And what's a birthday without a photoshoot?

 "The Smolder"

Parley is 2!

Even though Parley has been acting like he's two for over six months now, I guess its official now.  This crazy bundle of impossible energy had a fun party this weekend!

The hardest part was keeping Lincoln's excitement contained!!  He's been talking about Parley's birthday party for MONTHS!

Gosh, I love this kid.  Lincoln picked out this Thomas train (with a birthday check from Grandma Hancock), and it was a major hit.

He also really loves the sandals from Grandma Millar and the beach toys from Diana!  They are perfect.  Thank you, thank you!

 Does this give you a hint as to where we're moving next month?!  A major increase in rent is kicking us out and we've found a dream-rental right by the beach!  We can't wait to spend the entire carefree summer on the sand!

Can't Get Enough Canary Yellow

This week's project was finishing up another pillow for our room.  You can read the full tutorial HERE on Viva!

#NW10Years

What a fantastic weekend!!  x10!

Words can't describe what it meant to be able to see all my best friends from college.  These girls (plus Megan, who couldn't make it) were my lifeline, my cheerleaders, my teammates, my listening ears, my vacation buddies, my songmates, and my closest friends. 

 Several of the alumni organized this 10-year reunion and concert.  We met up for a dinner Friday night where we giggled, told stories, met everyone's husbands and kids, watched the current NW group perform their ICCA set, took pictures, and hugged.

 Aaaaaand I had to make a dress for the occasion :)

Saturday we threw together a show!  We'd been practicing our tracks from our old recordings and brushing up on choreo from youtube videos at home.  Its amazing how it all comes back!

 

This concert also celebrated the new release of our 4th CD!  It is called "Unbound", and the songs are killer.

We had the Covey at 8am, and fit in vocal rehearsals, choreography, sound checks, and pizza, before the show that night. 

Getting to perform for Travis & Holly, Braden & Lauren, and Janae made this performance even more magical!  Most of them had never seen me perform in NW, and it was fun to feel like I was in college with them.

My two years in NW put me in the "1st Generation" group as well as the "2nd Generation", so I got to perform in twice the numbers.  A moment I will never forget is being introduced at this concert as the group that won ICCA, and before even singing a note, hearing our friends, our families, and our dear show parents completely warming us with applause.  What an incredible feeling!  Going back to 2007 as if nothing had changed, but then thinking of all the things that have happened in those 7 years, was humbling and touching.

Here's a little "Don't You Worry", part of our winning ICCA set:

The closer (or 2nd encore, rather), was "How Great Thou Art". 

Its a good thing Travis' video ends where it does because we all start to lose it, the pitch drops, we're all in tears, and I'm a wreck.  These girls.  That song.

Kristen describes it all best when she wrote, "Late Tuesday and Thursday nights, early Saturday mornings, scraping to get by, dodging HFAC night closing crew, eating too much, dancing in front of mirrors, discovering the etiology of my sore knees to be the frequency of prayers said with pinkies clasped on hard floors, wondering if anyone would care about female a cappella, choreographing when I should have been studying, "visualizing" a win, the vision board (a perfect score), Saturday night gigs, NW limo ride in NY, trying to arrange parts, negotiating show flow and a set list, awkward talkies, getting kissed by a 40 year old man at a gig, winning best choreography, corded microphones at ICCA, winning ICCA 2007, road trips and speeding tickets, chappy, 12 minutes on the Lincoln Center Stage, the Tuacahn, heels and hair up, Barbie hands, and retreats.  It was all of that.  And more.  It was finding myself onstage with 8 other women ready to bear witness to the world what we knew to be true about womanhood, music, and the gospel of Jesus Christ.  It was a journey to "win the world", and I won so much more." -- Kristin

The Next Blogging Adventure

You guys!  This week, I've started on as a contributor on Viva Veltoro!  I'll be slowing down and eventually leaving Dandy, but I'm thrilled about this next blogging adventure!  I'll be doing a new recipe/craft/project blog post each week, plus a giveaway or review on the side.  I'm excited about posting for a significantly larger audience and still getting to do what I love with giveaways, while at the same time having an excuse to start and FINISH all these projects I've had swirling in my head for months and months!  My first post was this Happy Easter Egg Cake I created in a frantic frenzy Monday morning (just after arriving home from a red-eye from CA).  More on that soon...

See and read the full recipe with more pictures at HERE or at www.vivaveltoro.com!

Happy April!

Its finally starting to look like Spring around here, and we couldn't be happier about it!  Especially Lincoln, who filled up his entire Potty Chart and earned a BIKE!!!  Potty training was actually not at all as hard as I thought it would be.  I seriously have been absolutely dreading it since the moment I found out he we was a boy in the womb.

 

This was a really fun commissioned job for a birthday girl in Ohio--an Elsa dress!  I broke down and bought myself a ruffler foot, and I can't believe I've ever lived without one.  Oh right, I have boys!  No ruffles.

 These were "Goodmorning Muffins" that I baked for Jason's team at work.  At home, we're really into building forts, ships, trains, and as seen below, airplanes!!  Our favorite place to travel is the jungle where we land a do a leopard puzzle.  Every time.  These kids are a blast.

We had a family night at the pool!   I love seeing Jason teach our boys new things.  He got Lincoln to do all sorts of brave things.  Parley is a natural water rat.

