Capital B

Happy Valentines Day! (late)

2012-02-14T21:04:00.000-07:00

I know it's over at this point, but I did want to post
a Happy Valentines Day to everyone!

This morning Cooper woke up and ran straight past his own Valentine surprises
to get the card we made for Daddy out of his room...
I was so touched at his sweet little heart!

And we tweaked Coop's Valentines just a bit-
he was so thrilled with them and I loved how they turned out!
Between his preschool party and getting a package from Gma and Gpa Huffaker
it was a fun morning!

Later we made brownies, cut them in heart shapes and
took them to a few friends "ding dong ditching"!
Cooper and Ryder both were so stinkin' cute
running back to the car after they rang the doorbell!

Funny story: I thought I knew where a certain friend that Cooper wanted to take them to lived.
But when the door got opened just after he got back to the car, a woman and little boy I didn't recognize looked out! I clearly had the wrong house! Oh well- some random family got some yummy brownies!

And that handsome guy? He is still my Valentine and always will be! He makes our life great!
I love you, Stephen!
PS... Cooper says you "look a little funny" without your goatee in this picture! :)

Hope it was a great Valentines Day for everyone!

Handsome Boys

2012-02-11T16:32:00.000-07:00

They really are, eh? :)

I love this picture of all four of them!

I can't believe how handsome Taron and Keaton are especially!

Gosh, they looked more like Cooper and Ryder once-

hard to believe they are such young men already!

They all had fun playing on the big ice patch in our driveway last weekend :)

This last week Coop and Ry played around with these big drink cups

that are ~~such a precious commodity~~ all over the house!

They had fun trying to walk in them.

Then Ryder put Cooper's on his hands and said, "Mom, Robot!" :)

Also, check out what's new around here... again:

Cute little money-makers, aren't they? :)

25 Things...

2012-02-10T19:24:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, I need to share some pics of the boys,

whom are the real reason most of you stop by my blog :)...

but I ran across this fun "25 Things" post at Perfectly Imperfect

and decided I'd join in real quick...

1) For the first time in a very long time, Stephen and I are spending the weekend kid-free.

2) I've been super excited about it.

3) Still, as we drove out of my parents driveway, having dropped them off in the best hands ever, I felt sad to leave them behind.

4) I recently applied for a part-time job writing for a small newspaper.

5) She asked me during the interview if I was the kind of Mom that needed an outlet, needed to still be working.

6) I went home and emailed her within a few hours that, in truth, No, no I am not. This family can earn that much some other way.

7) Now that I think about it, "still be working" kinda bugs me... whatcha sayin' "still"?? Oh well.

8) I wonder rather often if this blog is something I really should just let go, if it takes up too much time.

9) I like drinking out of tall glass flutes with dinner.

10) Makes me feel a little more fancy or something.

11) If I could have any wish granted, I would wish that I didn't require sleep.

12) For real.

13) The blog and my crafting fun wouldn't be any issue at all then, eh? :)

14) I need to find a mascara that won't make me look like I'm wearing a Halloween mask by the end of the day.

15) Confession: I don't really care for honey.

16) And I really despise milk.

17) Milk is an ingredient, not a drink.

18) What I usually hear when I listen to myself think: my shortcomings.

19) I've now erased the next several points listing them... I don't want to be a downer!

20) Catch phrase I got from my Mom: "If you're going to do something, do it 100%"

21) Catch phrase from Dad: "Do your best and don't sweat the rest"

22) I wonder where Stephen and I will go to dinner tonight.

23) Stephen thinks I'm nuts, but I absolutely believe that the air carries crap that makes us sick!

24) Sounds like it'll be Rockies Diner... hmmm.

25) Alone time is nice, together time is better :)

And there you have it :)

More on the cutie boys in my life soon :)

Preschool Valentines

2012-02-08T17:23:00.001-07:00

Cooper had been scoping out lots of different cute Valentine ideas on Pinterest

over my shoulder for the past few weeks.

He's liked a lot of them, but none that he seemed super stoked over.

He was excited when he saw these cheese and breadstick snacks at the grocery store,

so I grabbed them and thought we'd turn them into Valentines somehow!

Along the line, I noticed several cute owl things made out of hearts

and we came up with these little cuties!

These are actually the only two we have done so far!

I'm waiting to pick up more googly eyes at Dollar Tree before doing anymore-

the buttons were just to make sure we liked the finished product.

And while the ones with wings and feet are cute as cute,

I'm thinkin' we'll go with the bigger heart that Cooper can color himself-

simpler to put together and more from him!

He also loved the idea of giving a treat to his preschool teacher, Miss Stacie.

(The Anne of Green Gables fan in me loves that she is "Miss Stacie") :P

I'm certain it's been done before, but when I saw this measuring cup, the saying

"You Measure Up to be a really Sweet teacher!"

came to me and I went with it! Cooper picked the treats that he thought Miss Stacie would like

(and I filtered out the superhero taffy...) :)

On the off chance that anyone out there can use these ideas this late in the game,

you can download to print a sheet of the notes and tags by clicking below! I printed the "It's a Hoot" one on full sheet label paper so that I could just stick them on the back of the crackers!

Measure Up Sweet Teacher Valentines Tags

'Hoot Being your Friend' Valentines Notes

Happy Valentines!

PS... This little beauty is on it's way to my Happy Hour Valentines Exchange partner!...

Adorable Little Monster Pillows

2012-02-06T00:00:00.000-07:00

Aren't they, though?!

I just think these little guys are stinkin' cute!

They were one of Cooper and Ryder's 14 Days of Valentines surprises last week.

I tucked a little note inside and got them all snuggled in...

I loosely followed THIS tutorial for these, as pinned HERE :)

A few of the treasures they tucked inside the next morning... a picture I took with much better lighting. :}

Cooper has named his Spotty (the black one) and Ryder's Gingy.

And tomorrow those names will likely be something different entirely :)

"Look, Mom!"

2012-02-03T18:30:00.000-07:00

The performance stage is in full swing here at the Buffat residence.

The attempt of sweet tricks, funny faces and wild moves is an all day occurrence!

Cooper is forever wanting me to see him perform in some way or another.

And if Coop's doing it, then Ry's trying too :)

And, of course, no performance is complete with just one of each Act...
no no, if you've seen it once, you really must watch another two or five or twelve times more :)

I love watching my boys-

there is without contest nothing else I'd rather catch than the details of them growing up.

But, I do confess, by the time Stephen collapses through the door at night, it's his turn to "Look!" ;)

Snow Fun in a Hurry

2012-02-02T06:00:00.000-07:00

So, it did actually snow last week- woo hoo!

The boys have been wanting to build a snowman forever, so out we went :)

Clearly a bit too late, however, eh?!

The snow did not want to stick together much at all,

so our pitiful mound of snow that the boys worked so hard to pile up

got the snowman gear slapped on it!

I personally really dig the sunglasses :)

The very next day it snowed again, fairly enthusiastically actually,

so we tried again and made one that was as tall as Coop,

which of course I got no pictures of!

Hot chocolate afterwards :)

And then that afternoon we tried cookie painting- a fun idea I saw HERE

and thought they would get a kick of out...

they did for about five minutes, maybe two cookies worth,

and then they were off again- so it goes!
Faster alternative than frosting, though :)

14 Days!

2012-01-31T23:33:00.000-07:00

And so it begins! Fourteen days of Valentines surprises for the boys in their mailboxes when they wake up each morning!

Earlier this week I finished these fun little boxes and they personalized themselves :)

I'd say they've been enjoying them :)

Ryder's is a new home for his favorite, favorite thing- his "black guy" :)

And Cooper's is a new treasure box :)

I might have to search for the boxes just to be able to put surprises in them at all!

The huge majority of the surprises I'll put in

are things I'll make on the fly :)

Here's a few:

Jumpy Frogs from Jellyfish Jelly

Love Rocks from Red Bird Crafts

Hidden Messages from BHG, as pinned HERE

Valentines Bingo Game from Simply Fresh Designs

Anyhow, I'll stop there, but will hopefully post some updates

about their favorites over the next two weeks :)

Also going to be doing a version of THIS idea for Stephen :)

Love this season!

It is January, Right?

2012-01-29T17:00:00.000-07:00

The puddles that were in our driveway last week make me have to wonder!

We did get some snow after this,

but looks like rain will turn it into mud and puddles again tomorrow...

looks like they aren't complaining anyway, eh? :)

Kids Art Heart Garland

2012-01-27T21:00:00.000-07:00

say that a few times fast, eh? :)

When I went to decorate my mantle for Valentines, I saw a pile of Cooper's pictures, destined for the trash (because if I saved all of his pictures as keepsakes, they'd already need their own room)... I decided I'd try clipping them up and creating a cute heart garland! He loved helping me with it!

In order to get four hearts out of each sheet, I folded the page into quarters like above, then drew half hearts and clipped! And, of course, I would have drawn incorrectly on the paper I grabbed to snap a pic of... nice! Make sure your half hearts are facing the seam... :} :) Then I punched small holes in both side of each and strung them all together.

