[new location & my two favorite models]

Not sure how I lucked out but I got a couple of lens hogs!! They both think they're super models and I'm happy to oblige. I haven't taken pictures of them in forever and here we are testing out a fabulous new location! Excuse the overload of pictures but they're just so stinkin' cute if I do say so myself!!

I'm so thankful that they have eachother... there's nothing like big sis and lil' sis. Makes my heart smile. Love this picture of them. Alannah takes such good care of Avila she is so lucky to have her as her big sister. I hope one day she will appreciate her as much as I do.



Avila just turned seven and so we always try to get a picture of them around their b'day and here are some of my favorites of all time!! She is such a doll she's 7 going on 17...

And I can't possibly love her any more!!

7 things about Avila right now:

1. Loves ballet and tap she was born to perform and has no stage fright!

2. Loves to sing and can actually hold a tune, currently she has this song stuck in her head.

3. Just found out she likes fish tacos

4. Loves to draw and creates really detailed drawings

5. She's a great student and is working on some complicated math theories already

6. Reads really well and loves Dr. Suess books

7. Is finding God and asking lots of  good questions LoVE THAT!

 

And even though it wasn't her birthday it was time to take more pics of Alannah who's 11.5 and is growing like a weed!

Eleven and a half things about Alannah right now:

1. Is so crazy about horses and anything Breyer

2. Riding English after switching in October from western

3. Is an excellent student if not stresses a bit too much about homework

4. Attending a girls bible study group focusing on 'women of the bible'

5.   She's having growing pains in her legs she's growing so fast

6. told me she wanted to take tennis lessons

7. just got 7 new fish for her 25 gallon tank

8. Is the funniest girl I know! her comedic timing is way beyond her years

9. Can't wait to turn 12 so she can stay home alone (not gonna happen heheh)

10. Can't wait to start earning money babysitting

11. Would turn our house into a zoo if she could and still wants to be a vet (that's the 1/2 bit)

[spring break & easter weekend]

We hope everyone had a lovely Easter weekend, we spent a lovely day with the family, we went to a beautiful service at our church and it was so nice to see the huge turn out. Jesus lives! Grandma and Grandpa came down also and I made yummy a ham dinner with roasted veggies. The girls searched for eggs that the Easter bunny left in our house and afterwards we met up with some old friends who introduced us to NuSkin complete with spa treatment! Smiles all around I have to say! We also squeezed in two movies "Country Strong" with Gwyneth Paltrow and "Shaolin' with Jackie Chan both were really good.

Here's my quick table scape for Easter dinner...


 

 I wanted to share this blossom branch I made, that didn't cost me anything. I picked up these dead branches at a park near by and hot-glued on some silk flowers I already had laying at home that I bought from the dollar tree to make hair clips. Never made the hair clips.. but this turned out super cute!!

I always wanted to hang frames along the stairway but mine is so narrow and with the kids and dogs running up and down I was so afraid it would be a nightmare of broken glass if anything came crashing down. So I never did it.. but I recently realized that I didn't have to use glass... why didn't I think of that sooner???? I found some old ornate frames at thrift stores and took out the glass, some of them were really gaudy looking so i spray painted them to be similar color. I liked the gold round ones, to add color so I left them in their original condition. I also made the moss letter F using Dear Lillie's method it was so simple and easy. I didn't use the same moss as hers, the one i got from JoAnn's was a flat roll like wrapping paper so it made the project even easier. The letter J and A I already had so i started hanging the frames, it was a cinch, using Young House Love tips with the newspaper & a trick using toothpaste to mark the back of your frames where the nail needs to be on the wall. It all went up in about 1/2 an hour with one nail hole per frame! Yes wow right?? Gosh I wish I had've known these tricks 10 years ago! Love my blogs!



Now I just got to finish up with the prints... what to put in there... gosh.. do i have any pictures??? I kind like the look of no pictures for a while... cause my house is starting to look like a shrine with all the family photo display! LOL... I plan to fill at least 2 with some head sillouhettes of the girls like these http://what-rachel-made-today.blogspot.com/2010/06/tutorial-silhouettes.html but I might just print & frame them and not cut them cause I'm lazy like that.

I'm still working on Alannah's room, here's a what it looks like right now but we're still looking for the right bedding and curtains for her... then I can make pillows covers to match.

