New (old) Blog is up and running

KyLee is a huge computer geek. She loves photoshop, blogging, fb, etc... anything having to do with the latest and greatest she enjoys doing. She had a computer class last year and just loved it. Her teacher was just awesome and she really learned a lot. This year, she is in his class again for Publications, which is a full year class that puts the yearbook together. She is having so much fun in that class and is again learning tons and tons of fun stuff.

When we started up our new little adventure, Too Cute~N~Crafty she asked if she could make a blog. She was so excited how could I tell her no. Over the past little while she has been MIA with school, dance, and cheer that I have had to take over a bit of the blogging duties. It has been fun to see where we were, where we are at, and what we will be doing. Take a look at out cute little blog. It definitely has been fun hanging out with my tween doing these craft shows.

www.toocutencrafty.blogspot.com

Fall Festival, Springs Ranch, PBR.. oh my....

This past weekend we jammed in as many activities that is allowed during daylight! Fall is my favorite time of the year and I really wanted to enjoy it this year. Being a little homesick has gotten the best of me, so I am really looking forward to the holidays.Cody's mom and dad came down for the weekend and we kept them on their toes. Cody and KyLee had obligations on Saturday, but that didn't stop the rest of us. First, we went to the Fall Festival over at Exploration Peak Park. The past two years, I have had to work the PTA booth and haven't been able to enjoy the activities with the girls. This year we really enjoyed the morning. Sawyer got to pick a pumpkin from the Pumpkin Patch and then got to decorate it at the craft table.

I entered a drawing for a "Princess Party" and won. I am so excited! Sawyer's first "friends" party will be a hit in January. Yes, knowing me... I am already planning the event. A thousand of ideas are popping in my head. I hope the cheerleaders are ready for my ideas. I will need all the teenage help I can get!

After we got down with the park we picked up KyLee and headed over to Spring Mountain Ranch. It is a Nevada State Park and I really, really enjoyed it. For a few hours I really felt like we were home. You couldn't see the strip, we had to wear our jackets because there was a nip in the air, and there was no sign of palm trees anywhere. The girls got to pick a pumpkin and then carve it for a Jack O' Latern contest.

This was the point in time that my camera died. I will need to upload Jackie's pictures when I get the chance. After the Jack O' Latern contest, we joined in on the ghost haunted tour. It was cute, but scared Sawyer pretty good.

On Sunday, we took the girls to the PBR Finals. This has turned out to be a family tradition and it was fun to have Boyd and Jackie go with us this year. The seats were not the best (Cody was so mad that he is bound and determined to pay the money next year to have the "good" seats.) but the events were still good and it was fun to be there and watch the championship

It might just be me, but I have the cutest cowgirls ever!! Here is are a few pics from the PBR.

Happy Fall ya'll!!

My Craft Blog is now up and running... Let the fun begin!

I am excited to finally share my new craft blog, http://www.toocutencrafty.blogspot.com/. I have wanted to start a business for as long as I could remember. When we lived in Tooele, I wanted to open up a scrapbook store so bad. At times, I thought I had Cody convinced, but it just never went through. I would have been heartbroken if I would have opened up one and then find out we were moving to Vegas. I have thought from time to time to open up one in Vegas, especially since there is NOTHING in SW Las Vegas. Unfortunately, scrapbooking is going digital and I know deep down the business would probably never do well.

Each year, being in charge of the Fall Craft Fair at Reedom Elementary, I have wanted to have a business where I could sell my creations. I love tinkering with wood crafts, that is definitely my speciality. I also enjoy the flower hair clips, and card making. I love looking at craft blogs and getting inspirations from others, taking ideas and combining a bunch of different ideas and making some unique to my style.

I finally sat down with Cody one afternoon and told him I wanted to start a business and since than it has been a lot of fun. I have learned a TON, meet some awesome people, experience a lot of sleepless nights and enjoyed the rewards of people buying my product. My brain is constantly going with new ideas. Cody has become quite the saw man and I enjoy all the time he takes to cut out my latest and greatest creations.

