Crazy Collins Crew

Crazy Lady Cupcakes

2011-06-21T11:52:00.000-07:00

**this is Dina Gardner**

**these are her Crazy Lady Cupcakes**

**this is my sweet little addiction**

**and this is me saying goodbye to that sweet little addiction in order to win the BET Dina made me, in exchange for 1 DOZEN of those crazy-amazing-cupcakes!!...........

it's going to be a long 30 days, but it'll totally be worth it!!!**

Project Bug & Spring Cleaning

2011-06-17T17:25:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I feel like the 2 go hand-in-hand because I always find myself doing more projects when I'm in the middle of my Spring Cleaning. It's like I start to get ready for Summer & realize all the things I haven't finished throughout the Winter.... haha.... "better late than never" is one of my favorite motto's :)

I've been trying to finish... start on.... my family picture wall since we moved in a year ago!

I had all sorts of frames & ideas & could never really get my heart set on an idea that wasn't going to require a LOT of work & time & well let's face it $$!!

Then my friend suggested that I simplify & helped me come up with this:

I LOVE IT!!!

The 5x7's were each $3!! The 8x10's were $5 - LOVE IT!!!

the COLLINS side :)

{Josh's older brother hasn't had a family picture in YEARS!! That will be a task I will have to PUSH for I think! And his sister needs one as well, but at least I get to look at their beautiful twins every day :)}

the MASON side :)

{This part is still not finished b/c the bottom photo will be turned horizontal! Then it will look MUCH better & "go with the flow" a little more. I'm also missing a picture of my mom's parents.... but that's an interesting task to take on!!}

Then I decided to use the other frames I had to make my "wedding wall" a little cuter:

I got the middle frame at Deseret Book for only $7!!

Even though I'm missing a few pictures & have a few updated pictures to put infront of old ones, I love walking down my stairs & looking at all our family-

We miss them so much, but this way we get to see them every day!! :)

Spring Cleaning

2011-06-17T15:09:00.000-07:00

I think to call it Spring Cleaning doesn't make you {me} sound like so much of a nut-case when you {I} just can't stand the way certain things are around the house anymore!

Braeden's room was one of these things..... it was a DISASTER!!!!

It was in desperate need of a Redo.... ASAP!!!

So we put off all our errands & laundry & got right to work -

so much better :) I think my tired little boy approved!

THEN {as you might have noticed in a previous post}

We added a few of the final touches!

Josh and I made him these amazing ledges - Braeden helped me decide what to put up on them

{www.ana-white.com - search for ten dollar ledges}

now for this section.... I have an idea in mind.... now to find the time to put it in motion :)

Ten Dollar Ledges

2011-06-17T14:26:00.000-07:00

I have wanted to do these for a few months now, but haven't had the time nor the help, being that I'm not 100% comfortable doing things like this without my hubby just yet...... finding time to do it together is next to impossible! But we finally picked a day & got to it :) It's really nice to do projects like these with your spouses; you get such a sense of accomplishment & "team work".... it was great :) {for some reason the link isn't working!?! For the layout & directions go to www.ana-white.com & search "Ten Dollar Ledges"} I wanted my ledges to be slightly smaller than Ana's design, so we started with: 2- 1x4 @ 6 feet long, cut in 1/2 & 2- 1x2 @ 6 feet long, cut in 1/2 my hubby set me up with all my tools & we got to work :)

my handsome-helper :) the wood was slightly warped, so we had to PUSH on it as we drilled!! yet another reason I'm happy to have his help before deciding to go on my own! each screw hole had to be a certain depth.... I learn SO MUCH from him :) all finished & ready to be sanded, but first... ... a little wood filler to make it all smooth & give it a pretty finish a coat of Primer a few coats of paint {everyday I tried to paint it seemed like Mother Nature was yelling at me! So my first few coats were NOT pretty! But eventually she eased up on me & I got it done} I think they turned out pretty good & they fit perfectly in Braeden's room {post soon to come}

the little things in life

2011-05-31T23:58:00.000-07:00

It's the little things in life that make a girl like me happy! Today was such a great day... for no huge reason... but at the end of it I'm thinking to myself "man what a great day!"

And I thought I'd share on what made it so great:

I finally found the perfect vase to go on my porch table; it was only $14!

The perfect Spring flowers have yet to be discovered :) {they must be fake b/c I definately do NOT have a green thumb!!}

These homemade clay pots for my porch, that toghether were only $15!... just another cute little Spring touch for anyone who walks up to our door :) {again, good flowers still to come}

The hour of fun I spent with my husband & son playing at Jump Time before we walked next door to Good Will to see if we could find a few hidden treasures , this adorable $6 skirt included :)

the hours I got to be of service to my good friend & watch her little monster Mason, while she & her hubby went on a date!

and of course, the #1 thing to make me happy every single day of my life... :)

I find myself.......

2011-05-25T14:27:00.000-07:00

..... feeling all sorts of things when such havoc is spread throughout the world; especially when it is so close to HOME & FAMILY!! My family to be precise!!

The Tornado in Joplin, Missouri is only 100+ miles away from my family & loved ones in Tulsa, Oklahoma! Part of my Dad's job is to travel there at least once a week; there isn't a person he knows that wasn't directly effected by this terrible storm!

Last Friday night, as I watched the clouds form & darken over my parents house & began to feel the wind pick up spead, wondering if my family would once again be stuck in my moms office, huddled into corners & constantly praying for safety; I found myself feeling blessed & slightly at peace, that if havoc were to once again hit near/over my family... that at least we would all be there together instead of in seperate states trying to text message or call!

I find myself feeling very humbled of Mother Nature when I see pictures like these:

I find myself feeling very grateful that my family and loved ones were not hurt physically.

I find myself praying in my heart for the 112+ people who did die in such a scary way, & the families & loved ones they then left behind!

I find myself thanking my Heavenly Father for the knowledge I have of His plan & the truth that I have in my life; knowing that should I ever be in such a situation.... although terrifying & in no way comforting...... should that ever be the case, that I will die with the knowledge & truth in my heart & mind of my Saviour Jesus Christ & of my Heavenly Father!!

And then I find myself wondering about all the millions of people in the world who either CHOOSE not to succom to this truth.... or have just never had the opportunity to witness the power of the Priesthood, or the fullness of Truth from the Holy Spirit; I find myself wondering HOW people can continue to live a life DENYING Heavenly Father, when he is so clearly around us in EVERY WAY!!

I find myself wondering how it is that those people cannot BELIEVE when they see pictures like this:

some would say that a "random picture hanging on nothing but a nail when all else around it is completely damaged" is considered a random coinsidence.... a miraculous ounce of hope in a time a need......but

I find myself feeling the Saviour's love & presence!

I find myself feeling blessed that He has shown us His presence.... through a small picture, hanging on a single nail, in a building that has been completely enialated from one brick to the next!

Then I find myself wondering what those people would say to this picture:

........ I find myself thinking all sorts of thoughts..........

One of which is that I KNOW my Saviour Jesus Christ LIVES!! I know that Heavenly Father has a plan for each of us individually, & I KNOW that there is a reason that even the tiniest Tithing Envelopes... that weigh next to nothing when up against a Tornado..... were barely even touched!

I find myself...... in awe!!

All Smiles

2011-05-02T09:08:00.000-07:00

*just a few pictures of me smiling.... with the one that makes me smile*

UTAH: Part 2

2011-05-01T22:50:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from our EGGstravagant Weekend :) *coloring of the eggs*

I can honestly say that this was the first time I've ever enjoyed coloring eggs! I've never been one that gets into it.... it's messy & the vinegar stinks.... it's just not my thing! HOWEVER, Braeden & Abby are such little artist's & they both were very concerned about getting the color only on the egg, so it made it slightly enjoyable! :)

{lol} ok so Abby was sitting on Grandpa's lap.... then Braeden wanted to sit on his lap as well, but instead sat on Abby's lap... then Denver sat on Braeden's lap.... what a bunch of crazy kiddos :)

**EASTER**

This year we {I} kind of went all out for Easter.... I'm not sure why, but it just ended up that there were so many fun things I wanted to give him & one thing that he really wanted; so we decided to set up his very own little Easter Hunt!

{our room was downstairs, so his hunt starts at the top of the stairs}

his basket... not alot to it, but as he walked up the stairs there were eggs and.....

... the entire room had little goodies all over the place!

First he found his "My First Book of Mormon Stories" storybook :)

then as he turned around to put it in his basket, he saw TANGLED on the chair, a few eggs on the side table, a jumbo Dinosaur Coloring Book & crayons in the corner..... a few more eggs here & there....

... then his very first Book of Mormon & Basketball Scripture Case!!

A few more eggs surrounded the rest of the room.... leading him to the kitchen where he found....

the ultimate Easter gift, his very own set of Golf Clubs & balls..... just what he wanted!! :)

Ok - so for some odd reason, during our stay my son was getting up surprisingly early everyday & not saying a word to Josh or I when he was awake. ^^THIS was my attempt to keep him from going upstairs & coming to get us instead {the sign has his name (which he can read) & a large STOP sign (which he can read as well) written on it! } ...... COMPLETE FAIL!!!

Much to my dismay my son saw this... knew instantly that something was UP.... thought it was some kind of a puzzle & ripped down the bottom half..... ran up the stairs and began his hunt without so much of a picture or video to capture!! :(

As heart broken as I was... {am, as I look at pictures & write this blog without the FULLY captured memory}... I can say that not all hope was lost! My father-in-law was awake and witnessed every moment! As jealous as I was at first that he neither thought to send him back downstairs {knowing we'd want to watch him} OR even to grab his camera {b/c any woman would've!!}, I can honestly say that I'm grateful that he was there to witness the happiness my son was experiencing.... & was then able to relay such happiness & expressions on to me!

*My mother, as wise as she is, helped me to see the spiritual side of this experience, an ability that I hope to master! She helped me to relate it to the thought of death {odd right, lol}.

Since the meaning of Easter is surrounded by death, she was pondering her thoughts around this topic as she prepared herself for church & the gratitude she was feeling for Jesus Christ & his sacrifice; she helped me to realize that even though I was not able to witness the pure joy of my son... even though I had done so much preperation & work leading up to an expected moment... the experience was symbolic of the situation I will go through when I die & leave my son in this life.... experiencing happiness without me!

She helped me to understand that the pain will be far greater, but that the JOY will be to know that he will have loved ones here with him to experience it for me.... & what a blessing it is to know that someday those experiences will then be relayed back to me so that I may be apart of the moments in his life that I missed.... through no fault of my own!!

WOW.... thanks mom :)*

{moving on}

the "big" cousins getting fired up for their Egg Hunt

haha, my little guy does what he must to get that egg!!

{I love his arched position in the second pic, he did NOT want those bushes to touch him... but he DID want that Egg..... se-la-vi :) }

Braeden was SO good at finding hidden eggs that he helped all the adults find their eggs too; we looked for 10 minutes to find Aunt Tina's..... Braeden walked over & pointed it right out :)

showin off his loot; the cute little name cards he made for the cousins at the big-kid-table

the whole EGGstatic crew :)

{even missing 8 we are still huge :) }

UTAH: Part 1

2011-05-01T21:58:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went to Utah for a double whammy-family-weekend :) {first time.... and last.... using a left sided format; sorry it's so off!!}

*Friday: we attended Aunt Michelle's Graduation from Weber State University! We are all so proud of her & her persistence; even though Braeden didn't really understand what exactly was going on, he knew that she had done something amazing & was very proud of her... he even suggested that we get her some flowers to show her how happy we were :) {aw}

My little nephew Denver was SO happy to see me, he literally ran through the row of seated people & up into my arms!! It was so cute - I'm always afraid that my nieces & nephews are going to forget us living far away, but he remembered :) This kid doesn't say much {in English} but he knew who I was & kept calling me "nitty" {Aunty}

Braeden & Abby were so happy to see eachother :)

YEAH!! Go Michelle!!

My little Roley-Poley nephew {aka Cameron}....

.... and my adorable twin nieces Ava & Ali - these 3 also remembered their Aunty K & I had a BLAST playing with them at our family BBQ!

Aunt Chelle & Uncle Mac {aka Chris} all dressed & pressed; a mighty fine looking couple if you ask me :)

*Saturday, it was off to Temple Square for some fun family photos! It was a beautiful-cold & windy-day {lol}...

a perfect day to stop and smell the ever beautiful Temple flowers...

to take a stroll up to the Observatory {I'd never been!} & check out the amazing view of downtown SLC...

squeeze in a few more photos.....

stop & appreciate the beautiful view of the "Temple Castle", as Braeden likes to call it :)

have some lunch at the delicious GARDEN Restaurant & take just a few more pictures to remember the trip :) .....

then a few more pictures by some more beautiful flowers..... then home to get ready for Easter {different post} yup, it was a pretty awesome day :)

Craft Bug: Flower Frames

2011-04-30T22:00:00.000-07:00

This blog has been a long time coming.... better late than never :) I made these for Christmas Presents for both my Mom & my Other Mother; I wanted to share with you how easy it was to make them. {easier than finding time to blog about them, that's for sure! } You will need: a frame {Mine are both 5X7's that I found at Michaels for $1 each}. a 12X12 piece of Scrapbook Paper for each frame {I chose colors that matched both my mothers' offices since that's where I knew they needed newly updated photos of my son}. Tacky Glue {the brown bottle, b/c it works with both paper and wood} Mod Podge & a medium/large brush and finally, material to match your Scrapbook Paper {only if you decide to add the flower} & a piece of felt lining {Micheals, $1 for a 12x12 page! } with the sticky backside! You will also need an Exacto Knife {works better than scissors} & a Hot Glue Gun! ~If you plan on adding a flower, & you have sensitive hands, you may also want crafting gloves, b/c there will be alot of hot glueing! **FRAME** Measure & cut out the paper into 2 strips; then apply each strip onto the frame, folding the paper over the edges; then glue into place. After the glue has dried trim the excess paper from the back of the frame! Then trace & cut an X into the opening part of the frame:

Then apply glue onto the wood lining of the backside frame {bend the glass clasps UP & try not to get too much glue on them or they won't bend back down! }; carefully fold the "triangles" and push firmly into the glue:

Using your Exacto Knife, carefully cut along the pre-set lines of the frame:

Allow your frame to set for about an hour to make sure that ALL the glue has evenly dried! Once the glue has dried, apply 2-3 coats of Mod-Podge to the front & sides. When the front is COMPLETELY DRY {otherwise it'll stick and rip your paper}, you only need to apply 1 coat of Mod-Podge to the back {or more if you desire}:

**FLOWER**

Cut out 1- 1.5" strip of your material {length wise}; fold the material in 1/2:

Cut a small {as big as you want your flower to be (measure it on your frame) } square out of your felt lining. Using your glue gun, glue the corner of your material to the felt side of the square and press for several seconds. Slowly start to twist your material clockwise.