And took pics of him being super silly in the process! I thought it turned out pretty cute on the mantle...

I know it's pretty busy and not super polished looking, but all those pics sure say a lot about love and our family... Grandma and Grandpa Reynolds, Grammie and Papa, some of my favorite pics of the boys when they were all littler...

And these fun love blocks I whipped up... I love the look of painting two colors on top of each other and then sanding and haven't done it in a long time!

Anyhow, if you have some extra kids art lying around,

it's actually Valentine decor just waiting to be made! ;)

Simple Moments

2012-01-25T23:35:00.000-07:00

Just a few pics of everyday moments...

pics I might skip over posting in favor of others that all go together,

but thought they needed to be added to

the story of our life :)

3D glasses make sweet shades

Morning cartoons with a guy in each hand...

that black guy makes everything better :)

Love how neither of them are looking at the camera, but instead at the computer movie...

Tragic, really, as there are so few pics of me with them!

This was the night Daddy was gone on a campout with Taron,

so we built our own huge fort in the living room to camp out in ourselves!

The adult leopard gecko has since been traded for a smaller, albino version...

which, also, seems to make everything better :)

Printable Animal Valentines Cards

2012-01-24T00:02:00.001-07:00

Sometime between Christmas and New Years, Cooper asked me what holiday comes next and I told him it'd be Valentines. Without missing a beat, he said/asked, "So that's mailbox time?!" Last year, I built Cooper a little mailbox that I put a simple surprise in each day, a "14 days of Valentines" for kids I guess. Well, he loved it and has been frothing at the bit! Actually I love Valentines hullabaloo, so I might be just as excited! ;)

Cooper is very inquisitive about learning letters right now and, of course, is an animal nut! So I combined all three- Valentines, animals and letters- to create some simple cards he can play with and use with his mailbox or heart pouch, on top of just once a day surprises. I used these awesome free animal brushes from HERE. I want him to enjoy the giving and loving part of the season and not just be thinking about what he's getting himself.

I tied sets of them up and put them inside these little heart pockets I made. There's a pocket for all six of us so that Cooper and Ry can give us all little notes! The cards are made to be folded in half so that he can have room to practice the letter from the front or write and draw what he likes. He caught on instantly when he saw the letters!

I started making Ryder a set of his own and realized that usually he wants the same as Cooper, so I decided not to create a headache for myself! (As though feeding the animal craze doesn't do that for me enough!.) Anyhow, hopefully Ryder will learn to recognize the names/sounds of the pictures on them too! His scribbles all translate to "I Love You" I'm pretty sure ;) No translation needed for Cooper- he couldn't tell me enough how much he loved them and how grateful he was- made it all worth it...

Have I ever mentioned that in the first conversation Stephen and I ever had, I told him I was NOT an animal person?? Still not, just a glutton for punishment I guess.. ;)

There are eight pages with three animals/ letters on each page ready to download HERE! Enjoy! And share... he he :)

Printable Animal Alphabet Valentine Cards

family DANCE evening!

2012-01-23T12:13:00.000-07:00

Once a month, the Buffat side of the family gets together for a combined Family Home Evening. We girls pick a theme and then each bring part of the dinner and a dessert, plus there's a brief lesson- it's always a good time! It was most recently at our house and our theme was "Summer in the Winter" so we fired up the grill and made summery salads!

Once our short lesson was over and everyone was done eating... you guessed it- dance party time! The teenagers asked Stephen if he would please turn on his music and quickly everyone was in on the fun! Our sweet nephew Brandon loved it! Really everyone, from family patriarchs Grandpa Reynolds and Bruce, to the toddlers and teenagers, seemed to be totally enjoying it!

Ryder was constantly trying to drag his older girl cousins into to twirl with him!

See those two above? Men and women don't come any better than them... Stephen's Grandma Sally and Grandpa Ralph are forever making the rounds to be part of all of their children's goings on. All that you see here is because of them- because of all they have weathered together and taught their children in the process. I know that my husband wouldn't be who he is if not for these two dear people. We love them!

I have been blessed with such fun sisters and brothers in law! Marvin and Kathy and Ryan and Marci are always enjoyable and comfortable to be around. I appreciate that they seem to really love and enjoy our boys... and we love having their girls around too!

I know it's get together's like these that make it so are all at ease when we get together. :) Even as anxious as I can be, it doesn't take too long usually for me to calm down and enjoy! I love how comfortable this family is together and am so grateful to be part of it!

if there is Anything Greater...

2012-01-16T20:55:00.000-07:00

Hooray, it's Valentines season again!

I love this fun, thoughtful time in the middle of winter and the boys do too!

For most people it probably seems really early, but around here

Valentines isn't just a day, it's a season.

Cooper calls it "mailbox time." :)

More on that later, but for now I thought I'd share a printable.

I made this one specifically for our mantle and

believe this saying wholeheartedly.

Also, I might just be the last blogger on earth to have discovered Google Docs,

but hooray for a much easier way to print!

Followers can click the link below each different color

to open and select to print an 8x10!

Print: Loving Turquoise (above)

Print: Loving Pink and Gray

Print: Loving Red and Gray

Print: Loving Pink

Print: Loving All Red

Enjoy and Happy Valentines!

What our Little Boys are Made of

2012-01-14T15:31:00.000-07:00

Not so much snips and snails and puppy dog tails around here...

more like blanket forts and boxes and boxes turned into forts :)

I recently came across this fort from one of my favorite blogs, All for the Boys. I loved how she used fitted sheets for fort making! Why have I not thought of it before! I also liked the idea of using the broom handle to create a taller roof. At any rate, our forts have been much cooler ever since! The boys also love the addition of twinkle lights, but that doesn't happen every time! :)

We also use pretty much any piece of furniture in the house, including the kitchen table to drape blankets and make a hideout!

Once the fort is built, the boys call out for a "special delivery, please!" To which I find some kind of portable snack or activity and "knock, knock, knock" for them to come and get!

The new set of pots and pans we got from my parents for Christmas came protected with cool pieces of cardboard and a box big enough to fit them both! We quickly turned it into a fort too :)

Blanket forts. big cardboard boxes

and the occasional Netflix break with graham crackers...

that's what our little boys are made of! :)

Secret Ingredient Wheat Bread

2012-01-09T14:24:00.002-07:00

I've had the thought to post this recipe for quite awhile now and since I haven't done too much creative since Christmas to share otherwise, I thought I'd post it now!

The first time I ever used whole wheat flour in my homemade bread, I merely substituted it for white flour and didn't change anything else. Well, it turned out about like cardboard! At the time, I had no idea that wheat flour requires a softener, or gluten. You can buy gluten in the bulk bins at WinCo, but I thought if there was another way, I'd prefer it, what with all the negative you hear about gluten. One of my favorite people from our old ward, Vicki Meyer, told me you can add potato water or vinegar and those do both work.

But, there is something better that works even better in my opinion: YOGURT! Later Vicki told me to try yogurt and even my husband likes my wheat bread now that I have a secret ingredient! Just a cup or so of either plain or vanilla yogurt added at the beginning of my bread recipe with the water and flour makes it very soft and yummy!

This recipe is actually pretty dear to my heart since it's my Mom's and it's been made my own through lots of practice! I'd also guess that you could add the yogurt to your own recipe and it'd work fine too! I've noticed with my gas oven, it doesn't take the full cook time either, so if you have gas also, you might watch it close toward the end! You can click this card below, then right click and save to print! Enjoy! I know making homemade bread is something that makes me feel good- hopefully it does you too!

Ringing it In

2012-01-05T00:13:00.000-07:00

Woo hoo! Finally... we woke up to snow New Years Eve morning! We got on our snow clothes and drove to the church parking lot to soak it up :)

Socks for gloves and playing peek-a-boo :) And Taron spent his every spare minute setting up the K'nex roller coaster he and Keaton got from my parents for Christmas- cool, eh? He was, impressively, able to keep it from getting destroyed by the little boys!

It ended up being super fun having our friends the Rogers' and Marvin and Kathy and family over for the night! I made pretzels bites following this idea and they were a huge hit! I also hung balloons with activities on them that the kids could pop on the hour (or so) through the night. I had seen this idea HERE. This ended up not being too effective in reality, but they did end up doing each of the activities anyway. In the last stretch before midnight, Stephen cranked up some tunes and it became a dance party!

Yes, yes, it's true: Stephen and Marvin couldn't help but try to do the worm again :) And everyone loved the glowsticks as we counted down- really a fun night! Thanks to our friends and family for making it that way!

Time Capsule 11.0

2012-01-04T23:47:00.000-07:00

I recently saw a birthday list a Mom made for her child,

seven things about him as he turned seven.

I thought this same idea would be fun to do

for Coop and Ry as a new year begins,
like a time capsule post of sorts.

So, here's eleven special things (as 2011 ends)
about them as of now:

COOPER

1) I don't know that most four year olds could tell you what words like nocturnal, irritated, possibility, amphibian, situation, or impressive mean, but Cooper can. His vocabulary is amazing and moreso all the time!

