to have a blankie to go to sleep

still takes 2 naps a day, but I think that will end soon

Happy Birthday Todd!!!

2012-01-18T17:43:00.000-08:00

2 years ago, such a miracle

photo shoot I did with Todd a few days ago

opening his presents this morning
It was so cute to watch because he would rip off one little piece at a time!

Yay! A wagon! Now he can stop pushing his sisters' pink strollers around!

I got to hang out with the birthday boy all day. He was acting pretty cute. He loves to play with play dough.

We went and got balloons. He was having a good time with 'em.

Party Time! Train Party.

We had pizza and root beer.

We all colored a conductor hat.

Todd closes his eyes a lot when he smiles. So they did it too!

Too cute!

Choo Choo Todd's two!

Blow out the candles. He had the hang of it this year!

I had a lot of fun putting his birthday party together. Too bad we couldn't have all our family here to celebrate, but we had a good time with just us.

I put tape down for railroad tracks. Todd loved it!

Brad got into it and added more tracks for them. (We ran out of black tape so we used masking tape and colored it black with crayon!)

Seriously, this kept the kids busy for a long time.

....I've been workin' on the railroad.....

the happenings around here

2012-01-13T07:01:00.000-08:00

The kids and I took off after Christmas to visit family. We saw both sets of Grandparents and I got to see all of my siblings. We had a wonderful opportunity to all attend the temple together.
It was a good visit, but I had a horrible cold!
My Mom made the girls some adorable clothes for their dolls they got from Santa.

Super T. He really likes dress -up. (Or whatever you call it for boys!)

I made a banner and wreath for my winter theme. I made this huge wallhanging in college!

I had and order for a unicorn and a puppy. I've had other orders too, but I forget to take pics.

aaaaaaaaaaaaa.....it's Todd!
He's finally gotten over the sickies. It's so great to see him back to normal.

Charlotte was the Star Student this week. We made a picture poster to hang up in her classroom. On Wednesday Todd and I got to go to her class. We took a treat of watermelon and donuts. I read the class Charlotte's favorite book, The Princess and the Unicorn. It was fun.

Charlotte got to tell about her poster.

Brad got his dream truck, a '72 Chevy/GMC.

The pic is hard to see, but every body's in the truck (including the dog) but me.

Brad's really excited about restoring his truck!

Kamille started guitar lessons yesterday. She has wanted to learn for a year! When we moved here I found out my visiting teaching partner teaches lessons....perfect! Her teacher ordered Kamille this guitar (since I had no idea what to get). It's so cute and pink.

Christmas 2011

2011-12-26T09:11:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve p.j.s

cookies and milk for Santa

Christmas morning, Santa came!

Ready for church.

They made ginger bread houses and a train.

Matching jammies with their dolls.

Kamille's Holiday Program 2011

2011-12-22T04:50:00.000-08:00

"Santa Stuck in the 50's"

Fort Bridger Elementary 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders

I made Kamille's costume. She wanted to be a 50's diner waitress.

What a spectacular show! Lots of dancing and singing. Kamille had to dance with a boy. (His hands felt yucky!) The audience was packed. The music teacher writes and choreographs the program every year.

Charlotte's Holiday program 2011

2011-12-17T04:48:00.000-08:00

"We're Really Cookin', ya!"
Charlotte wore her favorite purple dress, the apron she loves from Grandma T, purple sunglasses, and I made her a chef hat.

Such a cute program!

Mountain View 1st and 2nd graders.

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-30T16:32:00.000-08:00

my kiddies in their thanksgiving shirts

oh Todd!

Charlotte playing with pumpkin play dough that Grandma made.

Kamille playing with it too.

Brad got in his Thanksgiving day hunt.

the happenings of the last few weeks

2011-11-22T03:37:00.000-08:00

Kamille's class had a poetry cafe and invited the parents to come. She read two poems with her group. It was really cute. (She is on the end right.)

We have so much snow! We got dumped on after this picture was taken. Todd loves to go for a ride with Daddy. Everytime he sees the 4-wheeler he says "ride?".

Charlotte's class had a reading at a parent meeting. Her school is launching a new reading program and it sounds exciting. The kids were so cute reading together with expression. (Charlotte is in the middle in a white shirt.)

Charlotte's school has an award presentation every month. Charlotte got one this month for good reading!

Charlotte with her award.

I made the kids a canvas for their rooms. It was super easy and so fun. I bought a package of 3 canvases at Walmart for $6.oo. They are thin, but they worked great.

Here's Todd's. I painted the canvas and cut out this fox and his name out of vinyl with my cricut.

Love! Todd points to it and says "sox".

Here's Charlotte's. She helped me make it. She wanted a butterfly. I used paper and cut out a butterfly and then mod podged it on the pained canvas. I also made the triangle banner.

Here's Kamille's. She wanted this baby bear. I used paper for hers too. I made her triangle banner.

Their rooms are coming together. Soon I'll show you their whole rooms!

Yay! I love it when I make something I've pinned on pinterest! Felt flower pillow.

Kamille loves duck hunting with Daddy.

2011-11-16T05:05:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday Brad was getting ready to go out hunting. Kamille said she wanted to go and go her warm clothes on. They were gone most of the day. They came back with two ducks. Kamille had a good time with Daddy and can't wait to go again.

Halloween 2011

2011-11-01T06:13:00.000-07:00

What a busy day!
I took the girls to school and then stayed at Charlotte's for her Halloween Parade around the school. She loved marching around from room to room! So fun! Todd was having way too much fun running away from me..........yep, you know what I mean. The "terrible twos" have begun!

Then I took Todd home for his morning nap. He woke up in enough time to go to story time at the library. He started out wearing his skunk costume, but wanted it off halfway through. He loves books being read to him. He had to go right up and see the pictures! It was fun to do something with him.
After the library, I went home to make carmel apple bites for Kamille's class. We took them over to her at her school. We didn't get to see her because she was at recess. She got to dress-up in her costume all day long.
Todd and I then drove back over to Charlotte's school and waited for school to get out. Todd took a nap while I started a new book. Hope it's good!
We got the girls and went home to wait until dark.
Brad decided to keep Todd at home while I took the girls trick-or-treating. Good decision because Todd is just too little to go out at night like that. He had his fun trunk-or-treating at the church.
I decided to surprise the girls and dress-up. Boy were they surprised when I came out! They said it didn't look like me!
We had a great time! I just parked somewhere and walked up and down the streets with the girls. I didn't trick-or-treat this way growing up. The houses were too far apart so my Mom would drive us to every house, bless her heart! This way is much easier!
We had a really fun Halloween this year. We went to a family party on Saturday night. Brad carved a spider pumpkin and won 1st place!

*To see Todd's costume scroll down a few posts.

**The snow had all melted and it was kind warm for trick-or-treating last night. But we woke-up to lots of snow this morning - the thick, packing, staying kind.

primary program

2011-10-31T04:15:00.000-07:00

The girls said their parts so cute. We loved watching the program. The girls actually got to be in two programs this year. The one in our Rawlins ward was right before we moved.

He sure knows how to cheese it up for the camera! I made his tie and hat.

We got our first snowstorm of the season on Wednesday. Brad and the kids were excited, but I wasn't. Winter already?! Snowpants, boots, gloves, hats.....I'm not ready for it.

Church Halloween Carnival 2011

2011-10-26T19:13:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday night we went to our ward's carnival.

Charlotte is "Miss Spider".

I bought her costume. I embellished her hat some. She wanted it blinged out! She just loves her costume. She looks so adorable scary!

Kamille is "Lagoona Blue" from Monster High.

I bought her costume. I did bling out the gills. She loves her costume and loves wearing it. She looks so cute as a fish/human!

Todd is a "skunk".

I made his costume. I had lots of costume ideas this year for him. But the skunk worked out perfectly. (I still have to travel to Ogden or order online to get most of my fabric. But my parents came to visit and brought me the skunk fabric because it was too late for me to order online. Thanks you, Mom!) Todd loves his costume. He wore it all night. He must have thought he was a kitty because he kept saying "meow, meow". He makes an adorable skunk!

I tried to dress-up. Can't you tell I'm a Momma Panda Bear?

Trunk-or-Treating at the church.

Todd caught on real fast! He was so cute saying "trick-0r-treat" and "thank you". He would run to the next person and and hold his basket out.

Oh, I couldn't help thinking of when Kamille and Charlotte were this age. How exciting everything is.

After trunk-or-treating we went inside the church for a chili dinner and carnival games.

I was in charge of a game. The can game where you throw a bean bag at stacked up cans and try to knock them down.

Brad is helping Todd play the game. Brad had his hands full chasing after Todd all night!

The girls had a good time playing all the games and winning prizes. Once in a while they would come help me.

I made my own set of the game. It was easy enough and now I will always have a Halloween game. I'm not much of a painter, but the cans were simple lines.

I was just going to make a regular bean bags, but I went into the fabric store here and saw one kinda like this. Perfect, a bat bean bag. So I made up some for the game.
Celebrating Halloween started early for us this year! But I know the kids will still be excited to dress-up for class parties and trick-or-treating on Monday.
Happy Halloween!

moved!

