advents for kei

kei asked about advent calendar ideas, so i found a few that i thought were awesome! check out these from whip up - i especially love the string of stockings (#10), the string of envelopes (#24), the sewn pockets one (#16), but my absolute favorite is the 'snowing presents' advent calendar (#4) - LOVE it! maybe for next year? we'll just have to see. i've also seen advent calendars that use favor boxes or jars - just add your numbers and daily surprises! the jar advent was especially clever, i thought, since you could vary the size of the jar to accommodate the day's treat - small for a slip of paper, or large for the ingredients of a recipe or craft project. i made this one this year, using plastic bead jars and magnets:

not bad, eh? oh, and don't forget the ol' standby: the advent paper chain! hope this sparks your ideas!

christmas in collages

merry christmas!!!
we have been busy bees and lazy bees - just enjoying our time together this christmas.
hope you like our christmas in collage form (it would've added years to my life to upload each of these pix individually - thank you, picasa!)
anyhoo, on with the show!
here we are, enjoying the christmas lights and giant nativity at opryland:

and here's a miscellaneous collage - kalei's informal christmas piano recital, cookies for santa, the kids on our trip to deliver goodies to friends and neighbors, our gingerbread village, and our ornament addition this year: birdhouses (going with the idea that we stayed 'home' this year):

christmas eve, we upheld the navalta tradition of acting out the nativity story. we had a thoughtful mary, a reverent wise man, and a very curious and enthusiastic shepherd:

christmas morning! ever since we moved to kentucky, we have kept the tree gift-less until christmas morning - it helps keep little fingers from 'accidentally' opening gifts early and also adds a little 'ka-pow!!' to these guys' anticipation. here they are anticipating (kawelo's a little groggy - we had to actually wake him up - next year, he'll lead the charge, i'm sure):

followed with their delight of actually finding something under the tree!

(yes!! santa forgave our last-minute naughtiness!)
we hope you all had a wonderful and magical christmas!

p.s. if you were counting, i used 'christmas' 10 times - 11 if you include this sentence - yay, me!

an ode to awesomeness

a haiku:

josh and kim proved to
rule the 'game on' diet so
challengers beware!

we recently participated in the 'game on' diet with mom, dad, josh, & kim. it was a totally different mindset about eating over four (long) weeks. josh & kim are the supreme winners and we bow humbly at their self-control and dedication. you guys are awesome - and have inspired some truly awe-inspiring haikus over the last four weeks - who knew haikus were so fun?!

in fact, i feel a haiku coming on:

who will invent a
sugar that sweetens and slims?
please help us, science!

and there's a whole lot more where that came from! congrats, josh & kim!

christmas snippets

since we're not going anywhere for christmas this year (mom & dad said they would come and ferry us to florida, but have yet to set up the arrangements - hmmmmm.... what is this telling me?), i have been trying to add a little christmas cheer to as many rooms as possible. so far, i have scattered happy little vignettes in the kitchen, playroom, and living room. (i might go and try to find some more tinsel trees after christmas, so that next year the kids can actually have trees in their rooms! i love tinsel trees!!!! my christmas wish is to have a 6 1/2 ft. silver tinsel or white tree. that, and world peace. don't make me choose between them.) anyhoo, here are some pix of our seasonal bits. next week, when the kids are off of school, we're going to break out the glitter! oh, yeah! we'll be rocking the stars and snowflakes - can't wait!

koa quotes

koa: i think i smell a dirty diaper....

koa (a few minutes later): i do smell a dirty diaper! will somebody change it, please? (koa covers his mouth and nose.) i can't breathe!

ah, mr. dramatic. funny, though, that neither koa nor kalei are ever willing to actually change the diaper - they just want someone else to do it - quickly! (true confessions: since james & i have a slightly higher stink tolerance than the kids, we'll borrow from their 'selective hearing' and pretend not to hear them or to not know what they're talking about when they're begging us to change kawelo's diaper! it's a hoot!)

scrappy burlap wreath

wow! my very first official tutorial! and it turned out cute - double bonus! okay, okay, on with the info. remember when i linked to this wreath? well, that crafty lady never published a tutorial, so here's mine! it's not exactly like hers, but pretty darn close. i started with a metal florist's wreath about 16" in diameter:

and 2 yards of 48" wide burlap (you can probably make this with 1 yard - i used the leftovers to make bows and garlands for the entry-way trees that flank the doorway where this wreath is hanging). i cut 1" strips from the burlap until i had 24 1" x 48" strips. then, i cut each strip to get four 12" strips. so, mathwise, i now had 96 1" x 12" strips.
(side note: burlap is very messy! muy! molto! tres? is that right for french? just know that you will have tons of little, tiny fibers and some bigger fibers resulting from cutting and then tying the burlap strips. i did this project in the bathroom for easy cleanup.)

before tying the strips, i added a wire loop to my wire wreath. you could also use ribbon or twine or something for this. mine's not that pretty, but it will be covered up by the strips, so no worries.

start tying on the strips! i used a regular ol' square knot, and staggered the knots so they could scrunch up a bit more.

