Karli H.

Nieces & Nephews

2011-12-06T00:29:00.001-08:00

I've decided I pretty much have the most adorable nieces and nephews around!

Max, Cora, Addie, Gavyn...

I'm not really a big fan of the photoshopping I see done where just a pop of color is left in the photo. I think it's pretty much dated and I just find it cheesy. If you like the look then I hope I haven't offended you... it's just my opinion and personal preference. That being said... I kind of broke my own rule and did it anyway with the following picture. For some reason I just thought it would be fun in this situation. :)

And I have to apologize to Rochelle... I brought Fruit by the Foot for all the kids to eat and without thinking, let them have their snack BEFORE pictures. Turns out I kind of love that Superman's shirt is dirty around the collar. Adds character if you ask me!

MOVEMBER!!!!

2011-11-07T12:46:00.006-08:00

Image from premierlife.ca

During November each year, Movember is responsible for the sprouting of moustaches on thousands of men’s faces, in the United Staes, Canada and around the world. With their “Mo’s”, these men raise vital funds and awareness for men's health, specifically prostate cancer. On Movember 1st, guys start with a clean-shaven face. For the rest of the month, these selfless and generous men, known as Mo Bros, groom, trim and wax their way into the annals of fine moustachery. Supported by the women in their lives, Mo Sistas, Movember Mo Bros raise funds by seeking out sponsorship for their Mo-growing efforts. Mo Bros effectively become walking, talking billboards for the 30 days of November. Through their actions and words, they raise awareness by prompting private and public conversation around the often ignored issue of men’s health. At the end of the month, Mo Bros and Mo Sistas celebrate their gallantry and valor by either throwing their own Movember party or attending one of the infamous Gala Partés held around the world by Movember, for Movember.

Image from ca.movember.com

We are excited to support Movember this year. Several friends and neighbours from our community and church are participating.

Need some ideas for your "Movember" stache?

Image from push.ca

The local support is being headed up by my stupendously awesome husband Mike.

A paypal account has been set up to help out my brother in law Russell's dad, Dennis Jensen, who is battling cancer. Denis is an awesome man with so much to give and contribute. He was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year and will begin chemotherapy within the next few months. Denis has worked hard his entire life to support his family and members of his community. He has spent countless hours serving his friends and neighbours volunteering his time to his local church and we are excited to give something back to him during this time of trial.

The PayPal account has been set up in Mike Hurren's name and all donations will be donated directly to Denis Jensen.

Please click the following link and support a great man in need.

Support Denis Jensen PayPal Account

Thank you for your support!

image from ca.movember.com

Please spread the word by linking back to this post or copy and paste this post on to your own blog, facebook, twitter feed etc...

Wow! First Day of School Photos Never Posted?

2011-10-05T22:22:00.000-07:00

Did I actually forget to post these photos?!? Oops!

Luke is 3 1/2 years old and wishing he could be going to school too.

The boys love to race to see who gets on the bus first.

Porter is 7 1/2 years old and in 3rd Grade.

Such handsome young men.

Walker is 6 years old and in first grade.

Cohen is 6 months old and soooo happy when the boys get home from school.

Love my boys!!!

Dedicated to Ammo

2011-10-05T21:55:00.004-07:00

This is for you Amber...

I have been dying to get this post up but I have to have some help from Mike to move some furniture to be able to take a decent "after" photo. But in the meantime, here is the before...

I got this at a garage sale a while ago and refinished it and I. AM. IN. LOVE.

Will post after shots soon!

My Gallery Wall

2011-09-11T22:26:00.003-07:00

Yo peeps! :) I've been working on bunches of stuff lately... one of which is a gallery wall. I took some photos of the boys a few weeks ago and had them printed on floated gallery wraps. I then added some free printables that I matted with scrapbook paper and framed in spray painted frames I found at garage sales. To add a little color and finish off the look I also framed a few smaller pieces of scrapbook paper and...... voila!

Bathroom Art... Or maybe that's not the best title!

2011-08-22T22:31:00.004-07:00

The other day I decided I wanted to add something to the walls in my bathroom and I've been thinking about it ever since. I wanted something simple and neutral and I didn't want to spend a lot of money or time on it.

I decided that some simple black and white photos would look nice so this morning I took my camera outside and snapped away. All of these photos are flowers and bushes found in my yard and I love how they turned out. I'm having them printed on canvases from a site called easycanvasprints.com They are having a big sale where you get 50% off of any size canvas plus free shipping (if you live in the U.S.) I ordered them this evening and can't wait to see how they turn out!

Inspiration from Thailand

2011-08-12T15:34:00.003-07:00

I L-O-V-E this short film. It's bee really popular on YouTube so maybe you've seen it already but if not, take a minute and enjoy. It's beautiful, inspiring and just plain special.

The Boys

2011-07-27T03:00:00.005-07:00

I find it incredibly (sp?) sad that I take so many photos of other peoples families and children yet neglect taking many photos of my own children. Today I decided to remedy that and we had a lot of fun traipsing around taking photos. (Well, most of us. Luke was in no mood to have his picture taken :)

Something to remember for next time, bring extra help. I found it difficult to entertain, get baby's attention, position, mother and photograph at the same time. I'm going to need some help in getting some fun group shots... any takers? :)

And I had to get this beautiful shot of the canola fields. They may not be the sweetest smelling crops but man are they beautiful!

Grad

2011-06-10T22:51:00.002-07:00

Emilia went to grad with my cousin Reese tonight. She looked beautiful!!!

And I love this photo with McKay. His is the next grad we will be attending. Sniff... Time flies by way too quickly! :(

Mobile

2011-06-02T10:39:00.005-07:00

I've wanted to hang a mobile in Cohen's room since before he even got here and I've finally got it finished and hung up and I love it.

A small grapevine wreath, some double sided tape, a circle cutter, some scrapbook paper and voila!

If you look close you can see Cohen enjoying his new mobile...

A close-up...

And just because...

So Fresh

2011-05-31T23:23:00.001-07:00

It was this kind of a day today....

It was beautiful out! Isn't all that green just spectacular? Love it!

40 Years ago....

2011-05-30T17:43:00.009-07:00

My awesome parents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary this year and to honor them we decided to throw a surprise party!!!

I have a lot of love and respect for my parents. They both had somewhat difficult childhoods and yet are wonderful people. They've always been there for us. They raised nine children and in my opinion my brothers and sisters are pretty awesome people so they did a good job.

When my parents were married they had almost nothing. Literally.

The day they were supposed to leave to get married my dad showed up a couple of hours late because he was selling some pork he had just butchered. He had to butcher the pigs to get enough money to pay for their way to the wedding and he only just made it. My mom was starting to think he wasn't going to show.

When they got to the temple to be married, the temple mis-place my moms wedding dress and she had to borrow one of theirs. The funny thing is is she was happy about that because their dress was a lot nicer than the one she had.

They didn't have a cake for their reception and when a friend found out she ran home and made them one. The cake was still warm though and toppled to the ground before they ever had a chance to cut it.

Because they had no money, they had to have the reception at an old, abandoned hall. It doesn't look any better today than it did then!

Here is a photo...

The windows are still boarded up. :)

After they were married they moved into an old, one room cabin. No running water and no bathroom (they used an out house) .

What a start! And yet, here they are... 40 years, 9 children and 23 grandchildren (with two on the way) later.

Congratulations mom and dad!!!

And now, some photos from the festivities...

We went with a 70's theme since they were married in 1971.

The streamers are meant to replicate the streamers at their wedding. Beautiful no?

The happy couple!

Walker cracks me up! Love that kid!

Kyle and Mindy and their family.

McKay and Landry.

Danawn Schuman and her parents, the Rice's. They were all at the original wedding reception.

I'm not sure this is a 70's pose, but I love it all the same.

Jana and Jared emcee'd the event.

An original photo. Again, with the streamers.

