3 years old!!

Okay, seriously?? I know I'm the mom, but how could this little one be any cuter?? I can't believe Ava's 3 now...what a blessing she has been...I can't imagine our lives without her!

We had her birthday party tonight and were lucky enough to have Bruce & Lindsey, Brian & Marisa and kids, and Justin & Amy and kids come over for dinner, cake and presents. We had a great time!

She was so excited about this present! While we were in Utah, Ava fell in love with Danielle's camera...this was a definite on her wish list! She got not only a kid's digital camera, but also a kid's laptop computer...how very high tech of her!

Here she is opening up the dress she got from her Grandma and Grandpa Craig...she gave it a good hug after holding it up for us all to see.

And maybe most endearing to me, she was really excited about the cards. She kept saying, "I got a letter!"...she felt really special to see her name on all of the cards.

I just had to put this picture on one more time...I could look at it all day! Happy Birthday little Ava!!

Another little jewelry project...

This is one of my latest projects. My friend Tami came over and we were tossing ideas around and she had some Scrabble tiles and this is what ended up coming out of the conversation. It is a little hard to tell from the picture, but each of the sections has a different picture of Romeo and Juliet on it. It make for a really cute bracelet. But then...

If you flip the bracelet over, this is on the back...or the front...depending on your mood. I've had fun wearing this one - knowing what was on the inside! I think the possibilities are almost endless with this idea and could be so much fun to personalize for friends or family!

Watch out Steven Spielberg!!

Steven better watch out because Andrew and Sandy are in town...and we may just be knocking at his heels...okay, so maybe not, but we still made a pretty awesome dinosaur diarama for his school project!

Andrew sketched the whole thing out and then we went to Michael's to get our supplies. We had to show strong back legs, balanced head and tail, teeth, and that our dinosaur was a meat eater. I think the meat eater part is loud and clear!

Andrew picked the Utahraptor (a favorite from our Thanksgiving Point museum days) and was really happy with how it turned out. I went to see him give his presentation at school later in the week too...he really is getting big and does such a great job...so maybe Steven should watch his back after all!

Saying goodbye to winter...

A few weeks ago Greg took the kids down to the Lake to get a few pictures before it all melted. I love how the Lake looks when the ice comes in and buckles - it's really a magnificent sight. I'm really glad he got these pictures in time, because winter is long gone now! We have had a really early Spring warm up for Duluth...no complaints here!

The little Miss...

Z diddly...

The big man...

I really do love the way this looks, but I'm still happy to say goodbye to winter for this year!

Weiss Crafts and Variety

On Friday I left for a crafting weekend. We are in Crosslake, MN at a place called Sugarleaf Retreat. It is specifically set up for crafters. It accommodates 16 people (which we are filling to the max) and includes a personal 3x6 table for each person...go ahead and spread your stuff out!! We have been having a great time, have been eating wonderful food and have been getting an enormous amount of stuff done.

One of the things I needed to do this weekend was to make another cake topper for a friend's daughter. I brought all of the supplies and was well into the project when I realized that I didn't have a pipe cleaner. It's amazing how one little thing can derail an entire project. I couldn't put the doll's dress on with out putting the pipe cleaner through, couldn't put the head on before the dress, couldn't mount the doll without...you get the picture.

So...the hunt for a pipe cleaner began! My friend Heidi has a sister who lives in the town next to us and so she is familiar with the area. She told me about a store that she swore would literally have ANYTHING you would need if you could just sort through the stuff. After calling a few other places who couldn't deliver my coveted crafting item, I called Weiss Crafts and Variety and the owner confirmed that they did indeed have pipe cleaners. Off we went!!

As you can see from the picture above, when I drove up, I knew I was about to enter a high-end establishment...but, I wasn't prepared for what was inside...

Here is an isle shot from the store. There were about 6 isles and they all had a similar look to this. It was unbelievable. I kind of felt like I was in a SNL skit...waiting for the quirky store owner to come out. The store owner was actually very, very nice and I even shared one of my favorite licorice mints with her when we found out she liked licorice!

Here's another isle shot. We had a great time at this place and Heidi even bought some fabric to add to her quilt she is making this weekend so that she could remember the experience!

We are headed home tomorrow afternoon...with little sleep, but with lots of crafting done! I just finished a 35 page digital book for Greg (his request for a 10 year anniversary present) - and I finished the cake topper...Ahhh, the miracle of uninterrupted time - and Weiss Crafts and Variety!!

