Latest Creation

Yes, Just call me the Bag Lady! My cousin Melissa wanted me to make a bag for her and I finally finished it this week. She told me the colors and the look she was going for and off to Joann's I went. I found the perfect fabric and got to work. Each time I make a new bag, I get to be a little more creative. I get to try different stitches and combinations of fabric. It turned out so cute! She took it to work the next day and it was a big hit. Needless to say, I bought more fabric and will be making more bags. It's great practice on my machine and its fun to piece different ideas together. On this bag I pieced together the outer pocket and even lined it. Make sure you zoom in to see all the fun details!

The Outside of the Bag

The Outside Pocket

The Inside of the Bag

The Lining on the Outside pocket

Ashton sat next to me almost the whole way through this project. He would hand me my supplies and wanted to watch everything I was doing. He was such a great helper! I used to do the same thing with my mom when she sewed, it's fun to have your own children do the same thing and be interested in what your doing.

Lake Mojave

This last weekend we were able to meet my family at Lake Mojave for some boating fun! Aaron finished his school early so that we could take off for a few days to play on the lake. Ashton loved the boat! He kept telling papa to go faster and just loved to ride around. It was so nice being able to see all of my immediate family in one weekend. I was able to ski, which I haven't done in a long time, and boy was I sore. If I could go skiing every weekend, I would be in excellent shape. We also got to go tubing which was a blast. My dad is the best driver when it comes to tubing, I don't think I've laughed that hard in a long time. It was a wonderful trip and we can't wait to do it again. Ashton had some good training as a co-captain. He always helped pull in the ropes and would always tell us when someone fell down in the water. Here are some pictures of our fun family vacation.

Fourth of July - Friday

What a packed weekend we had! Aaron was lucky enough to have Friday off of work so we decided to hop in the car and head to California. This was our first trip home since we have moved to Vegas. We have only been gone a little over three months, but it has felt a lot longer than that. It was so fun to see everyone and be able to spend the fourth of July with our family. On Friday night we were able to go out to dinner with my parents. Since we were all dressed up we had to take some family pictures!








Ashton wanted to go for walk before we loaded back into the car (the last place he wanted to be) so he climbed in the stroller and I pushed him around. Who said you can't walk in heels looking fabulous :) Hey it's a great work out for the legs and tush.

Fourth of July Day

So the Fourth of July is not only the celebration of our Countries Independence, it is also my uncle Sheldon's Birthday. Every year Grandmommy throws a hug BBQ and Pool Party to celebrate. We swim all day only taking breaks to eat and to enjoy her fantastic home made ice cream.

Ashton loves being in the water! I did mommy and me swim classes last year and he really believed he could swim all by himself. Last year we didn't want to put him in floaties because we wanted him to know he couldn't do it by himself. This year we decided to put him in his life vest (it was also good practice for our lake trip coming up). Of course he was reluctant, but once he realized he could swim all over the pool with out us, he loved it. It actually really helped his form and learning to use his arms and legs. I took some video footage because he is just adorable and we were so proud of how hard he was working.

I have lots of pictures I want to share so bear with the length of this posting.

Here is Aaron, Ashton and I (at this point in the day Ashton was getting pretty tired).

My Mom and Dad and Me

My Mom and I (Can you guess who I look like?)

Tressah and I at the firework show.

Ashton and Me at the Firework Show.

Our little family at the fireworks (Picture courtesy of Jaclyn, thank you so much!).

More Fun Pictures

Like I said, I have tons of pictures to share. Here are just a few more pictures from the rest of the weekend. I finally got to wear my dress I made, so of course I had to take a picture of it. I also had to include a picture of my cousin Dallin because he is just so cute! He was always smiling and such a sweet baby.

Sewing Projects for the week

It wouldn't be a blog week without updating the projects I have been working on. Before I left for California, my cousin Krystal asked me to make her a tote bag. I of course said yes! I can use all the practice on my machine I can get and its one of the only things I know how to make right now :). It really turned out cute. I had used a synthetic silk for the lining instead of canvas and that was a learning experience all by itself. I didn't have an over lock machine and the material frayed really bad so I had to double stitch everything. It was definitely a good lesson about other kinds of materials. None the less it turned out great!

My second project was making a baby quilt for my friend Krystal who just had a baby girl. I called my mom and asked her what to make and she suggested a rag quilt. So I went to the store and picked out pink and purple fabric and cut out all the pieces before driving to California. Once I got down there, my mom told me how to sew the quilt together. She kept me company while I sewed. This is the opposite of what I am used too. Usually I am keeping her company while she is sewing, it was nice being the other way around. The blanket turned out beautiful, I am going to have to buy more fabric and make one for myself. I realize I didn't take a picture of the back, but I alternated pink and purple stripes to tie in with the front.

Coming Home - The Park

On our way home from California this morning, I was thinking of how I could possibly wear out Ashton before bed. When you spend half the day in the car, it's usually pretty hard to get them to sleep later. I called my friend Becca to see if she wanted to meet me at the park with her two kids. The park we go to has a giant play area with at least ten different slides and a huge water play area. Ashton has always been afraid of playing in the water, which is odd because he loves to swim. Well tonight he conquered his fear and was soaking wet after playing in the water for so long. After playing in the water, I of course had to strip him down naked to get him dry. He ran to the car like a naked superman with only a cape. I took captured some of his play on video, right before I got the camera out he was literally running in circles. Here he is kind of just standing in the water, but none the less it was huge progress!








The little girl is Ashton's friend Brynlee. They are the same age and in nursery together. They have a lot of fun together.

My Creative Child

Ashton can find a way to make anything a toy. He, for some reason, is obsessed with pulling my books off the shelf and placing them on the floor. Sometimes he acts like he is reading my calculus (math) books, other times he uses them as stepping stones. Today, I sat down at the computer to check my email and when I turned around I found Ashton setting up a course for his truck. He used my books to create an off road track for his four wheel truck. All I could do is laugh and he had the biggest smile on his face. He is just adorable, so I took some pictures and though I would share. Who says you need expensive toys to keep you busy, Ashton finds the most joy out of the toys that only cost a couple of dollars.

Food Calendar for July

Well June has come to end and it's time to start planning for July. As before, I created my food calendar for the month and thought I would share my ideas. Since Aaron is working nights still, the first few weeks are pretty simple meals. Ashton and I keep it simple so we can go to the park or for walks after dinner. The second half of the month I added several new recipes and recipes we ended up skipping last month. My next step is writing my shopping list. Since we will be out of town twice this month, it makes cooking and planning a little easier. Let me know if you want any recipes, I am always happy to share.

Latest Projects

Since I have been in the sewing mode for the past week, I thought I would share my other two projects I finished this week. While my mom was here, we started working on sewing a dress. I thought it was a perfect opportunity to learn how to do some other things on my machine. We made it all the way to the zipper and then she had to go home. She explained it to me, but I was nervous to try it on my own. It took me two days before I decided to go for it. It's not completely perfect, my seam is a little narrow on one side, but I was excited to finish it and it looks nice.

My second project was to create another tote bag, except this time completely by myself. It took me about three hours one night when I was waiting for Aaron to come home. I only planned on starting it, but ended up finishing it waiting for him to get here. I took my time and really tried to make it perfect, I even added a pocket on the outside. I had so much fun making it. Krystal wants me to make one for her next, I told her to pick out the fabric and I would love too! Make sure to double click on the pictures to enlarge and see the detail.