As you twist, start to sculpt your flower and apply glue in between the material as you go, working your way up to form the "bud" of your flower, then working your way downward so as to glue it back onto your felt:

When finished, double check that your flower if porportioned to your frame {or however you want it} & using your crafting glue, apply to your frame:

Finally, add a cute buttom for "the bud" & a picture of the cutest little boy EVER :) & vuala... your frame is finished :)

I made the green for Gail & the floral for my Mom

Super cute gift for any occasion {Mothers Day... hint hint} & the best part is that it was super cheap {maybe $12 if you have to buy new glue & mod-podge}, but it's also fun to make.... and WHOSE MOM doesn't like a homemade gift!?! :)

Smart Shopping

2011-04-19T15:12:00.000-07:00

I don't know if it's the theme from my Relief Society {Shop Less, Save the Rest}, or the theme for our Relief Society Tuesday night class {Smart Shopping}, or if I am just finally getting to be in the know of where to find awesome deals.... but I am SO PROUD of the score I made today!!!

I was talking to my friend over the weekend who was describing all the things she recently purchased at Good Will.... I was completely amazed!! I couldn't believe all the cute things she was showing me. Now I'm not snooty, nor do I have some kind of "special preference" of where I buy clothes; I LOVE hand-mi-downs & yard sales & think you can really find some great things if you know where to go & how to get there! I also love donating to places like D.I., it makes me feel like I'm doing my part to help those who are less fortunate than my family is!

BUT.... to actually walk into Good Will & sort through all the clothes from 1980.... I have to admit I started to find myself feeling somewhat..... dirty.... haha, I mean you NEVER KNOW where this stuff has come from and who has worn them!!! It's like an the OCD-persons-nightmare!!!

So I took a breath, Germexed it up, & dug in!!

To my ultimate surprise I started to find some really GREAT clothes,

for UNBELIEVABLE prices!!

Check 'em out:

2 pairs of pants {Old Navy & Calvin Klein}

2 Dresses {Dress Barn}

1 ADORABLE skirt {Old Navy}

1 FABULOUS Cardigan {Sonoma}

1 Shrug {Old Navy}

1 Blouse {Old Navy}

2 pairs of leggings

.... and a super cute Easter decoration that B really wanted to buy....

ALL FOR $50!!!

I mean... FOR REAL!?!?!?!

I'm like on shopping-cloud-9!!!

I have been looking for items like these for a few months, having no luck & feeling like somehow it makes me fat {lol}..... NOT TODAY!!!

Today I felt adorable {mostly b/c I wore my cardigan out of the store!!} & I was thrilled to pieces about my awesome findings & overall smart shopping!!

And so naturally, I wanted to share :)

Mom's Medical Maladies

2011-04-16T22:38:00.000-07:00

A good friend of mine posted this on her blog.... and on a day like today, I found myself laughing hysterically {inside of course b/c Braeden was sleeping at the time of reading, lol} I just had to post :) Mom's Medical Maladies: 1. Congestive Art Failure: The inability to find room for one more cross eyed portrait of Daddy on the fridge. 2. Sexczema: The way your skin crawls when your husband tries to cop a feel after you've spent a long day with a whiny, clingy child. 3. Mallergies: Severe aversion to large shopping centers after enduring multiple $80 detours into build- a-badger. 4. Damnesia: Disorientation at hearing your child use a bad word, until you remember he heard you use it first. 5. 'My Crane' : Throbbing headache after spending a two hour playdate referring fights over a single toy in a chock full basement. 6. Hymnsomnia: sleeplessness due to anxiety over how one's offspring will behave in church. 7. Manopause: Overwhelming need for a girls' night out following an afternoon of baseball widowhood. 8. Gum Dis-Ease: Anxious monitoring of kindergartner-enjoying a Chiclet,wondering if it'll end up on your sofa or in her windpipe. 9. Gastrointerestitis: excessive focus on contents of sick toddlers diaper. 10. Carpool Tunnel Syndrome: Sensation of spending one's days endlessly shuttling rowdy kinds to tumble classes and playdates. Thank you Parenting Magazine - and my funny friend Traci Brown :) LUV YA LADY!!

A month... or so.... ago

2011-03-22T22:09:00.000-07:00

In January {the day we left for Tulsa} Braeden had the opportunity to go on his very first PreSchool Field Trip!! They went on one to a Pumpkin Farm when we were in California in October, and obviously he missed it. So this time I was determined to take him....

wether we left straight for the airport afterward or not, he was going to go!

He loved it!!

No, he isn't the only boy in his class, his friends Uri & Abel in the picture.....

haha, my little ladies' man :)

They showed them how the X-Rays worked & what the pictures of the teeth looked like; then they showed off a few of their rooms {I'm assuming some children are afraid of the Dentist.... you can tell my son is not one of those kids by the way he made himself right at home on the chair, watching a movie, waiting to get his teeth checked, haha GGpa Mason & Papa Dave will be so proud :)} The guy with the camera was from the news, they had some sort of sports team promoting "healthy teeth" while we were there.... B is hugging the teams' Mascott, it was pretty cute because none of the other kids would hug him, so B runs over and hugs him...

then all the other kids got in line :)

Once again, Braeden made himself right at home when the Hegienist was introducing the kids to "Sucky" & showing off all his awesome ways to get sugar bugs out of their mouths!

I really liked their terminology & have adopted some of them for our own teeth brushing experiences here at home.

**********************

And then of course we went home and made cookies...... haha, just kidding, but wouldn't that be funny.... like going to the gym & then Krispy Kreme afterwards :)

I found these cute pictures of us making cookies just lying around on my computer - I can never get enough of how smart my little guy is! For a 3 year old, he truly is an amazing little cook & I just love the experiences we get doing it together! :)

.... not much to say, EXcept.....

2011-03-14T23:25:00.000-07:00

.... I HATE this room!!!!

Mostly because it's a constant reminder that it's the "extra room" & still not a baby room....

sigh**

I have tried to set aside time to organize this room since September - those who keep up with my life are fully aware of what it's been like over the past 6 months, so I won't bore you with any details - I'll just say that the day finally came when I was able to dedicate the entire day to this room... because yes, when you factor in what else needs to be done during the day of a SAHM...

it took pretty much an entire day to do.

Most of you may not know this, but I am THE CLUTTER KILLER! I started this business when we lived in Utah, but have not yet had the chance to expand here in Idaho... someday.... but until then I decided to share a few tips/techniques for anyone who may not know how to properaly organize - some people paint, I kill clutter :)

This room currently serves multiple purposes - we have a baby gate permanently connected to the doorway, so it's our "what we don't want Braeden & Coal to have easy access to" room. Josh's drums, my sewing machine & ALL my crafts/projects, the stuff I collect for a DI run or even a possible yardsale... but for the most part, all of our baby care items are in this room!

To make room for Josh's drums we put all the baby clothes bins in the closet of our guest bedroom, as well as the crib - but other than that, everything is in here! And let me tell you... WHEW!! My son was....is..... S-P-O-I-L-E-D!!! :) I have so much baby stuff - but I'll be the first to admit that it's hard to downsize any of it due to the fact that we are not finished growing our family & ya know... good baby stuff don't grow on trees & neither does money!!

SO.... to each his own, but try and follow a few guidelines.

> If you save clothes for possible hand-me-downs, you only need 1 bin per age {I have 5... for only 2 years of clothes.... YUCK! but take your time, move on to a different project, set a time limit, and then come back when you are ready to tackle something that is "emotionally attaching", such as getting rid of baby clothes :)}

> Sort all saved shoes into 1 bin for every 5 years of age; OR... Ziploc makes fantastic jumbo storage bags in all different sizes!

> 1 bin for baby & toddler toys, 1 bin for preschool - so on & so forth! If they don't play with it after 2 toy rotations, aka 6 months {rotate every 3 months with the seasons}, then there's no use... get rid of it! If your child uses all their toys, but you're on overload.... 1-for-1!! They get rid of 1 before adding in a new one!!

> Books go into 1 bin or box for every 3-5 years of age {I recommend DIY Bankers Boxes... super cheap & durable & the perfect size for storing on any size shelf, whether closet, garage or even attick!}

Finally, after a few hours of sorting & dancing to iTunes, I found myself liking this room once again.... loving it will come soon enough... but it's good for now :)

a glance at both the closets

all the baby blankets & towels together, all the bottles & sippy cups together;

all of the 0m-3T shoes in one bag.... aahh, it's a beautifully organized sight :)

.... it's not perfect yet, but I can walk in & have room to spread out my sewing AND most importantly, I can close the closet door!!

My next "thing to do" is to sort through all my crafts & finally give up the ones I have not even thought about in the past year!!

Sadly, most of my projects are things to decorate this room with the day finally comes for us to converge it into a baby room..... someday :)

If you needed these tips, I hope they helped you :)

Grand CaymAn Pictures

2011-03-05T18:32:00.000-08:00

{from our Water Camera} the shipwreck was AWESOME!! It went on for about a mile! there's nothing like swimming with the fish, it really does make you feel like you're on a different planets.... the Alien of the group... they look at you like "hey, what are you doing here?" lol the caverns that were underneath were absolutely amazing; & that shark-fish was very curious of us!! At one point he was right underneath our boat... glaring at me.... but my camera had been used up so I have no evidence of his evil "I'm gonna getcha" stare!! It was a little nerv-wracking to see that the reef just drop!! It's just a whole different.... & magical... world down there! So awesome :) My husband is one of those people who can dive and hold his breath for a long time... I am not {lol} Hopefully on our next Cruise we will get the opportunity to go Scuba Diving - that is something that is listed on both our Bucket Lists'! We had so much fun!! YEAH for Cruising!!!

Cruise 2011

2011-03-03T17:39:00.000-08:00

We had the most amazing opportunity come our way last Winter; we recently switched over to a new advertising agency for New Balance; turns out they are not only wonderful to work with, but every year they take their client on a trip! This year, they treated us & other business's to an all-expenses-paid Eastern Carribean Cruise!! WOW!!!

Josh & I felt as close to royalty as we're ever going to get... haha! Seriously though, they treated us so well & made us feel so special.... we will be doing business with them for a long time!!

We were so extremely grateful because it forced us to go on a vacation with just the 2 of us, which any parent/mom knows is hard to do once you start a family - we had not been on a vacation by ourselves since our Honeymoon!! We've always gone somewhere with family and/or friends.... and for me, it was a really big deal because it was also the first time EVER that I was leaving Braeden.... let alone to mention that we would be on a boat, with no communication to the outside world..... not getting to hear his voice even on the phone or on webcam....

WHEW, I still get a little anxious talking about it even now!!

**GRAMMY**

AW - look at the smile on his face; he LOVED taking naps with her :)

We were so excited when we found out that Grammy Mason wanted to come out & watch Braeden for us; I mean, talk about an awesome experience for both of them!!

He only gets to see her every so often, and even then she never really gets one-on-one time with him when all the other cousins & everyone are around. He has always instantly remembered her & never needed time to get use to her in between visits & I know that's because on some level he recognizes that she & I are "the same".... if that makes sense :)

For me, it was extremely comforting because having my mom there with him.... in his own environment.... was the closest thing to having me there with him!

I mean, she knows his lullaby because it was also my lullaby; I learned how to be a mom from her so naturally he'd have the same style of discipline & parenting going on.... it just, was so comforting to me on so many levels!!

Knowing that my mom was here, David & Emily took advantage & came up the night before we left & they got into town right in time to read a story before bed; I just love seeing B's arm around Peyton, so sweet!

Every time we see Petyon, it gets even more fun to watch Braeden interact with her as she grows..... the second picture is SO cute because he was literally like "will this girl ever stop laughing? I want to go to sleep now"... haahaha!!

**Saturday = MIAMI**

We were flown/driven into South Beach Miami where we stayed the night at the Double Tree Hotel, where we were then treated to the most amazing Steak Dinner we have EVER had, and that's sayin' somethin' because Josh has quite the taste for a good 'ol steak!!

Then in the morning {sunday} we were off:

I always love the cute little towel animals they create for you- this was a Walrus :)

**Monday = First Day at Sea**

We didn't really do much accept relax, sleep, swim, play... eat... haha, not much at all :)

~Giraffe~

**Tuesday = COZUMEL**

We went Ziplining {a first for us both}!! It was amazing; you were literally flying on top of the Jungle!

And that was the biggest Iguana we'd ever seen!

