Leaves are falling on the ground...

Well , we were about one week late from seeing all the beautiful leaves on the TREES. But nonetheless we were able to see a few...but they were all on the GROUND. For what it was worth the children had a great time. I say kids had a good time because I was doing great until I started reading a recipe book on the way down the canyon and I got MAJOR car sick! UGH...I was quickly reminded why I don't READ in the car...Anyways...We just went up Butterfield Canyon just up from our house. Next year we need to go a little sooner! We were able to spot TONS of deer and that is ALWAYS fun for the kiddos.

We happened to pull off the side of the road and Jared found a swing hanging from the tree. So Alayna was in heaven!

Jake didn't want anything to do with hanging from a tree.

This was one happy kid waiting patiently for us in the car.

A favorite sewing project!

Okay, so I went out shopping to Wal-Mart late one night and had this great thought...I think I should make TWO quilts for my dear friends for their baby shower in TWO days. So, the semi-crazy person that I am I decided to do it. Yes, I assumed because I love sewing so much that my "normal" mom life would be put on hold. I had TWO LATE nights and a few hours during the day and I was able to get one finished. But it was only possible because Ashley helped sew one and Jared went to work late one day and took over the kids and house duty! Either way it was a blast!

This is Emily's quilt! Or should I say soon to be baby Annie!!!

This is Camille's quilt! or should I say....Baby Girl?

They are a rag quilt but not. All the edges are left raw so when you wash it they are soft and frayed. I love the addition of the JUMBO rick-rack. They really were super easy and so adorable once you wash them. I just made it out of flannel so it is extra soft and BIG...it will make a great camping quilt!! (The one on the left has been washed twice and the one on the right hasn't been washed yet.)

Here are the lucky friends who ended up with everything PINK for their baby GIRL shower (Emily, me, Camille)...but not a real shower just a lunch of some friends, but of coarse we had to surprise them with TONS of girl presents!. It is so fun celebrating the arrivals of these two new little babies! Come soon....

Hobby vs. Obsession

Yeah, so I must admit sewing has taken on a little more interest than I would have ever expected! After I finished sewing all my pillows and packed away my sewing machine I was SAD...so I had to come back with another project. I sewed a bag...then I have gone crazy with aprons, blankets and more! It really has been so much fun. I will post some pictures of my recent projects but until I upload them here is a shot of some cute fabric...I must admit I LOVE FABRIC SHOPPING!!!

What's going on...

Let me introduce you to my life...Yes, these children have become my life. It's strange to think about that Jared and I are responsible for these three little miracles. Miracles yes because they truly are gifts that we have been given. I also normally refer to them as monkeys because that's what they are...jumping, running, rolling, squealing from here to there. There are very little quiet moments in the house or in the car, but somehow I am still taken back by the joy I have for them. Each one holds a special place in my heart. This post might be a tad...weepy for me, but I've had a few thoughts on my mind. I love my kids. I love my husband and I have much to be grateful for. Am I the only one that has to remind myself that doing laundry is a blessing...Really? I am trying to remember those moments when it literally takes hour after hour to fold, hang, wash, smell, so many different clothes. AH...it doesn't make me look forward to tomorrow, because another batch is coming my way.

Along with the laundry there are the diapers...Yes, those fabulous smelly diapers. But how can you resist changing all these diapers when they are accompanied with the giggles and smiles that come from such a cute chubby baby? It's pretty impossible to not enjoy such an activity.

Then in addition to all these struggles your messy house, loads of laundry, dirty car, smelly bathrooms, tantrums, time-outs, crying, yelling, etc. Is always smothered with smiles like this. It's impossible for me to not look at my kids in those quiet moments and just sit back and truly enjoy them.

Here is a "vinyl" lettering saying that I have come to appreciate...My cute grandma neighbor from my old ward gave it to me. "Cleaning the house while children are growing Is like shoveling snow while it is still snowing!" I decided that this cute saying had to go in the laundry room. Because that is where I spend a lot of time! But I decided that I had to put three adorable pictures of my kiddos in the laundry room with this saying so I can remember WHY I am doing all this cleaning.

Okay, and to answer WHY I do all of this, it is to do service for my family. If there is one thing in life I have come to realize its that through service you have joy. So here is the scripture that I have been trying to remember Mosiah 2:17 "And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God."

So I am grateful to have a loving family and children to give of my time and service too and through this that we can serve the Lord. This does fill my life with JOY!

Rice Cereal

Before rice cereal...

...and after rice cereal! Yes, he's just that age. So let the messy face begin. Let's just say, he has no idea what he's doing!

1st Day of Preschool...

Thanks to my cousin Kari who gave me this cute idea to take pictures of the first day with a cute sign. Kari I don't have your darling writing but Alayna and I did our best!

Anyways, here she is showing off her first day of school. She is VERY proud of her hair and how long it is becoming. So she is loving showing off her "long flowing hair" with her cute head bands. She has specifically told me that she will not allow me to cut it until she's in Kindergarten. We shall see!

