Something Small

I had this old collage frame that I liked but wasn't sure what to do with it. Since I've been painting the downstairs in our house, I decided to paint the frame to match the front room. I thought it turned out nice:

 

Before...

...After.

Quiet Book

I am currently in the process of trying to make a quiet book for the twins. I wanted to make one, but I didn't want to spend a million years and countless hours making it. So thanks to Michelle Graves for the great idea of making one with felt and a hot-glue gun! I made a bunch of pages in just one evening while Brad studied away for todays test. Here are some of the pages that I've started...

The numbers are stored in the white pouch so the boys can match up the numbers!

For learning how to spell their names.

Making a sandwich!

I'm having so much fun finding ideas. If anyone has any suggestions, let me know! These are super easy to make, and although they're not very fancy, I don't think my boys will know the difference, and it will give them something fun to do in church as they get older. I'm going to make some more pages that are more gospel related. Hopefully this quiet book will help, because right now church just feels like a circus every week!

Clever Last-minute Halloween Costume Ideas

I just read an article on Yahoo! News that featured these 30 ideas for easy, last-minute Halloween costumes and thought I should share them. I think these are so clever and would be so easy to throw together! No need to go buy something fancy or expensive:
1. Baby: PJs, pacifier, teddy bear
2. Fall: Brown sweatshirt, safety pins, autumnal-looking leaves
3. Biker: Black leather, white tee, bandana, sunglasses
4. Candy Cane: white clothes, red (and/or green) duct tape
5. Charlie Brown: yellow tee, black marker or fabric paint (for zig zag stripes on the tee), black pants
6. Present: Cardboard box (that’s big enough for you to fit into!), wrapping paper, ribbons/bows
7. Where’s Waldo: Red and white striped tee, beanie, eye glasses, jeans
8. Cotton Candy: White clothes, pink tulle, safety pins
9. Ghost: White sheet (plus cutouts for your eyes)
10. Dalmation: White clothes, black felt/fabric/paper, safety pins
11. Dr. Pepper: Lab coat, peppers, safety pins
12. Old Lady: Old fashioned dress, rolled-down knee-high nylons, large black frame purse
13. Bunch of Grapes: Green or purple clothes, matching balloons, safety pins
14. Static Cling: All black or white clothes; random clothes (socks, briefs, tees) and dryer sheets, safety pins
15. Mummy: White clothes, old white bedsheet you don’t mind tearing into strips or white gauze bandages
16. Nerd: Button down shirt, high waist pants, calculator, glasses, textbooks
17. Rainbow: Grab a group of friends, and each one dresses head-to-toe in one color of the rainbow color
18. Road: Black clothes, white masking tape (for street lines), toy cars, safety pins
19. Jack-O-Lantern: Orange sweatshirt, black tape
20. Tourist: Bright clothing (a Hawaiian floral short is ideal), map, camera around neck
21. Veterinarian: Scrubs, stuffed animals, safety pins
22. Skeleton: Black outfit, white gloves, bones cut out from white contact paper
23. Sherlock Holmes: Trench coat, fedora, magnifying glass
24. Surgeon: Scrubs, lab coat, shower caps (to wear over your shoes)
25. School girl: White button down, plaid skirt, knee socks, hair in pigtails, chewing gum (for blowing bubbles!)
26. Popeye: Sailor cap, peacoat, marker (for drawing on an anchor tattoo on your forearm), and can of spinach
27. Cowboy: Western shirt, jeans, cowboy hat, boots, rope (to make a lasso)
28. Dry cleaning: Plastic dry cleaning bag (just slip it over any outfit)
29. Pirate: Striped shirt, black fabric (to make an eye patch), bandana
30. Bag of Jelly Beans: Clear plastic bag, multi-colored ribbons to slip underneath

To view the full article, follow this link http://shine.yahoo.com/event/haven/30-easy-diy-halloween-costume-ideas-2400816/

Painting: O So Fun

I have spent the past two weeks painting the house. Boy! It takes a lot more work than I thought! I've heard people say that they've painted their entire house in one afternoon. All I have to say to you is... I think your house probably looks scary. It took me 5 days just to paint our little front room!!! All the taping, caulking the tape, painting the trim and then using the paint brush. Boy it takes forever.

Although, Brad just made a good point. I start doing the edges with the paint brush, and then I get carried away and just end up painting the entire room by hand with a two-inch paint brush. I withdraw what I said before. Your house probably looks great. And I'm just insane. But, eh, with the boys taking turns with naps all day long, it's nice to have something to do in the house!

Anyway, so I've done the front room and now I'm working on the kitchen. I swear the hardest part is just choosing the colors. I've spent about $40 on paint samples alone! On the upside, it would have been a lot more expensive to buy whole paint cans and hate the color. I will post before/after pictures once the "after" happens. Until then, here's a picture of the boys helping me paint. They sure love that big tarp. And last night as I was painting, Carter kept sneaking over and sticking his fist in the paint bucket. I love my little rascals!

Feeling Lonely/Operation Unite

So last week I had a blast throwing myself a pity party. I was missing my family (both sides!) and wishing we were back in Utah/Idaho. I started feeling like it was going to be a long, lonely 4 years with Brad gone all day and a neighborhood full of strangers. Then at church last Sunday I was sitting alone and feeling sorry for myself when a nice gal came and sat by me and we started talking. Thank you Holly!! She snapped me out of my pity party and reminded me how EASY it is to get to know people. All it takes is a hello, what's your name and what's your story. Boom! Friends.

