Visits

My parents we able to spend a few days with us this week. I love having them visit. We had such a good time. We checked out Vancouver Lake Park They had a strange kind of teeter-totter there:

From 2012-04-03 Fort Vancouver

Charles didn't like it much. Then we went to the Fort! I had wanted to go there for some time and we went on a rainy day. There was a school tour going on so we got to see and hear quite a bit. Lizzy held our Map.

From 2012-04-03 Fort Vancouver

The blacksmith knew quite a bit about the history, it was fun talking to him.

From 2012-04-03 Fort Vancouver

Then we went to the general store. Can you guess what is in those tied bags hanging from the ceiling?

From 2012-04-03 Fort Vancouver

It is Tobacco. Everything was valued by beaver pelts. As in, 14 salmon to 1 beaver pelt. Next we ventured in the kitchen when Mom was asked to wash the dishes. Little did we know how many other things were included in that chore! Mom respectfully declined. The cook tantalized us with Steamed brown bread.

From 2012-04-03 Fort Vancouver

and fresh apple turnovers. It smelled divine, but they can't feed the public, alas.

From 2012-04-03 Fort Vancouver

Then we checked out the other buildings and climbed the tower. Here's Charles on a cannon.

From 2012-04-03 Fort Vancouver

Then we hoofed it up the hill and had a delicious lunch at the Grant House. Next we checked out books from the Library. We ended the day by having Lumpia at home. Yum!

Added cuteness

My kids are adorable. No, no I mean it. Just take a look:
 Too cute oui? Lizzy fell asleep under her umbrella and Charles loves to play with Daddy's safety glasses. Moments like this make me glad that I am a Mom.

From 2012-04-05 Steampunk Dress

A little while ago I entered the giveaway on Simple Simon and Co.'s blog. It was for a child dress form from Mannequin Hub. And to my astonishment I won! I could think of no better way to show off my new toy then to introduce my Steam punk outfits for Lizzy and Charles. I decided to make Lizzy''s dress based on a few tutorials I found on pinterest a while back. The basis for the dress was made by wonderful Lady named Cami. Check out her blog to see the original. I tweaked it a bit by making the skirt separate to add more volume

From 2012-03-30 Steampunk costumes

and then I used these t-shirt flowers from Shannon's blog to embellish the neckline.

From 2012-04-05 Steampunk Dress

 I loved how it turned out. The only drawback is that the skirt is quite heavy, but Lizzy wore it all day, so I'd say that it is a success! Here's the back view:

From 2012-04-05 Steampunk Dress

Here is a lovey little lady:

From 2012-03-30 Steampunk costumes

And now for Charles! I wanted to do a little news boy look so Daniel found this great jumper that I promtly cut up and made into a vest and knicker combo and then added a bow tie for fun. The tie came out a little large, but I liked the look.

From 2012-03-30 Steampunk costumes

Isn't he too cute!

From 2012-03-30 Steampunk costumes

From 2012-03-30 Steampunk costumes

Here's a detail shot:

From 2012-03-30 Steampunk costumes

So this is my steam punked children's line. I had a blast making them and my kids seem to like wearing them.  I'd call that a win-win!

Stephen's Wedding

As per our usual we went on a whirlwind ride down to UT for my Brother-in-laws Wedding. We left on Wednesday night after dining with the missionaries. We drove three hours to Pendleton, OR. Stayed the night and woke up Thursday Morning to this:

From 2012-03-25 Stephen's wedding

 Nice huh? Luckily the sun came out and it turned into a beautiful day. We headed south and soon found ourselves in Idaho. Great! Only a scant 7 hours to go right? Not when Lizzy realizes that needing a potty break means free time out of the car. Yes, folks, she pulled this one out at least every half hour down to at some intervals of 10 minutes! Finally we refused to give her any liquid refreshment whatsoever, regardless of the pleas of "I'm Thirsty..." and told her that there would be no more bathroom breaks until we reach Uncle Sal's! After that announcement we finally made some head way. It was after 7 when we finally arrived in American Fork. Caitlin made her famous Mac and Cheese and then we settled in for the night. The kids did pretty good.  Then dawned the day of the Wedding.

From 2012-03-25 Stephen's wedding

After a brief breakfast we set out. First we headed to the church where the reception was to be held and met the groom outside. He filled us in on what needed to be done and we set to work.

From 2012-03-25 Stephen's wedding

Here's how the set up turned out. Nice huh? I liked the simple rustic chicness of it. Stephen had some wonderful friends helping out. We set up for the luncheon downstairs. Their building has 4 floors and 2 chapels that double as cultural halls. Then we ran to Tabitha's house. She was kind enough to watch the kiddos while we went to the Provo Temple. Luckily my phone has GPS! I haven't been there since I was in the MTC. We quickly found out  that driving on I5 was pointless so we stuck to State Street. The ceremony was beautiful and I was happy to welcome Heather as a member of the family. As we waited outside for the new couple to appear I was pleased to notice this sweet sister:

From 2012-03-25 Stephen's wedding

 They think of everything here!  Here they are! Don't they look happy?

From 2012-03-25 Stephen's wedding

 And here's one of my favorites:

From 2012-03-25 Stephen's wedding

The day was perfect and after taking some pictures Daniel and I went to pick up the kids and head back to the church for the luncheon. It was fun to finally get to talk to the family. Next we hollowed out a ton of bread bowls and then I followed Lizzy and Charles outside and watched them play. Here's Lizzy showing off her skills:

From 2012-03-25 Stephen's wedding

 Then I went to Caitlin's to recruit her help in getting a present for Theya, my niece. We waited until Sal came home then headed to the Peppermint place to pick up some candy and then headed to Smiths where I picked up some painting supplies for Theya. After Sal dropped us off at his house, Lizzy and I ran to the reception. It was nice and soup was Superb.

From 2012-03-25 Stephen's wedding

 Daniel and Tony took up posts keeping the buffet filled. They did a great job. I was a little disappointed that there was no dancing, but I was feeling a little ill anyway so it was probably a good thing. Daniel was too busy to dance anyway. I am so grateful to Cynthia! She held Charles most of the day for me. Then after cleaning up we went back to Sal's to rest. We said our goodbyes in the morning and went to Lowes to make a project with Tabitha and then spent a few hours with them before heading back home. It was a fun trip.