happy easter

I didn't want to do baskets this year because I didn't want to end up with two baskets that I don't need. Sure I could save them for next year, but then I would have to store them somewhere and, oh yeah, remember where I stored them when I need them again this time next year. Right. Plus, all of the baskets I saw were hunormous and I didn't want to have to buy a bunch of crap and candy to fill them up. But, I did want to do something to recognize Easter for the boys.

I bought two small craft bags and made these little moustached bunnies for the fronts. I am going to fill them with a cookie and little candy and a matching moustache (go here for tutorial).

You are welcome to use these for your little bunnies. Leave a comment with your email and I'll send you a PDF with two equal sized bunnies and blank name tags.

Happy Easter!

fun with boys

I just bought this kookie 1960s book on eBay. I love the idea of 'fun and crafts for boys.' Can't wait to see what it is all about.

favorite moment | salad

One thing I have been trying to do is involve my kids in the daily cooking and making salad is a great way to introduce them to the process. Owen really enjoyed tearing up lettuce—a great task for little hands—and, now that he is old and skilled enough, Jackson loves to use the knives.

Oh, cooperation. I love it.

favorite moment | peace

favorite moment | playing hooky

Sometimes you just need to play hooky from work and take your boys to the beach. On the spur of the moment, Matt and I took the day off and the boys out of school and drove to my favorite place on earth--Pt. Reyes National Seashore. This is Limantour Beach, the perfect beach for long, long walks or just sitting in the sand and soaking up the sun.

There's something about chubby ankles peeking out from underneath rolled up jeans that warms my heart. And the way number one son looks like he is on a mission to do some diggin', with the little one trailing behind trying not to miss out on any important discoveries.

It was the perfect day.

a happy halloween

Prepping for the big day--tombstone making.

O was particularly into it.

And I actually finished a project. I have to say that I am pretty excited about my Happy Halloween banner!

But Halloween is all about the costumes. This photo was taken after the crazy pre-candy begging party festivities ended, so the makeup was a little worn. But he was spooky just the same.

pumpkin time

In anticipation of the Halloween bash, we worked this weekend getting the house decorated. Although we got about 8 great pumpkins from our garden this year, we decided to take a trip up to Apple Hill for some more pumpkins, indian corn and, of course, apples. It was a great day, although Matt and I were pooped from our late night at the reunion (more on that, later).


Apparently, searching for the perfect pumpkin for their room was altogether too taxing for the boys!


But a little pony ridin' perked them back up. It was Owen's first time!

very own ice cream...yum!

After a Sunday evening picnic, we took the kids for ice cream. Owen got his own this time. He liked it, as you can see. Ooof...

happy wednesday!

jackson turns 6

Jackson's birthday (a mine, too) was on Thursday, May 29th; he turned six. We had a birthday party for him on Saturday, the first time he had a party with friends. We invited his entire kinder class and got a pretty great turn out. All of the kids and their parents are so nice. He had a great time. I rented an Incredibles jump house and the kids bounced their brains out.

Can't believe he's six...

the buds

Jackson + Owen gettin' their bounce on.

our garden

I have so much catching up to do on the blog...lots of fun pics of things we have been up to for the last few months. But I couldn't resist posting these pictures of our beautiful garden. I can say that because I play absolutely no role in its design or upkeep...that is all Matt. Doesn't he do a fabulous job?

I love these green pots and the way the poppies grow up around them.

The garden gate.


The peonies are beginning to blossom!

Broccoli.

And grapes!

And, of course, the roses.

The inspectors.

my boys

This is a project I have been trying to get to forever and it's finished! And that also means that the boys' room is almost finished. I am still trying decide whether I want to do a decal on the wall over Owen's crib because the space seems so empty. I can't hang anything there because he will just pull it down, but it is so bare.

Anyway, this project was really easy once I set the time aside. I just took pictures of the boys' profiles then outlined them in Photoshop to make the shape of the silhouette. Using some erasable transfer paper, I traced the outlines onto craft paper from Michael's (these two papers are from the Martha Stewart collection they carry there: the pattern is called "sycamore bark crosshatch" and the solid I think is called "bark"). I used scissors to cut out the shapes and spray mounted them right onto the background paper. To complete them, I framed each in a Ribba frame from IKEA that, let's be honest, totally rocks and my home could not do without.

I am really pleased with the way they turned out. Their little profiles are now forever immortalized in paper. Oof...

fun day

The four of us spent the afternoon at Fairytale Town and had a great time. Jackson took this picture of Owen coming down one of the slides and I just love it. Really sums up our day.

be mine

This is the Valentine's Day card Jackson and I just finished for his class. He did the watercolor, then we scanned it. He chose the border and the colors, and typed all of the words himself (needed a little help spelling "valentine's". He is off to school in a couple of minutes to hand them out to his friends.

Have a Happy Valentine's Day!

This is the Valentine we got when he got home(: Oof...