2) He enjoys dressing himself... most of the time. Sometimes he just says he wants me to pick and get him dressed... I'm kinda glad :) Whenever he wants to do something on his own he says, "I can do this my own self." :)

3) He literally could blow through an entire ream of copy paper in a week, maybe ten days. He's a drawing fool :)

4) He loves building forts, especially when his little brother is napping so there's less risk of it being wrecked. :/

5) Cooper is an animal nut! He really does just love animals, all kinds. He begs me to looks up animal pictures on google for him to scroll through! It was kind of a blessing when his new leopard gecko bit him because at least now he doesn't want to hold it all day long. And, yes, we washed and purified it thoroughly.

6) Fav shows and movies= most any cartoon he hasn't already seen. He'll choose drawing or playing over TV for sure.

7) He's accumulated a little treasure stash and likes moving it from container to container and rearranging it in each. it includes several shiny pieces of plastic, a silver spur keychain he found in the dirt, two dollar bills (aka "green money"), a rubber glove Stephen gave him from work... well... here:

8) He sends mail just about everyday. I'm just waiting for our mail lady to leave a note reminding us that letters actually require stamps and a clear address in order to be delivered :)

9) I'm grateful to be able to say that Cooper still trusts me mostly unconditionally, at least when he's in a good mood. Recently he was having a hard time wanting to stay in Sunbeams and I softly told him that maybe he could find a kid with an empty seat beside him and sit down and talk to the kid about if he was excited for Christmas too. (Ya, I'm one of those naive, idealistic type Moms.) Anyhow, from the doorway I watched and heard him do exactly that. He didn't question or respond with, "Well, that's kinda dumb, Mom." He just did it bravely and often does give my suggestions a try.

10) He loves preschool and is already so excited for kindergarten. I remember swearing I'd homeschool when he was a newborn, but I'm not willing to be the destroyer of his dreams now that the time is here.

11) Cooper has a good heart and is so full of life. I have to remind him that "The trick to carrying on is not to get carried away," but he means well nonetheless!

RYDER

1) Ryder loves his toys and is good at playing with them to entertain himself. He puts whatever he plays with last to bed at night on our kitchen windowsill. His favorites are "guys," like action figures or transformers. He also loves hot wheels cars.

2) He says "Dank Oo!" excitedly when you give him something or help him.

3) He thinks peek-a-boo is pretty dang cool and laughs so sincerely at the "reveal"! It's the kind of laugh that make peek-a-book pretty dang cool for the adult playing along too :)

4) He absolutely hates getting his hair cut. Current style might just be a case-in-point. Recently Grandma might have accused him of having taken the scissors to it himself!

5) Glubs= gloves, pooper= Cooper (sad but true), c'mon= come on, as he grabs my hand and pulls me toward what he wants

6) He's getting fairly good at recognizing colors. He can say them all, but usually calls everything "geen" before being re-directed to what it actually is.

7) Ryder is a dance king! From when was old enough to move it seems, he hears music and starts dancing! The thing is, he doesn't just stand in one place and bop up and down. No, he really has rhythm! He gets his hips and shoulders and the whole works into it! Same goes for wrestling actually- he can spin around and move to where he's not just pouncing when he's wrestling with Stephen or the boys- coordinated he is, our littlest man!

8)There's a possibility he hasn't withered away yet thanks to peanut butter. Depends on the day.

9) He literally follows Cooper like a shadow. He repeats most any word he says, or at least the last few words of his sentences. Whatever Coop is playing, he wants to join in. He chases Coop and lets Coop chase him around the house almost all day long.

10) Fav words= "me too, me too!" Makes me kinda sad to think that trying to be included is the story of his life. Guess that's how it goes being the baby, but he sure does want to be in on things just like other kids.

11) He is such a cuddly, sweet personality- he still has his chubby soft baby cheeks and I love kissing on them! He feels so bad when he thinks he's hurt someone or done something wrong and says "orry" so quickly. I hold him and just want to cry for him not to get any bigger.

I sure love you, my boys!

Word of the Year

2012-01-02T16:25:00.000-07:00

For the past two years, as the year begins, I've chosen a word of the year. A word that I hoped would capture what I wanted to accomplish or be or do through that year. I've been thinking about it for 2012 and have decided to go with...

...prioritize. Truth be told, I'm not sure I feel any huge surge of motivation toward a specific resolution. I know, I know, a horrible admission given that it's New Years! The thing is, I have lots of changes and desires on my mind all the time. So much so that I can't figure out how to turn my mind off to be able to sleep most nights! Also, I think a word that would describe 2011 for us might be tumultuous. Two moves in four months, letting go of our business and taking on a new job- some big, tough changes. I don't want to be complacent by any means, but this might be the year to settle rather than tackle.

So here's just a few, everyday things I'd like to be priorities over this year..

Simplify. Here's the thing- I love frosting. Not like the cupcake kind (though, that's good too). Frosting is what I call the little "extras" or finishing touches in life. I can't just bake a loaf of bread and run it down to the neighbor. No, I have to wrap it smoothly and sew a ruffle to wrap around it and cut out a little tag to add with bakers twine... get what I mean? :P This applies to lots of areas of my life- overextending so that I only disappoint myself (and make my family miserable in the process)! I would really do well to just let the details go in favor of what matters more.

Familiarity and friendships. I am loving where we live. Idaho Falls has been a great move for me and for our family. But one thing I really miss about Eden is how familiar it was. I valued knowing the names of people I saw in the halls at Church or feeling like I was part of the conversation among a group of people. I know familiarity takes time, years upon years upon years even. But I think if I work at gaining it here, then it can be possible even now, at least to a degree. Stephen is great at this kind of thing- I'm grateful I have him to make this much more possible!

Spiritual consistency. I daresay we are good people. We have righteous desires and try to make righteous choices. We are also very down-to-earth, surely to a fault sometimes. We can, and need to, do better. Solid consistency with going to the temple, scripture reading, FHE and tithing are priorities for this year. Plus, we recently got called to be Sunbeam teachers and I intend to be awesome at it! ;)

Menu planning. I really enjoy cooking and baking, but really don't enjoy coming up with what to make! For the longest time I've wanted to make weekly menus so that I don't have to face this ridiculous struggle every afternoon! See- why don't I take my creativeness and make a menu decoration already?!

Health. I truly believe that health is wealth. But you might not ever guess it. I really would like to take better care of mine and my family's wellness. Not necessarily with any grand change or upset, just with simple choices of good over bad, discipline over ignorance.

Good Luck with whatever priorities you have for this year, too!

Day After Party!

2011-12-30T11:24:00.001-07:00

The day after Christmas, my Huffaker family came to our house for our Christmas get-together! Finally we were all together, including my sister Lundyn and her family! Quincy and Coop are so funny when they get together- their favorite thing lately is funny rhyming back and forth. Quince will say something like "Boop, Moop, Gloop" and then it's Coop's turn so he says "Darp, Tarp, Yarp" or something equally silly! Eventually they start throwing in random stuff like "Snowman, Droman, Gloman, animal poop!" It's probably not too funny in my retelling it, but it really is so funny to hear them crack each other up! Such a fun age!

This year, my siblings all drew names as couples and everyone had fun ideas! The kids were so cute waiting to open presents!

Cyndel and Ben made Lundyn and Josh a "Christmas Sundae" kit that was so cute! They made fudge and caramel sauce to go with it and included cute glass ice cream cups. From us, Conner and Jodie got a "Winter Warmth" gift that included a little kettle and some of our homemade cocoa mix, along with mugs, bowls and soup mix. Lundyn and Josh also gave us an awesome stove-top Whirly-Pop popcorn popper!! I can't wait to try it out!

Conner and Jodie actually stuck to the theme of "Re-gifted/Re-purposed" and made the coolest book hideout for Ben and Cyndel! Hopefully you can see from the pic- Conner took a Medical Dictionary and hollowed it out so they can store stuff inside! This was the star of the show for sure!

That and this adorable little rocking horse for my little niece, Brylee! And we can't wait to try out this cool bumper ball of Ryders!

When it was all said and done and we were alone at home again, Ry zonked out right on the floor! This was really a fun time and I'm glad we took the effort to be together without anyone missing. I'm grateful for our home that is finally big enough to be able to host everyone!

PS... Yes, I'm pretty sure this is my last Christmas post ;)

I ended up with 141 pictures over the course of four days!

Christmas Day Highlights

2011-12-30T01:56:00.000-07:00

So Cooper has been waiting for more than four months (a seriously long time for a four year old) to get a pet leopard gecko from Santa. It probably goes without saying then that it was the star of the show on Christmas morning! Even Ryder could hardly pull himself away from checking out the lizard to play with his new play kitchen :)

The part of Christmas morning I was most excited for was actually the boys opening these capes! This is my midnight oil and it was well worth it- they have had tons of fun with them! My absolute favorite things to make are the ones that are for them!

All dressed up with their shabby Christmas ties!

Didn't fight the shirts being tucked in Christmas morning...

Later we headed to Pocatello to see Stephen's family (after holding the leopard gecko, of course). Again, my lack-of-flash skills are still being honed, but I love this pic Stephen with his Grandparents- they are always present in their kids and grandkids functions and for sure they have a soft spot for their first grandchild :) And what a great, rare moment of Grandpa Bruce being silly with the boys!

