Everyone loves a piece of chocolate :)

Today I finished up some end of the year treats for Jake and Hailey's classmates and teachers - I think they turned out really cute!  The boxes for the teachers are just little boxes of chocolates and the little owls for the classmates are hershey's chocolate nuggets.  If you want to make some for your kiddos the printable template can be found here

Our first road trip of 2012 is just around the corner!

Tis the season for road trips!!!  Matt thinks I am crazy but I am happy to report that I LOVE road trips :)  Blame it on my childhood or what have you (sorry mom), but I really enjoy packing up the car and taking off on an adventure.  Things do get more complicated with a van full of kids to entertain but with a little planning and craftiness anyone can have a great "road-tripping" summer.  These are little tags that are posted on the driver's sun visor (obviously 1 for each kidlet).  If they are being good then they stay up, when they get naughty they come down - when you stop for a potty break or gas or what have you, if there tag is up they get a treat.  A simple, but hopefully effective little tool.

Let's get organized!

Meet my Home Management System :)  It is quite complex and uses lots of specialty products :p to wrangle the mountains of papers and receipts and 'stuff' that accumulates on my kitchen counters.  First the base is a red rubbermaid dish drying wrack from Walmart and I was delighted to learn that the cute little file folders from the office section of the store (and I might add cheap - 3 folders for $1) just stand right at attention just like your dinner plates!  With a little notebook for quick phone messages or something that needs to be remembered and some pencils and pens in the silverware holder the Home Management System is complete and ready to bring a little smile to my face every time I walk down the stairs in the morning and see my neatly organized papers and coupons, phones lists, and such :)

My folders are labeled

• receipts
• rewards programs & coupons
• weekly recipes & groceries
• FHE & scripture study
• Cleaning & home maintenance
• Contacts
• Schedules and calendars
• Errands & to do's
• Dining out menus and coupons
• Summer Activities
• Kids
• Misc/Other

A few cute things

So let's just put it bluntly - I cannot decorate!  It kind of falls under the same category for me as floral arranging - which if you know me is not one of my strong talents :)  None the less, I have this very empty mantle space that was yelling at me to fill it with something.  I looked online for a little guidance as to shape/height of items and placement of said items, gathered a few crafty ideas from pinterest, and off I went, with a fair amount of trepidation I may add  . . . .

I actually LOVE how this sign turned out.  I saw one on pinterest and followed the link only it did not give me a tutorial to or any sort of pep talk about how I too could make this for my home, but to her etsy store where she would love to have me purchase this sign for $149.00 - so off I went with 2 little boys in tow to Home Depot for some wood and paint, Hobby Lobby for some vinyl, and a few hours later (after having a heart to heart with the electric sander), this is how it turned out.  You can't really tell in the pic but the large words are in chocolate brown and the cursive words are in a slate blue. (Side note - I made mine for $20)

The next thing I wanted was this large 'T'.  Again, while wandering pinterest, I saw someone did a wooden letter that was decoupaged with pieces of their marriage lisence.  I thought that would be kind of nice, so went about that plan, only quickly to decide that that was just not going to work out very well.  So I spent the afternoon humming and hawing over what to put on the T, and finally decided on the Family Proclamation.  I don't have one up in my home, and have always kind of wanted to, so it was a good fit.

And with a few framed pics from our Disney trip, some 50% off candle sticks and candles and a few other little finds, I think it turned out OK :)

Disneyland continued :)

All of us got a hat at Disneyland - they have TONS to choose from and the only requirement was that it had Mickey ears on it :)


Waiting for the Fantasmic show to start
Iconic Disney pic



We had a completely fantastic vacation! Disneyland was perfect and the kids had a great time. Lots of walking and such - but it was soooo worth it :) Kind of sad that we had to come home!

The first 2 days :)

Here they are at the front gates!The first thing we did is the Jedi training show where Jacob was picked to be trained as a Jedi
Hailey loves her new ears :)
The boys are kind of not interested in all of the characters - but Hailey is in LOVE with them . . .
Who doesn't love the teacups
Waiting for the Soundsational Parade to start
Our first character meet up was with Mickey Mouse
One of Bryce's favorites - Goofy
I think I need one of these at my house!
Heading into It's a Small World



Jacob and Matt went on the biggest rollercoaster in the place - Jake really liked it!Hailey throws a penny and makes a wish at Pixie Hollow
Let's find Tink!

Heading into Tarzan's treehouse

This one was taken on the Ferris Wheel
One of Hailey's favorites - Jesse
The classic Disneyland pose with our mouse shirts on
Bryces loves Aladin
We had lunch at Ariel's Grotto where all of the princesses come to your table - here are the kids with Ariel




'racing on the carousel'Jacob is definetely out grown some of the really little rides and loves the faster higher rides


Jacob and Bryce had Turkey legs for dinner while waiting for the World of Color show to start

We are having so much fun and the whole thing has been quite an adventure. I will be posting some video and such (from telling the kids we are going :) More pics and stories to come tomorrow so stay tuned!

SoCal here we come

Today was the start of our big adventure! We surprised the kids this morning at the airport (I will post the video of that on FB later) with a trip to Disneyland. First - on the airplane :)

We spent today at Huntington Beach. It was a bit breezy and cool, but we loved it and there was really hardly anyone else there :)





(Jacob found a crab)
(Hailey was a mermaid)
The building at the end of the pier in the distance is Ruby's Diner - where we ate dinner after playing on the beach all day. It was fantastic!

Jacob was also very excited when him and Matt found a sea urchin (still alive) in some seaweed that washed ashore - he made sure to return it to the ocean :)
Watch out tomorrow for more pics and updates.

I am a lucky girl!