Part Two

The whole family came over for dinner for the girl's birthdays. We had a taco salad bar and cupcakes and ice cream. It was again, low-key and relaxing. It was also Randy's last night before being deployed overseas so it was nice to get to spend some time with him.

The Girl's Birthday Party Part One

This year we did really low-key birthday parties for the girls. They had a friend party with friends from church and the neighborhood and then we did our family party that evening. We played Wii and Kinect and board games and then ate cupcakes and had a treasure hunt. It was nice to relax and have a good time.

One Last Pretty

I made this little lovely the day before Valentine's Day. It is just a piece of jute that I tied a bajillion little pieces of ribbon to. I sat and tied ribbons while watching, "Downton Abbey" on Netflix. If you haven't seen it you should! It was such a simple little project I couldn't resist finishing it for this year.

Making "Old-Fashioned" Valentines

I asked the girls if they wanted to make Valentines, I received blank stares from both of them. Cat said, "Mom, I already wrote my name on all of my valentine's". This is when I sighed, sat down, and got really nostalgic. I had been collecting crafties since January to make some real Valentines. The kind with paper heart doilies, glue, glitter and stickers. It was time for some drastic action! I explained to the girls that giving valentines was a victorian-era practice and that girls their age would spend hours gluing and cutting and making special valentines to give to people; that it was fun and that we would do it together. They caught on quickly and sat down at the table to craft beautiful works of art. A little glitter, some glue and a lot of Frank Sinatra on Pandora and we made some of the most beautiful valentines ever! We sat at the kitchen table for a good three hours. It was fantastic!

Our week in just a few words

On Sunday, we had our friends the Andersons over. Their son, Simon, is in Sarah's primary class. Apparently, earlier that week he had asked his Mom if he could marry her and she had said no because she was married to Daddy. Simon was stumped for a couple of minutes and then asked her, "Who can I take to the Temple"? Mandy just said he would have to wait and see. Another couple of minutes passed before he came back and said, "I am going to take Sarah to the Temple"! How cute is he?

Fashion Show

The girls put on a fashion show for me yesterday. I had to enter my phone number to get my ticket, then I was expected to be the photographer as well as the DJ. By request, we had some very loud, very rockin Justin Beiber on and the girl's strutted down the towel runway. They are full of SASS and totally rocked the runway. It is funny to me that instinctively they pose and put their hands on their hips and such. They have never seen that being done, where do they learn it? It was a lot of fun and made a pretty rotten day, much brighter! Thanks babies!

Tulips

I found these beautiful tulips at Fry's and had to have them for Sarah's birthday. They were only $4.99 for 20 stems, so I bought two. They are so gorgeous, and have lasted so well.

Sarah Ann Thomason, age 5

My gorgeous little fiesty Sarah girl has turned 5 years old! I cannot believe it! My sweet little Bellie is not a baby anymore. It is so weird to think that my baby is so big. I can't even call her a little girl, without her telling me that she is a big girl. She is so excited to go to Eagleridge; the other day she looked at me in suprise and said, "Mom, I'm 5, am I going to school with Cat tomorrow"? I tried not to laugh and explained that she will go in the fall. Sarah just is ready to be grown up and on her own. I am thankful that she has so much stubborness in her because she will need it to make it in the world we live in, but sometimes it is hard to channel her energy for good, not evil. She can be so naughty when she wants to be, and then turn around and be so sweet and obedient. We love Sarah so much and are so thankful for her. Happy Birthday Sarah!

Valentine's Day Decor

I have little to no Valentine's Day decor. I have a few things that my Mom has made me, and stuff from my room growing up that happens to work ok, but I really don't have that many decorations or cute things. What is not to like about pink and red decorations? Nothing! So, why don't I have any? It is baffling to me too. Here is what I have done this week.



I have been wanting to do this wreath since I first saw it on Just A Girl. She changes out the color of ribbon depending on the holiday or season and moves it around occasionally. I loved it and had just never tackled it. Well, I did and I think it turned out lovely. The only problem is that it is the same color as the door. I have been wanting to paint it black....hmmm.



This was a gift bag from Hobby Lobby that I loved and wanted to use it to decorate. I just cut one side of the gift bag off and hung it up. I think I might get rid of the ribbon and glue it to a canvas and sit it in an easel somewhere next year. Super cute and cheap!




I found this black and pink board at Hobby Lobby yesterday for $2 plus 40% off. Then, I had my sister-in-law, Amanda, use her silhouette to cut out the cute vinyl. Super cute, super easy, super cheap. Now I finally have some Valentine's Day decor.

Butterflies

For Christmas, Grandma Thomason got Catherine a butterfly garden. We sent away for the caterpillars and the girl's anxiously awaited for them to come in the mail. They finally came and the caterpillars looked like little black rice specks. Not very exciting when you are expecting to see caterpillars and butterflies. They grew so fast though, within about 10 days they had grown huge and were hanging upside down. After a few more days, a hard shell encased all of the caterpillars and they moved on to their pupa stage which was the grossest for me because I then had to transfer them from their enclosed little containers to the garden. This involved me ripping the paper they were attached to off of the lid and pinning it to the side of the net. They were nasty-looking and they wobbled and it really wasn't my favorite thing. Then, they hung there for almost 10 days before the first one hatched into a beautiful painted lady butterfly. We had two the first day, then by Sunday morning 9 had hatched. The last 3 hatched on Monday and now there are no more. We released them this morning. It was a very fun experience, but I am glad it is over. The girls want me to order more, but I think it might be a once a year sort of deal. They are so beautiful though and I got to hold them while I was letting them go which was really neat.