Summer Crafts

I haven't been as crafty as I usually am this summer, but I've still got a few things done. Here's the first blanket I've ever finished...even though it's not actually finished. You can't see the back where there are tons of loose ends I need to weave in.

Here's a little sweater for Felix, that I think I actually finished before this summer. I'm pretty excited to put it on him.

And here's sample of my sewing. I've been doing a lot of that lately, but this is the only thing I've almost finished. It still actually needs a ribbon to tie it closed, but...I get lazy when my projects seem good enough.

This is a knitting needle holder. It rolls up like this. The top one is mine, the bottom is my friend's.

So you unroll it.

And lift up the flap.

And then there's a bunch of pockets with my needles in it. I love it!!!

I've got two quilts in the making as well. They are really fantastic, so get excited for them!!!

Vegas Cats

Okay, the cats and Vegas have nothing to do with each other. I haven't blogged in so long I'm just going to start from where I left off and move forward. So if you were looking forward to my Bear Lake pics...even though I didn't take that many...they'll be coming.

Above is my cat. I just have to say that I LOVE having a cat. She is the greatest. Even when she brings snakes in our house. Or maybe especially (when she leaves them in Jessica's room) ha ha.

Below is our EVIL neighbor cat. This stupid cat is always raping some other cat and we often have to save our own kitty from him. And as you can see below--he is just chilling in our laundry! Mom says I should shoot him. After waking up to him in our kitchen at 7am attacking our kitty this week...well it sounds like a great idea.
VEGAS!!!

This is us at a hotel we didn't stay in :)

We won a $500 Venetian gift card from a church raffle, but instead of blowing it all on just rooms at the hotel we stayed at a cheap hotel and used the card to go to Phantom of the Opera with our friends and I got lots of new clothes with it too.

Phantom was basically the most amazing thing ever. It was so wonderful and I could not stop smiling through the entire thing. These are our friends that came with us Stephanie and Shelton. They are basically the greatest people ever.

With our gift card Kyle got a bow tie. The sales person gave him a tutorial on how to tie it when he bought it.

However, this is my attempt, not his. My years of knitting and bow tying really came into play and I got it down and Kyle gave up. That's okay. I like feeling important every Sunday morning :)

Isn't he dashing?

My Many Birthdays

I got lots of parties this year. Mostly small gatherings, but I had a lot of fun. Kyle took my out my birthday night. He got me egg rolls from Me Kong and quiche from Deseret Book and browsed through Barnes and Nobles with me. Which is exactly what I wanted to do and after his initial look at me saying "That's really weird" he just went along with it. He let me open all my presents like 4 days before my birthday because that's when they came in the mail and I LOVED them :)
Kyle's family celebrated with me on Sunday. His grandma made me this cake and his mom made a great dinner for us at her new house, which is still a little bit under construction, but they've decided to live there anyway.

Kyle took a picture of the attendees, however, didn't get their attention before taking the picture. Except his grandma is posing in the back for him :)

Then two days later (on my birth day) Jessica made me a cake and Wendy's family came over to eat it with us and bring me awesome presents. Jamie sewed me a new bag and they got me a book of crochet patterns.

Here's the cake she made of a ball of yarn and knitting needles.

Kyle was too lazy to put all the letter candles in.

And last, but certainly NOT least, here is the onesie Jessica made on my birthday because she cut the corners of the bag out to make frosting bags (because she didn't she the box of frosting bags in my pantry). I thought it was pretty fabulous.

Happy Birthday to ME!!!!

Kyle is my witness that this purchase was not just the result of 7 hours of work with no clients to see. I've been thinking about picking up the clarinet again and after getting some birthday cash this week (thank you everyone!) I decided to go for it! I can't wait for it to come!

Kelli Gets Old

Kelli has now been living and what not for 27 years. As of right NOW, in fact. She's like cheese... or wine. Or... um... Pippi Longstockings. You know, something that is awesome, but only gets more awesome as things progress? You know what I'm talking about. I can see you now in my mind's eye vigorously agreeing with me.

The Kelliphant.

So, in commemoration of such a game-changing event as Kelli's birth, I bring to you a teaspoon & pinchful of the reasons I love this gal:

1. She has always been the kind of person to love people intensely. It scared me at first, honestly. But her intensity just shows how much she takes her relationships with people seriously. It's an admirable trait. It moves her to do incredible things for family and friends.

2. Kelli's industrious. That probably sounds a bit silly to YOU, but Brigham Young would frown disapprovingly behind his chinstrap beard and disagree with you. What with our state's motto being, and I quote, "Industry." I'm not joking. That's the entire motto. Regardless, Kelli is always working on something. Her hands are always busy. Usually with knitting or crochet. Building a stuffed something-or-another to give away. She's incredibly dedicated to it. At home watching TV? Yup, she's doing it there. At church? Yes. In the car? Of course. Surely, not at a Utah Jazz game where giants complete feats of strength? Oh, brother, you better believe she is.

3. Although it often makes her stay up late, and vomit in the morning, she's not afraid to change. Whether it's where we live, or a new way of thinking or believing, or the position of the nightstand next to the bed, she'll worry for hours about it, but she'll go ahead and take the leap anyway. Courageous, I say.

4. Kelli once was talking to my sister Erinn's son Connor, and trying to pry compliments from him. She asked him if she was funny, and Connor (seeing the trap) thought for a minute and said, "Well, you're not funny, but you're fun." She quotes that a lot. Kelli makes my life fun. If it weren't for her I would sit home every night and whittle away my life with the curtains drawn, and no pants on. When we first started dating seriously we were driving by Deer Creek, and Kelli just decided that we needed to swim in it. But with all of our regular clothes on. So we did. And it was as uncomfortable as you are probably imagining it to be. I would go out on a limb and say that the major reason I married Kelli is because she is fun. And funny.

5. She's going to be Felix's mom. I have a hard time wrapping my mind around that. Or expressing what exactly it means to me. But it comforts me and warms my heart knowing that he'll have her.

Happy Birthday, Kelli. You're pretty swell.

I Sure Love These Two

This is Jess after her awesome idea to fill cantelope with strawberry jello. It was delicious.

And here's the kitty after getting tangled in my wedding necklace. It's really thin, so it's hard to see, but she's got it around her neck.
It's been really fun having a more full house. It feels lonely when it's just me and Kyle now. The other night Jess had a sleepover and our cat was recovering from surgery at the vet and the housse felt so empty!!!

Happy Graduation Brit!

Brit graduated a coupl weeks ago. I made her this back up boyfriend during the ceremony. I left off the mouth so she can't kiss him.
Here's everyone who came. And below is a picture of her boyfriend if you were too embarrassed to stare at him during the Memorial day barbeque.