Lucky Seven!

On May 5, 2005 we married in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.  We were blessed with 80 friends and family who flew in from the USA and Europe for our big day. Indeed, it was an amazing week full of precious memories! 

Seven years later and you STILL make me laugh like this!

And challenge me to try something new. 

To look at life with a different perspective. 

While tackling problems so differently than I had before. 

You still make my heart beat faster when you come home at night. 

And delight me with the wonderful father you are so naturally. 

I can't wait to see what the next part of our adventure brings. 

What an amazing gift God blessed my life with when he brought you into my life those 12 years ago. 

I love you, Brian!

Michelle

Landon's 1st Birthday Party!

We had an amazing weekend at little Landon's 1st birthday party! I can't believe he too is a year old. Leah and Kyle put on such a fun party and we came home with awesome memories! Funny, I got more pictures this day of everyone else's children!  Here are some of my favorite shots. 

 The birthday boy! Landon at 1 year old.

I adore little Bethany! 

It was a Mexican-themed party and the kids sported cool 'tashes!

Senior Jackson with his loot from the pinata!

Share and share alike! Baby Brecken and Isla loved hanging out on the big blanket together.

Poor little muffin! I am so sad my picture taking produced this result. I suppose in toddler world taking a break from a party for a boring photo can indeed seem like the end of the world! This is totally a Teagan look too!

Our Jackie. Always smiling and bubbly!

It took several swipes and finally some adult intervention but the kids got the goods out of the hat pinata.

Krissy looking beautiful, as always!

Our lovely hosts Leah and Kyle! Happy first birthday with sweet Landon! Thanks for including us in the big day!

An Owl Nursery Surprise and Fun Features!

Happy Wednesday all!  I have thankfully had a bit of sleep and am starting to feel like I can function again.  I've wanted to share a sweet surprise we had last week when my friend Natasha and her little girl Lera came over to celebrate Isla's first birthday with us.  With Brian's work schedule we've had to postpone any official festivities for late May or June but these girls wanted to make sure Isla's day was special. And did they ever! 

I've been talking about decorating Isla's nursery with an owl theme for a year now. But the days are flying and I don't sew...poor girl has a comfy sort of room but it's just bare bones. At least it was! Natasha to the rescue! I am just floored by this amazing decor she designed and sewed from scratch! And the awesome wooden frames were made by her sweet husband, Scott. I ask you, could there BE anything cuter?? 

There is also a changing pad cover that goes with this set! I love the pink and peacock colors with line green, don't you?

I am so floored by this generosity and can't imagine how to thank them!  Every time I go by Isla's room this bright, beautiful decor makes me squeal!  I'll have a room reveal very soon when we get the bedding and curtains completed!  I love this picture of Natasha and Lera holding baby Isla who clearly loves her new room! 

If you are interested in contacting Natasha for pricing on her custom nursery decor shoot me an email at teaganstravels@yahoo.com. 

And now for some wonderful features from last week's linky party!

My friends know I am an absolutely sucker for Sinamay! Also known as decorator's mesh this stuff has changed my world since I discovered it last fall! Sew & Dipity is releasing several tutorials on how to decorate with Sinamay throughout the year and for weddings! You must check it out!

How cute is this little guy? My five year old nephew LOVED this submission from last week's party and excitedly told me I can make this for him too, no problem! He walked me through each of the pictures from the awesome Batman Dress-Up Set tutorial submitted by Sew Can Do. But at one point he stopped short, looked confused and said, "Do you even know how to sew???" Ahem. Working on it little man, working on it! This was definitely a favorite in our house this week!

These Chicken and Veggie pockets from Simply Sweet 'n Savory look delish and kid-friendly! Any time I can get my munchkins to eat healthier amounts to good times! This site has a ton of great recipes posted so be sure to check them out!

Thanks again for the awesome submissions, everyone! I can't wait to see what else you are working on this first week of May 2012!

Destination: Inspiration Linky Party #13

Hello everyone!  We've had a special visitor in our house this week.  Cousin Kade is five years old now and so much fun!  He's busy too.  It's amazing how adding just one extra person to the mix can make it seem a million times busier.  Just this morning Kade and Teagan have dismantled my pots, pans, and spoons to become space aliens, found our picnic basket and all kinds of interesting food choices for a pretend ... and not-so-pretend picnic in our living room, and blown through a breaky of scrambled eggs, ham, cheese, toast and grapes.  And now they have declared they are ready for lunch. Yikes!   Did I mention it only 9:45 am?! 

We are having a great time but they are keeping me on my toes.   The hardest part is Teagan and Isla are waking up five plus times in the night between the two of them so sleep has been hard to come by.  I am afraid I will have to postpone my features from last week until tomorrow.  But we are looking forward to some less hectic days coming our way soon when things get back to normal.  How is your week shaping up?  I can't wait to see what you've been working on!

