Jake's UP Party

Posted by Alyssa

Our Jakie boy turned 3 years old this Sunday-where in the world does time go? I sat him down and let him look at my favorite 3 boy themes from Karaspartyideas.blogspot.com (careful-I can spend all day on this site!) and pick which he like best. The UP won-I think mostly because of all the balloons! So, since I really wanted to also do a rainbow themed party-I just combined the two. One of my favorite shows is Cake Boss and I was so excited to finally have an excuse to try decorating my own cake! I made my fondant with marshmallows and powdered sugar, which is so much cheaper and tastes better than store bought fondant. Since it was my first time working with the stuff, I'm hoping for connor's birthday cake it will be a little faster and easier!
Here's me trying to work in the rainbow into the cake! :-) You can also see the little water bottles I filled with the colors of the rainbow in Kool-Aid. I also made fruit rainbow Shish-ka-bobs! So fun!
Having fun looking at Jake's new presents
This was the only time I saw him standing still-he watched like 20 seconds of the movie UP
Clara and Macey Stuart-they're 3 weeks apart and I love that they're both little fatso's!
Jake's UP cakeJakie and Maddy-these two and like two peas in a pod-they crack me up when they get together!
Last week Maddison asked Shannon if she can kiss Jake when she grows up! LOL, I thought that was too cute!
What a bunch of goofballs!
Since Jake's actual birthday was on Sunday, we let him open his birthday present after church-an orange scooter! He was SOO excited and said, "Is it my very own scooter?!?" Poor guy shares almost everything with Connor and gets all his hand-me-downs so it was a treat to get something just for him! We love you to pieces Jakie boy and are so lucky you're in our family!

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Patriotic Craft Party!

Posted by Alyssa

My sister-in-law Shannon and I threw a patriotic craft party for some girls in our ward. Just an excuse to throw a party and craft at the same time! :-) We love to throw parties with a specific theme and colors and had a blast with this one! there was red, white, and blue everywhere, and the whole feel was vintage patriotic. Outside I had mason jars with sand and votive candles and flags stuck in the ground lining our driveway and porch. I wish I took a picture of our invitation before they were all handed out. they took so long to make and turned out so adorable, now I know for next time! We all had a blast making patriotic crafts (everyone brought their own project) and chatting till 11pm! Mike took the boys fishing for most of the night, and they thought the "party" was so cool when they got home! This garland is what I started making-of course I didn't get much done at the party-too much talking to do! I love naptime-its when I can get my craft on!







Almost everyone invited was out of town on their summer vacations, but I always love having a smaller more intimate group to enjoy!

Our red, white, and blue drinks. You put ice in a tall glass (the ice is key so the liquids don't all mix) and layer cranberry juice, blue gatorade, and 7-up! Yummy and so cute!

My first time making a red velvet cake, and turned out oh-so-yummy and moist! I should have taken a picture after it was cut!

These centerpieces are made of paper towel and toilet paper rolls! Just wrap them in tissue paper and put a pipe cleaner sticking out the top and embellish with vintage images, lace, ribbon, glitter, etc.! So easy, cheap, and cute!



My patriotic entryway. I made these apothecary jars and fill them different with each holiday. For easter they had sticks, moss, and robins eggs! So easy and fun to fill throughout the year!

The favors we handed out full of patriotic candy, soap, and lifesavers wrapped in paper with ribbon sticking out to look like mini firecrackers.

I took this picture before most of the goodies were placed out, but you get the idea!

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Kid updates....

Posted by Alyssa

Because I'm incredibly cheap, I don't have the internet-except through Mike's Droid phone when he tethers it for free to our computer. So, I don't have as much leisure time on the internet as I used to, which has turned out to be a blessing since I only do those things I need to and then get off. So, blogging these days are rare occasions! Right now its a holiday, which means I get Mike's phone around most of the day! The kids are sleeping, my house is clean, and its one of those rare moments I can just sit and blog white eating my beloved mint oreos! Its times like these when I look back at pictures I've taken lately that I realize how fast time flies! I can't believe our little Clarabelle is already 6 months! She is the sweetest and happiest baby and we all just love her to pieces. Jake turns 3 next month and then Connor turns 5 in September! So here are some recent pictures of our kids!


Clara is so lucky to have 2 brothers that adore her so much!

Brotherly love.....sometimes!

No matter what time of day it is-my kids love getting in the bath at Grandma Colvins!
Love this one! She looks just like I did when I was a baby here!

When she smiles, she smiles with her whole body!

Don't you just want to squeeze her fat little cheeks!



My two little monsters...........growing up so fast!

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Picking Blackberries!

Posted by Alyssa

We finally went to a playdate in our new ward and this was todays activity: Picking blackberries! What a fun idea! They give you gloves and a bucket and you walk between orchard rows and pick all the blackberries you want! They had 3 huge rows full and I was surprised how many other people were there! The boys loved it-except when they would fight over who got to pick the blackberries I would find for them. Clara did not enjoy it at all-she was tired and the sun was in her eyes the whole time. I think everyone in the orchard could hear her! But it was a lot of fun and the next thing to pick is apricots when they're ready!










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Clara's blessing

Posted by Alyssa


This past Sunday we blessed Clara at our house in the evening. It ended up being a perfectly relaxing and enjoyable event! There were only the adults there and it was fun visiting with everyone while eating some valentine treats I made! I've decided doing blessings at home are so much more enjoyable. Its more intimate and special in my opinion!


I actually bought Clara's dress before Connor was even born! I found it on clearance at Dillards for only $6! I love that its just a simple cotton fabric with eyelet details on it. Her flower was the first one I ever made by burning the silk layers to give it the curling effect. So many fun things to do with girls!



David had Jake and Connor laughing like crazy by throwing them in the air!




We are a happy Family!

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Firing it up!

Posted by Alyssa

This was our FHE activity a couple weeks ago. That's the nice thing about having no landscaping in our backyard yet and living on the edge of the desert-we can build a fire in our own backyard! We cooked hot dogs and roasted marshmallows on sticks. The boys were in heaven and I loved having that campfire smoky tasting food without having to pack everything and head out to the desert!



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Clara Rose Lines

Posted by Alyssa

Sorry so late on this post! Here's our little Clara who was born on January 1st! She weighed 8 lbs 7 oz and was 20 3/4 inches long. She's now 5 weeks old and a chunk! I'm amazed at how quickly they grow! She's the sweetest little girl and smiles all the time! It's been pure joy watching Mike fall in love with his little girl and Connor and Jake can't get enough of her!

My aunt Stacy gave me this dress as a baby gift: it's my grandma Peters' baby dress! What a special gift that will be treasured!



She always has this expression on her face!

Our first picture as a family. I can't believe we're now a family of 5! Where does time go?!?


Jake is always so soft and always whispers to her. We're still working on Connor to do the same most days.... We're so blessed to have her in our family!

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