SunShine

The other day, when I was loading my car up at the grocery store, a man walked by and said, "My, You're in a good mood." I responded, " Why would you say that?" He replied," You were singing."



After that remark, I smiled and I said, "Yeah, I guess I am in a good mood," I actually hadn't even noticed I was singing. I was singing a song that Zoe had been singing earlier in the day. Funny how your kids can stay with you, even when you're not with them.



While Zoe is 3 and that age poses a lot of attitude and correction, She is a ray of sunshine. She is smiley, happy and fun to be around. I try to remember that, when she in the middle of a tantrum or won't go to bed.



Last night we went up to American Fork canyon to have a cook-out. My sister and her family are in town, so we're back all together again.

We cooked brats and hotdogs.

Spent lots of time talking around the fire.

 and enjoyed yummy s'mores :)

We're all suffering from allergies and over-tiredness today, so I think we'll just be hanging around home.

XOXO,

Holly & Co.

Stories to Tell

After reading, THIS BLOG POST, by one of my favorite bloggers, I really had a desire to scrapbook these photos. In the photos, you see Zoe (3) and my Grandpa Morgan (87) sitting out on a rock in my parents backyard.



But these photos don't tell that this is Zoe's 3rd birthday. They don't mention that Great Grandpa played soccer with Zoe for probably over an hour that evening.  They don't show where Zoe told Grandpa to, "Go Take a Rest!" They don't show that here, Grandpa is holding the little rocks that Zoe has been bringing him all night, for her "collection."



Which is why I wrote down all those details in the little pocket. Every picture has a story. Don't forget the story. Pretty pictures are just that, pretty pictures. We all love them and appreciate them, but don't forget to write the story.



XOXO,

Holly & Co.

I knew.

I knew I would marry this man, the day he broke up with me. Strange, but very true.

That night, I remember thinking, I might just die, if he wasn't a part of my life. 

Thankfully, for my sake, things worked out for the better :)

2005

Ryan is a quiet guy, which is good because I talk enough for out whole family I'm sure.

But don't like the quiet exterior fool you, the man is hysterically funny.

2009

He makes me laugh, any time, any place. 

After 6 years together, we have quite the collection of inside jokes, which he always manages to pull out at the totally most random time. I love it.

2007

Ryan is strong. It's easy to see how physically strong Ryan is, his muscles are hard to hide :) but his internal strength is what impresses me. He has motivation and drive that cannot be stopped. He works harder than anyone I know. He carries me at times, when I have no faith. He is a reassuring force in my life, and for that, I am always grateful.

 2011

He is a gentle and willing father. He changed Zoe's first diaper, and the first several actually. He and I took turns getting up to feed Zoe in the middle of the night. He is so fun with her. 

They have such a fun, playful relationship. 

2007

He is my love, my heart and I couldn't imagine my life without him. I'm grateful to know him and to have been lucky enough to marry him. He has helped me grow and mold into a better person.

Thanks Dan and Julie for my amazing husband!

I am truly blessed.

Happy Birthday Sweetheart!

XOXO,

Your Wife 

somethingstosharethatdon'tgotogether.

Today we got to watch my brother in the Cedar Hills Family Festival Parade. 

Thankfully, Ben was at the beginning of the parade and not the end, it was one of the best parades I've ever been to, because of that fact.

Zoe enjoyed seeing all the band instruments, especially the drums, those were her favorites. 

I got some scrapping time in (finally!)

This is my nephew, Noah.

I don't think I've ever blogged about Noah, probably because my sister has her own blog and she can brag about her kids on there :)

Noah and Zoe and 6 weeks apart. Zoe kinda towers over him, as she hit her growth spurt before he did.

Noah occasionally talks with New Jersey accent, although my sister and her family are not from New Jersey. 

It's one of my favorite things to hear a 3-year old talk in a 'Jersey accent, makes me laugh all the time.

Noah also has a dog, named Zeus, which Zoe adores. 

Noah is coming to visit today, along with the rest of the family.

And this page is a gift for my sister, who doesn't scrapbook, even though she should because she is crazy artistic and talented.

Tomorrow, we are celebrating someone's :::cough, Ryan's, cough:::::: golden birthday!

He will be 26 on the 26th!

I've been out grocery shopping to hopefully make him a lovely feast, including his favorite pumpkin-apple pie, even though it's out of season :)

XOXO,

Holly & Co.

SPLASH

Doesn't this just scream summer?!?

The splash park near our house is where we have been spending most of our evenings and lunch hours.  It's free, it's close, it's fun! Zoe loves playing the water and since we don't have a pool, this suffices that need.