2011-10-18T07:51:00.000-07:00

Yep. We moved 2 weeks ago. The move was not fun. I hate lifting everything! We drove to our new house in a snowstorm. We scrubbed the house and moved in. Things are almost back to normal. The girls love school here. They are doing some fun things in their schools. They get to have parties and treats at school. Yay! We are excited for Halloween. There's lots of Halloween parties going on. They have a few friends in their church class and school class. That is fun for them. People here are really nice and want to get to know us. Our ward is huge. We like it.

This is the bag I made the week before we moved. Brad was out of town and this keep me busy. I love it! Originally it was going to be a church bag, but I have been using it everyday as my purse. It's fun to have a cute purse. It makes me happy!

Nothing like eating peanut butter off a spoon!

The girls didn't have school on Friday, so I let them paint their little pumpkins. We have kept this tradition every year. Todd got in on the action this year.

There is a small reservoir about 10 min. from our house. Brad has been going hunting every chance he gets! He got 2 geese and 2 ducks this day. (The kids love going out and seeing what daddy got!)

I wanna show you what I did with this old window frame. Last year I painted it red to match my kitchen deco.

I saw something like this and decided to try it. I glued batting and fabric to cardboard and put it behind the frames. I like the look. Just another update to your window frames.

We have a fireplace and a mantel! Yay! So I decorated it for fall!

sock monkey hat for Todd

2011-10-01T10:15:00.000-07:00

so fun to make.

so cute on him.

all ready for the cold Wyoming winter.

It was bound to happen

2011-10-01T10:10:00.000-07:00

Todd wrote on the wall with a crayon! He cried when I told him "no".

So adorable!

owl purses

2011-10-01T09:56:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking the girls needed new church bags for a few Sundays now. We've loved their last ones I made two years ago, but they are starting to not look so good. I saw a bag similar to these on a blog. I thought I can do that, and I did! The girls love them and and excited to go to church next week. They are big enough to hold their scriptures, small coloring book, and chap stick - all the essentials for church! :)

been makin' stuff

2011-09-26T10:09:00.000-07:00

Petal flower pillows for Kamille and Charlotte's beds.

Sprocket pillows for the couch. Just used all my scrap fabric. Used a free pattern off the internet.

T-shirt braided necklace. I've seen these all over blogland, and I had to make one. I just cut up a shirt that was stained. I will help you make one if you come and visit me! :)

I wanted to try braiding denim. Made myself a bracelet, and then my girls wanted one too, but I used cotton fabric for theirs.

Thought this was cute on someones blog, so I tried it. Pleated fabric bracelet. Love it. I wear it all the time.

puppy hat

2011-09-26T08:35:00.001-07:00

I really love crocheting hats for Todd! (It helps take away my urge to put bows on his head!)

I buy most of the patterns from etsy. The pattern is emailed to me, and I don't have to wait for it.

Todd saw the picture of the puppy on the pattern when I was making it. He kept pointing and saying "puppy". It was so cute!

Big Boy Bed for Todd!!!

2011-09-25T14:55:00.001-07:00

Brad put it together last night. Todd loved it. He snuggled down under his covers......until it was bedtime. Of course then he wouldn't sleep in it! But I'm determined to get him used to it and loving it within two weeks.

Yes, we are moving...again! Brad transferred. His job and boss are still the same, just a different area. We are moving to Mountain View WY. It is two hours closer to Utah. We found a wonderful house with some land to run around on. It is still a small town, about 1,200 people. But there is a grocery store across the street and 3 LDS churches! The girls are so excited to move there. They get their own rooms. They will go to different schools. They are a little nervous about that. It's not that there are lots and lots of elementary kids, it's that the teacher to student ratio is 1:15. I love Wyoming schools! We are excited to move and live normal again. We kinda feel like we've been on a 11 month vacation!

We've visited the town a few times now. We just love the feel of it. It's got trees, and hay fields, and friendly people. I even found a huge fabric store!!!!!

after-school check off charts

2011-09-16T07:27:00.000-07:00

I saw this idea on a blog and thought it was a good idea. I even made one for Todd, just so I already have it done when he gets older. The kids will check off things as they get them done that day. Then at night I will check off the day for that day. At the end of the week they will get some sort of prize if they did everything all week long.

I made this ruler wreath. It was so fun to do! I saw it on the internet somewhere.

A couple thoughts about Todd right now.
Every morning when he wakes up he asks for a cookie and milk. Bright and early at 5:30 or 6:00.
Todd loves books right now! He always packs around a book. He will wiggle up on someones lap with a book and want it read to him.
He really likes putting lids back on things.

cute school outfits

another cute school outfit

quiet book

2011-09-14T06:57:00.000-07:00

I've been working on this for quite a few months. Cutting, sewing, and gluing a little here and a little there. The girls loved playing with each page as I got it finished.
It is huge! I'm having a hard time coming up with a cover or bag for it.
I had a blast making it and thank you to my friend who lived out here by me and shared her pattern with me. :)

egg and chick page - egg opens up for chick to fit in, flower and leaf are removable
airplane page - parachute guy fits under plane, clouds are removable

bear page - notebook fits around bear, pencil slips through his nose
chicken page - puzzles chicken, all pieces are removable, black line drawn around all pieces

road pages - cars can park in garage, all signs are removable

purse page - make-up stores inside purse

lift the flap tree page - magnifying glass stores inside hill

girl hair page - backpack on her back stores hair ties
penguin page - all the penguin babies store inside each other and then store inside mommy

mailbox page - pens and notebook store inside mailbox

flower and watering can page - watering can and flower petals are removable

bunny page - tail and flower are removable, butterfly has crinkle feel
weaving page - strips are only sewn at top and left side

Noah's Ark page - animals store inside ark, Noah is removable

lion page - lion comes out of cage, wheels turn

cowboy page - rope can lasso horse, cactus is removable

horse page - horse and sun are removable

pioneer page - people fit inside wagon, oxen attaches to wagon, sun is removable

(this page is special to us because I made it after we visited Martin's Cove)

clown page - arms turn around, shapes are removable

elephant page - peanuts are on a string that get pulled up through his nose when you pull the tail, mouse is removable

I made up some of the pages. I still have plans for more.

I would be happy to share my pattern with anyone who wants to make one. Basically, you could use any clip art pages.

First Day of School 2011

2011-09-06T15:06:00.001-07:00

For breakfast they requested that Daddy make them sunny-up eggs, toast, and sausage.
(Don't ask me why Todd had no clothes on except a jacket!)

Miss Charlotte - Our 1st grader.
Must haves for school: Pretty Tall Sketchers, leggings, new haircut, feathers in hair, painted nails, Disney Princesses backpack and lunch box

Miss Kamille - Our 3rd Grader.
Must haves for school: Bella Ballerina Sketchers, leggings, new short hair cut, colored hair pieces, painted nails, Monster High backpack, owl lunch box

Off to meet their new teachers.
It was a rainy, muddy morning.

Kamille's classroom

Charlotte's classroom.

Todd and I picked them up after school. We had a good day just playing together.

I had a surprise for the girls after school. Pencil brownies! Yum! They were surprised and hungry so they dug right in while they told me about their day.

Charlotte has 6 students in her class. She read a whole book to her teacher. She finished her work and didn't get yelled at by her teacher. She ate the school lunch today. She has to sit by a yucky boy who picks his nose. She watched a movie about germs. She had a great day and can't wait for tomorrow. She was so happy to not have the preschoolers in her class like last year.

Kamille has six students in her class. She has to sit by a boy. She likes her teacher. She is line-leader this week. She chose to take a lunch from home today. She's glad to sit on the older kid side of the lunchroom. There are a lot of rules in her class. No homework tonight.

Family Photos Fall 2011

2011-09-06T12:39:00.000-07:00

We visited my family over Labor Day. It was a super fun day seeing all of my siblings and their kids! I loved it! It was a relaxing day.

I don't know any one where I live who takes photos. So I wondered if I could get one of my sisters to snap some shots of us.

I think some turned out great! I took the one of my kids, and my sis took the rest. I edited them in picasa. They might not be professional perfect, but I'm o.k. with them.

I really enjoyed taking them at my parents' farm. Some good memories there.....

my little buckaroos

2011-09-01T12:16:00.000-07:00

O they love to play cops and robbers with their cap guns and holsters!

just keepin" busy

2011-08-31T07:34:00.000-07:00

The girls talked me into getting out their Easy Bake Oven and Cupcake Maker. They love to do these! Grandma T. gave them to the girls a few years ago. They are still going strong! The girls made cakes to celebrate their dolls' birthdays.
(I love how Todd is scarfing down a cupcake at the little table!)

Every night we play around on the 4-wheeler. There is plenty of room around here to drive around. Brad even made a little race track! Brad taught the girls how to drive. Kamille even drives by herself........I don't know how I feel about that........

Brad stepped in the mud. He really didn't like it!

Some of you asked,"What are Squinkies?" Charlotte collects them and got a few more for her birthday.

Squinkies are tiny, squishy collectibles. They are pretty cute.

Thing 1, thing 2 twin hat props.

My friend asked me to make these adorable hats for her photography business.

I'm so glad she asked me! Sometimes I need a little something to do!

This is just to show you how cute they would look on twins. I grabbed this photo off etsy.

