Monkey See

We just got back from a ridiculously fun weekend down in San Diego! A whole group of us headed down and stayed in the same hotel together. Wow, what an adventure- 8 couples, 10 kids and a whole lot of craziness. We hit the beach, Ian got to go surfing, and we took the kids on a carousel ride at Seaport Village in old town San Diego. Not all the kids liked the carousel, but Caleb couldn't get enough. He lifted both of his arms up high over his head and laughed and laughed. The craziest part was when we went out for dinner - the restaurant told us they didn't think they had enough high chairs to accomodate everybody. Needless to say it was quite a zoo! I'm going to put up some photos soon. We feel very blessed to have so many wonderful friends with children that are nearly exactly our kids' ages. Unfortunately we left our camera somewhere in San Diego amidst the mayhem, so I will have to get some borrowed photos unless it magically turns up. In the meantime, here's a silly video I took of my Puente boys- all three of them- from last week. They really know how to get each other going in the mornings!

My first quilt

Alright, so it's not perfect. I had some kind of setback at every single step along the way, from the very beginning when I chose a couple fabrics that just did NOT work together and had to pull out what felt like a million seams to achieve colour harmony in all 16 rows, to cutting my backing a liiitttle too shy of my front, to cutting my ties too short so they were just little baby stubs... anyways, I finally got her done. The process was so fun and I have to say that the end result is a very cheerful comfort indeed. I enjoyed the creative outlet that didn't require the level of intense concentration I have to draw upon when I edit, and I also liked the fact that I could pick it up and put it down at a moment's notice and didn't have to get frustrated about it (this last thing is something I've found to be very key with my two active and increasingly demanding little dudes). Also, so many other ladies in my ward are into quilting that it turned out to be a great bonding experience throughout the process. A group of us hit the fabric district on Saturday and I purchased the goods for my next quilt. I think the best part will be this weekend when I give the quilt to my sister-in-law Faith as a support gift during a crazy time in her lift.
As a random aside, I noticed that the outlandishly cute new line of baby girl dresses on Shabby Apple.com uses a ton of fabrics I used in my quilt, and that I just bought for my new quilt.
http://www.shabbyapple.com/c-16-shabby-baby-dresses.aspx

Hmm... a new project idea? I better master this first.

Happy Valentines Day Card For Melissa

A little early card for Melissa that we thought the rest of you might get a kick out of.

From The Puente Boys

Don't send a lame Starring You! eCard. Try JibJab Sendables!