MIA

Sorry for the lack of posts. Busy visiting grankids and crafting. Hope to catch you all up soon!!

More pictures

More party pictures

Party for Loraya in West Virginia

We had 3 tables that we decorated for the party. The eating table which had butterfly wings at each seat and their own cupcake stand with their cupcakes on them. We also had pink lemonaid in mason jars with striped straws with butterflies on them. Butterfly noise blowers were fun for the girls to blow at each other. We also had a yellow polka dot table cloth covering the table. Assorted paper lanterns with butterflies on them were hung above the table and all over the place.
The food table had a brightly striped table cloth on it and simple food items displayed on cute trays and plates. Butterfly cheese shaped sandwiches, popcorn, cake pops, jello cups, veggie cups with ranch and a cute picture of Loraya made the table complete.
The favor table was my favorite. A pink table cloth was on the table and each girl got to take home their goodies from the day. Colorful buckets with their names on them were decorated by Loraya for the party. They got to have many cool things to take home. A butterfly net was put in the tall pink metal flower bucket with a large "L" on it. Sunglasses, bubbles, nail polish, lip gloss, butterfly suckers, stickers, books, bracelets, stamps etc all with the butterfly theme were a big hit. The girls decorated a pair of flip flops to take home also.
The pink curtains were put up for the backdrop which added to the charm of the party. So cute with the walls a bright yellow! We really worked hard to get everything up by Thursday night because the party was Friday at 11:00am. It was a good thing that we planned ahead because the day of the party I got the flu and was in my bed all of Friday and missed the big party!! I could hear the girls having fun in the other room so that was fun to hear them get excited about everything. I will post more pictures so you can see more of the decorations. ENJOY!

Welcome New Grandbaby #14 Vann Michael Bennion

We did not have the crib yet for the new baby so we made do with my carry on suitcase for 1 night until the mini crib arrived. We had to do the same thing with our first baby Matt because he came a month early and we didn't have a crib yet. Matt slept in a dresser drawer!!
Getting ready to go home!


On February 5th Kandis gave birth to Vann Michael Bennion. Weighing in at 7 pounds 5 ounces and 19 1/2 inches long. A real cutie! Looks just like his father Nic and such a sweet calm baby. Nixon loves him and doesn't seem to mind having another person in the house. Kandis looks great and is such a sweet mom to both of her boys. This picture the first time Nixon met his little brother Vann. Precious

Birthday party part 3

We had a poster to take pictures with so the kids and adults could put their heads into the hole and look like they were riding a tractor. Here are just a few of the pictures of Nixon, Kandis, Vann, and Sid. Enjoy. It was a great day and lots of fun.

Birthday party part 2

We had a place for the kids to eat that had their hard hats with their names on them, their home depot tool belt full of fun plastic tools and then they had a construction cone cup to drink out of. The table was covered in grey fabric and was set low for the two year olds to stand and eat.

I got these home depot tool pouches for 77 cents each and the kids loved them! I could not have made them for less than that.

This is the thank you table that the kids saw when they came into the party. The little metal pails are full of goodies that I made for them (truck crayons, chocolate truck suckers, gummy tools, stickers, activity book, small truck, fabric pouch made by my friend Cindy! The polka dot bags were for the goodies in the pails to fill up before they left and take with them. The parents loved the goodies too! I just loved the picture of Nixon with a construction cone on his head. He is so funny and cute!

A Party to Remember! Part 1

Nixon had his 2 year old birthday while I was visiting in Utah and we did a construction themed party since he LOVES anything trucks!! You can see by the pictures that we used his toys for decorations and had simple finger foods for the guests to eat. I made a mini banner to go over the cupcakes and we put Nixon's cupcake in a mini truck to make his special.


We have mini orange construction cones that are actually candles on the table as well. The white signs are from Ikea and can be changed with whatever party you are having. We had a room for the kids to color pictures and then we did a tractor pinata filled with toys and goodies that they put in their home depot tool belts. It was so much fun!!

I've been busy lately

This month has been busy with having ladies over to do crafts and learn new things together. We had a group over Saturday and we did gourmet apples for valentines day and then I had some left over chocolate to play with. I saw a great idea on a blog and decided to try it. First you put a layer of pretzels on a cookie sheet covered in wax paper. Don't worry about making the pretzels in a single layer, it doesn't matter if they overlap each other. Melt chocolate, white or dark and get ready to drizzle over the pretzels. Sprinkle valentine M & M's over the top, sprinkles and what ever you have to make it festive. I used mini chocolate chips, a heart sprinkle mix that I got at Walmart and anything else that I could find. Let cool and then break up into pieces and put into a zip lock baggie. So easy and so yummy. Kind of pretty too.
These are dollar store frames that we mod podged over the top with scrap book paper and then put glittered letters in the holes to spell words like Kiss, hugs, xoxo, Love etc. You get the idea. We did these for Christmas and they were amazingly easy and we spelled JOY, NOEL, SNOW etc. Endless possibilities.
This is so easy it's funny how cute they turn out. These are coasters made out of 4 x 4 white tiles that I purchased at Lowes for about 18 cents each. I mod podged wrapping paper to the top of them and then after they dried I sprayed them with a coat of Krylon matt finish acrylic to protect them. If I do them again I would use cardstock scrap book paper because it would be easier to mod podge on the tiles without so many wrinkles. So cute and so easy. What a fun gift for teachers, friends or neighbors at Christmas. After everything is dry you glue felt to the bottom sides to protect your furniture or you can buy thin cork in a roll and put on the bottom. The cork was expensive so I opted for the felt to keep the cost down. Tie 4 tiles together with a beautiful ribbon and there you have it!!
This was another banner that I made to take to Utah for Kandis. We have been making banners since Christmas and this is just one we did for Valentines day. We did one for Christmas and then one for Thanksgiving and now one for Valentines day. Maybe Easter will be next!!