Video will soon be posted in my sidebar -->

~Armadillo~

**Wednesday = BELIZ**

we had to take a boat just to get to the island, waited for 30 minutes to be loaded on to a bus which then took us on a 30 minute tour through the city, all the way to the jungle where we went on a Horseback Tour through a private part of the Jungle.... it was long, but totally worth it- absolutely amazing & my favorite excursion of the week!!

this was our private "beach" location... right in the heart of the jungle, completely hidden... AMAZING!!

this littel Kolt was so cute; the second picture is my horse Brown Man, he was constantly curving his head all the way back to get a good look at me... NEVER seen a horse do that :)

haha... Josh's horse was more like a Mule, lol, it didn't want to do ANYTHING that Josh was telling him to do.... hmm.... sound familiar to anyone else but me!?! All the while I just wanted to gitty-up-n-gallop & so did my horse, because as soon as we were clear he just bolted & I was right there with him! hmmm.... like rider like horse!?! I actually wonder if they had a sense about whom to put on which horse because I kept seeing ones I wanted... and then he sent me to Brown Man & it was a perfect match!! HAHA... there was this lady that was all "I've been riding & barrel racing for 12 years" & all cocky, was even dressed up in her Cowgirl attire - so he paired her up with this HUGE horse..... who was a constant pain the whole ride! He never followed directions, never turned the way she wanted.... AND galloped sideways instead of straight ahead.... HAHA, I couldn't help but think "hmm, cocky lady got a cocky horse" :)

then after the ride it was off for some native lunch & swimming

Ok so THAT is George, their baby monkey! Oh my goodness he was cute!! and you can see how he is latched around my hand.... he absolutely didn't want me to let him go :)

He started moaning when I went to pass him off.... AW!!

such an amazing body of water... absolutely gorgeous!! It was always sort of relieving to see our FunShip somewhere off in the distance.... like "oh good, they didn't leave us", even though we were always at least an hour early... just one of those things I guess :)

~turtle or crab!?! we were in debate :) ~

**Thursday = Isle of Roatan**

Isn't it GORGEOUS!!! This was an actual shipwreck, there was an excursion for it, but Josh & I were in a relaxing mood....

... so we hopped on the "Magical Seat Ride" {lol} and headed off to the private Mohagony Beach.

Which naturally, we got bored of after about an hour :), so we went Kyaking {sp?}.... for the first and LAST time ever, lol!! We kyaked to another side of the beach, where we met & FED 2 sharks!!! OH MAN, I was so bummed that I didn't bring my camera.. not knowing they were going to be over there... it was SO COOL!! The keeper-guy didn't speak a word of English, so we have no idea what kind they were... but taking that chopped up fish head {puke} & testing it in the water until this massive animal swims over and literally CHOMPS {that's the sound the water actually makes.... CHOMP}... chomps it within inches of my body will be an experience I will NEVER forget!!!

~that second picture was my attempt to NOT get sunburned without having to put sunscreen in my hair :) - I also had to show off my homemade fan from Cozumel :)

haha... that's some pretty big shoes to fill babe :) - our Koala towel :)

**Friday = Grand Caymun**

We actually visited Grand Caymun on our last cruise 4 years ago, so it was nice to already have a sense of what was where on the island.... not totally out of our eliment :) Last time we went snorkeling with the Sting Rays {not impressed, and I got a rash from their skin!} and visited Hell & all that fun stuff. So this time we went snorkelling at Cheeseburger Reef {the one & only Burger King is located on the shore of the reef.. pretty funny :)}; we saw some of the most amazing fish.... some were HUGE, almost the size of sharks! and then we went to a seperate location and got to see a real life shipwreck {another reason why we didn't do the one in Roatan}!! It was pretty cool! Those pictures are obviously on a water camera, which had to be sent out & will be posted soon :)

~Monkey~

**Saturday = Last Day at Sea**

We spent the day packing, eating, sleeping & playing on the boat; with all the fun activities they plan out... it was such a fun day!!

this was our favorite band throughout the cruise, you can't really see them but we loved dancing & singing along with them

haha, I got to be a contestant on one of their gameshows - I was ahead until they asked a tricky question about the song Copa Cabana..... ya, I'm still a little sore about it, lol

It's alright, I didn't need a bottle of Shampaigne anyway, I still got a cool medal :)

It was a lot of fun!!! We absolutely LOVE cruising!!! It's our favorite way to vacation!! I simply cannot wait until we go again & hopefully take Braeden with us :)

**Souveniers**

Josh chillin in his Grand Caymun Harley Davidson shirt

My amazing Belizan earings & super cute beach watch from Miami :)

I have always wanted a bottle for our Olive Oil, just like on Food Network :), only now mine is way cooler than theirs because it is hand painted from Roatan :)!!

And the super cool remote holder is from Miami!

We bought some Vanilla, a super cute beach dress & hat & fan for me from Cozumel.

{I'm wearing the hat in all our Beliz pictures, and the fan is in our ROATAN pictures}

We also bought some fun gifts for Braeden whenever we found them, magnets from each Island

to add to our collection on the fridge, & of course some souveniers for a few close friends!

Speaking of, I bought my friend some Vanilla from Roatan... it's CLEAR!!! I was told that Vanilla is actually clear & then dyed to be dark!?! Not sure how I feel about that after 27 years of thinking it is naturally dark, but I'm also not sure how you take black vanilla and dye it crystal-clear.... and oh man, when she opened that bottle sugar fumes instantly filled the air... it was PURE vanilla extract :) !!

Tulsa

2011-02-10T10:27:00.000-08:00

Last month (January) Josh's Uncle Tim passed away very suddenly.... I will not go into too much detail accept to say that he meant a great deal to my husband & he will be missed deeply, but I am grateful that he is finally at peace & away from this mortal world where he continuously suffered!! It just so happens that Tim lived in Tulsa.... and as most of you know, so does my family; so for me, being that on average I get to see my family about once a year, it was a bitter sweet experience & tried my absolute hardest to not mix the 2 emotions & to be very respectful of the situation. My sweet little boy has become quite the traveler in his 3 years; he's very comfortable on airplanes... which is nice!! 4 out of the 11 days we were in Tulsa, there was a RECORD snow storm/blizzard!! And why shouldn't there be?? last May when we were there it was a record Rain Storm/Monsoon (sp?), when we went to California last September it was a record Heat Wave.... so were we surprised that we yet again brought the unlucky weather?.... a little, yes :) ~What did we do for 4 days you ask? #1 - We played dress up in some of my old clothes that Grammy still had...... yes, I'm aware of WHAT is going on these pictures b/c I took them :) He just looked so stinkin cute.... haha... my poor boy #2 - In a house of 5 adults with 4 iPods, 3 Laptops & a load of downloaded movies, we had plenty of options for entertainment. Daxton, Kaedon & Braeden all huddled into this tiny little corner JUST so they can each see the game that Daxton was playing on my iPod :) #3 - we made a Army themed Valentines Box of goodies & cards for Uncle Alex :) this is Braedens "dinosaur land" picture - he told me what to draw & I drew... turned out pretty cute if I do say so myself :) ~proof of the reason we were stuck in the first place~ the road & driveway are located somewhere in that second picture!!

the "lining" after opening the garage, about 10"; me... in all my bundled up glory, lol

#4 - we finally ventured out after a few days

we weren't prepared in our packing... to say the least, so we improvised :)

Josh at the end of the walkway surrounded by the WALL of snow; my parents house BURIED, my brothers car BURIED, & the truck... BURIED!!!

this is how deep the snow was on my legs.... up to my knee!

I think the final count was somewhere between 13-18"!?!

B all bundled up and still frozen, but always found time to play in the snow fort Uncle Joshy built him (that I was terrified would come tumbling down on him at any second!!) We later turned the top of it (that went to the edge of the rooftop!!) into the coolest sled-slope you've ever seen... but naturally I forgot the camera :)

Josh and B building a 7ft. snowman that turned into some kind of XBOX themed warrior!?!

this was just the start of his head.... it was huge!!

words cannot describe....

2011-01-24T01:05:00.002-08:00

~I love to see the temple...

I'll go inside someday.....

To feel the Holy Spirit, to listen & to Pray.

For the temple is a House of God; a place of love & beauty!

I'll prepare myself while I am young....

this IS my sacred duty!

Random Moments to Remember

2011-01-24T01:05:00.001-08:00

A few months back I was asked to be the photographer at a Middle School Sock Hop fundraiser; it was a lot of fun :)

The background was so cute; Braeden LOVED the car!

For some reason one night Braeden had it in his mind that he NEEDED to roast a Marshmellow!?! It was so random... but so cute all at once... we ran to the store & then improvised, and experienced our first family Smore-Cookoff :)

Braeden & I had our first official homework assignment when he went back to PreSchool after the holiday break - to make an "About Me" scrapbook page!

It was really fun... and he actually helped

(notice all the creatively placed stickers :)).

I LOVED the final product so much I had to take a picture & document :)

I can't wait to put the real thing in his keepsake box!

NO you're not seeing things.....

NO I didn't go crazy & buy my son drums!!

A friend of ours is going on an LDS Mission; Josh has always wanted to learn to play the drums, but I don't want to commit the $$ for that hobby (since his guitar has caught dust for 2-3 years now!) - lucky for both of us we are caring for these until our friend gets back!

I might end up completely deaf in 2 years but only time will tell :)

Every year around the holidays, we go see the lights at Temple Square.

This year was no exceptiong... however, this was the first time in 27 years that I can remember going with my parents, & especially not with my brother Donny!

It was a very magical & spiritually uplifting night!

(see "words cannot describe" for more from that night)

Home away from Home...

2011-01-24T00:42:00.001-08:00

..... also known as UTAH!

I'm sure you are all aware from the many blog posts', that our Collins Family lives in the northern part of Utah. But what you may not know is that my little brother David also lives in that area with his wife Emily & adorable little girl Peyton.

This little girl was blessed into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints on December 5th, 2010. Braeden & I were still visiting my in-laws from the week before (Thanksgiving) & I was over joyed that it was orchestrated for us to get to stay for the occasion!

My parents drove all the way up from Tulsa Oklahoma to be there, which was wonderful for all of us because..... well, you get many family moments living 2500 miles away from eachother.

I love that my brother and his family live close enough to where we can get a little weekend visit in - but this weekend visit was the best to date!

David & Emily live in this cute little complex; their loft is huge and spacious & literally feels like a home away from home.

Every time we visit both Braeden & I feel very comfortable & relaxed.

I love it :)

Now, on to the pictures:

sweet little Peyton's first mistletoe experience with Grandpa Paul-

the Horstmeiers (aka the Friend-in-laws:)) live here in Boise & they have gratiously taken Josh & Braeden & I "in" under there wing as additions to their family, since we have none in the area.

It's nice to be close with my brothers' in-laws & have a relationship wtih them- they are good people & I know what an impact good in-laws can have on your marriage & life & the lives of your children!

We love you Horstmeier family!!!

haha.... he asked me if he could sit here for dinner... too funny :)

Braedens first Gingerbread house experience (mine too).... and our last :)

AW :) P napping with Uncle Donny.... so sweet :)

**Other Family Moments**

Also residents of good 'ol Utah are my Uncle Dale & Aunt Meredith (my moms side), and ALL 7 of their kids + their families :)

We had a "Meredith Family Night" with a few of them & it was SO FUN!!

Braeden & cousin Gabe are officially the best of buddies :)

he just loves little Peyton - she on the other hand gets tired of his kisses :)

the BOYS in one room...

... the GIRLS & kids in the other :)

Grammy Cheryl w/Aunty Em & Peyton

AW :)

Aunt Alice & my Mom - gotta love good sister-in-laws :)

too cute!!

**Christmas... Mason style!**

My family always does Christmas in our own special way....

never on Christmas!

My parents have taught me to understand the meaning of Christmas & they enforce those teachings by not really caring WHEN we do ours; that it's not about being together on A DAY, or about how many gifts you get or are given; it's about the birth of our Savior!!

The gift of life & family in general; and you don't need a specific day in a specific month to celebrate those things!

There is talk of having it at our Mason Family Reunions in July,

& I'm in love with the idea of Christmas in July :)

What a fun way to break up the year, think outside the box, & celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ without getting caught up in the seasonal "hallmark" mumbo-jumbo!

I just love my family :)

this one just warms my heart, I love my parents :)

I grow to love & appreciate them and WHO they are more & more the older I get! And when I see them hold my son, & I SEE the Mason resemblence in him... like a mini-my dad :)... there's a feeling of "generational love" that comes over me.

He looks so much like Josh & my OM-Gail & that side of the gene-pool;

& even tho I love his blonde hair & blue eyes

(his curls are MASON... so there :))...

& when I see him I fall in love with his daddy all over again...

I just LOVE the times when "the Mason" peeks out to smile at me :)

**PRESENTS**

YEAH... another toy for him to fight with... lol!

Thanks Uncle Donny, Aunt Marci & Daxton & Kaedon -

we LOVE & miss you!

Grammy loved the jars & picture frame we made for her!

(tutorial & post still to come)

For his present, I took my dad out for a long-overdue-Daddy-Daughter date! We went to see The Forgotton Carols.... 1 word... BEAUTIFUL!!!

Home for Christmas

2011-01-23T22:07:00.000-08:00

(better late than never :) )

There are always so many pictures... so many memories!

I'm just so grateful for technology (when it works, lol)

Improvising!!

2011-01-21T21:08:00.001-08:00

For a few months now Braeden has been obsessively picking at his face & his nose.

Now, before you say anything, I know that kids at his age (and probably older) pick their nose and it's not abnormal.... HOWEVER, yesterday he picked it to the point where it started to bleed!! Every time I turn around he's picking at some part of his face... ENOUGH!

My niece Abby used to suck her thumb constantly... more than just normal like at bedtime, so when they decided to get her to stop, they put some kind of medicine that tasted TERRIBLE (I got a lick by accident once!) & she quit within just a few days!

Well.... since I have yet to find any kind of medicine to go on B's fingers that SMELL terrible enough to make him stop picking at his face....

this is me improvising!!

~Later that day (Friday)~

I have to report that B successfully went the entire day (that I saw) without attempting to put his bandage-covered-fingers in his nose or anywhere else on his face!

On Saturday I took them off & we had 2 incidents (that I knew of); Sunday we put them back on & he tried a few times but it seems to be working.... we'll try a few more days with them on & then see where it gets us :)

DINOSAURS!!!

2011-01-14T19:43:00.001-08:00

My son is OBSESSED, to say the least!

The other day I made the mistake of telling him that maybe one day we should have a pool shaped like a dinosaur - this of course to Braeden means NOW!!!