Really our Christmas was so blessed-

it seems like always, no matter what trials or struggles we face,

I still look around us and see abundance.

Abundant smiles, abundant laughs, abundant stories told,

abundant yummy foods that are special for this time of year,

and just so much more...

We are Abundantly Blessed :)

Christmas Eve(s)

2011-12-30T00:30:00.000-07:00

This year Taron and Keaton were with their Mom for Christmas and as a result,

we basically got to have two Christmas Eves! They opened their gifts later in the day on the 22nd before we headed out to Lost River and we made it a little celebration :)

So I've been trying not to use my flash when taking pictures and playing with my camera settings so I don't have to... clearly the little boys are a bit too busy for slow shutter speeds that capture twinkling Christmas lights, eh?!

When their gifts were opened and the older boys had their new jammies on,
we threw our own little dance party!

Stephen turned on some music and they showed off their moves! I loved their happy faces!

Ryder was kicking his legs and joining right in- happy as could be :)

And then on actual December 24th, Coop and Ry opened their new jammies :)

This year I opted not to make them in favor of making some other projects for gifts instead.

I don't normally buy clothes with licensed character type stuff on them, but I decided to budge and

they were sure thrilled with their Buzz and Bumblebee jams!

Home for the Holidays

2011-12-30T00:16:00.002-07:00

The days of being away from our own home for Christmas morning might be over for a good while,

but I absolutely never want the season to pass without making it back home...

We spent the night of the 22nd and 23rd with my parents

and enjoyed the Waddoups family party while we there.

My Grandparents are the most generous and thoughtful Great-Grandparents as well-

I always love how I feel in their home :)

Grandpa (my Dad) got this fun electric track that you spin the controller to make these little Shelby's move- all of the boys, including my brother and brother-in-law, really enjoyed it!
We just really had a great visit overall!

This last pic... love love love :)

The Coat: A Story of Charity

2011-12-22T16:15:00.002-07:00

I wasn't planning on even thinking about the blog for a week or so now,

but I happened upon this video and had to share...

hope you enjoy the couple minutes watching it as much as I did!

Merry Christmas :)

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-22T10:00:00.000-07:00

I'm off for a bit now to soak up and get done getting ready for the real deal... I've been burning midnight oil on some projects and I'm so excited to get them done and wrapped! There has been so much goodness already this holiday season and now I'm excited to capture the magic of Christmas morning with the boys, have Taron and Keaton around some more, and enjoy time with extended family. We'll be traveling and cooking and cleaning and, hopefully more than anything, remembering the spirit of the season....

"Unto you is born this day in the City of David,

a Savior, which is Christ the Lord..."

a SWEET Tradition

2011-12-21T06:00:00.000-07:00

When I was in high school, maybe even junior high, my Aunt Kim worked at a candy shop and invited us to come to her house and make candies for Christmas. My Grandma joined us and it was a full day of shaving chocolate, making caramel, trying new recipes and overall yum! It became an annual Christmas tradition- a family candy making day!

Over the years, it's turned into an immediate family thing, with my Mom and sisters and the men hanging around for tasting purposes :) This year we did it at our house, since us girls all live fairly close together here in the Idaho Falls area. Grandpa brought his new Hot Wheels track- another tradition that the kids will remember him for! And my sister's new husband got in on the action for the first time :) The only thing missing was my brother and sister-in-law... but don't worry, Conner, we sent Mom home with lots of peanut butter balls just for you!

I know our candy making day tradition will have to be adjusted and changed to make it work each year, but I do hope the tradition continues as it may- more for the chance to be together with my favorite people than for the candy..... though these turtles are awfully yummy!

Running and Jumping

2011-12-20T19:00:00.000-07:00

I think pictures of the boys running and jumping into piles of blankets and pillows have pretty much reached the level of the baby jumper from when they were newborns- no matter how many I've already taken, I can't help but take more!

Running and jumping and running and chasing and jumping and running is pretty much what we do around here- well, what they do at least! Maybe I should be the kind of Mom that doesn't let them, but I figure I'm raising busy boys around here and they might as well not keep all their business and energy pent up!

And a picnic on the pile afterwards :)

Neighbor Gifts

2011-12-19T01:42:00.000-07:00

These simple, super economical little lovelies will be making their way into our little-known neighbors homes this week! I love giving neighbor gifts and am excited about it this year since there are way more people around us that we don't know than that we do! Stopping off a simple Christmas treat will hopefully help us to get to know a few people better :)

First things first, I was intrigued by THIS homemade cocoa mix recipe that I found on Pinterest via my cousin Laci. The pin description said it used pudding in the mix and I thought surely that must taste yummy! We tried it and loved the creaminess and I realized too that it could be made in bulk really affordably! I did have dry milk and sugar on hand so that wasn't an added expense, but between the cocoa, coffee creamer and pudding, I only spent around $12! I've made four batches with those ingredients so far and am guessing I could make another two more without re-purchasing ingredients. That's a lot of cocoa and a lot of neighbors for only $12! I used three cups of mix for each of the larger cello bags like above. :)

I was so happy with how this fun tag on our gifts worked out, though it was not my own idea!

I saw this awesome post at Balancing Home...

SO, so cute, eh?! But.... the circles on top give instructions about pouring it all into a bowl and the mix we are giving is already mixed up. I also liked the idea of including "From the Buffat Family" somewhere... And then there was the fact that I ran out of jars after I did these few below for our Visiting and Home Teaching... (yeah, things are almost never smoothly together for me- more like hodge-podged to be presentable!) Such is life :P

Because I was in more of a hurry on these ones, I used THESE adorable vintage tickets for the tags on them! Also- check out the cupcake liner to top the jars! Isn't that the sweetest idea- I seriously cheered in my head when I saw this idea on Pinterest!

And for our neighbor gift version, I whipped up some tags of our own that fit our specific needs, using Megan's "Baby It's Cold Outside" catch phrase!

And I realize it's late in the game, but there is certainly time to whip these up, so here are a few printable versions of the tag as well! The portion with our family name is blank so you can just pen your own in! I prefer traditional Christmas colors, but I did throw in a blue/brown one for those that might not :)

If you click the link below that indicates the color you'd prefer, you'll be able to download a full page that fits six tags like this:

Christmas Cocoa Gift Tags- GREEN

Christmas Cocoa Gift Tags- RED

Christmas Cocoa Gift Tags- BROWN

Enjoy!

A Case of Hero Worship

2011-12-17T12:00:00.000-07:00

Our little Ryder has a definite case of hero worship for his older brother! Last weekend Taron was with us and Ryder could hardly stand to not be by his side! Taron is wonderful to play with both he and Cooper and let them cuddle up to him. I love this pic of them...

The little boys think their Dad is pretty great too- I got a laugh out of them building this fort right on top of him asleep in the chair!

Liebster Award

2011-12-17T11:57:00.000-07:00

Recently, I was extended the Liebster Blog award

from the thoughtful and talented Judy from Visual Interest!

Judy's descriptions were great, but I did wonder about the origin of the award,

so I searched and found this:

What does Liebster Blog mean? The origin of this award is obscure, but it's probably German as the word "Liebster" translates into "dearest". The award is given to blogs that have less than 200 followers and deserve more recognition and encouragement.There are some guidelines that have to be followed while giving or receiving the Award.

The rules for receiving the award:

Thank the giver and link back to the blogger who gave it to you.
Reveal your top five picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.
Copy and paste the award on your blog.
Hope that the people you’ve sent the award to forward it to their five favorite bloggers and keep it going!

I'm thinkin' Stephen will get a kick out of the German translation- that's where he served his mission!

I had no problem choosing five blogs to extend the award to from here...

Balancing Home

I actually only just found this blog that began last summer.

Megan and her hubby have some great printables and a style that just draws me in.

I was inspired by them for my neighbor gift tags that I'll post about soon!

this heArt of mine

Simply cute ideas! I'm actually in the process of making a version of

her great lap desks for my niece and both my boys right now!

Sweetly Made Just for You

First connected with Emilee through whoopdwhoop and am glad that

winter is finally here so I can wear the adorable ear warmer headband I got from her!

Been There, Pinned That

I found this blog through Pinterest (imagine that!)

and can hardly wait to make their sweet jet packs for Coop and Ry!

Craft Whatever

I really enjoy Kate's genuine tone in her posts- her blog feels comfortable and real to me :)

I love how she recently turned her kids' art into an ornament!

Alrighty... hope you all will know that your blogging is enjoyed and share from here also!

Thanks again Judy!

Dipped Honey Wheat Pretzel Sticks

2011-12-15T06:00:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had the Rold Gold Honey Wheat Braided White Dipped Pretzel Sticks?

I think we've had them twice and both times, I've thought- I want to duplicate these!

When I saw a generic bag of honey wheat twists, I grabbed them up! I thought the boys would enjoy helping me and using the sprinkles... and they probably would have, but for some reason not right at the time I was set to do it. :/ So, I didn't end up spending much time on this little treat, but they were yummy and cute! We'll be doing this again through the holidays no doubt :) Would make a nice addition to a party or neighbor gift :)

Love These Boys...