I have to take a break now from crafting to go help Kandis with her new little baby that will be coming any day now. We are excited to welcome Vann Michael Bennion into the world soon. I will take pictures and of course I will post as soon as I can. Nixon will turn 2 while I will be visiting so the big birthday bash will be a blast to do. Again, I will take pictures and show you all how that turns out.

Our stake was split today and they formed a new Lincoln Stake which we are now a part of. All of Loomis wards and all of Lincoln wards are now the new Lincoln Stake. The new stake President is Mark Perez with Pres Brasier as 1st councilor and Mike Schmidt as 2nd councilor. It will be a great time for change and new beginnings. The church is true and we will miss all the wonderful people we have served with in the Rocklin Stake. Rocklin stake now is comprised of 2 Granite Bay wards and all of the Rocklin wards. Roseville stake is all of the roseville wards only.

Home made crayons for a birthday party

These are the bags that my friend sewed for me for the goody bags that will go in galvanized pails for the kids. It will be filled with the crayons that I made and can be used to put special things in when they are done with the crayons.
These are the crayons that I made with the candy molds. Aren't they cute??? Easy for toddlers to pick up. I just hope they won't eat the brown one thinking it is chocolate.


I put the finished crayons in a glassine bag tied with bakers twine and then I will put a little sticker that will say crayons on it. I think they are fun!

I will be going to Utah when Kandis delivers baby Vann and so I have been working on things to put on a 2nd birthday party for Nixon while I am there. We really don't know when Kandis will have this little guy so we are going to plan on having a party with or without her around. The theme for the party is Construction trucks so I made some dump truck crayons to put in with the goody pails for the kids to take home. I used a candy mold that I found on Amazon.com and then you can use old broken crayons or you can buy new ones to make them. Just make sure you get good quality crayons because I tried it with some dollar store crayons and it did not work! So bummed to have a big mess and nothing to show for it. You put the broken crayons in an aluminum backing cup in the oven at 250 until it melts completely. Usually takes around 12 to 20 minutes. Take out of the oven and pour into the candy mold and let set. If you want to speed up the process you can put them in the freezer until COLD and then pop them out. So easy and so cute. Can't wait to do it again for another party some time.

It's COLD outside

Well, it is New Years Eve and it is freezing outside. For the past 2 nights it has dipped below 30 degrees and it is really cold in the morning when I walk with Gayle. Don't I live in California??? It is the end of the year and so much to be grateful for. What a great 2011 to look forward to. We have six wonderful kids married to six great spouses and together they have given us 13 grand kids so far and number 14 will be here the first part of February! What more could a person ask for?? Sid is making changes to his dental office with going digital and he still finds more than enough days to hunt, hunt, hunt and did I mention he likes to hunt??? How much pheasant can one person eat?? Zip has turned into a wonderful companion for him and gives him lots of exercise on Friday and Saturday mornings. I will be starting a monthly craft group to get my creative juices flowing again and I plan on loosing much needed weight to look good for Cancun in May 2011. So grateful for wonderful friends and family. May we all have a healthy and prosperous new year!

A song to remember

A few weeks ago the temple president's wife asked me to sing Away in the Manger for our prayer meeting in the temple last night. I told her I would love to sing but I don't sing solo! She was not surprised and asked me to ask Susan Merrill to sing with me. I quickly sent an email to Susan and asked her to sing with me and hoped she was an alto. She said she would be glad to sing with me and she was an alto so all was going great. The week before we scheduled our breaks at the same time so we could practice in the break room together. We sang it once and called it good until this last week when we were to perform. We got to run through it once in the ladies room before we performed in front of our Tuesday evening shift. When we practiced together we were discussing how we were both so afraid to sing alone and that we were both very nervous to sing at all in front of everyone without a piano. Well, it was finally our turn to sing and we just got up and it was such a high for me to sing with Susan in the temple. The acoustics in that room are amazing and we sounded really good together. So many people were shocked to hear us sing and said we sounded like angels!! It was such an honor to sing with Susan and especially such a wonderful song about our Savior. It was a wonderful beginning to the night of work at the temple. I am so grateful for the talent of being able to sing and share this talent with others. I have truly been blessed in so many ways and thank him for this gift.

