Sophie Tails...

...Get it?...tails/tales (he he)

So Sophie has been her usual - must get into as much mischief as possible- self.

The other day I was at home and she was quiet... too quiet... hummm

So I looked for her and found that she was perfectly content playing with her new collection of scrapbook items and a golf ball that has seen better days. She is constantly tearing up paper plates, napkins and anything she thinks might make a big mess! (Thankfully she has avoided shoes and other expensive leather items lately)

As you might notice from the photo, it's time for a trip to the groomers, so today I took her to a new place and she looks so cute! I just love it when she goes to the groomers. I just love the bows in her hair, but they don't last very long.

I've decided she is really a tom-boy and prefers the un-lady like activities instead of being the dainty little thing she is....

Oh well, she is still cute & cuddly when she wants to be!

Pretty in Pink

When Miranda told me she needed a light pink cocktail dress for her play... I started the search. I went to 5 different thrift stores looking for the perfect pink party dress (say that 10x fast)
But came up empty handed.
I really didn't want to spend too much money on something she may or may not wear again....so we decided to check at Ross since they are pretty reasonable. After much searching she tried on a couple dresses, but nothing that was perfect... just something to get her by.
As we were leaving the store we both saw this dress at the same time....
It was almost perfect....well, at least it was pink. So she tried it on.
She fell in love with how it fit so I opened my big mouth and said, "I can alter it if you like"
What... really.... did I just say that out loud?

Like I said before, the only positive thing going for it was the light pink color. It would have to be shortened to cocktail length (not too difficult)
It needed some kind of sleeves for modesty and so it didn't fall of when she danced the tango (ummmmm... ok)
and it was a size too small so it didn't zip up all the way in the back.
What was I thinking when I thought I could alter it to work?
I really haven't sewn anything except paper since Miranda was 10. But like they say, it's like riding a bike right?
Since the dress was only $20 I decided it wouldn't be a complete waste of money to at least give it a try.... Oh, and did I mention that we bought the dress on Weds night and she needed it for school the next day? ...nothing like a little motivation

Here is the dress before I started...... Like I said, sleeveless, floor length and pink.
It had a sheer sparkley overlay thing that I thought would look neat flowing like a train once I cut it shorter. Well, at least in my mind it looked cool... so we would see. After having Miranda try it on and I measured and pinned, I first cut and hemmed the skirt and slip, because that was the easy part and I needed to boost my confidence level a bit.
Then I decided to tackle the back. I just folded, pinned and secured the top part of the zipper to make a V-back style. (remember it wouldn't zip up all the way)
Then I moved on to the sleeves.... pinned one in place, had Miranda try it on... whew.. this just might work!
Ok, to make a long story short... here is the finished product
Front.....
and back... I added the bow to cover up the V-back section so Miranda's undershirt wouldn't show.
And guess what... it actually turned out how I pictured it in my head! And Miranda loved the little sheer train in the back! And it didn't fall apart at dress rehearsal!!
Miranda is even thinking of using it for a Halloween costume this year as Glinda (from Wicked)
Whew! Another motherly duty checked off the list for now!
Wonder what will be next?

B-E-A-U-tiful!!

That's what comes to mind when I see this face! She is beautiful both on the outside and the inside. Everyday I look at her in amazement with what she has accomplished in her little life. She has a beautiful smile, beautiful hair, beautiful personality, beautiful voice, beautiful friend, beautiful love for others, and such a beautiful spirit! She is growing up right before my eyes .... (and I don't think I'm really ready for that)
Everyday I look at her in amazement with what she has accomplished in her lifetime.
I love you my beautiful little girl!

I've got the fever

Oh yeah... and I'm not talking about the sick kind of fever...
I have SPRING FEVER!!!!

So usually every spring I go to the nursery and buy tons of flowers to plant in my little flower bed in front of the house. As all of you who live in Vegas know... these flowers usually last a couple months before they look dead and you start over again with fresh flowers.
Well, honestly, I was tired of wasting money and energy on this process so I decided to plant something more permanent in the flower bed.
So first stop... the Nursery!
There were so many beautiful flowers and plants and I truly felt giddy just thinking about the possibilities before me :)
After much debate (in my head) I finally decided on this....and this.....And instead of a pot garden (which we have not had success for the last two years)
I went with this....
Aaaaaahhhhh!
Now I can relax and enjoy the beautiful spring (and hopefully summer) blooms!

What's for dessert?

On Sunday, as Miranda and I were skewering shish-ka-bobs for dinner (which were delicious) she asked what was for dessert. Which is a very good and valid question. Since we are all trying to eat nice :) I thought of a little something I used to make all the time when Ryan and I were first married.... pudding parfaits!

So Miranda got busy mixing and after a little instructions on assembly... voila! They tasted just as good as they look too!
I just love dessert!

I Break for Spring

This year we enjoyed a fabulous Spring Break in California with our good friends, the Websters.
We headed out Weds morning for Newport Beach, CA for a little R&R and Disneyland!
After arriving at the RV park and setting up, we headed to Disney for a few hours....
It was a little crowded, but not too bad.
Here's a couple characters inside Small World (so cute)Miranda and Parker even tested their driving skills in Autotopia.... (it's a good thing they have a while to practice)Thursday, we headed back and spent the entire day... yes it was still crowded, but we still had a lot of fun!
I must admit it has been so fun to have annual passes to Disney and we can come and go whenever we feel like it and not feel like we are wasting our money...Friday and Saturday we spent just hanging out and relaxing at Newport Dunes.
The weather was a little too chilly to swim in the ocean, but it was perfect for bike riding and shopping!
The kids rented this surrey for the afternoon and had a blast! Thank goodness for the internet and Wifi... We were able to catch all the General Conference sessions on Saturday and Sunday morning before we headed home.
We had a wonderful relaxing Easter weekend together as a family!