creative juice {green}

on friday night, we had an adult only ward party!! it was so much fun!! it was a progressive dinner that was awesome! at the dewitt's house, our last stop and where we had dessert (yum) brett and brooke martin were trying to get people to jump into the pool for money!! ummm....hello! that has my name written all over it! brett said he'd give me $50 if i jumped in then another $50 if jonathan did!! i was so ready...jonathan said i would be walking home if i did. so, no pool. womp, womp. i'll totally still jump in the pool in a second (for money, ok for fun too)!! anyway, about the creative juice. i've been so wrapped up in so many things, i've been neglecting my idea notes and making of little crafts and treats. but after visiting a trip to the cotter's house and seeing judy's magnificently eclectic sitting room, my creative juices are flowing! (the juices i picture are green, what else?) so, after emily and steven's wedding (niece and soon to be nephew-in-law?) i will actively be trying to use up all my fabric! i think i posted this before, but i will be finishing an apron i've been working on for my sister and hopefully make one for myself (also green.) i think i will be trying to mimic a super cute one from anthropologie that my niece got today at her bridal shower. if anyone has any other cute, crafty things or patterns send them my way!
p.s. i have insomnia. anyone have any remedies?
p.p.s. anyone have anything in green; fabric, paper, buttons, etc.? i welcome your leftovers! (not forest green!!)

jury duty!!

yes, i had jury duty. no, it wasn't in phoenix like i thought. that was just the return address. actually, it was literally down the street on greenfield and mckellips. the courthouse was so ghetto!! it was teeny-tiny and they crammed 20 of us into a room that was 12x12. we were the sardine-jurors!! i ended up just sitting on the floor because it was way more comfortable than being the meat of a juror sandwich!! so then we get to go into a courtroom, also smaller than normal. the attorneys i definitely couldn't take seriously, seriously. one of the prosecuting attorneys for the state was fine. she looked normally professional. the other one looked about 17, was tall and lanky had a nice haircut, but for the RAT TAIL!! holy cow people!! along the bottom of his hairline, along the neck was what i would call a RAT RUFFLE!! it wasn't just a tail, it was along the whole bottom of the hairline, was about an inch and a half and neatly curled over the top of his suit jacket!! don't even get me started on the main defense attorney!! W.O.W. that is all i will say. the defendant looked dirty with a bad hair stylist!( his hair was trying to be blond) i'm not saying my hair is awesome or even great for that matter, but seriously? anyway, i end up getting chosen to be on the jury. not that bad. it just lasted today and now it's over. but what a waste of time it was!! the defendant was pulled over for speeding and a broken tail light and was arrested for being drunk as well. he admitted he had 5 big mugs of beer only an hour before being pulled over, he admitted to feeling the effects of drinking that much and he admitted to being a 6 on a scale of 1-10 one being completely sober and 10 being the most drunk he'd ever been!! not only that, he failed the field sobriety tests, and when took the breathalyzer test, was well over the legal limit, not once but twice!! and he pleaded not guilty!! what a waste of time and money that people nowadays definitely don't have!! i'm just sayin'! all in all it was an interesting experience and i got to wear a funny little yellow juror badge!

sorry this picture is so crazy but jonathan wouldn't take it fast enough and i ended up making myself look more excited than i was!! enjoy the craziness!!

the surprise party!!!

birthday breakfast. carson did not want a "c" pancake. he just wanted a cinnamon roll!! less work for me! they were already made!

carson licking the frosting spat!

excited much?!

cody helping himself!

eating with the back of the spoon!

cody once again, helping himself

all the birthday loot before he and his fun cousins dug in!

new boots! woo! is were coming apart and boy, were they stinky!

the movie he won't stop talking about! Space Buddies!

the fort jonathan and carson built with the extra wood in the sarager's backyard on carson's birthday

eden and i at sauce on love day with the rest of the fam.

