It's not a secret I love to craft. I have always admired my mom's cute quilts, baby blankets, wall-hangings, table runners etc that she sews. I sewed a little in High School, and even got a sewing machine for Christmas one year... but sadly it has sat in the box ever since. I was so busy with school and friends during university I never had any time! Now that I'm working and married I have found some spare moments finally! So I decided it was time to dust 'er off and get to work. It is baby season after all!! There must be something in the water because all of my best friends had babies this Spring. My mom was so patient with me, I tend to get frustrated when I'm not instantly good at something (haha go figure). She spent so many nights and weekends helping me - It was fun to spend some mother/daughter time together. Once we sewed the quilt together we had a lady with an industrial machine quilter quilt some super ADORABLE designs on to the quilts. It doubles the quilt's cuteness factor! Here are a few of the quilts we made...
Ashley Johnson's Quilt for little miss Berkley
I'm kind of obsessed with owls right now - I think they are ridiculously cute. When we found out the quilt lady had an owl pattern I just about died! Works perfectly with the cute owl fabric :) Love the soft minky on the back.
Nicole Maclean's Quilt for little miss Alexa
I was a little nervous about this quilt because it's not as cutesy and girly as some of the other quilts I've made. I made Nicole's 1st baby a quilt a couple years ago and it was very girly, this one was more traditional. But they are different girls and I wanted different quilts. I think it turned out cute! I love the soft, fuzzy yellow on the back and the cute flower swirly quilting.
Maggie Brumwell's quilt for little miss Alexis
Maggie didn't find out if she was having a boy or a girl so it made it difficult for me to have a quilt ready for when Baby arrived! So I made 2 quilts, a girl one and boy one. She ended up having a girl!!! (which by the way I totalled called!!! Everyone else said she was having a boy...) Here are a few pictures of when I met sweet little Alexis and her modeling her new quilt. Isn't she precious?!
Here is the boy version I will be saving for another lucky baby.. :) It's not quilted or bound in this picture
My dad has been going to the first round of March Madness Basketball for the last 12 years. Over time it has evolved into an annual boys trip. They've gone all over the United States: New Orleans, Phoenix, Philadelphia, Portland, San Jose, Salt Lake City... this year was Orlando. All of my brothers, my dad, and some of my dad's friends go. (the Hansen's have hopped on board the last 4 or 5 years). Nick is the first brother-in-law in our family so this year he was the new kid on the block. I think I was more excited about the trip than him! I've had people ask if I'm ever sad that I don't get to go, but to be honest I don't feel left out at all. I'm just so happy that Nick gets to go on a trip and have fun with my brothers and my dad that it's kind fun for me too.
They'd be gone for 30 minutes and they were already getting into trouble... Steve Arm Wrestling a 7-11 Worker for free candy
They all stayed at a big condo equipped with basketball courts and swimming pools. Usually they stay at a hotel, so it was nice this year for everyone to be in the same condo with big living areas for everyone to hang out together. They rented 2 big vans and would compete who can get home first everyday. The younger guys, Nick, Nate, Brody, Steve, Taylor and Brant were up every night playing basketball or sneaking into the pool in the wee hours of the morning. (did you guys ever sleep??) If you know my brother Steve, he is always creating random competitive games for everyone to play. Here is the cushion sliding game they came up with the first night: (I don't have any of Nick doing it, oh well)
They put a pillow about 20 feet from the front door and go to the other end of the condo onto the deck. Next they run off the deck in through the living room into the kitchen and slide on the pillow to see how close they can get to the front door. Boys will be boys...
Day 1 - Universal Studios
-my dad bought the "fast pass" tickets so they got to skip all the lines! Nick hates waiting, or anything requiring patience for that matter (hehe) so he was on cloud 9. I have a weak stomach when it comes to rides so it was nice for him to go with the boys, they rode ride after ride non-stop all day
Day 2 - NCAA Basketball
This is what Nick was excited for the most, he LOVES basketball. Their seats were pretty good, but they couldn't get any in the lower bowl because they were all corporate seating. So they snuck past as many ticket ladies as possible to sit down in the empty seats. The first game was at 1:50pm ET and last one at 9:50pm but because of one OT game it didn't start till 10:30pm! They didn't leave the stadium till 1:00am...