I haven't had a ton of time or energy to scrapbook lately. I've been working this past week for my Dad is the evenings. Wow, I was not prepared for how much a little side job would wear me out. I commend all those who have ever had to work 2 jobs for more than a week, it was exhausting!



Tomorrow, our parade of people starts, as well as dates, birthdays, holidays and lots of family time. I will be a little sparce on the blog, but I've got some pages to share in the next few days.



Happy Friday!

XOXO,

Holly & Co.

Funny Moments

I have a few funny moments from this past week to share.



Saturday - I was getting Zoe out of the tub and getting her dressed, and she smiles and says," I like your boobs."



Sunday - (backstory, my pinky toenail is really small, so I don't paint it.) Zoe is looking at my feet and says," Mom, your toenail is missing, where is it?" I told her to go look for it. Well look for it she did, and she happened to find a toenail clipping from who knows when or who, and puts in on my foot, exclaiming, "Look Mom! I found your toenail!



Monday - My little brother has friends over a lot, and most of the time, they come in and disappear. Well they were all in the kitchen snacking, when Zoe woke up from her nap, and she comes into the kitchen, and days, " Mom, who are all these people?" (I about died laughing) I then responded, "They are uncle Ben's friends." Then she went up to each one, and asked their name. (I'm sure they felt very awkward)



Tuesday - I've been doing some cleaning for my dad this week, and I locked not one, but 2 sets of keys in the same closet. Thank goodness I didn't lock my phone in there, otherwise I would have had to walk to the creepy gas station with bars on the windows and ask to use the phone  to call my dad for help :::Shudder:::





Not much new going on around here, just having a nice summer.



XOXO,

Holly & Co.

Simple Pleasures

I made this layout for the Guest Designer Challenge at Sketchy Thursdays. 

I love their blog, and go there often of inspiration when I'm having trouble figuring out where to start.



Here is the sketch I used. I kept it pretty much the same, with just a few creative liberties.

More princess layouts to come, She was just too cute in that dress to stop taking pictures :)

XOXO,

Holly & CO.

Because

there are few things more fun then dressing up like a princess.

Being coy for the papparazzi....

She even has red, sparkly shoes to match.

Thinking long and hard about important decisions....

:) Zoe and I had lots of fun taking pictures in her new princess dress.

She's never seen Snow White, but this dress was way cuter than the other ones.

And I'm a sucker for primary colors.

Summer is finally starting to show up.

We've played in the water twice this week,

 and I think we're gonna visit the Strawberry festival this weekend.

There is a carnival too, and that means CARNIVAL FOOD!

Funnel cakes, deep friend twinkies, cotton candy, footlong corn dogs and probably lots of strawberry flavored things!

Do you have a favorite treat that is only available at certain events or times of the year?

{Please share so I know that I'm not the only one who waits all year for conversation hearts or pumpkin pie kisses}

XOXO,

Holly & Co,

Run Around

My my, it's been a busy week.



My cousin, Brooklyn, came to visit from New Zealand. We only get to see her ever several years, so it was pretty much a non-stop party/hangout/chatting session while she was here. She'd never met Ryan or Zoe, as well as several other cousins' babies and spouses. We got to take her to all the places she missed and eat lots of sweet treats (since she mentioned sweets aren't that big there)



I didn't take hardly any pictures, I wasn't really focused on my camera, but just enjoying the time we had with her. But, thankfully she's here in the States for another week so we'll get a few I hope.



These past few weeks have just been so busy, I think I'm ready for a break. Just a day to hang out and do nothing. Those are some of my favorite days.



I did manage to squeeze in some scrapbooking. My June SC kit came and I couldn't wait to break into it.



I've been saving our photos from our trip to the Planetarium for this kit.

The chipboard rocket is one of my favorites. Zoe had such a great time watching the video of the spaceship launches, I thought this was a great touch!

I've also been saving these photo booth strips for this kit. I love photo booth pictures, and I'm really not sure why I don't go into photo booths more, they are everywhere here and I love the results!

If you can't tell, I went with a star theme here :)

Hope you're having a fabulous Sunday!

XOXO,

Holly & Co.

This picture was in my "to scrap" pile, I must have forgotten about it.





Zoe is 6 months old in this picture.



It's a little more messy than my usual style, but it's fun to kinda go crazy sometimes.



Everything I used (except the mists) was from the Polka Dot Whimsy May kit.

I miss this baby stage.



I miss the cuddling especially. I'm lucky if Zoe gives me hugs for more than 2 seconds.



I think Heavenly Father made babies so adorable, so we forget the pains of pregnancy and labor and all the nights without sleep, and want to have more :) I am pretty sure I have forgotten. When I see pictures like this, I just sigh and want one right this second. I'm pretty sure when Ryan looks at old pictures, he sees the sleepless nights and pregnancy whines from me, he's not quite as ready to jump back into that yet.



