A Fairy Garden Party

For Addi's 7th birthday party she requested doing some kind of craft. I saw some adorable ideas on (where else?) Pinterest about how to make Fairy Gardens. So I ran with the idea and decided to throw Addi a Woodland Fairy Garden Party. She invited 8 little friends and when they arrived, the crafting and creativity began.

Each girl painted her "Fairy" house, which is obviously just a wooden bird house. I splurged a bit on the houses because of the size I wanted. I figured since this was the only thing we were doing at the party, and they would be taking their fairy gardens home as the party "favor" the cost was worth it. But you can easily find smaller bird houses for $1 at many places.

While the paint was drying on their houses, the girls made mini fruit pizzas and enjoyed some raspberry lemonade at the request of the birthday girl. I'll be completely honest and tell you that I didn't make the sugar cookies. Thank goodness for local bakeries right? That probably also cost more than it would have to make them myself, but my time and sanity were way more valuable this week!

After indulging in some delicious fruit pizzas, the girls returned to their fairy house creations. They cut ribbon, glued flowers, leaves and butterflies. They arranged rocks, and sea shells, and jewel stones inside their bowl of sand, which housed their fairy houses. I absolutely LOVED watching how creative, thoughtful and enthralled the girls were with this whole process. I was so delighted with how each girl's house was so unique and different.

The Dollar Store, Walmart and Target's Dollar Spot were my best friends for all the supplies! I found a few of the more special items like the bird nests and butterflies on Amazon. I still cannot believe how amazing they all turned out! I totally want to make one for me now!

The Dollar Store had fairy wings in abundance because of Halloween approaching, so I couldn't resist getting each girl some wings. They also received a little burlap pouch which contained a flower headband (from Target's Dollar Spot) and a Lip Smacker's.

I told the girls to give me their best fairy pose, and this is what I got :) They had a blast, and when I asked Addi if she liked her party she said it was the best party she's ever had. Mission accomplished.

Art City Days-A Beloved Tradition

Our little city of Springville held it's annual Art City Days festival this past week. Art City Days is a time-honored tradition for our family. I grew up in Provo, but adopted Springville as my home soon after I married Craig, a 6th generation Springville-ite. Springville has so much to offer with it's small-town charm and close knit community. Art City Days brings the city together and gives us the chance to support and celebrate this little town we love so much.

Addi participated in the Springville High School Cheerleader's cheer clinic again this year. She learned dances and cheers and then got to perform in front of bleachers full of people on the football field. The cheer clinic is how the SHS cheerleaders earn money for their program.

We woke up early (like really early) on Friday morning to watch the hot air balloon festival, but to our dismay, the balloons weren't able to launch because of wind. So the kids grabbed some free donuts and chocolate milk, and we headed over to the Springville Fire Station for the Fireman's Breakfast. If you're going to get up early, you might as well go eat a nice big breakfast.

  Later, on Friday morning, the kids participated in the Art City Days Children's Parade. We threw some crepe paper and other decorations on the bikes and wagon, and lined up with tons of other kids on 400 East. Cousin Ava came down with Aunt Noell and rode with Sadie in the wagon. The kids love being able to ride their bikes on the road, looking for their dad and grandparents. They saw them all!

 On Friday night, we made our way down to the carnival, which the kids had been dying to do, practically all week. We ate tons of yummy food, which we know is not good for us, we spent way too much money on dumb carnival rides, and we watched lots of interesting people, wondering where they could possibly have come from. It was the absolute best!

 On Saturday we gathered with the Child clan for the Art City Days Grand Parade. Because Craig's dad is on the city council, he and Rebecca ride in the parade. This year Harrison and Addi, along with a few other cousins, got to walk along the parade route with Grandpa Rick and Grandma Becca throwing candy to the parade goers. They had a blast, and we had a blast watching them. It's a fun tradition, and even more fun when we all go for burgers after the parade.

Finally, on Saturday night, we gathered again with the Child family on the lawn of our late grandparents, Earl and Lois Child to watch the Art City Days fireworks. It is always exciting for the kids, and a great way to culminate a fantastic week of city celebrations. Springville, Utah really is a great place to live!

Mother

 Mother. A word so simple, yet it's meaning is so complex. Everyone can say what a mother is from a definition's stand point, but can anyone really sum up thoroughly what motherhood means to them? There are so many different perspectives. I have many perspectives on motherhood. These three precious children make me a mother. They honor me today, but I have to step back and remember that if it weren't for them, I wouldn't be a mother. They are three of my most precious blessings. They make my world go round. They love me no matter what. They know I love them no matter what. They bring me joy, they bring me frustration. They challenge and test me. They make me a better person because everyday I am trying to figure out how to best teach them and love them and validate them.

 My own angel mother has taught me how to be a mother. She has taught me to worry only enough, to put my family first like she has always done, to laugh when things get hard, to let the little things go, to just do the best that I can, and to pray and have faith that everything will work out because of the Lord.

My amazing sister has allowed me to act like a motherhood expert when she comes to me for advice as she has begun her own amazing journey with being a mother. She has reminded me how wonderful it is just to be able to be a mother, how hard, yet rewarding it is, and how to love and appreciate the job of mother, even when you don't think you can keep it up any longer.

As a mother, sister, daughter, and sister-in-law, I have learned that family is by far the most important thing to me. I have so many wonderful, phenomenal people in my life to remind me of that. On this Mother's Day I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the magnitude of how awesome my life is. "Mother" may only be one simple word, but to me it is a word that defines my whole world.

