The Show's Over

I seriously can't believe it's over. It seems like just yesterday it was months away. I really think all the hard work paid off and I'm excited to do it again...someday.

I have so many people to say thank you too! My awesome mom helped wash, cut and pay for my all my fabric (thanks for making my profit actual profit mom!) and Aubrie and my in-laws watched Ava for me so I could sew or go to the show. Dustin's grandma provided the booth space and Aunt Cathy fed my hubby (so important to keep him fed!) So thank you, thank you, thank you! I seriously couldn't have done it without each of you!

So about the weekend:

We went up Thursday night so I could be there Friday to help set up the booth. That meant I had most of the day free Friday so of course we (my wonderful in-laws, Ava and I) hit up the KS state fair! Ava got to feed lots of animals and gave a homely bunny a kiss or two. And with Brad, we ate well to say the least. Of course by well I mean delicious and not good for our bodies at all!
Dustin made it for the last little bit of setting up on Friday night and then we ran a few errands before heading to his Grandma's house for the night. I of course thought of a million things that I NEEDED to do all at the last minute. So, without complaining my sweet husband helped me and we finally went to bed at 1:45 am...and then got up at 5. If you know Dustin very well, you know he can barely function with less than 7hrs of sleep sleep, but he was wonderful! (I think it helped that his Aunt Cathy kept buying him things like homemade cinnamon roles, biscuits and gravy and of course bierocks.) Thank goodness she was because when we arrived to unload all of our items, it was pouring and freezing! My socks and shoes were soaked by the time we finally opened up.

This is a pic of my section of the booth. (It was a laid out a little better than this at the beginning).

And here's my awesome helper. I seriously couldn't have done it without him. Love him so much!
We made it through the day. Cold and a little wet. And we enjoyed it. I am hoping I hear from some people who took my card that want outfits. Fingers crossed! :)

Sunday afternoon Ava got to spend some time with her sweet cousin Emma. Ava just adores her and we were so lucky to get to see her while she was in town. We were also really lucky to see Dustin's cousin Christopher. He's been oversea's serving our country and we are so happy to have him back! Thanks for all you do Chris!
Again, thanks to all of you that helped me out! I am so blessed! Love you guys!

Where's the love!

Lately I've been getting some glimpses into Ava's teenage years.

She only responds to Dustin and completely ignores me. She craves his attention and begs for him to put her to bed every night (he does this every night, but I guess she's afraid I might try and weasel my way in there). Dustin even has to make a game out of giving me a hug at night time in order for me to get a good night hug! Sigh. I know that she loves me, but it's so sad when you plan activities, play with her, and have to discipline her all day and only get a hurried, please get out of my room hug at night. Oh Parenting.

I better start praying harder for the next 16 years...

Two weeks in Idaho...Chapter 2

We were so lucky to catch Kyle and Serrah when they were both home (this never happens in the summer because they both fight forest fires and are ALWAYS gone in the summer), and had so much fun with them! They took us for some amazing Thai food one night and some awesome bagels and coffee in the morning. Then they showed us this...
Gorgeous! I can't believe I've never been there before! So we took some pics...


Then they took us to Dierkes (SP??) to get cooled off.

Ava had a blast with her Uncle Kyle and Aunt Serrah! I think it won't be long before I need to ship her off to them so they can teach her how to rock climb.

Back in Weiser, Ava did a lot of swimming, running through sprinklers, watering flowers (whether it was needed or not), and eating tons of popsicles with Grandma.

In the mean time I was probably sleeping or reading...I miss it already. sigh.

Ava also got to spend some time at the park with Grandpa and eat some much needed icecream from Jebs with Grandpa and her Great Uncle Dave.

Mom (aka Grandma) Dustin, Ava and I also went shopping, rode go carts, played miniature golf, went for walks (where sweatshirts were needed at the start), had dinner and game night with our wonderful friends the Clark's and so much more.

After Dustin left, the 3 of us did more shopping, went to the water park (which was AWESOME and I can't wait to take Ava back). This ultimately knocked Ava out so hard that she couldn't finish eating her pretzel before falling asleep...

Ava and I also got to spend some time with the Sorenson's and their sweet boys. We had a wonderful time reminiscing and talking about all that has changed from high school days to parenthood. We also spent time with the Coleman's. Well I think it may be more accurate to say Dan watched the girls while Di and I talked (thanks Dan!). Oh and one of the many high lights of the trip...Di let me help with HS Volleyball tryouts! I had so much fun and am so excited for the team this year. Those girls have some wonderful coaches and I wish so badly I could be there through out the season! ( I may have asked Dustin to quit his job, sale the house and move us there for the vb season...I don't think he went for it though).

We had a blast in Idaho and we can't wait to go again! Thanks for a great trip everyone! Love you all!