This is not my friend's photo or the hats I made.

other fun times this summer

2011-08-23T08:09:00.001-07:00

My Mom came to visit us! We enjoyed her visit. We made these pictures by coloring on sandpaper and then ironing over them. It was cool to see how the crayon melted.

We painted with kool-aid. It really did smell yummy!

Todd got in on painting too.

Brad's parents came to visit! We took them to Martin's Cove which is an hour and a half away.

We hiked up to the cove. It was so hot! It was a mile hike up. Todd hiked most of the way. He was pretty funny to watch. Kamille hiked up really well with no complaint, but Charlotte did not want to do it at first.
It was pretty special to be in that sacred cove. Brad and I both have ancestors that took that treck.

This is back at the visitor's center. This is the spot where baptisms take place.

My sister and her two kids came to visit!

We lived it up! (Welll, as much as we could given where I live!)

We went to the county fair. It is a huge deal here (an hour from my house) with lots to see and do.

got their faces painted

rode ponies

We went back to visit Brad's family. I was a whole day of fun!

1st off was parade with lots of candy! Todd got the hang of picking it up.

We went to the park and did activities.

Then we went to a different park for Brad's Dad's company party.
I got this leash for Todd. It worked out pretty well.

Kamille on left. Charlotte on right.

Both girls made it to the top this year!

Then we went to the Zoo for Zoofari.

We ate lots of ice cream and looked at the animals.

It was a long, fun day!

Summer has actually flown by! We have enjoyed not having a schedule and being together.

Happy 6th Birthday Charlotte!!!

2011-08-16T19:21:00.000-07:00

Unicorn cake.
We made her cake a few days early and took it with us to visit Brad's family. She picked out the colors and helped me decorate it. Good thing we took this picture of her cake before the long car ride...because it melted a little bit.

We celebrated Char's birthday one evening. We were so tired after all the fun things we did that day, but we weren't too tired to throw a party!

purple plate and fork-just what she ordered

opening presents

She got a Squinkies cake holder, Squinkies, princess purse, and purple hello kitty shirt from Mom and Dad.

She got a unicorn flashlight from Todd and Kamille.

Birthday breakfast on her "real birthday" on Tues.

I made her watermelon pancakes. She also wanted sausage and hot chocolate. Yummy!

Oh, what a sweet 6 year old!

She wanted me to make her a watermelon skirt. I also put a watermelon on her shirt and made bows to match. She just loves watermelon!

I took the kids to McDonald's in Rawlins. They had a good time playing in the playland and getting a smurf toy.

Birthday dinner. She requested spaghetti and meatballs. (Just like Kamille did.)

We rented Rio, ate popcorn, and snuggled. She is getting a summer cold. Yuck!

all about Charlotte at 6 years:

loves watermelon to eat and anything with watermelons on it

loves unicorns

loves disney princesses especially Cinderella

favorite color light purple

favorite toys: squinkies, barbies, polly pockets, strawberry shortcake

loves to read books and write

likes to wear skirts all the time

has the cutest curly blond hair ever

green/blue eyes

she is a good little and big sister, lucky girl to be both

she will do anything I ask her to and with a smile

wants to cook and craft with me

wears size 5/6 and size 11 in shoes

can be stubborn

favorie show: Phineas and Pherb, favorite movie: Cinderella

we love you so much!

Todd @ 18 mos.

2011-08-02T05:08:00.000-07:00

hits
bites
throws everything
climbs up everything
takes two 1 hour naps a day
loves chocolate
talks to us
dances when he hears music
teases the puppy
teases his sisters
so, so cute

making cat, racoon, and fox

2011-08-02T04:25:00.000-07:00

planning out their little guys
(I got the pattern from ruffles and stuff on the side of my page.)

Charlotte wanted to make a racoon out of Cinderella fabric.

Kamille wanted to make a cat out of dog fabric.

Todd playing with his fox.

funny mouth suckers

Altoids Band-Aid Box

2011-07-31T08:17:00.000-07:00

I found this cute idea at:
http://runwithglitter.blogspot.com/2011/03/boo-boo-box-tutorial.html

I thought it was a great take off from our reunion craft last year.

Kamille and Charlotte just love them! They wrote their names on the top of the box. They can keep them in their purse or backpack. They are filled with band-aids and neosporin.

Articles of Faith Ring

2011-07-10T06:35:00.000-07:00

I found this site:
http://www.sugardoodle.net/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=860&Itemid=5

printed them off, laminated them, and punched a hole.
Kamille is working on learning the Articles of Faith for Activity Days. So I made her and Charlotte a set to keep in their scripture bag.
Yes, I got myself a laminator! So fun! I really "needed" one because there isn't an office store here.

This was on our way to church this morning. It sure is hard to drive 40 minutes to get there! Church is usually at 9 a.m., but today we got a little more time to get ready. It was at 10 a.m. combined with the other Rawlins ward. We live in Wamsutter. We are in Rock Springs Stake. Church is in Rawlins. There are two wards in Rawlins. Not too many members around here.
Today the stake presidency from Rock Springs came. Laramie Stake Presidency was there too.
The big announcement was that they moved the two Rawlins wards into Laramie stake. Our temple will the Fort Collins Temple when it gets finished and dedicated. That is exciting! (Our stake previousely went to the Vernal Ut. Temple.) Fort Collins is about 4 hours from our house. Stake Conference in Laramie is about 3 hours away.
It will be quite a change for all the people who have always lived in Rawlins. Stake meetings were always one way, and now they are the complete opposite way. It is closer for the people in Rawlins. so they are probably happy about that. It's not closer for us.

By the way, Todd will not sit in his high chair anymore! Little stinker! He wants to sit at the table with us. Plus now he is a little climber and gets on top of the table. Nothing is safe!

our 4th of July weekend

2011-07-05T09:15:00.000-07:00

On Friday night Brad put up the tent. The girls were so excited to sleep out in it.

While Brad and the girls were outside, Todd and I sewed up this banner. I didn't like the other one that was up. It was just paper that I printed off and cut out. I had some leftover 4th of July fabric that I used for the banner.

Saturday

I know this pic is fuzzy, but it was so cute. Brad was showing the kids the fish he caught. They were loving it.

We went to Seminoe Reservoir. It is 1 1/2 hrs. away. It has sandy beaches and clear water. Brad dropped the kids and I off on the sand and then went back out fishing. The kids played forever with the sand. It was actually relaxing.

Sunday

After church, the girls really wanted to do a "spa day" with me. It was fun filled with giggles.

We also made 4th of July cupcakes. The girls decorated them. Yummy!

Monday

I really wanted to watch a parade, but the closest one was 2 1/2 hrs. away. So we decided to take the boat and go back out to Seminoe.

We didn't get very far down the road when a trucker started flagging us over. We pulled over and saw the smoke. The hub on the boat trailer was broken. I think we were lucky we didn't loose the trailer. So we unhooked it and left it on the side of the freeway, went back home where Brad took a hub off the flatbed trailer, drove back to the boat trailer, Brad put it on, and off we went again. I'm so thankful Brad knows how to fix things. :)

Todd loves playing in the sand.

Todd wearing my sandals around.

Kamille and Charlotte love playing in the water and sand.

Brad didn't have much luck fishing. He came back and played on the beach with the kids. They are burying Kamille.

Charlotte and Kamille buried.

They got their revenge and buried daddy!

Monday night

We got home from the reservoir, bathed, grilled hamburgers, and took off 1 1/2 hrs. the other way to see fireworks. We went to Greenriver. I did a lot of research to find a good place for fireworks. I found out that Greenriver had a huge production with patriotic music. I was sold!

Kamille and Charlotte playing at the park before fireworks.

Charlotte chasing Todd around the park.

Kamille and Brad playing around.

Mom and Charlotte wearing our patriotic hair.

Todd loved the fireworks. But he did fall asleep halfway through.

I'm so glad we got to see the fireworks and hear the patriotic music. I loved every minute of it! It was a great show and the finale was the best we have ever seen! Before the fireworks started we got to see all the armature illegal (well, not illegal in WY) fireworks. They were pretty amazing too. But it was a little scary to be so close it "illegal" fireworks. There is a reason those things are illegal in UT and ID!

We really missed seeing our grandmas and grandpas and cousins and family for the holiday. The girls would ask throughout the day when we were going to see them. It was hard to be alone, but hopefully we made it a fun weekend for them. Brad and I had a good time just making memories with our kids.

Brad turns 32!

2011-07-02T17:54:00.000-07:00

Brad got called out to work at 2:30 a.m. on his birthday. Nothing like getting up early! He worked all day. When he came home we had dinner all ready for him to grill up. We fixed all of his favorite foods. Happy 32 Brad! We love you!

Bed Book Holder

2011-07-01T18:58:00.000-07:00

I think I saw this idea on gluesticks (one of the blogs I read on the left side of my blog). She used fleece. I decided to use cotton. There is a dowel in each side of the holder to help it stay up. We just love 'em! Kamille and Charlotte got to pick out the fabric they wanted, and I sewed them up. I'm posting this because it's been a good solution for some of the girls' books. They can just slip them away after reading in bed.

p.s. Did you notice we separated the bunk beds? The girls were begging us to do it for forever!

