Almost Spring.....

I planted some bulbs last fall, and they are starting to pop up..........makes me really happy.  Maybe that means spring will come one day. 



These will be little purple flowers that look like grapes....I can't remember what they're called.

These will be big yellow daffodils......

And these will be giant red tulips........





Branson is so cute when he sleeps.  He's always got this little teddy bear under his arm, and I love it.  He has been so cuddly the last couple weeks.  Well, only for a few seconds at a time, but he loves to give hugs.....and he gives really good tight ones.  It melts my heart:)

This is right when he woke up.  We had to leave, so I woke him up with the camera....probably very annoying to him.  

Last Friday we had one of our nicer days, so I took the kids for a walk, then we played outside for a little while.  It was 62 degrees, but a little windy.....but we'll take it.  Then Saturday was extremely windy, and we lost two of our patio chair cushions:( 

Macie's just like me and hates to wear shoes.  So even though it wasn't that warm, I couldn't get her to keep her shoes on. 

Blowing bubbles........Strawberry scented even.

Branson sitting in the stroller. 

Drawing with chalk.

She was so excited to be outside.....I wish we could do it again, but this week's weather looks cold and windy. 

Adventures of Branson and things I've been working on.

Branson is into everything, but it's pretty cute to see him discover new things.  These pictures are from the other day.  I don't know what I was thinking leaving the bathroom door open while I took a shower.  I thought Branson would just play around in the drawers like he usually does, and I could keep an eye on him.  But while I was washing my hair hair he came right in......fully clothed, and LOVED every minute of it!  He loved having the water get all over him....it was pretty cute. 

This is just a picture I was trying to get of Branson crawling toward me, but he crawls too fast.  I thought it was cute because it captured him just as he always looks when he's on a mission....tongue hanging out.  He's just like his dad, he sticks his tongue out when he's concentrating. 

I've been on a little bit of a sewing kick lately....which is strange for me.  I used to get so frustrated EVERY time I tried to make something, so I would try to rush through it, and it would end up looking terrible, and I wouldn't sew again for a couple months.  But lately I have disciplined myself:  I only let myself do it for about an hour in the morning, and I put it away.  I try to go slow, and do it right.  And I have been loving it!  Here's some little projects I've been doing, and I have LOTS more stored in my head........

This is a rice bag (heating pad), I've made about four of these lately. 

My couches were looking a little boring to me, so I gave a couple old pillows a makeover.  This is on the couch.......

And this is on the love seat.  The brown and white pillows with the designs on them are the new ones.  I found so many cute fabrics at Joann's for $2.50 a yard.

And these are the pillow makeovers I did in our bedroom.  The ruffle one I've been wanting to try for a long time, so I finally did it.  It was really simple, but it took a little time.  I thought it turned out pretty cute though. 

Baby blankets......

This is a nursing cover...........

And a close up of the same cover.

And this is a book that I borrowed from a friend last week.  I would really recommend it to anyone who needs motivation or tips and tricks for cleaning and organizing and getting rid of clutter.  For me, it really helped me make a plan and motivate me to organize my closets and drawers.  And, I'm not perfect at keeping my house clean, but it's not something I struggle with very much.  BUT, I do struggle with keeping up with the dishes and clean laundry that needs put away, and keeping my closets, and drawers(everywhere that other people don't usually see) neat and organized....and I've been doing so much better since I read this book!  It's a really easy read, and completely doable.  Read it!!  And take notes, it was a huge help to me.  I started today and did Macie's closet, and hopefully will finish Branson's today too!

Basement...

Reed started to finish our basement in November, and we got it all done a few weeks ago.  It has been so fun to have it finished.  And I'm so proud of Reed for working so hard and doing such a good job!  If you're not interested in seeing a million pictures of our basement, you might want to skip this post because there are a lot.

This is one of my favorite parts......it's a food storage closet under the stairs.

Shelves in the same closet.  Reed built these for our water storage. 

Again.....the same closet. 

This is one of the bedrooms.

Another bedroom.

Family Room.

Another bedroom.

Another bedroom.

Hallway of closets leading down to two of the bedrooms.   Before we just had a really LONG and WIDE hall that was pretty much wasted space.  So Reed (and Klay) built in these closets!

