Update

I know it's been a while.  I have totally lost the excitement blogging used to give me.  I know no one reads this anymore, now that it's private.  I get so angry/frustrated when I think about it.  I really never wanted my blog to be private, but some unfortunate events cause me to feel I needed to protect us from a few individuals.  Don't worry, if you're reading this, I'm not talking about you :)  I guess I'll keep posting, for my record if nothing else...

So, here's a little of what we've been up to the last few months.  I'm sorry the pictures are so bad, most of them are from my phone, and the rest are super dark!  I wish I knew how to take good pictures!

Will has finally started walking full time.  This is one way we encouraged that (embarrassing!)

 Read a PHENOMENAL book for book club, I highly recommend it.

 Constantly looking for new hair do's for Caydence.

 All dressed up for church!

 Nicki returned September 22 from spending the summer in Europe.

 We hosted a pumpkin carving contest with some friends and had all things pumpkin: cookies, decorations, etc.

 Made these with my silhouette (LOVE that machine!)

 All the kids watched a movie in the love sack while we carved.  It was almost impossible to get them all looking at me, ha ha. 

 Here are the pumpkins, mine is the top left (frankenstein) and Danny's is the top right (Jazz)

I finally got my Petunia bag!!!  I worked some magic (and patience) and got $100 off!  I LOVE it!

 Met sweet baby Claire (the kids' first cousin on my side)

 Unfortunately, due to sickness, and Danny's GMAT studying, the rest of the fam didn't get to meet her until she was 1 month old!  But she was even more beautiful!

 We attended the annual Wariner Halloween Party and had a blast, as always.  The theme was Disney Pixar.  Let's just say there are 6 major awards for costumes, and the 4 of us won 4 of them :) 

I brought these cupcakes as our Halloween dessert, found them on pinterest.

 Caydence and I made Halloween sugar cookies while Will was napping. 

 My cookies (we had to make do with the food coloring I had on hand :)

Caydence's cookies

 Made this for Halloween.  (also from pinterest)

 Went to the Davis High Homecoming parade.  Oh the memories...

 Caydence got 2 pairs of colored skinny jeans.  She is way more stylish than me! 

Decorated our back window with Bats (also from my silhouette) 

Made these wreaths with my mom during conference.  (Yep, also from pinterest :)

The girls went the the worldwide art competition hosted by the church (held every other-ish year?)

Anyways, here were a few of my favorites.  These pictures don't even do them justice. 

This was a gorgeous quilt of bright red and orange cliffs.

  

 Just had to throw this in there because it was SO WEIRD!  Purses with feet coming out the bottom....I wish I could remember the title.

 They have an amazing exhibit for the kids!  Caydence's favorite part was where you could dress up like a Spanish dancer and follow a movie that showed you a traditional Spanish dance.

 The fire station had an open house and Caydence BEGGED to go.  But when we got there she was her normal scared-of-everything self, and wouldn't go anywhere near ANYTHING.  So Danny took advantage instead.

 Yep, you guessed it, found this on pinterest, and I just happened to have everything on hand, so I took them to the ladies I visit teach.

 Paige turned 13!  Crazy!

 Went to my card party and took this card to trade.  (Way brighter/cuter in person!)

 Long story, but Danny and I spent a day at Frightmares at Lagoon.  It was so fun!  We hadn't been in 4 and 10 years, respectively.  Danny's parents' watched the kids and they had a fun packed day and didn't want to ever come home!

 Our cute neighbor hosted a Halloween party and all the kids were so excited to get dressed up and play Halloween games. 

This was one of the activities at the party.  (It's a mummy :)

 Every year I buy the kids skeleton pajamas.  They are a great "costume" for the younger kids that don't understand Halloween.  Love them!

 Had the first snow of the season last week.  YUCK!

 And we spent the next day an a SUPER MUDDY Black Island Farms.  It was fun, but I think it will be better when the kids are a little older.  We went with a bunch of ladies and their kids from our ward.  This is our good friends' son.  They moved in one week after us and we've just clicked.  Their little boy is almost exactly one year older than Will.  Crazy, right?!  And I thought Will was little!  He has now passed Logan in weight.  This was the best picture I could get of both of them, ha ha.