I have also enjoyed learning the "Craft World". Who knew there were so many crafts going on in Sin City. People in Vegas are crafty!! I have learned there are vendor "networks" (yes seriously, a network of vendors who get together on meet-up...go figure) I have obtained a exemption business license and tax ID number. Yay..go me!

So for now, I will continue to enjoy making and selling crafts. Head over to my blog and enjoy. If you see something you like let me know.

Nevada Wild West

Okay, so for anyone who knows me, I a sucker when it comes to concerts, especially country. I love going to concerts when it is someone good to see and the seats are good. I refuse to go to go see someone perform if the seats are crap! Call me a snob, but I was spoiled in college when we used to get media passes to shows and then when I worked for K-Bull 93 in Utah and access to so many different shows, that sealed me being a snob! :)

This past weekend was the Nevada Wild West days in Henderson. Cody's company was contracted to supply the furniture for the V.I.P seating area. Cody received tickets for us to go and see the show, hang out in the V.I.P tent and we even had V.I.P parking... yes I am a snob!

The girls had a great time at the concert. Although our seats were in the 4th row, me and the girls worked our way up to the stage and stood right at the stage for the entire time. Here are some of the pics...

Lonestar... fun!!
Jason Micheal Carroll signing auto's while singing. KyLee and Sawyer both got auto's and guitar pics.

getting close and personal... :)

Jason singing to Sawyer while Ky's taking the pics.

We had a great time!! Besides the concert, Sawyer rode the ponies, KyLee rode the mechanical bull, we enjoyed walking through the vendor booths, smelling the aroma of food we can't eat and enjoyed the great weather. Fall in Vegas is quite nice this time of year!

What I want in Life

Yes, it has been quite a while since I have blogged. I have been so wrapped up in other stuff that it is time to get back to the basic stuff that I enjoy, that includes blogging. Recently, I have been thinking about life a lot and what I really want. Back in July, with a little encourage from some truly wonderful ladies in my life, I decided to start selling the hair clips and wood crafts that I make for my kids, family, and sometimes I even keep a few of them for myself. I have started out small and have done a couple of craft fairs in Las Vegas. They have been so much fun and I have met some really neat people. It has been fun to broaden my network of friends and to truly know what life can be like.

Cody and I will sit and talk about what we want to do. We call it our 5 year plan. His dream would be to own a ranch in Colorado or Wyoming and run a Bed & Breakfast or a guided tour. As I sit and listen to his ideas, I only think of snow, cold, middle of nowhere, kids uprooted again, having to make new friends. Well, one day I thought to my self, "Why are you complaining?" I need to take him up on this offer and run with it as fast as I can.

I started thinking of a cute little town we came across when we went back and visited my family in SC. On our way back from Pigeon Forge, NC we stopped at this cute little family restaurant. The food was absolutely wonderful! The people had true southern hospitality and if I could have, I would have parked my behind in their parking lot and never leave. This is my dream! This is what I want in life. The land out in the middle of nowhere, the bed & breakfast or guide tour that Cody keeps talking about and finally, a cute little gift store that I can set up and sell all the fun crafts that I enjoy making. I keep thinking how fun it would be to have a network of friends like I do now who have the same passion as I do with crafting who would display their items in my store and enjoy the comfort of home sweet home.

The pictures below are from our trip. Enjoy and capture the moment...

Apple Orchard Behind The Resturant

View From the Resturant Window

Driveway View

Farmer Market & Resturant

And yes... This is mine!

Life is funny and this wild and crazy family is right in the midst of it. KyLee and I talk quite a bit about where she would like to live what she wants friends, school, etc... as I listen to her wants and wishes it just amazes me without every listening to what Cody and I talk about, she wants the same thing. I think I am ready for a change!!

One word... BuSy!!

