The Latest Project.....and it filled a lonely and empty spot

My latest art project filled a spot in the kitchen that has needed a little something for a long while. As I thought what to put there, I wanted something cheap, unique and personal so I began to brainstorm and came up with this:

BEFORE: BORING EMPTY SPACE IN THE KITCHEN

AFTER: A ONCE EMPTY SPACE WITH A BIT MORE PIZAZZ

Greatest thing about this needed update is that I already had the paint and my Mom gave me the canvas. So, total cost for this project was $$FREE.99$$

Thanksgiving Day.

We had a very Happy Thanksgiving with the Nestman clan. We all ate, chatted and laughed a lot. I cooked my first Thanksgiving turkey and it actually turned out really tasty. So, I was very Thankful for that. We were Thankful that Lo carved the turkey for us and Janyce supplied MANY yummy dishes for the meal.

Notice all of Sommies apples in the apple dip. I was Thankful that Dad caught her and asked her to stop with the apple dipping obsession.

We were Thankful to have Thar, Lo, Janyce, Mardi and Terry and family all join us for the day and help to make Thanksgiving a fun and happy day.

C'mon, Everybody cut, Everybody cut, FOOTLOOSE.

Who would have known I would be hangin' with Kenny Loggins last night? Lo was given some free tickets from Zion's, so we decided to make a night of it. We went and had a great dinner and then headed to the concert. My knowledge of his music includes the song from Footloose, and that Pooh Corner children's song. Now, I loved the movie Footloose so I was hoping he would get that song in, which he did. It really was a fun concert and I learned that he sings a lot of familiar songs that I didn't know were his. We got a backstage pass and even got to chat with him for a minute or two. He was a nice guy and really did put on a great show. So Kenny, Lo and I are tight now. Make sure to keep your eyes and ears open for his next hit dedicated to us.

Now it's INDOOR SOCCER TIME.

Drew started playing in an indoor soccer league a couple of weeks ago. I do have to admit his indoor soccer has been a little more fun to watch than his Fall games with the Killer Bees for a few reasons:

1. It is a much faster moving game

2. Drew is moving faster along with it

3. Goal total for his entire Fall soccer season=1

and for his indoor soccer season(only 2 games so far)=4

4. The playing area is fenced off, so I don't have to ask Sommer to get off the field every other minute

1 negative: the team name is The Duckies. Am I a rude mom? I really should think that is a cute name right?

Halloween SPOOKtacular.

October was full of MANY celebrations and it finally came to an end on Friday.

Thursday, we decided to add one more party to the list before the big day. We carved pumpkins, ate caramel apples, had orange hot cocoa, and watched Disney's, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow with our pumpkins lit by the fireplace. Our kids were bouncing off the walls and Lo and I had sugar headaches by the time the night was over.

After sleeping off our sugar high it was officially Halloween time. Drew started the day with a party at his school. Everyone dressed up and brought treats to share with the class.

Drew and Mrs. Buxton

Later that night, and once Superman and our little fairy were in their Halloween best, we headed to Trunk or Treat at our ward building. There were A LOT of people there. We brought around 200 pieces of candy and ran out in about 20 minutes. Drew and Sommer happily ended the Trunk or Treat with bags bulging with goodies.

After the Trunk or Treat success, we went Trick-or-Treating to Grandma Jane's and then to Grandpa Lo's.

Grandpa Lo in his fanciest Halloween wig.

We had fun visiting with the grandparents and decided to call it a night. I feel like we celebrated Halloween around 50 times this year before the actual holiday finally came. I was a little relieved to see The Halloween spectacular finally come to a happy end.

NUMBER 8.

Lo and I celebrated our numero 8 last week. It is crazy to think that we have been married 8 years and at the same time it seems like it has been many more. We decided to go to Park City to celebrate the occasion for a couple days. We took Drew and Sommey along for one of the nights. We had a lot of fun together and played until they were worn out. Lo and Janyce were nice enough to babysit them for the next night. This is what Drew and Sommey were doing when they met us to pick up the kids.

Lo was thrilled when I surprised him by taking this shot of him in the hot tub. He will be even more thrilled that I am posting it on the blog. Love ya cutes.....sexy arm tan.