2011-12-12T22:26:00.004-07:00

Glue guns as little boys weapons... I was a proud Mama as I took this pic :)

Just thought I'd share some recent everyday pics of Coop and Ry lately... I've had more than my fair share of craft fails these past few days so I'm boycotting my craftiness for a little while! Really until, ya know, tomorrow, when I realize I have to book it on Christmas gifts... :)

Cooper's letter from Santa! He wasn't feeling well the day he got this and it shows, but he really was pretty stoked about knowing his letter was received! Gotta love small town life and awesome mail ladies :)

Lately I've been so struck at how my baby is a little boy these days! I could just kiss his soft, chubby cheeks all day and a part of me still refuses to acknowledge he's not a baby! He'll always be baby to me :) Isn't that a sweet Batman cape/ mask combo- we snagged it at DI just after Halloween!

He loves rolling little cars and trucks, and even bouncy balls, across the kitchen floor to me-

these are some of my favorite moments in the day!

Red Burlap Wreath

2011-12-09T06:00:00.000-07:00

Awhile back I saw THIS wreath idea on Pinterest. I wanted to make a wreath to go at the back of my mantle and decided this one would be quick and pretty. I really like how it turned out! I didn't think of it when I added the star at the bottom, but it ended up blending into the nativity really well, like the Star of Bethlehem :)

I used just one wire hanger to make a wreath form and then folded back and forth, piercing the burlap through each fold. Once all the fabric was on, I placed glue dots on the hanger in several places to catch the fabric from all falling to the bottom. I was a bit stumped on how to get the star and spray sticks to stay, but ended up setting them were I wanted with the wreath lying on the table, then hot gluing in spots that connected. When this isn't against the wall to support it, it does want to fall forward some. Anyhow, super simple, but pretty :)

A Dose of Perspective

2011-12-07T21:31:00.001-07:00

You won't be sorry you watched this. Your Christmas season will be a little nicer if you do.

Baby Jesus and Buzz

2011-12-06T10:44:00.001-07:00

The boys love playing with their little Nativity sets that Grandma Colleen gives them each year! Ryder's includes a different visitor this year too :) My heart melted when I saw this!

We've also been making a few random Christmas crafts... Coop really enjoys handprint art like this tree. Yes, I think the tongue is a critical part of his creativity ;) Ry made one too, but not happily- after a few handprints, I had to beg him to actually finish just one tree! I got this idea HERE.

What You Make It

2011-12-04T23:22:00.001-07:00

I love the First Presidency Christmas Devotional that's always the first Sunday of December. I remember my first year in college, sitting in the Snow Building and the congregation singing a song with the choir on the screen. It was probably Silent Night, but I don't really remember. I just remember that it felt like everyone in the huge room was singing with their whole heart and the spirit was so strong!

I've loved the First Presidency Christmas Devotional ever since and watched it online last night with the boys sort of paying attention on occasion beside me. :)

This little snippet from President Monson, really struck me...

Here's the thing, I LOVE Christmastime. But I confess that it's been several years now that I've been somewhat disappointed by Christmastime too. My hopes and intentions are forever bigger than my abilities and that fact is only made clearer when it comes to Christmas goings on! So I liked this quote- indeed, it's my choices, my ability to let things go and keep them simple, that will make me feel only positive about Christmastime again. Click on the image then right click and save to have an 8x10 printable! I thought maybe this one could go more casually in the kitchen or the table by the wrapping paper or something :)

And speaking of President Monson, isn't this a neat picture!

You can get a download of it, larger and in color if you prefer, at The Rachel Berry Blog.

Enjoy!

A Little Home Time

2011-12-04T12:00:00.000-07:00

I love seeing kids playing in boxes- having fun with something so simple!

Cooper and Ryder seem to like to hide themselves inside and pop out to surprise me the best!

Ry kept standing up to give me kisses while I took pictures- awww :)

And recently Cooper told me for lunch he wanted a "salad, ketchup sandwich" for lunch. Hmmm... I tried to talk him out of it but he said he'd had it when our friend was babysitting them over Cyndel's wedding weekend recently. (I somehow doubt that, but it was a good enough sales ploy to get me to make the sandwich!) Anyhow, once I had it done, I had to try it of course! And it actually wasn't bad... like a meatless hamburger really. There are worse things he could be eating I suppose!

Quite the dress-up concoction, eh?! When Keaton put it on afterwards, he turned into a creepy reptile whisperer or something!

Simple, silly fun :)

Dear Santa,

2011-12-02T06:00:00.000-07:00

Dear Santa,

I'm excited for my pet to come on Christmas! I like rats, snakes, lizards, water dragons, leopard geckos, pythons, fish, frogs, and lots of kinds of animals, and scorpions. Would you please bring me a pet I could enjoy? Like a worm, bunny, mouse, lizard, a snake, a rat and that's the animals I like.

I've been good and hopefully I've been good enough! I've been good with my brother all day so I should deserve something. I also enjoy tape, drawing, paper and making projects.

I'm grateful for all your hard work. I like the business you've done for us. Be safe and do not fall off with your reindeers flying up in the air!

Merry Christmas,

Love,

Cooper Buffat

The Countdown Begins

2011-12-01T00:05:00.001-07:00

Hooray for December 1st

and the start of the Christmas countdowns!

I love advents- I remember opening little windows

in the thin, tall ones with a picture on the front that my Mom got us each year!

So, guess how I got woken up this morning?? Opened my eyes to see Cooper right in my face whispering, "Mom, can I open a present now?" :) Seriously made me smile. He was talking about these presents above, which I put under the tree just last night.

Last year, I saw this Book Advent idea at Oopsey Daisy and this year it seems everyone is doing them! I've been gathering used kids Christmas books for a few weeks now to have enough on top of the Christmas stories I already had. My favorite thrifted find is this "Santa's Pants are Falling Down and Other Silly Songs to Sing!" I'm guessing Cooper will get a kick out of silly lyrics to the Christmas songs he knows... and yes, it's not being opened for our sake until number 10 or so... :)

We also have this cupcake tin advent filled with Hershey's Hugs and Kisses! I made this two Christmas' ago and still love it! Getting it out this year made me miss my bestie, I admit. We made them together back then :)

Made this one at the same time a couple years ago out of little matchboxes. Inside it, I'll put little strips of paper with a Christmas activity we can do each day! (Haven't actually gotten it done yet... blush :) I wanted to print the ideas from I Am Momma Hear Me Roar- the activities are actually good deeds/ service related!

Hope whatever way your counting down

is making you want to wake up early for it too! ;)

White Tied Lights

2011-11-30T23:38:00.000-07:00

Say that several times fast, eh? :)

Any chance you checked out the lights surrounding my Christmas mantle in the last post? :)

They were a fun little project that turned out cute in themselves, so I thought I'd share...

Awhile back I had seen this light garland above on Pinterest and was hopeful to try it somehow for Christmas. When I brought the Christmas boxes in from the garage, the boys went to digging through them like pirates treasure :) and an old package of "Christmas Roll" was in the mix. I searched for what it's actually made of and came up with nothin', but it's like thin, glittery felt. I bought it several years ago to scrunch up around my nativity set. It came from Kmart for $3 and the whole roll is 36" x 5'.

I cut it into small strips and then strung a set of lights across my lap and tied away as my boys were building forts (or trying to tackle one another) in the living room! Even after all the pieces I cut, there is plenty still left!

I really like how it softens the lights and adds some creative flair too!

Gotta love Pinterest ;)

'O Holy Night' Printables

2011-11-30T00:00:00.000-07:00

For the first time in my life,

I now actually have a mantle to decorate

for each holiday and season!

It was one of my favorite things about this house when we first looked at it. In thinking about how I would put it together for Christmas, I knew it would be the home of our Nativity set. I also knew I'd have room for something more and whipped up these simple silver printables with lyrics from one of my favorite Christmas songs, O Holy Night.

I happened to have these 5x7 photo placards, which were intended for post-it holders like THESE. The printables were created to be 8x10- I seemed to get requests for that size more last time- but I shrunk the ones I printed for myself that you see here down to fit the holders I already had. I do think I'd prefer it a bit bigger since it'd be even more readable, but nonetheless was happy with how this turned out too. There's something soft and pretty about these, which isn't the usual around here!

Something that's a bit more special than the everyday-

that's what Christmas is all about, eh? :)

These are intended to go together, but they would look fine separately too no doubt. If you click the images below, you'll be able to right click and then save for an 8x10 print!

And I don't like soliciting readers- I want for the people who follow Capital B to do it because they actually really do like what they find here. But it's also nice to know I'm not just wasting my time, ya know? So, please follow in return for downloading if you would!

These are certainly not the last of what I hope to share for the holidays,

but until then, enjoy!

Good Thankful Times

2011-11-29T06:00:00.000-07:00

Wanted to share our Thanksgiving goings on before I got carried away with Christmasness!