Tonight before saying bedtime prayers, he was talking about it & I said "oh, we should just get to work on that huh".... "YA, Daddy YOU need to start working on that next week & mommy and I will work on the house" - LOL!!

The theme this month at PreSchool happens to be Dinosaurs! They are also learning the letters:

K-Key to Dinosaurland

L-Long Neck

M-Meat Eaters

N-Nest/Flying Dinosaurs

& O-Oh no the end of the Dinosaurs :)

Anyway, yesterday his teacher was telling me how he didn't want to anything else but "read" the books they had on Dinosuars, all day!

So today we went to the Library and checked out some books :)

We tried to check out The Land Before Time DVD (also recommended by the teacher & 1 I've wanted to get for him but can't find) but it won't be back until Tuesday; so we'll go back and get more books :)

I think the library is going to finally be a place we like to go regularly; we might even give their story time another try :) (last year we went with a few friends from church, but B was NEVER into it & could never sit down for the story so we quit going)

Now, I know what you're thinking, the kiddie books with pictures & such... WRONG!

Braeden likes the actual-factual-books! Here are the ones he picked:

and YES, he picked each one! He had about 6/7 that he wanted, but I limited it to 3 not knowing exactly how much he'd really get into them once we got home...... turns out that's all he wanted to do for the rest of the day!! He even picked them as his bedtime stories.

We have been reading the Toy Story Collectable Stories Book (the collectors edition.. HUGE) & he heavily insists on reading "the next chapter" (aka story) every night. So we made it a one-chapter-a-night kind of tradition & he's loved it! It's been kind of fun for Josh & I too, to be able to mix it up every night :)

I just love that he LOVES to read & learn!!

CALIFORNIA: Beautiful Beaches

2011-01-05T19:22:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure if it's possible to go to California & not spend a few hours on the beach!?!

We went to a place called Dana Point.... it was GORGEOUS!

Even though we ended up missing the low-tide (the whole reason we went),

we had a blast looking for sea-shells & enjoying our view.

Then finally on our last night in California, we were able to visit the Pier down off the Boardwalk... just a block over from where our house was...

it was amazing & beautiful :)

B thought it was pretty funny to be walking without our shoes on :)

he was playing catch with the waves :)

AW :) I love making these kind of memories!

CALIFORNIA: Knottsberry Farm

2011-01-05T15:25:00.000-08:00

While we were in California, we also visited the ever famous Knottsberry Farm!

Josh & Uncle Brian went for the entire day, then Braeden & I joined Josh for the remainder of the evening.... good thing because it only took us a few hours to ride all the kid-friendly-rides before we got a little bored.

We actually went on October 1st, which also happened to be the first night of their October festivities, which meant that the park during the day was pretty much dead! We were able to ride each ride for as long as Braeden wanted too :)

CALIFORNIA: Disneyland

2011-01-05T14:38:00.000-08:00

A few months ago.... as in September 25th - October 2nd... we were treated to a trip to California with some members of the Collins family.

Over the coarse of the week, we visited Disneyland many many times - we had so much fun!!! There literally are not enough words to describe how much fun we actually had!!

We only had one super hot day (the hottest on record to date.... figures!) & we probably spent $100 on water bottles (then took them home & froze them for the remaining trip!!), but B was a trooper through it all; and

even though my son is in the 97% percentile for his height, and was a HAIRLINE too short for the majority of the lines (literally, they stuck their fingure into his hair to make sure he was too short), we still had an amazing time, made tons & tons of fantastic memories, and are anxiously excited for our next trip!

Braeden to this day talks about going when he's 6 (our next estimated trip) and that he'll be big enough to ride all the same rides as Daddy; even though his height felt like an issue at the time, I'm so grateful that we were given the opportunity to go at such an imaginative age!

Due to the quantity of pictures that were taken, I thought it best to show you in a slideshow:

HAIRCUT!!!

2011-01-03T16:18:00.000-08:00

Braeden has needed a hair trim for a very very long time now.... but I have never been able to bring myself to take him to someone who was going to charge me $20 to cut those beautiful little curls..... it's just not something I can justify!

At first it was because I wanted to grow his hair out, then it became more of the "I'd pay for his 5 minute trim what I would for my 30 minute cut".... then the time just kind of got away from me & his hair just kept getting longer & longer. Then one day I had the thought....

"I could do it.... I could borrow some trimmers from Sami (my RS President) & trim his hair myself". Josh however was not up for the idea when I originally had it. Now, months later, I finally took it upon myself to prove to my husband that nobody was more qualified to take care of B's little curls than me..... check it out :)

the BEFORE; this is to show how long his hair is when "straight"

the AFTER; how much we had to take off due to split ends!

...... aw.... the sad little pile of curls......

.... long or short curls, he's still pretty stinkin cute...

maybe even cuter knowing that it was all my doing :)

Ringing in the New Year

2011-01-02T17:12:00.002-08:00

During the day, Braeden and I took Uncle David, Aunt Emily & cousin Peyton out for some Yogurt before they headed back to UT.

It is always so fun to watch B interact with little Chikadi-P :)

He really is going to make an awesome big brother some day!!

she loved looking at Mommy & Daddy while Aunty K held her

AW :) For New Years Eve night, we went to Red Robin for dinner, then took our little man out

Ice Skating for the first time - he had a BLAST!!

For obvious reasons, the only pictures taken were from my phone,

you'll understand why they aren't that great of photos :)

When we finally got home, we watched the famous New Years Eve Countdown in New York!

Braeden loved every minute of it, and much to our surprise was awake right up until fireoworks; then we cuddled up & he fell asleep in my arms.... not a bad way to finish & start a year :)

Lucky me, I got 2 kisses at midnight :)

I'm just so blessed to have these 2 in my life!!

Big Lump of COAL

2010-12-22T23:47:00.001-08:00

Ever been excited to get COAL for Christmas!?! WE WERE :)

Meet Coal - our adopted 3 year old Pit-Bull-Lab... aka Braedens Christmas present!

We have wanted a dog for a years now, but with moving & rentals & life in general.... it's a big commitment and we knew we'd find the right time when the right dog came around!

Low and behold, that time came & we found that dog!

We were doing some last minute shopping, finalizing Braedens gifts.... when we decided to just run over to the Idaho Humane Society just to take a look... not commit unless we both felt that connection. We were about to leave, not having found a dog we both were happy with, when one of the trainers told us we needed to visit with Coal. Turns out, he was the same dog that I had noticed several times but kept passing him by because he never seemed too "excited" to see us.

However, I kept noticing that the dog in the Kennel with him was literally jumping on top of him whenever we'd walk by and Coal would just lay there, lol!

I kept coming back to him... but kept passing.

Well, not but 2 minutes alone with him and we were in love!!!

10 minutes later he was officially ours & we were on our way home!

He instantly clicked with Braeden; even though he has had no previous training, he is a very obedient dog & loves to earn treats.

He has potty-trained very quickly & seems to be attached to my feet :)

He is a wonderful addition to our little family & is teaching Braeden many aspects of accountability & independance!

If something is left out.... Coal gets it.... so Braeden is quickly learning how to clean up after himself & even helping me feed him & let him in/out to go potty.

It's very exciting for me to see him grow in areas that will prepare him for our next baby in the near future.

Braeden has mentioned how safe he feels when Coal sleeps in his room; I've actually noticed him waking up less throughout the night, not as many nightmares... that just warms my heart!

haha.... he tried to sneak a nap inside the couch on us.... not happening :)

Braeden is constantly asking me to take a picture of him with his doggy....

Coal has such a great disposition.... Braeden crawls all over him & he barely flinches!

He does however make it known to Braeden when he does NOT like it when he's doing something mean to him... and for that I'm grateful. Nothing like teaching your child how to be respectful of animals & to be gentle than by having a NICE DOG nibble at you when you're being mean!

WE LOVE YOU COAL!!

12 Days!!

2010-12-16T20:38:00.001-08:00

For the past 2 years, my parents have done the 12 Days of Christmas for all the Mason kids & their families;

it involves txting & memories & lots of fun!

But this year, I'm sorry to say Mom & Dad, you were out funned :)

This year, we got our very own secret 12 Days of Christmas!

We all really got into it, but Braeden thought that every time the doorbell rang there would be a present waiting for him. The whole situation was kind of funny because my best-friend Jacki and her family got the exact same secret gifts, so each night we would text eachother about what we got and how clever we thought the gift was!

Unfortunately, they failed in allowing us to thank them because they didn't show up on our doorstep Christmas Eve - we were all a little disapointed, and we'd prepared a special gift for them, but we appreciated the experience and loved the special attention!!

It made staying home for the holidays extra fun :)

1st DAY - "pear" tree; 2nd DAY - "2 doves"

(this chocolate was divine!! I hid it... and every now and then I sneak a piece:) )

3rd DAY - "french" bread

4th DAY - "calling" birds.... my friend got 4 of these, 1 for each boy; clearly these people knew us & how many kids we each had.... hmmm..... still thinking

5th DAY - golden "rings"

6th DAY - geese a laying.... eggs of silly puddy... that went directly to DI b/c the first one ended up on my floor and I wasn't taking any more chances!!!

7th DAY - for the swimming swans they gave us a huge gallon jug of bubbles! Braeden was so excited we went right up to take a bath & I forgot to get a picture :)

8th DAY - maids a "milking" -

again, these people knew us WELL & would know that B loves loves loves chocolate milk!!

9th DAY - ladies "dancing" :)

10th DAY - lords a "leaping"

11th DAY - for pipers piping they gave us... aka B.... a flute :)

12th DAY - drummers drumming... with their cookie Drum Stix :)

Christmas Time is Here

2010-12-16T20:37:00.000-08:00

Christmas has officially entered our house!

With being out of town & sick for so many weeks it felt so good to finally get everything out and set the tone for the holiday.

Braeden really got into it & helped me do the outside AND the inside AND the tree...

and he didn't break an ornament :)

He was so proud to put the ornaments he made at PreSchool up on the tree & it was just one of those moments you remember as a first time Mommy :)

**Braeden had a PJ Christmas party at PreSchool &

we were in charge of bringing the "no-sugar-no peanuts-snack";

I was pretty proud of my christmas-muffin-cup display,

and apparantly they were a big hit & easy to clean up :) **

even in his pj's he's the cutest little boy!!

**my outside decor**

I'm in love with my little side table

Jolly Little Caroller

2010-12-16T20:36:00.003-08:00

This is the cutest thing EVER! Braeden has his first official Christmas Concert with his PreSchool & all his little buddies & other preschool goers. I'm in a little bit of denial that my baby is old enough to be doing this.... it's one of those experiences you wait your whole life for!

"We WISH you a Merry Christmas"

"Where is Santa"..............

... wait... who's that..... it's SANTA!!! The look on their faces is PRICELESS!!!

I'm not sure if you can tell but he's smiling as he watches Santa walking.... then shy's away as he gets closer to where B is standing.... LOL!

the presents he made for us in class; my ADORABLE son... so proud of himself

He loves his teacher Miss Gillian

**I was on picture duty & Josh was on video duty- the first recording was accidentally stopper while they were walking in (you can see Braeden holding hands with his little friend Uri). The second video was too long so blogger wouldn't allow me to upload it to this post; you'll find it in my video side bar!Before you watch the videos I want to point out a few things:

#1 - YES, he is the loudest singer on the last verse of "Go Tell it on the Mountain"

#2 - YES, I was miming to him to put his finger away from his nose, so the hesitation in his eyes as he lowers his finger down over his entire face IS because he thought I was going to run up there and take his finger down for him (you can tell he was contemplating his next move)

#3 - YES, the look on his face when he see's Santa walk in at the end of "Where is Santa" is priceless and YES he yelled at me to make sure I could see that Santa was standing right in front of him :)

ENJOY!!

Little Ring Bearer

2010-12-16T20:34:00.002-08:00

On December 11th my sister-in-law Michelle became Mrs Christopher MacFarlane!

She asked Braeden if he would be one of her Ring Bearers - he got to wear a tux :)

SO CUTE!!! It was a beautiful evening for the Collins Family:

the Ring Bearers - cousin Gene & Braeden

the little wedding party - cousins Tiana, Gene, Abigail, Kaitlyn, & Taylor

You can never get a photo with everyone smiling... but they're still pretty good lookin group :)

My HANDSOME little man :)

Me & my B :)

the Beautiful Bride -love ya Chelle

reciting their vows, it was the most beautiful non-temple-wedding I've ever been to :)

October... November..... December.... now JANUARY!?!

2010-11-22T21:00:00.001-08:00

**I have a very hard time admitting that it's now January 2011!

And that it's officially taken me 3 months to update a few posts' on my blog.

It feels like the past 4 months have flown by! And not just "oh how time flies",

I mean it literally feels like I just took these pictures & was trick-or-treating with Braeden

YESTERDAY!

ahhhh...... sigh

Better late than never, right!?! :)**

On one of Josh's days off, in October, we went to Linder Farms; we were in California the week that B's preschool went there for a field trip & I felt bad that he'd missed out; and since his classmates were still talking about it... and we needed a Pumpkin anyway :)

...off we went:

as you can see; we had lots of fun playing & catapulting pumpkins

(B got a Dinosaur for how far he catapulted his Pumpkin :) )

& that didn't even cover 1/2 of the activities they had there!

B was very proud of the Pumpkin he picked

We had a lot of fun!!

and then of course we carved to our hearts content

** this is just a really cute picture of us after Trick-or-Treating!

People in our neighborhood were a little weird about the Holiday being on a Sunday.... like it was considered "serving a devilish holiday" (not my words!!) if you dressed up.....!?!

Anyway, needless to say we did a lot of driving to find houses with their lights on, leaving me with not a lot of photo-ops.

But if you want to see what B was dressed as, check out the "October Fest" post.

I am CRACKING UP!!!