I took these pictures to show the new gym clothes I was reviewing for a giveaway, but here's a look into our weekly routine.  We have been loving the Easty Y!  Because of their awesome daycare, I've been going three days/week, fitting in a 5k every Saturday.  Jason joins us on the weekends and we look like a cute little healthy family.

 Our bedroom got another little facelift, courtesy of Brylane Home.

I set out to make a whole bunch of pillows, and kind of lost steam after the first one.  Recognize the leftovers from making that wedding dress a few years back?

Speaking of lace, this was a fun idea that turned out well: take a portion of lace and clip it into the shape you want, spray-starch it on both sides, and hand-sew onto a taupe ribbon.  

Aaaaaaaaand, Lincoln was a champ at his first dentist appt. this morning!  It probably helped to have that TV screen a few feet from his face.  Squeaky clean teeth!  Grandpa Richardson would be proud.

Noteworthy Celtic Ice Cream

To quote Braden: "A person needs three things to be happy--someone to love, something to do, and something to hope for."  How blessed I am to have so many boys to love, SO much to do, and exciting things to look forward to!  Starting with a visit to Provo next month to sing in the NW 10-Year Reunion Concert!!! 

I am ECSTATIC about getting to see all my best friends from college, relive our Noteworthy memories and best moments, and perform again!!!  Parley is not such a fun of all the practicing going on around here.  Its a lot of "nyaps", "do-do-dos", and trumpet bleeps.  Did that just make me sound like a major nerd?

With Marc visiting for a week, we tried a couple recipes of homemade ice cream.  On the right: Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream.  Major success.  We also went to a Celtics game!!  All fun and games until some guy spilled his beer all over Jason :(

One Sunday, I made a skirt out of an old mauve scarf and a bundle of lace!

I think this picture summarizes how we've spent the last 6 months of indoor entertainment.  Let us out!

Jason had some sort of "wear a bow tie to work" day and picked out this fun stripe print.  He kindly helped me turn it inside out during Dancing with the Stars.  This season is going to be SO GOOD!!  I am willingly giving up all my Monday nights for the next few weeks to be completely entertained and dazzled with dancing and glitter!!

 

Primary is a blast.  Every Sunday is just a chaotic swirl of kids and craziness!  My counselors and I had a painting night and made these cute frames to give each child on their birthday.  Jason is "Super Dad of the Year" every Sunday while I disappear basically all morning for meetings and then scramble around like a lunatic racing potty-training 3-year-olds to their parents for bathroom visits, finding last-minute substitutes, and breaking up wrestling matches on the floor.

We'll end this post with a good date night picture:

Consume less.  Perfect.

Palm Readings and Pizza

Time for an update!  I'll forgo the apology about disappearing for a few weeks.  Busy, stressed, blah blah blah.  I tell people that life is really beating me up right now, but in a good way.  How great to be leading a life this is so FULL, BUSY, and EXCITING!!  Well, well, let's see where we left off.  Before Vegas, we were still being pummeled with snow storms.  I don't think I left the house for a solid six days in a row.  Jan/Feb is all about hibernating indoors!

Date night: palm readings! The pshycic predicted 3 kids for us, some real estate endeavors, Jason living til he's 80 and missing that upcoming wedding!  Coincidentally, one of his flights was completely canceled and I thought she'd be right!  But it all turned out ok. 

We also threw our bi-annual Olympic Party with some friends, complete with five Olympic ring pizzas during the Opening Ceremonies.  Great Olympics this year, huh?!  In Ohio, the boys soaked up every minute at Grandma's house, and really had the time of their lives...

...while I fit in a good thrift.  Literally, EVERY time I've visited home since I left for college (10 years ago?), I've sneaked in a trip to the Village Discount Outlet.  I'm confident that almost half of my wardrobe and shoe stash came from here.  Dozens of dresses and skirts started from one of these $2 bundles of sheets.  On the right: skating night fruit pizza with mom.

RIT dying has become a favorite pasttime, and also from the thrift store, I found a cute foam chair for Parley that I recovered with leftover upholstery fabric from a client job.  These chairs (in kitschy commercial prints) are sold in stores for over $35!  Our version: $3.

And my kids are adorable.  But you already knew that.  When Marc was in town for Spring Break, we ventured to the Museum of Science.  Lincoln spent the majority of the time in the space capsule, and Parley was fascinated by the dinosaurs!

A Vegas Wedding

Oh how I LOVE a good wedding!!  Aren't these two darling?

 

It was a most beautiful day and the loveliest ceremony.  Lauren is the PERFECT girl for Braden, and I am just tickled to have her as my new sister!

 Poor Braden caught a virus two weeks prior, and came down with a bout of Bell's Palsy that left one side of his face a little droopy.  Probably only his family member could tell, but what poor timing!

 Didn't stop them from getting some gorgeous pictures.

 Oh, young love!

 Look at us grow in numbers!

 Braden just accepted a summer internship at MIT Lincoln Labs, so the two of them will be coming to Boston to play with us this summer!!!!   I'm thrilled!  How fun to be in the same ward and spend all summer at the beach with Lauren :)

 My three dashing men!

 Two lovely receptions--Lauren's home and then in Ohio.

Jason flew home to work the week out, and the rest of us vanned home and chilled for a week at Grandma's house!  My boys are just crazy about their uncles.  We put on the Ohio reception the next weekend and mom talked me into singing some sweet jazz for live music.  Parley only once found his way to the soundboard :)

Jason was camera-man, hence a little more flirting than usual!