A beautiful 70's style cake.

We had a table for each of them and they were decorated with things that they loved and passions they have. That picture of a little girl down there in the frame is my mom when she was quite young. It was the cover of The Friend one year. Only it wasn't called The Friend back then, it was called .... I can't remember. Oops!

Dad's table.

Again, Walker with the poses.

And finally they get a chance to cut a wedding cake. It only took 40 years!

The day they were married in the Cardston, Alberta temple.

Then and now. Ah, the streamers. :)

Mom's table. That's a better picture of the cover of... The Improvement Era... That's what it was called!

Jand and Russell got groovy for the camera.

Landry even got in the dress-up mood.

Kaelen and Rochelle. Love the matching handbag Rochelle.

McKay, that is an awesome head of hair!

Jared was so happy that night... was it the full head of hair? :)

Caleb really got in to the spirit of things.

Go Ethan!

That is a very sporty bow tie Bridger.

Nice glasses Coleson.

Emma was quite groovy.

It was a really fun night and I hope be here when we celebrate the next 40 with them!

Grandma's 90th!!!

2011-05-30T15:47:00.006-07:00

This month my grandma celebrated her 90th birthday!!!!

90 years!!!

And she's as spry as a spring chicken! :)

My grandma is one of the most amazing women I know. She has seen more and done more than anyone I've ever met. She had 9 children and lost two of them. She's been married 3 times and lost each of her husbands to sickness. But no matter what, she stays strong and is an amazing example. With 8 children, the youngest only a year old, she and her husband packed up everything they had and trekked west to Utah. The amazing part is that they had next to nothing, including a vehicle. They sold what they could and travelled by covered wagon and horseback 1300 miles from Minnesota to Utah. Eventually the family ended up in Northern British Columbia, where she still lives today. I am so blessed to have such an amazing grandma and I can't say how much I love her and appreciate her.

Here are a few pictures from her surprise 90th Birthday celebration!

Click on the photos to enlarge and read the headlines on the newspapers etc... It's pretty amazing stuff.

This is the cake my amazing sister made. Love it!

Emilia and Kalene (or McKlene as my kids like to call her). I haven't written much about Emilia (an exchange student from Finland who is living with us) but I will have to soon. She's leaving in two months already and we'll be so sad to see her go.

This is Elder Campbell. He taught and baptised my Grandma and her family.

Elder Kramer. He also helped to teach and baptise my Grandma and her family.

And my cute little niece Landry.

Should Be Posting More But.....

2011-05-23T13:47:00.004-07:00

I realize I've sort of been MIA these last few months and you'd think I'd have a bunch of excuses but I only have one...

Introducing Cohen David Hurren

2011-04-09T22:33:00.003-07:00

Cohen was born April 3rd, 2011 at 1:45 a.m. He weighed 7lbs, 1 ounce and was 20 inches long.

It was a super fast labor and delivery and it was all wonderful!

If you want the details of the birth then read on. If not... don't. :)

Labor started at 8:30 p.m. with contractions anywhere from 2-5 minutes apart and not too painful. I've been induced with all my other boys so I wasn't sure this was the real thing and I REALLY didn't want to go in to the hospital and be sent home. Mike and I watched a movie and timed contractions for a little while and they eventually got to the point where I figured we should call my mom to come stay with the boys and we should head in. We called her at 12:00 a.m. and she was here within 10 minutes. By this time I was pretty sure they wouldn't be sending me home but I was still apprehensive. We called Jana (my sister and labor coach) to tell her we were headed in to the hospital and told her we would call her again once we got there and found out where things were at. We live only a few minutes away from the hospital so we got there at 12:15 a.m. and they had me put the gown on for a check. At this point I was just hoping that they would say I was at least a 2! Up until my appointment two days earlier I wasn't dilated at all and the baby was still high. It took her a while to check me and I started thinking, "Oh great! I'm not dilated at all and she's going to send me home!" When she was finished, she turned to me and I was shocked when she said, "Well, it looks like you are dilated to an 8. I'll go call the doctor." I was sooooo happy. I mean, I was in pain and it hurt but to hear I was at an 8 was awesome. I knew it wouldn't be much longer so I was worried that Jana might not make it. The nurse went to call the doctor, came back and offered me some Nitrous Oxide to use until the doctor go there. At that point she informed me that I was too far for an epidural and that made me a little nervous but I was just glad it would be over soon. At that point Jana came in the room. I guess she decided to come right in because she said she couldn't go back to sleep anyway. I was glad she did because otherwise I'm not sure she would have made it. She had just gotten back from Vancouver that evening at about 8:30 p.m. (right when labor started, I guess Cohen really wanted her there) and I would have been bummed if she couldn't be there after all.

I labored for a little while longer and pretty soon they wheeled me into the delivery room. At this point I was in a lot of pain (duh! it's called labor for a reason) and I was really ready to be done. :) Luckily the pushing went quickly and as soon as the baby dropped, one more push and there he was! He looked so tiny and adorable. I thought he looked a lot like Luke as soon as I saw him but Mike sees more of Walker in him.

I have to say, the hospital and staff here were awesome! They immediatly put him up on my tummy and let me hold him and look at him before they took him away and cut his cord etc... The delivery room was so calm and peaceful and it was just awesome. I was so lucky to have both Mike and Jana there to help with things. Jana helped coach me through breathing and pushing and Mike gave awesome encouragement and kept me calm.

With all my other babies I had an epidural and I have to say there are definitely benefits to natural and epidural. I'm really lucky that I have fast labors and if I had to labor for hours and hours like a lot of women I would want the epidural for sure. I didn't mind the drug-free labor and again, I am lucky it was so fast but would I do it again? I'm not sure. :) The epidural is so nice for that last little bit but I loved being able to walk immediatly afterwards and I felt like my recovery has been a lot faster without the after effects of an epidural.

Cohen has been a joy to have around. I think he's adorable. He makes his older brothers laugh a lot and he's a really great sleeper - during the day anyway. :) But I have nothing to complain about. I am healthy, he is healthy and we are home and doing great!

Mumford and Sons

2011-03-18T11:51:00.005-07:00

A new favorie band of mine.

Give it a listen.

You can thank me later.

Project

2011-03-16T14:19:00.002-07:00

I have a HUGE project in the works (nope, not talking about the baby) ;)

I can't wait to show you the finished product! But in the mean time I'll share this hint with you...

My goal is to have it finished withing the next two weeks, before baby gets here.

Wish me luck!!!

Movie Night

2011-03-12T09:51:00.003-08:00

I think my boys have the best dad in the world!

Every night after work they snowmobile, play games, wrestle or whatever else the boys want to do. Mike is so willing and happy to set other things aside and play and spend time with the boys and I love him for it!

The other night I was tired and not feeling great so the boys decided to have a 'movie night' at home, with dad. They made a massive fort in the basement,

set up the laptop, pulled out their sleeping bags and got ready for their movie night.

Mike decided you can't have a movie night without treats and made them each a movie style snack pack.

He then spent the evening with them in the tent watching "Condorman". (Remember that movie? I remember thinking how awesome it was as a kid and now Walker has decided it really is necessary to build himself some huge wings so he can fly!)

Thanks for being such an awesome dad Mike! The boys love it so much and I love it too!

Landry

2011-03-04T16:47:00.002-08:00

I took some fun pictures of Landry the other day!

Here is just one but if you would like to see more please hop on over to my photography blog.

annakphotography.com

The Nursery

2011-03-04T11:55:00.005-08:00

Well the nursery is finished and anxiously awaiting baby!

I mentioned before that I ordered the bedding set from CSNstores.com and they didn't dissappoint! The price was great and the services was, again, wonderful. The bedding actually arrived 3 days before it was supposed to and that's pretty much unheard of up in this neck of the woods. If you are an online shopper I would highly recommend CSNstores. The variety is amazing and like I said earlier, the service is superb.