2010-11-13T22:12:00.001-08:00

A couple days ago we were doing our normal bedtime routine with Braeden; he is allowed to have either 2-3 books or a cartoon before bed.... sometimes Mommy & Daddy need both... this night was no exception! He asked Josh for a pillow, assuming it was to lay on the floor with Josh happily complied. After a while of no noise, realizing it'd been much longer than 30 minutes since we'd heard from him, Josh went to check on him...... this is what we found:

He dumped out the laundry (clean & ready to be put away), put the pillow in the basket, then nestled right in; what's even cuter is that there was a classical music station on the tv that had once been playing his cartoon; and what's even CUTER is who he borrowed this idea from :)

About a month ago we were in Utah meeting my newborn niece Peyton Mason, my brother and his wife were so clever in creating their own version of a bassinet.

They took a laundry bucket, stuffed it with pillows and blankets,

cradled her in & vuala!

They carried her around their entire house this way....

FANTASTIC IDEA if you ask me!

Anyway, Braeden thought this was hilarious!! He was so tickled with the idea that she was being carried around in a basket.... little did I know how much it ACTUALLY stuck with him, until this very moment :)

It was very cute, and very nice to see that my big boy is still small enough to fit into a basket!

Project Bug: Part 1

2010-11-07T18:20:00.000-08:00

Ok, I admit it, I've got the bug!!

The "all of a sudden I need to do things and change things around my house" bug!

Maybe it's because it's cold outside and we're starting to spend more time inside around all my piles of projects, or maybe I just finally decided I had the time... who knows!?!

I also needed to change around some of our furniture... again... who knows!?! :)

the start of my family picture wall, obviously I've got a ways to go but hey, starting is the ultimate battle; the side wall next to B's bedroom door, I'm still in search of a cute little "boyish" saying-plaque-thingy to go on the shelf, but until then, I think it's pretty cute

an end table, REVAMPED into an outdoor decor table, our porch is so cute now :)

our "new" living room (lol, B stepped right in my flash-line)

and our "new" front room - what DO you call this room!?!

I'm never sure what the name of the room is supposed to be?

When I get my piano it'll be the Piano Room but until then.... hmmm......

October Fest

2010-11-07T17:14:00.000-08:00

It feels as though October came and went in a flash! Let me explain:

1st week - we were in California!

2nd week - we were recooperating from being in California, WHILE preparing to go to Utah for a few days!

3rd week - we were playing catch up from going to California AND Utah, getting back to normal life felt like it took forever! We did however find the time to put up our decorations :)

4th week - We had our first experience with a school party at Braedens PreSchool.

So.... in Utah we tried on his Dinosaur costume for Nana & Grammy to see, and it fit perfectly; I purposefully bought the largesr size! Not but a week later, an hour before his school party, he was 3 inches... COUNT EM 3 INCHES!!! too short for it!

Luckily, at our first stop on Mommy's way to crazy-town, we found this costume. Once he layed eyes on the sword to it he was hooked; WHEW!! That was Thursday.

My little Knight with his teacher, Miss "Where's Waldo Gillian"

Friday, Josh had a Tonsilectomy Friday morning (6am!) - needless to say we had a busy October, but a low key Halloween. Daddy was such a trooper! He was in Tulsa last year for his grandmothers funeral during Halloween, so he didn't want to miss B trick-or-treating yet another year. So he doped up on Loritab and joined us at our church's Trunk-or-Treat.

(before)

(after)

They had to get a stable heart rate in order to release him, so for about 30 minutes they would wait for the finger monitor to read him; then they tried this ear monitor; THEN, come to find out that one of the nurses was playing a joke on the other (with us caught in the middle) & failed to tell him that the monitor was broken & that she liked watching him figure it out................(clears throat sarcastically while rolling my eyes in annoyance!) FINALLY he got set up on a working monitor, they got a heart rate, and 5 minutes later we were on our way home................ I was really upset & was trying my hardest to keep my mouth shut!!!

At the Trunk-or-Treat; (I forgot my camera so these are off my phone) My poor hubby... what a trooper! ALthough, I'm sure it was the best Trunk-or-Treat EVER being on Loritab! (notice his cup full of ice cream since he couldn't have Chili)

A Weekend of Family: Collins

2010-11-07T15:45:00.000-08:00

The same weekend I went to UT to meet my new niece Peyton Mason, and to see my mom from Oklahoma, just happened to be the same weekend of my little twin nieces' Blessing Day. Miracle? Yes! Blessing from God that I got to do it all in one weekend? Yes!!!! So here are pictures from that beautiful day:

I Feel Uplifted!

2010-11-06T23:37:00.001-07:00

~A woman in my RS emailed this to me; I was so impacted by the words I felt compelled to share it with you. It's given by an annonymous woman for a Relief Society Lesson. ENJOY!!~

Self Esteem

October 31, 2010

My assignment for today was to come up with a 30-minute lesson on self esteem. It is particularly appropriate that we talk about this today on Halloween. Perhaps together we can exorcise a few demons that many of us struggle with. I seek an interest in your faith and prayers and invite the spirit of the Lord to be with us.

Some of you will recognize some of this material. That's OK. I am part of the Gospel Green Movement. I believe in recycling.

I would like to begin with one of my favorite poems.

I've Got an Incredible Headache- By Jack Prelutsky

I've got an incredible headache; my temples are throbbing with pain; it feels like a freight train with two locomotives is chugging about in my brain. I'm sure I can't stand it much longer; my skull's being squeezed in a vise; as regiments march to the blaring of trumpets, and thousands of tap-dancing mice.

My head's filled with horrible noises, there's a man mashing melons inside; someone keeps drumming on bongos and plumbing, as porpoises thrash in the tide.

An elephant herd is stampeding; a volcano is blowing its top; and if I keep hitting my head with this hammer, I doubt that my headache will stop.

As Latter-day Saint women, I suspect that we are the most practiced of any other group on the planet at this sort of "hammer abuse." Disclaimer: I want you to know that I feel like I have a sound understanding of the principles and the doctrine that are associated with this issue, but I have a ready supply of my own hammers with which I struggle. I happen to be the messenger today, but it's not because I have achieved perfection with the issues I have been asked to address.

Also, no matter how true the principles are that we are going to talk about today, if you are someone who is challenged with any kind of chemical imbalance, I know that a healthy self esteem can seem especially out of reach. I have watched people that I love dearly struggle mightily with their self esteem, and it hurts me profoundly.

Years ago, Neal A. Maxwell spoke to this issue. He spoke:

". . .not to the slackers in the Kingdom, but to those who carry their own load and more; not to those lulled into false security, but to those buffeted by false insecurity, who, though laboring devotedly in the Kingdom, have recurring feelings of falling forever short."

I imagine that that paragraph could describe everyone in this room at some point in their lives. He continues:

"The first thing to be said of this feeling of inadequacy is that it is normal. There is no way the Church can honestly describe where we must yet go and what we must yet do without creating a sense of immense distance. Following celestial road signs while in telestial traffic jams is not easy." (Neal A. Maxwell, Ensign, Nov. 1976, 12)

Which is why we, as Latter-day Saint women, are so adept, almost gifted really, at beating ourselves up. We know more than any other group of women. We know what's required, and we are constantly measuring ourselves against that real, eventual standard of perfection, and even the imagined standard of perfection that we hallucinate exists in other women. Their perfect homes, their perfect marriages, their perfect children, their perfect grandchildren, (except mine really is) their perfect lives.

There is a difference between self esteem and self worth. I learned this from Brother Brad Wilcox. He told the story of a man who bought his wife some diamond earrings. He had to really stretch to buy these earrings. When the woman opened them, she never dreamed they were real. She thought they were cubic zirconium and so she treated them like that. She would take them off and leave them around the house. One day, sure enough, she lost one. Her husband saw her looking for it and asked her what she was doing. She told him that she'd lost one of the earrings he gave her, and when she saw the look of panic on his face, she realized how valuable the earrings were. The value of the earrings never changed. The way she esteemed the earrings changed. Our value never changes regardless of how we are esteemed by others or even by ourselves. As we realize our own eternal worth, our self esteem will increase. (Building Self-Esteem in Our Children and Ourselves, 10/3/2002, BYU, Families Under Fire)

I would like to start at the beginning—actually even before the beginning. In order to grasp these concepts, you have to know who you are. Sometimes in order to understand who you are, you have to understand who you're not:

you're not your percent body fat, or your pants size or your bra size
you're not your stretch marks, your varicose veins, your pasty white skin, your fine lines and wrinkles or the mole on your face with the hair that never stops growing
you're not your house, or your square footage
you're not your car, or your husband's car. (I especially want you to know that I am not my husband's car that is held together with duct tape and bungee cords!)
you're not your career, or even your lack of a career
you're not your husband's career
you're not your annual income or your stock portfolio or your overdraft notices
you're not the number of carats in your engagement ring
you're not your IQ
you're not the number of volumes of classical literature you've read
you're not your college GPA or your diplomas. (or your children's GPA)
you're not your trophies or awards
you're not your vocal range
you're not the number of instruments you play
you're not the clutter in your bedroom, or your teenager's bedroom
you're not the foot high stack of papers in your office
you're not your unfinished home improvement projects
you're not the number of scrapbook pages you've completed. (2)
you're not your medical history
you're not the number of varieties of roses you grow
you're not your past sins
you're not your calling, or your husband's calling
you're not the number of scriptures you have memorized
you're not your recipe repertoire
you're not your children, or your children's accomplishments, or your children's lack of accomplishments
you're not your husband, or your ex-husband
you're not your marriage or your divorce
you're not the carton of chocolate ice cream you had for breakfast (I added that one right after I had consumed a carton of chocolate ice cream for breakfast J)

Now, don't misunderstand. Certainly, we have responsibility for and stewardship over everything we've been given including material blessings and relationships. But too often, who we really are gets buried under and lost in piles of unpaid bills, broken appliances, flat tires, increasing waistlines, weeds, ring around the collar, knot head teenagers, steadily decreasing estrogen levels, crusty kitchen floors, and struggling relationships. In short, who we really are is lost in the minutia of mortality. We allow the celestial and eternal to be completely obscured by the telestial and temporal.

One of the worst things we do is compare ourselves to others. I am still getting to know a lot of you from the "other side." Just last week in relief society, I said to Wendi Webster during the opening song. "Is Kathleen as pleasant as she looks?" Wendi said "Totally." I said, "She oozes this amazing angelic glow." And then I thought, "I want that." Some of you who know me know that one of the deepest desires of my heart is to be sweet. Not too long ago, I was thinking about my parents, who happen to be very sweet. I was mindlessly putting on my makeup and kind of pondering and praying. How did I miss that sweetness that my parents exemplify? Heavenly Father, how did I not get any of that sweetness? At that moment, I received probably the most profound revelation I have ever received. A voice spoke to my mind and to my heart and said, "Sweet people can't do the work I need you to do (policy work at the UN and elsewhere that is very difficult and very ugly). I have work for sweet people, and I have a work for you. I gave you that grit so that you can do what I need you to do. It's a gift. BUT . . . you have GOT to learn to temper it in your relationships." Listen and see if you fit this description as written by one gospel scholar: "We can be so cruel to ourselves; we destroy ourselves with our negative self-talk. We see only the raw material, much of it yet undeveloped, and we block from our awareness many already godlike qualities in us. We throw a wet blanket over all this divine fire. We decline to acknowledge the divinity that is developing in us through the challenges that life has presented to us for this very purpose. And we are ready to argue—in a most ungodly way—with anyone who tries to tell us something to the contrary. This refusal to accept our developing divinity is a sort of blasphemy and a denial of the purposes of the plan of salvation; it diminishes the effectiveness of our service and inhibits our full surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no real settled contentment, no real enlarging of the soul to meet real opportunities and possibilities, until we find out own divine fire." ("When We Come to Ourselves," Selected Writings of M. Catherine Thomas, p. 254.)

Who you are is in reality who you were.

Charles Penrose taught this:

"The knowledge of our former state has fled from us . . . and the veil is drawn between us and our former habitation. This is for our trial. If we could see the things of eternity, and comprehend ourselves as we are; if we could penetrate the mists and clouds that shut out eternal realities from our gaze, the fleeting things of time would be no trial to us, and one of the great objects of our earthly probation or testing would be lost. But the past has gone from our memory, the future is shut out from our vision and we are living here in time, to learn little by little, line upon line, precept upon precept." (Charles Penrose, in Journal of Discourses, 26:28) Much of the purpose of mortality is to figure out who you are by figuring out who you were and who you have been for the past six thousand or so years. And of course, not only who you were, but who you ultimately will become. Brad Wilcox said: "we never get mad at seeds for not being flowers."No one would ever march into the store where you purchased a packet of seeds and complain demand your money back because the shriveled up ugly little brown things in the seed packet didn't match the picture on the front. We would be smart enough to realize that those seeds have potential in the seeds we would be smart enough to nurture the potential. Rather than condemn the seed for not looking like a flower. Mediocre comes from the Latin word mediocris which means halfway up the mountain. It's a point at which we all must pass on our way to the top of the mountain. All of us pass through mediocrity on our way up the mountain. (Building Self-Esteem in Our Children and Ourselves, 10/3/2002, BYU, Families Under Fire) As mortals, we are really amphibians. Half mortal, half spirit. We are involved daily in the struggle for the soul. I love the story of the old Cherokee who was teaching his grandchildren about life. He said to them: "A battle is raging inside me ... it is a terrible fight between two wolves. One wolf represents fear, anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority and ego. The other stands for joy, peace, love, hope, sharing, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, friendship, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith." The old man fixed the children with a firm stare. "This same fight is going on inside you, and inside every other person, too." They thought about it for a minute and then one child asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?" The old Cherokee replied: "The one you feed." Which part of you are you feeding? There are lots of ways we feed these wolves. One of the ways we do it is by our thoughts, with your own self talk. So which part of you receives the most fuel? The real ...divine ...spiritual ...eternal you? Or the temporary, fallible, struggling, mortal you? The truth is that it's not so much what happens to us in life, as what we think about what happens to us. President Kimball observed that "Man alone, of all creatures of earth, can change his thought pattern and become the architect of his destiny." (Spencer W. Kimball, The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, ed. Edward L. Kimball (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1982), 28) We tend to move in the direction of our most dominant thought pattern. So if your thought patterns with regard to how you esteem yourself are negative, which direction will you move? Another way to say it is, "That which we focus on enlarges." If you are focusing on the negative aspects of anything or anyone including yourself, I guarantee you that the negativity will enlarge. On the other hand if you are focusing on the positive aspects of anything or anyone including yourself, I guarantee you that it is enlarging in a positive way. The gospel provides us with beautiful doctrine and law and theory and principle, but sometimes the actual tools can be somewhat elusive. There are many scientists, health professionals and wise individuals who have "been there done that" and who understand the "how" when it comes to applying the truths that we know. It would be inappropriate to talk about that today, but I have a list of Telestial books that have taught me a lot about how you can control your feelings and the direction you are moving by understanding and controlling what you think. I can provide that list upon request. Now, besides being amphibians, we are also spiritual schizophrenics. And I mean no disrespect to you schizophrenics in the room. We hear voices. But how can you determine the source of the voices? Elder Maxwell: "We can distinguish more clearly between divine discontent and the devil's dissonance, between dissatisfaction with self and disdain for self. We need the first and must shun the second, remembering that when conscience calls to us from the next ridge, it is not solely to scold but also to beckon." (Neal A. Maxwell, Ensign, Nov. 1976, 12) Here's the bottom line. If the voice you hear leaves you feeling weaker, or more doubtful of your ability to overcome weakness, or if it continues to remind you of past mistakes and sins that you have already repented of, or if it makes you feel like giving up, or if you hear the words moron, idiot, jerk, dipstick, lame-o, creep, brat or loser, you can just know that voice is not from the Lord. On the other hand, if the voice you hear makes you feel stronger, if it gives you a greater desire to improve yourself, if it makes you want to try harder, or try again, you can know it is from the correct source. When you're evaluating these voices, you have to remember that: ". . . we [must] allow for the agency of others (including our children) before we assess our adequacy. Often our deliberate best is less effectual because of someone else's worst." (Neal A. Maxwell, Ensign, Nov. 1976, 12) [Michael Wilcox. This talk can be found at http://www.byub.org/findatalk/. Type 'Wilcox' in the search box, click on 'page 2', The talk is called Faith, Hope, and Charity by S. Michael Wilcox, BYU Education Week (8/18/1997). The excerpt I used can be found at 35 minutes and 12 seconds.]

Remember that "Self-contempt is of Satan; there is none of it in heaven. We should, of course, learn from our mistakes, but without forever studying the instant replays as if these were the game of life itself." (Neal A. Maxwell, Ensign, Nov. 1976, 12)

After you remember WHO you are, you have to remember WHOSE you are.

George Q. Cannon wrote this:

"Now, this is the truth. We humble people, we who feel ourselves sometimes so worthless, so good-for-nothing; we are not as worthless as we think. There is not one of us but what God's love has been expended upon. There is not one of us that He has not cared for and caressed. There is not one of us that He has not desired to save and that He has not devised means to save. There is not one of us that He has not given His angels charge concerning. We may be insignificant and contemptible in our own eyes and in the eyes of others, but the truth remains that we are children of God and that He has actually given His angels charge concerning us, and they watch over us and have us in their keeping." (George Q. Cannon, Gospel Truth.)

The truth is that you really are the daughter of a God. One of the fiercest weapons in the adversary's arsenal is to keep that information, both WHO we are and WHOSE we are, from us. Let's get to the cosmic bottom line of self worth. The pursuit of self esteem is a crock. The scriptures don't mention self esteem, self worth, or self image. And there's a reason. It's because the Lord knows a better way for his children to flourish than for us to focus on increasing our self esteem. It's a diversion to distract us from the real issue.

Let's dissect this scripture:

"Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven." (Doctrine and Covenants 121:45)

Confidence is defined as "a state of mind or a manner marked by freedom from uncertainty or embarrassment." Virtue is defined as "moral excellence and righteousness." The Latin root means strength. Here is the corker. You have to have charitable bowels.

Catherine Thomas: "If one grand objective of earth life is to gain access to the grace of Jesus Christ for our divine development, we will immediately realize that self-confidence is a puny substitute for God-confidence." ("The Doer of Our Deeds," Selected Writings of M. Catherine Thomas, p. 244) It's not self esteem we seek, it is God esteem; not self image, but in fact Christ's image in our countenances that we seek. It's not preoccupation with self, but the absence of self that the scriptures teach. Love and virtue are the essential ingredients in feelings of confidence and security. And the truth is that the pursuit of self esteem usually generates anxiety, while increasing humility, faith and discipleship produces consolation and peace and rest. We can't speak of loving and being gentle with ourselves without talking about being loving and gentle with each other. President Monson addressed this in the last Relief Society broadcast. Someone I love a lot has spent some time going to Al-anon meetings. She has said over and over how at every meeting she goes to she feels overwhelming unconditional love. She told me that she thinks that that's how Relief Society is supposed to feel. I heard someone say that if the Savior were coming to their house, they wouldn't clean it because they knew he wouldn't judge them. But if their visiting teachers were coming over, they'd break out the vacuum cleaner and the dust rag. Sisters, we have a lot of work to do. Finally, C.S Lewis writes this: "Until you have given up yourself to him you will not have a real self. Your real, new self will not come when you are looking for it. It will come when you are looking for Him. Give up yourself and you will find yourself. Lose your life and you will save it. Nothing that you have not given away will ever really be yours. Look for yourself and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ and you will find Him and with Him, everything else thrown in." (C.S. Lewis, Beyond Personality, p. 45) Amen.

A Weekend of Family: Mason

2010-10-22T16:27:00.003-07:00

While we were in California, my little brother & sister (in law) had their first baby.

She was 2 weeks early! My mom flew out to Utah a few days after they got home from the hospital. I'm not sure if any of you are in this position... but when you're parents live 2,000+ miles away, & you only get to see them maybe once a year, you do everything possible to go see them when they are only a 4 hour car ride away!!

So even though we had just gone on vacation, Braeden and I b-lined it to Utah. It's times like these that I'm grateful to be a SAHM & I can just hop in the car and go!

(did I mention it was the same weekend as my hubby's birthday AND our anniversary... I have the best hubby in the world!)

This is my new little niece, Peyton Noelle Mason, isn't she ADORABLE!!

She was 6 lbs, 6 oz, & I think 19.5" long :)

Grammy Mason with her 2 babies; B absolutely LOVED Peyton. He's really getting into the "big brother" stage & didn't get upset or jealous that I was constantly holding her. He played games on the iPad most of the time (thank goodness for technology, what did people do without it!?!) and the rest of the time he cuddled and played with Peyton & Grammy.

Here are the rest of the photos I took; doesn't my sister look AMAZING! Peyton was only 2.5 weeks old in all these pictures... and my sisteris already back to her little self!

(cough cough... jealous... cough... lol)

I love all of these pictures, but my favorites are the one of B kissing & loving on her, and the one of her in the basket... lol... she is so tiny!

Her parents created their own bassinet/carrier for around the house - it's a laundry bucket loaded with pillows & her 2 blankets... she LOVES it!!

And HELLO... talk about cheap... who doesn't have those items!?!

It's seriously the best idea I've EVER seen! They would pick her up and move her from room to room, take her to my mom in it in the middle of the night, and what little newborn doesn't want to be enveloped by comfy warm pillows & blankets!

I mean... genius!! I'm totally going to use it for the rest of our babies!!

(I just realized this is the only picture I have with her... :()

I just LOVE her... it was amazing to me, as I held her, that Braeden was born THIS TINY!!

She is the first cousin to be born the same size as he was, very interesting experience watching my HUGE little boy... who's no longer very little.... next to this tiny-fits in the palm of your hands-little-baby! Not until this moment did I realize just how much time truly flies!

I've always loved being an Aunty, it's a job I take very seriously; however, it's always such a different feeling with the "mason cousins".

It's hard to explain b/c I love ALL my nieces & nephews & would do anything for any of them-

ut knowing that these ones are... are my BROTHERS babies... that they share my blood..... it's just an awesome feeling! Plus, Peyton is the first grand-girl for our family so...

she's extra special to us all :)

I LOVE YOU CHICKADI-P

A Weekend in October

2010-10-22T16:27:00.001-07:00

October is a very special month for our family. We get to celebrate Josh's birthday & OUR Anniversary all within 2 days of eachother!

This year, considering we went to California the week prior, (and I went to UT the weekend of) we didn't do much more than an intimate family celebration! It was really nice in more ways than one.

**Josh turned 29 on the 9th**

I kept joking with him about being 30, or the fact that he is only allowed 1 more year to be a "man-child", but in truth, I LOVE his youthful soul; it's a very nice contrast to mine! Granted, at times it really can be annoying to try and get him to be serious & I usually feel like I have 2 little boys to take care of & clean up after....but for the most part...I love the contrast he brings to our family & our relationship & the genuine ability to PLAY with Braeden! It's not an easy thing to do... trust me... to imagine & really get on your hands & knees and just play!!

I LOVE YOU BABEE!!

My attempt at making a 9 out of candles, lol; why is it you never have the right kind of candles? Or that it's always something you have on hand so you don't put it on your list of things to get... not thinking that you might need a 9!?!

B helped Daddy blow.... I mean "rasberry".... the candles out :)

It's very cute to watch him start to like singing to everyone & tell people "blow out your candles"

***7 Years***

Josh and I debated all week whether or not to leave B with a sitter while we went on a date for our Anniversary; our final conclusion was to take him with us. At first it was more about celebrating as a family & not spending an additional $40 for a sitter, but as I've thought more and more about it, it's come to take on a certain symbolism - He is a BIG part of who we have grown to be as individuals & as a couple... he's the main componant of our lives.... it was really fun to say "one more year... look how far we've come" with our little B sitting right next to us. It was quite symbolic for us both.

We decided to have our actual celebration while we were in California - we had plenty of family around to watch B for us, so we jetted off to Disneyland by ourselves for a day.

Although we missed him terribly, it was really fun acting like kids again without having to be with our kid - the perfect remedy for anyones anniversary! Josh and I were able to be free.... literally, I didn't even take my purse! Just our Disney passes, phones & cash in our pockets, and we were young again for a day- BEST Anniversary date ever!! It truly was b/c after 7 years of marriage we proved to ourselves that we could still have fun & laugh & be kids again, and that it wasn't all about the LIFE we share together as parents & a couple.... we still make eachother laugh.... it was the best!

Happy Anniversary Babee - I can't imagine my life without you in it!!

(this was are only picture of the day... yup you guessed it, we didn't even take our camera.... FREE!!)

Cabinet Revamp

2010-09-24T22:07:00.000-07:00

We bought a shelf at a yardsale for about $10 & it was meant to go in the garage for Josh to have more storage for all his many many tools & automobile-what-nots! Then we moved into our new house & realized we didn't have a linen closet; at the same time our New Balance store was getting it's own little remodel done & Josh had a ton of leftover metal shelves. So he put those in the garage & I took the shelf. Cleaned it up & found it a place in my laundry room. Nothing major, but it makes me smile everytime I see it knowing that I made it pretty :) in the raw - and I mean RAW!! It's a nice durable shelf but not really "laundry appropriate" if you know what I mean; I have no idea what it's made of, but as you can see the inside was disgustingly dirty from being in the garage for even just a few months. this is why Contact Paper was invented! I forgot to take a full shot of the cabinet before I painted it, so you can't see the ugly worn down white color that it used to be... but this Caramel Latte color is much better... TRUST ME! And here's my laundry room BEFORE & AFTER! Josh finally hung up the shelf for all my laundry cleaning needs, and everything that was in that pile there on the left is either in my "new" shelf or above the washer & dryer! All my cleaning supplies & chemicals are located in this room... AND I am finally able to fold all my towels & sheets on my folding tile. I just love this room :)

The one you've all been waiting for!!!

2010-09-11T22:29:00.001-07:00

I finally remembered to take pictures of the house after I cleaned it!

For those DYING to see it.... here you go :)

WELCOME!

the front room....

...is not quite finished in my mind b/c this is the spot where my piano will go next Summer

(after my brother graduates and no longer needs it; no mom.... I'm not giving up on this one!!)

the dining area & family room

B's "learning corner"

The shelf on the left used to be on top of the other shelf; he broke the top one TODAY!

As I was taking pictures of the house, he was busy climbing on this shelf.

He fell flat on his back, and the top shelf... with a speaker & other misc books & things proceeded to fall in his direction! Luckily, it all missed him by an inch... LITERALLY... and I was crying harder than he was when I ran over to pick him up!

Isn't it funny how one split second.... one tiny little inch... can make the world of difference!!!

Can you imagine!?! Supposed I went to take pictures outside before taking the ones in the kitchen.... or if he landed on the floor instead of his bag chair (which was located closer to the tile before I took this picture) and was then face planted with a 10lb speaker & the 15lb shelf!?!

THANK YOU GOD for watching over my little boy!!!

ok... moving on...

my beautiful kitchen :)

my beautiful organized-stocked-with-food-storage-pantry, next to my beautiful fridge :)

it's so nice to not have to keep my food storage in the garage anymore, and actually makes a difference b/c I don't forget to use it when I'm planning my meals! BONUS :)

the downstairs bathroom - I want to paint & add a few more decor items.... eventually :)

the start of my FAMILY WALL; Josh has been begging me to get all these pictures up off the floor, it's a lot of work but at least I've started right!?!

the "office space" (no pun intended) with my on-going-pile of things to do

oh my....

This will eventually be a baby's room

(hence ALL of our baby stuff),

but until then it acts as a space for all my

"I'll get to that" 's :)

the guest bedroom - this too will eventually be painted, but it's pretty cute for now :)

B's bathroom - still a few shelves for daddy to hang... but no rush :)

B's bedroom - this room..... sigh.... I can't decide which wall to paint!?!

The one by his bed....

or the one against his toys!?!