Lo surprised me with flowers the day we left. I think these will go down as one of my favorites. I love the colors. Thanks for eight great years and two of the cutest kids ever. I love you Lo!

Costumes, Carnivals, and Close Friends

Saturday night we had some of our friends over for a Halloween Party. We decorated our unfinished basement for the festivities. I painted a few cardboard boxes and used some things that my mom sent me like the spider that hung from the ceiling to create a spooky ambiance.

We played carnival games and the kids won some really great prizes thanks to a load of goodies that my momma(Thanks Mom!) sent for the festivities as well. The games included: The Fish Pond, Bean Bag Toss and Hit Frank's Face(ball toss). The kids came in their Halloween best and looked very cool and cute. We had Superman, Supergirl, Snow White, Dash, Minnie Mouse, Spider Man, bumble bees, and Fairy's , to name a few of our fancy guests. Sadly, a lot of my pictures turned out a bit blurry and I never did get one of all the kids together.

Superman (Drew) and Supergirl (Paige)

Sommer started the party as a Fairy Princess and ended as a disheveled Snow White with Strawberry Shortcake glasses and lipstick smeared skirt -due to some prizes she won at the fishing pond.

We always have such a fun time when we get together. Thanks to everyone for bringing yummy treats, salads, and your cute families. We missed those that couldn't make it this time and look forward to seeing everyone again at the Christmas Party or sooner.

My Latest Project

In a continuation of my efforts to decorate my home for as cheap as possible, I finished a new project this week. I saw this map in Pottery Barn Kids and loved it. I decided to attempt to re-create it for Drew's room. I thought it would be a good way to help him learn the states and also show him where his friends and family live across the U.S.A. and add a little flare to an empty wall.

Here is the progression of my efforts:

First I sketched the states out with pencil and then used acrylic paint for the states colors and names.

I was happy with the results and it was a really fun project.

I think the final cost was $16 for the canvas, $15 for supplies. So, $30 bucks for a project that I would have had to shell $100 out for through PBKids. Not too shabby.

Top of Utah Marathon-I DID IT!!!

I ran the Top of Utah Marathon on Saturday in Logan. For my first marathon, my goal was to just finish. I ended up walking around 4 miles of the race, but still ended up finishing just under 5 hours. I met some really cool people, ended up seeing one of my great friends, and realized that I could actually make it to the finish line.

Lo got this shot of me around mile 25.5
He got another shot of me smiling as I see the finish line right in front of me.
........and then for the final shot as I crossed the blessed finish line. My final official time was 4 hours 58 minutes. It was one of the coolest experiences I have ever had and I really think I will do it again......not next week, but next year sounds pretty good.

Soccer-The "Killer" Bees

Soccer has begun and the "Killer Bees" are ready for action.

Drew had his first official soccer game yesterday. He is lucky enough to not only get one on one tips from the coach but to live with him as well. Lo volunteered to coach Drew's team and is doing a great job with the kids.

Drew loved his first game and got a few good kicks. He has practice every Wednesday night and will play 8 games over the entire season. It was pretty cute the see how the kids would run after the ball and then sometimes disregard it all together. Our team managed to make a couple of goals, unfortunately, a few less than the other team did.

GO BEES !!!

Preschool begins....guns and golf clubs...water parks....Birthday Parties.

We are trying to keep the summer fun coming, although school has officially begun for Droozer. He started school on August 20th. He has an August birthday, so I decided to send him to one more year of Preschool before starting Kindergarten. His teacher is Mrs. Buxton and he is feeling good about being in school again.

SUNDAY SURPRISES

Grandpa and Mimi Nestman came to dinner on Sunday with surprises for Drew and Sommey. Drew scored some cap guns and Sommer got her own mini set of golf clubs. We had a fun dinner and watched the Olympics, while Drew shot up the place and Sommer checked out her new set of clubs.

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS

The night shots, although a little blurry, still show the kids partying the night away and helping Grandpa Moss blow out his candles.We were in to Idaho Friday and Saturday to celebrate my Dad's 64th birthday. We had a fun party in the Moss backyard that ended with some Boomland fireworks that my Mom bought on their fun trip.

WATER PARK

We also spent some time at the water park in Rexburg. The kids were huge fans up until the lady in charge had to clear everyone out of the water because some kid decided to be a literal "party pooper." Yucky.