The 4th

Red, White and Blue glow bracelets..Essential for the 4th of July

We went to our Stake Center again this year to watch the fireworks. It is a few blocks from where they let them off so it's a great view and we can even smell the smoke from them!! It was fun to see friends from our current ward and our old ward.
I was raised to be patriotic and I have kept that close to my heart as an adult. I am so thankful to be born and raised in the USA and to have the freedoms we enjoy. I'm thankful to so many who have sacrificed, even their lives to fight for our freedom. I hope to instill these strong beliefs in my children. Thank you to my parents for making that so important in my life.
Happy 4th of July!

Happy Birthday America

Our patriotic trio waiting for the parade to start in the hot, hot heat

Do you see something wrong here?

Just some of the locals in the parade;)

The girls got loads of candy and we had to treat ourselves to some cold ice cream it was so hot. It was fun. I do love parades..miss the ones in Portland but Virginia City will have to do for now.

Friends,, Food and Fireworks

Our good friends invited us up for the day to their rented condo at Lake Tahoe. The girls got to play and go tubing on the boat and we had a yummy BBQ dinner. At night we headed out on the boat to watch the July 3rd fireworks in Tahoe City. It was beautiful and fun, except for the potty incidents and sick tummies:/
We're so thankful for the Shattucks and family for having us and for the memories we made!

Reno Aces vs. Salt Lake Bees

GO ACES AND BEES!

Me and my girls

Daddy and Bryanna

ARCHIE. The girls got to meet him and give him high 5's but unfortunatley I didn't have my camera. He is quite the entertainer!

"Take me out to the ball game" The girls couldn't wait for this part!

We were super excited to get to go to the Aces vs. Bees game. Derek got tickets through work since Les Schwab is and Aces sponsor. We brought along baseball game essentials: seeds, peanuts and BIG CHEW bubble gum! We even saw some local TV anchors sitting a few rows in front of us and a couple families we know. Bryanna was very torn on who to cheer for since Reno was playing Salt Lake and we have ties to each city. In the end the Aces beat the Bees 9-6. We had a great time and some great people watching:)

My latest projects

I forgot to take a before picture of my chair. It was an old antique cream color with gold upholstery. I recovered it years ago but recently decided I wanted to change it again. I had this fabric from IKEA and really wanted to use it so I spray painted the chair white, sanded it and added the fabric..Ta Da! I love it!
I've seen these Otter Pop holders around blog land and finally made some. They are SUPER EASY to make. Fleece cut out 4 x 2.5 folded size so double the length to 8in. if you are cutting it without the fold. Sew 3 sides and you're done!
Now the girls don't have to waste all my paper towels!

Gracie's Photography

Gracie loves to take my camera and ask "can I take just ONE picture mommy?" So I say ok and then I find all of these:

her new summer church shoes

Maggie and Daddy's feet:/

Abby and Bryanna's mani/pedi's

I do love to see what they see. She's a pretty good photographer I might add!

These Moments...

These moments don't happen as often anymore. The girls are growing up so fast and while they still love to cuddle, rarely do they fall asleep on us. I really loved those moments when they were babies. This night was after a busy day and a bath. Abby was exhausted and obviously Derek was too ;) I'm not even sure who fell asleep first!