PAPER

Not long after Tim and I got married, we were in need of paper.  See, I was still in college and needed some paper to print out my reports, projects, etc., not to mention the other random needs one has for a sheet of paper.  Well, we had a membership to Sam's Club, so on one of my visits, I thought, "Hey, I'll just pick up some paper while I'm here."  So, I proceeded to put some paper in my cart.  

I'll bet you're imagining me putting a ream or maybe a package containing a couple of reams of paper into my cart.  Oh, you would be wrong, dreadfully wrong.  I got a Sam's Club size BOX of paper--a BOX I could barely lift!

I brought my BOX (I have to capitalize it to emphasize how BIG it was) home, so proud of myself for having completed my errand.  Tim got home and was aghast at the amount of paper I had just purchased.

Well, this BOX of paper has been through our entire 7 plus years of marriage so far.  It has lived in four different homes with us, including a trip across the country.  It served me well in my last year of college and now serves Tommy in his school activities.

Sadly, this reliable source of paper will soon be coming to an end.  We've faithfully used it, sheet by sheet until now, of our BOX of paper, only one ream remains.

Dear BOX of paper, I bid you farewell.

Things That Make You Go . . .

AAAAAAHHHHHGGGG!!!

HA HA HA!

AHH . . .

Happy Day to You, Hannah!

Those are the words we've been hearing in our house for weeks.  Hannah has been so excited for her birthday!  The morning began with a stirring rendition of "Happy Birthday" sung by the talented vocalists, Mommy, Daddy, and Tommy.  Hannah was a captivated audience and laughed and clapped afterwards.  Here she is with the one present she got to open in the morning.  She needed a toy to play with during her "Happy Day," right?

That evening Lizzy and Jose came over to have a birthday dinner and enjoy some Olympic fever.  Go Beijing 2008!!  

Finally it was time for Hannah to blow out her candles.  Was all her blowing practice going to pay off?  She got the first one out no problem.  But the second one was a little more stubborn.  While Hannah was blowing it out, she brushed her chin against the flame.  There was no injury, but Hannah was more than happy to have Daddy help her finish the job.

Oh, and the mark on her face is not a bruise.  We went to pick up clothes at the cleaners, and the cute lady who owns it saw that it was Hannah's birthday and painted hearts on her cheek and hand.  Hannah loved it!

Then came present time!  As you can see, Tommy is more than happy to help Hannah open her presents.

I am thankful for my little girl who brings so much laughter and happiness into my life!

My Baby's All Grown Up!

Tommy had his very first day of school today.  Doesn't he look so sweet!  He has been looking forward to kindergarten for awhile now.  On meet the teacher night, we stayed the whole hour and a half because he just didn't want to leave.

This morning I walked him to his classroom and stole a shot of him in his desk before the teacher closed the door.  (Needy mom, I know.  But isn't it cute?)  He was really excited to be at school, and as much as I was anticipating this day, I found that I got a little choked up.  It's weird not having him at home all day.

Hannah really missed him too.  She cried all the way home, and when we got home she kept crying and calling his name until I put a show on to distract her.  In the middle of the show there was a knock at the door and she shouted out, "Tommy home?"  When Tommy finally was home, she loved having her playmate back.  They laughed and ran around together most of the afternoon.

When we got home from picking Tommy up, there were cookies waiting for him.  He got to eat the cookies and tell me all about his first day of school.  I learned about Eddie Bear and the Gingerbread Man.  It sounded like he had so much fun, I couldn't help being so happy for him!

Projects

On Saturday Tim and I took on what I thought wasn't a very ambitious project but which turned out to be a touch longer than I expected.  Why does painting always take longer than you think it will?

For Christmas the kids got a little playhouse for outside.  We put it together fairly soon afterwards but it's been sitting there, unpainted for months.  So, I decided it finally needed to be completed (remember my post about unfinished projects?)  Unfortunately I decided this on a hot, Arizona summer afternoon.  (I know, what was I thinking???)

Tim and I were out there for about 4 hours baking in the sun, painting, watching Hannah and Tommy playing in the wading pool.  I nearly got in there myself!

The obvious downside of this endeavor was the heat and the amount of time it took.  However, we now have a nice, completed playhouse, and the paint took only a few minutes to dry!!

Disclaimer:  The pictures of Hannah are not from our painting adventure, but from her helping Daddy with yard work a few days earlier.

Wedding!

So, my brother, the last of the Strong clan, has donned the ring and gotten married!  Congratulations Justin and Tanya!  We had a fun weekend with family to celebrate their nuptials. (I'm so glad I got to use that word.  How often do you hear nuptials?)  Unfortunately, I was terrible at taking pictures during the festivities and got my camera out only once during the weekend.

On the upside, their photographer, Lindsay Silsby, took some beautiful pictures and posted a handful on her site.  So if you want to see some pictures of the happy couple, click here.

We were able to have my brother and his family stay at our house during the wedding.  It was really fun to have them.  Tommy and Hannah both loved having cousins to play with first thing in the morning.  And I loved having Dallin and Lauree to talk to after kids were in bed!  It also made leaving Grandma's house a lot easier for Tommy when he got to bring cousins home with him.

Hannah absolutely loved having Savannah read to her.  And I absolutely love that they are both known as "Nanna" and look like they could be sisters in this picture.

One morning I let Tommy get down his little video game.  It was cute to see all 3 boys crowded around such a little screen!

Unfortunately those are the only pictures I took.  I know, totally lame.  But that just goes to show how much fun I was having seeing everyone!  

Anna, This Is For You . . .

To make this tray, we used an 11x14 frame, hardware, scrapbook paper, ribbon and stamps.

We took the frame, opened the back and removed the glass and paper they had in it.  We used the paper that was in the frame to glue our scrapbook paper onto.  That way we could make sure that our "design" would be the correct size.  The scrapbook paper we had wasn't long enough, so we had to use two pieces.  Make sure you match up the design so the seam is hidden.  (I tried to show a pic of this below.  It turned out fuzzy, so I hope you can still see it.)

We then added a ribbon to separate the two different patterns of scrapbook papers that we used.  Next, we added circles of patterned paper to add "umph" and 2 circles of neutral paper--one for Santa's plate and one for his glass of milk.  (They were already stamped with the circle and words when we got there)  We antiqued the paper by adding yellow and brown ink to it.  I'm trying to remember exactly how we did that.  I think we took a paper towel, kind or crumbled it up, dipped it into the stamp pad, then onto the paper.  We added stamps to decorate (flowers) and letters to spell "Santa" and "For."

Finally, somebody drilled holes into the wood part of the frame and we put our hardware on.  We put the glass and paper back in, and voila!  A cute little tray to put cookies and milk on for Santa!

(Anna, call me if you have any questions.  Hopefully it will help to see the pictures.)