I had a friend who asked me to make some flower hair clips for her nieces. After a few long days, and many,many,many (how many, manys do I insert here) Diet Coke's later I have about 175 hair pieces for her to choose from tomorrow. I am going to go out on a limb and bet she is not going to buy all 175, so.... if you are interested in looking at them after Monday let me know. I will brag... they are cute!! :) I have some pics (not of all of them) on my craft blog www.toocutencrafty.blogspot.com for you to take a look. Call me!! xoxox

Spring Showcase-New Hope Christian Academy

The New Hope Christian Academy had their Spring Showcase today. They did such a wonderful job and I was so proud of Sawyer. At first she didn't quite know what to expect. During their first song she didn't sing much as she was scanning the audience for mom and dad. Once she found us, she sang her little heart out. She did such a good job and I had so much fun watching the little one sing.

Say "Pose"

Sawyer loves, loves, loves the camera. Anytime I have a camera in hand she will tell me to take her picture. This is not always and easy task when it comes to this camera diva. She will simply not hold still. She has so many poses and an attitude in each of them that I can't help but laugh and then she gets upset because I won't take her picture. Last week, they had picture day at school. Since I didn't write it down in the "brain" (my paper dayplanner) I remembered very last minute. Normally before picture day, I will always get the girls cute new outfits, this time however, I forgot. I was happy that she still had an Easter outfit that was still fairly new and so this is what we went with. Next year, I will be better.

I stress over picture day. This is why I was surprised I had almost forgot. You always want you school pics to turn out cute. This is how your classmates will remember you...and so on and so on.

I tried to take a few pics of Sawyer just in case picture day didn't work in her favor. Trying to get her to hold still and do a cute pose was nearly impossible. When I tell her to pose, who knows what I will get.

Luckly enough, her school pics are darling!! I cannot wait to get our order. I love this kid!!

My Cute Little Cuddle Bug

Can I tell you how much I love having girls! I have such girly girls and I love every minute of it. Sawyer is so much fun and she is just like me. Tracking down her phone and purse before we have it head out the door, thinks that she needs to check her Facebook status everyday (mom can we go on facebook?) or wants to cuddle when her favorite shows are on t.v. She is such a doll. And I will also honestly admit, she has my temper, my attitude, and my selfish attitude that I can do everything on my own. I never said this was a bad thing.... :)

A couple of Saturday's ago, the girls and I took Cody out to dinner for his birthday and to see a movie. "How to Train Your Dragon" was not his first choice, but he was a good sport and the girls had a fabulous time. They also wormed their way into the arcade afterwards and played a bunch of games. Of course, since we were going out for a night on the town, Sawyer had to look her best. She fights and fights me to do her hair, but if we were ever to leave without doing her hair she would throw a fit. Look how cute one of his three dates looked.

Happy 3rd Birthday Cuddle Bug

These pics are a little late but I have to post them because I have the cutest kids in the world!! Sawyer turned 3 in January and when we asked her where she wanted to go for dinner, shocking to everyone, Chuck E Cheese was the birthday girls first choice. Side note, I will be glad when she is old enough to pick a better place. The buffet at the Sahara (which is AWFUL) is better then cardboard pizza at Chuck A Cheese (this is what Sawyer calls it)

We brought with us (because if the pizza is bad, I can only imagine the cake) our own birthday cake that had green frosting. The girls absolutely loved the cake and the green frosting that stuck to their teeth.

Green frosting + braces = an hour of brushing our teeth before bed time.

I am the proudest mom in the whole world!! I love my girls more then life itself. They are a handful.... of joy... :)

Being able to stay home each day with Sawyer is always an adventure within itself. She keeps me on my toes and I am exhausted at the end of each day. Since she turned 3 this year, here are 3 reasons why I love this girl so, so, much!

3. I love nicknames. When I was in high school, my nickname was K.J. My nickname for Sawyer is cuddle bug. She will cuddle with you all day long if you let her. Sometimes when she does not want to go to bed I will say to her, "Will you come be my cuddle bug?" And she will come crawl into bed with me and snuggle until she goes to sleep. I love those moments!!

2. She is the smartest three year old I know. This kid can do anything. Do not tell her she is not old enough or tall enough to do something. She will prove you wrong. If you try to do something for her she gets really mad and will you tell you that she is a BIG girl and can do it herself.