Happy News

If any of you have not heard yet, our son Joshua got accepted into Dental school at the University of Louisville!! We are so excited for him to FINALLY get in and get on with his dream of becoming a dentist. It is hard to believe that we have two sons attending dental school at this time. Jacob in West Virginia and now Josh in Kentucky. We are so proud of all of our kids and know they have worked hard in their educational goals. Mike and Christy are living with us while Mike completes his clinicals at UC Davis in Sacramento. He enjoys the experience of working with different people every day and learning new things. We love having the grandkids entertain us on a daily basis. Now that Jack is mobile we have to watch out for everything on the floor that he might get in to. We had a great Thanksgiving in Colorado visiting with Matt and Stacie and seeing our newest addition to the family Tysen. What a sweet and good baby he is. It seems all we did was eat the whole time we were there but we did have a great time. Kandis and Nic were there and Kristin and Thomas were there. Three out of six children isn't bad when they are spread out all over the USA. It was cold and windy but we flew in and out with out any problems. The time just went by to fast! I have not got the Christmas decorations out yet. I have to decorate for the ward Christmas party on the 11th and most of my things will be taken over to the church for that party. I will probably get the rest of the stuff out today and get it done. Much to be grateful for and much to look forward to.

Look What I Did

A while back I bought a hand held sander so I could sand those little benches that were in front of my house. The weather was beautiful so I decided to go for it! The sander is really great and I loved how fast it took care of the work of sanding. These are really old oak benches so they needed a lot of sanding. I think I definitely got my monies worth out of this guy.

A little tricky with all the slats but really fun to use the new tool.

Then on to painting them red! Yes, RED. I love red so I thought they would look better in red in front of the house. I can even think of ways to decorate them for Christmas now!! Anyway, they turned out really cute. It did take 2 to 3 coats of paint. We did not take a picture of the primer on the benches so that was another step in the process of getting these painted.

Finished results. I likey!

One on the left and one on the right. They are different benches but both are antiques and oak. On to the next project. Painting nightstands black. Julie Doolittle gave me some nightstands that she did not want so I said we would take them and someone would want them. Why not add them to the stuff I have in my garage?? Saw a great blog about painting and I am convinced they will be wonderful when I am done. If the weather holds up in the 70's I will tackle it soon.

Photo shoot of grandkids

Looking at something off in the distance
Ava playing hide and go seek
Look at those baby blue eyes!
We bought some cool frames from Ikea to go in the kids room so we needed some updated pictures of the kids to put in them. We dressed them up and took them out front of the house and tried to get pictures of them to put in the frames. After much effort on our part to get these two little ones to smile and look at the camera we ended up with some good ones! We had fun blowing them up to 16 X 20's and putting them in the frames! Enjoy these two little cute kids. Ava is 2 and Jack is 8 months.

Back Home

Well, after two weeks in Kentucky I am back home and Mike and Christy have moved in again. The place was ready for them and we are having fun having them back with us. Mike should be starting his internship this week and life will get into a routine. Sid is off hunting in the mountains with his brother Calvin looking for deer in California. He should be back when they get something. The weather has been hot but where he is it rained on them and looks like rain will happen most of the week. I am excited to get back to the temple on Tuesday night and see my friends. I really enjoyed general conference and hope all of you got a chance to see it too. If you want to see what I helped with in Kentucky you will have to click on Josh and Alexis's blog! Lots to see. Kristin and Thomas will be arriving back in the USA on Tuesday night. They will fly into SLC and will be staying with Thomas's parents. They are anxious to return home. They decided not to proceed with the masters in law in England and return home and go another path. We will see where they will land. Maybe we will be lucky enough to have them back in California again. I hope this helps you catch up with my life!

New Decor

Have not decided on the lamp yet so that is why the tag is still attached. I love having homegoods so close with all the great deals you can get. I just love the mirrored night stand. You can't get enough bling!




With the arrival of Mike and Christy back into our home on the 25th of this month I thought it would be nice to change things up a bit. Sorry Kandis but the purple and gold had to go in the guest bedroom. I decided to go with black and white and aqua. Ava and Jack will be sharing this room and they will move the white crib in the bedroom with a white dresser so it should look really nice. I also purchased black curtains for the window treatment to keep the light out when napping. I am thinking of getting HUGE vinyl letters of their names for the wall but have not firmed that one up with Christy. The other bedroom has Kristin and Thomas' bed in it with their bedding. All I added was the picture over the bed and a mirrored night stand. The other mirrored night stand is in the kids room. They are really cute and I got them at Target! The Laundry room got a new rug and a picture on the wall to make me happy when I do laundry. ( I'll let you know about the happy part!). The shower curtain rod has been changed to the type that is in hotels. It is bent to give the person more room for the shower. Pretty cool. I hope you enjoy the pics. This is the first time I have done this with my new computer. (go apple!)

All ready for the kids to move in a couple of weeks. I will be in Kentucky when they come so I hope they like it!