2 hour tutu

Well it happened this week...Breanna asked to play dress up. I wondered when she would hit this age as my neice was always wanting to play dress up. I had this project in the works for a while and thought I had a little longer to make it, but all of the sudden she grew up on me! This was a very fun & short project. It was completed while the kids were taking naps, yea! Breanna just loves dancing around in it. It brings back memories of my cousin Cindy and I twirling around for hours in tutus.

So this is how it is done. I bought the top on sale at Kohls and the tulle on clearance at F&M. I cut 8 strips of 2 1/2 yards by 9 inches of the tulle. I staggered four strips of the tulle and then gathered it together (so it wouldn't all start and end in the same place). Four of the strips I sewed directly onto the bottom of the shirt and the other 4 I sewed onto the bottom of the shirt in the opposite direction so it would fluff up (see picture).

Then I added a few fabric flowers that I have been obsessed with making lately. The only thing I would probably do differently next time is use stay tape or don't use a rib knit, it just stretched too much. I am envisioning one with the #3 on it for her birthday.

Potty training and M&M math

Our girl is potty trained! We are definitely excited around here about that, since it seems like it has been such a long journey. Once she decided she was ready, we were done with diapers after a day and a half of potty training. She was so excited to fill up her sticker chart and get her new toy ( a Tag Jr. reading system...very cool). She is still putting stickers on and getting M&Ms when she goes. When we are out and about she keeps a tally in her head of how many M&M's we owe her. We give her 1 for #1 and 2 for #2, so once she had tallied up 3 (yes, she added by herself), she came back and grabbed four from the jar. I said, "No, Breanna, you get three, not four." She said ok and went back and grabbed another one! I like the way she does math when it comes to candy. We will see how things go when the jar of M&Ms are gone...I heard a certain little girl stopped going after the motivation was gone, but I'm not mentioning any names!

Oh and when she fills up her #2 chart, she gets to spend a day at the beach with Grammy. Those were her terms. Quite the negotiator!

Mammoth Vacation

Ok...time to play catch up! It's been a while! Every summer (well almost every year) my family goes to Mammoth Lakes for a week. We all stay together in one big condo and it gets crazy at times, but we always have fond memories. The weather was amazing and the views were crystal clear...these trips always makes me marvel at God's creation. Activities were limited and sleep was illusive with 5 kids, but we still enjoyed walks, the parks, golfing for the guys, shopping, some fishing, and lots and lots of great food. Here are some pictures...a lot, I know, but only about 10% of what were taken!

Carring an 18 pounder

loving the trolley ride

One of the fun parks

Ian 6 mo, Alex 3, Annalise 3 mo, Abby 5, Breanna 2 1/2

The "A" team

Waiting for the trolley ride

They love their Papa

My silly boy

The fourth of July parade

,