Summer and an update! (finally!)

Well my apologies for those of you that check my blog for updates and there hasn't been any- I'm more than a slacker!  But here's what we've been up to the past couple of months! 

Case's birthday was May 3 and he decided to have a friend party.  It was so much fun.  I totally thought I could handle 7 boys on my own but I sure am glad Kyle decided to help and come up with some fun games!  And I'm really glad I have a big studio in the basement!  It was perfect and I hope they all had fun.

Case and Kyle got to go to Lake Powell Striper Fishing with my dad, Uncle Todd, Uncle Travis, Truce and Collin. They left late on a thursday night and travelled all night, then stayed until late saturday night.  Case learned alot and had lots of fun with the guys.  The water was pretty chilly but Case dove in anyway, and caught the biggest fish!  He was a happy boy and I think him and dad had a fun bonding experience.  This picture even aired on "Roughin' It Outdoors."

Here's Case on his Kindergarten Graduation day!  What a great year it has been with Mrs. Hulet as his teacher.  She is amazing and Case has loved her sooo much!  It was a great program and Case is ready for summer!

Here's our newest little addition to the family- Libby!!!  We wanted to get Case a puppy for his birthday, and the day we were headed to St. George to buy a chocolate lab, my mom called and said that my cousin's yellow lab had just had 10 pups!  Well, we decided that was the way to go so we waited for the pups to be ready.  Every time we went to Enterprise for about 6 weeks we stopped and saw them.  Eva is such an animal lover!  There were black and yellows and we decided on a yellow.  She sure is a sweetie and puts up with Eva's tending and loving.  She's growing fast and is a good puppy!

Happy 4th of July!  We had such a fun day yesterday.  We headed up to the annual races at 1:45, ready for them to start at 2.  We love the races, especially because Grandpa Troy announces them every year!  Well it was Eva's turn first to race in her age group and guess what?  She won!  Yay!  Then it was Quades turn, and he won!  Then they had a race-off, which was so cute, I love the picture of him looking at Eva smiling while they are racing each other.  Then it was Case's turn to race, and he's been the winner for the past few years and he won again!  Gotta use those long legs for something!  Then I got a picture of Quade, Eva and Case with their money, and Quade crumpled his up and chucked it!  It was so funny.  Anyway, then Taleena raced and won her age group too!  What a bunch of winners we are!  :)  After all the age groups had gone, my dad started doing some fun races to get everyone involved and he did a piggy-back race, so Slade had Quade and Kyle had Case and I got this picture of them racing!  Hilarious!  What a fun day at the races.  Then we had a yummy yummy barbeque at my parents house, the weather was amazing so we were outside all afternoon and evening.  Then we headed to Cedar to see the fireworks.  We pulled up right as they started and headed home the minute they were over.  Eva loves the fireworks so much.  She asked to see them again the second she woke up this morning.  Whew!  We have been busy the past couple of months and we are getting ready for the baby the end of August.  The greenhouses are producing lots of tomatoes so that keeps us busy too.  Thanks for keeping up with us even if I don't very often!

Spring!

Hey everyone I really haven't forgotten about my blog!  I won't even try to make excuses!  Things are going good for us, especially since the weather is warming up finally!  We had fun camping this last easter weekend.  Case has started tee-ball and my dance recital is this thursday.  It will be good to have that over for the summer.  Well most of you probably know that we will be adding to our family in August, we are getting another girl!  We are so excited.  I know Eva is going to be such a big helper.  She loves to hold her newest little niece, Ella.  Case was kindof disappointed it wasn't a boy, but I think he's good with it now!  Well I will try to be better at this, I'm actually starting another blog that's just for my Stampin' Up! creations/business and other creativeness that I decide to put on there, I will have a link for that blog, I'm just starting it and trying to figure it out so I'll have that up soon.  And pictures!  I'll post some pics soon------  :)

