A day at the beach

This last weekend Ashton and I went to California to visit my family. Aaron has been working weekends for a while, so I thought it would be fun if Ashton and I took off for a little trip. He has been asking for his grandma and papa for a while so I knew it was time for a visit. The first day I was there we went to beach. Ashton of course thought he could run right out to the water and swim in the ocean. We tried to show him that the waves would knock him over, but he thought it was hilarious and would keep running into them. After I got tired of holding him in the water, Ashton ran up to my mom and said "Grandma help." He grabbed her hand and dragged her out to the water. Then he wanted her to bury him in the sand. It was a lot of fun to go to the beach, but a lot of work with Ashton. He loved it! After the beach we got ice cream, which was another highlight to Ashton. We gave him his own bowl and he ate perfectly not spilling a drop. He was so excited to be around everyone, it's a miracle I ever got him down for a nap that day. We both miss being close to my family.



Later that evening, my mom and I decided we would try and sew after dinner. Ashton was hanging out with Trenton watching him play his video game and playing with his toys. I thought that would entertain him for a while, so I went out to the sewing room. I called Trenton after about 20 minutes to check on Ashton. He said he had just left and that he had asked Trenton to take his shirt off. I knew he was up to something because he wanted to be naked. I came into the house and asked my dad if he saw him. He said he just came down and handed him his shirt and went back up stairs. I thought that was kinda of interesting and as I headed up the stairs I could hear water running. I went into my parents bathroom and saw Ashton giving himself a bath in the big jacuzzi tub. He had turned the water on, added bubbles, and was sitting there with a huge smile on his face. Luckily the water was cold, but he didn't care, he was having fun. I had to put him in the shower to get the bubbles off. I couldn't help but laugh, all you could see was his head barely peaking out of the bubbles. It's amazing what they do in the two minutes no one is looking. I tell you, this blog will be full of crazy things my child thinks of to do.

Swim Day

Last week, my friend Pilar invited us to go swimming with them. It has been pretty hot and Ashton loves to swim, so of course I said yes. We went to her in laws house and they had a pool that made me feel like I was at a resort. The kids had a blast and it was fun to be able to sit and talk. One side of the pool was a toddler area and the other a deep swimming pool. We were there half the day and Ashton was very upset when we had to leave, even though he was about to fall asleep standing up because he was so tired! I think swimming is his favorite activity. Maybe if I'm lucky he will always love it and become the next Micheal Phelps. (No pressure he can do what ever he wants :)). It was a fun and relaxing day!

Kendra was also with us and she loved the water as much as Ashton. She didn't want to be left out. I had her in my lap most of time and she kicked and had her feet in the water almost the entire time. It was a miracle that neither of the kids got a sunburn. I coated them up with sunscreen, but you never know when your playing in the water in the hot desert sun. Ashton wouldn't stay in the toddler pool, so he has his life vest on so he could swim in the deeper water. He is so funny, he just acts much older than he is. He also loved that there were lots of rock formations to climb on and jump from. What will he think of next!

Trade Show

So my sister called me several weeks ago and told me that she was signing up to do a small trade show in her city. She asked me if I wanted to make some of my tote bags to see if I could sell them. I said I would think about it and didn't really do anything for a while. I decided to take a trip to California to see my family and thought if i was going to make any bags I better do it now so I didn't have to mail them. Needless to say once I started I couldn't stop myself. Here are pictures of the latest bags, I still have two more to make. I had so much fun, I literally sewed for three days straight till my machine stopped. I have been sewing so much I needed to take in it for a tune up. None the less, I got most of my projects done thank heavens!

I tried to make each bag a little different. I made them different sizes, different handles, different stitching. I love all them and it was almost a little hard to part with them last weekend. Some have two handles, some have one. Hope you enjoy!

A side from bags I also created these great little infant car seat attachments. Instead of draping a blanket over the car seat to keep your baby covered, I made a mini blanket that attaches to the handle of the car seat to cover your little one. I can't take credit for the idea, I saw it on my friends car seat and thought it was a fabulous idea. After writing this blog I realized I didn't take pictures of all the ones I made, but here is a look at my sample. I made mini rag blankets with ribbons to attach to the car seat. Each one was made with two different flannel pieces with bating in the middle. They were easy to make and serve a great purpose!

Cute Kids!

Since we have been working on house stuff for the past few days, I haven't really been taking Ashton and Kendra out to do anything fun. Nonetheless, the two of them have been troopers and been very good this week. We went to Joann's to look at fabric and they were laughing through the whole store, so of course I had to take a picture of them being good! Then on a different day, we headed to star nursery to start getting some ideas for the back yard and Ashton was being such a great helper. He fed Kendra her bottle and then wanted to pull her around the whole store. For anyone who has gone to Star Nursery, you know there are little red wagons instead of shopping carts. We put both of them in a wagon to start and then Ashton wanted to walk. He pulled her around that store for an hour doing laps around the plants. Sometimes they just crack me up, so I wanted to share my cute pictures of the two of them. We also started feeding Kendra rice cereal this week, so I included a picture of my first feeding with her. I had forgotten how much of a mess it is when they are first learning to eat. She basically spit the food at me, but she was smiling the whole time liked she liked it. She was much cleaner than Ashton, but we'll see once we switch to veggies. I included a picture of Ashton's first try at rice cereal too.

Painting the Kitchen

Ever since we moved in, we have been talking about painting the house. This is a project that will take a very long time. I decided it might add some flare to our new home if we just painted the kitchen. I placed sample colors on my walls for three days before deciding on the perfect color. Who would have guessed it was the same color scheme my mom used on all her custom homes? Great minds think a like and the color is fantastic. Aaron and I painted the house over the weekend and have been touching up spots over the past few days. We ended up having to paint the ceiling as well because we notice there was a smoke stain around the edge of the room from the previous owners. Of course we couldn't leave it, so we repainted the ceiling too. You put two perfectionists on a project and a one day job turns into a three day job. It was a lot of work, but the results are fantastic and we love it. I am going to add drapes on the windows, but I still have to make them. You will see my temporary drape hanging in one of the windows. I like to sample for a few days before I commit, but so far I love them. Now I just need to make them. I am also adding a vinyl quote to the wall. It will say:


"A pinch of patience...a dash of kindness... a spoonful of laughter and a heap of love"


I'm not sure which area I will put it in, but I will post a picture as soon as I finish the last two touches.

Our New Patio

Well, we finally went from planning the patio to pouring the patio! We had Simple Creations in Concrete come and pour our patio for us and they did a fantastic job! We had them pour an 11X30 foot patio and they stamped the top to give it a nice texture. I'm hoping when my dad comes up that he can add a little color to it. As soon as I let Ashton walk on it, he ran in circles on top of it for about 30 minutes. I know finishing the backyard is going to be a huge help in releasing all his energy. He loved watching the guys work asking what they were doing every 20 minutes. When they were carrying the concrete from the front to the back, he sat on the patio yelling at them that they were making a mess. At first he just had his feet dangling off the edge and then his whole body was only hanging onto to the railing. He is a funny kid. We are so excited to have the patio completed. Now we can buy our lounge furniture and enjoy the spectacular dessert sunsets. Since the patio is done, Aaron got right to work pouring in rocks and creating an edge. He has only done one side, but it's all we had the materials for. The rest may have to wait just a little longer. Step 1 complete, many more to come.