4th of July decor

2011-06-29T10:06:00.000-07:00

3- D paper star wreath
got the idea from gluesticks brandysblog.blogspot.com

4th of July fake-mantel
love the flag pillow? instructions on somedaycrafts.blogspot.com

I love the 4th! I'm so excited for all the fun things we do that day. This year our plans are going to change. We don't live by family to go see the parade with or watch fireworks with. So we have a few new plans of our own!

new puppy

2011-06-29T09:46:00.000-07:00

the kids and brad love him.

his name is copper (Todd & Copper from The Fox and the Hound).

7 weeks old.

he whines for his mommy.

he sleeps a lot.

he plays with the kids.

kamille has really taken responsibility of him and takes care of him during the day.

summer boredom busters

2011-06-28T09:37:00.000-07:00

We really have to find things to do everyday. The girls read everyday and they usually do a craft too. Here's a few things we've done so far.

They cut up and painted boxes. They made rooms inside for their little dolls.

They cut out pictures from magazines to make a collage about them.

Playing at the city park.

Moon Sand Bake Shoppe.

They got on barbie.com and played this fairy game. Then we printed out the fairy wings they earned and ironed them on a shirt.

Todd @ 17 months

2011-06-22T08:59:00.000-07:00

Brad really hates this, but Todd loves to wear the girls' shoes around the house. Why not? They're pretty!

Todd loves the little table and chairs. He thinks he is so big when he sits at it!
I remember when Kamille and Charlotte loved to do this too.

at the reservoir

2011-06-22T08:49:00.000-07:00

Boise Zoo

2011-06-16T09:32:00.000-07:00

After Kamille's baptism, Brad had to go back to WY to work. I stayed behind and went to visit my sister for a few days. We had a great visit!
We went to the zoo one morning with some other family members too.
On the way to the zoo Charlotte lost a tooth. It had been loose for a loooooong time! It was her second tooth to come out. So the Tooth Fairy came to her at my sis's house.

We loved the Boise Zoo!

Todd saw this little tiger seat.

loved it!

Charlotte loved it!

Kamille was too cool for it, but I made her sit on it anyway!

turtle Charlotte

turtle Mom

Kamille's Baptism

2011-06-16T06:33:00.000-07:00

Kamille's blessing dress is in the tree behind her. Oh, how I remember sewing her blessing dress before she was born. I love seeing her with her two white dresses. I didn't sew her baptism dress. It's different living out here in the sticks, and I couldn't find the perfect fabric. I even ordered some, but it was wrong. However, I do love this dress on her and it fits perfectly.

Kamille was baptized and confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints on June 4, 2011 by her Dad in Malad Idaho Stake.

It was a beautiful day. So special for us. Kamille looked so beautiful and was so excited to be baptized.

We had a wonderful picnic at the park after the service. Thanks to all our friends and family that came to support us.

at the hotel

2011-06-15T08:39:00.000-07:00

The girls started their summer vacation 4 days early this year. I picked them up from school and we drove down to Utah to meet Daddy at his hotel. He had been gone for almost 2 weeks at Railroad School. We were excited to see him!

(not so fun- Todd threw-up all over the bed the first night there)

1st day of spring 2011

2011-06-02T15:54:00.000-07:00

in Wamsutter WY.
It wasn't very warm and we don't have any grass, but the kids wanted to play outside anyway.

Todd loved being outside and exploring.
The girls put their swimsuits on and played around.
*I guess I didn't get a pic of Charlotte, but she was here playing too.

Oh Todd, what am I gunna do with you?!

2011-06-02T15:31:00.000-07:00

loves dirt

pulls my ribbon out all the time. he looks for the pins holding them together and then puts the pins in his mouth

he played with this gun at my friends' house

loves Brad's dirty shoes

he thought the cord was a phone

diapers for thier babies

2011-05-29T17:53:00.001-07:00

One day during spring break, the girls were bored so e decided to make their babies a diaper.

Charlotte made one for her unicorn. She sewed it with my help.

Kamille wanted to make one for her panda. She sewed it up.

I turned 31.

2011-05-29T17:43:00.000-07:00

The girls decorated my cake- Char did one side, Millie the other.

I sure missed my friends and family. Brad and the kids tried to make it a special day.

Boo-boo Birdies

2011-05-29T10:45:00.000-07:00

Kamille bonked her head one day, and I decided to make these for the girls. They are filled with rice so we can heat them up or put them in the freezer. I found the pattern somewhere on the web

Desert School Spring Show 2011

2011-05-29T10:21:00.000-07:00

The whole school! Preschool- 8th grade

Charlotte and Kamille all dressed up.
They sang and square danced. They were so cute! They were sad Daddy couldn't be there to watc them. But I videoed some for him.
Charlotte said the boy she danced with was icky cause his nose is runny!
Kamille didn't want to dance with her boy partner cause he picks his nose and is gross!

hats

2011-05-28T17:08:00.001-07:00

oh, well this isn't a hat but Todd sure is cute

Charlotte asked me to make her a unicorn hat.

Kamille wanted a panda bear hat.

Kamille turns 8!

2011-04-24T07:49:00.000-07:00

Kamille was so excited to open her presents. She woke up at 2 am, 4 am, and at 6am everybody got up to watch her open presents.

Kamille also got quite a few presents in the mail. Fun! Thank you!

I took the kids to McDonald's for lunch. We also hit a few stores. Kamille had birthday money burning a hole in her pocket!

Oh the fun of a fake mustache!

She requested her favorite dinner, spaghetti and meatballs. Yummy!

Guitar cake, just what she ordered.
Rock Star Party theme.

Guitar cupcakes.
We actually made these for Kamille to take to school, but we didn't get to after all.

Kamille's teacher said to bring treats for Kamille's birthday on Wednesday. Kamille wanted to take root beer floats and cupcakes. When we were getting everything ready on Tuesday night, Kamille told me we had to take a "healthy treat". O great! So I had to call the Principal and ask his permission to take an "unhealthy treat". He said no at first. O.K. I would have ran to town and picked up some fruit. But then he said he hadn't been to strict on the rule this year. So I could choose one treat to bring. Kamille chose root beer floats. (Good rule, just wish I had known about it!)

We love our 8 year old! We can't believe she is so old and will be baptised soon!

Blow out your 8 candles.

After cake, we turned on the tunes loud and rocked out!

Rockers Todd and Charlotte.

Crazy rockers!

Rockin' Mom and Dad!

We may have acted a little silly, but at least we made Kamille laugh!

(It was kind of a hard day, not seeing any of our family.)

Kamille @ eight years.

favorite colors: dark pink and camouflage, favorite treat: chocolate bar, favorite singer: Justin Beiber, favorite show: ICarley, favorite movie: Shark Boy & Lava Girl, likes to do crafts, likes school, wants to go fishing with Daddy, good big sister, helpful, dependable, likes to read, favorite animals: cat and bunny, girly-girl, wants to be baptized

A Tool Belt for Todd.

2011-04-20T16:18:00.000-07:00

I saw a tutorial and thought it would be fun to make for Todd and his tools.

It worked up super fast.
Just google toolbelt made from a placemat if you want to make one too.

more bags

2011-04-15T18:14:00.001-07:00

Kamille feel in love with this fabric at the store. So I made her another bag out of it. You can never have too many bags! (Todd had to be in the picture!) Charlotte wanted a bag. She picked out this fabric. It suits her perfectly! Couldn't leave Todd out. I found a tutorial for this car holder and mat; sewed him one up. It rolls up for easy storage. He likes it, but doesn't understand to drive the cars on the "road". (I couldn't get him to look up to get a picture of his face!) (Yay! It was warm enough for him to wear short sleeves and no onesie!)

peeps

2011-04-15T17:29:00.000-07:00

I made a banner of peeps out of felt. The girls loved them and wanted some for themselves. I stuffed these so they could play with them. Kamille, Charlotte, Todd. The girls liked them so much that they took them for show-n-tell! A lady who works at the gas station here saw Todd in his owl hat. She asked me to make her twin grandkids some. They turned out so tiny and cute! Actually I have crocheted 5 hats for people who have seen Todd's. 3 owls, duck, and monkey.

Todd @ 14 months.

2011-04-05T08:30:00.000-07:00

gives kisses to Mom and sisters

headbunts Dad

gives good hugs with arms around your neck

loves blankes - usually carries one around

loves to ham it up for everybody- runs around in circles

eats pretty good, but when he's finshed he throws it on the floor

has 7 teeth and 2 more on the way

doesn't sleep through the night

loves candy

wears 12 mos. clothes

loves to look at books, and loves to when his sisters read to him

loves throwing and chasing balls

loves driving cars on the floor

claps when he hears/sees clapping

laughs and giggles at us

headbangs to Dad's music with Dad

dances to music with Mom and sisters

likes to eat dirt and rocks and crayons - I always catch him eating these

runs to look out the window when a train goes by and says choo-choo

says please when he wants candy

I took away his bottle a few weeks ago. It was hard for him and me. It was so sad to take away one of the last few baby things.

my new church bag

2011-04-04T07:26:00.000-07:00

I needed a huge bag for church. I found this pattern online. I found some fabric that I love. I sewed it and took it to church last sunday. It worked great for all my books, Todd's toys, snacks, and the girl's stuff. Kamille loved this bag so much that she really, really wanted to use it for a school bag. I said sure. Now Charlotte wants one and I need another one! (The only reason I was o.k. with giving this bag to Kamille was because I need to add lots of pockets to mine.)

april fools

2011-04-02T06:53:00.000-07:00

Dad tricked us by making our eggs for breakfast green. Charlotte tricked us by giving us all silly name tags. Kamille and Charlotte tricked Dad by fake adopting him a dolphin. Kamille tricked Dad by rolling up fake money in the toilet paper. I helped Kamille and Charlotte make squirt rings with buttons, stretchy cord, and a sponge. When they shook their friends hands, the friend got wet. (But they had to put them away at school because the principal said no jokes. No fun!) The girls also made donut seed packets for their teachers.