Two weeks in Idaho..Chapter 1

Sorry no pics this time around, but I promise to add them later.

Going to Idaho couldn't have come at a better time. I'm not sure what would have happened if we would have been stuck in Oklahoma a second longer, but I'm pretty sure it would have included us exploding from heat in some fashion. Our AC has not been working very well despite several AC guys trying to help us, there's just not a lot they can do at this point. Obviously it's livable, but at 5:30 when I'm cooking with a not so helpful toddler in our 82 degree house, I think it's fair to say I'm a tad bit cranky (total understatement). So like I said, an escape to Idaho was exactly what we needed.

I often forget how beautiful it is there. The grass is gorgeous...this is real grass people, the stuff you can actually walk on, think about sleeping on. It does not resemble anything that might look like grass in my front yard. It's so awesome that Ava was almost intimidated by it.

Oh and the mountains are gorgeous and even the air seems to smell better (except for Ontario!). (Is it obvious that I miss it???)

Those are all things I never appreciated enough growing up, but miss now. Don't get me wrong, I think Oklahoma is beautiful in a different way, seriously. I just miss what I grew up with too. :)

It was an amazing trip and I'm so glad all 3 of us got to go!

Project Craziness

I would LOVE it if I could spend more time sewing and less time cleaning, doing laundry, cooking and potty training. (Nothing gets done when I sew!) The only time I seem to squeeze it in is when Ava is sleeping or someone is having a baby that I "need" to make something for. Luckily for me, Dustin's Grandma entered us into the Hillsboro Craft fair in September, so that will be my new excuse to sew. Each time I see her, she asks if I'm starting to build up a good collection of things for it and each time I give her a smile and a little panicked giggle and promise to have a ton of stuff! So the answer is obviously no. Each time I make something I think of someone it'd be perfect for. It's just so fun, but I guess I better get crackin if I'm going to make any money.

Here's a couple blurry phone camera pics of things I've made lately. I won't be selling these, but making some very similar for the show.

I will also be trying my hand at some boys tops and possibly some pants. Pretty excited about that. I don't want to leave all those cute little guys out!

So here's to hoping I accomplish what I'm supposed to!

I'm going to need a lot of sewing nights between now and then Maria!

5 years!

(Warning, this blog may be sappy).

It's been five wonderful years (tomorrow 7/8) with this tall guy and I am still so very in love.

He is such an awesome dad. Ava LOVES him and will only let him put her to bed. We are so blessed to have him in our lives!
There are a lot of reasons I love this guy...

to name a few:

-He puts up with his girls rather nicely. :)

-He's a blast to hangout with.

-He's hilarious (just get to know him and you'll see)

-He is the spiritual leader in our home and leaves me with no doubts as to where his heart truly lies (with God).

I could go on and on about how much of a handy man he is, how incredibly hard he works to provide for our family and what a stud athlete he still is even though he thinks he's "lost" it, but I better end with him giving me this adorable kiddo. She's like him in SOOOOO many ways and I love it.

Thanks for the last 5 years Dustin! I am so blessed to have met you and lucky you married me, I love you!

We went to Idaho...

At the end of April...

Ava and I flew to Idaho without anyone but Kyle and a few friends knowing we were coming. Uncle Kyle picked Ava and I up at the airport and we headed to Weiser to surprise my mom.

(At the airport waiting for our plane)

This is supposed to be a video of us surpring my mom at her school, but my blog is fighting me today and won't let me post it. Needless to say, she was thrilled to have the 3 of us there. She hugged Ava for the longest time and Ava was thrilled to see her grandma! There might have been a few tears too. :)

We got to do a lot of things while in Weiser, like go the park. They have an awesome play ground and we drove past it or walked past it anytime we went anywhere. Ava of course got super excited everytime she saw it and with grandparents and an uncle that spoil her, she got plenty of play time.

(Kyle teaching Ava to fly??)

(Eating at JEBS corner...best curly fries ever!)

We were there for Easter and luckily for Ava Uncle Kyle thought about it and planned for it, unlike her mom. Oops! Kyle and Serrah had bought Ava an adorable back-pack and a million plastic eggs which Kyle stuffed with candy. He also hid all the eggs for us. All I had to do was help Ava eat candy. It was awesome!

On our last full day in Idaho, Grandma and I took Ava to the Boise Zoo. We had a blast and Ava got to ride her first Merry-go-round. It was precious until she threw a huge fit because she wanted to go again. At least she liked it, right?!
We also took a walk along the greenbelt. It was beautiful! It's one of the many things I miss about Idaho.
We had such a wonderful time and I can't wait to go back. I think I'll end it here because this post is just making me miss my family, friends and Idaho.

Ava's Birthday

This little girl turned 2 on Friday! I can't believe it. Time is flying too fast.

We had a small get together and Ava had a blast with her friends in the sand

and the water. Which makes a disgusting combination of course!

