Projects, part one

I have several projects that I need to complete before birthdays and Christmas arrive(Abby and Scott have birthdays in December). Most of these need to be done on the sewing machine and I've been putting them off because I dread cutting fabric! The pinning and sewing part, no problem. The cutting of the fabric before the pinning and sewing gives me the shivers. But, last night and this morning I managed to whip together one of the projects and it was much easier than I had thought it would be!! For Abby's birthday she is getting some things to help keep her entertained at church and I wanted to make a little cloth bag to keep them in. So, I decided to make a pillowcase into a drawstring bag. I happened to have bought a couple of pillowcases at DI last year that I was planning to make into summer dresses for Abby so I dug those out of the fabric boxes.

I didn't take a picture before I cut it but this way you can sort of see how I cut it.

I sewed up the bottom and one side.

I added a buttonhole on the top of the bag (what used to be the cuff of the pillowcase).

Folded the cuff towards the inside and sewed around the bottom of it.

Threaded the ribbon through the buttonhole and worked it through the inside edge with a safety pin. (It's folded over in this pic)

After finishing the edges of the ribbons, here is the finished product!!

                                                    (It's a little twisted in the picture)

I can hardly wait for Abby's birthday so we can fill this cute little bag with her church busy toys!! I am super excited to make similar bags for other purposes now that I know how easy it is!!

I found the tutorial for the bag here, http://makezine.com/craft/how-to_tuesdays_pillowcase_lau/

I didn't do a hanging strap, used ribbon instead of twill tape and cut mine to shorten it and make it narrower.

New teeth

About two weeks ago Lilly's first tooth broke through, right in front, on the bottom. We were super excited for her! She has been rather crankier than usual these last few days and then yesterday while we were pushing her in the stroller at the mall, she tipped her head back to look up at me and smiled and there are now two teeth! The second one is small and must have just barely broken through her gums! It's right next to the first one. Our little baby is growing up, I can hardly believe it!

What does the fox say?

We enjoy using a theme for our Halloween costumes every year, when possible. This year our families costumes were loosely based off of the Music video for "What Does The Fox Say".

Our ward trunk or treat

My parents came down to have dinner and help take the girls trunk or treating. Abby loved having her grandparents around! (Lilly slept up until it was time to leave for the trunk or treat, or I'm sure she would have been just as excited!)

Our growling little lion. What an appropriate costume for Lilly who is the growling-est baby I have ever seen.

Our cute little cow. Abby loved her costume and didn't ever want to take it off.

She was so excited to give out candy to "the kids". She even ended up wanting to give out candy from her bag of candy as some stragglers made it to the parking lot as everyone was starting to leave. What a generous little cutie!

Right before the Halloween party a week before Halloween.

This soon turned into....

this, which turned into....

this! ("Get it off me"!)

And meanwhile, Abby couldn't be happier in her costume...

Once we got there and the hood came off, she was a happy camper.

Strengthening daddy's roots.....

Having a blast on the trampoline!

Sorry for the over abundance of pictures but it is a rare moment when the girls will hold still for long enough to get a decent picture so I couldn't resist sharing the cuteness. 

We do enjoy Halloween and the chance to dress up and have a little fun in our family!

F.H.E. and Goal Zero

 I picked up this pool at a consignment sale as ours had a hole that continued to increase by the day it seemed. When I started filling this one up I realized just how much bigger than our old one it was, it took a while to fill up.....

 This is how we do Family Night at our house!! Abby had been begging to go in the pool all day and so we had a lesson about the creation (land and water being separated, etc....) so I could justify playing in the pool as our F.H.E. activity.

And this is how Lilly does F.H.E.....

Eating time at the Twichel's house!

Company party for Goal Zero at a park. It was stiflingly hot, so it was a welcome relief for Scott and Abby that they had water balloons, snow cones and most importantly, squirt guns!! 

Can you believe this mellow cutie is the same baby as the one sitting in her high chair cheering for more food? Six and half months old and cute as can be! 

Camping and such

A few weeks ago we had a friend over for dinner while his wife was out of town and we mentioned that we all needed to go camping before it got to cold. Abby heard the word, "camping" and was so excited!! Hooting and hollering and carrying on because she thought we were going that night. When I told her we weren't camping that night but that we would go in 2 weeks her face just crumbled. It broke my heart! Scott set up the tent in the living room and the two of them had a daddy daughter camping trip right there in the comfort of home.

What I found the next morning... 

She had to take some of her babies and animals camping with her. 

