A project or two

Project #1-Sydney's Quilt

I started this in July and finally bound it in December and made the pillow to match.

Project #2-Manger

My hubby designed, cut, sanded and stained this manger for me.  Thanx sweet'ums I love it.

Project #3-Pillow and PJ's

Madison and I made this for Thys for Christmas with matching PJ's.  We also made a pillow and pair of PJ's for Peter and Harrison too (with different designs).

Project #4-Cloth Dolls

And my fav...from Santa...these adorable dolls.  Madi, Syd and Ellie all got one.  I got the pattern from Rachelle's blog.

Merry Christmas everyone.  I hope you got all your projects done too.  :)

Adventures in Hawaii

We were blessed to go to Hawaii for a week in November.  My mom came along as well as my niece, Jasmine and her friend, Crystal.  This trip only happened because of my mom who paid for our accommodations and my parent-in-laws along with Nola who took care of our children while we were there.  We had a great time hanging out with my cousin Deb and doing some really awesome things.  We were truly blessed.

Waimea Valley Falls

Ko'olau Mountain Range

Chinaman's Hat

Maunawilli Falls and Trail

It's great to be eight!

Sydney turned 8 years old in October.  She is so excited to be baptized.  She is a very special girl.  And we love her very much.

 Daddy baptized Sydney and mom and her brother and sisters were there for her.

Grandma and Grandpa Hallen came as well as her Auntie Nola and cousins.   It was very special.

Grandma Marilyn came from BC to see the wonderful event as well.  And many ward members and friends supported her.

Madison and two of her friends sang a beautiful song.

October Fun

October was a busy month....
Thys turned 5 years old.

He had a jungle themed party.  We pushed the furniture against the walls brought in  a lot of bushes and branches and created our own little jungle right in our front room.

Sydney is 8 years old now!

Sydney and Andrew had a Halloween Birthday party together.  There were over 20 kids there.  It was a lot of fun.

Halloween fun!

What could it be?

They tell us... it's a GIRL! 



I am good :)

Expect the unexpected!

Well the truth is that I am expecting ...

We are very excited and eager to know who this little being is  and what it is so...I am going against all that I have ever done and I am having an utrasound to find out the sex of this child.  With three girls and one boy already apart of our family it is too hard for me to wait.  We will welcome a daughter or a son with happiness and love.  :)

Favorite things...

One of my favorite things...

There is just somethings that I love about hanging out my laundry in my backyard.  Maybe it is because  I love not using my electric dryer, (saving money and energy is a biggy) or is it the smell of fresh clean clothes coming off the line.  Well, whatever it is--Its one of my favorite things and laundry really is one of my least favorite things to do.  It just is never-ending.  :)

Birthday Invites!

Madi and Syd were invited to a b-day spa party.  They went to a salon with cute tutus that were made just for them, had their nails, hair and makeup done.  It was so much fun.

Thys was also invited to a friend's b-day party.  It was all about Butterflies and Bugs.  I decided to make her an applique t-shirt and matching skirt.  She likes flowers and butterflies so I added a little butterfly to the flower.  The wings move.  It was really fun designing this.  :)

And Ellie stayed home with me...

A little chlorine never hurt anyone...

Over the past 3 1/2 months we have enjoyed swimming at various loved one's pools.  It has been most refreshing to jump into a  pool and instantly be cooled down.  However, Madi and her blond hair have suffered a lot this summer because of the Chlorine.  Her hair has really changed from a beautiful, shinny blond to a dull, dry, distinct shade of green.

Madi with her cousin Derek at Newport.  She's a cutie but notice her dry hair :( and the green ends.

We never looked into it but last week a friend (Megan P) gave us a great tip and we wanted to share it with all of you.  All you need is a can of tomato paste.  It is so simple!  Wet your hair, cover your hair with the tomato paste and let sit for 5 minutes.  Rinse, wash and condition.  And Voilia.  C'est fini!

We did it in the kitchen.  It is rather messy.  But we are very happy with the result.

She has beautiful hair once again.  Thanks Megan :)

Summer Sew!

Yesterday, we had to take Derek to Temecula to visit a friend that he has never met but known for 3 to 4 years. So.... on the journey back home I had to make a stop at an awesome quilting shop in Old Temecula. It has some great fabric and tonnes of it! As well as helpful and friendly quilters that work there. I needed to get some fabric to bind the blanket that we quilted at Fish lake for Sydney (pictures to come.) I came up with an idea to buy some fabric and make Olivia a Skirt and Applique t-shirt to match. I made some for my girls a few months back. So all day today I have been sewing it. Poor Derek got the flu :( He should be OK by tomorrow. Here is the end result. I really hope Olivia likes it.

Madi is my model


Close up of the Applique t-shirt

I hand stitched in the center of the flower. It looks really cute.

Back to Fish Lake...Happy Land. Another year has come which means Fish lake here we come. We spent 10 days there and probably could have been there longer. It is so relaxing and rustic. The children love it there. Always playing outside and having a great time. Grandma and Grandpa make it fun with the Hal-a-buck store. This year the big item was the Pillow Pets.


Auntie Lala and Harrison...he is such a cutie pie :)


Cousins playing together.


Its movie time :) How cute is this?


Our mini trip to SLC for the afternoon. Derek has never been and since we were so close I had to make it happen. We went to the North Visitors Center and saw everything there. Walked around Temple Square. Went to the Joseph Smith Memorial Building and watch the movie and went inside the Tabernacle. We could have done more but we ran out of time.


This is such an awesome view.

July 1st is a special day for me. I have great memories of my family and me going to the Canada Day parade in our little town of 10,000 peps. We would patiently wait in the heat, occasionally getting sprayed with water but the best part of the parade was the candy that was thrown off the floats. What kid doesn't want candy? This year we are not going to be in Canada to take part of the festivities. Our hearts are with our Canadian family and friends.

It is a perfect day to celebrate Canada Day.

More All About Me :)

Happy Summer
I just love these pages and how fun they turned out. I think this is an adorable drawing of Thys' rabbit.
How old are you?
This is where I like to see hand prints, on paper not on my walls and windows!

Here are 3 more pages from the "All About Me" book that Nola and I put together for our preschoolers.
Our favorite things. This is such a fun page! Finding out their favorite things is always amusing and an adventure.
You must, must get their height and weight. Very monumental.
Printing your name is a very big deal in preschool so you have to make that a page too.
There are still some more pages to come. So stay tuned. :)

Preschool is so much Fun

The end of the school year with Kindergarten just around the corner.

Its the last month before school is out for summer break. The month of May was full and exciting. Preschool has taken over my life. Our theme was "Exploring Down by the Seashore". This is such a fun topic. We really had a great time doing art, cooking, games and field trips with the children. I just wish that I was better at taking pictures of all the things that we do with the little cuties. Here is a group photo of some of the things Thys made.

We also put together a fun "All About Me Book" for each child. It has some really cute pages. As well as the ABC Book that all the moms have been working on all year long with the children.
Here are two of the 10 pages we did for the All About Me book. I will post some more in a few days. This is such a treasure for the children to have through out their lives. In just a few months Thys is off to Kindergarten. Preschool and I will be taking a year off until my baby, Kendell turns 3 years old and all the fun will begin again.