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.

Our Fourth Anniversary

This weekend, Aaron and I celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary. Each year, I say I can't believe another year has past. It truly seems as though time has been flying by. Since we are still pretty new in town, we have not established a babysitter for Ashton. So, lucky for us, he came on our date :). We went to Aaron's favorite crab place, the Sante Fe Station Casino Buffet. It has all sorts of amazing food. Aaron bought me roses and chocolates and I bought him a new shirt. I thought he looked very handsome in it. We had a lot of fun and it was nice just to have a quiet evening together. Aaron has been working so much lately that it's been hard to spend quality time together. We have been through so much in the past four years and have accomplished a lot. I look forward to the next adventure and the many more wonderful moments we will share in the years to come.

Working in the Back Yard

As most of you know, our back yard was not landscaped when we bought our house. For months we have been staring at a rocky mess just waiting for the opportunity to landscape. We decided we couldn't do anything until we poured the concrete patio. We called around to see how much concrete was and thought maybe Aaron and I could do it ourselves. Aaron's grandpa was a mason and Aaron had helped him many years ago. After looking at the cost of tools and realizing how much work it would be, we decided to call around for bids. Aaron found a great company that is coming out to pour our Patio on Monday.

We had a mini slab in the backyard that the builder had put in. We had to tear it out before they come to pour. Of course, Ashton wanted to help his daddy every step of the way. So we had him wear safety glasses and they worked on it together. Once we receive our tax credit for buying a house, we will be able to finish the rest of the yard. It's a work in progress, but at least we got the patio started. I've already picked out the patio furniture I want to buy, once the concrete is dry of course. More pictures to come as we complete each little project.

Hiking in the Rain

Aaron has been on a unique work schedule lately, which has allowed us to do fun things during the week. Last week, we were having awesome thunderstorms and rain in the mountains every night. We decided it would be fun to drive up to Mt. Charleston and go hiking since it was nice and cool. We bundled up the kids (we had Kendra with us because it was during the week) and decided just to do a short hike around the base of the mountain. When we got there, it was a little stormy looking, but still lots of sunshine. We hiked about a mile in and watched the clouds circling over head. We decided it would be a good idea to head back because we could see the storm blowing in. We got most the way down the hill when we heard the thunder start rolling, then the lightening came and it started to rain. We quickened our step from a walk to a trot, each with a child in hand. The second we jumped into the car it started to down pour. Both the kids laughed the whole way down the mountain. Aaron was carrying Kendra by this point and I was carrying Ashton, I think Aaron got the better deal :). It was a lot of fun and the kids loved it! I love the pictures we take up there, so forgive me that there are a lot.

We also went hiking in Red Rock Canyon with some friends and their kids. It was so much fun, we packed a dinner and then hiked around the cliffs. It reminded me a lot of St. George because most of the rocks are red and it's beautiful. My friend took a ton of pictures, which I will post as soon as she gets back from vacation. For now here is Mt. Charleston pictures.

Birthday Parties

I know it's been two weeks since my last post, so we have lots to catch up on. Two weeks ago, we celebrated Luke's 2ND birthday. He had two parties; a swim party on the weekend at Krystal's friends house and at Chucky Cheese the day of his actual birthday. Of course we went to both parties and we had a blast. The boys swam through out the entire party, it was so nice to sit back and watch them have fun together.

Ashton LOVES Chucky Cheese even though he can't really play most of the games. The important thing is he tries to play them. He wouldn't look at me during a single picture, but here are some fun action shots. We also climbed into one of the booths that sketched your picture. I thought it was pretty awesome for one token.

Shrimp Primavera Pot Pie

This is one of my new favorite recipes! I do not usually like shrimp, but Aaron loves so it so I thought it would be a nice treat if i made a shrimp dish. I have put this dish on my food calendar, but always seem to skip it. I finally actually looked at the recipe and it said it was 30 minutes for prep and cook time. I LOVE 30 minute meals start to finish so I decided to try it. It was one of the easiest dishes I have ever made and it only uses one pan. The shrimp primavera pot pie was fantastic, even I loved it! I left out the dill weed, because I hate anything that resembles mustard flavor. In my opinion it didn't need it, it was fantastic with out it. After the easiness of this meal, I am on the hunt for 30 minute meals. After a long day or what ever your doing, a simple but fantastic dinner is the key. I hope you all try this recipe and let me know what you think. My only other suggestion is to make sure the bread sticks cook all the way through, so you may need to cook it longer than the recipe calls for.

Side Note: You can mix what ever vegetables you want for this recipe, I used the stir fry mix you can buy at Costco or Sams.

Purple & Brown Tote Bag

So once my cousin called and told me that everyone loved her bag in her office, I wanted to make a bag that would be easy to sell. So I went shopping and found fabric that would be easy to reproduce in several colors and options. I also wanted to make the bag completely reversible because I couldn't decide which fabric I wanted to be on the outside. I came up with one solid print and a floral print, both of which have several color options and combinations. I created 4 pockets, each are lined to match the exterior fabric. Each pocket is the same size and can be found on each side of the bag. I also added a button to help keep the bag closed a little better than before. I have gotten a lot faster and it was something I whipped up during nap time and in between events. If you zoom in the pictures you can see the lining and stitching I used to make the bag a little more unique.

The outside of the bag

The outside Pocket

The Lining of the Outside Pocket

The inside of the Bag

The Lining of the Inside Pocket