ben and shera's blog

 Here is a cute picture of her helping me roll dough for navajo tacos. She is always asking if she can help in the kitchen and I always say YES! (even when its not so helpful)
 Rylee and Sammy talking to each other on the phone.


This is a fun video of Rylee dancing while shopping at Old Navy,

Some fun moments so far this year:

















Finding out what we are having. Couldnt be more excited to have a boy!


















Still practicing on Rylees hair but getting better I think :)













Overnighter with the Reni's. We went sledding at Soldier Hollow the next morning and had a blast. Miss and love those guys!



















Our super sick bug. She would literally fall asleep anywhere, Ben was in heaven!



















More proof that sometimes I get my kid dressed and cute.



















Valentines day. We tried to focus on the family that day and had Ben take the morning off to make us french toast and just have a nice day. Rylee was thrilled with her heart balloon and baby marmoset.

Even before Rylee was born Ben talked about how excited he was to take her skiing and teach her from a young age. Last season I was barely able to talk him out of taking her up but now that she is 2 there was no stopping him.

I talked to him on the phone as he was getting off work to come get us and he was telling me about the skis he borrowed for Rylee. He said, "They are so small, it just makes you want to cry". Needless to say, this was a huge day for Ben, and maybe Rylee too :) Grandma Jill came all the way up to see the big event and we are really happy to say, Rylee had a great time and even wants to go again!












They went down the tow rope run twice then Ben decided she was ready for a blue run. Up the lift they went as a very worried mother snapped a shot. You can barely see her skis hanging down off the chair :)














Ben is such a great dad, I am so grateful for him and his love for the outdoors. I hope all our kids will grow up with his appreciation for Heavenly Fathers beautiful creations. Im glad that he is willing to put the time and effort it takes to teach them new skills and build their self esteem.

On a side note: Ben got me a fabulous new camera for Christmas that has provided these great action shots and the video below. YEY!

Rylee turned 2 this October and we had a fun family party for her. She choose to have a Dora party (all but begged for it) and although Im not thrilled to do any characters I really couldnt say no :) We had Mexican food and fun games like pin the tail and a pinata. It was a beautiful day outside and we had a fun time just hanging out. Mom and dad were in town from CA which was really fun too.

Some of Rylees recent acquisitions are counting past ten (although eleven is the only number in order), singing the abc's (although she is known to go into twinkle star in the middle), recognizes many letters referring to them by what they say (M is mommy, etc) and being everything that is wonderful in a 2 year old. We enjoy weekly trips to the library and visiting with cousins. She is still a pretty good eater if I can just get her to try the food first :) She is VERY picky about her clothes though especially when going down for a nap or to bed. You'd think it is impossible to sleep if wearing the wrong ensemble.

When Ben and I moved into our new house the colors I chose in furniture and paint were all pretty neutral and after living in it for a couple years I really needed something to give it a little color and umph! Now you may be wondering why the next fitty posts are about Heidi, but hey, she is my BFF and in town for the summer so we just did a lot! So since Heidi is in town and mrs super idea lady, I had her give me some help with making the changes. Pretty much everything she suggested I ended up doing and Im really pleased with the results. So here's the before and after

Before: Neutral walls and carpet, furniture black & brown.

















People can never believe there really was carpet going all the way through the dining room before, needless to say that was the first thing we did moving in was rip it all out and put in tile.

















After: Hung teal curtains on patio door windows.













Reupholstered my ugly brown chair with a cute apple green pattern. Added screen in back but may paint and move up to master.













Added batton & board on wall behind couch. Painted above wall teal and made shelf to set pictures on. Still need to sew pillows for couch & thinking of adding vinyl behind television, but all in all its come a long way! THANKS HEIDI!



















Seeing it all put together.

Along with re-decorating my house, planning a wedding, and just all around havin a good time, me and my BFF Heidi had a great summer. For me the culmination was throwing her a shower for her 3rd kid and 1st girl!

It was so much fun to theme it on her nursery colors and we had a lot of fun together making some of the decorations that she will reuse in her nursery. Check out the beautiful pinwheel quilt behind the gift table! She is pretty amazing at quilting and sells many of her designs (see post below).












She has a really supportive family which many of came to give love and support!





























































These were the party favors Hannah helped me make, flower pens that we used to play the games. (chocolates in the bag)













Got some great ideas on Pinterest for games, recreated them with my favorite design software InDesign, and we had a lot of fun!












The Spread! Heidi ordered these super cute stripey straws online and they were so cute in the drinks! Everything was pink, yellow and aqua. We did an icecream bar, kept it pretty simple, but yummy!












Thanks to Lindsey Ross for the table runner idea, just circles cut out of flannel, arrange, and ouala.































The cake I ordered from Dipidee. They did a really fantastic job based on the picture I gave them and I thought it really set off the table (plus it was seriously good!)

My BFF is the owner extraordinaire of www.honeybearlane.com and this last month while she was up visiting from AZ we did a fun photo shoot of all her gorgeous quilts.

She is a super creative and talented individual and these quilts were just gorgeous and even better to handle and see the fine craftsmanship. I really loved the minky backing. Alhtough she has laready made me one, I may just have to bite the bullet and buy myself another for baby #2 whenever he or she would like to join the fun!