I've created a new crafter!

I had a much needed 4 day weekend. I was sick with the flu last weekend and did absolutely nothing, so it was good to have 4 days this weekend to get caught up. My little friend Jayde came over on Friday. Her mom and I are best friends and we also work together. Kyla, Jayde's mom, swears that I am really the mother of Jayde. As you can see in the picture above, we look alike...if we go out to eat, the waiters always put her meal on my check! Jayde and I are also drama queens and we love to craft, and that is what we stayed busy doing on Friday!

Jayde wanted me to show her how to make some fun crafts. I started out showing her how to make flowers out of paper. The vintage sheet music flower above is mine. Jayde was very good at following directions and tried her hardest to do what I was showing her.

This is her card. Not too bad for a 9 year old. A few more tries and she will really have it down! She saw my LOVE banner and wanted to make one of her own. I cut the paper, showed her how to fold it and staple it. I glued it while she drew and cut out the letters. I glittered and glued them on. She picked out the ribbon and I think it looks pretty good! We also made a bunch of flowers for our hair. As you can see in the picture of us, we are both sporting our new flowers. I showed her how to take apart a flower and make clips and headbands. Don't we look cute?

Pretty sure I got her hooked on crafting and creating. Her mom told me that she was playing with her stuff all night and showed it to anyone who would take a look! I've definitely created a new crafter!!

Here is a cute little Easter wreath that I made. It hangs sweetly in my big frame. I am really looking forward to Spring and Easter-can you tell?!

So glad that I got to spend some time with Jayde crafting and creating. She used to call me Aunt Chucha when she was little and now she is trying to teach her little brother to call me that! I sure do love all the little ones in my life!

Tulip Festival

If you have never been to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival in Northwest Washington, put it on your Bucket List of places to visit before you die. It is the most amazing feast for your eyes-rows and rows of beautiful tulips in the prettiest colors imaginable. My friend Rachael used to be the assistant director for the Tulip Festival so I had the opportunity to visit her and take in all the fun and festivities. These pictures are great, but to see it in person is just AMAZING!Look at all of these beautiful pink tulips that I am surrounded by. Photographers love it because there are so many angles and colors.
This is me and my cousin Carlie standing in a field of red tulips with some pink ones behind us. The colors are so amazing. As you drive through this area, there are fields and fields of tulips everywhere you look and plenty of places to stop for a photo opportunity.

The yellow tulips are so rich and radiant. The pink sky in the background just adds to it. Do you see the photographer in the tulips?!

There are so many fun things to do while visiting Skagit Valley. One of my favorite places was Bunnies by the Bay. It is the cutest store with bunnies and tea parties and adorable things for babies. As soon as I have a baby of my own, I will definitely have to go back and buy something there!

The Tulip Festival takes place every April. Since you can't really tell when the tulips are going to bloom, festivities happen through the whole month of April. If you visit in April, you are bound to see some beautiful tulips. It's not too late to plan your trip for this year. Or if you plan on going next year, maybe I will see you there!!

Happy Pink Saturday!

Happy Birthday Dad!

March 15th was my dad's 54th Birthday. Can you believe that I talked to him yesterday but compeletly forgot to actually tell him Happy Birthday? We had a party for him on Sunday so it's not like I completely forgot him!

This is a picture of me and my dad dancing at my wedding. We danced to the song "Cinderella" by Steven Curttis Chapman. My cousin learned the song in a week and played it on his guitar. That made it even more special.

I only cried twice at my wedding-when my dad walked me down the aisle and when we had our daddy-daughter dance. My dad and I are so much alike that we often get on each other's nerves. But I am still a daddy's girl and it was such an emotional time for both of us.

My dad has taught me some very valuable things throughout my life. He taught me how to be a hard worker, not to be a quitter, to save my money when I can, to love my family and be the best person I can be. I am so proud to call this man my dad. His name is Jody (my grandma named him after the little boy from the move The Yearling...it was just a few years later that Jody became more common as a girls name!) and I love him with all my heart. Happy Birthday Dad-thank you for giving me life and loving me always!

Slooooooow Computer

My computer has been on the fritz lately. It's very slow and freezes up all the time. I am losing patience since I can't seem to catch up on my posts or blog reading. Luckily, I have a super smart nephew who is going to help me out. This boy can take a slow computer and make it like brand new. He is going to fix it for me tomorrow so that I can hopefully be back in action by Wednesday. I promis to catch up with everyone once I'm all fixed up and running at a faster speed!

Pay it Forward 2011

A couple of months ago, everyone was posting on Facebook about "Pay it Forward". I glady participated and received some really fun things from it. I thought about doing something like this in blogland, but wasn't sure about it. Today, I see that Petite Michelle Louise posted about it and I jumped right in to join her! Here is how it works:

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The first five people to comment on this post will receive a handmade gift from me. In return, you must do a blog post explaining Pay it Forward 2011. Then, send out a handmade gift to the first 5 commenters. This is sure to be a ton of fun, both in the giving and receiving! I can't wait to start creating some wonderful things as well as seeing what I get back in return!

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Thank you to everyone who left sweet comments about my sick dog Grady. He is doing much better. His red blood cell count and iron levels are still very low, but he has his appetite back and his sweet personality is shining through again!