And now, on to the nursery reveal.

First come the before pictures.

This first picture is from the day we moved in. This room was kind of a minty color with a lovely wall paper border and some accordian shades.

The first thing we did when we moved in was replace the carpet, take down that border and the shades and then paint.

This was Luke's room for a while so I went with a shade of blue. It's from Benjamin Moore and it's called Province Blue. I really liked it then and I still like it now so I didn't change the wall color.

When Luke was in here there were baseboards and decorations but I took these photos after I had taken all that out in preperation for the next part of the transformation.

So here is what the room looks like now...

We added board and batten around then entire room and replaced the baseboards and frames around the doors.

I think the board and batten really help the crib stand out. Here you can see the adorable new bedding I ordered from CSNstores.

The Firetruck sign was something I made years ago when Porter was a baby. Same with the chalkboard above the changing table. When we finally have a name for this little guy I think I will write it up there on the board.

I think my favorite piece of furniture in the entire house is the changing table. We picked it up at a garage sale before we had Porter. It has been through some cosmetic changes in the past few years but I love the shape and bones of it!

We have had these curtains for about 5 years now and I love them still but they needed a little pick-me-up so I added the ribbon stripes along the bottom. I love how they turned out.

And another favorite piece of furniture is my rocking chair...

We saved up for this chair for quite a while and finally bought it when Luke was a baby. It is sooooo comfortable! The perfect addition to the nursery.

I bought this lamp a few years ago for really cheap and I just took some scrap fabric and recovered the shade. It has been in the older boys` room for a while now but I repurposed it to go in the nursery. The colors were perfect and I think it will be great for those late night feedings. The firetruck was something I bought probably 7 years ago. I got it at a great price and it works perfectly in this room.

So that is the nursery! It is ready and waiting to welcome this little guy in the next few weeks!

New Year, New Ideas

2011-01-05T15:21:00.007-08:00

Welcome to 2011! While I still have a lot of catching up to do from 2010 I decided to start right away with 2011.

I've been in a bit of a slump lately when it comes to updating and continuing on with the never-ending home projects I've got on my list of "To Do's" but I'm getting back on the wagon!

First up...

The babies nursery!

I've got about three months to get this thing done and I've decided sooner will be much better than later.

I've decided to add some board and batten around the room and maybe do a little painting but I'm most excited about getting a new bedding set for the crib.

We moved Luke out of the nursery and downstairs to be in the same room as Porter and Walker and I love that they get to share a room but I needed three matching quilts for their twin beds. I thought about doing something different and using some modern bedding but decided to stick with some Log Cabin Style quilts. Luckily I had some store credit saved up from working at Upon the Shelf so I was able to pick out some really great quilts. Well now it's time to update the nursery and since I no longer work at Upon the Shelf, I've had to look elsewhere.

I've done a lot of research on many different websites and I found the perfect set with the perfect colors on two different sites.

Both CSNstores.com and Overstock.com had the set I wanted and I was super excited that it was cheaper on CSNstores.com!!!

I've ordered from CSNstores.com before and have loved their speed, selection and customer service so I am really excited to use them again.

If you're looking for new bedding for any room in your home I would suggest checking out CSNstores.com. They have a huge selection and like I said, they are really great to work with!

More Christmas...

2010-12-10T23:39:00.002-08:00

I made an advent calendar a few years ago but it needed some TLC to be able to function for us this year. After a little attention...

She's finished!

And I love her! I got this idea from my sister, Kara (pretty much copied her exactly) and I've seen it around blogland a few times before so I can't take the credit, but it's fun and whimsical and I'm in love!

This past week all the ladies got together and made some hand-dipped chocolates. Again, I can't take too much credit. The first day I didn't show up until about half-way into the day due to a horrible cold and then the second day I didn't show up at all!!!

But the girls were awesome and gave me a bucket full anyway. I put them in these adorable little Martha Stewart boxes to give to coaches, teachers and neighbors.

Thanks Ladies!

Merry Christmas to All!

2010-12-10T23:08:00.007-08:00

Here are some photos of our house decorated for Christmas!

Tonight we wrapped all the family gifts and the bottoms of the trees are full of gifts!

The boys are getting excited and I'll admit... so am I!!!

*** I'm linking up to the Nester's Christmas Tour of Homes. Click on the link below to check out some amazing ideas for decorating your home for Christmas!

The Nester's Christmas Tour of Homes

Joulu and Pukki

2010-12-10T22:48:00.002-08:00

A couple of months ago we lost our sweet dog Katie to a car accident. It was a very sad day. It was wierd not having an animal around the house so we decided to get a cat. But then when we went to pick up the cat, we couldn't decided between two... so we got them both!

Meet Joulu and Pukki (pronounced Yola and Pokey).

We've been learning a few Finnish words from Emilia and when she taught us how to say Santa Claus (Joulupukki) we knew it would be perfect for the cats' names.

Porter picked Pukki...

And Walker picked Joulu...

Sadly, the excitement didn't last too long. :(

Just a couple of weeks ago, both cats went missing. We had let them outside for a while when it was about -30*. Usually they go out for a bit then wait by the door for us to let them back in. Well the next morning I realized that I hadn't heard any ornaments hitting the ground during the night (so far they've knocked over an entire tree and one of my nativities).

I started looking around and couldn't find them anywhere. I thought maybe I had left them outside all night but they weren't by the door. So then I figured they must have found a warm place to stay for the night and they'd be back soon.

About 10 minutes later I got a call from my brother, who lives a few miles away, and he told me that he had one of my cats at his house. He had been at our house the night before and I'm pretty sure both the cats climbed up underneath his truck and hitched a ride to his place! Unfortunately Pukki was the only one at his house. We have yet to find Joulu... I'm afraid he's not coming back, but we can still hope!

So by now I'm pretty sure Emilia must think we are the worst pet owners in the world since we've lost two since she's been here!

We'll try to do better.

Festival of Trees

2010-12-10T22:16:00.006-08:00

A couple of weeks ago all the ladies took a day off and went to the Festival of Trees Luncheon in Prince George. The food was great, the trees were beautiful and the company could not have been better!

Here are a few pictures of the day...

This first one was one of my very favorites because it was so unique!

This was another favorite of mine. I loved all the colors on the start white!

Emilia even skipped classes to come with us. :)

It was a really great day and I hope we can do it again next year.

It's About That Time

2010-11-04T16:32:00.003-07:00

Since I can't really hide it anymore (and haven't really been able to for a few weeks now) I suppose it's time to let the cat out of the bag...

We are so excited to welcome boy #4 to the family, due April Fool's Day, 2011!!!

*this image is one I found on-line, it's not our ultrasound picture but it saved me the work of scanning and then posting mine. :)

This One's For You, Korlyn

2010-11-02T22:38:00.004-07:00

Halloween was great again this year.

We had a Mexican Luchadore...

A scary vampire...

And a zombie duck (which is obviously way cooler than a regular duck)!

My nephew, Nolan, made a very handsome sailor.

And I think my nephew, McKay, may have had the best costume of the night. But I will say, he makes a homely baby girl. :)

My nephew Coleson was a great mad scientist...

And my second favorite costume of the night was my other nephew Caleb. He came up with this costume all on his own and was a little minion from the cartoon Despicable Me. If you haven't seen it you really should.

And let us not forget yet another nephew... Gavyn... aka Superman!

Haha! Look at that face!

Landry

2010-09-28T18:42:00.004-07:00

My beautiful niece Landry made her LONG awaited entrance into the world last week. She's been prayed for and hoped for for about 7 years now and we're so glad she's finally here.

Enjoy the pictures!

First Day of School

2010-09-10T09:17:00.004-07:00

Today was the first day of school for both boys here.

Porter is starting 2nd grade

and Walker is starting Kindergarten.