 Caydence rode this tire swing horse for about .5 seconds before she was scared, of course, and begging to get off.

Loving this face!

 Our ward has an annual children's parade and breakfast and this was Caydence ready for the parade.  Just a bunch of patriotism and pink :)

 All the older girls in my family spent the weekend at Time out for Women.  It was our first time, and I LOVED it!  We are going to make it a tradition every year now!  We spent the night in SLC and just had a blast!  We entered the facebook photo contest they were holding with the picture below.  We definitely should have won.... 

And now you're all caught up!!  We are headed to the doctor today for Will's 15 month appointment.  I cannot even believe that: 15 months!!!  I am very excited to see how much he weighs!  And we are wondering if he is allergic to peanuts.  I gave him his first peanut butter and his lips swelled a little and got red with little white dots.  I did it 2 more times just to test it, and it happened both times, so I've kept him completely off peanuts since then.  I'm hoping we can get him tested today to see if he is really allergic.

Hmm...

So I sat down to blog this afternoon, and my computer won't read the memory card from my camera.  It basically doesn't even register that it's in there.... and of course I can't blog without pictures, so I guess I'll give it a try later.

Stupid computers.

Can't keep my mouth shut.

I really try not to post political views; on facebook, instagram, or even here on this blog, but I am feeling REALLY bothered, and since this is MY OWN private blog, I decided I can spout my views, if only for a second.  I'm sorry if this offends you, that is not my intention.  I'm not exactly eloquent, or totally informed on every little issue, this is just my opinion.

I was just reading an article about Mitt Romney and the video that was just "leaked."  here it is if you don't know what I'm referring to.

As I read the comments about this video on Facebook and on KSL, It just gets me so worked up!!  I don't know if he has his numbers exactly right, but the point is that people DO feel entitled to mooch off the government, and it REALLY bothers me!  That is not why the government it in place, and that is what is KILLING America as we know it.

It really bothers me when I see acquaintances on Facebook, that I KNOW are getting government assistance and/or medical care, and they post new cars, new computers, new expensive shoes, new iPhones, etc.

WHY DO YOU HAVE THOSE THINGS IF YOU CAN'T EVEN BUY YOUR OWN GROCERIES?!?!?!

I just don't get it.

And you know who is paying for that brand new car?  ME

And it ESPECIALLY bothers me when the person/people don't even have jobs, and for no reason other than they don't want to work!  Danny worked the ENTIRE time he was in school, even working 40 hours a week and taking 15ish credits his final semester so I could stay home with Caydence.  And now he is applying for the MBA program, which he will take while simultaneously working 50+ hours a week at his current job.  DO NOT tell me it is too hard to work AND go to school!  I am not saying I am a perfect example, but we drive what we can afford, and we buy our own food, and we just depend on ourselves to get along.  And if for some reason we had a problem, we would FIRST go to our parents.  I do not agree with the mentality that the government is there to provide for me.

Another point that is bothersome is that Mitt only cares for the wealthy, because he is wealthy.  I am definitely not saying that Mitt is perfect, or has everything just right, but I think being sucessful is a GOOD thing!  Do YOU want a president who is a failure in his personal/business life?  I think his track record in turning around companies is EXACTLY what this country needs: a turnaround!  I would rather have a successful president than one that supports gay marriage, won't release his school records, used drugs more than a few times,  and much more.

End Rant.

You are free to leave your opinions, but let's not get nasty, ha ha.

Firsts

First off, no pun intended, thank you so much for all of your nice comments about my room!!  I'm glad you all enjoy it as much as I do!  I was pretty proud of my first decorating adventure.  :)

The past month or so has been filled with "firsts."  Here are a bunch of pictures of a few of them.

I bought a curling wand (a curling iron without the clamp, just a barrel) and tested it out on Caydence: WOW!  We got SOOO many compliments!  And then she gave her first talk, it was pretty cute.  Now that I think about it, it was her second talk, but her first in this ward.

 Yep, only 4 and she has this much hair!!

 We hit up the demolition derby at the Davis County fair.  It was pretty entertaining.  We had never been, but came 1/2 prepared (only one set of headphones) because it was LOUD!!

 Will's first haircut!!  I finally let Danny go at him with the scissors!  It definitely needed it, but I was so scared to actually do it!

