Girls Night Out

My Mother in law's ward was having Home Making last thursday, and she invited Mindy (friend living with my MIL), Kari (friend of mine living with me for a short time), and I to tag along. So we left our boys with our husbands and Grandpa for a night of peace and crafting.
***Funny side note: All of us girls have boys. We are surrounded!! Mom has five boys...obviously. I'm married to one of them... Chris, Clayton, Brian, Matt and Jerad. (Oldie but a goodie. Missing: Clayton William)

Mindy has two boys-Carter(7) and Declan (3).

Kari has two boys-Parker(3 almost 4) and Ethan(13 months) and another (unknown gender) on the way.

And then of course my boys, Clay(5) and Cody(22 months). They are all pretty close in age.

So even though it was a "Girls Night Out", it kind of turned into a "Boys Night In" for them. ***
Home Making started at 5pm, but SOME OF US have to work. :) So after work Kari and I picked up Mindy and met Mom at the church. Everyone was just sitting down to dinner. They had a baked potato bar set up with Salad and goodies. It was sooo good.
After chowing down, we got to work. Mom had signed us up to make our own "Welcome" blocks.
First you paint your blocks a base color. Kari and I did white. Mom and Mindy did black.

(Mindy was helping me paint my blocks white)
Then you put your decorative paper in the order that you want it to go on your blocks and cut them to size.

My MIL was having a hard time deciding what order she wanted her paper in.

Optional, you can rub a black ink/chalk around the edges to make the paper "pop" on the blocks. I did this even with the white blocks and I love how it turned out.
Kind of hard to tell but Kari is putting the black ink around her edges here.

When your base paint dries, you put Mod Podge on it and then lay your paper over the top and scrape/squeegee all the bubbles out.
Then place vinyl lettering on top of your decorative paper.

Finish by adding a thin layer of Mod Podge over the top of your vinyl letterings. I used a Mod Podge with a hint of glitter and I LOVE how it turned out.
They all turned out AWESOME!
Top: Kari's
Bottom: Mindy's

Top: Mom's
Bottom: Mine

We had a great time bonding and learning something new.

Afterwards, I added a bow on the first "E" and some bling on the "O". So cute!

I think they all turned out so good....
So good in fact that I made a set for my Mom....

and Jannelle (my SIL)....

I have to add that my brother Evan came into town for one night. He was here to pick up his SIL and two nieces to take them to Texas so that they could be there for when Jannelle has her baby-another story for another time. Anywho, Evan helped me (and Kari) make the "Welcome" blocks for Jannelle and my Mom. I was going to take a picture (AKA-PROOF) but he didn't want a picture of him doing crafts online. LOL!
AND I also made a set for my sister, Erin. She hasn't gotten it yet, but I sure hope she likes it.

Oh P.S. Check out my wreath I made from a pool noodle, scrap fabric, and flowers. The "C" was made from a piece of cardboard and some yarn I just had laying around.

"Tiny"

Cody goes by "Tiny". Nobody else really calls him that, just me. It is a reference that reminds me daily just how "tiny" he was when he was born. 6 pounds 11 ounces may not seem tiny, but it is when your first born was 8 pounds 11 ounces. Tiny is still pretty little but his character and personality are SOOO big. He's so different and unlike any baby I've ever met. He's loud and busy and likes to be with the big guys. He doesn't think he's all that tiny.
He likes to color with Clayton-when he isn't eating the crayons.

Cody likes to pile stuffed animals, blankets, and pillows on whoever is sitting still. This time, Grandpa was the lucky one.

He likes to pull all the couch cushions off and jump into them. And then he likes to burrow into them and hide.

When Chris sits still, Cody sits on his head, literally....

...and then you get precious Daddy-son moments like these:

He's Captain America. (My MIL says all the time, "He's a special one. He's a Saturday Warrior.")

He's a problem solver. Wet and mushy diaper weighing you down and preventing REM? Just take it off, PROBLEM SOLVED.