Porter pretty much takes things in stride and doesn't let things worry him too much. Walker wasn't worried either but really excited to start school. He's been asking about it off and on for months and was up really early this morning dressed and ready to go. He picked pancakes and scrambled eggs for breakfast then was out the door! He wasn't nervous or anything, just really ready to go. I've been quizzing him on is phone number and what to do if he is confused or lost or has any problems. I wanted to make sure he knew what to do in any situation. This morning I said, "What if you can't find Porter to help you find the bus to ride home?" He responded, "Well, that's ok, I'll just walk home." What?!?! NO!!!!! We live about 3 miles from the school on the other side of town! I really hope he doesn't try that sometime... but I wouldn't put it past him. He's pretty independent.

And we had to get a picture with Emilia and the boys!

So now it's just me and Luke here at home. I had all kinds of plans to get so much done but those plans are going to have to be put on hold for a little while. I went to the doctor yesterday because of back pain and a pretty good idea that the kidney stones are back. They are. Bummer. So pretty much I will be lazy and not try to aggravate things too much until they pass and I'm feeling better. Wish me luck!

Fall Fair

2010-08-31T16:16:00.004-07:00

One of my favorite memories, as a child, is entering projects into the local Fall Fair. You could enter anything from art work to baking to vegetable creations and so forth. I talked the boys into entering some things of their own this year. Walker was excited from the get go but Porter wasn't really all that interested until Walker was ready to walk out the door to go register. Porter decided last minute that he would draw a picture and he entered that.

Walker walked away with a first, second and third place ribbon for his entries and sadly, Porter didn't get a ribbon but was still very proud that they hung his picture up and everyone got to see it. Plus he told me now he has seen what the judges like and can do something similar next year. :)

I didn't get a picture of Walker's first prize lego creation before he tore it to pieces to create something new but I did get picture of the picture he drew and his name that he wrote out.

Walker's picture is the pink and yellow rocket(????) and Porter drew the colorful house at the top of the picture. He said those were the best stars he's ever drawn and was quite proud of himself. They can't wait to enter stuff next year and have already started thinking about what they want to enter.

Good work boys!!!

Emilia is Here!

2010-08-31T16:14:00.002-07:00

Saturday night we picked Emilia up at the airport! She is from Finland and will be spending the school year with our family here in B.C. We are very excited to get to know her and her culture better.

Here's to a great year!!!

Smoke

2010-08-31T16:10:00.003-07:00

This has been a very smokey summer for us in B.C. We have had forest fires burning everywhere. It got so smokey here that I started to feel very clausterphobic at one point! It was hard to breathe and all of our throats and noses hurt.

This is what it usually looks like off of our back deck -

This is what it looked like when it was smokey -

There were even a few days that were worse than this but I didn't even want to go outside to take a picture!

Luckily we've had some rain and cooler weather and the fires have died down considerably.

Mmmmm... Tomato...

2010-08-11T22:18:00.003-07:00

Today I picked the first two red tomatos from the green house, brought them inside and set them on the table. I went about doing a few chores and when I returned I found this...

I can't really be upset. I'm just glad he appears the like tomatos... with a little salt, of course!

Luchadore!!!

2010-08-11T22:10:00.004-07:00

I was working upstairs the other day while the boys played downstairs. I could hear all kinds of laughing and it was obvious they were having a lot of fun. After a while I heard them come upstairs and when I turned around, this is what I saw...

Pure awesomeness if you ask me!

I love these little boys and hope they never lose this crazy side of them!

Forgiveness

2010-08-06T14:23:00.005-07:00

I saw this on another blog and had to share.

I am so grateful for the Savior's influence in my life and in my family's lives and I am in awe of the power and the influence He has in other's lives.

Water Lily Lake

2010-07-24T23:04:00.003-07:00

A few evenings ago we decided to go for a hike up the Water Lily Lake trails. It was a beautiful evening and we had a great time. We had to turn around when it started pouring out but we still loved spending the time together.

I take a lot of photos for other people but I hardly ever have the time to take photos of my own kids. It's sad really. But then I finally decide to take some and this is what happens...

Wow. They are a little crazy. Maybe this is why I stick to taking pictures of other people'e kids!

The boys even caught a toad!

Reaping the Rewards

2010-07-17T22:49:00.003-07:00

I planted a garden this year.

For the first time.

Ever.

What a chore!

I'm not a gardener. Never have been. I really don't enjoy weeding and watering and all that jazz, but I must say, when those little leaves and shoots started poking out of the soil a little something hidden deep inside of me broke free and I was pleased with it!

I've only harvested lettuce so far but I've got loads of tomatos, squash, peppers, peas, carrots, onions, cucumbers, raspberries and strawberries up and coming.

Here are some of the varieties of lettuce coming up...

Yummy!

I planted way too much lettuce so if you live in the area and would like some let me know... seriously!

One quick question for all you gardening pros out there...

I am growing purple onions. The green shoot part (is there a name for that?) is really tall but I just noticed today that it's starting to flower on top. The problem is that the onions themselves are still tiny. What to I do?!? Do I let the tops flower and die and hope the bottoms will grow bigger or did I get a variety that doesn't get big? HELP!

He's Home

2010-07-17T22:27:00.006-07:00

My little brother, Kasey, returned home from serving a two year mission in Chile!!! He survived days in the hospital from swine flu, many dog bites, a huge earthquake and so much more and now he's home with us, safe and sound!

Here we all are waiting for him to get off the plane!

And there he is.......

Looking awesome after two years away!

Chatting with one of his older brothers.

Korlyn (the only sibling younger than Kasey) was pretty excited to see him. He's grown up a lot over the last two years and pretty much towers over Kasey now!

Kyle, another older brother. I love the sheer joy on his face!

And dad. I'm getting teary just looking at these photos again!

A photo with all the nephews and nieces!

And all the brothers (except Garyn, we missed you man!) and sisters and mom and dad. Don't I have the best looking siblings? :)

Left to Right -
Korlyn, Kyle, Kaelen, Jana, Kasey, Jared, Karli, Kara
Dad and mom on the back row.

Kasey really missed his Barqs rootbeer down there in Chile but my parents remembered to bring one to the airport. Can you see the anticipation on his face? :)

Ahhhh......

Kasey, we are so glad to have you home. We are all so proud of you for serving an honorable two-year mission. You've done us proud and I am so thankful for you and the example you have set for your younger brother and all your nephews. We love tons!!!

Walker Turned 5!!!

2010-06-30T21:45:00.005-07:00

Walker turned five a few days ago and I wanted to post some pictures from the fun day.

I'm convinced that all you need to throw the perfect kids birthday is a slip and slide and some cake and ice-cream. We also threw in some presents, hat making and a pinata for good measure and we had a blast!

Walker showing off his pirate hat creation.

The favorite gift of the day. Thanks Grandma Hurren!!!

Everyone making their hats.

Rainbow cupcakes were a special request.

I'm not sure how but Luke got some major air everytime he went on the slip n' slide.
And I didn't get any pictures of Walker without his tongue sticking out!

Emma and Kael loved it too!

Happy Birthday Walker. We love you so much and it makes me sad to think you are already five and almost ready to go to Kindergarten. Please stop growing so fast!!!!

Fishing!

2010-06-27T22:53:00.016-07:00

I finally got to go ocean fishing on my dad's boat a couple of weeks ago and it was amazing!!!!

I can't tell you how good it felt to be unreachable for a few days. No internet, no phone... it was heaven.

My awesome husband Mike was invited to go on the trip but when he couldn't because of work he suggested that I go instead. He offered to watch the boys for the week and I jumped at the chance.

Thanks Mike, I couldn't ask for a more selfless husband.

And while I did miss Mike and the boys I'd have to say that this was one of the most relaxing weeks I've ever had.

And so on to the photos...

This is where we ate, slept, played and relaxed for the five days we were out...

I was going to say a little something about each of the photos but frankly, I'm tired and there are way too many. I'll just let them speak for themselves.

