discovery gateway children's museum

yesterday we headed to salt lake to visit the children's museum

(for free with our pass, holla!)

there were a ton of accidents so our 45 minute drive took closer to 2 hours

we took some instagram pictures to pass the time

i think i have a new favorite picture of michael and i

we finally made it

eleanor was happy to stretch her legs

 the kids loved every part but i think noah would have been happy

to stay in the construction zone for hours

 safety first! olive's playing the piano in a hard hat

 love this guy

i tried eleanor forward facing in the moby for the first time

she seemed to like it

 they loved the grocery store

 hazel went for a quick horse back ride

 olive the elephant
i love that she looks so stiff in the costume
i guess she was taking her role very seriously

then we let the kids play in the splash pad

and made our way back home 

with a quick stop at krispy kreme

eleanor had to settle for formula

but she eyes everything we eat lately

then we stopped to drop a dozen donuts off at my brother's house

and stayed there until almost 11

we were all super tired when we got home

but it was a really fun day

this girl

olive totally kills me

in the best way

our living room

 here's our living room

so far in the two months of living here:

we have hung curtains

extended our white curtains to the length of the floor

because of ceiling is taller

 spray painted the campaign chest

i painted our end tables white (so glad i did)

and stenciled the pillow covers

things i would like to do still|:

find a gigantic rug or rearrange so it feels less stark

(it is a surprisingly big room)

print updated pictures of our family

maybe spray paint the lamps

and cover the lampshades with some color

i wish:

there wouldn't be a window to the kitchen in here
we could buy an awesome new couch (ha!)

we would paint the walls a really smooth soft gray
 (though it would be a huge job)

but it's a rental
and we're super poor on a tight budget :)
but i firmly believe no matter your circumstance
you should love where you live

costume party

with just over a month until halloween

it seemed appropriate to get the costumes out

and let the kids play in them

 they loved it
don't mind that they were in their pajamas already for bed

cutest little skeleton

shortly after they decided on what to wear

 they ran outside with their arms up

to show the world

 it was all fun and games until they saw a creepy black cat

actually it was the cutest kitten

but our kids were all freaked out

 here's hazel running and the little cat behind in the distance

 the kitten was trying to get in our house 

and it was very worrisome to the kids

 and just because i can't resist

here's a picture of them from halloween 2 years ago 

just love these kids

and wish they would stop growing!

sheesh

sewing: a cinderella dress

i made a goal for halloween to not buy any costumes

we have hand-me-down costumes for eleanor and olive

who won't care or know the difference anyway

but not for hazel or noah

so i figure i'll make theirs

i started on hazel's halloween costume last night

i used an old blue queen bed sheet

and some shiny lace my mom gave me a couple of years ago

and it came together super quick

i'm pretty happy that it's done

and that it didn't cost a thing to make it

now we need to pin down what noah wants to be

and try to keep hazel out of her dress until halloween

circus

michael's cousin jennie works for maverick 

who sponsored the circus 

and she was sweet enough to invite us to go with her

no one in our family had ever been to a circus

so we were pretty excited

getting ready to start

 the girls don't look that excited

but noah was :) 

 we were pretty surprised how well the kids did with

staying up late in a loud stadium

it's a little hard not to feel bad for the animals..

i had a little knot in my stomach watching them

especially the horses

(i guess i am my mother's daughter)

but it was a really good show

 super entertaining

 hazel and sophie are just two months apart

and love each other

this picture is pretty cute

 cousins!

 hazel was pouting and throwing a fit

because she was tired

but she sure looks cute

thank you jennie, sophie and addie for inviting us!!!

how to trick your girly girl to wear her brother's old nikes

 when we were buying noah's tennis shoes for kindergarten

i purposely bought neutral shoes 

so they could be passed down to his sisters

i figured if we were spending $30 on kid shoes

we should get some use out of them

noah wore them all last year

and they're still in pretty good shape

but they aren't quite girly enough for hazel's taste

so i bought a pink sharpie to color in the nike signs

 but it didn't cover well enough

so i also tried some fabric paint

which also didn't cover as well as i was hoping

 so i figured i'd give it one last try

and hope i hadn't ruined these shoes

and i used nail polish on top

nail polish did the trick

they look more filled in and silky now
and hazel is excited about them

stenciled pillows

i've had an itch to be creative 

and decorate our house since we've moved in

i decided to experiment on some pillow cases i made a while ago

that were plain white/cream

first (on the right) i tried taping and painting light lines

but it didn't "go" as well with our living room as i was hoping

then i remembered i have a stencil from a thrift store

that i've wanted to use for a while

so i traced it on to the other pillow case

and the back of the one i'd painted blue lines on

i first used a pencil to trace the stencil

then went over them with a navy blue fabric marker

 here they are on the couch

now just a few more steps and i'll be "done" with our living room

holla

all on his own

one minute noah was playing with paper airplanes 

and eleanor was playing with toys on the living room floor

the next minute i heard noah through the baby monitor

that is in eleanor's room

and he was talking with her

that couldn't be right...unless he carried her all the way up to her room

which he did

and they were both in her crib

with toys

in a fort he built her

 noah peeked out at me

 here's a peek at ella girl

eleanor didn't seem to mind one bit

she was having fun with him

i just can't believe he could carry her up there and put her in her crib

what a big boy

i love what a sweet big brother he is