Before:

 This is how we kept him somewhat still.

 Hairy sucker....YUCK!

 A sticky, hairy mess!

 After:

 Not too shabby.  I'm still getting used to it, but it is MUCH better.

 Caydence's first day of preschool.  She LOVED it, of course.  She is taking dance there too, so I get 3 hours off twice a week!  I'm not sure who loves it more :)  Everyone is talking about all the tears from the first day of school.  I might be a bad mother, but I was pretty much throwing a party, ha ha.  We both needed this.

 So maybe her backpack says "Kennedy", but hey, it was cheap!

And on her second day of school I canned pears for the first time!  And all by myself!!  I am so proud, ha ha!

Finally! Our master bedroom tour.

I've FINALLY finished our master bedroom.  I won't bore you with the details, but the last piece was the curtains, and they are finally done.  Let me take you on a little tour.

I didn't take any before pictures, but this room was just WHITE, that's it!  Much of my inspiration came from pinterest here.

I first painted the whole room gray.  If you saw my chevron wall, I used the same colors, just switched them (dark first, stencil in light).  Then I researched forever about wall stencils and settled on this one.  100% worth the investment!  I love it!  Here's the view from the opposite wall (the room is not very big)

 I searched EVERYWHERE for the bedding.  The gray is easy, the yellow is hard.  I wanted BRIGHT yellow, not gold yellow, or corn yellow.  I finally found the sheets at target, large yellow pillows at Ross, striped yellow pillow at RC Willey, Yellow/black damask pillow on amazon, and 2 gray pillows at Khols.

 I knew I wanted a "canvas" print for above the bed.  Too bad one this size is $300!  Then one day I'm in Walmart and find this fake one for $25!  (it's actually fabric on a wooden frame, but you'd never be able to tell the difference)  It's the Brooklyn Bridge (more on that later)

 A close up of the stencil.  Took me 3 DAYS!!!

Next, the nightstands.  Danny bought this one at the DI for $20ish before we were even married.

And I just found this one at the DI, 10 years later!  Crazy they almost match!  So we painted them yellow (canary yellow from Walmart).

And added cuter hardware.  (from Lowes or Home Depot, can't remember)

 Added $10 lamps from Target.

 Got a dresser from target to fit this little nook in the wall.  Added a cheap mirror, and some decorations.

Ordered this print from some steal website.  I think it was on groopdealz.  It's one of those sites that things come and go.  The empire state building statue was on amazon (one of my splurges- I just had to have it!)  For those of you that don't know, Danny served his mission in NY City, and we have visited twice since we've been married.  We LOVE NY, and agreed we wanted that to be the theme of our room.)

 Bought these books on amazon for CHEAP (like 69 cents for one).  They are FILLED with awesome photos of NY.  And how awesome that one has a gray and yellow cover!

 The curtains have their own story.....deep breath.....so I decided I wanted chevron curtains, initially in yellow.  Yellow and chevron are two very popular things right now, so it was REALLY hard to find!  I'd go into stores and ask for Yellow chevron fabric and they would seriously laugh at me.  I finally found some on fabric.com, and ordered a sample.  It was called "corn yellow" and was NOT the right color.  Anyways, I finally decided to ditch the yellow, because the room already has lots of yellow, and instead went with black.  I tried many places and all of the chevron fabric is the wrong direction on the bolt, if that makes any sense.  Anyways, I got this on fabric.com.  My friend Ashley let me know they have free shipping, free returns, and their fabric is way better priced, and better quality.

Wow, more than you EVER wanted to know!  So I just gave them a rough hem, bought some grommets at JoAnne's, and hung them on the cheapest black rod I could find.  LOVE THEM!!  Here they are closed:

And open:

And as you can see in the corner, I bought this frame at Hobby Lobby (when it was 1/2 price) and filled it with black and white pictures we took on our 2 trips to NY.

And this is a totally random clock I found in Gordmans (like Ross) and it was perfect for the wall opposite our bed.  It is probably one of my favorite parts of the room!  It is hard to tell in this picture, but it is huge!  Probably almost 3 feet across.

SO.....that's our room!!  I love it, and I love having a place we are able to decorate and make our own!