{ Lazy Summer Day }

Little Boo enjoying some summer reading!

{ An Award & A Celebration }

Hey! Look what I got! It's my very first award!

Angie from Sandals and Daisies was kind enough to award it to me. Isn't she so nice?!! Anyway, the rules say that I have to nominate seven blogs. You know that I like to pass along good blogs for you to read anyway, so here is my list:

1. My Romantic Home
2. Just a Girl
3. A Soft Place to Land
4. Nesting Place
5. Notes from A Cottage Industry
6. Sadie Olive ~ le journal
7. The Inspired Room

Whew! That was tough. There are way too many blogs that I love to choose just seven. I do want to talk about the last one on the list. Melissa Michaels has an amazing, I mean AMAZING, blog. If you ever need some decorating inspiration go visit her at...The Inspired Room. You will not be dissapointed. Every post is beautiful! And she is doing something fun next week. She will be having an Inspired Room's Celebration Week & Fall Nesting Kickoff. Check out the details in this post. She will be giving away prizes & posting loads of Fall ideas. I am already getting excited for Fall so, you know I will be looking at her blog every day that week! {Okay, I look at it every day anyway}.

And, finally, here's a picture of my bedroom.

I have been thinking about redoing it for, oh, I don't know, like five years. It really is the last room to get decorated. I am having a hard time figuring out exactly what I want to do in there. I like too many different styles, colors, etc.

Notice how there's nothing hanging above our bed. Hey, we live in earthquake territory here people. So, any ideas for what do you do for that? We also need to redo the master bath. {you don't want to see pictures of that, yikes!} but, I can't decide what I want to do in there either. So I do nothing. Good plan, don't you think?

{ Final Weeks of Summer }

Wow! This week has been crazy busy! The bunco party was a success. So much fun! I haven't had time to think about decorating & probably won't do too much until the kids get back in school. I want to enjoy these last two weeks with them. We went to the beach today. It was so beautiful. Crescent Bay in Laguna Beach. Perfect weather. Perfect day.

The kids made a list of things they want to do before summer is over. By going to the beach, we got to check one thing off! Yay!

The picture below is a little preview of Ms. Sassypant's room. Like I said, all work has stalled for now.

But, the ideas are still running crazy in my head. I am really wanting to get this anna maria horner fabric to add in there.

Isn't it amazing?!! I'm so sorry, this post is a little willie nillie. I.am.so.tired. And old, apparently, for using the term willie nillie.

{ Party Prep }

Well, I entered another giveaway. What can I say? I love a good giveaway. And since I did win something once it kind of gives me hope that I may win another one. This time Angie over at Sandals and Daisies is giving away two different "prizes" to choose from. So, go on over & check it out!

Tonight I am having a group of ladies from church over for Bunco & a barbeque. So I am busy getting the backyard ready & cleaning the house. We are expecting about 30 women. It will be a blast!

This is a view of one half of our yard. The little house that you see back there, behind the fence is my hubby's office. He works at home but since home is too loud now with four kids, {we only had two when we moved here} he needed a place "out of the home". It's nice that he has a quiet place to work...at least if the gate is closed. If not he gets little eyes peering into his door all the time!

And this is the other half of the backyard. It is not quite as pretty but very fun! We're still working on what to do with that slope up behind the wall. I really need to plant something that will trail over the top of the wall to soften it.

I love our fireplace. It doesn't really send out heat so we don't really use it in the winter but it sure is pretty, ain't it? When my husband wanted the basketball quart, I told him I had to have something big to balance it out, right? Well, this is what we got and I love it even though it doesn't keep me warm.

So the yard's all cleaned up and ready to go. It should be a super fun night!

{ Peanut & Boo's Room }

Okay, okay! I admit it...I've been stalling. I didn't want to show pictures of the girls' rooms until they were totally & completely finished, but who am I kidding. So after putting it off for too long..here are a few pictures of Peanut & Boo's room. I hope you're not too disappointed after the long wait.