Okay, so this was the official first day with out mom. The first day I was able to go with her to see the classroom, paper work, meet the teachers, etc. So this day was our first drop off. It was hilarious. I am not a very sentimental mom. Sad but true, I delight in Alayna's excitement and I know she WON'T miss me so there is no need to shed tears. So on this day I she was SUPER excited and couldn't help but do everything I asked for her so she could arrive on time and be with her teacher and friends.

So this is how it happened. I pulled up to just let her run on in. I saw another mom with a camera. I thought, "Oh, I will take a picture of her going in..." I get out and let Alayna out of the car. She was standing observing all the other kids with their mom. I video taped her a little asking her where she was going, etc. Then I gave her a quick hug and off she went. At what point she was watching another little girl who was "weepy" saying, "Goodbye Mommy, I will miss you..." Alayna glanced up at me and said kind of awkwardly, like that's what the kid is supposed to do..."Mom, goodbye?" It was so FUNNY, I could just read her. She was thinking she had to say she would miss me but she new she wouldn't. So I told her, "Have a great time!" And off she went practically skipping with joy. I continued to follow her wanting to take a quick picture and she immediately stopped in her tracks and turned around looking at me, "Mom, you don't come with me today that was just yesterday. Today is just for kids NOT moms!" At that point I got the hint. She was ready to go with out her mommy! I did continue to follow her in after I clearly explained that I was going to leave her alone. Either way she had a great time and was just beaming all day long.

This smile explains it all. She is smiling for me because I asked her too, but her eyes are looking elsewhere just soaking in all her new fun friends and teacher! She has now attended for a few days and every day I hear, "Mom is today a school day?" She's in heaven.

1st Field Trip--Wheeler Farm

Here is a goat...at Wheeler Farm. We also took tons of pictures with bunnies, cows, pigs, etc.
This was Alayna's first preschool field trip. She was very happy to go with Jacob. Surprisingly enough the little gal was excited to have me there too! :)

Mr. Pig was the best part of the day for Alayna. I can't reveal why, but she thought it was pretty funny to see a pig roll around in the water and snort. When the teacher said we get "bacon" from pigs he let out a HUGE snort. So funny!


Here is our tough kid...he was stung by a bee. Yeah, so thanks to Danielle our fellow friend who is a nurse she told me about mud. So we did our best to put mud on his face. Jake was too busy itching it and swatting at his face that it didn't stay. He was so tough he just kept saying, "I okay...I okay."

Here are a few of the six girls Alayna knows in her preschool class. They were very busy feeding the geese. It was a VERY HOT fun filled day. The kids gathered in the barn and sang, Old McDonald had a Farm. As usual what is cute than preschool kids? I just love that Alayna is having so much fun.

Happy Be-lated Birthday to my Mom!

Thanks for the FUN lunch at our favorite place to eat...Red Robin. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!! It doesn't get any better than FREE food on your birthday. I love that they give you a free hamburger/meal on your birthday. It's fabulous.

I love this picture one because our kids are so stinking cute and the other reason is we just told my mom she's surrounded by all her BOY grandsons and one little girl. My mom prefers "girls" and look what she is getting...BOYS BOYS BOYS! This is showing only six of the seven boys and soon to be eight with little baby BOY Peck due here in a few months! We finished the night of with a berry dessert and a horse movie. That is my mom's dream day come true...there's nothing better to her than her family, berries and horses! Happy Birthday we love you!

Our trip to Arizona...

WOW! It has been weeks since I have actually posted about something fun we have done! Life just seems to get filled. I think I need a new calendar or organizer to schedule everything I want to do and everything I need to do. If you have any secrets please let me know!

Our Trip to Arizona....(Yes, we drove...long, but so fun! - Except for New Mexico!)

On our way we were able to revisit a childhood memory for Shandra and I, The Hole in the Rock. It's this house that people actually lived in. It's just outside of Moab, Utah. We couldn't help but stop and take pictures of the Monticello Temple...how often do you actually get there? Then we visited Mesa Verde National Park. This is just outstanding. We couldn't help but think about the people who stumbled upon all of these villages in the mountains. It was really neat to visit and hike around.

More Mesa Verde picts...and then the best stop of all...the FOUR CORNERS...Okay, for those that have been there you can understand my sarcasm. But for those that haven't been. Enjoy the tourist trap. Seriously!

After we finally figured out the best and shortest way to arrive to Bison Ranch, Arizona we couldn't be happier! I'm not a huge animal/horse lover, but this little western town was adorable. The cute western looking buildings were our condos. The horses were on the property, as well as the ONE "bison" to call it, Bison Ranch, Arizona. My mother couldn't have been happier with all the horses around. I even learned what "lunging" a horse means...totally impressed I'm sure!

Then, there was the KIDS favorite part of any vacation...SWIMMING! This condo had a fabulous kiddie pool, so that is where we literally spent hour after hour! Day after day. At one point I was in the kiddie pool with SEVEN kids and someone asked me if they were all mine. Thankfully, I was able to answer NO! I was just watching all of Shan's monkies while she was on television in Pheonix, for Deals to Meals. Yes, she is becoming quite the super-star! (Hence the reason we came down to Arizona for a week!)