1. Although I could list more then 3, 20, 500, a million reasons why I love this kid, my number one reason will always stay the same. She is my blessing through and through. We waited 9 long years for her to lighten our world. There is a picture by my favorite artist Jared Barnes titled, "For Such Is His Kingdom". When I was in Desert Book one day I came across this picture and I literally started crying in the store. The cashier even offered me a tissue. The baby in this picture is identical to Sawyer when she was this little. I bought the picture that day and hung it in Sawyer's room. Every time I look at this picture I can imagine the Savior holding Sawyer in his arms and letting her know about the adventure that she is about to go. Do not judge your parents as we they are learning and growing, will love you beyond belief, and will try to raise you as I have taught. And, to remember that one day she will return home again.

Now, that I need another tissue, Happy Birthday Sawyer. I cannot believe how fast 3 years has gone by and I cannot believe that in 2 years you'll be walking through the doors as a Kindergartner. Where did the time go?

My Little Artist

I cannot express how much I love Sawyer's school. She is having so much fun and learning a ton. She has even made some great little friends and she calls them her bff. Good job KyLee! :)
Last week Sawyer school had their annual Children's Art Show Fundraiser. Each class was given a picture to draw. The kids were to paint that picture onto a canvas. The pictures were then displayed on the wall and the parents could purchase the paintings for $15.00

This was the picture that Sawyer's class had to paint.

This is the paintings done by Sawyer's class.

Sawyer's painting. She is a natural.

Sawyer and her teacher, Ms. Jones.

Sawyer and her bf Graylynn holding their pictures.

Sawyer holding her picture.

Canarelli Sport Banquet

I cannot believe how fast the school year as just flown by. It feels like just yesterday we went for Orientation to pick up KyLee's schedule and to show her where the lockers were. How time flies!! Canarelli held a Sport Banquet for the boys and girls basketball teams, cheer, and dance. It was a wonderful program and the food was wonderful.



The night started off with a slide show for all of the teams. They did such a good job and it was fun to look back at the year and see all the events, games, and competition that these awesome teams participated in.

After, they had a ceremony for each team and awarded each athlete with a horseshoe that had their name on it and the sport they participated in.

The night ended with Ms. Keller remarks and then all the teams got together for one last Canarelli Colt cheer. Nice job everyone. Looking forwarded to next year!!

Cheer National Competiton-Sharp Invitational

In January, the cheer team performed at Knotts Berry Farm and took 1st place in their division and was also named National Champions. With their fantastic performance, it automatically qualified them for nationals which was held this year in Las Vegas.

The coaches decided that if the girls did well at their competition in March at Silverado High School, that they would be able to perform at nationals in April. The girls did a fantastic job and placed second, the best they have ever done at that competition.

Since then, two girls have been dismissed from the team and then with Spring Break, the girls had to learn an entire new routine in 8 days. They worked long and hard and when all was said and done, they placed 1st in their division and placed 1st overall at Nationals. They were very, very, very excited to say the least and Ms. Barry shed a tear or two.

This has been such a fun year and to have KyLee part of a school sports team has been so much fun. I have enjoyed watching her compete, cheer at basketball games, and just live and love the moment. Good job this year, we love you Ky bug!!

I promise to be good.

To be completely frank, my blogging activity has totally stunk. Our computer ran out of memory right before Christmas and it has taken until now for us to get our computer back up and running. For me, it is not as much fun to blog without pics to go along with all the important stuff that I have to say. :)

At first, when I had learned we might have to get a new computer, I was sick. All of our family pics were saved on our hard drive and I thought they were gone forever. I started thinking about how I was going to get all of these pics printed so I could one day (yes one day) put them in our scrapbooks. After much panicing, I realized that I could pull my pics from my blog and email them to Walgreens. Phew... just another reason why I should keep up on my blog. But now, our computer has enough memory, I have downloaded all our pics since Christmas, and I have posted some of those below. I promise to be good and blog more often so that those who love me the most can keep up on our wild and crazy ride we call life.