I told everybody we were trying something new for dinner. Then I showed them the "sushi" I slaved away making. Ha Ha.

we had a lot of laughs on this April Fools Day.

Charlotte's favorite book!

2011-03-30T16:35:00.000-07:00

Purplicious. We (Kamille and I included) actually love all of the books in the series.

Charlotte loves unicorns. She is collecting them.

First Day of SPRING!

2011-03-30T15:52:00.000-07:00

We heard that the 1st day of spring is the only day an egg will stand on end.

Brad and the girls tried it out, and it worked.

It was a cold, windy, snowy day. Yuck. Think spring.

St. Patrick's Day deco

2011-03-24T11:29:00.001-07:00

I was taking down my St. Patty's deco and realized I hadn't shown you. Made new ones. Lucky banner made from scrapbook paper. Felt shamrock banner. Subway art I printed from a blog and framed it. The girls and I made these shamrocks out of glue and yarn. It was fun.

Our St. Patrick's Day 2011

2011-03-20T19:13:00.000-07:00

The Leprechaun came to our house and left us some treats.

That sneaky Leprechaun also messed up our living room and colored our milk green! It was fun for the girls to notice what the Leprechaun messed up.

kisses not pinches

The girls and I put these treats together for their teachers. Char colored that Leprechaun picture behind her.

I made a corned beef and cabbage dinner. Brad and I really didn't know what that was. I cooked it in the crock pot. It was actually really good. The girls loved it and asked for seconds. FYI corned beef tastes like pastrami.

I saw a recipe for some fun rainbow cupcakes on familyfun.com. The girls wanted to help make them. Very time consuming! But they did turn out, so it was worth it.

"Tis March 17th!

2011-03-17T09:23:00.000-07:00

Disney on Ice!

2011-03-15T07:48:00.000-07:00

I saw it advertised on t.v and thought it would be so fun!
I ordered our tickets and we started a countdown. The girls were so excited! They really, really want to go to Disney Land.
We drove 4 hours the night before and stayed in Lehi. (The suburban is getting a new transmission so we took the jeep. It was kind of a noisy, squishy ride, but at lest we got to go!)

The next morning we got ready, pulled out Charlotte's tooth, and went to Cabala's. (Cabala's is the only reason Brad agreed to go.)

Waiting for the show.
Charlotte wanted to dress like Cinderella. How cute!
Kamille was going to dress like Jasmine and then like Sleeping Beauty. But she decided not to in the end.

Disney on Ice presents "Celebrating the Holidays".

Huge cast. They had all of the major Disney Characters and all of the Disney Princesses and their Prince.

I had to get photos of Jasmine who is Kamille's favorite princess.

I had to get photos of Cinderella who is Charlotte's favorite princess.

Fairy Godmother and Minnie.

Micky and Minnie Mouse.

I loved the show! I know Kamille and Charlotte loved the show! Charlotte is really into the Disney Princesses right now.

I loved watching the characters ice skate. It looked so fun. I'm glad I did get to learn how when I was growing up. We would go down to the pond to ice skate after school and on saturdays. We learned a few tricks too. Good times. It was always sad when the pond thawed and it wasn't safe to skate on anymore that year.

While walking back to where Brad was parked, I saw this Union Pacific building. Thought it was kinda neat.

Brad took Todd to some hunting store while we went to the show. That was nice because it gave Brad an excuse not to see the show and for me not to have to chase Todd around during the show.

It was so fun to go, but it really was a long drive there and back. We had good weather going there. But on the way back we ran into rain. It wasn't too bad, but it just makes for a long drive. I felt bad we didn't drive a few more hours and go visit family, but we just wanted to get home!

Charlotte looses her 1st tooth!

2011-03-13T18:48:00.001-07:00

bottom middle left

Her tooth has been loose for a while now. We put a string on it one day, but she didn't really like that. So she just has been wiggling it with her tongue and finger.

We went to SLC on Friday night. We stayed in a hotel. In the morning when we were getting ready to go to Disney on Ice, Charlotte told me her tooth was really loose and she wanted Daddy to pull it out. How exciting! We couldn't find any floss, so Brad just popped it out with his finger. She was so good and didn't cry or anything! We put the tooth in my purse for safe keeping.

All ready for Disney On Ice. Dressed as Cinderella with a tooth missing.

When we got home that night Charlotte was so excited to put her tooth under her pillow! She has watched Kamille do this and she was so glad it was her turn! She told me that was her favorite tooth.

The Tooth Fairy came!

She brought Charlotte a certificate and money.

Charlotte has kept us laughing by showing us all the things she can put through the hole! It is so cute!

***Funny coincidence - Kamille lost that exact tooth 1st too!

Kamille learns to sew!

2011-03-13T18:08:00.000-07:00

Well she wanted to learn to sew. I finally said o.k.
She started out sewing on paper with no thread. She loved that.

She looked through the patterns and found a skirt she wanted to make. I laid the pattern pieces down on the fabric. She pinned them on and cut it out.
She sewed almost all of her skirt. She loved it and did a very good job! She can't wait for her next project!

It turned out so cute. She had a fun time wearing it to school.

Todd's 1st Haircut

2011-03-10T08:08:00.000-08:00

Todd's long hair in the back was really starting to bug Brad. So he gave Todd a haircut!

What a handsome feller!

(I cried when I saw that Brad was shaving it all off! We waited so long for all that hair! But, it really did need trimming up. Now maybe it will grow in even and thick - we can only hope!)

Trip to Denver.

2011-03-03T13:32:00.001-08:00

Dinosaur Museum

2011-02-23T08:30:00.000-08:00

Brad had the day off on Monday. Todd was feeling a little better. I needed to get out of the house.
We went to Rock Springs (1 hour away) to get some groceries. I remembered seeing a billboard for a dino museum. We found it and luckily it was open. It is inside Western Wyoming Community College. It is a self-guided tour around the building. The girls loved it! It was pretty neat. All of the dino bones were found in Wyoming.

We had a great time together.

Oh, you want to see my new bedset...okay.

2011-02-22T11:11:00.000-08:00

Married 10 years.

2011-02-21T15:54:00.000-08:00

We had our anniversary on the 9th. We celebrated low-key by staying home and playing with the kids. (Mostly because there is a lack of close places to go here.) That saturday we took a trip, with the kids, to Casper. It was fun to see new country. It was 2 hours from our house. Nice town, lots of stores. We had fun. We also ran into a lady who is in Brad's home ward from Chubbuck. She was in Casper for her grandson's baptism that night. She called up her daughter, who Brad went to school with, and they invited us to the baptism. Well, we are the adventurous type, so we said yes. We went in our blue jeans, got treated like non-members, and had a great time. Their whole family was so nice to see us. It felt like seeing family. It was also nice for Kamille to see a baptism as hers is coming up soon (...me crying).
Brad and I decided it was finally time to get us a bedroom set! We ordered it 3 weeks before our anniversary and it finally came a week after. (Apparently we live in the middle of nowhere and nobody wants to deliver.) At least it came! We now have lots of drawers to keep our clothes in. The closet looks so much bigger. We upgraded to a king bed and new mattress. Oh, it feels great! Brad ordered our bedding from Bass Pro Shops- he got fish bedding. Brad loves it. I'm okay with it. I think he should have what he wants sometimes too.

(Thanks to Kamille for taking these photos.)

***In reference to previous post:

Todd's fever finially broke today. It was so great to watch him start to feel better and play. our old Todd came back. We are so greatful. Being sick is tough on everybody!

One thing Todd loves to do is put he diaper in the garbage can. I taught him to do it last week. He gets so excited and can hardly wait to let us finish changing him. He picks it up and runs it over to the garbage and throws it in. So proud. This afternoon he was feelling well enough to do his chore again. So cute!

Thanks to everyone for your concerns for Todd.

2011-02-19T15:17:00.000-08:00

Todd has been sick since Thursday. He has a cold and the flu, I guess. He is congested, coughs, feverish, and has thrown-up several times (yucky, chunky milk). He has no appetite. He doesn't want milk. He will drink a little bit of Gatorade. He moans. He wants me or Brad to hold him constantly. He wants us to stand up while holding him (I don't know why standing up should matter to him). He wants a blanket wrapped around him, but he is soooo hot. I am tired. It has been a long few day. I pray he gets better soon. I pray no one else gets this cold/flu. I'm thankful Brad helps me out with the kids.

