Ava's 8th Birthday Spa

 For Ava's 8th Birthday she requested a spa birthday.  So I tried to come up with some ideas for it.  Since I have never been to a spa it wasn't too easy to know what to do... well then I remembered that Ava and probably all the girls coming to the party probably haven't gone to a spa either so really what ever I did they would think was what they did in a spa.


First, decorations.  Well I decorated with candles all over the house... I put sand in vases and stuck candles in those and along the window sill by the front door.  I also got these awesome tissue balls from my friend and hung them in the living room.

 I got these from my friend a few weeks before the birthday party and then Deneile wanted them for her birthday a week later so they hung in my living room for almost a month!!  I liked them there and was kind of reluctant to take them down!

 Next the food.  I love the editable arrangements but they are way too much for me to buy so I have started making them.  I have made them a few times but I have to say that these were my best so far!

 

I decided that spa food should be small and cute and tasty so I made mini cheesecakes, cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches and  jam and cream cheese sandwiches. And of course the fruit bouquets.

 

As they walked in to the "Spa" They got a bottle of water.  I made a customized label for each one and think they turned out pretty cute!

 Then they sat down to soak their feet in warm water and Epsom salt.  We gave them books to read and magazines to enjoy but they mostly talked and had fun!

 Then they got their nails done and toe nails painted! I am so grateful for Sarah, Jena and Vicky for helping, I couldn't have done it without them!

They all got bath turban towels that my mom helped me make. The girls thought they were fun and it kept their hair out of their faces for their oatmeal masks.

 The dreaded oatmeal mask!  The girls were a little apprehensive but most of them powered through sticky feeling and actually had a good time!

 I made cupcakes for her cake again because I thought spa food needed to be small and pretty.  I did some roses on the cupcakes and I think that they turned out pretty good!

Last but not least the goody basket.  I bought some Easter baskets after Easter for really cheap and put in their towel turban, bath sponge, water bottle, silly bands and a few other little items. The girls loved them and I thought they turned out pretty good!

 I am so glad that I was able to put this on with the help of the lovely ladies!!  Happy birthday Ava!

"What are you going to do next year?"

"What are you going to do next year?"
I get this question a lot when people know that all my children will be in school full time starting September. I always try to think about it, and never know what to say. But I still want to be home. Is it selfish of me to not want to go to work even if none of my kids are at home during the school day? I want to be able to go on field trips and help in the kids school and be able to do my errands with out dragging the kids along with me. I like being at home. I know I should be out their in the work world helping to save money to buy a house or take some of the pressure off of my husband so he doesn't have to feel stressed about the finances. But I also feel that is my job to raise and nurture my children and I don't want to feel bad for doing that. That has always been the decision that Scott and I have made, why do I feel guilty and reserved when people ask, "What are you going to do next year?"

Belly Bands

OK! So I love this thing I found on the internet...

I know it is meant as a maternity thing but I thought that I would use it for a modesty thing. I find that T-shirts are always too short for me and I am always worried about my shirts coming up. So I made these Belly Bands for me and my girls.

I didn't make them as wide since my Belly (thank goodness) isn't as big as a pregnant belly! I bought half a meter of stretch T-shirt material in both white and brown. It made me two bands in each colour and Deneile and Ava each got a band in each colour.

Here is the tutorial that I tried to follow.

For some reason I can't upload any pictures... I will try again later! But I am totally excited about them!!

I just need to find an new name for them... I don't know if Modesty Bands would do... Any ideas?

Halloween

The kids had a great year this year... I loved it even more because there was no Trick or Treating!! We were able to have a Trunk or Treat at the church and so they did get to wear their costumes out and about and show them off and get a little candy, but the candy wasn't overwhelming which was nice.

Alex looked great as Jack Sparrow. It took a little convincing to get him to let me put eye liner on, but it did look great in the end.

Dallin's cousins call him Harry Potter all the time because of the scar in the middle of his forehead. Well he decided that he wanted to be Harry Potter this year. I had the costume from when Deneile was Hermione when she was in Grade 1. So it was an easy costume but it looked great!!

Ava wanted to be a mummy this year! I think it turned out great!! I had some help with the sewing since I left it to the last minute!

Deneile wanted to be a witch this year and we were able to borrow a dress and hat from a friend and I bought the tights to add to look. She won the best costume at our ward costume contest so she was very excited about that!

Dallin and Alex were able to go to the pumpkin patch this year for a field trip this year! I was able to volunteer driving them this year and it was really fun. They got to each pick a pumpkin, they had a lot of fun!

On TV

Scott called the other day saying he was doing a story at a strawberry farm in Richmond. So my friend and her two boys and me and my kids all packed up and went out to the farm. My poor friend is 9 months pregnant, and the good sport that she is, was right in there bending over picking and picking. While we were there Scott took video and we just picked. Then they asked the kids some questions. We had a good time and got a lot of strawberries... Yummy!!!

Dance Recital

Dance is finally at an end! We have gone almost every Saturday for 9 months and we have a small break until September! Shadbolt puts on a good show.

Here is Ava's dance.

I thought Ava did a great job.

Here is Deneile's Dance.

Notice the dark blue dresses... I was costume parent and made those dresses (with mom's help, thanks mom)!!

Behind again

I haven't blogged in a while... I will start with April and go on from there.

Mom and Dad came over for Easter dinner. I made a ham and we enjoyed the lovely dinner that goes along with it. This year though, I decided to try a new dessert. I saw a recipe on line to make an ice cream cake. I tried to do it like the DQ ice cream cakes, with the fudge and cookies in the middle. Then, of course, I had to decorate it with whipped cream and mini eggs since it was Easter. It turned out really good, tasted delicious and only cost maybe $10 since the ice cream was on sale.

Most of you know how excited we are to have a temple in Vancouver now. In April there was an open house to to the public and everyone got to go. My dad's birthday is in April and he asked for his birthday present, that all of the family to come to the open house on his birthday together. It was a lot of fun

Tobi and Jeff came a day early with mom and dad so we were able to go to Lynn Valley to the free suspension bridge there. It was a lot of fun to walk around and enjoy nature together. 

Then on Friday night all 30 of us met at the temple. We had to split because our group was so big but both groups were led by friends and relatives. When we went through the tour guides asked us not to say anything as we went into the celestial room so it was quiet and we could just enjoy the spirit there. Our 2 groups were able to be in that room together for a short time so mom and dad could have their whole family together there. It was such a great experience. Later we asked the kids which part they liked the best and my boys (and if you have read my blog this might surprise you as much as it surprised me) said they liked the quiet room the best. The girls also liked the celestial room (but I wasn't as surprised).

My brother in law and sister in law were able to come up the next weekend. It was nice to hang out with them for a little bit. We went out for lunch and we went to supper at Stepho's.... I love Stepho's!  We were able to have lunch with them the next day and then their short trip was over and they had to go back home.

Then the next weekend (see why it's been a while since I blogged) We had my sister and Brother in law come again for the Temple Youth Celebration (TYC) on Saturday night and the Temple dedication on Sunday. The TYC was amazing!! The youth spent only 2 months preparing for this and did an amazing job!! Scott's parents were some of the pioneers in the TYC so they were able to come over that weekend. Scott's dad was in the hospital the week before, but he was able to come over for the weekend. It was lovely to see them on stage with Scott's dad doing donuts in his little electric scooter.

Scott, Deneile and I were able to go to the temple for the dedication.  My sister was outside singing in the choir for the corner stone so she had my camera and was able to take pictures for me.  It was a wonderful experience.