she's three!

our little princess turned three last week... where has the time gone?

we celebrated with a princess tea party with her friends and let me just tell you...i may have had more fun than the little girls! there is definitely a BIG difference with girl and boy birthday parties! aren't those pink and purple chairs just adorable? i borrowed them from a friend and they just MADE the table!

the girls were so cute! i am sure we'll be having a few more "tea parties"...

just for fun!

oh, how our lives have been changed since the arrival of this sweet girl into our home! she is ALL girl, even with 3 brothers... she is the sweetest thing... i love her early morning cuddles and kisses, i love the way she loves to shop with me, i love the way she is always looking out for her brothers and saving her treats to share with them, i love the way she loves everything pink and purple and princess, i love the way she loves her daddy, i love her bright blue eyes and shiny blonde hair, i love the way she cares for her little dolls, i love how she twirls and dances around the house in her petti-skirt... and that she has been talking about starting "dance class" for months now...(guess i better get her signed up!), i love how she sings at the top of her voice, i love how she loves nursery class (and am hoping the transition to sunbeams will be a happy one!), i love how she mimicks me when i am cleaning, cooking, writing in my journal, etc..., i love her little voice and the cute things she says... i could go on and on, but really i just love that she is our little girl and she has brought us so much happiness and so many smiles the past three years... and as much as i hate how fast she is growing up, i look forward to all the years ahead with her sweetness...

happy 3rd birthday savanna!

"grandpa-pa grandpa-pa..."

" i love my grandpa-pa so..."

i sang this song in my third grade talent show, and it comes to mind whenever i think about my dear

Grandpa Scott

my grandpa, w. scott barrett, with barrett (his namesake), september 1999

he passed away saturday, june 6 after a long battle with cancer.

he was an amazing man who lived an amazing life.

he was such an example of integrity, character, fun, love, compassion, unselfishness, and hard work.

i am honored to be his granddaughter.

great -grandpa scott and great- grandma julie with cameron, september 2000

celebrating clint's 30th birthday, december 2002

going for a bike ride with grandpa, 2002

i feel so grateful for the years we lived in logan...close to him. barrett and cameron really got to know grandpa scott and grandma julie and have many great memories of the times spent with them, just as i do. my boys loved to help in his garden, bbq on the deck, go on bike rides, hit golf balls, "work" in his shop, shovel mounds of snow at his house, play ping pong or air hockey... the list could go on. grandpa scott always made us feel welcome and important. he took a genuine interest in each of his grandchildren. even the last weeks of his life, he showed such interest and concern for what was happening in our life.

he had such knowledge and wisdom and found blogging as a way to share it... we are so glad he did!

you can read his blog here.

ethan with great-grandpa and grandma, april 2004

ethan and great- grandpa scott, july 2004

barrett, cameron, grandpa & grandma celebrating the 4th of july, 2004

savanna's baby blessing, february 2007

visiting grandpa, october 2008

grandpa scott holding savanna's hand, may 17, 2009

i will always remember the way he looked at my kids, (he always said my boys reminded him of he and his brothers when they were young...), and his hearty laughter and brilliant smile.

there are so many things that will forever remind me of my grandpa...

he was truly magical...

lagoon, saratoga springs waterslides, chess, sudoku, dollar bills, airplanes, tv's, golf, birthday check with a little yellow sticky note attached, crossword puzzles, moab, gardening (home-grown carrots), maps, upwords, roses, WWII, diet coke mixed with grape juice (yum!), gum (nostalgic clove and blackjack), scrabble, mints, prizes...(oh the prizes!), pomegranates...

his funeral was wednesday, june 10...

it was a beautiful service, the weather was rainy and gloomy, it seemed as if the earth was mourning the passing of a great man along with us. we know he is alive and well where he is, and that we can see him again.

(click to enlarge collage)

when i was younger grandpa scott would give us a crisp dollar bill each time we saw him. he carried that tradition on with my kids and in recent years he has given gold dollars instead. my sweet, somber barrett carried one of those gold dollars in his pocket at the funeral and quietly and privately set it on his coffin at the graveside.it was so sweet. he will really miss his great-grandpa....as will all who really knew him.

we love you grandpa scott... and miss you.

broken arm, take two

i never thought it would take another broken arm
to get me to blog again... but here i am!

so, the other night we were over at a friends house and ethan was in the basement playing with all the other kids... there were lots of them. apparently they were climbing on the roof of a playhouse and jumping off. well, ethan didn't quite make it to the jumping part, and before he knew it, he slipped and fell to the floor... we knew right away something wasn't right, since ethan is known to be a tough little guy, and he was in lots of pain. sure enough, he buckled both bones in his wrist. he was so brave and i was proud of him for not throwing a fit when the doctor didn't have a red cast! he was really excited for a red cast, to match his red shoes, but settled pleasantly for a green one...

now the fun begins of trying to keep that cast clean and dry!

oh and i am not going to lie anymore and say that i am going to do some catch-up on this blog.

maybe i will, maybe i won't.

i need some direction with this blog, and have been trying to figure out just what that is...

but in the meantime... life is busy & good! :)

in the paper

wow! check this out!

my cute little sister sara, who makes adorable "little pretties" for little girls,

was on the front page of the
SEATTLE POST INTELLIGENCER!

it is an article about the new CPSIA law that was supposed to take effect on february 10th, but luckily it was postponed a year! if you don't know about this, sara has links about it here. basically this law will make it illegal for sara and many others to sell anything she has made for children on etsy, or even give it away for that matter! quite ridiculous! it also will greatly affect thrift, consignment, and second-hand stores that sell children's goods. don't get me wrong, i want my children's items to be safe, but this law does take that to a whole new and ridiculous level!

read the newspaper article here.

oh, and savanna LOVES her little pretties...she has adorable jewelry that sara has made.

and this doll quilt is so so cute.

savanna has had this for a while and plays with it all the time and loves to wrap her dolls in it. i am also lucky enough to have been given lots of cute skirts, shirts, dresses from sara that are adorable, handmade by her, and one-of-a-kind.

there really is something so special about handmade. i grew up with much of my wardrobe handmade by my mom. i never really learned to sew, but want to learn now. luckily, in the meantime, i have sisters who have that talent and i can call on them for that handmade touch... and believe me i do!