Forget the Tricks, Give Me the Treats!

We've had such a busy week. Each year it seems that the months October through January fly by at an even faster rate! I've been extremely busy with some exciting work projects, but have been missing that extra quality time with my girls. On a rare quiet day, I was able to take Isabelle with me to enjoy our first spa day together. As you can tell, she was more than a little excited. I think it's safe to say that we've ruined her and all future haircuts will be at the salon!

After having our hair trimmed and styled up, it was time for our pedicures! Isabelle has always been fascinated by painted nails. Here she is getting her legs ready to be pampered.

And we ended up getting super fabulous pedicures - glitter toes! Isabelle's toes are now blue & green with a ton of glittery sparkle. It is perfect to match her mermaid costume for Halloween.
Loved spending this long relaxing morning with my little girl. I hope that our first spa day is a special memory she'll always remember.

This week, I also shipped my Halloween gift to my mother. Much to her surprise, the Glinda shoes were always intended for her mantle and not mine.

I also gave her my Feeling Stitchy free motion embroidery. I fell in love with this design the instant I saw it and knew my mom would love it too.
Last but certainly not least, it is my aunt's 65th birthday this year! And to make it extra special, she is retiring from being a nurse. She is such an amazing woman and I'm so happy she can now spend some time relaxing. I crocheted this prayer shawl for her. It came out a little more "granny" than I had intended, but I know my aunt will love and appreciate it.
We are gearing up for Halloween and I can't wait to reveal our costumes. Be sure to stop by the blog tomorrow to see our Ecard. I'll also host a link up for you to reveal your costumes as well.

Happy Haunting!

Sassy Scoops - Halloween GNO!

Had such a fun time at Sassy Scoop's Halloween night out this week. You can't go wrong with Diet Coke, yummy treats, and costumes - right?!I love meeting other fellow Utah bloggers! In the era of everything online, it's great to connect and unwind.. in person!

On top of the yummy treats and fun games, we learned more about the Jordan Valley Medical Center's new breast care facility. October is breast cancer awareness month and it's soo important to me to honor those that have fought any kind of cancer. Sadly, Utah is one of the lowest in the states for women getting their mammograms. Ladies, protect yourself and your loved ones - get checked & stay healthy!!

On to the fun treats! We had a cake walk and I was quite bummed that I did not win any of the Sweet Tooth Fairy cupcakes. We could try to guess how much candy was in the cutesy jars to win them. Sadly, I left before I found out who won all that yummy candy! I'm so bad at that game, but I just loved this display. My kiddos would go nuts over it! BUT, I did win a costume prize. I wore my over the top pink (in honor of breast cancer awareness) Lil' Bo Peep costume and won for my outstanding pinkness! And I was foiled again - I really wanted some of those Utah Truffles gift baskets, but I was too slow. I did however win a very warm vest that my husband quickly swiped from me..eh, whatever keeps him happy enough to let me out at night, right?

And here are some of the yummy treats those fabulous Sassy Scoops ladies served. The potstickers were SO delish!

I apologize for the lack of costume photos, but let me tell you that there were some fabulous ones! So good that I didn't always recognize my Twitter friends ;o) There was Flo from Progressive, a gumball machine, and the Queen of Hearts. Loved it!

Thank you so much Sassy Scoops for the fun party! It was a great night out..

The Great Pumpkin

We were so excited this week to have our annual pumpkin patch trip. The ride over to the new patch was a little nerve wracking though. Each kid was melting down, the Hubby was on a sarcasm streak, and my anxiety was starting to run high..but as soon as we all bolted from the van, we had a great time!This new little farm had every pumpkin you could imagine! Isabelle had requested a green pumpkin and I had explained that they don't come in that color..but I was wrong!

There was red..
Beautiful Cinderella white..
And Isabelle's favorite color, green... and yes we have a green pumpkin on the front porch right now.

They even had some goats eating pumpkins.

I love going to the patch to pick out the pumpkins and getting some fall shots in. Well my kids had other plans.

Julie looked this way,

and that way..
Even with Big Sister nearby, we refused to cooperate...
Here's Isabelle with her precious green pumpkin.. And yup, inside our wheelbarrow is a red one too.
We tried to get a white one, but we just didn't have the muscle power ;o)
Finally! A great family picture! Where is Mom.. Oh well..
Picking out the perfect pumpkin is a very tough job..
OK. So I wished I had a "before" shot. You see this pumpkin down here? It had THE most beautiful stem, curvy, long, and incredible. I asked the Hubby to grab it for me as it was the perfect pumpkin for me. And he grabbed it by the beautiful delicate stem.. Humph.. That's the "after" shot..
Here is Hubby holding my 2nd choice - by the bottom and not the stem..


Hope ya'll are enjoying some fall traditions! What are your favorite things to do??

Julie's Circus!

For awhile now I've planned on doing a circus for Julie's first birthday. And lucky me, it was a popular theme this year! There was tons of eye candy on Pinterest . I had way more ideas than time or money, but I did my best to make it a blast for the girls.

