Denim clutch

After having Lash I realized that I could no longer carry a purse, a diaper bag and an infant car seat; therefore, I went in search of a cute clutch that could easily fit inside the diaper bag but could also be used independently. I found a small mustard yellow clutch at Target that I fell in love with. I'm sorry to report that it has seen better days. The leather (or whatever it is) has been peeling off of the outside for some time now and it just looks terrible!

I got the idea a couple of months ago to make a denim clutch. We recently cleaned out our closets and I was able to talk Clint out of a couple pairs of jeans and jean shorts. I finally got some free time to work on this project and I am pleased at how it turned out. (I wish I would have taken pictures along the way because it would have made for a great tutorial!)

In case you are wondering...it was very easy to put together and probably took me less than 2 hours. And, this was my first time sewing a zipper, which can be very intimidating!! If you have specific questions about its construction, let me know and I will be happy to help.

"Rocks" and "Roos"

Lash has a hard time saying the "sh" sound, so when he is talking about socks and shoes he says "rocks" and "roos"...it is super cute. Whenever we are getting ready to go outside we tell him to go get a matching pair of socks...sometimes he gets it and other times he doesn't, but we're working on it.

We have a piece of furniture in our utility room that is home to lots of pairs of shoes. Lash likes to pull a pair of "roos" off of the shelf and try them on. Lash's shoes are on the top shelf and he can't reach them, so he goes after whatever pair he can reach...sometimes he chooses mine and sometimes he chooses Clint's.

Today, after trying on a pair of Dada's shoes I told Lash: "Those are awfully big shoes to fill!"

Little Drummer Boy

To say that Lash loves to play the drums would be an understatement! Lash is obsessed with drums! He is always tapping his fingers on something when he hears music.

He has been using chopsticks to bang on ice cream buckets, oatmeal containers, etc., but last week Dada brought home a brand new pair of real drumsticks (aka "dee dees"). They are a little big/heavy for him but that doesn't stop him!

Here are a couple of videos of Lash playing drums with his beloved chopsticks:

P.S. He learned most of his awesome drummer moves by watching Uncle Cy (aka Bubba) play the drums at church.

Celebrating in Missouri

Clint's grandparents celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in June. The whole family got together for a weekend long party. There was great food, fishing, lots of games, swimming, bonfires and just hanging out.

  

Kisses

Lash has not learned to give kisses with his mouth closed...at least not usually with me. There are some times when I will ask him for a kiss and he will grab my face in his hands and come at me with an open mouth. It is hilarious!! As much as I'm not a fan of the teeth and spit...it is so precious and I am going to miss it when he stops.

Here is a short video demo:

Sidewalk project

We are never bored at our house and usually have several projects on our to do list. We had decided last year or early this year that we wanted to put in a sidewalk from the driveway to the back porch. This was mostly due to the path that our dog, Harley, had created, and to make feeding and watering the cats easier (their food dish is on the back porch).

I happened to glance at a Home Depot ad a couple of months ago and saw that brick pavers were on sale. Although at the time we weren't in a big hurry to start the project, we decided to go ahead and purchase the pavers. Three truck loads and 900 bricks later, we were ready to get started.

Here are some pictures documenting the project:

First we mowed where the sidewalk would go.

Then we rented a sod cutter (smartest thing we did) and rolled up all of the sod.

We installed a plastic edging piece and put gravel down where the gutter water would go.

Next came the layer of sand.

Then the fun began with the brick laying.

It went pretty fast on the straight part, but the curve was not so easy.

And there you have it!

Wonderful visit to Utah

Clint surprised me with plane tickets to Utah for my birthday. I was completely shocked and kept repeating "You bought me plane tickets!"

My older brother lives in Utah and we had not seen his family for almost 2 years. We had a great trip (except for the actual traveling part) and got to do lots of fun things. We played golf, enjoyed some wonderful food and frozen yogurt, visited Zion National Park and just relaxed. Lash enjoyed getting to know his cousin Drew and by the end of our visit they were quite attached to each other.

Here are some of the best pictures from the vacation:

"Big guy" hammer

Clint was doing some work on the door that goes between the house and the garage. Lash was hanging out with us trying to be a big helper. Clint had the hammer out and Lash tried to pick it up. Clint gently told him "No, no, no. That is a big guy hammer! You have to be a big guy to use that hammer."

A few minutes later Clint had moved into the foyer to work on a different project and Lash went upstairs by himself, which is very rare for him. He came back down proudly carrying his little wooden hammer.

(I apologize for not getting a photo, but it was late and we were needing to get Lash into bed. I only thought about the photo the next morning.)