Tulips

 I love tulips. And when I say love, I mean LOVE! It is my favorite flower. So on a Friday night in early May we ventured over to the Thanksgiving Point Gardens to enjoy the annual Tulip Festival.

The gardens are so beautiful. It was the most enjoyable, peaceful activity, to walk around the paths, taking pictures and marveling at the beauty that surrounded us.

 The weather was perfect, the crowds weren't terrible, and the flowers were glorious! I was seriously in heaven!

 Sadie was in heaven too. She only asked me about 500 times if she could please have a flower.

Even Harrison enjoyed himself. But he's pretty easy-going like that.

 And Addi, well, she's just beautiful. All little girls love pretty flowers right? Addi is no exception.

 We had a wonderful evening enjoying the gardens and spending good quality time together as a family. Which is one of our most favorite things to do! Happy Spring!

Easter Traditions

For our family, Easter is a holiday filled with traditions. It is a special holiday for our family because we do tons of things together. There is the annual coloring of eggs, which the kids look forward to with almost as much excitement as Christmas morning. Of course it is the simple things that bring them the most joy. As it should be. I remember being just as excited to color eggs when I was little, and it's a tradition we just cannot do without.

It's been a few years, but usually around Easter time we head to Oak City to play at the sand dunes with The  Roper Family (Craig's mom's side of the family). On Easter Saturday, that's just what we did. The kids played in the sand all day, got super dirty, went on some four-wheeler rides, flew kites, rolled Easter eggs down the dunes, and we all ate lots of yummy food...all coated in a nice layer of dust and sand. 

On Easter Sunday, the kids woke up to find their Easter baskets stuffed with goodies and trinkets, along with a new outfit to wear to church. The Easter Bunny doesn't really visit our house, but the Easter Mommy does :). Nothing against the Easter Bunny or anyone who does that sort of thing. It's just not my style. The thought of a huge rabbit, bringing toys and such, kind of creeps me out and it doesn't really make sense to me anyway. But to each their own :). 

We all got snazzy-ed up and headed to church; the most important thing we do on Easter Sunday. We worshiped together as a family and took some time to reflect on the importance of this day. The day our Savior, Jesus Christ rose from the dead and made it all possible for us to live as a family together in eternity. Because of Him, we get to start new everyday. We get to make mistakes again and again, only to be given chance after chance. Because of Him, there is love and peace and joy in our lives.

 Of course, Easter would not be complete without the traditional family dinner and Easter egg hunt at my parents' house. This tradition is much anticipated and well loved by every single family member. The kids are always excited as is to be expected, but it is so fun for the parents, me and my siblings, to fill eggs, hide them all around the yard, and then watch our children hunt with excitement and joy all over Grandpa's beautiful yard.

 I love Easter. It's such a wonderful time of year when everything is becoming new again. It's such a wonderful time to remember that all of our blessings come to us, because of One Amazing Man. Because this One Amazing Man, The Lord Jesus Christ, came to Earth and did what he said he would do. For that, I am eternally humbled and grateful.

Spring Break with The Grovers

This year for Spring Break, we headed to California. Not to go to Disneyland, which is usually what we do when we go to California, but to stay with our dear friends, The Grover's. They live in Beaumont, CA and were gracious enough to let me invite ourselves down and stay with them in their beautiful home. We have kids that are close to the same ages which made it really fun for us all! The night we arrived, we headed to the drive-in for a showing of the new Muppet movie. My kids had never been to a drive-in before, so it was a new and exciting experience for them.

The next day, we headed to Joshua Tree National Park to explore and hike. Because we had small children, the hike was more of a stroll, but it included lots of rocks to climb, vegetation to explore and a dam to locate. The dam also brought on many dam jokes, which was fun for the innocent 9-year-olds to act appalled with, and finally join in on.

 Back at the Grover's house that night, we ordered pizza, then roasted s'mores in the backyard. It was so nice, just hanging out, catching up, telling made up stories, and trying to sing Jason Mraz while Bret played the ukulele.

 On Sunday, we headed to the beach and found ourselves at Crystal Cove. It was a warm day, perfect for wave jumping, running up and down the beach, seashell hunting, and seal watching. We spotted a baby seal in the water, and watched as it made it's way to the sand, and then a rock. We noticed it was sick and injured, and watched it all day as it seemed to get worse. We are pretty sure it died :(

 After Crystal Cove, we headed to Laguna Beach to eat at Ruby's. Yum! Then we found a spot to watch the sunset. It was a great way to end our day.

 On Monday, we decided to hit Knott's Berry Farm. The Grover's stayed home to work and go to school, so just our little family spent the day there. It was so much fun! We loved that there were no crowds, and the old western charm of the park. Craig was the only brave one to go on some of the hard-core roller coasters, but we were all able to ride many things. Our favorite was the log ride because all five of us could ride it together. Sadie didn't like it much, was scared, and cried for most of it, but we're nice parents and made her go on it twice. We also loved sharing a giant funnel cake covered in boysenberries and ice cream.

 We left California on Tuesday and headed for St. George. Craig's sister Cynthia and her family were staying at the family condo there, and invited us to stop and stay the night there instead of getting a hotel room, or driving all the way home. That was so nice! We went to dinner, hit up the pool, then played games.

 Before heading home for good, we made a stop at the St. George Temple to take some pictures and walk around. It was a beautiful day!

This picture is probably one of my most favorite pictures of my three kids of all time. I love these little people of mine, and it was so fun to spend some time together as a family for Spring Break! Thank you Grover Fam for making it a trip we'll always remember!