CSN Stores Review

2010-06-22T16:14:00.006-07:00

A few weeks back I was contacted by a representative of CSN Stores about doing a review for their website. Seeing as I'm a pretty small time blogger I was pretty excited for the chance to do a review. It's something I've been interested in doing for a while now! Okay, on to the review.

First I'll tell you a little about CSN Stores.

CSN Stores is comprised of over 200 websites. You read that right... 200!!! They offer everything from cookware to furniture to baby products to lighting to slipcovers and more. Pretty much if you need it, they have it.

As I was browsing their many sites trying to decide what I wanted to review I couldn't believe what was available, and even better, the prices were totally reasonable! They even say that if you find the same product for a better price anywhere online then they want to know about it! Cool huh?

The CSN Stores website was very user friendly and the customer service was great too. I recieved the product in the mail within a week, which is fast up here in Canada!

Every product has user ratings and customer reviews which really helped me in deciding what I wanted to get.

So on to the product that I ordered...

I decided to go with a knife set. The knife set we currently had was a gift from our wedding, eight years ago, and had seen better days. So I browsed the available options and decided on the Ronco -Six Star 20 Piece Cutlery Set with Ronco Rocker. You know, the knife set you see on T.V. that cuts through anything and everything!

This knife set is kind of spectacular. I got the 'Showtime' knife, the 'Ronco Rocker', a bread knife, a chef knife, a saw knife, a boning knife, a sportsman knife, a chop and serve knife, a cheese knife (maybe my favorite so far!), a cleaver, a utility knife, six steak knives, two paring knives and a pair of kitchen shears. So far I'm impressed. At first the knives appeared to be a little on the flimsy side but I've had no problems and actually like the light feel of them. My only complaint would be that in a set of knives of this caliber I would have thought an avacado knife would have been included. No such luck. Oh well!

So overall, I like the knife set and I thought that CSN Stores did a great job with their quality of service, prices, and customer service.

If you'd like to check out CSN Stores online just click the link below.

Happy shopping!!!

CLICK HERE TO GO TO CSN STORES ONLINE!

*****Disclaimer - While I was not paid directly to post this review, the knife set was a gift from CSN Stores.

I Heart Faces - "Celebrating Teens"

2010-06-21T22:15:00.002-07:00

It's "Celebrating Teens" week over at I Heart Faces and I had to enter this photo of one of my favorite grads.

Dayla is awesome. She has spunk, she has style and I love her to death.

Congratulations Dayla!

Head on over to I Heart Faces to see the other awesome entries in this weeks challenge.

I've Been Featured!!!

2010-06-11T23:01:00.003-07:00

I was lucky enough to be featured again on an awesome blog call The DIY Show Off.

The DIY Show Off is a great blog for ideas and inspiration. Head on over and check it out by clicking the link below!

Painting and Fishing!

2010-06-10T22:25:00.002-07:00

I've been painting up a storm here but I'm not quite ready to share pictures. I was going to try to get things all finished by this weekend but I'm just not sure it's going to happen. I have two photo shoots tomorrow and one on Saturday and then I'm going to be gone all next week ocean fishing!!!

I've wanted to go out on my dad's boat for years and I'm finally getting a chance, thanks to my uber-skookum hubby. He's going to watch the boys during the day and work at night just so I can go fishing. How great is he?

Expect lot's of photos in the coming weeks!!!

Spring Flora

2010-06-02T20:28:00.001-07:00

I'm feeling a little lazy here so rather than do a re-post I will just post the link to my other blog.

http://annakphotos.blogspot.com/2010/06/so-much-to-do.html

Enjoy!

I Heart Faces - "Barefoot Week"

2010-06-01T01:10:00.003-07:00

It's "Barefoot Week" over at I Heart Faces and I had to add this photo I took this past weekend.

For more great 'Barefoot' photos please go check out I Heart Faces!

The Wedding, Part V

2010-05-17T00:02:00.005-07:00

The Cakes!

For the reception in Canada we decided to have each of the sisters and sister-in-laws decorate their own cake and then the cakes would serve as the center pieces on the tables!

We can all thank Jana for the idea and basically getting us all through decorating our cakes.

Jana is my uber talented sister. She makes the most beautiful wedding cakes around.

My mom baked all the cakes, Jana stacked them, frosted them, helped us through making the fondant and coached us each in decorating our cakes.

So here are the results of our cakes...

Cake by Jill

Cake by Mindy

Cake by Rochelle and her mom Kim.

Cake by moi!

Cake by Kathi, my mom.

Cake by Becky.

The two bottom cakes are by Jana and the taller one is by Diane.

Thanks again Jana. This was a blast!

A New Song

2010-05-16T22:48:00.002-07:00

Here's a new song I heard the other day on an episode of 'Chuck'.

It's called "Here's Looking at You Kid" and it's by The Gaslight Anthem.

I like it a lot.

Enjoy.

The Wedding, Part IV

2010-05-16T22:36:00.010-07:00

The Canada Reception!

(don't you love the milk moustache?) :)

Jill has great taste in shoes! :)

The Wedding, Part III

2010-05-16T22:16:00.012-07:00

The UTAH Reception!

Porter wasn't too thrilled to begin with...

That is, not until the dancing started!

Jill's adorable little niece,

And gorgeous Sister-In-Law.

Jill's brother and his cute family.

The Bride and Groom.

The Italian Sodas were a HUGE hit!

And the food was AMAZING!

My handsome daddy!

Jill's awesome brother and nephew!

More adorable nieces.

And my dapper little brother, Korlyn.

The stunning bride with her niece and nephew.

Nieces.

The amazing dress and shoes!

THE CAKE!
(This really should have a post of it's own. My aunts, cousins, sisters, mom, me and even the groom helped make this cake!)

Jill and her adorable best friend/maid of honor.

The Candy table!

Jill's cute nephew!

The guest book table.

Three little princesses.

My adorable little niece checking out the fountain.

More fountain play...

That quickly turned in to this...

And yes another adorable niece.

Deliciousness.

The rings.

Another handsome brother.

Walker getting in with the ladies. :)

What a great night!

The Wedding Part II

2010-05-16T22:06:00.006-07:00

Pictures from around the temple!

The Wedding Part 1

2010-05-16T21:35:00.005-07:00

Mexico was amazing and Utah was tons of fun but the real reason we were in Utah was for my younger brother's wedding.

Garyn and Jill were such a fun couple.

They were married in the Draper temple and had one of the funnest receptions I've ever been to.

The food was great, the dancing was fun and the candy tables were the perfect touch.

Thanks for letting us all be a part of the fun and CONGRATULATIONS!!!

So, on to Part 1...

The Bride and Groom!

Looooong Drive

2010-05-16T21:28:00.004-07:00

While we love going to visit family down in Utah, we aren't in love with the 24 hour drive it requires! Two days of driving for 12 hours only stopping for gas can really get to a person. Thankfully the boys behaved perfectly and the drive was a pleasant one. We saw a ton of wildlife through the parks and through northern Montana and basically had a fun time!

Here are a few pictures from the trip.

Enjoy!

The boys decided they would sneak up on this sheep. They didn't even get close but it was funny watching them try.

And this one's for you Amber!

Crazy, Busy, Overwhelmed...

2010-05-15T14:05:00.007-07:00

Those are just a few words to describe how I'm feeling these days.

My list of 'to do's' is getting longer, not shorter.

My yard is overgrown and in serious need of TLC.

My house looks like what I imagine the aftermath of Hurrican Katrina looked like.

My craft pile is getting out of control.

My photography is picking up to the point of me thinking I might have to actually start telling people 'NO'! GASP!!!

Baseball and Soccer season are in full swing leaving us with one night a week that is not scheduled out to the max.!

I'm plowing through things as best I can but until I get fully back on track, please enjoy some photos of what helped me get off track in the first place!

Mike and I spent a week in Playa del Carman, Mexico.

