Is this an oxymoron?

Tough skulls and painted toes???

Finally I got these done!

  

I saw some frames for children's art work in the Pottery Barn catalog years ago and I have always loved the idea of hanging my kiddos treasures on our walls.  These frames have been sitting in my garage since I found them at a garage sale last summer for a buck a piece!?!?  Can you believe that?  They are gorgeous frames..., OK.., maybe they weren't when I brought them..., but with a little white paint.., sanding .., and some glaze and VOILA!  I LOVE them!  I still need to get to Home Depot to get some glass cut for them..., but beside that.., they are done.  The even cooler part is my kiddos LOVE seeing their projects hanging up.  Mason remind me quite often that the flowers are made from his hand.  How cute is he!?!?!  Love that boy and I can't wait to go yard saling this summer!!!  I'm on the hunt for a long rectangle dining room table.  Wish me luck!

Summer is HERE!

Dan got the sprinklers up and running last weekend and the kids were THRILLED to help out

 They loved running through each station as Dan was testing them.

 Of course bubbles HAD to come out as well....,

 ....., and once the bubbles were out, you HAD to have some sidewalk chalk to go with it

 

Can you see the curls in this boy's hair?  He wants to grow it out so he can have flopping curls like one of his best buddies, Dillion. 

 We will have to wait and see how that request pans out......,

Hogle Zoo

Our favorite Idaho O's came down to the big city for their spring break and we LOVED spending time with them. One of the days we packed up the crew and heading to the zoo. 

 Starting with the water ball.  It was SO cold yet kids seem unaffected by the cold?!?!

 This was the first time I ever saw a peacock with his feather extended.  It was incredible and right in front of us! 

 Mason was is heaven the whole time with his cousins.  The funny thing is.., he starts off SO shy when he first sees them, yet by the end you can barely pry him away.

 Maya loved the baby elephant.  She kept saying "baby elephant is cute' over and over.

 I think he's pretty cute too!

 This is just my boys walking to the bathroom..., but I loved it for some reason.

 Maya just chill'in.

 Maya very much enjoyed this one.  She was even making monkey sounds.....,

 ..., her brother came to share the spot....,

 ..., and the melt down began.

 Train ride is always the highlight.

 However, I'm not sure if Mason liked the ride or not???

 A little play ground action before we took off.

 Can you tell she's way tired??

 And the melt down returns as we say good bye to Hogle Zoo for the day.  What a nice happy ending.

Crazy April Snow Storm!

I understand it's now May and these pictures are old..., but I'm a bit behind in life right not.

We had a freak snow storm in April and woke up on a Sunday morning to TON-O-SNOW

.

The kiddos saw took one look at the snow and made a b-line to the closet to get their gear on. 

I LOVE these pictures!  Mason is so rough at times with his little sister but he is also so loving and protecting of her.  I her from the kids preschool teacher and their sitter how he will mess with Maya, but he won't allow anyone else to mess with her.  I LOVE that Maya will have a her brother to protect through out the years!

Mom's Christmas Cactus.

 These flowers are so beautiful. 

  I've had this Christmas Cactus for years now.., probably 10 plus.  It is a piece of my mom's cactus.., that she had for years before that.  My mom got her start piece from part of my Grammy Ketchum's cactus that my grandma had for years before that.  So it's been in the family quite some time. I remember both my mom's and grandma's having these gorgeous blooms on it every year right around Thanksgiving time.  My cactus, however, has NEVER bloomed for me until this past Mother's Day.

I know these plants are very sensitive to being in the right light and temperature to bloom...., but I like to think it's a little gift from my mom, saying she loves me.  I know..., lame and some may even say a bit crazy...., but it works for me. 

She's a tough cookie!

Believe it or not.., but her brother did NOT do this to her!  Both kiddos love to play in laundry baskets.  I don't get the appeal of it, but they will jump in and out of them.., push one another up and down the hall, etc.  They'll do this for hours.  Needless to say, when my jumped into this basket she wasn't expecting the bench to be so close.  Poor baby!  It was swollen shut the first day.., so this is her actually on the mend.

Happy Mother's Day!

This...,

..., is my new favorite color spray paint!  It's called Oil Rubbed Bronze by Kylon and I LOVE it!  I 'm painting everything with it these days.  It may appear black, but once the sun hits it, it has wonderful bronze-y shimmer.  It's hard to describe, so go buy some and try it out!

 

I painted this little bench (I found the bench at Goodwill for $2.50!!!) with that color.  My short people LOVE it!  They are actually even hanging up their coats these days!