That next weekend we set up the tent in Scott's parents backyard and Abby loved it!! We put Lilly to bed just inside the house in the port-a-crib and took the baby monitor outside with us. 

Lilly checking out the leaves in our front yard a few days after the camping trip.She is fascinated with leaves right now. Even the ones on our fake ficus tree in our living room seem to call her name, so to speak. 

The past weekend we went "real camping" with our neighbors. Abby kept asking if we were going to "go cahmping in the wooods" like Little Bear and Curious George. 

The first few hours were a bit rocky since I drove up and met our friends while Scott was still at work. He ended up having to work a bit late that night so it made things a little tricky but we still had a great time and can't wait to go again soon!

This was Lilly's first camping trip and she was quite the fussy baby while we were camping as she was still recovering from soon kind of "bug" in her system. 

If you look closely at her face you can see the remains of the chocolate pudding that she decided would be breakfast. 

Abby put in a lot of miles running around the campsite playing with her friend Beth. 

Hanks Family Reunion Part 2

Half of one day was spent at Smith and Moorehouse reservoir and our last full day was enjoyed at Rockport Reservoir.

Abby playing in the water at Smith and Moorehouse. This girl loves the water and became so much more brave after this reunion!

Our day at Rockport reservoir was AWESOME!!!  I had never been on a waverunner and I've always wanted to try one. Scott and my brother Matt rented one and it was so much fun!! Now, I want one!

We brought our kayaks with us and rented two canoes with the lodge so we had quite the assortment of watercraft. 

Lilly spent most of the time at the reservoir playing on her mat and taking naps! The towel made it an awesome tent! 

Abby wanted to ride in the small kayaks and so Scott had the brilliant idea to push her through the shallows and she loved it!! 

My sister in law Amy and I having a fantastic ride on the tube!

While out on the waverunner, Scott and our niece Madeline hit the wave from a big boat and flew about 7 feet into the air. The ride back to shore was a little more pain filled than I think they anticipated when they climbed on the tube!

Lilly didn't really enjoy the lifejacket and being in the water but once she was away from those things she did great! 

Our trip to the reservoir was great. There were a few huge crazy things that happened though! While pulling my two13 year old nephews on the tube I must have run over the rope and it got tangled under the boat. We were so far out in the reservoir that no one could tell we needed help. We climbed off and started swim/pushing the waverunner back to shore. It was excruciatingly painful!! We were making a little progress but it would have taken FOREVER to get back to shore. Another nephew went by on a kayak and so we sent him back to shore to get help and my brother Joe came out and towed us back to shore. Eventually the men were able to cut the rope and get the waverunner working again!

Hanks Reunion 2013 Part 1

About a year ago my mom asked if my sister Stephanie and I would plan a family reunion for my immediate family in the summer of 2013. After many months of planning, many phone calls, and a few extra pounds from the stress the reunion actually happened!

We rented a FANTASTIC place called The Harston Heartland Lodge. If you've never been there you are missing out!! There was plenty of room for our huge family and so many things to do that the kids stayed busy! It had been a long time since we had seen this much family and so this was a real treat to see those who could come! Hopefully at the next reunion everyone will be able to make it!

This is just a smattering of pictures from a few of the weeks highlights.

Each family had a different bandanna color and the kids were gracious enough to model them for us!

Our first night there happened to be my niece Rachel's birthday and so we had a party. The kids decorated hats, made balloon animals and had a great time.

 My sister Stephanie holding my cute little Lilly. Lilly was such a happy girl with her auntie Steph!

My mom and Lilly having a bonding moment!

We had a White Elephant gift exchange that was a bit of a riot! My grandparents and my aunt Michelle came for a day and got to join in on the fun and an early birthday party for my grandpa's 90th birthday.

My brother-in-law, Darren was nice enough to entertain Lilly while Scott was in charge of the White Elephant and I tried to relax a bit(in the background looking out the window).

Lilly spent most of the reunion being held by loving cousins and aunts and uncles who couldn't get enough of her! When she wasn't being held she loved playing with her toys and practicing her new skill of rolling over. Even while playing on the floor her cousins couldn't leave her alone! 

We roasted marshmallows in the firepit one night and had a blast.  

Abby enjoying her roasted marshmallow. 

Scott hanging out with my dad, watching the kids playing on the grass. 

Lilly playing on her mat on the grass after our family pictures. 

Abby sharing her candy with her cousin Emmeline. Would you guess that these two are almost the same age?