I won't even start about the heartbreak about my last baby turning 1, I'll just show you the fun we had! I'm pretty sure I did the party - decor,games, food, etc for under $200. I know for some that is a lot to spend, but parties are big in this house! We had over 30 people attend (almost half of which were toddlers and babies). I fully intended to throw everyone out in the back yard, but October weather in Utah is a fickle mistress. Of course after hours of preparation in the back, the clouds and wind were too much.. So with less than an hour before our first guest would arrive, we moved most of it inside. Nothing went as planned and I forgot tons of stuff, but it was perfect!

Easy peasy wreath for under $5.00!

I have loved The Silly Pearl's for sometime now and wanted to try a version of it.

It took a large hoop, 1 bag of party blowers, and some party hats.

And I hotglued it all in bed... tired and crafty, that was me..

The "prizes" came from Oriental Trading Company.

Lots of little knicky knac toys that you would find at a circus..

My mom (and Isabelle) really wanted cotton candy for the party,

but the machine rental was $45!

Instead we bought bags and bags and bags of it at the store.

Huge hit and 1/4 of the cost!!

There is cutie pie Big Sis helping to decorate.

Lots and lots of colorful streamers.

Get them at the dollar store and you can afford the rainbow!

Our house was covered in circus tickets, gumballs, and suckers.

The giant suckers were a great decoration and each child left with one.

Hire a clown?

With a dozen kiddlets, that's all the clown action you need!

Each child received a top hat, clown nose, huge glasses,

package of mustaches, and treat bag.

Most of the goodies again came from Oriental Trading Company.

There are the sweet little treat bags - stuffed with circus cookies,of course!

A great way to coordinate your party on a budget is to use printables.

I bought a circus printable package from JudiBDesigns on Etsy.

A smokin' deal for $10!

It was the invitation, graphics for the favor bag,

graphics for the drinks and snacks, and the thank you note on the way.

And there's Isa with Grammy!

You can't have a circus party without peanuts!

I used the printables again to complete the fun look.

The paper straws were a splurge, but aren't they adorable?

I made a sherbet/7up punch that was a hit with the kiddos.

And the hit of the party?

The "popcorn" cupcakes!

Yummy,yummy,yummy.. and soooo adorable.

There are a million tutorials out there, but if you want one..let me know!

These are easy,easy,easy...but take awhile.

I made 3 dozen and it took over 2 hours..

Well worth the time, but just plan accordingly.

There is Angel Pie's cupcake.. Sunflowers are her signature flower..

Our easy, yummy circus buffet!

Chips, hotdogs, and watermelon..

Baby & I playing in the photo booth.

Just find a colorful fabric and some props!

My big girl!

My sweet mom made these insanely awesome skirts for the girls.

I appliqued on their shirts to pull the circus look together.

Grampy & the birthday girl.

Did you know you can buy a helium tank & balloons at Target?

You totally can!

Great decoration and each child got to take one home.

Julie had a ball with her cake!

Yummy!!

After the party was done, we were exhausted and a little slap happy..

My mom & hubby in the photobooth.

Hubby & I keeping the romance alive clown style..

My hubby & his dad being silly.

We had a fabulous time and the girls were beyond happy.

Hope you were inspired by the circus that is our life!

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Today's Creative Blog

Tri it, you'll like it!

Yesterday I finally competed in my first triathlon. I missed one about a month ago because Baby developed a dreadful stomach bug. Subsequently, I have not been able to train this past month either - too busy with family and work. Honestly I was a little afraid how I would do. I told myself that I was not in it to win it, rather just to finish it. I reminded myself that even if I came in last, I was way ahead of where I used to be.

And I won! You'll never guess who I beat!! I beat that whiny voice in my head that wanted to sleep in, that wanted to slow down, that wanted to quit. Now I didn't win the *whole* triathlon, I came pretty much in the middle at 1:48.

My body is still pretty tired this morning and a bit sore, but I'm so happy I did it. It was an amazing experience. I plan doing 1-2 each summer and I can't wait for the next one. My true nature is starting to rear its head and I'm already hoping to cut my time down by 20 minutes, but in the end just getting your butt out there is accomplishment enough.

For those of you not super interested in my athletic activities, this was the last one for the season. Well unless I can pull it together and do the Halloween 1/2 marathon.

I hope you are inspired to test your body. You are stronger than you know. Go surprise yourself!

Wonder Woman Ride

The day after I returned from The Creative Connection Event, I had my Wonder Woman ride with some awesome friends. (I'm the one on the far left if you couldn't tell)

There we are before our 30 mile race in Payson, Utah. It was a beautiful ride! Lots of chatting and catching up, but we all finished in just about 2 hours.

I love bike riding. It is the closest I feel to flying. I love how it clears my head and makes my body feel alive.

But I have to say if I'm Wonder Woman, my amazing husband is Superman! He watched our girls from Wed -Fri..then all day Saturday during my ride.. And when I came home from the race, I passed out from 8pm -8am. He is amazing.. I could not be the person I am without his love and support..