Thankfully for me, I've got lots of friends and family willing to share until we're ready to have another one.



Happy Friday!



XOXO,

Holly & Co.

Fun with Paper

Who knew one piece of paper could be so fun?

I did some hand cutting, stiching and a little bit of bling to give this page some POP!

I also used plain thickers and added some mustard Zing embossing powder for the title.

Here's a close up.

I used the American Crafts, Hello Sunshine collection, mostly,

with a little bit of bling and twine from other places.

Seriously, this girl cracks me up. On Saturday, during her party, she was playing her version of soccer with her great-grandpa. They had been playing for awhile, so I suggested that she let grandpa take a rest and I would kick the ball around with her.

Her response, in a very football-coach-like manner, " Grandpa! Go take a rest!" complete with finger pointing to an empty chair.

She also has an aversion to bugs as of late and when she sees one, she yells, " Mommy, kill it! Kill it DEAD!"

I think there are few things funnier thatn 3 year-olds.

Especially when they are, sometimes brutally, honest.

Do you have any funny kid saying stories? I would love to hear them!

XOXO,

Holly & Co.

Fancy Fancy

After today, I'm even more convinced that this is the hobby for me.

I went digging through some old boxes today and found some treasures that hadn't seen the light of day, in years.

I found pictures of my parents, old letters, school pictures and this beauty...

Oh yeah, rocking the bling with feathers. It doesn't get better than this!

This was the beginning and end of my pagent/modeling career :)

I hope that gave ya'll the laugh it gave me.

Look for more awesome throwback pictures coming up soon.

 I found so many, I think I could do a weekly feature, but this one was by far the best.

I took the next few days off work to spend some time with family

and hopefully catching up on some scrapbooking.

I'll be back tomorrow with some new pages to share.

XOXO,

Holly & Co.

Faking Summer

I'm loving this year's summer, which has, up until this point and continues to be, below 80 degrees.

 As much as I dislike summer, Zoe loves being outside and playing in the water,

so this has posed a problem for her,

My Mom bought a beach ball that acts like a sprinkler and shoots water, and Zoe has been begging to play in it. The other day, I finally relented and I got it out for her, even though it was about 70 and windy.

She had a great time, even if she only lasted 15 minutes before her lips turned purple and she was shivering.

It's quite a difference then our California summers. I'm sure it's already 90+ there.

Well, worse comes to worse, we'll go swim at the rec center at the indoor pool :)

How's your summer shaping up so far?

XOXO,

Holly & Co.

Zoe turns 3

This not-so-little-anymore girl turned 3 today. 

She is my world and I love her with all my heart. 

She tests me and pushes me to the envelope of my patience, and makes me laugh so hard I cry.

She has a soft spot for taking care of other people, especially when sick or injured.

She loves books and songs, especially when repeated often.

She is strong, both physically and emotionally. She is one tuff cookie.

She is loving and sweet. She loves to help.

She is a constant reminder than my Heavenly Father is well aware of my needs.

She was a surprise, but not an accident.

We needed her 3 years ago and I have no doubt she came when she was meant to.

I love the little songs she makes up and sings around the clock.

I love how quickly she learns new things.

I love her funny little phrases.

I love how much she loves her family.

 I love her love for life.

Happy Birthday to Zoe!

{all pictures were taken today}

XOXO,

Holly & Co.

Sundires and Lollipops

I wanted to share my other projects from the June Polka Dot Whimsy kit.

I had such an easy time creating these.

They just fell together.

Zoe has been, well less than helpful in the garden, but she sure loves to get dirty and try.

I took these of her helping my mom plant some flowers in the front.

This layout is one I've been thinking about for a long time.

I think dad's are so imporant for little girls. To show them how men are supposed to be.

With this month's being Father's Day and Ryan's birthday, it seemed fitting.

Be sure to check out the other girl's galleries HERE.

I'm off to make a treasure map cake for Zoe's birthday tomorrow. We shall see how it turns out :)

XOXO,

Holly & Co.

4 years ago...

I married my best friend.



We began our life together as husband and wife.

It was a beautiful day, worth the wait.

I will be spending the day with my sweetheart today.

XOXO,

Holly & CO.

New Favorite (PDW June)

When Michelle showed us the June kits, I really liked them, but once I saw it in person, I was in love.

I made 3 layouts in 3 hours, which has to be some sort of  record for me.

This is my new favorite layout.

Simple, but I love the color combo.

This month I got to work with a new brand, Simple Stories,

 I really liked their products, good quality and fun designs.

I'll be sharing my other projects throughout the rest of the week.

What's your favorite color combo to use?

XOXO,

Holly & CO.