Doesn't Coop make that turkey leg look good? Love this pic :)

This year was an odd one for the boys and I, since Stephen was gone with Taron and Keaton to Vernal, Utah, for a falconry event. (I know, seriously- Who holds national get-togethers on top of national holidays??) But they had a good time and it doesn't happen every year, so whatever I guess! Meanwhile, Thanksgiving morning Ryder helped me make pumpkin pie while Cooper watched the Macy's Parade from inside his latest fort...

Later on we traveled to Pocatello to be with my in-laws since my parents were in Arizona with Cyndel and Ben for their wedding open house there. As awkward as it could have been to be at Stephen's parents house for the holiday without Stephen, I have to say it really, truly wasn't! Only in thinking about it was it strange at all! I'm so blessed to have married into a family that is warm and comforting. Janie sure can host with a flair- doesn't the table setting look beautiful!

Grandpa Bruce gets a kick out of Ryder and Coop sneaks a large handful of olives to cover all ten fingers! Struck me as super cute :)

Later after dinner and dessert (which, I thought my pumpkin pie turned out pretty great! I love the new crust recipe I found on Pinterest that uses butter instead of shortening! Find it and the pie recipe I used that included brown sugar HERE :)... anyhow, my sister-in-law Kathy has some great kids games and brought them for the kids- Cooper loved this Tanagram one! We also used some little cards on a keychain she had to strike up conversations with the grandparents about memories- that was my favorite part!

We stayed Thanksgiving night in Pocatello and Kathy and I went people watching at Walmart for Black Friday! I say "people watching" because, well, I'm not a fighter, I'm just not! And you have to be to get what you want when there are only six of them in the whole store! Then Friday night Stephen came back in to Pocatello in time for the Parade of Lights, which was a fun way to ring in Christmas time. Cooper thought Santa on top of the fire truck (not to mention seeing his Dad a day early!) was pretty cool!

Hope yours was enjoyable too!

What I Sent

2011-11-28T06:00:00.000-07:00

Early in November, I happily joined in on the Holiday Handmade Gift Exchange going on over at Craftaholics Anonymous! It has been both fun and worrisome creating something for the gal I was matched with! Certainly more fun ;) Just hope she ends up liking the items I've sent!

She said she loves "all things vintage," so I stepped out of my usual to create these simple market bag style totes using thrifted vintage pillowcases. I got this idea from HERE. I also remembered this sweet Classic Raggedy Ann fabric my Mom had given me and used it to make a simple, hopefully useful, little drawstring sack.

At the last minute, I whipped up and tucked in a few of my paint chip matchbooks! I also cut a few gift tags out and sprayed them with some leftover chalkboard paint! Then I added a simple ruffle to the bottom, similar to some Linda had created and shared at Craftaholics. I added a couple pieces of chalk just to make it overly obvious (and quick)! ;)

And here it is all tucked in and ready to go! It is what it is at this point, so hopefully she won't be disappointed! Thanks for all your efforts, Linda- I love sending fun packages and creating for others, so this was a fun thing to take part in!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T09:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Thanksgiving from our little corner!

Hopefully everyone is enjoying yummy food with people they love :)

I am so grateful for all of the goodness of our life and the abundance we enjoy-

no matter what our difficulties, we are abundantly blessed (with a Capital B)! ;)

Time to write to Santa and wear out the Christmas catalogs! ;)

Cyndel + Ben= Married!!

2011-11-23T21:12:00.001-07:00

This last weekend was a hugely eventful one for my family- my grandparents, parents and all of my siblings were together in the temple for my sister's wedding! Aren't they Beautiful?!?

They had their reception the night before the wedding and I got to wait around the corner in the church with Cyndel to capture Ben seeing her in her dress for the first time! Her picture display and little pie tarts turned out so cute!

This is all of their nieces and nephews that were at the reception! Don't you love how Ry seems to have an action figure in his hand constantly? :P My favorite part of the reception was when Cyndel strapped on her guitar and sang a song to Ben, "I Was Made for You." :)

Don't they look like they are on Cloud 9 coming out of the temple?! I love how bright they are!

My Dad warming up my Mom as we waited during pictures- aren't they beautiful too? :) They are the reason for all of the other pictures above here. They have made all of us who we are and gave us all we needed to have testimonies that would make it so we could all be in this awesome place together at this stage in our lives. Days like this are what make it so Families Can Be Together Forever!

Anyhow... Congrats Yates'!! Marriage is Bliss :)

"Done Enough" Chalkboard Kids Chairs

2011-11-22T10:45:00.001-07:00

A long time ago, Stephen snagged these sweet kids chairs for us at D.I.

Vintage isn't really my forte, but these seem pretty old, so I'm just calling them "vintage!" :)

Anyhow, I've known since then that I wanted to use some chalkboard paint to make them even more fun for the boys. Recently I finally got it done... well, "done enough" anyway!

Don't know what it is with me and spraypaint, but seriously every time I use it, my hands end up covered too!

So I say "done enough" because I was pretty sure these could both use another coat of paint. I didn't do any sort of priming or sanding before spraying the chalkboard paint on. For sure I was in a fair hurry... there is just about no chance 55 degrees (the minimum recommended temperature on the paint can) is happening around here anymore- Fall/ Winter is in full force! So the minute the sun was shining, I stepped outside to get spraying! I thought I got it on pretty thick, but I probably should've used primer and another coat if I'd have really done this right!

Nonetheless, the boys thought these were great! They were happy to have their little chairs back to use as stools, fort beams and now, artist canvas! I got out the sidewalk chalk to give them some color :)

See how rough it looks after their drawing on them? It's like the chalk got down into the grain of the seat- obviously only "done enough" to have worked at all! But, it'll have to suffice until Spring now! I did use baby wipes to clean them off better too... is that an absolute no no on chalkboard paint??

Ryder turned to chalking up his hands in the end... better start trying harder to convince him he's in fact NOT a tattoo artist, eh? :)

Not to rush Winter, cuz I'm excited for Christmas and sledding and baking and snowmen and such, but I daresay the first thing I'll do come Spring will be make this project "Done For Real." ;)

Lucky Life

2011-11-17T14:00:00.000-07:00

I'd say these two are pretty lucky, eh? :)

The other night, I was asking Cooper

what was something he was grateful for from that day and he responded,

"Mom being home with us."

I wouldn't have thought he even thought twice of my being around anymore.

Guess I'm the lucky one... :)

And as a side note...

THIS popcorn recipe from Our Best Bites is fab if you need a new treat to try!

Took this in cupcake liners to a family party recently and it was a hit! :)

Recent Designing

2011-11-16T22:08:00.001-07:00

Lately it seems like I've done a fair amount of designing

for this, that and the other-

thought I'd share here on the blog just for the fun of it :)

My sister's bridal shower invitation- this was Pinterest inspired from HERE.

Was made 4x6 so we could print as normal one-hour prints and send as is in a normal envelope!

And the invitations! This is some of my very favorite design work to do- wedding invites! I love the addition of the sealing invitation card- the two together look really nice! The cards were designed so that two of them would fit onto a 4x6 and we could, again, print at a one-hour instead of having to wait for shipping like with the invitations. Also made it a nice readable size. We used Winkflash to print the 4x8 invites and they were awesome to work with!

New blog header for our favorite family photog! ;) Stephen's cousin Melonie's photography business is growing and I offered to do a new header for her to show herself off! Once she chose this design, I also did light and dark watermarks for her to add to each pic like these below:

She rocks, eh?! :) See more of her work HERE.

And so as not to leave my husband out of the mix, this is the design I did for the the back of a shirt for him to wear while being a vendor at the North American Falconers Association Annual Meet next week :)

Now I'm working on some stuff for Christmas- fun fun!

Wild About...

2011-11-14T09:00:00.000-07:00

So, really my kids don't watch TV all day

(It'd be nice some days, I confess!) ;),

but, yes, I have another TV show to rave about!

Ever since Cooper discovered Wild Kratts on PBS, he has been hooked!

And it really is a cool animal show- even I like watching it with him!

So, the Kratt brothers have creature powers in each episode and teach kids lesser known things about animals. The other day Cooper wanted to dress up like a bat and have bat power like they do. I talked him out of the top to bottom costume (for the sake of not spending an entire day on the process!) but did rig both of them a sweet mask...

... which they wore while chasing each other around the house for the next twenty minutes. :)

There are a few episodes and several snippets kids can watch online HERE. A cool resource for parents that explains the show and how you can use it in homeschooling and such, and offers free printables, is HERE.

Cooper's fav episode so far has (not surprisingly) been the peregrine falcon one.

Falcons, wolves, sharks, racoons, whales, bats... wild, dude! ;)

Random Simplicity

2011-11-12T13:04:00.001-07:00

Creating toys and art with everyday things,

fun snacks to share at preschool,

shooting bows at the range,

enjoying cinnamon pancakes and caramel apple yogurt....

life lately is simply blessed :)

Snow Day! (Kinda)

2011-11-09T10:15:00.004-07:00

This past weekend, we went to sleep with it snowing

and woke up to enough to actually get out and play in!