 And I'm still in the process of re-working Avila's room with a new "ballerina" theme. I don't want it to be cheesy ballerina, and I want to turn half her room into a mini dance studio.. right now i'm looking for a VERY large mirror to do so, then I'll do another frame scape above her bed to frame it out since we took out her mosquito net which she hated but I loved... hehehe... anyways.. that was our spring break, the kids were both under the weather most of the week, Alannah had a fever and Avila had a cough, now they both have a cough. So we stayed home all week but I got a lot of spring cleaning done so it was productive! Also we go to show the dogs some L-O-V-E...

Can I just put it on record that I LOVE LOVE LOVE our new puppy!! One of the best things about being a grown up is to be able to have your own dog! My parents never allowed us to have pets - except fish. Even though I tried many times to bring home stray dogs and cats... they always ended up gone after a few weeks. But Jinger Belle is the sweetest dog EVER and I LUUURRRVE her more than I EVER thought I could love a dog!

Thanks for stopping by!!

[happy easter 2011]

This cutie pie was perfect for this post. How sweet is he? The grass has grown so tall and green lately, he was so happy to run around in the field. Even though he was so tiny that the grass almost hid him and he kept falling over because the brush was so thick! Look how happy he is in this picture! I just thought it was perfect to wish everyone a HAPPY EASTER!

[when teachers care and parents participate]

When teachers care and parents participate its a beautiful thing and the children benefit. This year Avila's class performed "Anansi the Spider and the Moss Covered Rock", it was by far the BEST play EVER!! I thought that last year's "Rumpus in the Rainforest" was the best play ever written, but this year the class out did themselves and went over and beyond everyone's expectations.

While strolling in the rainforest Anansi the spider discovered a strange moss covered rock, he discovered that when you spoke the magic words "what a strange moss covered rock!"  you fell into a deep slumber. Anansi thought he would use the rock to trick the animals of the jungle and steal their food. It wasn't until the deer realized what was happening and turned the tables on Anansi and tricked him into saying the magic words and when Anansi fell asleep they finally were able to take back all the food he had stolen.

Omigosh it is the CUTEST play ever. Avila shared the main role of Anansi with classmate Cai and the two were ridiculously cute in their costumes that I made! Here is Avila modeling her spider costume which was the easiest costume I've ever made, 2 pairs of black dollar tree trouser socks stuffed with leftover batting from her b'day party  add black gloves on clearance 50c, total cost of costume $2.50! I sewed the socks directly on the outside of a black leotard and linked them together with thick thread to the sleeve and voila an instant spider costume!

Here she is doing her thing on stage!!

This year I was able to rope in two other moms to help me with the costumes, so we were able to make even better ones than last year. This elephant costume was so fun, I made the trunk from pipe insulation found at home depot. Only $1.87 for about 2 yards. I was so relieved to find these grey baseball hats at the dollar tree and the rest was easy, hot glue and felt made the eyes and ears. The tusks were cut from some kind of white insulation  also found at home depot. The tunic I cut from fleece and the feet & tail from grey & white felt. Here's Avila modeling the elephant costume!

And below is the elephant cast on stage!

The GORGEOUS backdrop was painted another mom, talk about talented! It's amazing what can be done with some parent participation, our class is so lucky to have some many moms who are stepping up to make this and other events so special.

The mom I roped in made these zebra costumes, she did an amazing job!! I was so thankful she was able to help out! She sewed all these shirts herself! They turned out so incredibly cute!!

 I didn't get a chance to have Avila model the Rhino costumes I made, but they turned out just as cute, and I used similar techniques as the elephant but I sewed and stuffed the rhino horns. 

Another mom made the monkey, deer, and lion costumes and I was just blown away by her talent and creativity. It made the whole ensemble coordinate perfectly.

And there you have it a huge round of applause for the 2011 cast of "Anansi the spider and the Moss Covered Rock", all 68 students of Kindergarten & 1st grade! Huge kudos to the teachers who don't mess around when it comes to the performing arts, I love that they also think that its just important as math or spelling!

[dandelion spring/summer 2011 issue]

We took these pictures last November just as the weather was getting cold. But you can hardly tell from these pictures as we were lucky to have a phenomenally warm day. It was so nice to hang out with Lorna and Ross for the afternoon as we chatted and Ross splashed in the pool. The water was ice cold but he didn't mind at all...

I was so smitten with Ross, he was a ball of energy with a smile that was so contagious. He hardly gave me eye contact for about an hour. But as he warmed up I got a couple of snaps of him looking at me! Sooooo CUTE!!

I can't imagine the time and energy it takes to care for a child with disabilities, and how hard parents have to fight for support that should be given willingly. Read their story in this issue available now at your local library or visit www.sacramentoparent.com for a list of distribution locations.