crafts with Emily

i love being an aunt. it's pretty fantastic. just yesterday, i was telling Elizabeth and Gabe that i have so many fun things i want to do with nieces and nephews, that i'm afraid there won't be enough time. what if they grow up and they're too cool to hang out with me!! i gotta get this stuff going while they're young and have less of a choice!

i also love crafting. scrapbooking, cardmaking, painting, i've even done some sewing and quilting (not particularly well, but i've done it!)

anyways. seeing as how i love being an aunt and i love crafting, i was all too excited to combine the two. it's too bad the boys live so far away - or i would've roped them in years ago! i invited Emily over on saturday for a Halloween craft. We made a trick-or-treat bag for her.

i got a black canvas tote in the craft section of Walmart. i got felt, craft glue, and black glitter glue from Jo-Anns. i cut out the felt to make a jack-o-lantern for one side and a ghost for the other side. i lined each piece with the black glitter glue.

with all the pieces ready, all Emily had to do was glue them on. i helped her glue them on. i told her to press each piece down and when she did, she looked up to say, "look daddy! i pressed it!!"



It was hard to get her to hold still for a picture, so she looks kinda silly in this one. (also note the creepy eye on the TV in the background...)

i also got that little foam jack-o-lantern for her at Jo-Anns. it had foam stickers to make the face. equally exciting for her. :)

when all was said and done, the bag turned out really cute!!

can't wait for another crafting date with one of my lovely nephews and/or nieces!!

sit'n sleep will beat anyone's advertised price or your mattress is freeeee!

you're killing me larry!!

gabe and i have been on a crummy mattress for a while. it was wonderful when we first got it, but that feeling didn't last long. saggy, creeky, flimsy thing. between the recent heat and my back's disagreement with the old thing, we decided we'd had enough and went mattress shopping.

mattress shopping is awkward... and gross. first, we went to Leed's (where Niel with the deal won't be beat...) The salesman was aggressive, loud, and argumentative. he started yelling at another couple about the deal they said they found, accusing them of lying. he definitely made me uncomfortable. so we mosied on over to Sit'n Sleep. much better selection, better prices, better salesmen. we landed on this beauty...

behold - a good night's sleep:

i have to say, it is so choice. if you have the means, i highly recommend you pick one up.

festive for fall

i'm having a fun time with halloween festivities! i had to constrain myself from buying the whole halloween sections of Target, Walmart, Jo-anns.... you name it. i also had to force myself to wait until October to decorate. i can't wait till we get closer to halloween so i can carve my pumpkins!

(paper cut-outs. $1.99 pack at Walmart - 2009)

(foam stickers. huge pack of them at Target for $3)

(plastic placemats - $1.50/each at Target. the pumpkin basket is a few years old...)

(big hairy spider!! $4.99 at Target)

(candy bucket - Target $2.50. made the treat bag last year.)

(jack-o-lantern candy dish - $2.50 @ Target.)

take me out to the ball game

we've enjoyed some of America's favorite pass-time lately. it's been fun. at the Dodger game (think blue!), i had a total flashback of the days we first started dating. (awwww.) we used to go to dodger games all the time when we first started dating and i forgot how fun it is. though we officially root for the Dodgers, we enjoy Angel games as well...

Here's Mike and Emily at the RP Angel game:


And look at little Allyson...


We got discounted tickets for the Dodgers the other night. We saw 4 homeruns in a row! it was awesome.

Think blue!!!

hope you've had a chance to make it to the ballpark this summer. it's a must!!

crafts

please to enjoy the fruits of my crafting labor:

july flew by.

(oh hey, that rhymed.)

i am aware that July isn't actually over. but chances of me posting again this month are slim to none. so, as far as my blog is concerned, july flew by.

We started out July with a fun visit from Eric, Michelle & the boys, and Aunt Christine & Uncle Steve. EBJ was kind enough to bring cool weather with him from Washington, which worked out great on our Disneyland day!

The boys weren't much into having their picture taken. ride rides? or take pictures? they wanted to ride rides!

Emily was adorable. Thanks, Mike & Janica for letting us take her!

We even got to do some Big Kid Rides...

We took the Monorail while they rode Star Tours.

Matthew's such a cool dude!

We stayed all the way until the fireworks!

While everyone was here, we celebrated my father's birthday in style. Pink Flamingo party? Why not!!

Delicious carrot cake, complete with flamingo flare.

Uncle Steve found a very rare treasure! a French Army Knife.... includes only a white flag and a corkscrew.

Opening the presents. Pink Flamingos watching over his shoulder.

It was fun having the kids around. We loved taking them to the park and playing.

Of course, after they left, the HEAT came in. Just in time for the RailPros Family Picnic too! It was a great picnic this year, despite the heat. We all know Emily had a good time...

silly girl.

RailPros Dodger Night was last week. Gabe and I signed up to go and we were so excited, but just as soon as we signed up for tickets, Gabe got his registration appointment for school. He didn't want to risk not getting the classes he wanted, so I took EAK as my date instead. Pretty good date too, she bought me a Dodger Dog and everything!

We had good seats! Not close enough for the players to hear, but Mike certainly tried his hardest... He was getting horse from all the screaming.




this last Saturday, Gabe and I braved a scary world.... the world of Chuck-E-Cheese. Kiera's 4th birthday party was fun, but it is just too much. I promised Momma Linda that she would never have to go to a party there for any kid that Gabe and I might have!

Even still, Kiera thought it was just about the BEST thing ever, and that's what matters...

Birthday Princess!

August? ok. bring it on.

aint that america.

4th of July was a fun filled weekend for us! On Saturday, we went swimming with Miss Emily. It was so much fun! I have always LOVED swimming, and I'm loving that Emily is a bit of a water-baby too!

Look at that smile - and in her Mickey towel that we got her for her birthday. :)

On Sunday, we had a BBQ at our house. Hamburgers, hot-dogs, and potato salad - what's more American than that? Perhaps the red, white, and blue smiley cookies that Janica made!

(and they were delicious too!)

Unfortunately, everyone had to leave before fireworks. They totally missed out! We lit our own fireworks (bottle rockets and sparklers), some of the neighbors lit fireworks, and we watched the Disneyland fireworks from outside our house. I was quite popular with the younger kids in the neighborhood because of my sparklers. I shared, because sharing is caring, and one of the moms was so cute... she said to me, "thank you so much for sharing such a special treat with my daughter!" It was the first real interaction we've had with the neighbors.


the neighborhood boys liked the bottle rockets that gabe had. We didn't share those though, they're a little more dangerous.

And me with my sparklers. I heart sparklers.

Hope everyone had a wonderful 4th!