It was skookum!

We snorkelled in cenotes (underground rivers and caves) and in the ocean! This was my favorite thing we did on the trip! We saw sting rays, eagle rays, sea turtles, barracudas and tons of gorgeous fish.

We climber the ruins at Coba.

We took a ferry over to Cozumel where we rented a convertable beetle to drive around the island to find more snorkelling spots.
And Mike took a picture for me to update my Facebook profile with. Isn't that sweet? :)

We did some cliff jumping and zip lines...
...where Mike wowed everyone with his diving skills!

And ate at some fabulous restaurants above the market in Playa...
And we relaxed on the gorgeous beach!
These next photos are the first and second ones I took and the poor camera hadn't adjusted to the humidity yet. The lens was so fogged up!

A few tips for those of you thinking of doing something like this soon.
-You'll notice the swimwear in pretty much every picture! I would suggest multiple swimsuits because that's pretty much all we wore.
- I would also suggest a few swim suit cover ups. I only brought one and had to buy two more while I was there because we were in our suits the whole time. I just bought a couple of coverups that looked like dresses so I could throw them over my swimsuits and wasn't indecent for the restaurants!
- Bargain with people. If they quote you a price you can probably pay at least half of that and they will still sell it to you!
- Have fun!!!!

We had a fabulous time and I hope we don't wait eight years to do it again!

Happy Anniversary Mike! I love you more today than yesterday!!!

Checking Out!

2010-04-23T22:32:00.006-07:00

A lot is going to be happening in our lives within the next few weeks...

a wedding here:

an out-of-country visit to family here:

and even farther out-of-country visit here:

I'm going to be having a blast!!!

So if you don't see me around these parts for a few weeks know that I am living it up with my honey of 8 blissful years and watching two other newbie honey's become husband and wife for eternity!!!

TV Room, Den, Rec Room....

2010-04-22T13:57:00.009-07:00

It doesn't matter what people are calling them these days... I want one!

The remodelling is going great over here at the Hurren home. Most of the major stuff is done and I've only got a few painting and other projects left on the inside. (The outside? Well that's a whole other story!)

One of the big projects I'm mulling over in my head is the basement Rec/T.V./Den room. My plan is that it will serve multi-purposes. Remember the pirate ship fort from our last place? We want to do something similar here, some kind of an indoor fort/playground. That will take up about a third of the basement space but we also want to make some space down there for entertaining guests and make it a fun 'hang-out' space for the boys and their friends. We've already moved a pellet stove into the room in one corner and I've got hopes of somehow building some kind of a frame with mantle around it to make it a little more presentable. We also want to put a t.v. in the space somewhere and this is where I'm torn. We've though about building a sort of half wall to separate the t.v. space from the play space and I think this could work out really great. It would give us the option of putting the tv into the built-in or using some sort of a corner tv stand and then positioning the couches and chairs around that area to make it a little more cozy. I would love to add a fun and funky rug, a large and chunky coffee table, some kind of a sofa table and of course some unique and colorful art and other accessories. Here are a few pictures of some inspiration I've seen around.

So what do you think? Any advice? What do you love or hate about your Rec/T.V./Den space? What would you add if you could? What do you find useless in your space? Advice is certainly welcomed!!!

Rosewood's Diary

2010-04-19T23:56:00.001-07:00

I wanted to share a video with you today. It's a local band called Rosewood's Diary and they're spectacular! I got the chance to watch them live a little over a year ago and I am just liking them more and more.

Enjoy!

New Photos

2010-04-19T21:42:00.003-07:00

I've posted some new images to my photo blog.

Here's a little sample...

Check out the rest over here.

I Am Iron Man

2010-04-15T23:04:00.003-07:00

My sister posted a few days ago about her son Connor who likes to set his school clothes out the night before to make sure things are ready for the next day. You can read about that here.

Turns out I have a little boy that feels the same way as Connor.

Well, sort of.

I really like the accessories.

And I love his imagination.

Vancouver

2010-04-15T22:22:00.005-07:00

The boys and I had tons of fun in Vancouver last weekend. We went down for the Langley LDS Temple Open House. You can read more about that here.

While in Vancouver we visited Stanley Park, got much needed haircuts, threw rocks in the water, swam, swam, swam, and swam some more, rode the Sky Train, rode the Sea Bus, watched some whales and lots and lots of other fun things.

Good times!

Langley, B.C. Temple

2010-04-15T20:49:00.004-07:00

Last weekend I took the boys down to Langley to visit the new LDS temple that just opened. It was simply beautiful!

The temple will be open for the public to walk through and view until April 24th. If you live in the Lower Mainland area I would highly recommend visiting the temple.

It's a great chance to get a feel of what us 'Mormons' are all about. Feel free to ask questions too!

I promise you won't regret it!

For more information on the Langley temple open house click here or here.

And if you want to know more about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, or LDS or Mormons, as we are sometimes called, click here.

Easter Egg Hunt

2010-04-13T12:49:00.008-07:00

A few photos from our family Easter Egg hunt.

16 adults
14 little boys
2 1/2 little girls
hundreds of eggs

Good times.

Easter

2010-04-02T22:26:00.004-07:00

I really wanted to share this video with all of you.

It is what I believe.

It is what I KNOW.

Have a wonderful Easter weekend.

Happy Birthday Ammo!

2010-03-31T22:49:00.003-07:00

April 1st is Amber's 18th Birthday!

Who is this Amber you ask?

Why only the boys' favorite babysitter EVER!

Luke likes to call her "Ammo" :)

Plus she's one of my favorite people to photograph.

She makes my photos look GOOD!

Hope your birthday is spectacular Amber.

Love you lots!

Easter Eggstravaganza! (I couldn't resist!)

2010-03-31T22:34:00.005-07:00

The boys and I spent some time decorating and coloring eggs the other day. We had a ball. We used some pretty random stuff to come up with the designs but we had a ton of fun.

Some of the items used:

Electrical Tape
Paper Ring Stickers
Wax Crayons
Olive Oil
Random Stickers
and of course
Vinegar, Water and Food Coloring

Here are a few of the designs...

I Heart Faces - Dramatic B&W

2010-03-29T21:57:00.003-07:00

This week's challenge over at I Heart Faces is "Dramatic B&W".

This is little lady is the nicest, sweetest, most lovely little girl.

I love how her face just pops out from the rest of the photo.

For other awesome Black and White photos check out the following link:

My First Maternity Shoot

2010-03-24T23:41:00.003-07:00

I've been wanting to do a maternity shoot for some time now and finally got that chance yesterday.

Meet Kristin.

Pretty much the most beautiful pregnant woman I've ever seen!

Visit my photo blog to see more photos from this fun shoot!

I Heart Faces - Angles

2010-03-23T22:11:00.003-07:00

The challenge at I Heart Faces this week is "Angles".

This is one of my favorite photos from the Kayla and Thomas engagement shoot. I am loving the angle use here. I love that the focus is on their hands but the heart shape draws the eye to their faces. Fun!

Click on the button below to check out tons of other great 'angle' shots!

Before and After Hall Closet/Desk

2010-03-15T21:40:00.006-07:00

Here's another little before and after.

Ever since the mudroom has been finished we no longer need the small closet in the hall for storing jackets and other mudroom type paraphanelia.

Well I couldn't very well let a perfectly good space go to waste so I repurposed the space into a.......

Mini Office!

What do you think?

I'm using it to store tubs with each of the boys' names on them. These are holding all those little projects they bring home from church, pre-school, and first grade. They've all just been stacking up in random places all around the house and it was time for some organizing.

It'll be a great little spot for wrapping last minute gifts or writing thank-you cards or storing checks for last minute pizza delivery dinners (ok so, I live in BFE and pizza's joints don't deliver herem but still!) I could go on.

Plus...

It's a great place to re-charge my computer when I'm not dragging it around the house working on editing photos or writing new blog posts.