Inside of one of the closets in the hall.  The other is just like this. 

Another view of the family room.

Reed designed and built this fireplace all by himself.....impressive.  I love it!  It makes it so much cozier down there. 

Family room....again.

And another Family room.  I told you there were a lot!

V-Day

I know this is almost a month late, but I wanted this post on here for one day when I make a blog book.  We had a great Valentines Day this year.  At first I thought that I wanted to go out with Reed and get a sitter, but then I remembered that Valentine's Day can be for the kids too.  So I decided to make it a fun day with Macie.  We made Valentines for Daddy, made sugar cookies, dipped pretzels and strawberries, and got everything ready for a fancy dinner.  Then Reed brought home some roses, take-out dinner, and a red box movie.  Macie loved eating on the fancy dishes and especially the STRAWBERRIES......those are her favorite even without the chocolate.  And after the kids went to bed we were able to have a date at home, so I didn't even feel like I was missing out. 
WARNING:  I took a million pictures, I was having a little too much fun with my camera.

Macie had the funniest reaction when her daddy brought her home a rose.  He walked in with the flowers and handed her the pink one, and she laid down on chair and just cried to herself.  No fits or whining......just sad little tears:(  She's never done that before.  After some explaining that hers was the only pink one, just for her, she was alright. 

This is one of the Valentines Macie made to heart-attack the garage door.........another family portrait. 

This is actually the first time I've dipped strawberries......it was so fun!

Making the COOKIES.  I found the best recipe........so SOFT and delicious!

 

Macie......

Macie is growing up so much!  She's ALWAYS pretending, dressing up, singing, and dancing!  She's obsessed with anything about princesses and "Married!" (Macie's words)  She says she's going to marry Daddy,  in the temple, with a white dress, and earrings, and necklace, and shoes, and a married (that's a veil)!  She's going to go in the car and drive to the temple.  "And Mommy come, and Grandmas and Grandpas and Casey and Cindy and Karl and Sonja!  And I get MARRIED! In the TEMPLE!"  hahaha.  The other night we went to the visitor's center and she thought she was going to get married in the temple!  It was kind of sad.    

Here is the dinosaur she made out of play dough..........pretty good.  This was the EASIEST recipe for play dough, and fast!  No cooking, and it works great.  I halved this, and it made plenty.

1 cup salt
1 cup water
2 cups flour
1 Tbs oil

-Mix together (I used a mixer with the cookie paddle attachment)
-Store in airtight container in fridge.

Macie and her creation.

This is the first family portrait that Macie drew.  She did it in church.  We are all the red ones.  Branson is the little red one in the bottom corner:)

This is the first recognizable drawing she ever did......on Daddy's list of scouts to call.  It's a face, in case you were wondering. 

This is Macie getting married.  She has my skirt on and she bunched it up so she holding her "flower."  And pillow case on her head for the veil.  I tell you, this girl is obsessed with the idea.  I thought it would wear off by now, but not at all!

Branson....

Branson is 10 months old!  I wish he would just stay my baby, but it's so fun to watch him grow too.  He really does bring so much happiness into our home, and we all LOVE him to death. 

This is him pouting....pretty cute now, but not so much when they get a little older:)  He's got it down though.  He'll put his head down on the floor and cry, and then stop and look up to see if I'm watching, then he'll put his head back down to the floor and cry some more. 

Branson never stops.........He's ALWAYS going!  He loves to explore the house and get into lots of things he's not supposed to.  It's so cute to listen to him panting as he crawls as fast as he can go......which is getting pretty fast!  (Just ignore the crumbs all over the floor.  I only sweep once, sometimes twice a day....right before Reed gets home, or when the crumbs are sticking to my feet.)

He likes to drink his bottle on this rug in the kitchen.

Notice the big scab on his forehead........he's ALWAYS got something like this on his head.  When one leaves, at least one more appears........he's at that age!  He loves standing up to everything, but has lots of accidents.  And he's always hitting himself in the head with doors and cupboards when he opens them, and shutting his arms in the drawers.

Branson cut his 1st tooth a couple weeks ago, and another is popping through.  He had a rough time with them, but he's back to being his happy self.