Also, I hope you'll link up on this party and also join my Stars and Stripes party which features all goodies and crafts related to red, white and blue!  It is running from now until July 4th!

Click here to go to the Stars and Stripes Party!

Now, on to the party! Show me what you've got!

Passport to an Awesome Party




<center><a href="http://teaganstravels.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa394/sticksandmouse/th_basebutton.jpg" border="0" alt="Teagan's Travels Button, 2012 February"/></a> <center></center></center>

<center><a href="http://teaganstravels.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa394/sticksandmouse/IWasFeatured.jpg" border="0" alt="I Was Featured, 2012 February" /></a><center></center></center>

*I  am trying to grow my little blog so please do follow me using Google  Friends Connect or Linky Followers on my sidebar!

*Grab  my button and post it somewhere on your blog.

*Link  to your post instead of your overall blog address.

*We  all love comments so spread the love to at least one other blogger.

Have a great week! 
Michelle

Tick Tock...Wall Clock Makeover Tutorial

Hope all are having a great week! I am SO excited about an adorable owl nursery set that a dear friend gave to Isla tonight for her first birthday! It made my heart so happy and lit a fire for me to get her room completed (finally!). I can't wait to share the final project with you soon, soon, soon! 

In the meantime, here is a sneak peak in the form of a simple clock makeover I made for the room. I love this peacock color, don't you? I started with some pur-ri-ty ugly cheapies from Wal-Mart that had good bones about them. 

I also made this one for Teagan's room which is a pink, black and white Paris theme at the moment. I have other bits of damask in the room so this fits in nicely!

To make the change I opened the back and put in solid colored scrapbook paper. Then I made the intricate pattern by simply flipping over these die cut pages I bought from Michael's ages ago for another project! The result? A simple but fun way to pop color into a room! I was inspired by an idea a mommy gave me on a pregnancy forum board about three years ago. I have no idea where she is now but if IAMSAM is out there, thanks for the inspiration!

And now to see what you've got going on! I so hope you'll join my Stars and Stripes party that focuses on anything red, white or blue! 

If you are looking for the Stars and Stripes Party please click HERE! 

And what if you don't have anything red, white or blue to link up? Never fear, my regular party Destination: Inspiration is going on now too!

If you are looking for the Tuesday Destination: Inspiration linky party please click HERE! 

Have a great Thursday everyone!

Linky Party Features!

I hope all are having a wonderful week! We are starting to recover here though I fear Teagan's still got a turn with the virus coming up. I just pray she will get through it with no problems and before the weekend as we have some fun planned! 

If you are looking for the Stars and Stripes Party please click HERE! 

If you are looking for the Tuesday Destination: Inspiration linky party please click HERE! 

In the meantime, I am so excited about sharing features from last week's linky party! Be sure to check out these amazing blogs! Thanks for the submissions, ladies! I hope you'll grab my featured button from the side bar!

Jodi at Meaningful Mama came up with this awesome American flag collage project that is super fun and kid friendly! It looks like a real piece of art while providing a great way to involve the kids in Memorial Day and July 4th! I know Teagan will love this! Check out this blog for awesome kids activities, character development ideas, parenting tips and more!

Isn't this Tiffany blue dress with mustard shoes from Welcome to the Good Life just perfect? Sarah is just as gorgeous and I love her blog! She shared her adventures of making this dress for her special invite to have Breakfast at Tiffany's! I love checking in on her amazing style and cute-as-can be family!

I love this Prickly Posie tutorial from Sister See Sister Do! Sisters Michelle and Julie showed us how to use up extra fabric to make these pointy shaped stars that can be used as a hair bow, broach, to embellish a wreath and more! I love the bright spring colors in this fabric!

Destination: Inspiration Linky Party #12

Hello everyone!  We had a rough start to the week here with a virus running through our house so I am online for just a moment before heading back to bed.  I hope you'll forgive me for postponing features from last week's party until tomorrow.

In the meantime, this weekly party is a highlight of my week and I can't wait to see what you've been working on! I hope you'll link up on this party and also join my Stars and Stripes party which features all goodies and crafts related to red, white and blue!  It is running from now until July 4th!

Click here to go to the Stars and Stripes Party!

Now, on to the party! Show me what you've got!

Passport to an Awesome Party




<center><a href="http://teaganstravels.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa394/sticksandmouse/th_basebutton.jpg" border="0" alt="Teagan's Travels Button, 2012 February"/></a> <center></center></center>

<center><a href="http://teaganstravels.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa394/sticksandmouse/IWasFeatured.jpg" border="0" alt="I Was Featured, 2012 February" /></a><center></center></center>

*I  am trying to grow my little blog so please do follow me using Google  Friends Connect or Linky Followers on my sidebar!

*Grab  my button and post it somewhere on your blog.

*Link  to your post instead of your overall blog address.

*We  all love comments so spread the love to at least one other blogger.

Have a great week! 
Michelle