The Pinewood Derby

Last night was Andrew's first Pinewood Derby. He was so excited about his car (which he started at Beth and Rick's house - Rick has a lot of experience in building great cars). He knew exactly how he wanted it decorated. He wanted it to be silver with a green jet pack with flames coming out of the jet pack. He wanted the car's name, "The Jet", written on the car as well. He was so excited to race!! Here he is during one of the many, many races of the night!

Here is troop 24 with all of their cars. There was also a non-cubscout division last night. I would guess that there were about 15 racers in total. There were a lot of races since they wanted to make sure that each race was fair. They would change lanes and re-race to make sure they had the best car winning each little bracket. Andrew had some very tough competition during the night...

Here is Andrew getting his 1st place medal!! That's right, 1st place. He was so excited - like he had won the olympics. It was very, very fun to see him so excited. He was literally skipping back to the race line...how awesome is that?

Here's our little man. It was such a fun night for him...one I know he won't forget (or stop skipping from for a long time)!

Mommy, I might want that...

Just this past week, Ava has discovered advertising! I have probably heard, "Mommy, I might want that" at least twenty times in the past 4 days. She has never paid attention to commercials before, but boy oh boy do they have her attention now! I find it especially cute that she says she "might" want it...she sounds so excited when she says it, like it is something extraordinary, but then it gets the "might". I just thought it was a cute, funny, new growing up thing!

Random Raven

While we were on vacation I had two different people (at two totally unrelated places) tell me that they thought Ava looked like a young Raven Symone. I had never thought that before, but I also hadn't ever looked. Greg and I just looked her up online and couldn't believe that there really is a similarity! And just for icing on the cake, 2 days ago Andrew was watching t.v. and came up to tell me that I kind of looked like the girl on "That's so Raven" (grown up Raven Symone)...he did tell me that I was lighter and older than her, but still we looked kind of alike...go figure!

Little Miss Perfect...

Have you ever seen the show 'Little Miss Perfect'? It's like a train wreck...of pageant mothers making their little girls practice routines, put in fake teeth, use hair extensions...you get the idea. Well, this past Thursday, I think I may have boarded the train for a moment!

When we were out visiting Beth, she did a little hairdo on Lauren where she crossed her hair and told me that she had seen it crossing from the bottom up instead of from the top down. I decided to give it a try...and I think it turned out really cute...but, it was maybe a little much for a Thursday! I think it could be pulled off for Easter, or if your little girl was in a wedding etc., but to just have it be Thursday hair...I was worried that I might take her to the tanning salon after ECFE and then have her pick out some new "wow wear" for competition!!


She is cute though...maybe a little "wow wear" wouldn't be so bad...

Crafting, crafting, always crafting...

These are pictures of the bookmarks I have been making - thanks Holly for the link to the idea! I am always looking for ideas for the young women for camp...I think a version of these will be making it to the final cut this year! (Sorry for the weird coloring - I had to turn the flash off so there wasn't a reflection)

I know you've seen these before, but this is the one for Ava's cake...she requested the same one that I did before..the pink hair girl with the pink dress and pink ribbon...anyone seeing a theme?

Last, but not least, when I was in Utah I gave Bridgette some photos that she asked me for (for a Christmas present...I was just a few months late). When I saw what she was going to make me - charms with my kid's pictures - I LOVED the idea - but, of course wanted to learn how to make them. She didn't really have the time, but sent me to her house to pick up her supplies and then gave me a quick, quick mini lesson. I was hooked. I came right home and got the other supplies and have been soldering jewelry like crazy! This is a charm for Zach's student teacher that is leaving in another week. There is a Norman Rockwell painting of a teacher on the one side and all of the names of the kids in the class on the other side. I called Bridgette after I made my first charm and told her that she didn't have to make my charms anymore...she already gave me the best Christmas present by showing me how to make them myself!!

You know you live in Minnesota when...

When the elementary school your kids go to has it's own Zamboni!!! The school has 3 rinks and a warming house that sells treats at night. During the "ice" season, the kids skate as part of their P.E. and there are always kids out after school and there are hockey games most nights.

Here is the little one holding onto this little contraption so you don't fall (there are kids using plastic chairs too).

Here's the big Z - he has gotten so much better!

Andrew has made a big improvement this year too. He has fun out there with his friends and has gained a lot of confidence in his skating!

I do love that Duluth embraces the winter and doesn't hide for 5 months!! Between Chester Bowl, ice skating, Bentleyville, and a ton of other things, we have certainly been outside having fun this winter!!