I absolutely LOVE his decor and the way the room is set-up,

but I feel like it's... lacking... but I'm not sure what of? Just paint? hmmm...

I will say that I LOVE having his room so close to my little office space b/c I can work & not feel like I'm ignoring him, and vice-versa :)

my laundry room :)

You'll notice the whopping pile of sheets and blankets in the corner there - they are waiting for me to revamp a shelf we were originally going to put in the garage.

It's amazing what a week of crappy weather & then a week of being sick... & then a few days of forgetting to have your hubby move it to the "paint spot" before he goes to work... can do to your plans of revamping a peice of furniture!

This room is my #1 on the list of things to do- you can't see it but off to the right side there is a long shelf that is meant for folding your clothes on... only I can't use it until Josh hangs my shelves, which can't be hung until I finish revamping the cupboard.. circle of life right!?! :)

our bedroom :) I HEART MY ROOM!!

My in-laws decided to get a new bedroom set & give us their old one... it just makes me smile!!

I have no problem with hand-mi-down furniture, especially when it looks like this!!

And yes, there are still a few shelves and things that need to be put up... lol... this seems to be a trend with every picture, lol

our bathroom - YUP, you guessed it!

It's not quite finished b/c we want to paint it; we have alot of crown molding around our tub.. where we're going to paint.... so it's going to take a lot of work & time... something we're willing to wait on at the moment :)

our walk-in HUGE closet :)

See that empty space on the top shelf there..... that space makes me smile every time I see it!

That empty space means that my house is big enough for me to not have to CRAM my closet full of storage stuff. Everything is either in the garage or under the stairs!

the backyard -

Do not judge us by our yard! With Winter right around the corner, we made a conscious decision not to do anything to it until next Spring, which has been dificult to accept!

We have nobody living behind us so when the sun is the highest & hottest between 2-4pm, there is not an ounce of shade in our backyard!

You can tell just where the sun hits by the huge brown area! We have tried since June to get this yard healthy & happy but nothing has worked... and now our time is up!

It's ok, B doesn't mind one bit :)

I consider it a blessing to have to pick up ALL HIS TOYS every night b/c that means he went outside to play for at least 2 minutes, LOL

We do have really high hopes for our backyard :)

A longer patio.... an eating area.... new patio furniture... & my favorite dream is the Awning that my hubby plans to build me :)

the other side of the yard - the windows on the corner lead into the kitchen... so I get to make dinner while watching my son play outside...

love it!!

the other view of the yard - the logs there mark what used to be a garden area.

Our plans are to rip that out & plant a tree so that we'll eventually have shade over most of our yard; then my garden area will be moved to the other corner where the land has a slight "hump" in it.. making my garden slightly elevated.

And we're going to paint our sides of the fence...YUCK, that brown is just icky!!

and last but not least, our garage!

Before we moved in Josh planned out this whole shelving unit for me; he measured our trash bins so they'd have a specific home, and made room for all my bins & storage items!

You can't see most of it b/c my hubby has wasted no time putting our 3-car-garage to use-

he is working on 2 other peoples cars at the same time!

He's awesome :)

I'm so happy for him & that he's able to interact with his hobby, and for the most part he doesn't bring his messy oil-covered-stuff on "my side" so everyone wins :)

Besides, I've noticed that since I'm not so crowded in the house I could really careless about the garage.. but don't tell him that :) LOL

and there's our house :)

So big & beautiful - I think I've been dreading this post ever since we moved in b/c I know there is still so much that we want to do, but it's SO NICE to know that we have plenty of time to do it ALL... 30 years is a very long time!

I'm happy just enjoying my everyday busy-B life & it's nice to not feel too rushed to make it seem perfect... it already is the perfect home b/c we are HAPPY in it!!

Better Than New

2010-09-08T20:14:00.001-07:00

For some reason the option to share a post from my "journal blog" isn't working, so if you're interested in a post I just wrote about something really exciting to me & my struggle with weight loss….. Please feel free to click on the following link J

http://kirsten-collins.blogspot.com/2010_09_01_archive.html#7187691830195006750

"Thoughts of a Brown Eyed Girl" is a private blog meant for my eyes only…. Therefore, if you aren't able to connect to it via this link I wanted you to know there's nothing wrong with your computer, Blogger is just doing its job J

THE DAY finally came!

2010-09-08T12:49:00.001-07:00

Where I uttered the words "ok, time for our first day of school"!!

B was so excited to go to PreSchool; both he & I did really well with our first day.

At first, when he realized Josh & I weren't going to be staying with him he started to get a little concerned, but he never cried or threw a fit (that we saw). I admit I got a little choked up seeing other moms crying as they got into their cars, but somehow I kept myself together & focused on the things I needed to do; then vuala, 2.5 hours later, my alarm was going off.

I am so proud of my big boy, and of myself too :)

showin off his backpack & new outfit :)

~little stinker has started this new thing where he'll say cheese & smile... but look away~

haha.... now he's looking but no smile, lol, I guess I can't have it both ways :)

Another thing that made this picture special is knowing that we'll have pictures like this one...

on this wall in OUR HOUSE....

for many years to come!

I know... I'm a sucker for sentiment :)

Cute Video

2010-09-01T19:19:00.000-07:00

B's favorite song, he actually gets ALL the words correct & in order when he's not "on the spot"; he will sing this anytime during the day when Daddy's name is mentioned :)

This time of year.....

2010-08-30T21:34:00.001-07:00

..... most kids are going back to school! Well, mine is just starting.....

and I'm FREAKING OUT!!!

We've been getting all his new clothes washed & ready, and I look at them thinking to myself "these are BIG BOY CLOTHES!! There's no way these will fit him"....

he tries them on (before we remove any tags).... and vuala! They fit perfectly!

HOLY CRAP!!

What happened to my little baby!?!

I know I've said this a million times before but..... I just can't believe how big & old & smart he is!

It's so fun to watch people be surprised by how smart my son is! His teacher at PreSchool Orientation kept getting the look of "wow, you already know that one" on her face, and it just reassures me that we're doing the right thing by putting him in PreSchool at this age!

And B couldn't be more excited!! When orientation was over & we were just looking around, he did NOT want to leave! Considering both Josh & I didn't want any kind of negative feelings associated with the thought of PreSchool... we had to bribe him with a Chocolate Shake AND Gummi-Bears just to get him to leave peacefully :)

Everyday.... every time we get in the car..... he asks me if we can go to PreSchool!

I know he's going to do amazingly well... and that helps control the water-works :)

As for next Tuesday when he officially starts & I have to drop him off & say goodbye..... TBD!

all his new PreSchool clothes (for now) I have been told not to go crazy on really nice clothes for school b/c they'll end up ruined; however, he still needs Fall/Winter clothes in size 3T so...

we've been having some fun shopping for "special preschool clothes", as we like to call them :)

his adorable back-pack & matching lunch-tote!

I couldn't resist on the matching lunch-tote, and hopefully we can keep it in good enough condition so that he can reuse it next year. His PreSchool has a "color theme" every week, so I'm thinking of doing a special treat in his "school tote" that goes along with the theme at school that day/week. That way he will continue to remember what it was he learned that day/week & I can therefore feel apart of it before heading off to work!

a few more clothes that I just had to post a picture of so my family could see HOW BIG he is getting! I mean....

look how long those pants are!!!

:) ok this picture is also for family to see his adorable new

BIG BOY PRESCHOOL UNDERWEAR!

It makes him feel very special to have boxers (with balls on them)... like he knows the differece between wearing those instead of underwear, lol :)

The Fair, The Fair.... oh how we LOVE the Fair!

2010-08-30T20:57:00.001-07:00

The other night we decided to go to the fair, empty stomachs & all, not knowing what a success it would actually turn out to be! Braeden was in HEAVEN!!! He would've stayed to go on rides all night long, and not just the kiddie ones... the BIG ones too!!

He is his Daddy's boy :)

(some of these aren't really visible b/c they were taken with my phone, my purse camera is rarely used, so it died shortly after we arrived!)

feeing the animals

geez... check out the horns on that bull!!

B's first official Roller Coaster Ride :)

B on the "nemo" ride it had a little bell that you could ring, he loved it!

this ride actually went so fast that I could barely get a good picture of him on it, he was in heaven, revving the handle bars & honking the horn; again, his Daddy's boy :)

on the Farris Wheel :)

Daddy was making fun of me b/c I was FLIPPING OUT!!

I dont' do heights... or rides that I feel "out of control" on... sigh!

(no I'm not strangling my child, he was entranced by the ride & I was trying to get him to look at the camera before the ride attendant took the picture)

He LOVED the view, while I was freaking out & grasping on to anything sturdy... my 3 year old was like "WOW, we can see the whole fair!! It's so beautiful" :)

B can SWIM!!!

2010-08-25T13:36:00.000-07:00

We went to a Pool Party last night for the Scout program at church (Josh is a leader to the 11 year old boys).I was a little hesitant about getting B in the pool b/c the last time I took him swimming (that wasn't at the Splashpark) was in June... once... for like 10 minutes... b/c he got really upset about learning how to swim! Naturally, I was not looking forward to a meltdown....

but B had a few tricks up his floaty :)

One thing I really wanted to do this Summer was put B in swimming classes, but for many reasons I never got around to signing him up... the thought of having to take him to classes a few times a week kind of overwhelmed me... considering!

Needless to say I don't think he's suffered much from not taking them; I'm very proud of him & his little brain, he literally has learned this ALL ON HIS OWN,

with just a few tips from Mommy & Daddy :)

Our Friend Clancy

2010-08-25T13:24:00.000-07:00

A family member of some friends at church has been looking for a new home, in the meantime we've been taking care of his awesome dog Clancy.

We LOVE this dog!! His owner said he wasn't too great with kids, but he and B have been having a blast together. He's not a very high maintenance dog (yeah!) so we're very spoiled in our dog-sitting requirements. But he sure loves to cuddle and be right wherever the family is.

We've only had him at our house for a few days and already I know it's going to be hard to have him leave. We've wanted to get another dog for a very long time (since we had to give away our dog Lexie when B was born), but that can be tricky when you're renting!

Now that we're settled in our own house it's constantly on our minds!

Even B will tell you that he wants a Puppy!

Having Clancy here has clarified our thoughts a little when it comes to our doggy-wish-list.

We are thinking more along the lines of a BIG HAIRLESS MALE!

We've always had little, hairy, yapping females and compared to Clancy.... he's just so much more mellow! And that's exactly what I think our family needs/wants right now!

No fuss, just companionship!!

Is that so hard to ask!?! :)

Birthday Presents

2010-08-18T10:35:00.000-07:00

Every time B has gotten Birthday/Christmas $$ I've really encouraged him to be the one to pick out what it was he wanted to buy, even when he was 1 I would let him walk around whatever store we were in (with some guidance on what isle to shop in), until he found something he couldn't put down for more than 2 minutes! YES I am probably crazy, but if there's anything I've tried to teach my son it's that he has a choice! Kids are so impressionable, especially now-a-days, and if he grows up learning that he has a choice in EVERYTHING, even something as simple as what he wants to spend his money on, then I've done my job! He's always been extremely obedient & even at 3 years old he's unbelievably polite; I do feel like this is all because I've allowed him to make a choice in everything since he born, literally! I remember some of my family thinking I was crazy when he was around 4-6m old & eating Baby Food; I'd hold out 2 jars of food (give him a little direction) and let him point or grab which one he wanted.... it always worked, and he almost always picked the one I wanted him to have! And now, at 3 years old, not much has changed! He will even ask me sometimes if he can have a choice - and yes, 90% of the time he makes the choice that we would have him choose!

Anyway, excuse my mommy-ramblings for a second there :) This year he was given $$ by both GG(great grandparents) Mason, Great Nana & Papa Spear (Collins side), and Grammy & Papa Mason as well! I took him shopping on his actual birthday - spent 45 minutes in the toy section at TARGET until he finally found these:

a Buzz Lightyear Gun & a Helicopter! We would walk down different isles (that I told him were for 3 year olds) and he would mingle with different toys, shockingly passing the ones I thought he'd pick (and were in his price range!); when he'd get bored with that isle he'd tell me "let's keep movin Mommy, keep movin" LOL! Finally, when we were walking out of the toy section & I'd had just about enough I could take, he found the helicopter sitting on an End-Cap (out of place) & started playing with the exposed controllers.... got SO excited & started screaming "this one, this one Mommy", then threw it in the cart! He was so happy!! He paid the cashier (while explaining to him that it was his birthday) & off we went. Then a few days later I took him to Toys-R-Us where he found this:

He was playing at a friends house & fell in love with a Toy Story 3-Wheel Scooter they had.... the idea light turned on in my head! However when we got to the store he saw a Harley Davidson 3-Wheel Scooter... with motor sounds when you rev the handle, so it "sounds just like Daddy's"! He LOVES it & runs straight over to ride it whenever we walk outside! .... he's just so stinkin cute!!! :)

Somebody Pinch Me.... He's 3!!!

2010-08-15T23:53:00.000-07:00

Seriously, where has the time gone!?!

I remember the day Braeden was born like it was yesterday.... only yesterday feels like a really long day because it's full of the amazing memories and experiences I've had the pleasure of sharing with him! It's been an honor to be his mother & watch him grow & learn & become this person right before my eyes!! I'm just completely amazed, and there's really no other word for it! I love him so much & I can't imagine my life without him in it every minute!

Preschool is going to be a big change!!

Moving on :)

We ended up going to Utah the weekend before for my nephews Baptism..... so we thought we'd tack on a birthday party as long as we were there with all our family around us! We then had an additional party at the Splashpark (on his actual birthday) with all his friends.

It was all worth it in the end, as usual, but boy were we tired come Tuesday the 10th!! :)

Naturally there were a lot of pictures taken in order to document this momentous occasion, too many to post on just one Blog Post (and I didn't want to do 2 seperate ones);

so if you want to take a peek at them scroll on over to my Video Bar & click on

"Braeden Turns 3!!!"

Dont' worry, I won't leave you hanging tho.....