Card Class

I am having a Card Class (finally!) on Wednesday, Feburary 9th, starting at 9am, here at my house.  You can come anytime during the day, at your convenience and work on the projects at your own speed.  The cost for the class is $10, for 5 projects, or you can get all these projects FREE if you place a $50 order.  Remember it's Sale-A-Bration right now so if you do place that order, you will get FREE product, plus these 5 great projects.  All these projects are made with Stampin' Up! products, from the new Occasions Mini Catalog and the Sale-A-Bration catalog.  Please let me know if you are interested in the class, I am offering the kit for $15 or FREE if you place a $50 order.  I will have your complimentary copy of the Sale-A-Bration catalog for you also when you come to the class, or order the kit.  Thanks and hope to see you here!

This beauty uses the new Bliss set from the Sale-A-Bration catalog that you can get FREE!  The pearls just add so much, as well as the Tulip embossing folder in the Occasions Mini.  Love it, love it!

This is one of my favs!  I love this little set, Greeting Card Kids in the big catalog.  Using watercoloring technique (so easy when I show you how), big shot embossing folders and some adorable ribbon and some sparklies.  So cute.

This cute fun card uses lots of great product.  Big shot, Rhinestones, Filled with Love set, Satin ribbon, and the new Designer Paper from the Occasions Mini.  Perfect for someone special on Valentines!

I forgot to color in the 'T' it will be orange. :)  The paper is from the Sale-A-Bration catalog, you can get it FREE!  The cute cute stamp is in the new Occasions Mini.

This cute little thing is the Mini-Milk Carton Die for the Big Shot.  It's filled with candy.  Case and I are making these for his Valentines for school.  So so cute!

Bowling!

We had such a fun evening last week.  Case has been begging to go bowling so we told him he could invite a couple of friends to go.  He was soooo excited.  He invited Ramzi and Chad, a couple of his best buds from school.  Let me tell you, this night was very entertaining!  All 3 of them sat together in the truck and it was hilarious.  First, they serenaded us (me, Kyle and Eva) with songs from school.  Then they had to get talking about money among themselves.  That was funny!  I love how kids minds think.  Just listening to them talk with each other is so cute.  They had lots of fun bowling.  They kept asking "Are we done yet?" when we were in like the 4th frame.  Then when it was over, they wanted to keep going.  I got called mom, grandma and even big momma!  :)  Yeah, it was great.  Eva had so much fun too, she was just one of their little pals.  They were so cute with her.  Fun stuff!

Well at least I realize what a slacker I have been with this bloggin'!  And maybe, just maybe I'll be better.  Well here's what we have been up to since last time I posted.  Mainly just the Holidays, it's been SO COLD we really haven't done much but stay home! 

Case finished up soccer, he had so much fun, here he is with his medal he's so proud of.  I'm so thankful my children are so healthy and can run and play.  It's so fun to watch them grow and discover things they like.

Then the next fun thing was Deer Camp.  Here we are in our trailer making breakfast one morning.  Kyle and Case live for Deer Camp.  It's a Christensen tradition that we all carry on very well.

We had a fun Halloween Dinner/Pumpkin Carving Contest at Tara's the day before Halloween.  It was so much fun.  She had the spookiest dinner!  And I just noticed that Eva's tongue is sticking out!  :)

Our family's little Pumpkin scene.  Adorable.

I have to say that I think my little Eva was the most adorable Monarch Butterfly that graced the earth!  I adored her costume!  Case was a very handsome Cop and he really handed out some tickets!  With dad's persuasion.

November came and that meant my Elk hunt I've been putting in for for 14 years.  I finally drew this year and it was quite the hunt.  It had it's ups and downs, highs and definitely lows.  I got discouraged, encouraged, and the discouraged again, although I wouldn't change it at all.  It was such an amazing experience to be with my dad and husband the whole time.  I am such a lucky girl to be able to have taken this beautiful animal.  Kyle and I stalked him for 2 1/2 hours, which was awesome.  My dad and Uncle lead us to him from 5 1/2 miles away, we couldn't see him because he was bedded down.  He is the oldest elk my dad has ever taken in and he is simply gorgeous.  His cape is really blonde but has the dark mane.  His neck is so big my dad doesn't have a mannequin big enough!  He doesn't have the most impressive horns but he's mine and I am proud to say it! 