1/3 of the way there!

oops! i forgot to take a picture of the wreath with the strips all finished, but, trust me, it was awesome. :) i used 95 of the 96 strips - my tied-on strips were closely bunched but not super-tightly packed. fortunately, the strips are easy to cut if you discover that you need more.
on to the embellishments!
i originally had planned to make yo-yo flowers to sew onto the wreath, but i found some strips of red cloth in my scrap box and made these flowers instead. i'm very pleased with them - they have a raw look to them that i thought matched the wreath perfectly. i started with a strip of red fabric at least 12" long and uniform in width (if your strip is wider, i might use a longer piece) and stitched (with a long thread) along one of the long sides:

pull firmly on your thread and the stitches with bunch together like so:
(p.s. don't cut the thread!)

it's okay for the flower to circle around and overlap itself - this makes it fuller and assures that you won't have any gappiness. then, using the long end of the thread, sew the flower to the wreath, securing it with a button in the center. you can use varying widths to have a nice selection of unique flowers, and maybe add a few leaves:

hmmmmm..... still needs something. it definitely needs one more leaf.
for each leaf, i cut a 2 1/2" x 6" strip in green, and then cut it diagonally, like this:

i machine-stitched the pieces back together like so:

and pressed it open:

then i stitched and bunched them the same as the flowers, and they end up being more of a 'leaf' shape. attach with buttons, and voila!

bellisima!
and cheap, too! the burlap and wreath form cost about $6, and then i had the fabric and buttons already, so that was no additional cost - yahoo! if you want to make this, but don't have the fabric scraps or buttons, let me know and i can send you some.
happy holidays!

guess who fits in a suitcase!

we went up to my grandma's house for thanksgiving and got to see 77.3% of the flora side of the family - woohoo! it was so great to see everyone! then, we spent black friday in indy - double woohoo! kim & i braved the sales and made it through unscathed with several fabulous purchases. the kids had such a great time seeing their cousins and re-meeting great-aunts and -uncles and..... 2nd cousins? .....cousins twice removed? whatever you call it, they had a super fun time. and they are primed and ready to travel! kawelo can even fit inside a carry-on suitcase - would he make it through security? are we going to find out? (probably not, but i thought it was a hilarious picture.)
happy belated thanksgiving, all!
we're thankful for you!

coming to a melo near you

if you live in utah, that is. apparently, it's cold there. so, technically, this hat is late. melo asked me to make her a hat when she visited in.... august? september? and she picked out the yarn and everything. i realized the other day that even though it's still in the 50s/60s here, it might be a bit chillier in utah. (27 degrees right now, in fact. but it feels like 18 degrees - yowza!) so, melo, this one's for you! (and will be in the mail today!)

while i'm linking...

here's a few projects that i am definitely going to make for this year - can't wait to get started!!! (right after thanksgiving....)

http://allthingsmadebykelly.blogspot.com/2009/11/christmas-is-my-most-favorite-time-of.html

http://diaryofacraftaholic.blogspot.com/2009/11/burlap-christmas-wreath_12.html
(i love this burlap wreath! although i'm thinking to do some yoyo flowers instead of the folded ones - fabulous!)

speaking of giveaways...

here's another fabulous one:

http://portabellopixie.typepad.com/portabellopixie/

too fun!

great giveaway!

go check this awesome giveaway!!

http://sewtakeahike.typepad.com/fleamarketfancyfreaks/2009/11/its-time-for-a-flea-market-fancy-giveaway.html

they had a cute little button to post, but i couldn't figure out how to do that. if you know, please feel free to enlighten me. :)

trespassing for the blog

the other day i was driving home with the boys and passed this yard.
oh. my. goodness.
i gunned it home and got the camera, then returned to this gorgeousness.
all it needed was one little boy.

add some silliness.

perfect.

costume parade

the kids had a few opportunities to dress up in october. first, the primary had a costume party where the kids got to come dressed as their favorite scripture character. fun! can you guess who these two are? (they came up with it all by themselves, by the way.)
they're daniel and the lion.
adorable!!!