I dug through the storage boxes for our winter gear and got the kids all bundled up. Ryder loved it! He was happy as a clam out in the cold. Keaton pulled him around on the sled... and Taron and Cooper! He was a trooper giving rides around the yard! Everyone enjoyed it- except maybe our sorry little jack-o-lantern here :)

Cooper is Cooper is Cooper- he spends the entire weekend Taron and Keaton are with us in wound-up mode it seems like! Between them and his Dad, he's been taught well the art of tormenting and teasing! Good thing Taron and Keaton are such awesome, easy-going older brothers!

November Bride

2011-11-06T23:40:00.000-07:00

Remember awhile ago I had mentioned that

my baby sister is getting married?!?

Well, it's right around the corner now and

my younger sister and I hosted a bridal shower for her last week!

We played a fun tiara/ mustache, he said/she said, 20 questions game that everyone really enjoyed. Ben and Cyndel both answered 20 questions and Lundyn shared the question and one response with everyone, then they had to guess whose answer it was! We found this idea here. And after searching for longer than I've ever searched for an svg file before, I finally found a cute tiara to cut from here.

Another fun game was one Lundyn saw here. We gave everyone a blank nametag and they put an acronym that told everyone else how they knew the Bride... so, for example, mine said "OOS" for Oldest Older Sister, Grandma Karen's was "CNS" for Cyndel's Name Sake, and so on- it was fun to see what everyone came up with!

Best balloon decor idea ever- string yarn through the tails once they are blown up! Lundyn had seen this fab idea via, of course, Pinterest!

And this game turned out awesome- just as fun for us as we put it together as it was for everyone else playing at the shower! We strung up pics of Cyndel as she was growing up and people had to guess how old she was in each one! Lundyn got this idea here.

These taffy skewers are so cute and simple and never fail as a great favor!

My little nieces are always so good and they made the party really fun- love this shot of Quincy with one of the bows from a present!

Yummy treats that everyone loved! Again, Lundyn had the phenomenal idea (yes, she was the brilliance behind this party for sure as I sat amidst boxes needing unpacked and Halloween costumes to finish!) to use donut holes instead of making our own cake pops! Saved us a lot of time and were still really yummy! Candy melts make anything scrumptious, eh? :)

Cleaning up and having fun :)

Now on to the wedding!

Congrats again, Cyndel- thanks for letting us shower you!!

And thanks Lundyn for letting me in on the fun of hosting!

Thanksgiving Printable

2011-11-02T21:20:00.000-06:00

I love Thanksgiving time.
love how Thanksgiving is about gathering and family and goodness,
and lacks the same stress of Christmas.
(Not that I don't love the goings on of Christmas!)
Anyhow, I searched for a quote I could use to decorate for this season of thanks
and loved this one by President Monson...

If you right click and save, you'll have a 5x7 print. If you click the link below to download from my 4shared account, you'll have a 12x18 wall hanging. I just didn't want to upload such big files here!

The 12x18 is a size that Costco Photo Center prints for just $3! You can go to Costco Photo Center, create a free account if you don't already have one, and upload this file once saved to your computer. Then select print size 12x18 and go to your local warehouse to pick up- cheap and easy!

Click here for the larger size.

Happy Thanksgiving decorating all!

Trick or Treat!

2011-11-01T10:12:00.001-06:00

Wouldn't these two have been about the cutest on your porch all night?!? ;) Just kidding, but they sure had fun in their ghost and Buzz Lightyear costumes! Cooper kept saying all night, "I just love trick and treating!" I think they were the highlight of Grandma Laura's night for sure. She had little baggies ready with four quarters in them for both of them! So cool to be so close that we could just cruise up to her house to start our night :)

Cyndel came to hang out with us for her lunch break yesterday- another awesome benefit of being where we are! She helped me make jack-o-lantern pancakes for the boys for Halloween lunch! (I know, should have been breakfast, but oh well!)

I had made Ryder a sweet backpack with the fins and tucked wings and all... but he cried and cried when he had it on! He was just uncomfortable and Stephen very tactfully suggested that maybe the costume was sufficient without the backpack. :( I was bummed because it took the most time of his whole outfit! But he was much happier without it and just as cute all in all.

And I realize these won't do anyone any good for a whole year now, but here is a free dowload of the decals I created to go on the Buzz Lightyear costume! Just click the image, then right click and save!

Hope everyone's Halloween was awesome!

Carving Party

2011-10-31T11:00:00.000-06:00

This last weekend we got together with our friends Travis and Stephanie and their little girls to carve pumpkins!

Now, Cooper plays with slime frequently- it's one of his more favorite things.

But check that face!

He did not want to touch the guts of the pumpkin!

Stephen eventually got him to grab a handful, but he seriously gagged as he did! I told him not to do it again so we didn't end up dealing with a mess of more than seeds and stringy-ness! And Ryder actually really doesn't like slime and squishy things, so we knew he was a no go for sure!

Coop told him what he wanted his jack-o-lantern face to look like and I steered him toward something I could handle cutting ;)! He was so thrilled with the results! All the kids loved seeing it glow out on the porch in the dark! Fun time... happy to have made the time for this Halloween tradition!

Happy Halloween all!!

Done Moved!

2011-10-30T23:51:00.000-06:00

Been long enough?? :)

I've missed my little blog here I confess.

We are LOVING our new house here in the Idaho Fall area.

Our move couldn't have gone much smoother

thanks to the help of my amazing family!

And yes, Dad, I noticed it looks like you're doing all the work in this picture too ;)

And there's probably never a good time to move, but trying to get Halloween costumes and treats finished, along with helping to host my sister's bridal shower, made for a busy week! Nothing like some good reasons to be crafty rather than unpack boxes! :)

Thursday was the last time for Cooper to go to his preschool in Blackfoot and was also Halloween Party day! We made an orange batch of slime and put it (with difficulty, I might add) into these fun test tubes for him to share with his little class. He told me what he wanted the slime to be called and I made some little stickers for him to label- we were both excited about how they turned out! His classmates and teachers all loved them :)

He even got to wear his ghost costume to the party! This gave me a good chance to troubleshoot it actually... everyone says a ghost is easy, but I've found it to be pretty tough! For trick or treating, he'll be ditching the hood and getting his face and hair painted white instead!

He was sad to leave his class, but I've already found him a new preschool here that he'll start on Tuesday! Good to be back... more Halloween goodness going on around here that I'll share this week!

Harvest Time

2011-10-25T07:00:00.000-06:00

This late in the Fall, I realize that harvest is mostly over already. But I wanted to share some of the recent harvest time goodness we're enjoying around here- thanks hugely to my awesome Mom! Pears are Stephen's favorite! I serve them with broiled cheese bread for dinner just like my Mom did to us!

Sadly, I am the only one in this household that likes tomatoes... I'm still working on the little boys, though. :) Whenever I have fresh tomatoes around, I love eating tomato sandwiches- toasted homemade wheat bread with nothing but this juicy red fruit in between! Yum!

When I visited my parent's recently, my Mom had several large things of strawberries that we made into freezer jam! We haven't had jam in the freezer or a long time and I was so thrilled to have some again! I just want to hoard it and enjoy it to the last bit! We tried two different kinds- one just mashed up lightly by hand and the other pulsed a bit in the blender to be less chunky- I love this kind and will remember to do it that way next year again!

Thanks, Mom, for sharing all this yummy goodness with us and being my favorite person to create in the kitchen with!

And I sadly don't have a picture of it, but if you need an awesome way to use your zuchinni still, I love this recipe! Try it with cream cheese frosting- yum!

"Seduced by the Coolness"

2011-10-21T12:00:00.000-06:00

Awhile back my sister told me I should check out Phineas and Ferb on Netflix... and man, were we missing out before! I love cuddling around the computer and watching it with the boys now! Super cool for kids and adults!

Anyhow.... in one episode, Candace (the sister) is sick and her friend Stacey, is supposed to be hanging out with her while Mom is gone. Candace tries to convince her to bust her brothers while she can't, but Stacey keeps getting "seduced by the coolness" of the sweet mini golf course they've built for the day!

Don't you love that phrase, "seduced by the coolness"?!?

Such is my life oftentimes!

Anyhow...

My point in using the phrase in this post is to mention that the Buffat family is moving!

Yes, already....

We've been "seduced by the coolness" you might say of a better place.

Or maybe the un-coolness of where we are now!

Really, we're just wanting to get closer to Stephen's job, so we're off to Idaho Falls!
So, if I'm a bit infrequent on here for the next little while, that's why...
I'm off being "seduced by the coolness"...
which I'm sure I won't think that way while I'm packing and unpacking! So it goes...

PS. Wouldn't this Phineas costume be the funniest thing for Halloween!

Duck Season!

2011-10-19T07:00:00.000-06:00

No, rabbit season! Duck season! No, Rabbit Season!

Well, around here, it's duck season...

Indeed, these are not the pictures Stephen would no doubt prefer to see in this post!

What is it about feeding animals that kids seem to enjoy so much?

It's fun to watch how excited they get!

Reminds me... Not long ago in the car, Stephen was talking to Cooper about something relative to animals (shocker, I know!)... must have been about having a certain pet and if Mom would like it or not, because Coop didn't skip a beat in saying,

"Dad, Mom doesn't care about animals!"