One day for an adventure we decided to drive around this area and sight see. We found some beautiful lakes and mountains. We realized on one road we were literally driving on a CLIFF. It was a tad nerve racking for some...since Jared and my dad like to go as far as they can to any edge!

And what is a Perry family vacation without great BBQ FOOD. Let's hear it for one of our family favorites...Sticky Coconut Chicken! YUM YUM YUM. We played horse-shoe and tether ball on our last night there. Then the drive home came with great excitement because we had planned our drive home to visit one of the Food Networks, Diners, Drive-ins and Dives restaurants....Brandy's in Flagstaff, AZ. It was WONDERFUL!!!! Even though we showed up during breakfast time they let us order a few lunch sandwiches that they are famous for. If your wondering, we have re-created them and they are just as great!!! I know you are not surprised. The final stop was at the Glen Canyon Dam. With that as our last stop we were heading home.

So cute...

Here is baby Caleb's first swing adventure at the park. Let's just say he loved it!!!

This was at a park in Park City...I just can't resist his giggle and smile!

Pillows...Pillows...Pillows

So, this is what has been occupying my free time. I have found a hobby that I must admit is addicting. This is the story. My good friend Emily has these great pillows on her couch that just screamed to me...meaning I love them. So when I moved and kept my same "brown" couch I knew I had to spice up our "earth-toned" house with color (Don't get me wrong I LOVE my house, but I LOVE color more than the average person). Thanks to so many helping, we have painted the kitchen YELLOW and I have decorations accenting it and now the pillows do that too. I have fallen in love with sewing. I'm not a perfectionist and the best part is these pillows don't require an expert. The lines are intentionally crooked and the patterns are crazy. That's why I loved them. I just thought of what I thought would be cute and I'd start cutting and hope it turned out the measurements I wanted. I picked tons of coordinating fabrics and non coordinating fabrics and tied them all together.

Here is my first pillow (the small one propped up against the plant). Then the other two larger pillows in the making.

This pillow was one I did make a mistake on, but now one would ever know, because the prints and lines are just crooked. I love it!

The other fun about these pillows are the fronts have the prints and patterns and the back would have one of the solid coordinating prints.

I told you they were crazy!

Don't be alarmed I still have to sew up the bottom on them (hence, the not a square shape!) I just couldn't resist showing you all my new found love!

There are some earth tones to help hold all the brown colors together in the room. But then out comes the RED, YELLOW and TURQUOISE BLUE. I even used a few embroidery stitches on my new sewing machine...Some worked...some didn't! But either way, it looks so cute.

Thanks to all who helped. This really is SO much fun!!!

Another one bites the dust...

Let me introduce you to some of the most fantastic ladies in the whole world! These are some of my old roomies from Utah State University. We were able to get together to celebrate the upcoming wedding of Camillle...the gorgeous one in tie-dye. :) (*Becks - we were bummed you didn't join in on the fun! And to Missy who lives TOO far away to join in the fun.) But you were GREATLY missed.

Camille, Me, Desiree

Miss, you will get a kick out of this story. So did you know that Des has "bee's?" Did you know that she has a booth at a Farmers Market selling honey? Did you know that she has been attacked by bee's while "harvesting" them? Did you know that she is getting chickens? Well, let's just say you missed a wild night of hilarious Des stories. We are insisting that she shows picts on her blog to update us all on her adventures in bee raising, chickens, and nothing other than singing with teddy bears in her backyard!

Stevo and Emma

Me & Des

Emma, Sarah, Camille

Desiree, Me, Sarah, Emma, Camille, Stephenie

I must admit I lucked out with some of the most talented, inspiring, spiritual ladies as roomies for college. It was a great night to catch up on life for all of us. Thank you ladies for being such great friends and being sincerely interested in all of our lives. It was so fun to hear all the different talents, jobs, careers, mothering stories, etc. Camille is our dancer, she has the grace and elegance that I would dream to have. I had to have her do a few dance moves for me because I used to love coming home to Snow 302 to see her dancing all around. Des, as I mentioned above is just a pure riot to be around. She is our little "farmer" now! She has a little boy now and you can tell she just LOVES being a mom. Sara is simply beautiful, inspiring and the most famous of all! She sings, does concert after concert, records cd's, and has the most beautiful baby girl. She is one inspiring gal www.sarahsample.com. Emma has always had a great smile. She just makes you happy by being around her. She has become a wanted home decor lady- she's super talented. It was so fun to listen to her stories of decorating. Man, I need her to come visit my new house to give me tips! She's even doing Camille's bouquet...where was her talent 8 years ago when my wedding needed serious tips? Oh, well! Stevo is a the next in line with the kiddos like me. She has two girls and they are beautiful. I am SO happy she has joined us back in Utah. I missed her too much when she was in Cali. She's a genius and a nurse...I couldn't be happier with having her back!

Anyways, it was a GREAT night to just soak in all the wonderful friends I have been blessed with. Thanks for sharing in the great night together. It was fun to think how far we have all come. To all graduate from college! Even though several of us married off early on. It's just great to reunite with dear friends to find us still living the faith. I love it!...Missy I hope you know I took the time to post today just for you! Even if I am about a month behind on all my other posts! Enjoy. I even took the picts just for you- We miss you!!!