LOVE DAY 2011

2011-02-15T07:32:00.000-08:00

writing on their valentines a few days ago

Valentine's Day Breakfast.
pink heart shaped pancakes

strawberries with chocolate drizzled over them

chocolates

We had a great day yesterday. I love being with my little family. It was fun to get packages in the mail from both sets of grandparents. The girls were sure surprised when they got home.

2011-02-14T07:28:00.000-08:00

Kamille Cheering at the game.

Cheer huddle.
Kamille's group cheered at their last game on Thursday. Her group also did a dance at half-time. It was so cute! They made up the dance themselves and practiced so hard. She's sad it's over. We videoed the dance but I can't get it to upload on here to show you.

We tried on these boots on Todd that we got for him a long time ago. They don't quite fit yet, but he loves to wear them. He brings them to us to put them on him.

Just wanted to show you how much hair Todd has. He has a mullet in the back. Kamille and Charlotte had this too. I guess I need to get it cut. Too bad our hair stylest lives so far away!

This is what a whole bunch (5 min. worth) of John Deer tractors going by looks like. I noticed them going by and had to snap a photo. They were the only thing the train was pulling.

Book Page Wreath

2011-02-04T12:56:00.000-08:00

I spent a good couple of hours making this today. I loosely used the tutorial from www.livingwithlindsay.com . I have seen lots of these and lots of ways to do them all over the internet. I kinda feel bad ripping up a book, but I made sure it's one I'll never read again (one from Oprah's Book Club that was too dirty to read). Anyway, I just love how it turned out! It's hanging in my kitchen from the back door. It makes me happy. (Brad's probably going to hate it and think it's in a bad place, but I'm the one who's home all day!)

p.s. It was pretty had to keep my little guy away from the glue gun! He really wanted to help me. Luckily, I was able to keep him somewhat distracted with chocolate chips and fruit loops!

last year

2011-02-03T05:15:00.000-08:00

Valentine's photo from last year.
My, how they've grown!

2010

Valentine Photo Shoot 2011

2011-02-02T10:17:00.000-08:00

I just love my 3 sweethearts!

I made the heart appliques on their shirts and the girl's hair flowers.

We are ready for love!

2011-02-01T08:08:00.000-08:00

I've had some questions on the sock monkeys. I used a man's size tall sock for the big gray monkey. I used women's crew socks for the other two. The website is www.craftbits.com/project/sock-monkey. The instructions are really good.

I caught Todd playing with the heat vent. Such a simple pleasure. He played with it for quite a while yesterday. Yes, he has put toys down it before. The funniest thing is when we blow up a balloon and put it on the heat vent. Everybody thinks that it amazing!

Little Charlotte is growing up. She is getting her 6 year molars! She is so excited! "It doesn't even hurt", she says. Now if she could just lose a tooth! She thinks lots are loose, but none have fallen out yet. She really wants to stay up all night and see the Tooth Fairy!

sock monkeys

2011-01-31T13:01:00.000-08:00

I found a tutorial on craftbits.com for sock monkeys. The girls picked out their socks for the monkeys and helped stuff them. They were pretty fun to make. I like sock monkeys. It reminded me of one my brother had when we were growing up.

Todd kept stealing the girls' away. He wanted one too. So I finished his up this morning.

I've seen sock monkeys everywhere. They really aren't that expensive to buy. But it's the best when the girls and I can do a project together. Plus I'm glad I could make a boy one for Todd.

Is it Friday already?

2011-01-28T09:55:00.000-08:00

I haven't completed half of the projects that I wanted to this week! But it's still been a good week. The girls keep busy with school and then homework. We went grocery shopping on Tuesday night. Which is always fun at first, but then it just ends us being a huge job. I always forget to get half the stuff I wanted/needed. Brad got called out all night one night. So then he was off for all but the last hour of regular work the next day. He hung out with Todd and I . It was fun to have him home on a weekday, but it did ruin my schedule. :) Kamille cheered at a game last night. She says she loves to cheer. Charlotte loves Friday because she gets to take "show and tell". She usually takes her Squinkiees. Todd still likes to head bang his head on everything. Why do boys like this? He plays with his ears a lot too. He's funny and we laugh at him, and then he laughs back.

I found Todd getting into this cupboard. I'll have to remember to get child-proof locks.

I tried to finish this all week long! I decided to make a new cover for my sewing machine. Nothing was wrong with my old one, but it didn't match my decor.

I also recovered my lamp shade. It needed to match too! Notice the felt ruffle on the edge. I've seen these everywhere and wanted to try one.

My space makes me happy.

I think I need to make a matching cover for my cricut.......

Valentine Decor

2011-01-25T07:50:00.001-08:00

Wreath made out of cupcake liners. It's for the inside of my house since I know it won't make it outside.

Tic tac toe game. I made it soft with batting instead of putting a board inside. I can just fold it up and put it away.

Ribbon ball hung from the light. Just adds a little Valentine "feel" to the room.

You know me - I love a holiday, and a reason to decorate. We are feeling the love around here!

Kamille's Cheer Group

2011-01-22T09:02:00.000-08:00

Kamille's school just started a little cheer group. They get to cheer at 5 girl's home basket ball games. (Char wanted to do it too, but it's not for kindergartners.) Kamille has been going to two practices a week for a few weeks. It's been good for her. I'm glad they started something here! Yesterday Kamille cheered at their first game. She was so hyper and excited!

I volunteered to make cheer bows for all the kids - 6 girls, 1 boy.
Kamille and I designed them. It was fun to get involved. Good thing I already had red and white ribbon- but just barely enough!

Cheering at the game! Kamille was so good! Seriously, she has a knack for this sort of thing. She remembers a lot from when she was on the cheer team in I.F. She loves it!
I know it's weird that they are wearing jeans! The principal didn't want the parents to have to buy anything. I would have bought a skirt or yoga pants! O well, I won't make a big deal about it this year for five games. But they want me to help out with the coaching and next year I won't allow jeans. I will also start it at the begining of the year. The principal did buy them all white shirts, which they painted Desert School on.

The girls didn't have school yesterday. Something about the end of the semester. So while we waited for Kamille to go cheer, I decided she needed a cheer bag. Well- she kinda does and I needed to make something! I had to scrounge around to find the right colors for the bag. In my past life, I would have ran to the store to get what I needed. But I didn't have that luxury yesterday, so I made due and it didn't even cost anything. I had to do the school colors of red and white. I also put the school mascot of a coyote on there. I used a black tote bag that I already had. I used my cricut to cut out the letters and coyote. Kamille loved it and that's all that matters!

Beating the winter blues.

2011-01-20T11:38:00.000-08:00

Todd loves the remote! He tries so hard to get it that sometimes I give it to him.

We made salt dough snowman families. I had never done salt dough before. It was really fun and easy.

After they baked we made hats and scarfs for them.

Who are these girls? I don't recognize them!

Still into dress-ups around here. Hey - maybe I should start sewing some dress-ups for Todd. I really don't want him to wear the dresses. What could I make him? What do boys dress-up as? cowboy, tool belt, hunter

Happy 1st Birthday Todd!!!

2011-01-18T20:40:00.000-08:00

It's been a year since this little guy surprised us and came actually 20 days early! We are sure glad we got him! The pregnacy was tough and full of problems, but he's been a happy baby with no problems this whole year. Happy Birthday Todd.

We gave him his present first thing in the morning!

He needed his sisters' help opening it up.

All for me!

Brad picked out his present for him when we were at Cabala's.
(Brad loves it just as much as Todd! Hours of enjoyment for both of them!)

...a birthday wears you out....

Brad asked me to make a fish cake for Todd. I borrowed one of his fishing lures. I tried to make it look "real". Brad liked it and Todd liked it - that's all that matters.

He liked his cake. He must know what it its!

The girls with the birthday boy.

Fishy cupcakes. We invited our friends over to celebrate with us.

Mommy with the birthday boy.

I made worked on his cake when he was sleeping. Otherwise he wanted me to hold him up to see. He did stick his hand in it once. We had a fun, low-key day together. He is so busy! He plays well with his toys. He takes a good nap in the morning. Sometimes a good nap in the afternoon. One thing is for sure: He is all boy! He likes to bang his head on the wall. He loves to throw balls, chases them, and pick them up again. He gets so excited when he sees an animal. He pushes his trucks around and makes the vroom vroom sound. He says a few words we understand. He jabbers to us. He likes to be chased and teased. He giggles. Sometimes it's a silent giggle. He loves to play with his sisters in their room. We love to hear the pitter- patter sound of his feet walking around the kitchen.

Blow out you candle little guy.

Daddy had to help him.

Daddy with the birthday boy. (Is he old enough to take fishing yet?)

Not too shy about eating his cake!

Special day for a special day.

Thanks for sharing in our happiness this past year as we've watched him grow.

Work Trip: Day 6 & 7

2011-01-16T06:48:00.000-08:00

We took my sis to the airport in the morning and then we had a little time to kill before Brad got out of class. The girls were entertained by jumping on the beds.

Brad's class let out early. We took off to my parent's house for a visit and duck hunting. Brad got his limit pretty fast. I think this is what he had been dreaming about all week!