Eventually the bead board will be painted a creamy white and the walls will be a beautiful sage green.

Isn't it a great little space. I'm in love.

And a little before and after side-by-side...

I'm linking this post up to the following parties:

Craft Day!

2010-03-11T19:41:00.007-08:00

We had a fun little craft day at my house the other day.

Supplies used:
Old t-shirts and fabric scraps
Cheap Wal-Mart headbands
Glue gun and glue
Needle and thread
40% OFF silk flowers
and pretty much anything else we had laying around the house!

There were four of us there...

my sister in laws Rochelle and Mindy

and my good friend and soon to be sister in law (kidding!!!) Tiffany.

It was a blast

and even with 8 small children running under foot

we were able to come up with some super fun headbands.

Introducing my model and crafting confident...

TIFFANY

How cute is she?!!?

And ladies, if you have any brothers/sons/cousins going to BYU-I...

She'll be there in APRIL!!!

Shhhhhhhhh......

a little heads up...

Don't ask her to cut in a straight line.

she can't

But slap a hot glue gun in her hand and

WATCH OUT!

Below are a few of the headbands we made.

I like some more than others but I think they are all cute.

except this one...
That one is NOT cute. But we made it as a joke.

We actually made two. One for her, one for me.

We're going to wear them for the annual Relief Society vs. Young Women basketball game next week. We've got to have something to distract those young women from kicking our butts. You think it might work? :)

I Heart Faces - "Jump for Joy!"

2010-03-08T21:36:00.002-08:00

The challenge this week over at I Heart Faces is "Jump for Joy!"

This is a picture of three of my very favorite girls.

Paxton, Dayla, Amber...

You girls rock!

Cross...Bow

2010-03-07T22:16:00.002-08:00

Porter decided he wanted to bear his testimony at church today. He just got up and did it without any coaxing. I was proud of him. But just as he was finishing up I had to hide me face and cover my mouth so he couldn't hear me laughing out loud! He did a great job right up until he said, "I know that my Savior suffered and died for me on the cross-bow." Oh my word. It was hilarious! The poor elder on the stand were trying so hard not to laugh out loud that his face was bright red and he was doubled over. The bishopric got a good chuckle too. When Porter came to sit down I asked him, "Where did Jesus suffer for us?" He got embarassed and said, "I know I said the cross-bow but then I remembered he suffered in the Garden of Gethsemene, not on the cross-bow." I smiled again and told him I thought he did a really great job. Cause really... he did. I'm happy that he has a testimony of Christ and his gift to us at such a young age.

And honestly....

I can see the similarities.

Grab A Tissue...

2010-03-04T11:30:00.004-08:00

(photo courtesty of http://www.amelialyon.net)

There is a photography blog that I am in love with.

This couple is amazing and gives me such inspriation with all their photographs.

I checked their blog out this morning and couldn't stop reading.

I dare you to read it...

And not shed a tear.

Amelia Lyon Blog

I was most touched with the way the Haitians celebrate life when someone passes on.

I'm not sure I could give immediate thanks for the time spent with loved ones instead of feel grief and questioning... and even anger when they passed on.

Thanks so much for the photos Justin.

And for the time you spent down in Haiti helping and serving our Heavenly Father's children.

Sweet Grass Mill is..... Well, Sweet!

2010-03-01T23:15:00.002-08:00

I just got the best treat ever in the mail today!

Check out this adorable headband!!!

I am in love! I got it in the mail this morning and haven't taken it off yet. I find it incredibly adorable. I am loving the peacock feathers and the whimsy that they offer. The headband is really well made... very sturdy and simply gorgeous.

Want something similar for yourself? Check out the very talented Jade over at her Etsy shop, Sweet Grass Mill.

Just click the link here and enjoy!

Yaaaarrrrrr, Me Thinks A Re-Post Be In Order!

2010-02-25T20:25:00.003-08:00

*** I thought this post was maybe worthy of a 're-post'. It's been one of my most popular posts and since I'm in the middle of a ton of crafting/painting/repurposing, etc... I thought I'd just do a little re-do. If you've seen this post already then sorry for the repeat. If not then grab a mug of yer finest ale and enjoy me little pirate project from last year!***

When I was in Pennsylvania last October Mike had a great idea and turned a huge closet into a fun fort for the boys. A pirate ship to be precise. I was super excited about this new fort and told Mike I would be happy to paint it and make it a little more "Pirate-y".

Well, I did finally finish painting it and it only took me 5 months! But I must say, "Yaaaaarrrrrrrrrr, she looks grrrreat!"

And the boys love it!

First we started with a huge closet that we didn't know what to do with...
Then this happened...
Yes, those are toys and other junk under the fort. I'm not THAT great! :)

We still have to put the trap door in so the boys can use this for sleepovers. Plus I need to take 10 minutes and clean up the paint that I dripped on the deck of the 'ship'. I was just in a hurry to get this post up so you didn't all think I was giving up after the blog war!

She's Finished!

2010-02-21T22:14:00.014-08:00

Rememeber this little chair I showed you last week?

Well guess what? She's finished!!!!! And I'm in LOVE!!!

I found the chair at the local thrift store, (Value Village for all you Canadians), where they were asking a mere $10! Using a gift certificate I got from my sister for Christmas ~Jana, you know me so well~, I was able to get the chair for FREE!

The fabric was given to me by my mom, again, for FREE! She was going to use it for some curtains in her kitchen cabinets but decided to go another way and I benefited greatly from her indecision. Thanks mom!!!

I needed a little more fabric than what she had so I did have to buy a bit more... at 50% OFF! Yaya again! Plus I had to buy the buttons to cover.

A side-by-side...

So total money spent...

$35!!!

I WIN!

I'm linking this post to the following parties. Go on over and check out many other great projects!!!

TATERTOTS and JELLO

The Persimmon Porch

Design-A-Holic

Decor Mamma's Frugalicious Friday

The DIY Show Off

2010-02-21T01:20:00.002-08:00

Yay for me! I was featured today on one of my very favorite blogs....

The DIY Show Off

If you're looking for great crafting, decorating, sewing (I could go on and on) ideas then check out this blog. I promise you...

YOU'LL LOVE IT!!!

And remember that chair I talked about here....?

Well, she's finished!! I love it so much that I'm not sure I'm going to let anyone actually sit on it!

Check back tomorrow for before and after shots!

Heart and Stroke Foundation

2010-02-17T22:55:00.003-08:00

Wanna help a 6 year old win a prize package?

And on the plus side you might feel good about doing something good!

Visit his web page here:
BC HEART AND STROKE FOUNDATION

Perfection

2010-02-17T10:39:00.003-08:00

Don't get me wrong, I am in love with my new house. We love it here and the fixer-upper projects have been a lot of fun, no, really! But I stumbled upon this photo this morning and it just screamed perfection to me. I'm in love!

Doesn't that just look like a home you'd like to hang your hat in, take off your shoes and snuggle up in a nice big overstuff chair with a good book and a fire?

What do you think?

What is your vision of 'perfection'?

It's Gonna Be a Beaut!

2010-02-10T22:07:00.003-08:00

I've got a super fun project in the works!!! It involves this chair...

.... a little fabric and some TLC.

I'm pretty excited for the outcome!

Check back for updates.

Mudroom Before and After

2010-02-10T20:44:00.014-08:00

I've been taking a ton of pictures while we do this whole house renovation thing and since things are really starting to feel 'finished' in a few places I thought I'd share a few photos.

First up, the front door and entryway/mudroom.

We started with a nice white door and royal blue window panes.

Not terrible, but certainly not what I had in mind.

Ahhhh, much better.

~Keep in mind, many of these pictures were taken a while ago, which is my excuse for pumpkins being on the front porch!~

When we open the door you'll find many, many changes.

First I'll show you a bit of the floor as it used to be.