He's a handful, but he's MY handful and I'm thankful for him. He teaches me patience, an ENORMOUS amount of patience. I love my littlest guy so much. I know that pretty soon he's not going to be so "Tiny" and sometimes that makes me sad.

Birthday Camping

Went camping at Soapstone the weekend of my birthday, and it was perfect!! Blazing hot during the day, and freezing during night. I honestly love the contrast in temperatures. I like waking up in the morning under a nice oversized quilt, walking outside being able to see my breath and drinking a nice warm cup of coffee by the fire. And then having to cool off with an ice cold beverage (diet coke being my first choice) in the hot afternoon.

Clay loves mornings...but only because he's a muffin monster!!

Some days I think Cody would like to run away from home and just be free. I know I say it alot, but he does not like to be hindered or held back from anything. He likes doing everything by himself or on his own. Good thing he can't unlock the front door yet, or the back door for that matter, he'd be gone in a heartbeat! Anytime I have to help him put his shoes/clothes on, or cut his food into smaller bites, etc. it becomes a screaming match because he doesn't want me to help him. The second I let him go, he's happy and quiet. So when we go camping, Cody is on cloud 9. He likes to wander, by himself. Of course I don't let him, but I stay far enough back so that he feels like he's alone and being a big boy. That, and Molly thinks she's his mother, so she follows him everywhere.

He thinks he's one of the big kids, off exploring.

He likes to play in the dirt,

and LOVES riding his little four wheeler.

(trying to get it unstuck)

He's even been practicing his "Heel Clicker" trick. :)

Actually, Cody loves anything with a motor; the lawn mower, the snow blower, weed wacker-if it runs, Cody LOVES IT. He really liked the Nebeker-Mortensons four wheeler and spent a good portion of his time just sitting on it, waiting for someone to take him on a ride.

When he wasn't on the small four wheeler OR the big one, you could find him riding the motorcycle with Chris...

...or trying to bum a ride from Clay on his motorcycle.

Poor kid, all he wanted to do was ride!

Clay was able to get some riding in on his dirt bike. He loves to put on all the gear and just go full throttle.

I want so badly to take the training wheels off. Most times I feel like they keep him from progressing more than they help him. It's frustrating for me, but I'm sure Clay doesn't mind. After all when he bottoms out, I'm the one that has to go running over to him to give him a little push.
I'm hoping by next summer we'll have the training wheels off.

Apart from all the riding we did, we also hunted for Salamanders and Frogs. I remember doing it when I was little and I think it's so fun to get to see Clay do it. (Cody was taking a nap, otherwise I'm sure he would have loved it also.)

Clay showing off his frogs.

Holding a salamander.

Chris holding a frog on his finger. They were just babies.

Being out in the middle of nowhere we took the opportunity to take the boys shooting for the first time.In our haste to get out of town we forgot the ammo! Thank you Kelly (Cleveland) for letting us borrow some bullets. The view was incredible.

Chris giving Clay a full lesson on gun safety and precaution.

Showing Clay how to aim.

He did a pretty good job for his first time. Didn't get any bulls-eyes, but he did hit the target.

Chris was so proud. He was just excited to let Clay shoot his very first gun. The gun that Chris's Uncle Don gave him when he was about Clayton's age.

Cody however wasn't strong enough to pull the trigger. I know he didn't really understand what was going on, but it did make for some pretty cute pictures and some great father/son bonding time.

Then it was my turn. I'm an okay shot. Better with my 12 gauge though-you can't miss with those. :)

Then the big boys turn.

Dirty faces

We got back from shooting and found that our camp had been invaded by sheep. Across the pond, cows moved in on us too!

The deer weren't afraid of us either. They got so close to our camp.

By the end of the trip, Chris finally gave in and let Cody try Clay's motorcycle. He was in heaven and cried when we took him off.

We had some good food....

Great friends...

....Awesome Birthday!!

p.s. This is what Chris let me get for my birthday...mom and dad pitched in too. It's waterproof (supposedly up to 10 feet) so I'm excited to try it out. Thank you everyone!!