While we were in Utah Josh and I wanted to take B to the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point, knowing he'd be in complete heaven! It was a huge success... although now, a few weeks later, I'm wondering if Dinosaurs are more real to him since he's seen their bones in real life form & height & structure!?!

Ever since we got home he's developed a very odd love/hate relationship for them, when before it was just an obsession to constantly pretend to be a Dinosaur, & wanted to watch the Disney DINOSAUR movie on a daily basis.

He now has frequent nightmares that a Dinosaur is going to get him, that a Dinosaur is going to come into our house; we finally came to the conclusion that Dinosaurs need to be purely imaginary for a while! No more DINOSAUR movie or books (he has one that's a little graphic b/c 1 Dino is eating another!); and every night we reassure him that our house if safe and no Dinosaurs are going to get him because Mommy & Daddy will protect him!!

Thankfully, no more nightmares have occured since we started doing this!

He still talks about going to the Museum & how fun it was, so I'm no longer regretful about going.... maybe just a little more aware of what his mind is capable of at such an early age!

It's amazing to me how smart he really is at just 3 years old!!!

All but 4 (2 of which are NB's) of the cousins came to the Museum with us.

(Abby & Hailey are "hiding")

Grandpa is always there to keep em' playin; B & I building our own Dinosaur

uhm, looking back I regret this picture; our roarin little family :)

this Shark was HUGE & pretty scary!; they had a giant sand box where you could build sand castles for the Dinosaurs... B just liked washing them off then throwing them back in the water!

haha :)

digging for bones!; Grandpa getting down & dirty with cousin Kaitlyn & B

they both really enjoyed doing this....

... accept after a few minutes B did not like being dirty with sand everywhere!

(you can see him curling his toes & fingers, haha)

Random Pictures

2010-08-15T22:07:00.000-07:00

I've had these picture piling up on my computer for MONTHS!!!

A few of them are from as far back as March, and most of them are in our old house; being as how this is my online scrapbook I knew I had to post them anyway:

haha, this was the first thing he did when we brought this chair home; this is what I call my "Mommy had a heart attack" picture!! Josh and B like to throw balls up there and watch them roll down... until one gets stuck... then THIS is what happens!

B playing hide-n-seek

B helped me put together his new book shelf, and yes he actually helped!; and our final product

lol - this was right after we got home from Tulsa in May; he STILL talks aout flying back to Tulsa, but this particular time he told me he had to have his flying goggles, then proceeded to run into his closet to retrieve his swimming goggles and wore them around the house the rest of the day :)

playing disc golf with Daddy

helping Mommy with dinner :)

such a cute face - I think he has the best facial expressions :)

playing catch with Daddy's mit from when he was a boy :) AW!!

at the park with Uncle David, showin off their muscles

so excited about the new quilt Nana made him; it matches his room decor perfectly!

my little helper :) he was surprisingly very good at washing the dishes!

feeding Baby Kylie @ 4m; playing with Baby Kylie @ 6m

I used to watch Baby Kylie every Monday, but then her Momma's work schedule changed so we don't get to see her as often. B had so much fun with her while she was here, he's going to be such a good big brother someday :)

chillin at the Splashpark

***4th of JULY***

Since we moved this very same weekend, we didn't have my camera as handy as usual, most of these were taken with my phone-camera:

before the big move in the evening of the 3rd, B and I joined our good friends the Horstmeiers out at Lucky Peak for some jet-skiing :)

B LOVED it!! to say the least, he had such a blast on those Jet Skii's... it was amazing to me that he wasn't terrified at his age! It was such an awesome day & I was greatful for the chance to have a little fun within my world of stress!

watchin the fireworks...... wow, we look tired :)

First Family Baptism

2010-08-13T22:03:00.001-07:00

My nephew Gene was baptized on

July 31st 2010!

This was an amazing day for the Collins Family, for more reasons than the obvious one of Gene choosing to become a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

About 4-5 years ago, Gene's parents & my in-laws got into a fight, that then led to a series of very unfortunate events. Long story short, this past Christmas Gene's dad (Josh's step-brother) surprised everybody at Christmas-Eve Dinner and all was finally forgiven & forgotten!!

It had been a very hard couple of years for my in-laws, (and for those of us who weren't considered "real siblings")

It was a very special moment for me as I was asked to take these next few pictures!

Then the partying began :)

just chillin

my beautiful sister Michelle holding our beautiful twin-neice Ali

my little Chunky-Monkey-Denver... is not so little or chunky anymore :)

food & Frisby Golf = a true Collins Family function :)

Denver (blue), Braeden (yellow) & Christopher (red) golfing along with the rest of 'em; I wish I could've gotten a close up of B throwing a frisby, he was so serious about it!

The Collins Family 2010 (minus 2 sisters)

Daddy's Day Off

2010-07-25T22:22:00.000-07:00

Since we moved (July 4th weekend) Josh's days off have been crucial to an ongoing

honey-do-list!

Especially throughout the month of July b/c we were still keeping up with our rental house

(yard, etc.) so my awesome hubby barley had a minute to himself!

Well, not this time :)

We decided that we needed a break & some much anticipated quality family time!

Splashpark & a Picnic here we come!

haha... B kept watching the water spill on this girl.

First he'd look at her like she was crazy, then he'd tell her "it's going to get you girl

(or as he pronounces it "gree-ll" )",

then he would laugh histerically when the water would actually fall on her

while all the other kids were soaking up (and drinking... barf... I was gagging!) all the water,

B was soaking & splashing all the kids :)

he thought if he jumped on this hard enough the water would come out

(little did he know there was a button right next to it that made the water spurt out), haha!

taking a hint from all the other kids (accept for the drinking part thank goodness!!), he found his very own little spout.... lol... he then would arch-up to make sure the water was still coming out!

He thought this was the funniest thing... that he was hogging all the water coming out!

I was cracking up from the "push-ups" :)

This is his "ahhh the water got me" face, haha

I might be a little biased but it was pretty much the cutest face at the Splashpark! :)

I DID IT!!!!!

2010-07-24T13:17:00.000-07:00

I made a quilt!!!!!

My husband likes to correct me and clarify that I only made the top of it..... but COME ON!!

I'm so proud of myself, I feel like I can do anything on my sewing machine!

I'm already finding things around the house to tailer, and ideas of things I want to sew in the near future. I'm trying to take it 1 project at a time so I don't get overwhelmed with patterns.

Anyway, here is my quilt, and the HOW TO:

** THE PATTERN & MATERIAL**

We received our pattern kit with the material, stuffing, and tieing yarn all inside.

I liked most of my patterns but it got tricky b/c there wasn't an even amount of each pattern, so at the end it started to look a little "hodge-podge", but the colors are adorable & I was so happy to know that a baby somewhere will be warm b/c of me :)

Lay the individual squares out in the order you want the pattern to be

this one was my favorite, if we ever have a girl I think I'm going to do something along the lines of this for the decor

once you have the squares all laid out in order, pin & number the TOP square of each row.

My quilt was only a crib size so I have numbered mine 1-8

put each row into their own piles with the numbers ON TOP

**THE SEWING**

place the top #'d square so that the "colored side" is facing you; then place the second square on top of the first so that to "wrong side" is facing you.

Then proceed to sew the edges of the two peices together (mine requested I do it at 1/4")

Trim the access string from both ends (the more the better so the string can pull from your needle!)

Repeat this step until ALL your squares are sewn together in their rows!

(forgot to get that picture)

Place each row back in order before assembling together - a trick I was taught, sewing 1-4 together, then 5-8 together, then sew 4 & 5 together. This way you don't have "baggage" gathering when you add all the rows together!

**Prepare to Witness My Rookie Mistake**

The material was all donated material that was cut into individual squares, then placed in the same kit due to their color scheme.... not all the pieces were the same length & width.

Some even had chunks taken out of the edges so I had to improvise my sewing a little... which resulted in one of my rows being 1/2" too short!

And I of course wasn't able to recognize this until I was stretching it when I was sewing the rows together.

So I improvised...

I didn't particularly like this pattern, but I had a lot of squares leftover in this pattern, and it just so happened to be the same one I needed :) I attached it to the too-short-end-square.... feeling very proud of myself.... only to realize that I sewed it the wrong way!

(enter thread cutter)

so I fixed that....

..... cut away the excess material from the bottom....

and 20 minutes later I had the results I was looking for.....

... or so I thought!?! After sewing #'s 5-8 I noticed that they too were really short at the bottom.

WHAT WAS GOING ON!?!?!

I double checked each square to make sure there was no bunching or that I hadn't gone over my 1/4" mark.... NOPE! Just the squares :(

Once again, I improvised (enter scrap material)

I triple-checked-these before I sewed them onto my rows.... and got it right :)

Once again put my sewing scissors to work, cut off the trim, and VUALA....

Looks pretty good to me, but I could be a little biased :)

Inspecting it one last time I noticed I had a little mishap where the ends of Row 4 & Row 5 were sewn together... but luckily it's in the corner and it can be covered when it's tied!

I'm quite proud of it :)

And it's pretty cute!

Thought I'd give you a look at the bottom material that will be binded to the top after the top has been tied. Some lucky little girl (I'm guessing b/c of the flowers!?!) will be sleeping in my quilt! Such a good feeling :)

Any of you out there needing an extra-curricular-activity, go visit your local Humanitarian Center & help do some quilts for homeless & less forutnate kids!!

You will receive so many blessings, but most of all, it'll just make you feel AWESOME!!!

4th of July

2010-07-24T12:49:00.000-07:00

Normally this holiday is HUGE at our house; it's Josh's favorite one and we always go BIG!!

This year (considering we moved on the 3rd of July!!) we went super-super-low-key and left the rest up to the City of Meridian. My OM-Gail & Rickdad came down for a few days to help us get situated in our new house, and they agreed to come in a day early to spend the 4th with us. We were given VIP Passes through our business to attend the annual Ann Morrison Park 4th of July Party.

You get a front row seat to the best Fireworks in town, and since we were VIP :) we also got dinner. It was so nice considering we just moved and had no food for dinner (and it was a Sunday so we tried not to eat out the whole day!)

B w/Nanny & Grandpa - thank goodnes for technology or the 3 hour wait for Fireworks would have been 10X more boring!

just chillin

AW :)

Our Manager Dave & his wife Tina (minus their baby Kylie who comes to play with us every Monday)

B... on the alert for when it finally got dark.... waiting patiently in position :)

Dresser Revamp - FINALLY!

2010-06-24T18:03:00.001-07:00

I finally finished the Dresser for Braeden's room!

(PS: June 24th is the day I started this post, August 13th is the day I'm finally posting it, lol)

Obviously it didn't take me this long to finish it, but ya'll know how busy I've been :)

Here is the BEFORE in case you don't remember

Phase One:

We (being my first project I required lots of assistence from my hubby, thanks babe!) had to sand it ALL down; we didn't like the positioning of the previous handles so Josh filled in the holes.

I never knew how long it would take to sand something down in order to get such a smooth finish... WHEW! I sure picked a doozy for my very first Revamp Project!

Phase Two:

Primer, then Wood Putty to fill in all the "fine holes" that you can only see after you've applied Primer! Then we had to sand those down again, re-apply some putty, sand it down.... and repeat about 3 times -each time taking a day so the putty could fully dry before sanding!

Like I said... a doozy!!

Phase Three:

PAINT! This is what my face looked like from my mask & goggles!

This was my first time with Spray Paint; I learned alot about the stuff.... the main lesson being that it does NOT go on like paint on a wall... it gets EVERYWHERE!!

And each coat has to be applied a specific way or else each coat then looks uneven.

I also learned that the cans will sometimes EXPLODE when opened for the first time... therefore ruining your project completely, causing you to go back to square 1!

Again... doozy!!

Phase 4:

After 4 coats of paint (2 of which would've been unnecesary had I been informed about the "painting")

It's almost there.....

FINISHED:

These handles are just the right size for B!

The two-toned-drawers turned out pretty cute I think, even though I knew I was going to cover them with......

.... this really cute contact paper.

I had this leftover from a previous dresser, and it actually matches B's decor very well!

All in all I love how it turned out, I definately learned a lot about the "revamp world" and now I'm ready for anything :)

My poor husband... apparantly my new favorite phrase is "you know what we could do...." LOL!

A Few Months Ago......

2010-06-23T15:21:00.000-07:00

..... We went to UT for Easter.

I know, I know..... I've been busy :)

We stayed with Josh's sister Jen & her family. It was so fun to watch Braeden get closer to his Uncle Brian. He's never really..... fancied him.... haha... to put it nicely.

Here they are reading before bedtime.

Making our Easter Eggs

Mine was so pretty :)

Hunting for his Easter Eggs

We always love it when we get to spend time with Great Nana

Nanny, Grandpa & the kiddos - due to weather, not everyone was able to come for the

Annual Collins Family Easter Egg Hunt

(ya, it's a big deal!! Grandpa Rickdad goes ALL OUT & we all LOVE IT!),

but we tried our best to have a small one for those of us who were there;

I had to take a picture of the the Easter Cake, it was so pretty :)

B admiring all his goodies; chillin with Uncle Brian

(Both Jen & I were happy to watch them get a little closer during this trip)

this makes me smile :)

pictures in Temple Square are always a must!

B "smelling" the flowers :)

I have the same picture with B when he was 3m old, I can't believe how big he's getting :)

**these next few are really cute**

The day we were leaving town my neice Abby had a soccer game so B and I decided to go watch. Unfortunately, due to the extra attention I think, Abby wasn't really "into" the game.... HOWEVER :) Braeden was instantly IN LOVE!!

After seeing him in action, begging to go and join Abby's team in their game, I knew we'd be putting him in Soccer asap!

After the game was over, Uncle Brian took B onto field for a little 1-on-1 and I think it's fare to say that B smoked him :) And after she saw how much they were having, Abby decided to join in on the game (naturally :))

B was so good..... we were all amazed!!

He was using all this foot work that he pulled out of nowhere.... it was amazing!!

I was.... AM... such a proud Momma :)