the ward had trunk-or-treating a little earlier this year, so we were able to do that and do a little trick-or-treating in our neighborhood. the kiddos loved going from house to house! (this is the first year we've done that. you know, it only took three years. slow and steady, right?)

kalei was a librarian (thankfully, i talked her out of being a vampirebrarian!), koa was a red power ranger (he's never actually seen the show, but he's all about super-heroes right now), and kawelo was a chicken. sooooooo cute! there was a moment of panic (on my part) when he wouldn't wear the pants or the hood up on the jacket, but it all turned out great, as you can see. i think poor kawelo is going to get to do/wear a lot of potentially embarrassing things that i really want a child of mine to do/wear, that the other two wouldn't do/wear.
ah, the perks of being the youngest!
we had a fabulous halloween, and the kids scored some really great candy, so we all benefited. we were especially glad to have becky & alyssa visiting us - come back any time! (that goes for all of you - we love visitors!)

koa quotes

today koa counted the sugar cookies we were baking for his preschool class.

mama: good counting, koa!

koa: thanks. i know my numbers because i count them.

mama: knowing your numbers is a good thing. you're going to need them when you get bigger.

koa: i know. and i'll keep counting until i can count really big numbers like......... seventeen.

i could eat him up, i love him so.

punkin pickin

yesterday, koa's preschool class had a field trip to jackson's orchard. the boys had a fabulous time. it was cute to see koa interact with all the girls in his class (only 3 boys and 7 girls). jackson's has just added a giant, 4-chute, 2-story slide to their set-up and the boys loved it. really, really loved it. it was fun to see their fall displays and made me want to finally get out the halloween decorations. i think i'll let james and the kids put them up tomorrow morning, while i'm at a church activity. can't wait to see what they come up with! (i'm sure it will be blog-worthy.)

we have ourselves a winner!

congratulations to kim & company - you are our winners! since you'll be here in a few weeks, we'll just hold onto your winnings and give them to you when you arrive.

on another note - how do topics like "what happens if a parent dies" come up during what is supposed to be a routine discussion of our fire escape plan? i guess i should've seen it coming, but i was so not prepared. kalei's teacher assigned each child to come up with an emergency plan with their family, and we discussed ours last night. we covered all the bases: stop, drop, & roll, not to open a hot door, it's okay to rip/kick out the window screen to get out in an emergency, where to meet in the back/front yard, etc. then koa looks at me with his bambi eyes and asks, "what happens if you die?" how do you keep the emotions in check at that point?! i tried so hard, but a few tears leaked out. i explained that we have a large, wonderful family, and that there would always be someone to take care of them, and that families are forever, so it wouldn't be a permanent situation. i am so immensely grateful for the Atonement, that allows us to repent and inch our way towards being like Him, and be with Him with our loved ones if we're worthy. what comfort and perspective this gives us that everything really will be okay. we are so loved!

a collage that deserves its own post and a giveaway!

i really did try to control my squealing over the tiny, adorable cars in italy. really, i did. but they are so cute!! (where cute is two syllables, i.e. "key-oot!") remember when i wanted a vintage mini cooper? well, now i think it's been replaced by a vintage fiat cinquecento. it has a 2-cylinder motor - can you imagine?! they are the ultimate bubble car. (btw, there's one for sale on ebay in spanish fork, utah, so anyone out there who wants to surprise me for halloween/christmas/mother's day, etc., please feel free.) they are so scrumptious, and pocket-size. perfect!!

i also loved this blue bike down here in the corner, and the red vespa. (i told kalei to get in the picture because of the leonardo da vinci poster [he's her favorite inventor], but really it was for the vespa.)

on to the giveaway!
this is our 200th post! wow!! so, to celebrate, feel free to leave a comment and we will randomly select a winner at family home evening on monday night, and send out something extra-special just for you - it's that easy! good luck!

collages galore

here are a few collages of my favorite photos from our trip! to begin, we have some photos of interesting italian fashion choices:
(in case you can't tell, some of the birds in the bottom left photo have feathers and/or feet still attached - yum!)
(oh, and i believe the shoes on the bottom right are being marketed at athletic shoes. very practical.)
(also, i'm bummed that my picture of kalei and i with the snakeskin-print toilet and bidet didn't turn out. it really left an impression.)

a few signs that cracked me up:
(i especially love how the children are running - they know how italian traffic is!)

a number of the fabulous doorways:

and a selection of the fabulous windows/railings:

some of the fabulous streetviews:
(everything was fabulous, can you tell?)

we had such a wonderful trip!!!! i hope kalei will remember the things she saw and experiences she had - i know i'll never forget.

last day

it's our last day in italy. *sniff* bethany and i are off to an outdoor market and a junk shop - can't wait!!

we have loved our experience, but i sure miss my boys. thanks, james, for supporting and encouraging me in this!!! and, thanks, bethany & company, for such a fabulous stay!!! same time next year?

