A Weekend in CA

My parents were heading to California for my nephew's first birthday, so the kids and I decided to tag along for the adventure. We had a blast! It would have been the perfect trip if only daddy could have joined us (and if my kids would have slept later!)

 

We went to a "pumpkin patch" one day. It was really just a carnival which also sold over-priced pumpkins, but it did provide some good photo ops.

 

 

We bought a few tickets for the kids and they decided to ride the tractors and the train.

The tractors were hilarious. They were like the ride-on Barbie jeeps. They all kept crashing into things/each other. We were laughing so hard watching them.

 

We ended up going to buy pumpkins at Home Depot instead. They each picked the perfect pumpkin.

After scooping out the guts (which Abby and grammy did for all of them), we let them draw faces on their pumpkins. Merrick carved what they drew and they turned out so cute!

 

The next day, we went to Knott's Berry Farm. It was the perfect day. The weather was gorgeous and there was hardly anyone there. We never had to wait more than like two minutes to go on a ride.

 

These little pump cars were so cute. They had to pump back and forth to make them go. Poor Clara was pretty slow. She finished, though, and didn't seem to notice she was running behind.

This little boy was good as gold.

 

That night, we had a birthday party for my nephew.

 

 

Abby loved wearing the party hat and eating a cupcake. The countdown is on for her birthday. (Excuse me while I go cry in a corner.)

 

We went to the park the next morning and the kids had a lot of fun. It was a cool park and another gorgeous day. Abby liked climbing the rock wall--like father, like daughter.

These two are the best of friends. They are always hugging each other and playing together. They helped Merrick bake some cookies and got to sample the dough, as all good helpers get to do.

Then, we went to the Halloween party at the church. Right before we left, Clara fell and split her lip. However, she was more upset that she broke her pumpkin bucket in the fall. Luckily, Merrick had an extra so a crisis was averted.

They had so much fun trunk-or-treating. They came home with quite the haul. Atfirst Clara kept scowling at everyone who gave her candy. She seemed a little overwhelmed with it all.

 

I was very proud of how the girls costumes turned out. I'll write more about them another day.

 

Grant was the cutest little shark. However, I think he looked more like he was eaten by a shark.

 

 

 

Inside, the kids played games and won prizes and sugared up good.

 

 

It was a wonderful weekend which ended with Grant puking his guts out in my parent's driveway. Hey, at least he didn't do it in the car.

Another Carnival

It's been a while, my dear blog friends. I apologize. Things have been busy but mostly uneventful.

 

Last week, I took a quick trip to Utah for my Grandpa's funeral. I am now grandparentless, which is pretty sad. Luckily, I still have Sam's amazing grandma that I can claim. Sam took the day off while I was gone to stay home with the girls (I took Grant with me). While they were out having fun, they spotted the makings of a carnival but they couldn't tell if it was being taken down or set up.

 

We saw it all set up on Saturday and since our previous plans for the night were cancelled we decided to fork out the big bucks and take the kids.

 

This carnival didn't have quite as many kid-friendly rides as the one in Philly did. And, it was set up in a dirt field, which made it slightly less enjoyable. Oh, the joys of living in the desert.

 

This ride was their favorite. The cars would go slow on the straight-aways and then whip around the curves. 

 

This picture was before the ride even started. Silly Abby.

Grant enjoyed looking at all the lights and people.

There was a little walk-through fun house that the girls weren't too sure about. The worker had to walk them through a few parts because they were a little stressed out.

Lucky for these adventurous girls, they will be at Knott's Berry Farms in just a few days.

The Best Burp Cloths

I recently attended two baby showers for some of my high school friends. I knew I wanted to make something for their gifts so I decided to make them The Best Burp Cloths. When Abby was born, my sister-in-law made some of theses for me and then my friend Megan, in Philly, would make them for everyone. These burp cloths are made from cloth diaper so they are super absorbent. And, they are big! Some of the burp cloths I have had were so small they hardly covered my shoulder. It was like an open invitation to puke all down my back.

 

Of course, you could just use the cloth diaper as is but it's much more fun to jazz them up a bit. Since you're going to spend a lot of time with one on your shoulder, you might as well make it an accessory!

 

Here's how I made mine:

 

Start with some plain cloth diapers. Make sure you buy the pre-fold, 6-ply, like these.

 

 

 I got mine at Target but I know you can get them cheaper online. They also sell some fun, colored ones at JoAnn but they aren't quite as thick (they are lacking the absorbent pad in the center).

 

Cut out some fabric. I used snuggle flannel so they are extra soft to wipe baby's face. I cut mine 6 inches by 20 inches, give or take. This particular fabric was a scrap so it was a bit smaller.

Fold the edges under and pin. Don't worry if it's not perfectly straight. You won't be able to tell, especially after washing them a million times.

Iron down the edges to keep them secure.

Sew along the edges of the flannel. Use contrasting thread and/or a decorative stitch to give them a little something extra.

And there you have it. The Best Burp Cloths! My sister-in-law usually makes hers by sewing strips of ribbon down each side of the absorbent center. I thought about adding ric rac along the edges of the fabric but it seemed a little busy with my fabrics. Really though, the sky is the limit.

I made boy ones.

And girl ones.

I  made little bundles and tied them up with ric rac.

Sisterly Love

When I've gone to check on the girls the past few nights, this is how I have found them:

 

The first night, it startled me to see another body in Abby's bed.

They look so cute together but we've been moving Clara back to her bed in case they thrash about and kick and/or hit each other, as sleeping kids often do.

Last night, Clara was fussing  and when I went in to check on her, she was in Abby's bed. As I picked her up to put her back in her bed, Abby said, "No!" in her sleep. Even her sleeping brain didn't want me to take her sister away.

Despite occasional bickering, they really are the best of friends. I love watching them play together and I really love when they go off to entertain each other and give me a break.