I am a genius.

No, seriously. I am.

haha, today I was babysitting my cousins Isaac and Lily. They are... rather active, and aren't supposed to watch too much TV. I found a great idea online for this bean-bag toss box. Check it out.

 

It kept them entertained forever! Plus, I had them help me make some bean bags (one held the funnel and one poured the little cup of rice) to play with as well. They love it. Lily thinks it makes a good mask. =]


This next picture is of two projects I'm rather proud of. Firstly, I made a bag for all of my toiletries (hair, make-up, toothbrush, etc.) out of a pair of jeans that were too small for me. I used some cheap ribbon to make loops on the inside for my toothbrush, hair brush, etc. I left the pockets on the outside for the few make-up things I use all the time. It was a quick, hurried sewing job, but I like it just fine. Then I looped a ribbon through the belt loops to hide the random stitches I had to make around the top. lol. You'll notice I cut out the zipper area, because I thought it was a little awkward. Plus, the ideal size jeans to use would be children's. (Nobody wants to see just how big their waist actually is anyway.)

I also made a homemade block for my niece Anna. It has ribbon loops in the seams for her to grab onto once she's old enough, and a little felt bear that tucks into a pocket on one of the sides. There's a big jingle bell inside the stuffing, so it acts like a gentle rattle too. I'm hoping to be able to make a few more before I leave her. I made a set for my nephew, and he seemed to like it.

 

Happy Spring!

I'm an Aunt!

Again! The seventh little grandbaby was born yesterday afternoon!

Anna Noel Garner was born just shy of 8 lbs and is 20 inches long. She is toooo stinking cute. And of course, everyone is absolutely in love with her.







Kenny doesn't really get who she is yet, but was really sweet to her. "Pet the baby!"



Stephanie and I stayed the night with him over at their apartment so Gordon could stay at the hospital with Kristen. It was so fun.

I heard Anna's a little high maintenance right now, and refuses to sleep in her basinet at the hospital. She only sleeps when her Mommy holds her. But she has been through a lot, poor little thing.

Sunday Update

Sorry about the random cop-out posts, I haven't felt like I had much real news to report. =]

Today I wasn't feeling too great, so I stayed home with Steph. Since I hadn't gotten a chance to read my missionary brother's letters in a few weeks, I decided to flip through his letter-book before breaking out my scriptures. Something came over me, and I read the entire book, finishing up right as everyone came home from Church. I noticed several things I hadn't before, and it felt like genuine scripture study. Now, if you don't know Todd you may not understand that. But his letters are full of insights, scripture references, promises, and testimony. Plus I read the letters my Mom sent to him, which contain her insights, etc. By the time I got through them all I was feeling inadequate and recharged all at once. I sat down and typed up a letter for him, then wrote/copied a bunch of Russian stuff he had asked for(he keeps running into Russians/Ukrainians while tracting). I've got a lot of journal writing to do now, and lots and lots to think about.

So, as to what I've been doing lately...I'm kinda too lazy to list off my little adventures, so here's a collage using the few pictures I could find. =D

In this collage: the Wilhelm's visit, Kenny letting me hold/play with him!!, a trip to the stables at the zoo, and just general kiddie playtime.



Remind me to put up pictures from mini golfing yesterday! Or maybe I'll just bug Mom and Dad, and they'll put them up. haha.

Mother Nature...?

While I'm home with my little sisters, I decided it would be fun to bring back my old childhood memories and re-enact them with the girls. I've been ordering movies on Netflix like the Pagemaster, Rescuers Down Under, and most recently, Happily Ever After. It's an old 1993 cartoon about Snow White that starts where Disney left off, with them riding into the sunset to find happily ever after...

Anyway, Stephanie and I really got a kick watching the movie because we remembered our favorite parts as them came up. Our favoritest part in particular is Mother Nature's song!!! We can totally remember trying to imitate her dance moves. I have included a rather long clip of the movie below, but the good stuff starts at the 2 minute mark. But here's the thing: if any of your kids enjoy the scene as much as we did, and start dancing like Mother Nature **cough-Caeli-cough** then I need to see video footage of that later. lol.

Happy Reminiscing!!

Engrish!

We take our English skills for granted. These were all taken in other countries.


Forget 'wild.'


I pity the kid don't got this jacket.


Wanted: competent translator.


"You're ugly, do you copy?" "10-4, Moron."


Tastes like...


How many times do I have to say it??

Kimber Lizzy

Okay, so my sister and her four kids left this morning before I woke up. Luckily, I cornered Kimber yesterday and documented THIS:


Toooo precious. I love the way she tells stories too, so I also have THIS for your enjoyment:

[For those of you who haven't seen Barbie and the Diamond Castle, Slider is a winged serpent. He is a bad guy. You should also know that Kimber loves her sandals.]

Baby Signing

So, when my niece Emma came to visit she brought her Signing Time videos. We were all way impressed with her sign language, plus it was just super cute. So today I was holding my nephew Josh while he was a little upset. I turned to my good friend YouTube, and this is what I found! He was so entranced he even stopped reaching for the keyboard. =]

This one... is kind of obnoxious to adults, but kids love it! lol I guess I'm more kid than adult, because it cracks me up.



Haha, enjoy! And don't let it get stuck in your head. =]