We both busted up laughing! It's true, not my thing- But I really do try hard to be excited with him when he is! I might not touch worms, but I am a professional at looking them over and giving compliments! I clarified that I might not care much for animals, but I do care for him and was happy that they make him so happy.

"I know," he said...

Ahh, kids rock :)

Catcha!

2011-10-17T23:16:00.002-06:00

WARNING:

Once you take pictures of your kids doing something that they shouldn't be

but it's too darn cute not to...

the battle is on!

Ry drew on his tummy for like four days after this! :)

Adorable Halloween "Happy Mail"

2011-10-14T06:00:00.000-06:00

I have a little guy that loves getting mail

and several nieces (oddly, not really any nephews...) that I know are the same.

Even us big kids love getting mail that makes us smile, eh? :)

I think I love sending it even more!

After discovering all the fun "happy mail" ideas at Giver'slog recently,

I've been trying to think of something unique I could send for Halloween

and turned to these fun little pumpkins again-

they are just so stinkin' cute!

I found this adorable jack-o-lantern face svg file below and used SCAL2 to cut several sets of them out of vinyl with my Cricut!

Once they were peeled, I cut each apart and didn't worry about transfer paper- they are now just like stickers! I sized the file down so that each was about 2x2 inches to fit on the cute little pumpkins.

Before anything, I let Cooper have a go with the stickers on a pumpkin of his own :) He put a different face on each side of the pumpkin to use as many of them as possible!

The stickers were packaged in cellophane bags beside a pumpkin and tied! Isn't this a fun little treat to pull out of a package?!

The boys used some little Halloween stamps to personalize the outside of the boxes- now on their way to two little girls who will hopefully enjoy not only getting their own mail, but also creating their own adorable little punkins!

Fun as fun as fun in my opinion!

Is it just me, or are these little bags about the cutest thing ever? :)

What "happy mail" can we send next???

Random Little Pumpkin Family

2011-10-13T05:00:00.000-06:00

So recently Cooper was cutting a piece of cardstock in random little pieces.

He had picked these cute little pumpkins out at the store and

was frothing at the bit to decorate them in the process too.

I wasn't actually really in the mood

to take on the pumpkin decorating project at the time...

but, I did get looking at the little pieces he was accumulating...

... and decided they could quickly become faces for his precious pumpkins!

He had some ideas that he wanted (like arms and a bowtie and Dad's spiky hair)

that he didn't have the pieces for and I cut them out as he asked.

Ya, I quickly got in the mood seeing him do this pretty much ALL on his own!

I thought his little touches for creating each person in our family were super thoughtful!

So here we are, adorning our dining area windowsill with no rotting involved!

I'd say his most self-directed project yet!

Visit Home

2011-10-11T00:11:00.001-06:00

Not too long ago Stephen was out of town for a week with his new job. Meanwhile, the boys and I crossed the dessert for Grandpa and Grammie's house, otherwise known as "home"....

Headed to the garden very first thing...

Trying to use a little shovel just like he saw Grandma use the big one with his foot!

Went to the Arco park on a day Grandma had to go to work and then visited Great Grandpa and Grandma Waddoups on the way back- love these pics of them in the garden with Grandpa Merlin! Hopefully someday they'll get it how lucky they are to have so many grandparents so involved in their lives!

All of these pics make me happy...

I love capturing beautiful little moments like these!

Yummy All-Bran Muffins

2011-10-10T06:00:00.000-06:00

Been a fair while since I've posted a recipe and when I made these recently, I thought this one would be good to share! I remember my Mom making these for us before school- she was always up early making us something worthwhile!

So I can't say this cereal here is one I would ever buy for the eating of it, but, trust me it really does make for some yummy, healthy muffins! This box cost me $3 and the batter will last for three weeks in the fridge, making three batches of 24 muffins... pretty affordable breakfast! Both the boys really enjoy these even, so they are kid-approved even!

As always, click on the card below, then right click and save to print!

This does call for buttermilk, but... confession? I've never bought buttermilk in my life! The smaller text on the side is a little tip my Mom passed on to add vinegar or lemon juice to normal milk as a substitute!

These are really yummy with butter and honey!

And just because... I love these recent sweet pics of the boys... :)

Paper at Four

2011-10-07T06:00:00.000-06:00

I've decided that when you're four,

there is almost no such thing as amounts.

Pretty much everything is pretty much limitless.

Money, snacks, energy, time, options, ability... and paper.

How many reams of paper does it take to perfect the art of doodling?

Drawing snakes, lizards, and mostly people?

Well, at least one around here! :)

Oh, and we won't even mention tape...
Notice we now use USPS Priority Mail packing tape? It's true.

I've been trying to label some of the more memorable or distinct pictures with what he says when he shows them to me.

Not too long ago Cooper asked me if Santa could deliver pets. I clarified that, indeed, he brings all kinds of pets. And so began Cooper's wavering between wanting a chameleon or a leopard gecko from the jolly guy this year. Still three months away? You're tellin' me!

Anyhow, this drawing below, Coop showed me and said, "This is a leopard gecko. Remember to give this to Santa with his cookies and candy canes." September 19th. And, indeed, when I wrote on the page I spelled gecko 'geico'... nice!

Usually Coop draws people- a large head with stick limbs. Cutest thing ever :)
I noticed that whenever he pointed out which one was me, I never had any hair. I asked him why once and he "fixed" me to look like this:

And asked, "Mom, whats that thing on the back of your head that hangs down called?"
Hmmm... think I might wear a ponytail a bit too frequently???
So, now I know that the figure in his pictures looking more like an apple than a human is actually me!

I think the drawing that brings the biggest smile to my face

is still one of the very first "people" he ever drew this past June:

He handed me this very paper and said, "Look, Mom, it's you!"

I'm quite sure I busted up laughing right then!

Never looked better.

Halloween Flashback

2011-10-06T06:00:00.000-06:00

Last year I was in Super Saturday/ Craft Show mode around Halloween time

and didn't get our costume pics even posted!

I loved how Cooper's shark costume turned out and thought it was worth posting this year should it be useful for someone else! Tragically, this is the only decent picture I have of him as a shark, but he really did look great!

I scoured to find grey clothing, specifically a hoodie. I ended up using two different shades, but it worked great. I used the templates from Martha Stewart for the gills and eyes and cut them out of felt.
I drew my own shark tail by looking at an actual picture of one! One side of the fin was smaller and thinner than the other, along with some small "dorsal fin" pieces at the sides. I had to sew two pieces of felt together to get the length. I also put a darker shade of grey felt on top of a lighter shade and stuck cardboard between the two to get it to be a bit sturdy.
I hand drew a fin shape and Stephen cut it out on cardboard, using four different pieces to make it dimensional. Then I used about ten or twelve sticky back velcro circles to keep it on him!
The teeth around the hoodie are made from stiffened felt, which worked great! Cooper loved this costume- he was in heaven when the kids at our ward Halloween party let him chase them around!
I realize that's all pretty confusing without any pictures to go with it, but I know I was scrambling when it came to making a shark costume for the most part, so hopefully it will be helpful to some degree for someone!

2009:

Can you believe these little guys!

Just two years ago and they look like babies!

I guess they were, but wow its crazy to see the changes so blatantly!

Coop loved his green hair as a pumpkin :)

Favorite Yet

2011-10-05T06:00:00.000-06:00

When I first saw this backpack tutorial from noodlehead more than a year ago, I loved it! I thought it was the cutest thing and wished I could wrap my head around the instructions well enough to attempt it myself. Or was I still wishing I could even fathom how to thread my bobbin at that point? :/ At any rate, it was beyond me then!
When Coop started preschool, the little drawstring bags I had made previously just weren't cutting it, so I looked it over again and put my own twist on to make him something more sturdy- I was so happy with the results!

I used an old, torn pair of Stephen's pants to make the base and got creative with the hems to save myself some work! Using the hems made it so I didn't have to turn any tubes! I was able to use a back pocket to create a pocket on the inside rather than sew one into the front. Cooper picked out the fabrics and patches he wanted himself!

I wanted this to be less of an issue staying on his shoulder than normal drawstring backpacks seem to be, so I sewed the straps on the back and used some cord Stephen had and a cord lock to create the drawstring portion instead- I love this change and it works really well! The casing portion of this tutorial is awesome- I really like how it turned out so polished just naturally! And, indeed, I used my handy safety pin alternative to string the cord. ;)

I daresay my favorite thing I've sewn yet... :)

Die Hards

2011-10-04T00:21:00.000-06:00

It's October now.

But it's been 80 degrees or so still...

and we love the beach.

It's not over 'til it's over, eh? :)

Last week I took the boys to Jensen's Grove for some late afternoon fun.

I told them this would likely be the last visit of the year.

And as I watched them play,

that thought made me want to soak it all in even more.

The excited looks on their faces over swimming and digging and minnow fishing.

The beach was all but completely empty.

I wondered why actually- it really was warm enough and then some.

It occurred to me that these footprints

won't look the same next year....