I love this Pottery Barn bedding. I got it all from my amazing & very generous friends at Peanut's babyshower. It was used for Peanut & Ms. Sassypants then Boo came along so Ms. Sassypants got booted into her own room. I need to get a dresser to put between their beds. They really need the storage. And the bulletin board needs some renovating. I'm thinking thicker frame, painted a color. I thought white at first but, is there too much white going on already?

This is Peanut's bed. Love that flower pillow.

This is Boo's bed. She just graduated from her crib. My baby's growing up too fast! :(

Unfortunately, the toys have to stay for now. It makes it a little crowded but I'm loving this wall with the two display shelves & frames. Can you guess what Peanut & Boo's real names begin with? These are things I've had stashed away in a "decorating closet". It's so nice to get them out & up somewhere.

Of course, I need to do a little bit more accessorizing on those shelves. Oh, by the way, those framed letters were super easy. I just wrapped fabric {that came from "the closet"} around the cardboard in the frame then printed the letters out on my printer and double-stick taped them onto the fabric. I was going to put pictures in them but, I'm thinking I like them. I like the added color.

These hooks are another thing I had in "the closet". Above it hangs the stipple artwork done of Peanut by my very talented niece. {I'm not sure that sentence is grammatically correct} She is 16 years old and entered it into an art contest & won!...money! She even sold a copy of it...but I've got the original!

Aren't those windows so lonely? I am debating the curtains right now. I'm just not sure what style or color to do here. Don't know if white is best because of the other colors & patterns in the room. Or maybe it needs more color. What are your thoughts? I could really use some help here.

Well, I hope you like the room. Any suggestions or comments are appreciated. Ms. Sassypants room is still in progress also, but is far less finished. I might post pictures of it anyway to see if you all have any suggestions for me. Have a fabulous Monday!

{ Beautiful Blooms }

Aren't these blooms beautiful?!! My sister brought them from her MIL's house. She left for home yesterday. :( She was a huge help with the girls' rooms. I'm finishing them up. Pictures soon!

{ Bathroom Tour }

Today I wanted to give you a little tour of the guest bathroom. I have to say, I am not liking it so much in pictures. I'm actually thinking about taking the wallpaper down & redoing it.

The picture that you see was cross-stitched by my very talented sis, TC. Love it!

As you can tell I need to do a little bit of accessorizing on this boring side of the room. What do I do with that wall vase? And I never can figure out what to put on the back of the toilet. Any suggestions? Anyone?

Do you see the cute little white stool that my kiddies used to use to reach the sink? Yes, used to use. As you can tell there has been a mishap. My hubby broke it the other day while fixing the faucet. So sad. I loved that stool and all it's cuteness.

My sister, Canary, is in town {yay!} and we are going to work on the girls' rooms while she is here. Unfortunately, she is here just a short time. She will be going home tomorrow so we will have to see what we can get done in that little amount of time. Hopefully, I will have some fun pictures for you tomorrow!

{ Tagged }

Good Saturday morning to ya'!

I'm a little nervous about putting my kids' pictures on my blog but, I have wanted to introduce them to you for a while. So, I thought I would start with baby steps or in this case a teeny-tiny photo of them. If you squint really hard you may be able to just make out that there are four of them. I know, I'm wierd. By the way, the little sculpture is an original from Ms. Sassypants, made at school, of a bear.

Also, I was tagged by Laurie Anne over at Tinker's Piggies so here are my very, extremely, really boring answers...

Four things you should know about me before you invite me over:
1. I'm so happy you invited me.
2. I'm very laid back so, please don't make a big fuss because I'm just happy to be there with you. That's not to say that I don't appreciate it when a fuss has been made. Thoughtfulness is always appreciated.
3. My husband is always ready to leave before I am.
4. Please be on time.