You'll notice the carpet. Ewwwwww. Imagine the water and mud and dirt and everything else that was in that carpet. Yuck.

This is the only photo I have of the floor 'before' because it was one of the very first things I tore out.

We decided to go with a dark but neutral tile that we found at Home Depot.

I love it. We (and by we I mean my super talented cousin Elana) laid the tile in an offset pattern and I really love that it's a little different than what most people do.

The wall of the mudroom were covered in a plastic-ish something that did NOT want to come off.

And there were hooks everywhere. Functional? Yes. Functional and beautiful? Not quite.

So I pulled off the hooks and shelves....

.... and patched the walls for paint.

And my favorite part of the 'before'?

The yellow/brown/orange window leading from the mudroom to the main part of the house.

Gorgeous isn't she?

So the steps went as followed:
- Replace carpet with tile flooring
- Remove hooks and shelves and patch walls
- Paint
- Add beadboard (on top of blue-ish stuff cause it won't come off)
- Remove brownish/yellow/orange window
- Enlisted Kaelen (awesome brother) to make a built in 'locker' system
- Decorate!!!

Here are some of the 'afters'!!!

I love how it all turned out.

What do you think?

I'm linking this to some of my favorite sites!!!

DIY Showoff

A Little Fabric....

2010-02-03T21:44:00.010-08:00

I've discovered that a little fabric goes a long way!

I've been thinking that the french doors leading to my piano/t.v. room have been lacking a certain something. I thought about covering them with some panel curtains but I didn't want to lose the light and the view into that room. Luckily I found some great fabric on sale for 70% OFF!!! I think I just may have made The Nester proud with my 'mis-treatment'!

Before:

The wall was bare and needed a punch, plus the molding near the ceiling stops right in the middle of the room? Don't ask me why.

With a few tips from The Nester and some of this...

We get this...

AFTER:

Ahhhhh! So much better, no?

I liked it so much I decided to do the same thing in my bedroom.

Remember this post when I talked about how I thought the long wall behind my bed needed something more?

BEFORE:

Not bad, but in need of somthing more...

AFTER:

Ahhh, just what it needed!

And would you have ever guessed that it's simple, old push pins keeping these bad boys up? I'll switch the pins out for something a little more permanent when I find the perfect rods but until then the push pins will do and the good news is that you can't see them even if you are right under them! YAY!

I'm in love with the results! But what I'm most excited about is that I spent a total of about $12 for the fabric in both rooms!! Yay me!

***On a seperate note, I found the photos I took from the day we moved in!!! I'll be posting before and after photos of different rooms in the house in the near future so stay tuned.***

I'm linking this post up to some of my favorite blogs! Feel free to visit and get some really great ideas for your home!

Between Naps On The Porch

Thrifty Decor Chick

A Soft Place to Land

ReInvented

A Silly Little Sparrow

Today's Creative Blog

Finding Fabulous

Blog Stalker

2010-02-01T13:10:00.004-08:00

There are a few blogs here and there that I like to stalk. I visit their blogs often because I enjoy their uplifting words, great crafty ideas, beautiful photography etc... but I never leave comments on these blogs because they don't know me from Adam! Personally, I love when people leave comments, whether I know them or not, it's always nice to find new friends and fun blogs. I would wager that most bloggers feel the same way about comments and yet here I am.... rarely leaving comments. It's bad blog etiquette is what it is! I'll try to do better.

Well, now that that's out of the way...

My reason for this post...

I was recently visiting one of these blog 'stalks' the other day and loved what she had to say about why she blogs. While I haven't had all of the same experiences or trials that she has, I can honestly say that I feel the same as her when it comes to why I blog. I loved her idea of printing the posts off and putting them in a binder for her kids and posterity. I know a few of you who print your blogs off professionally and I love the look but let's be honest... I've been meaning to do this for 2 years now and just haven't gotten around to it. A binder seems like a great way to start things off. Anyway, without further ado... the post from Christal...

Why do we blog?

Sometimes people think bloggers are wasting time, bragging or showing off what they can do or what they have. Or how freaking cute their kids are {guilty} j/k! Or what stunning skills and talents they have.
But really it has nothing to do with that.

I do it for the journal aspect, to record my favorite quotes and thoughts. I print mine all off and put them in a binder and someday when my kids look through them they can see real life what we did, things we made, feelings we have, etc.

I do it to share what I know {as mindless as it may be sometimes but its me} and to hopefully help someone in some way if I can through my own journey of life and experiences.

I've had lots of people ask about my allergies, the church, adoption, whatever...

Its a place where we as moms, women, {some men}

get and share ideas that help us be better moms and better people.

we craft no not all of us and that's totally fine, we are all different. but for those of us who do we do it to make our homes more homey and welcoming to share what works for us cause it may just work for someone else

we get dinner and recipe ideas that benefit our homes and family and add variety

we get product ideas that make life better, whether big or small

I 've found people that understand what I'm thinking and feeling because we've been through the same things

people who are going through what we have been through and continue to go through infertility.

I've learned that my thoughts and feelings are normal that the things I've felt over the past 13 years are normal. I don't have to feel alone or that no one understands what I'm going through because I've found so many going through the same thing or who have been and

I consider them friends some I haven't met yet, some I have.

Some may think we are a different breed but its improved my life, my kids life, my attitude and feelings and its helped me to keep connected to others who I don't normally see.

I enjoy it and I appreciate the feedback and help sometimes with issues.

ITS made me feel more thankful for all that I have, and made me more aware that no matter

our religion, country, race, weight, height, looks ...we all generally feel and think and hurt in the same ways.

Its made me appreciate the small things and enjoy the big things.

Its made a dull day, brighter. It's given me something to look forward to some days.

Its made me think a lot more than I ever have. I feel like I've become more accepting of not only myself and my flaws {that for the most part happen to be normal after reading all your blogs lol!} and others, and that feels good to feel like your doing something right and its okay to have a bad day.

and its nice to know we aren't all perfect and its okay to share and learn about it and from it.

We write what we feel in a place that is all our own to express our feelings, vent if we want and to share thoughts and our journey, and hopefully its a safe place to be free to say what we really feel and think and be respected for it. Because we are all different. and we all have a lot to learn from each other.

I think its good to be reminded that we all have our vices and trials that sometimes nobody knows about. That we don't always share with the world, but are there.

It's the judging, comparing, mocking and assuming that gets us in trouble mostly with ourselves, our thoughts and self confidence and hopefully we have the power to get over it and be ourselves to learn, grow and see each other for who we really are ----on the inside!
The little bits and pieces that make up life.

.... that's what I get from blogging.

Thanks Christal!

If you'd like to visit Christal's blog just click HERE. Her posts are wonderful and inspirational.

(and by the way, I did get permission to post this from Christal, just in case you all thought I was a stalker and a thief! But now that I think about it, I didn't specifically ask to take her photo off of her profile page and use it. Maybe I am a thief!?! Hope that's ok Christal!)

Engagement Shots

2010-01-28T00:44:00.003-08:00

I've been getting kind of busy with the photography lately and I've been loving it. I did another engagement shoot the other day with a couple who I've known for a really long time. I'm so happy for them. Who wouldn't be? You can tell by this photo that they are so happy to where they are at in their lives.

This was my favorite shot of the day.

Head on over to my photography blog for a few more engagements shots. I'll be posting more as I get them edited.

Lima Bean Wreath

2010-01-27T20:32:00.003-08:00

I found this idea over here on a blog I love to frequent.

You can make it too with just:
a hot glue gun
lima beans
a foam wreath
ribbon
spray paint.

I didn't spray paint mine yet. I'll do that once the temperature gets above freezing!

It took me about an hour for the whole thing. A nice little project when you want to take a break from dishes, floors and meals.

I'm thinking I'll leave it white for the rest of the winter then go with and apple green or turquoise for the spring and summer.

What do you think?

If you make one of these little beauties please come back and let me know. I'd love to see the results!!!