She sits...occasionally!

Since the day Ava was born, she was a mover. Her legs are constantly going and once she learned to crawl she was a much happier kid. Even happier after she learned to walk. I however have been a little happier now that she's also learned to sit.

We have been working really hard to get Ava to sit during church. By sit I of course mean stay between Dustin and I, on the pew or the floor, and without causing a HUGE distraction. I hardly ever hear the sermon, but have hopes that I will soon. I have often thought Ava has no idea what we are doing at church and thinks it is a place to play with her friends. Which of course is true, but this last Sunday I might have shed a little tear as we prayed before taking communion. As soon as Ava saw the deacon walk to the stage to pray, she got excited and yelled "bite!" Joy filled my heart as I realized she is absorbing some of what we're doing, even if she just knows mammy and daddy are going to take a bite of a cracker. I'm sure she doesn't understand that every Sunday we take communion in remembrance of Jesus' sacrifice He made for us, but I hope we can teach her and show her how much God loves us. And I pray that God will help Ava sit longer and longer during services so we all can learn! We have a long way to go.

Ava's a big girl!

I don't have any pics yet but changed Ava's crib into a toddler bed. Which pretty much means we took the front off her crib and put up a railing so she doesn't fall to the floor in the middle of the night. So in other words, I'm not sure you'll ever need to see a picture of that. Last night was her first night in it. She got out of bed 4 times and each time was to play with her books. We took her back to her bed each time and on the 4th time (after a good talking too and some extra encouragement) she didn't get out of bed again. She didn't even get out in the morning. Just sat in bed yelling Mammy! Mammy! Daddy! Daddy! She did well at nap time today too. Only had to put her back in bed once. So now that last night and today has gone so well, I'm sure tonight will be a nightmare, but I hope not!

Now to get my daughter potty trained. haha.

Busy Hubby

Ava and I have that nasty virus that has been going around, so my husband spent the weekend building me this while Ava and I watched Marry Poppins and Elmo a thousand times.

I'm pretty excited about it. It's a little more done than this as of now. He has a lot of finishing touches and painting to do and I can hardly wait to fill up all those shelves! More pics to come...

Thanks Maria for sharing your hubby to help with my sewing room. I'm pretty sure that desk is big enough for two sewing machines! :)

Stuck

A lot has happened blog worthy this past month but instead of updating you on my life, I thought this picture was more blog worthy....

My plan was to make spaghetti squash for dinner tonight. Unfortunately my knife is stuck. I can't cut it open, move the knife up or down, or even remove the knife from the squash. Don't worry I already tried hammering the knife and banged the whole thing on the floor before deciding that might not be safe, especially with a toddler running loose. Now I have to decide to make regular spaghetti or wait until Dustin gets home to help me remove the knife.

So Ava's caught something like everyone else. sigh.

If you know my daughter, you know this has only happened a handful of times in the 21 months she's been around. (I'm only referring to the falling asleep or cuddling, she has my immune system, enough said).
Even when she had RSV she was too busy for us to hold her. Tonight, she obviously isn't feeling good and her fever is winning. I think Dustin is also winning since he is getting so many snuggles!
This has only happened to me on one occasion I can remember, so I think you could easily call me jealous of my husband right now.

Oh the volume of this child never ceases to amaze me!

Ava needs to nap. She doesn't want to. Sometimes I just want to record how loud and rediculous her screams are just so I'm not the only one listening too it. Unfortunately for you, I don't have anything recorded, so I'll just show you this picture that Mandy Stansberry (sorry you got to experience it Mandy) took at her one year. I can guarantee Ava has this same expression on her face right now.

I think for sanity purposes, we might skip the nap and go for a walk.

Couldn't turn the brain off last night

I need to clean off the kitchen table so it can be used as a kitchen table

Organize the office

Plant my tulips

Make more bows

Make baby gifts for upcoming showers

Plan upcoming showers

Wash, iron, tag, and hang baby clothes for JBF

Make new items to sale (I have WAY too many ideas + a huge craft fair to get ready for this fall=no sleep, too much thinking, excitement, but mostly no sleep.)

Okay I feel better now. Unfortunately it's 8:00 and Ava is getting up.

OOPS, I forgot to blog...

A few blogs ago, I said I'd be blogging a ton after my surgery because I wasn't supposed to do much for two weeks. Well those two weeks are up today, and I'm finally blogging. Not sure what happened there. Everything went great and I have been blessed by multiple people since then. Friends brought food and my mom and Dustin's mom chased their ornery granddaughter around for me.

Today is the first day I've been on my own with Ava. I've been lifting her a little more and more the past 4 days and it's getting easier. Luckily for me, she's been an Angel today. In fact I think she just fell asleep so I will leave you with a couple pics from the last couple of weeks. I'm off for a nap too.