So now I'm on a mission - Operation Unite My Neighborhood. In speaking to the few neighbors that I've met, I've found that no one here really knows each other. And that just won't do. It seems that a neighborhood that knows each other is typically safer and more comfortable. So here's the plan, and please feel free to leave comments with any suggestions of how to make my plan better:

For starters, I'm going to invite the homes surrounding us over. Just a little meet-n-greet. I'm planning to do this maybe this Saturday.

Next, I'm going to invite the entire housing division to the park for a neighborhood picnic. I'm thinking about doing that next Saturday afternoon. I'm thinking about having some copies printed up of the housing division so that people can have a visual while they're explaining to each other where they live. I'm also thinking about having some sign-up sheets to start a book club, exercise group, neighborhood directory, etc. I've also considered making this get-together a monthly thing. It shouldn't take too much work to do - just a reservation at the park and each family brings a picnic for their own family. What do you think?

And what else can I do to unite my neighborhood? It just feels so sterile here and so impersonal. I want it to be a warm, friendly environment where everyone knows and loves each other. Your suggestions are appreciated!!

People read this??

I just realized that a few people out there actually read my blogs from time to time. I figured it was just me, so I never bothered to check and see if there were ever comments! Sorry to seem like I was ignoring any of you. Not so. Yay for cyber-socializing.

Sick Week

Well it has certainly been a long week. The boys and I all have had the flu. Luckily mine seems to have only lasted 24 hours, but Carter and Lance are still going strong. Every morning I wake up to two very stinky cribs, a load of laundry to do, and stink control for their room. My poor boys. But they have been so tough. They haven't complained or whined too much. They such sweet boys... Here's a little treat for you to see how sick Lance is.

Lance threw up all over me. This picture doesn't quite do it justice.

But BEFORE the boys and I got sick, Brad and I went out and got a Sam's Club membership (yay!). We took a picture of the boys sitting in a shopping cart (for the first time without carseats).

Filling the Void...

The void otherwise known as... this blog. For anyone that hasn't noticed (which basically means you, Mary, because I think you're the only one who knows this blog exists so far. Love ya pal!), I just started this blog last night, and I keep posting new things that I've been meaning to post to my old blog that was disabled (or something. Still haven't figured it out). But you may be wondering WHY I'm doing a bunch of different posts and why so many all at once. Well friends, because I want it to look like I'm an active blogger. That's why!! Lame. I know. Don't worry about it.

You see, I've had a blog for the past year, and I've updated it a few times. But I find myself in a strange situation right now. Bradley and I just moved to Vegas where I don't know a soul, and for the first time I don't have a job or school as a way of getting to know people. No, I'm just home all day with two very handsome 6-month-old boys. And some brilliant girl has organized a "wives of dental students" thing for all of the wives of Bradley's classmates. So instead of going to work and making new friends, or meeting my own classmates, We're using facebook and blogger to make connections and hopefully become friends. So THIS is why I'm making the eager attempt at looking like a blogger. Yes dental wives, it's all for you. To be perfectly honest, I want to see how this works out. A little experiment, I guess. Are blogs and facebook actually a practical way of meeting new people in a strange new town? It will be interesting to see. If it does work for us, then kudos to the power of the  internet.

I Love to See the Temple

Yesterday Bradley and I got to go to the Las Vegas Temple for the first time. It was so much fun! We haven't had a chance to go together since before the twins were born. But my parents are here visiting for the weekend, and my mom watched the boys while we went to the temple. My Grandpa sent me the names of some of my ancestors, so Bradley and I received the endowment on their behalf. It was such a beautiful experience. And the temple itself is absolutely gorgeous! I was in awe the whole time. Now that I don't get many chances to go to the temple, each time I can is just so much more cherished. So for any of you who are able to attend, do! Because there will come a time when you want to go and just can't because of kids.
After the temple, Brad and I had dinner at Applebees. Just FYI - DON'T order their Orange Chicken something-er-other. It tasted awful and if I were more bold I would have sent it back and gotten something else. But not only did it taste terrible - I was sick the rest of the night. No bueno. That's one more point for homemade meals.

Solid Foods... Oh So Fun

Who knew feeding a baby solid foods would be so difficult!! The first day was just fine. Both Lance and Carter were curious about the food and enjoying themselves. Then, on day two, Lance learned how to spit his food out. By the end of the day I had peas all over my clothes and in my hair. And Carter wasn't such a fan of it either. His big thing is rubbing his face when there's food all over it, and he smears the food from his mouth into his ears, his hair and his eyes. Needless to say he's not a big fan of that. (My picture-posting isn't working, so I'll try to put them up tomorrow).

Carter doesn't love peas.

Lance likes to pose for the camera. He can eat so much food at a time now!

Mt. Charleston Hike

Thursday was a fun day for us. Brad's dental class went on a hike and invited all of the students' families. So Brad and I went over to Kid-to-Kid and bought a couple of baby backpacks. The boys were so good on the hike! Carter was awake through the whole thing. He was just drinking it all in. And Lance did really well too. He just would have preferred stopping to eat every 30 minutes :)
It felt so good to get out as a family. So far we haven't been very adventurous with the boys. Most of the time it's just easier to stay home or to do things closeby. But we had so much fun on the hike that I think we're going to try things like that more often. Here are some fun pictures that we took:

 Lance isn't so sure about this....

Carter is always just happy to be around.

Here's Lance taking another snack break....

Starting Over...

Well, welcome to the new blog. I can't explain it, but for some reason my old gmail account no longer exists. I can't login to my old blog, and I can't access my old email account, so I'm starting from square one. Sad day. But welcome! If you want to see what we've posted previously, you can see our old blog at kelleyfun.blogspot.com. But check back here for all updates. Oh, and I'm still pretty clueless about blogging, so be patient with me as I figure it all out...