July Summary

What books and/or magazines did I read this month?

Finished all the previous books in the JA Konrath "Detective Jacqueline 'Jack' Daniels" series. Also read some Anita Stansfield- I was in the mood for a good clean love story- the Buchanan series, first two books.

What movies, television shows, plays, etc. did I watch this month?

Cole was out of town for a few days and I got hooked on watching episodes of Say Yes to the Dress on Netflix. So funny. And I can't believe that people spend that much money on a wedding dress. Crazy. We also watched The Core, Bella, In Her Shoes, About a Boy, One Fine Day, How to Deal, and Leap Day.

What fun things did I do with my family and/or friends?
We celebrated the 4th here in our town- in our coordinating red, white and blue shirts- with a parade and fireworks/sparklers at home.

The kids with their bags of candy from the parade watching Daddy light fireworks with his propane blowtorch (yes, really).

We went as a family to the water park. Rylee got a free ticket from school for reading so many minutes, and then we bought tickets for the rest of us. It was so much fun!

I took the kids to the rodeo. All. By. Myself. I don't know what I was thinking. They got free tickets through the reading program at the library, but Cole had something already planned for that night, and I didn't want the tickets to go to waste. They loved it, but it was a lot of excited energy to contain, especially when the rodeo queens came out:

We went to my niece's wedding in Rexburg. It was a wonderful ceremony. The Temple President actually performed the sealing. It was amazing. Just before the wedding, we went to visit Cole's sister's grave that's just outside of Rexburg. And so during the sealing we could really feel her spirit and Cole's Mom's too. So neat. I just love going to the temple. This was the last of the weddings this summer.

The day after the wedding we hiked through Craters of the Moon National Monument. The kids loved climbing through some of the tunnels.

We got to go with the youth in our ward to This is the Place Heritage Park for a Pioneer Trek. It was so great! I will have to do a whole post about it soon.

What gifts did I give and/or receive?

It was our anniversary (nine years) so I got roses of course, and we went out to dinner that weekend. The actual day of our anniversary, Cole and I had to go to a mutual activity that was part of the Trek preparation, and my sister-in-law came over to watch the kids. This is what we came home to:

A Heart Attack!

What special or unusual purchases did I make?

None that I can think of. We are trying to keep up with our budget. When Cole was out of work, we kept right on top of everything we spent, but now it's like we can't even find the time to balance the checkbook (something that's always been kept to the penny). It's very frustrating.

Oh I did think of something. I bought Cole some new clothes. He doesn't like shopping, and we had a coupon to JC Penney's, so I went (with all three kids!) and bought him four or so new shirts. The iron-free kind- LOVE those. And a belt for me :)

What illnesses or health concerns did I have?

None. We've all been very healthy this summer.

What were my accomplishments this month?
I did a ton of creative home decor projects this month. See previous post of Telena's room. Here's another project:

The seashells are from our trip to Galveston Beach and the rocks are "crystal rocks" that my kids have been collecting. This arrangement is in the kids' bathroom. I made the containers from vases and votive candle holders.

What were my disappointments this month?
Just mainly the lack of budgeting communication. That's been frustrating. And it's not even like "I know we're not accounting for what we've spent, so I'll go out and buy a lot of stuff." Know what I mean?

Anything else noteworthy to include?

Didn't get to scrapbook very much, and we're looking forward to school starting.

Another Favorite

I can't believe I forgot to mention this.
We didn't get to watch all of the April General Conference due in part to me working the night before and then *someone* spilling water on our keyboard. I think because we missed it the first time around (we were so excited to be off of our regular Sunday assignments, staying home and listening to the prophet) we are now immersing ourselves in it. Cole bought the CDs when they came available and he's been listening on his way to work.

And since he wakes up super early to be to work at 6am, I am up too. So I downloaded the mp3's of the sessions and I listen in iTunes while scrapbooking, sewing or crafting in the early morning hours before kids are awake. It's been so awesome. Every talk I think was given just for me. When talking to my little brother (and the whole family) on Mother's Day, someone said that all of the conference talks were about family. I wanted to say "yep, that was for me." I had been looking and praying for guidance because sometimes I feel like I have no idea what in the world I'm doing as a mom/wife/woman. Every single talk has something for me to apply.

LOVE that!

Things I Love Right Now

1. This blog totally cracks me up! She takes catalog pictures and then puts a one or two sentance snide comment with it. So funny!
http://catalogliving.net/

2. I love this video. It gets stuck in my head so much and I feel like a really cool mini van mom whenever I watch it.

3. This style blog. She posts great deals on clothes and I love the "look for less" posts she does to re-create high-price style for way cheaper.

http://uberchicforcheap.blogspot.com/

4. This decor blog. I get tons of great ideas here. She does a lot of DIY projects and thrift store transformations.

http://thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com/

That's a short list of my faves, what are your daily reads or things you love?

Baby Girl's Room

I got on a crafty kick a few weeks ago and here is one of my favorite projects- Telena's Room.

I started with some wall stickers I bought while shopping with my sister. After I got home, I didn't know what to do with them because I thought they would look funny just randomly on the wall, so I decided to do wall plaques with Telena's initials. I started looking for wood plaques at craft stores, but thought they were too expensive. Then I stopped into a Habitat for Humanity ReStore and found these kitchen cabinet/drawer fronts. For ONE dollar each! Then I found some scrapbook paper to use and some picture hanging things.

Before:

After:

I really like how they turned out. And I loved finishing up Telena's room with some fun girly touches.

The bedding set I bought on eBay when she was a baby and the crib was a hand-me-down from my aunt, along with the changing table here:

I moved the lamp in from another room- I got it at a flea market for $3 and the shade is from Goodwill. The flowers were from my wedding (9 years ago!!) and the basket they're in is from my sister-in-law. The gold frame mirror was a wedding present, the silver frame I bought ages ago and the little birdcage is what Rylee picked out at Goodwill last week. It took much convincing for me to leave it here in Telena's room. Oh and that picture is of Telena just a few weeks old. Curtains and curtain rods from IKEA.

Her new bookshelf. We've had the shelf since we got married, it was a present from Cole's mom.

We re-arranged her room to make a spot for these new toys. A friend was downsizing her kids' toys and gave us this set. Telena LOVES the baby dolls and playing kitchen. I can often find her playing in here all by herself. (Is it just me or is that picture on the right a little crooked? I'll have to get the level out and fix it.) Anyway, that's her room. Totally girly! Love it!