Fun Refashion for Ava!

I found a cute way to extend the life of pants that are either too short or have holes. The blog, The Cottage Mama, showed how to do this and I decided to expand Ava's summer wardrobe! She is so tiny, the waist on all her pants fits even when the length gets too short. These also had some holes in the knees.I picked a cute scrap from my stash, and went to work.

You just cut the jeans off at the length you want, and cut the fabric in strips four inches wide and one and a half the length of the leg opening. Then you fold the fabric in half, stitch it, gather it, pin it on the pants, and sew! It seriously took me 1/2 hour to do these. To make them even cuter, I cut out some the circles from the fabric and stitched them on with a zig zag stitch.
Here is the back:

Here they are on my cute girly; she absolutely loves them! She got so excited about them she hugged them. She gets lots of compliments on them too.

Here is the front. There was a stain on the pants, so I covered that up with a circle.

Here they are from the front. I have since done this with a pair of khackis, she loves those as well. Payden even wants some! I have so much fun doing this kind of thing. So, try this out! New shorts for free!
Oh, and do you like her pose? Can you tell she has an older sister that she gets her ideas from?

Corrine and Payden's Birthday

We had a fun dinner for our three birthday girls. Payden and Marlene share a birthday on the 19th and Corrine's is on the 20th. It always falls on or near Father's day so we make a big day out of it.

Dinner included Payden and Corrine's favorites; potato salad, broccoli salad, grilled chicken, grilled bell peppers, and pink stuff.



Corrine wanted a heart cake and Payden wanted a chocolate cake. Corrine's favorite color is orange, so that's why hers is decorated with orange m&m's.

The 3 birthday girls!



Payden wanted a golf cart so bad, and Jason was able to find one on KSL. She was so excited!

Corrine had fun opening her presents. Payden had exclaimed excitedly over every present, so Corrine did the same thing. She would open the present a little, say something like "Yay!" then say "what is it?" It was so funny!

A bubble lawn mower; she loves bubbles!

One of her favorite presents was a Dora book Grandpa got her. It reads the story to her, and as is typical for my kids, she was focused on the book with a sea of toys around her.

I made Marlene a sign that said "Feeling down? Saddle up!"

Happy Birthday!

This is supposed to be a pic of Marlene blowing out a candle, but without the cake in the picture it looks like she is either very excited for having a coughing fit!

A Study of Ninny

Ninny was watching tv the other day and I couldn't help notice how cute she was.

Hi mom.

What are you doing?

I love her little lips.



Look at those cheeks! It won't be much longer that they are that chubby. I wish I could preserve them better than taking pictures.



You're funny mom! Why are you taking pictures of me?





Couch potato!

Our little sunshine!

And if you made it this far, I will reward you with a new Ninnyism:

Mom, I have lots of burps.

Oh, yeah?

Yep. There's another. And another!

Oh, your hiccuping!

When I grow up....

A few weeks ago, Ava went to Wheeler Farms in SLC for a field trip. She had a great time, and had lots of great farm stories, one of which included the fact that the farmer had very yellow teeth. She was quite grossed out by that fact.

Just the other day, she says to me:

Mom, I think I want to be a farmer when I grow up. Only, one with tooth paste and a tooth brush.

Where am I?

So one thing you may not know about me ( or do know if you really know me) is that I am pretty direction challenged when driving. When I am in a store, or park or something like that I do ok. But in a car I am terrible.

I have a small history of going the wrong way when driving and taking small detours. Usually they are just that, small and no big deal. I get myself turned around, figure it out, point myself in the correct direction, and proceed.

Like, for instance, the time I tried to go to Salt Lake by way of Boise. I realized I was going the wrong way when I saw the signs for Blackfoot, so I got off at the reservation and got going the right way.

See, no big deal, not much time lost.

Today, however, I pulled a doozy. To my credit, it wasn't because I was turned around or confused, I was just not paying attention. Cars and cell phones really don't mix, especially if you want to get where you are going on time.

I had headed out today for a much looked forward to baby shower for a friend who has waited a long time to have a baby. I was so excited to see her and the baby, and some other people who would be at the shower. I filled up the car, got a coke, and headed out.

The problem was that my mom called.

Yeah, I can just blame it all on her.

I got to chatting, and apparently wasn't paying attention to where I was going. I mean, I have driven from Utah to Pocatello too many times to count. It is so easy I could do it with my eyes shut.

Or not.

After I got off the phone with my mom, I was jamming to my music when I finally decided to look around at the lay of the land.

It didn't look right.

Then I happened to notice a sign that conveniently let me know I as almost to Snowville, on my way to Burley.

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa? Where the crap am I?

When I realized I was going WEST on 85, and had been for a while (about 45 minutes to be exact) and that I was going to be VERY late for the shower, I was heartbroken. I mean, how could I have done that? I still don't know how it happened. But there I was, in Snowville. The next exit, according to Jason who I had looking up a map for me at home, was another 20 or so miles.

So I used one of those nice turnarounds you really aren't supposed to use, and flew as fast as my little vanny van could take me back the way I came, berating myself (STUPID STUPID STUPID) the whole time. Really, I think I averaged 90 mph, with speeds exceeding that every so often. I won't say how excessive. There are people who love me that read this blog.

Anyway, I made it to Pocatello 1 hour late. I left Utah with enough time to make it , took a very long detour, and was still only 1 hour late. Go speed racer, go.

I got to hold the precioius sweet baby, see my friends, and enjoy a scenic route to boot. Ok, I didn't enjoy the scenic route. It wasn't a cheap excursion, either. But I made it.

One more story to add to my collection of dumb things I do!

What do you think?

I made this for a friend who just had a baby. I would have made her a blanket, but I am sure she will get many of those, so I wanted to do something different. The problem is, it didn't turn out quite like I had imagined; I don't want to give her something that looks like a kid made it. What do you think? Her baby's room is going to be mickey and minnie mouse, and purple. One of the seams isn't very straight, and I don't want to embarrass myself. Soooo, what do you think of it?

A day in the life of Ava

A day in the life of Ava includes finding baby gumbuls at her sisters games. Ava has a love of all things tiny, always has. They are really bee bee gun bullets, but when she was little she couldn't say that so she said baby gumbuls. The name has stuck. She loves to pick them up when we are out.



During quiet time, she will read books, play with her toys, or color. The other day she made this creation:


When she goes to school she learns, plays and laughs. Some days are special, and include dressing up. Here she is on Cowboy Day.

Ava loves to play outside and be with friends. Helping mommy makes her happy. She is a great big sister and plays so good with Corrine. Her giggle can always be heard, and all of her teachers, dance and school, have commented on it. She is hard to wake up in the morning; she is a slow mover! But once she is up she never stops. We love her!