Time at the Park

So it rained all yesterday, but today is perfect (go figure). After being cooped up inside, we (and everybody else) took advantage of the sunshine and went to the park. The boys totally enjoyed it, and Koa was great about staying with Kawelo, or getting him to follow him to where he wanted to play (usually the big twisty slide). There was one incident ... the boys went and hopped on the merry-go-round, which had kids already on it and a "responsible" adult pushing it around and round. As soon as they hopped on, the lady started pushing as fast as it could go - it didn't take Koa too long before he said "I think this is enough..." at which time she did stop the ride and let Koa off. I was not fast enough in getting Kawelo off before she started the spinning merry-go-round of death back up at warp speed. Another (older) kid jumped off, and seeing what fun that was, Kawelo started to follow suit ... luckily this woman had enough brain cells to stop the contraption, so that when he did hop off it wasn't pulling the centripital force used in astronaut training. Kawleo jumped off and started running toward Koa and the big twisty slide ... ever been to a minor league baseball game where they do the dizzy bat race? Well, Kawleo did his own version of that favorite between-innings entertainment, only it wasn't so funny. He ended up eating wood chips, and has a nice little scrape on his leg. However, as we were at the park on a perfect day, he didn't have time for crying - he just dusted himself off and went to catch up with Koa. Ahh, good times.

ciao!

ciao, peeps!

greetings from italy!

kalei and i are having the best time - bethany & company are making sure we are culturally enriched. this post covers the first couple of days we've been here -more posts to follow, i promise.

we flew into milan on saturday morning (10 am their time, 3 am central time). we blew thru passport control and customs (hey, if no one's going to be at customs, we're not going to complain - they might've confiscated bethany's six boxes of zip-locs!) after a 2 hour drive to torino, we arrived (alive, thankfully - the "speed limit" on the auto strada we took was about 100 mph - things go fast and cRaZy!) at bethany's house. it's so beautiful!!!!! i want to pry out a few doors and windows to bring home - i'll let you know if i have any success with that. we unloaded our suitcases and headed out into the town. our first stop was an outdoor mall - found james' gift - score! - then onto the piazza di vittoria in the heart of torino.
here's a look at the buildings surrounding the square:

disney xd had a set-up that day and the kids had fun trying out skateboarding, breakdancing, wii skiing, etc.

we had our first gelato! (i say first because, hello, we are getting it again - soon!) as you can see, it's so good kalei doesn't want to pause for pictures while consuming it.

on sunday, general conference didn't come on till 6 pm, so we checked out some parks.

this one had a war memorial. feel free to zoom in on the carvings. interesting. josh, what does "fervent rotae, fervent animi" mean?

this park had a fun zip line. go, kalei, go!

the next park had a fountain dedicated to the twelve months. kalei's april was almost modest - way to go, aprile!

near the fountain was a castle built in the 1880s to resemble a 15th century castle. it was open to walk thru, so of course we took advantage of the photo ops.

we walked thru yet another park on the way back to the car, and snapped this lovely picture. we are so excited to be here!! more pics later!!

Burning Energy

So even though Bess and Kalei are in Italy, I am still giving my students an exam tomorrow (6 pages of essay questions - I know, I'm mean), so the boys and I went into to work to make copies. While there we snapped a picture with our department head, Dr. Hey (aka Big Willie - he's a 6'10" former Louisiana basketball player who went up against Karl Malone in his high school and college career), and then ran stairs at the stadium (all in the name of fun and burning energy). Back at home we spent some time outside playing and getting dirty before the rain is supposed to roll in tomorrow. Fun times.

Zoo Diversion

The girls left for Italy today, and we took the opportunity while in Nashville to visit the zoo (as a fun diversion). The weather was perfect, not too hot or too cool, and no pesky bugs to speak of (other than those on display).


Koa was the navigator with his map that he got at the front gate. He expertly directed us to the exhibits that we promised in our last visit (more than three months ago) to see next time (how can he remember that we didn't hit the frog building in July, but I have to tell him seven times within a 3 second span to stop bugging Kawelo?).


We spent a lot of time looking at amphibians, spiders, and snakes (every little boys dream)...


and petting goats, and playing on the "jungle" gym (a nice concept, but every parents nightmare - with how big it is, the volume of children playing on it, and how many hiding places there were where an adult-sized person could not crawl into ... lets just say there were more than a few stressed out parents trying to keep track of their little ones).