Day 3 - Back to Universal Studios
-day 2 of Universal Studios, they hit up all the rides they missed the first day and hit up their favorite rides over and over again.
Harry Potter Castle
Day 4 - NCAA Basketball
More basketball... and more food.... This time I got to see Nick on TV a couple of times dancing and cheering, it was fun to see them all having a good time :) Then they went to an all you can eat meat place kind of like Rodizio Grill if any of you have been there in Utah.
Florida Game!
These 2 who make it all possible!
Just to preface this video, Nick HATES sour candy. I don't know how they got him to do it, but this is better than giving a baby sour candy....
A couple of years ago I came across something called a "SMASH Book" on Pinterest. I was intrigued. I have always loved scrapbooking, and I've even gotten into digital scrapbooking recently. The only problem was I'm kind of a pack rat. I love keeping EVERYTHING. Tickets stubs, notes, letters, card, quotes, pamphlets, programs, you name it. Digital scrapbooking took away the heart and sole of my nostalgia. So I started keeping things in boxes (LAME!). Then SMASH Book surfaced. My prayers have been answered!! If you don't know what a SMASH Book is, here is a short video on how it works...
SMASH Book 101
Each SMASH Book has a theme
-cutesy
-couture
-tasty
-smart
-baby
-wedding
-international
-simple
-retro
etc!!
The pages inside the book reflect the theme and it's bound and coiled so it's READY. SET. PASTE! There is no rhyme or reason to it which is half the fun. The messier the cuter in my opinion :) The point is it should take significantly LESS time than scrapbooking so don't over think it! Just start!
My Pages
Here are a few of the pages from my "wedding" SMASH book. (I took the pictures with my iPhone so they aren't the best...) I started it as soon as Nick got home from his mission (haha!) So It covers our engagement right until the day we got married. I kept and saved so many precious memories because I was making this book. I think it is my favorite SMASH Book so far!!
Here are a few of the pages from my "365" SMASH book. The pages cover all 365 days of the year, all of the seasons and holidays so I used it for our first year of marriage!
Supplies
You can spend as little or as much money as you want. I buy supplies at the dollar store or get SMASH accessories when they are on sale. These are the supplies I use the most:
SMASH BOOK
Where to buy:
*Walmart $14.97 (CAN)
*Target $12.49 (US)
*Michaels $19.99
-- I buy whichever book is on sale. I usually get mine for around $7-10
WASHI TAPE
Washi tape adds a bit of crazy to the book! Lots of fun colors and designs. Tape stuff in! Make Pockets or borders with it. You can never go wrong
Where to buy:
*Dollarama $0.99
*Michaels, Walmart, Target $4-10
SMASH LIST PADS
These are great for helping document ideas, memories and details you might forget otherwise. They add a lot of fun to the book! These are a MUST. I have probably 15 list pads and I use them on almost every page.
Where to buy:
you can get them on sale for as cheap as $0.99
*Michaels
*Walmart
*Target
STICKERS
Stickers help to fill up all the blank spaces and add a little more theme to each page. Like I said, the messier the better! They are a cheap and easy way to fill up a page fast.
Where to buy:
*Dollarstore $0.99
GLUE STICK
Where to buy:
ANYWHERE!
*Dollarstore $0.99
GIFT PACK
Gift packs are a great kick start. It comes with 1 SMASH book and a bunch of fun accessories to start playing around with! Where to buy:
*Michaels $29.99
*Walmart
*Target
--I found one at Winners randomly for $19.99!
Alright SMASHbookers you are ready to get started!! Get out those junk drawers and start pasting. My next project is to start SMASHing all of our letters from Nick's mission - turn me on some Pretty Little Liars this weekend and I'm gonna SMASH all day! #bestweekendever
I have never been to an all-inclusive resort before and neither has Nick, so we were really excited for our trip this Winter! I was ready for a break from work and from the snow. We went over reading week because Nick had time off school. I ended up choosing Cabo solely because it was a direct flight from Calgary (we aren't huge travelling fans - more vacation fans :) It was fun just the two of us, but next time we hope to go with some friends! We'd love to go on another cruise... **hint hint** anyone want to come?!