so...the surprise party for carson went off without a hitch. not hard to keep secrets from a four year old!! it was awesome!! he knew we were having sunday dinner, and he knew all the family was going to be there, but when everybody said,"SURPRISE!!" he was totally stunned and just stood there with his mouth open smiling. then they started singing "happy birthday" and he was on cloud 15!! then we ate dinner and stuff but when we came to eating the cake and opening presents, euphoria set in for him. i made a very tall 4 layer chocolate cake with chocolate filling and chocolate frosting and the kids could not keep their hands off the cake!! by the time we were done singing happy birthday (for the second time) it had so many little finger marks on it!! cody was the main culprit and during the song i kept trying to swat their hands away and finally gave up because it was really cute!! anyway, on to the presents! carson got so many awesome presents!! tons! i hardly know where to put them all!! and with every new present came more giggles, not just from carson but from his cousins too!! it was hilarious! i wish i would've video taped it! the shrieks of delight were the best! here are some pictures!! and one more to come in the next day or two that i did not get with my camera!

chickens, love day & treasure hunt for sweets!!

these are the chicks, but one has died since this picture was taken yesterday and i think one is on the verge of death as i type. balina lives on.

these are the cookies eden and i made for our loves this wonderful love day

the romantic love day cookie i made for jonathan

love pancakes is what i call 'em the boys were really excited and loved to eat them

carson looks such an angel. just the kind of picture i need to see every now and then to remind me

cody ooohhhing at his yummy love day breakfast

carson and my co-conspiritor, eden enjoying breakfast

crazy carson eating with fork and knife at the same time

cody enjoying love day breakfast

last night, eden and i started love day off by planning a heart-attacking adventure, along with extra large frosted chocolate chip cookies for the ones we love. we made up four goodie boxes/bags filled with candy and v-day chocolate, and topped it off with the chocolate chip cookies. carson's cookie said," i love you". cody's said,"ooh" (it's what he said when he saw it too!) jonathan's said,"be mine...or else" (we had quite a laugh with that one)and the one eden made was for a boy she has a crush on. his said,"i'm lovestruck 4 u" with a bunch of lightning bolts!! heart-attacking was quite an adventure!! i'm way too out of shape to be running for my life!! the boys dad and brother were standing in the front room looking out the window because the dogs were barking. blasted dogs ruined our fun!! we had to stop early in fear we would be found out! it was great!with the left over hearts, we heart attack our own house and the boys were so excited!! we told them it was cupid spreading love!!

we woke up early and made heart-shaped pancakes for the boys with cran-apple juice, blueberries and yogurt!! carson thought it was pretty cool. then we found a map on the table and went on a treasure hunt eden and i made up at 10pm last night!! seriously, i love love day and i always have so much fun!! at the end of the treasure hunt, the boys got their goodies and an over sized card from me!! cody loved his!! it has a puppy on it!! anyway, hope your love day will go as good as ours has so far!! HAPPY LOVE DAY!!

cody reading his puppy love day card

carson enjoying his love day booty

here is where we heart-attacked our front yard. this was the boys first experience with being heart-attacked. they were ecsatic!!

carson finding a clue on the palm tree that has since been cut down as of 30 minutes ago.

chickens and such and things i have made

yup. chickens. again. for the third time. yes, one of them is named balina. for the third time. so i guess she's balina the third, maybe i'll call her B3 for short?! anyway, jonathan made a chicken coop in the backyard and got his fathers permission to get 6 chicks. two are the whitish yellow ones, two are rhode island reds and the other two are blackish ones. i'm really excited!! i love having chickens!! it makes me feel of a different era, or a farmer, take your pick! carson loves them too. he likes to pet them and he's real gentle like. cody on the other hand, likes them but throws stuff inside their chick-box!! like socks. off his feet!! he doens't know how to be "soft" yet, and i hope the chicks don't suffer for it!! i don't know how many of you have had a fresh egg, but boy are they delicious!! store-bought just doesn't compare!! (maybe hickman's do)

so, i love trying new things (not fish, not now, not ever, never!!) crafty things. so here are a few things i've made withing the last 6 months or so. my niece is getting married in a month so some of this stuff is for her wedding.

this is a little red riding hood costume i made for miss nixie jane this past halloween. i had carson try it on so i could take a picture to send to juliette. he had just eaten something chocolate, no surprise.

this is the blessing dress and slippers i made for miss delilah june. it isn't a good picture, but it looked like a cloud and she looked so super precious!! the slippers are my favorite and have several really easy patterns for boy shoes too!!

this is a recipe box i made for emily and steven's new kitchen. my mom and sisters and i are hosting a kitchen/bath wedding shower for her and one of the things we asked the ladies to bring is a favorite recipe. her kitchen is brown and light blue. the color didn't turn out exactly right but you get the picture.

