Family Fest--April 2011

April turned out to be a family filled month.

Emma came to visit and we were able to meet Caleb Duss.

Graham was especially excited about the new baby.

Then Spencer graduated from BYU

And Tiffany and Eli were able to come!

April (Snow) Showers

Here goes an attempt at bringing my blog up to date...

Our spring was down right dreary.  This is what I awoke to conference morning.

In an attempt to lift my spirits, I turned to crafting.  Here is what my Easter mantle looked like.

I later added this little diddy in place of the Jelly Bean topiary.

Feeling Crafty

It is a bit of an understatement that I have been feeling crafty lately.  After the madness that comes with Christmas, I felt like I had time on my hands to get creative.  Here are some of the things I came up with.

"Bitty Banners" for friends...

and babies

An owl that I saw on etsy and reinterpreted

"Freezer Paper" stenciled shirts, thanks to my crafty friend Darcie

And finally, a bird silhouette that I had been putting off for at least six months. I had covered a square canvas with scrapbook paper and black ribbon, with the intention of printing off a tree and bird silhouette to trace on.  I could not figure out the logistics of a perfect silhouette so I just put it off, and kept putting it off.  One day I decided it was do or die.  I started free-handing and it actually turned out.  The best part was that I found it quite therapeutic.

And the winner is...

Me!  I was the winner of the Oakeson family bracket.  Some of you might be thinking that we don't have a national champion yet, but with the way things have been going this year everyone's bracket is already dead.  As of Saturday I was in the lead, and although I had picked Kansas to win it all (the only no. 1 left), I just needed them to make it into the final four to seal the deal.  I was shocked when I got into the car after church to hear that VCU (Virginia Commonwealth University--I had never heard of them either) was beating them by more than 10 at the half.  After they lost, Erin needed North Carolina to win to take the lead from me.  With $100 on the line, I was rooting for Kentucky to win.  The finals should be very exciting this year and I will be so relaxed during the games after I have a massage and facial with the winnings!

Pretty Party

I had a visiting teaching luncheon last Saturday.  I think Graham's party awakened the sleeping party planner in me.  Looking forward to my next excuse to start planning.

A Boise Birthday

Spencer decided to head to Boise for his birthday and since work wasn't too busy for Jesse, we decided to tag along.  We also celebrated my dad's birthday a little early.  The weekend was full fun activities, including BYU Basketball (they were still winning at that point), a Basque restraurant (delicious) and the Boise Zoo.

I hate reading...

certain children's books. 
Graham loves this book.

I, on the other hand, don't because it requires me to think.

I don't really care who is hiding.
I prefer rhyming books or funny books.  Or books that are both, like this one.

I decided to ask my mom if she ever felt the same.

Question:  Were there ever certain books you hated to read to us?

Answer: Oh yeah! (without hesitation)

She immediately brought up this book about Louis Pasteur, the guy who created the first vaccine for rabies.

She said we were facinated by the illustration of a rabid dog foaming at the mouth (which is totally how I remember it, too).  However, the book is really long and has a lot of text.  I can see how that would be annoying.

So, what do I do?  I am seriously considering hiding "Who's Hiding" and any other book that annoys me.  Will this scar my child?