Travel
Because Nick is so tall airplane rides can be tough, his legs are always super cramped and he ends up sitting like a grasshopper and taking up my leg room!! So we invested in Westjet's special seating, you pay an extra $45 dollar per person and you are upgraded to the first 3 rows of the plane. The leg room is very spacious and you get all the sandwiches & snacks that you want for free from their menu. Plus you are the first ones off the plane, TOTALLY worth it. Although he doesn't look it in the picture he was extremely happy about the upgrade :) Now that he's experienced such luxury we will never fly without it again...
Hanging out at the pool
It was huge! Fun swim up bar, everyone was so baffled why I would order virgin drinks, I eventually told one of the waiters I was pregnant so he'd get off my back!
Beach Time
loved playing in the waves and building sandcastles. I've never seen Nick's attention span last so long! I learned a lot from our last beach experience and I wasn't letting Nick get sunburned this time. 45 SPF sunscreen the whole trip! Did we get a tan? Barely... But better safe than sorry says the Cancer Clinic worker!
Whale Watching
this was the one thing I wanted to splurge on for the trip. I've heard so many amazing things about the whale watching in Cabo this time of year. We hopped on a little boat and headed out to the ocean in search of whales. I enjoyed just relaxing in the sun waiting for them to surface for air. They are so huge! It was amazing to see them in their natural habitat. We even got to see some baby whales! We sat in the front of the boat and when we would speed across the water it was like being on a tube ride! Our sunglasses acted like goggles and we got splashed in the face all afternoon
Look at this bed head!! I left him like this most mornings so I could go hit up the pool and start my sun bathing!
Entertainment
It was fun to have built-in dates every night. We would go out for dinner and then hit up the big show that was going on at the resort. The dancers and costumes were amazing! And the decorations and theme changed every night. It was so awesome to be sitting outside all night without a jacket! Such a nice break from the snow back in Canada...
That stirred our hearts in youth, The impulses to wordless prayer,
The streams of love and truth,
The longing after something lost,
The spirit's yearning cry.
The striving after better hopes;
These things can never die.
The timid hand stretched forth to aid
A sister in her need,
A kindly word in grief's dark hour
That proves a friend indeed;
The plea for mercy softly breathed,
When justice threatens high.
The sorrow of a contrite heart;
These things shall never die.
Let nothing pass, for every hand
Must find some work to do,
Lose not a chance to waken love;
Be firm and just and true.
So shall a light that cannot fade
Beam on thee from on high,
And angel voices say to thee,
These things can never die.
I watched a Planet Earth documentary with my niece Pepper, who is 3. We watched a Polar Bear's life, how their whole lives they are trying to find food, trying to survive. We watched this Polar Bear grow up, learn to hunt, we grew to love him. But then we had to watch him struggle for food and eventually die. Huge crocodile tears rolled down little Pepper's face and she sobbed for this poor Polar Bear. "Why can't the Polar Bear find food? He is going to die without food". I didn't think we'd have to explain death to a 3 year old from a simple Planet Earth documentary. We explained Heavenly Father's plan for us on earth, that we are all supposed to die and when we do we go back to live with Heavenly Father, that's why he made earth.
My perception of death has changed since working in a cancer clinic. It's a lot more real than it ever has been. Everyone asks me if its depressing working in a cancer clinic. It's not.
I've had family, friends and patients pass on, but although they are not here physically, their words, testimonies, experiences and works live on. I have assimilated them into my own character and testimony. They live on in the life that I now live. They will never die. And every once-in-a-while I stop and think, what will I leave behind?
I want people to remember me as a good friend, to remember that I loved my Book of Mormon. I want people to remember that I loved my husband, that I always spoke highly of people, that I built people up, not tear them down. I want people to remember my testimony, because I shared it with words and without words. This is who I want to become.
I'm so grateful for good people that have sowed and will sow good seeds in my life. Most of them are small caring acts as Charles Dickens' poem states. A helping hand, wordless prayer, hope, a kind word, a simple testimony. And although we all will, these things will never die.
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