The girls helped my Mom decorate a cake for Todd. They wanted to wish him an early happy birthday.

yum-yum

My parents gave him an early birthday present. Todd loves it and is so cute playing with it! Thank you Grandma and Grandpa.

My Mom made these super cute aprons for the girls. How fun! They love 'em! Kamille's is a gingerbread man. Charlotte's is a snowman. Thank you.

That evening we headed over to Brad's parent's house. We spent the night with them and had planned on spending the net day and night there too. But we watched the weather in the morning and decided we better leave for home. We didn't want to chance bad weather on the long drive home. We also needed to bring our jeep back with us. It was sad to leave early. We had lots of plans with family. Sorry I didn't get to see some of them.

It took us all day to get home. It's a long drive with three stops. Good weather though. We had to stop along the way and buy groceries to take home. It felt good to get home. We were gone a long time. Todd was the happiest, I think. He just walked around and giggled. But we discovered our pipe had frozen!!!! Not the same pipe as last time. This time it was the poop pipe. Poor Brad, he set out to fix it. Brad said there is only three things a plumber needs to know: poop runs downhill, don't' bite your nails, and payday is friday. Well, the guy who plumed this house didn't get the poop pipe part right! At least the bathroom on the other side of the house works. Brad's trying to thaw the pipe out and then he will fix it right. Of course it's also the pipe that runs the kitchen sink, dishwasher, and washer. I've got so much laundry to do........okay, okay - it could be worse. I can think of a lot worse things.

I'm so grateful we got to go on this trip together. It really was fun. We like to be all together. Brad did watch the kids one night so I could shop by myself. I'm glad we went and now I'm glad to be home!

Work Trip: Day 5

2011-01-14T07:19:00.000-08:00

This morning Brad went to class. The kids and I drove a little bit and picked up my sister. It was so fun to see her! She is at the end of her Christmas vacation and we get to spend the day with her before we take her to the airport tomorrow. We shopped for a few hours and then drove back to the hotel. She took the girls swimming. We tried to relax and visit while we waited to pick up Brad. We wanted to find something fun to do tonight. But two of the kid-friendly museums that we wanted to go to close at 6p.m. So those were out. We decided to go to the Church History Museum. We had a lot of fun there!

It was too cold to walk around Temple Square.

We picked up pizza and a movie and came back to the hotel for the evening. Thanks for hanging out with us sister. The girls think you are so fun!

(I know it looks like the girls are wearing the same clothes everyday! I promise they have plenty of clean, cute clothes to wear. They love to change their clothes a million times all day at the hotel!)

Work Trip: Day 4

2011-01-13T12:30:00.000-08:00

Took the kids to McDonald's for lunch.

Notice Kamille's glasses. I let the girls pick out something from Clair's. They love that store! Kamille picked out these non-prescription glasses. Just for fun. I remember when we had to punch out the lens' from sunglasses! Charlotte picked out two cute penguins on a keychain.

Then we used our free movie tickets and saw Yogi Bear. It was cute. (Thanks for recommending it Julie.) The girls liked it and laughed all the way through. Todd slept through most of it - that was nice for me.

Here's Todd trying to get comfortable on his dog pillow. He loves this pillow, so we thought we had better bring it to the hotel with us.

Tonight we just let the girls swim in the hotel and got dinner to go. We put a movie on and just tried to relax.

Work Trip: Day 3

2011-01-12T05:33:00.000-08:00

Shopping with the kids was kind of a bust today!
We were lazy at the hotel this moring. It was so hard to get Todd to take his morning nap. We went down to breakfast. Then took off to the mall. I had to rent a huge firetruck stroller. Todd and Charlotte rode inside and Kamille walked by me. We were only a few stores in(mostly stores for the girls-they said they would be good if we went to their when it was just too much and we had to leave. I was trying on some clothes. Todd wanted out of the stroller. I got him out. He took off running, fell and bumped his head. He was bleeding and crying and it was all just too much! We left and drove around for a while to give Todd a nap. You know, I am a shop till you drop kinda girl. But I was thinking about it. I haven't shopped with all the kids without Brad for awhile. When I lived in Pocatello, I would go shopping with Todd on the days Charlotte had school. Sometimes in the evening I would leave all the kids with Brad and I would go by myself. Sometimes I would take only Kamille or Charlotte. It was pleasant, not stressful shopping. I would find the best deals because I looked at everything. I had time to try on my clothes. Now that we live in Wamsuter, we all go shopping together every two weeks. Since it's winter I don't want to drive to Rock Springs by myself. It' always a hurried trip because Brad doesn't like to window shop. My favorite stores aren't there. I just haven't gotten my fix for good shopping in for a while. I miss my old shopping days - mostly of when I lived right next to all the store! So I was really looking forward to staying in SLC for a week and really shopping/ window shopping. It's kinda a let down. I realize how I didn't think this one through. Of course the kids can't shop all day with me! Well, the girls probably could, but I forget sometimes that I have a toddler. He doesn't sit still. He needs his bed for a nap. But he is so cute! I guess I'll just have to rethink how I shop anymore. I'll have to internet shop from home. I really haven't shopped on the internet too much before. I didn't need to. But my life is different now because of where I live.
We did still go to see a movie at 1:00. I promised the girls we would go see Tangled. It was so cute! Kamille and Charlotte were glued to it the whole time. Todd watched for a little while. But by the end he wasn't very happy. When the movie first started the sound worked but the picture on the screen didn't. We had to wait 10 min. for them to get it working. They gave us free tickets for another movie sometime! Score!
We picked up Brad at 4:00. He wanted to go to Cabela's again......surprise! So we got on the freeway and spent another evening there. We looked at more of the animals this time. Brad also met up with an old friend. Then we came back to the hotel and crashed for the night.

Work Trip: Day 2

2011-01-11T05:38:00.000-08:00

We woke up at midnight to the noisy neighbor. Brad and I turned on the t.v. to try and drown him out. But soon we could smell smoke (not even cigarette smoke!). We had an adjoining room with this neighbor and the smell/smoke was seeping under the door. Yuck! Brad went down to the front desk and got us another room. We switched rooms in record time. The poor kids - had to wake them up. But we got settled in and went back to sleep. Brad had to go to his class at the community college. The kids and I went down to breakfast at the hotel and then we took off to find some stores. I love the navigator on my phone! How else would I be able to find my way around this town! We found a huge super Target. We spend 3 hours looking around in there! I was wanting to go find some more stores, but my 3 kids didn't want to. They were already shopped out! So we came back to the hotel to wait for Brad. Kamille and Charlotte were really good and started on their homework. Todd had a very hard time taking a nap. He kinda needs his own room. But I'll try not to stress about things and we'll have a great week! We picked up Brad after his class and drove straight to Cabala's. Brad loves this store and wanted to take Todd here for his birthday. The girls like looking around Cabala's too. We had a fun night all together.

work trip: day 1

2011-01-09T18:03:00.000-08:00

Brad has to go to a training meeting all week in Salt Lake. Of course we all wanted to come with him! Goin' to the big city! I took the girls out of school for a week. (The principal wasn't very happy about it, but we promised to do their work!) We loaded up the suburban. Drove to our hotel. It took us four hours to get here! Brad had to check in today. We had planned on going the other direction to church this morning, and then driving to SLC. But we saw the weather forecast for today and decided to skip church to give ourselves plenty of time to drive here. It was suppose to snow. But it didn't. Not even one speck of snow. Oh, don't get me wrong, we are so happy we had good roads, but the weather reports are always wrong here! Anyway, we made it and had some time leftover tonight to swim at the hotel.

Had to take this picture cause it just looks so funny. We forgot to bring flip flops to wear down to the pool.

Todd kind of liked the pool, but he got cold pretty fast.

The girls in the hot tub.
Hopefully the week goes smoothly. Brad has training everyday. The kids and I will probably venture out and go shopping during the day. Then at night, we plan on taking the kids out to some fun places. Sounds like a good vacation to me! I know the hardest parts will be keeping the girls entertained at the hotel and making Todd take naps.

Char's bag. Craft nook.

2011-01-07T10:17:00.000-08:00

I finished her bag for her. She was so excited! She took it to school the next day. She designed it and I sewed it up.
Isn't she sweet. She's growing up, it makes me cry. But she is growing into a lovely young girl. She loves many things, but mostly she loves purple!

This corner in the living room was empty when I took the tree down. So I decided to move my craft table there and make it my craft nook. It works perfectly. I'm out with everybody while they watch movies and play games. I have plenty of light. I love having a spot for my stuff and being able to leave it out all the time. I know the living room may not be the ideal spot for this kind of thing. But I am making do, and it's my house. Plus, how often do I have company? I don't need another chair in the corner, I need room for my crafts! I might as well make my house function for me.
I know I'm a dork - I made another banner to match my scrapbook nook!

So just what do I do all day?