these are the flower girl dresses to be worn to the temple for pictures and also at the reception. they look so cute in them!! there are eight flower girl dresses. emily and steven's colors are light yellow and aqua-ish.

my next new experiment will be a blue and brown apron for emily's shower present, tracy, don't tell!! i'll post it as soon as i finish!! tell me what you think!!

poop scoop

so. this is a story about...you guessed it. poop. no jill, carson did not smear poop on the wall this time. instead, carson and his cousin malloy pooped in a bucket at my parents house. juliette and i were laughing so hard!! malloy, nixie and carson were all jumping on the trampoline. juliette looked out the kitchen window to check on them after a few minutes and nixie was alone on the tramp. cars and malloy had gotten out and zipped up the enclosure with nixie inside. she was sad. juliette then looked around for carson and malloy and discovered them in a corner of the yard squatting over a bucket with their pants down. she asked them what they were doing. they were startled but both said, "nothing". remember, they both have their pants down and both are squatting over the same bucket. she looks inside and sure enough, poop. not only poop, but pee in/on the bucket and in the surrounding area. she calls for me to come out there. we were both laughing so hard at our crazy children and very grossed out!! we didn't want to take the pee dripping bucket inside to dump it in the toilet and we didn't want to dump it in the trash bin so...we dumped it over the fence. there is a park next to my parents house. we were laughing so hard because, since juliette is taller, she got to put it over the fence only...it didn't want to go. pee started to drip down her arm and i was up next. we finally got it over with a little water mixed in to make it easier. seriously when carson and his cousins are together, they make the most mischief!! it almost always involves peeing and pooping!! sorry this post was so gross!! does anyone else have problems like this with their children?!

new cousin!!

carson and cody have a new cousin on the sarager side!! baby adelyn belle was born last monday around 9:30 am!! she is so cute and looks just like her sister, but chubbier!! so now the grandchildren count is 4!! two boys, two girls!! so exciting!! they came over tonight and so we took some pictures! they were good up until cody steam-rolled the baby trying to get up!! aahh!boys!

surprise party!!

carson has a birthday coming up. "the birthday fairy" (eden) keeps leaving cute little notes for him at the front door reminding him that he's almost four and a big boy. i was going to do a small birthday party for him with just a few friends from our ward that he loves, but yesterday, he informed us he was having a surprise party. he said he was going to walk into the house, and it would be dark...then he would flip the light on and all his "friends" (he calls our family his friends) would yell "SURPRISE!!!" seriously, how can i not give him a surprise party?! he's already planned it for me!! so family, if you are reading this, this is your official invite to carson's self-planned surprise party at mom and dad's on sunday the 15th. time to be announced. hope the party lives up to his expectations!!

babies and puppies?

monday morning, carson and i were lying in bed, i don't remember where the other two were, but i was reading and he was watching cartoons. out of the blue, he says," i love you, mom" i said," i love you too" and gave him a kiss, then he says," we don't have a baby girl do we?" i said, "no we don't." then he said," we should get one." (with a huge smile on his face) i said," what would we name her?" "baby delilah!!" was his response!! on sunday we went up to flagstaff to Juliette's newest baby-love's blessing. incidentally her name is delilah june!! i wonder where he got that name from?! he must have really thought she was super awesome, because we've asked him in the past if we should have a girl in our family and he always wears a disgusted look and shouts no!!

we recently received two bags of hand-me-downs from my sisters-in-law heather and jamie. (thanks!!) inside one of the bags was a dog costume. carson was so excited!! he wanted it on immediately!! we put it on him and it was not fitting length-wise (you know, too tight in the crotch and it wouldn't zip up all the way). he did not care in the least!! he went around acting like a cute carson-puppy. he even took a nap in it! then, a couple days later cody found it while cars was taking a nap and wanted it on!! it was huge on him, but he loved it too!! he's found our mirror in our room and keeps looking in it and "dancing" ( consists of him raising his right shoulder to his ear ) he laughs so hard afterwards. it's so cute!!

happy puppy in a puppy blanket as well

if carson's abdomen looks distended, it is. he shoved stuff down the neck of the puppy costume. like the clothes he was wearing before he put the costume on and mmm...maybe a stuffed animal or two. if his eyes look half-open, they are. he sleeps that way. it's kind of creepy.

rolled up puppy-legs!!

the boys by the fireplace!! what handsome boys!! i love them!!!