Dress shopping...

What girl doesn't LOVE a girls day out shopping for dresses?
I finally found a wedding dress... wahoo! I was starting to get a little nervous because I just wasn't finding anything that looked like me... but thankfully I finally found something!
I took the girls back with me to try the dress on again, the looks on their faces was priceless when I walked out in the dress.

Kayla and Cammy got to try on dresses too... Krystian already has a dress, but had so much fun with her little friend London going through all the dresses and accessories. Krystian's favorite dresses were the big fluffy ball gowns (of course).

Of course there are no pictures of me... gotta keep the suspense going.

What little girl doesn't love pretending to be a princess for a day...

Krystian and London

We found the perfect dress for Cammy...

she looks absolutely beautiful in this dress.

Kayla was on the move...

she kept seeing dresses that she wanted to try on.

You would have thought I had fed Kayla a bowl of sugar first

then taken her to a candy store.

She was all over the place, having the time of her life!

But mom... I was bored...

So, I came home from running errands the other day to find my oldest daughter, Kayla locked in the bathroom.

Me: Kayla what are you doing in there?
Kayla: I don't want to come out... I'm afraid you'll get mad at me.
(hmmm... just what every parent wants to hear)
Me: Well, what did you do that is going to make me mad?
Kayla: I got bored and now I need you to fix something.
(this doesn't sound good)
Me: You need to open the door if you want me to help you.
(mom gets more and more aggravated and begins shaking the door knob)
Me: Open this door.... NOW!
Kayla: Okay, but be nice to me.
(um... I can't make any promises)
Me: Okay, but if you make me wait much longer I'm going to be less nice.

The door slowly opens and I find my beautiful daughter missing a rather large chunk of her longer than long hair.
Right in the front!

Kayla: I was bored so I decided to cut my hair just a little bit, but I slipped.
Me: That looks like more than a slip.
Kayla: You're not funny mom.
Me: I'm hilarious. So, what do you want ME to do about this?
Kayla: Just fix it mommy please.
(of course she throws a "mommy" in there for effect)

She's just lucky I know how to cut hair!
So, I ended up having to take about 7 inches off the back just to get the "slip" to blend in. Her hair is still long, but on Kayla it looks soooooo short. I would like to say that Kayla learned a lesson and won't be cutting her hair by herself ever again, but no, I guarantee she'll do it again someday... and then she'll call me to come fix it! :)

before and after... she's still a cutie.

My niche...

It felt so good to find my niche again. A design friend of mine called to have me consult on a job for her. It's been so long since I've done any design work I had forgotten how much I LOVE it! What I love is this... I spent 2 hours with the client and didn't even realize that 2 whole hours had past. You know you love something when it doesn't feel like work, and time passes without you even noticing. It felt so good!

So, it's just a small job... space planning, shopping for new furniture, some custom drapery, and a little redesign of the space. She had lots of furniture that was just too big for the space, so it was fun to teach her about scale and proportion. Usually I'll find a client with a HUGE space and tiny pieces of furniture arranged neatly around the edges of the room, so it was refreshing to have the opposite problem for once. So, here's to finding my niche again...

And just because a post is better with pictures... here's a project from several years ago. Some of my favorite spaces to completely redesign are childrens' rooms...

Here's to 2009...

What a year!
Thankfully most of the big events were captured previously on this blessed blog! I so enjoy going back over the year and remembering all the fun! There were a few trials along the way too, but all in all we had a good time.
Me (the mom of the bunch) had a crazy year. Brad and I had just started dating before the new year... and after a year of dating is so very lucky to call him my fiance! I took off to the Las Vegas design market last February with my 3 fearless design partners. What a week we had. April brought a trial I never thought would end when I became so sick I was in bed for close to 9 weeks, and sick another 3 weeks beyond that. I missed the last 5 weeks of the school year, and I hope whatever it was never returns!!! I went back to school in August and spent the last few months of the year deciding where to head as far as my education is concerned. Thankfully I have pinned it down to a BFA with an emphasis in drawing and painting, then a masters of education... so the next 3 years will be devoted to that (as if I had nothing else to do!). I still continue to tutor kids in reading, and take on the occasional opportunity to teach art classes at my daughters' elementary school. I LOVE teaching art! In the midst of all this I still found the time to take care of my mom, date Brad, raise 3 daughters, and get engaged! whew...

Kayla began her last year of junior high. Most of her time is spent texting boys, talking to boys, thinking about boys... you get the picture. In her free time she plays the violin and piano, is her Mia~maid class president, is learning to snowboard, and practices cheer daily. She also babysits a lot! Kayla also had a few missionary opportunities this past year with a few friends and a cousin who were baptized over the summer. She is planning on trying out for the cheer squad at Cottonwood/Olympus/Murray (or where ever we end up). Kayla is also the only true blue BYU fan in the house, which makes her grandpa happy! She is the sunshine in our house... such a sweet, outgoing little spirit. She has a confidence like no one I have ever know. I love my sweet Kayluhhh.

Cammy is finishing her last year of elementary school and heads off to junior high this coming year. BOOOOOO.... I would like to say that I'm prepared considering I have done this before, but no, I'm not ready for this. Cammy is the artist of the family, as well as the singer. She has an amazing voice! She began babysitting this year, and is getting the hang of it quickly. Cammy is my independent child... she's so happy and content entertaining herself with projects, music and cleaning (yes you read that right!). She is the loving peacemaker in our home. She loves music, art, monkeys, friends and Cherry Cokes... oh and her cell phone.

Krystian is the social butterfly of the family. She keeps track of all our schedules and seems to know everything about everyone! :) She loves dancing, play dates, puppies, drawing, and can swim like a fish. She's a super great helper around the house still, mostly because she hasn't learned to ignore me yet! Krystian had a big birthday this past year... 8 years old! She was baptized by Brad on December 5th. The day after she was baptized she told me that she was the happiest girl ever because she had the Holy Ghost with her. Lots of wisdom for an 8 year old!

Well, we hope 2009 brought you all lots of growth and wonderful memories too.
Christmas was action packed this year, so I put all the pictures in slide show that follows.
We had great fun at the Miller Christmas party, Christmas day at the Fryers, and New Years eve with our close friends the Woolfs, Halversons and Benwares. Lots of pictures, lots of fun memories, and great friendships...
We are looking forward to a new decade of fun filled days, but for now, here's to 2009!!!