We spent our 4th [my birthday] here in Centerville this year with some of my family. We had the pleasure of my brother and sister-in-law and their two kids stay with us which made for an even better holiday. It was so much fun and very relaxing! This little town really knows how to celebrate. Big breakfast in the park, followed by the cutest small town parade, and then music, games, and some little pop-up shops all in the park. The walk to everything is so close and through a beautiful and quaint historic neighborhood. It was so pretty and I almost felt like I was in a Nora Ephron movie... side note: I am sooo sad that she has passed away, one of my very favorite directors...she will be missed. :(

For my birthday Jesse asked what I would like to have and I asked for some  little lantern lights to hang in our walnut tree. It looks so pretty at night, I need to remember to take a picture with them on.  And then I also asked if he could rebuild me the swing. The first attempt broke due to faulty rope.  And then I got a little metal chandelier type thing from some friends a couple summers ago [ I think they got it from Ikea?] anyways, I wrapped some twinkle lights around that to hang above our little table outside...it all looks so magical at night. :)  p.s. the lantern lights are from Target!

Then that coming weekend, my little sister Mari got married! :-[) Doesn't she look beautiful?!

 Here I am with all my siblings but one brother [Joseph] who had stay in Alaska for a job.

She got married at the Cathedral of the Madeline in downtown Salt Lake. It was a beautiful wedding.

And because of the wedding, our neice's and nephew were in town from Vegas and so they got to stay two nights with Jesse and I this week. We crafted it up and watched some really great movies...like The Witches! <- Such a funny and quotable movie...not to mention, slightly creepy but in a funny way. :) You have to see it to understand what I am talking about.

If there is one thing that I really enjoy making with kids, that is stuffed animals. Here are the 3 that we made together, and boy do they have such personalities!

My nephew Wilson suggested adding a mustache to his bear. Brilliant! And Spring [one of my neice's] wanted to make a duck. The fabric came from a top that she bought from the thrift store the other day and cut up. Spring named her duck Phoebe....and what a duck she is! She ate waaay too much sugar while she was here, every time we left her out of our site...there'd be phoebe, her leather bill in the jam, her wing dipping into the caramel sauce, or like here...eating the marshmallows that were supposed to be for smores! Whadda duck! lol 

I was just happy to find this unique looking pine cone [?] That was picked up on our walk to the D.I. [thrift store] just the other day...I am hoping to find more of these...does anyone know their exact name, or to be more precise...what tree they come from?

And then yesterday after the kids left... I found a random raspberry plant in our backyard!

Lastly, I received a sweet postcard the other day from a friend who is studying abroad right now. I am in looooooove with this outfit that the model is wearing, mixing prints is definitely a favorite of mine. :)

The outfit is from Suno's Spring/Summer 2011 collection.  Love them.

p.s. have you seen "Woody Allen : A Documentary"? Ah! I just finished watching it this morning and if you love Woody Allen, then you will love this! It was so inspiring and interesting to hear his thoughts behind so many of his movies, definitely a movie worth owning in my opinion!