2011-01-05T12:23:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd tell you what a normal day is like around here. My life is a little different than it used to be. But mostly the same. I do miss just running to the store anytime I need something or need a break from the house. I find now that I have lots more time to do what I want to during the day. It is depressing though when I don't have the right craft or scrapbooking stuff on hand. Then I either have to order it online and wait a few days for it or wait until we go shopping which is about every two weeks. It is horrible when I forget my list! I need to start putting my list on my phone.
The girls are gone to school from 7:30 to 4:00. Brad has a conference call every weekday morning at 7:30, and then he's out the door. He comes home around 4. He gets called out quite often in the evenings and in the middle of the night. Overtime baby!
So it's just Todd and I all day. He is fun and I'm so glad we've got him. He is starting to be a handful! When he's not napping, we play or he follows me around. I can't do much cleaning with him helping. He loves the vacuum and stands right in front of it. He pulls the silverware out of the dishwasher. He stands in the dirt when I sweep. He wants me to hold him when I sew or craft. So when he's awake we play!

When he takes his naps, I hurry and do the cleaning so I can have time to craft of scrapbook. I do miss my business, but I love being able to make whatever I want. Of course the girls have their orders in of stuff they want me to make for them. I've been trying to get Todd's scrapbook caught up by his birthday (o how sad, he's going to be one soon). I've still been decorating our home and organizing. I blog and read craft blogs. I have been rediscovering my love of reading books. It is a much simpler life out here. It kind of reminds me of growing up in a small town, not this small though! If I need to get out of the house, I go to the post office and get the mail. I pick up a soda at the gas station just for something to do. Sometimes I check in at the school and talk to the secretary for any gossip of the town. But soon I am right back home! I do love being home though. I am grateful for our home and how we feel comfortable here. I try to do my hair and make-up and get dressed everyday. It just makes me feel better and helps me to still be me. Some days after school or on the weekend we get together with our friends. They need to play and get out of their house just as much as we do. Good thing we all get along!
One thing I need to add to my daily routine is exercise. I still have a few lbs. to loose after the baby - a year ago! I want to get a zumba dvd next time we go shopping. You know, I gotta watch it here not to pack on the pounds. I could stay in jammies and eat all day! But no, that would really make me depressed.

Have you guys been seeing banners everywhere? I love 'em. I made a few for our house.

Today I am working on making Charlotte a big capri sun bag. I made Kamille one last year, but Char didn't want one. Surprise! Now she does. So the girls have been drinking up the juice and we saved the pouches and now I can sew it together.

Brad texted me this morning and told me to look out the girl's window. I saw lots of elk that got hit by the trains last night. If you look close, you can see them. There are so many more that you can't see. Kinda sad. The elk and deer walk on the tracks because it's easier then on the snow. But they don't move when a train comes by, and the train doesn't stop either.

New Year's

2011-01-02T14:41:00.000-08:00

Two cuties! Santa brought them these shirts.

Three cuties!

We had blizzard on New Year's Eve day. The interstate was closed. We were snowed in. We woke up to frozen pipes! Not fun. So Brad got to thawing them. It took till noon for them to thaw. We had to melt snow to flush the toilet. Brad got called out and was gone for a few hours. When the water came back on, the hot water didn't! We had to wait for Brad to get home to figure out why the hot water didn't work. He did get it all figured out by 4:00. Thank goodness! I wasn't really loving living here that day! That evening we went to some friend's house for some relaxation and to celebrate the new year.

Todd loves to sneak into the girl's room!

Santa brought the girls these pillow pets. They had been asking for them forever. Charlotte really loves unicorns and wants a pet unicorn. We would probably get her one if we could find one! Kamille loves penguins. She also loves panda bears. She has a thing for black and white.

Today we made it to church on time (it's 40 minutes away and church starts at 9am). But on the way we hit some white-out spots that made me think we should have stayed home! You know, things are different out here in Wyoming. We don't really feel comfortable at church. People just aren't as welcoming as they are in Idaho and Utah. Good thing people aren't the reason why we go to church! We just feel like lost puppies there. They haven't gotten our records yet or even visited us. -At least the church is still true out here!

dolly beds and crocheted head wraps

2010-12-30T07:27:00.000-08:00

The girls wanted blankets and pillows for their dolls. We went through the box of fabric and they picked out just what they wanted. Then while I sewed them up, the girls kept Todd entertained. (He's pretty grumpy lately because he's teething).

Of course I always have lots of projects I would like to get done, but when it's Christmas vacation I have to keep the girls entertained.

Have you seen these headwraps everywhere?! I love 'em! I bought a pattern from etsy and whipped us up some before Christmas. We wear them everywhere. It's like a hat, but doesn't give you hat-hair.

Todd & the girls' gingerbread house

2010-12-29T08:05:00.000-08:00

Todd's 1st Christmas! How fun it has been!

Yummy candy cane.

Thanks for the cute reindeer bib Grandma T.

The girls got to decorate a gingerbread house. We're just trying to beat the Christmas break boredom! Although it has been heaven not to have to get them out the door at 7:30. It has been so fun to have them home all day with Todd and me. I know Todd has really enjoyed playing with them. Kamille and Charlotte are always so good with Todd. They really love their little brother. He does get into their LPS and Barbies sometimes. So we shut their door when they are playing those. But then they will clean it all up and open the door for Todd to come in.

Charlotte's side of the house.

Kamille's side of the house.

The Magic of Christmas.

2010-12-28T06:16:00.000-08:00

Todd woke up at his regular 5:00. I took him in bed with Brad and I to feed him a bottle. After his bottle he wouldn't go back to sleep, so we decided to wake up the girls to see if Santa came. Brad went in their room to get them. It took them a little bit to wake up and remember that it's Christmas. It was so fun to share these memories with Todd this year.

Charlotte was happy Santa came!

Kamille was excited about her presents!

Todd was into everybody elses presents.

He liked what Santa brought him. We had to get some presents opened up early for him to play with.

Daddy working on opening up all those darn boxes! It takes all day to get everything open!

The girls discovered Santa left his footprints!

Todd had to check them out too!

The kids drew names this year. It was really fun for them to buy for each other. We'll have to keep up this tradition. We used to draw names in my family.

Todd had to take a break from opening presents.

Kamille in the back trying out her microphone.

Thank you Grandma and Grandpa Fowler for the huge pillow pets, Rapunzel barbies, and shape sorter .

Thank you Grandma and Grandpa Tubbs for the ride-on truck, Strawberry Shortcake remote control cruisers, and books.

Christmas morning breakfast tradition: little boxes of cereal. This tradition started with my Dad's Mom, Grandma Tubbs, then my Mom kept it going when we were growing up, and now I enjoy doing it with my family.

Christmas tradition: Santa leaves an orange in the toe of your stocking. Brad's family and my family both did this. This year, Santa left us little oranges. The kids liked them.

Yummy!

Santa left the girls Magic Fabric. It is so fun to do! In fact, the girls have made all 10! We will have to get more. (You know, my girls like the crafty stuff!)

Christmas Eve 2010

2010-12-27T07:54:00.000-08:00

I actually took this picture the day before Christmas Eve. The kids were crazy with excitement! "Mom, when is it gunna be Christmas?"

The kids opening up their Christmas Eve present. It is always new p.j.s and slippers.
We had a fun Christmas eve. We went to some friends' house for a big feast. Brad and I wanted to carry on his families' tradition of steaks and seafood on Christmas Eve. Yummy! It also helped to take up some time while we wait for Santa. We always have a good time with these friends. The kids love playing together. Funny story- the guy and I grew up in the same town! We were a few years apart in school, but we knew who each other's families were. Weird how we move to a town of 250 people, and we already have friends here! We really enjoy hanging out together. Trying to beat boredom together. Enriching our lives. I just think if they can live here and be happy- so can I! (Plus the Mom is a crafty gal like me!)

They loved their jammies and slippers. This is Todd's 1st pair of grown-up jammies!

Putting out cookies and milk for Santa. We tried to make him candy cane cookies, but they didn't turn out. We left him oreos.

Putting the key for Santa on our front door.

They also sprinkled some reindeer food on the front step. Our friends were so nice to make it for us.

The kids went to bed really good. They fell asleep fast dreaming of Christmas morning!

Todd & stockings

2010-12-21T08:09:00.000-08:00

Todd is 11 months old! My how fast he has grown. He is such a teaser. He does the funniest facial expressions. He makes us laugh.

I made Todd's Christmas stocking the other day. Brad insisted that it be this camo. Well, I couldn't find it anywhere. But it is the same camo as Todd's bedding set. We aren't using the bumper anymore (because Todd likes to get caught in it) so I cut it up and made his stocking out of it. The bells are jingly and so Todd likes to play with it.
Today is the girls' last day of school before Christmas vacation. They both were having parties, exchanging gifts, and watching a movie. Christmas is so exciting.....they can't wait!

Tyler's Reception

2010-12-20T08:46:00.000-08:00

We made a quick trip back to Poky for Brad's brother's reception.

Our family. (Charlotte loved it that their dresses were purple! Thanks Grandma!)

The girls loves Becky's dress.

The three grandsons.

Good times.

The cousins all really enjoyed seeing each other.

Brad's parents with Tyler and Becky.

Tyler and Becky with all the grand kids.

The men.

The women.
I don't want to drive the long stretch of road in the winter again! It took us far too long to get there and to get back home. We hit rain and snow storms. The kids were actually really good -thank goodness for the movie player. It should take 5 1/2 hours one way to Poky, but with bad roads it took so much longer! We drove home all day yesterday. We left at 11:00 and got home at 7! But we are grateful we made it in one piece and now we will stay put for awhile.