Friends...

My sweet friend Amy came for a visit from Portland. The bad news... we got the stomach flu just prior to her arrival and passed it on to her family. We were robbed of a fun weekend of late night chatting, girls shopping outings, and just plain "hanging out". I haven't seen her or her kids for a while. It was quite a shock to see our oldest girls together.

Please keep in mind that Amanda has always been a little taller than K. but they sure looked years apart this visit. Now, funny thing is that K. is a couple of weeks older than Amanda. She must get her height from her Aunt Mere (she'll thank you one day). You don't really realize how tall your child is until they are around other kids the same age. I suppose that Amanda will be in the back row of her Kindergarten class photo next year.

Does Calvin miss his crib?

Well, again my boy was caught being cute. I got Calvin up from an afternoon nap and I could tell he was still sleepy. He found an old bottle and headed fof the TV room. There he got into Amanda's doll crib and finished up the bottle in the cozy small space. I was just lucky he was too tired to jump out when he saw the camera.

Great-Grandmothers Hands

Amanda has a special relationship with Great-Grandmother Fern. I suppose it's because she is her only one still living. She calls her the grandma with the wrinkly hands. She enjoys writing her letters and when grandma writes back, she often tapes some money coins to her letter. Amanda has just figured out that she can buy "stuff" with money ( I suppose it time for an allowance).

Amanda is my girl with all the questions. During our Utah trip this year, she was questioning how Grandpa Gardner fit in her tiny tummy. Grandma Fern is a tiny framed lady who is always polished and fully of stories. She has a soft spoken voice that is full of love. I love to see how Amanda and Fern interact together. Amanda is forced to focus on the words and really listen. She also must speak loud and clear for her to hear. They truly have a special relationship. I wish we lived closer to spend more time with her.

Amanda enjoyed counting to 90 (Fern's age) with her great-grandmother. Fern has a picture of herself at the age of four (Amanda's age). She enjoyed seeing what she looked like at her age.

Below is a picture of Amanda's and Great-Grandma's hands. I couldn't resist!

Box Fun!

Why do we even buy toys? We had a trip to Utah to see Grandpa & Grandma when they returned from Oakland. Paul & Mignonne's youngest was also baptized. Since we stayed with Grandpa & Grandma, they were busy unpacking (hence the empty boxes). Their home was not set up with television, phone or internet. We had some good old fashioned FUN!

Amanda's Trip to Oakland

Amanda went on a wonderful trip to Oakland to see her Grandpa & Grandma Gardner. It was her first Daddy-Daughter trip and she felt like a princess! She wanted to pack her own bags (but her controlling mom stepped in to help).

Grandma and Gradpa were in Oakland serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. They worked in the mission home. We wanted to all come out before they returned home but were happy that Ben and Amanda got to go and see the sights.

Amanda loved all the personal attention and fun times. Here are some photos.

Calvin's Curls???

One of my favorite things about Calvin is his wonderful curls. He has amazing hair that we have been cutting since 6 months. Here is a sweet picture of those curls back in December.

Ben took my curly hair kiddo in for what I thought would be a trim.... I couldn't believe how short it was (can you say military cut?). Although I liked it, I really missed his wonderful curls. What was I suppose to run my fingers through? Below is a couple of pictures of the results. Yes, we pimped him out... He'll cringe one day.

Conference Craft

Well, I must admit there is nothing better than a Sunday at home in my pj's while listening to conference on television. It is especially nice with a toddler. Church has been VERY difficult the past few months. However, this conference marks change. You may ask, "How?". Next Sunday will be one filled with NURSERY! Technically, a day before Calvin is 18 months old but, we will be gracing the nursery. It will be a great for Calvin and a nice Easter gift for me too!

I like to have some project to do while listening to messages of conference. It's not like I don't have several unfinished projects to work on but I needed something new! This year it was a dress for Amanda. I fell in love with a Sandi Henderson pattern and it drove me into my "craft zone". Ok, with lots of help from my ever talented mother too. If I could just have the confidence in sewing like she does. Amanda wanted to help too. I think she just may have a knack for sewing (maybe it skipped one generation).

The dress is "claire" style. You can check out Sandi's other patterns and design inspiration on her website: http://www.sandihendersondesign.com/. I believe we have LOTS in common and we have never met (I love blogs!). She enjoys thrifting, has great design taste and I believe she may be LDS too. She designs wonderful fabrics but I could not get any at my local fabric store so I picked a tropical print called Nouveau by Sentimental Studios for Moda. I suppose with our late spring, I am already for summer.