Thanksgiving was great, we had it at Kyle's mom and dad's this year.  It was so much fun, every possible yummy thing you can think of to eat was there.  Here's Eva enjoying her lunch!  I made Dixie Fruit Salad and Rainbow Jell-O, and Spinach/Artichoke Dip.  What a yummy day!

Here we are with our Christmas Tree!  We went to Sunflower Valley (Case's name) with my parents.  It was a very fun day.  This picture does not do this tree justice.  They really grow 10 feet when they are in transit to the house.  This is the biggest tree we have had.  Absolutely gigantic!  Kyle said "Oh, it's not too bad" as he reaches his arm up above his head "just a couple feet taller than me, perfect!"  Oh yeah, perfect!  Good thing it was his idea to cut it down and not mine!  :)

It's tradition with my mom that we all make Gingerbread Houses.  Well this year she found Case and Eva a Gingerbread Train!  It was so cute, and we had fun decorating it.  Don't ask me what Case is doing.

Oh, how sweet!  Here they are Christmas Eve, trying to show Santa that they are good! 

Here we are on Sunday after church in our new Christmas Church clothes.  Had to snap a fast one before the camera went dead.  We had a very great Christmas.  Case and Eva got spoiled of course and I surprised Kyle with a new pair of Square-toe Justins.  They are so great, I love him in them.  He surprised me with a pretty pearl necklace that I love.  We are so thankful for a wonderful Christmas and to be able to spend it with our families.  New Years was spent up at my grandmas house, way too much fun.  Yummy food, awesome company and we didn't get home until 2:00 am we were having so much fun with all the Trumans.  January hasn't been too much fun with it being so cold, Case has had a hard time getting up in the mornings and getting to school but we're working it out and getting back into the swing of things. 

Thanks for all of your friendship and I promise to be better at this!  Oh yeah, Stampin' Up!'s Sale-A-Brations started on the 25th so if you want a catalog or want more info on that, let me know, it's a really great time to host a workshop or put in an order if you need anything.  Just check out my website!  I'll post again soon!  :)

We really are alive!!!!!

Hi Everyone!  Sorry for the long break in posting!  I won't make excuses but I'll just say that I took a break.  And I won't try to update the past 4 months, but I'll just share some pics of summer and what we have been doing lately.  We are great, the kids are growing fast and we are just loving life and what we do!  Enjoy!

Well after our cruise, the kids wanted to go swimming every day.  We made it to Veyo a few times during the summer.  Here we are!

One evening while at Grandma and Grandpas in Enterprise, Case and Taleena thought it would be fun to go down the stairs in a sleeping bag used to sleep out on the tramp.  They had so much dang fun and no accidents!   

Well my big boy started Kindergarten this year!  It has been quite a ride, it took a few weeks to get into the swing of things, riding to school on the bus and especially being there all day.  He is loving it so much and is starting to read! 

Since Case is at school, Eva likes to sleep in.  So, she eats breakfast whenever she's ready and she tells me what she wants.  Well out of everything she could possibly want, she wants Berry Colossal Crunch every morning and toast with my raspberry jam.  So this is her enjoying her breakfast.  Too cute.  Oh, Eva's potty trained!  Yay!!!!

Tara came over a couple of weeks ago and we made salsa, here's Eva and Quader playing in my closet while I'm folding clothes!  What a couple of cuties!

Case got to play Soccer this year!  It's his first year and he really enjoyed it.  His team definitely wasn't the winning team by any means but that's okay.  They learned alot and played good.  Good job bud!

Well like I said, sorry for not posting forever!  I will be better and I will be doing some Stampin' Up! card classes that I'll post about and the kits will be available if any of you are interested let me know.  Love you all!



Our Vacation!