The ABC's of Me
A: Attached or Single: happily attached
B: Best Friend: I don't have just one
C: Cake or pie: cake
D: Day of Choice: my birthday
E: Essential item: a good book
F: Favorite color: red
G: Gummy bears or worms: sour worms
H: Home Town: moved too much to have a "hometown"
I: Favorite indulgence: sleeping in
J: January or July: definitely July
K: Kids: 1 boy & 3 sassy girls
L: Life isn't complete without: my family
M: Marriage date: Oct. 17, 1992
N: Number of sibs: 5 sisters & 2 brothers
O: Oranges or apples: apples (especially baked in a pie)
P: Phobias: smelling like B.O.
Q: Quote: "Don't get caught up in the thick of thin things."
R: Reasons to smile: I smile at practically everything
S: Season of choice? Fall
T: Tag 5 folks: Cindy, Raechal, Erika, April, Courtney
U: Unknown fact about me: I want to go back & finish college
V: Vegetable: avocado (or is that a fruit?)
W: Worst habit: saying, "You know?" after each sentence
X: Xray or ultra sound? ultrasound
Y: Your favorite food? waffles
Z: Zodiac sign: Taurus

Have a happy weekend!

{ Tomato Stand }

My kids decided they wanted to have a lemonade stand the other day. I said great! Why don't you also try to sell some of the gazillion tomatoes that are growing out in the garden. So, they had a lemonade, Otter Pop, tomato stand just to cover the bases. These are some of the tomatoes they picked. I so need a new camera. Look how these tomatoes are an orangey red color. In real life they are a beautiful, bright red. Yes, there are some yellow tomatoes in there too. The little yellow ones are called yellow pear tomatoes and are our favorite!

Here are my tomato plants. The little tomato cages are in there somewhere but, the plants got so crazy big that we had to shore them up some how. {Is that right? shore up?} Since hubby couldn't wait until I found something pretty, he found some leftover wood stakes, pvc pipe & duct tape & went to work. Hhmmm, I will be more prepared next year.

Some green onions, green beans & bell peppers. Yum! I just planted a few cucumber plants also.

I bought some blackberry bushes this year just to see if they would grow in this spot. I didn't realize they have thorn less bushes so these ones are very thorny. I am going to have to take these out and find the thorn less variety for next year.

Here is my herb garden box. I love it and use them all the time!

Here's more of the orangey red tomatoes! Have a fabulous day!

{ Thirteen Years }

I can't believe I have a teenager! Yep, my oldest is 13 today. I can.not.believe it! How did it happen so fast? Isn't he so cute with his greasy baby hair & chubby fists! Actually, he had chubby everything...

This boy was a 10 pounder! I loved him with all of my guts the instant he was born! I didn't know that could happen. Happy Birthday, buddy!

{ Back With Their Limbs & My Camera }

The boys are home and even though they spotted a few deer, rattlesnakes, aggressive squirrels & yes, even bears, they were not attacked. Their muscles are a little sore & they have a few blisters but they came back with all of their limbs & my camera so I am happy.

Here is a view of Half Dome from the distance. See it there in the middle?

Apparently, the boys were more than a little nervous when they reached this point. I don't think they realized what a vertical climb it was going to be!

Here's the view from the top. Every one of the them said it was totally worth it once they made it to the top. They had a great trip.

In the meantime...we girls were pretty bored here at home. I told hubby when he got home that I am going to take Ms. Sassypants on a girl trip. Hopefully, we can do one soon. We did go to Target and got a few goodies for Ms. Sassypants room. I'm happy the camera came back so I could take pictures.

Some little buckets for organizing & magnetic photo frames. We also found these cute button pins to make magnets. They all came from the $1 bins. Gotta' love that!

I also got two bulletin boards & a wipe/magnetic board. I was happy to find them already nicely framed in black.

My goal is to have her room completed by the end of summer, which is Sept. 3 for us. I know there are many of you who are already getting back to school. I'm glad we have a little bit more time. I'm not ready for summer to be over yet!