Well now that life has kindof slowed down a little, I can sit down and post some things for everyone! Wow, it has been a crazy couple of months, but we all are alive and kicking! :) So here's a couple of posts for you! The first post is of our Family Vacation we just got home from. We had so much fun. All my family went, including the kids. We left here on Sunday, May 30th in a big motorhome and headed down to Long Beach to board our cruise ship on Monday the 31st. After we got on, we headed over to Catalina Island. We stayed there for a day, and then went to Ensenada, Mexico. After spending whole day there, we headed back to Long Beach and spent a day at sea. We had a blast. Definitely something that's out of our element, but we all enjoyed it. I was so thankful that I didn't get sick or my kids. That's what I was most worried about. It was quite an experience and something I would love to do again. Enjoy the pictures, I'll write about each one. The second post is some cards so check them out too. I'll try to post again soon!

The first time we saw the boat at the port, and waiting to board.

Just got through security, and heading up the ramp onto the boat!  Case was so happy.

Here's me and Eva, just got on the ship and we are having some lunch.

After we finally got our luggage to our rooms, we cleaned up, changed our clothes and went to the top deck and watched us set sail.  Here's Eva posing for a picture!  There was the funnest Mini Golf up there.

Tessa and Leena at dinner- they got a little queasy the first night, but then they were okay after that!

Here we are heading over to Catalina- the ship had to port quite a ways away so we got on little boats and went over.  We saw Sea Lions in the water!

So was water was SSSSOOOOOOOOOOO cold but everyone went snorkeling anyway!  I was a big chicken and didn't do it at this time.  I wish I would have though!  Slade and my dad saw a huge Sting Ray and Tara said there was lots of beautiful fish.  Here's Kyle trying it out.  He loved it.

Eva loved the little beach and digging her toes into the sand.

The food on that cruise ship was amazing.  Pretty much anything you wanted you could have.  We ate at the Paris Restaurant for Breakfast and  Lunch (buffet) and for dinner we at the Destiny Dining Room.  Case had our waiter on his toes bringing him food.  One night, I think it was this night, Case had:  Peanut Butter and Jelly, Fries and Chicken Nuggets, Spaghetti and vegetables, Prime Rib, and a Lobster Tail.  He seriously ate so good.  What a kid!  Here his is cutting up his Prime Rib.

Here we are in the kid pool- the big pool was too cold!  We didn't have the hot weather that we thought we would.  It was cloudy and overcast the whole time.

Here's the kids down on the main level on the ship on the stairs.

I think the best part for Case and Eva was the ice cream machine.  Case got pretty good at making his own ice cream cone.  One morning they had pink!

Here's some more random pics!  Eva swimming with Uncle Slade.

Eva in daddys glasses and hat.  What a cutie!

I got this little guitar for Case down at La Bufadora.  Kyle, me, Tara, Slade, and Quade got off the boat at Ensenada and went down to La Bufadora (the blowhole) and did a little shopping.  Hasn't changed in 12 years!  I went there in High School.  Case absolutely loved the bunk bed in our room.  He would sit up there all evening and then say "Good night mom, good night dad, good night Eva" about 15 times and then roll over and go to sleep.

After we got off the boat on Friday morning, we all got in the motorhome and headed for the beach.  We went to La Jolla, and it was way fun.  Kyle loves the ocean, but the kids were pretty leary.  Just something that's new and they weren't too sure about the waves and there was a bunch of kelp everywhere and Eva didn't like it under her feet.  Oh well, at least the sand kept them busy the whole time.  Here's a picture of Kyle taking them out to the water, and Case is jumping up and down because he doesn't like the kelp.  He was throwing a little fit.

Well, there's our trip in a nutshell.  We sure had fun!

This next part is a card kit that I have for sale.  $10 gets you 10 cards, 2 each of the following 5 designs.  I did a card class before I left and I have 3 kits left.  Let me know if you are interested in it.  Everything is cut, all you have to do is glue and tie ribbon.