moving...

...kind of.

I've made a new blog. This new blog will be about the baking/decorating/scrapbooking/sewing side of life. This blog will remain, but more for the family/friends/fun side of life. Eventually we'll have a family and I'm not sure yet how I feel about all the information and pictures about our future children being freely published on the internet.

So now you can find my homemaking adventures at...

http://madebyace.blogspot.com/

ACE, for those of you not quick on the uptake, are my initials. It is not to imply I am an ACE at anything :) Who knows what this blog will evetually become (famous....heehee?!?!?). One can only hope :) So check both our blogs now. Family Eeds (this one) for the family stuff and madebyACE for the crafty stuff :)

Over and out...

sunday snapshot...

oh my...

In a note for today - I'm off to sew soon with Bree. She leaves in a few days to head back to the other Washington...

country concerts ~ miranda lambert...

I have a new country concert partner! My friend Sabrina LOVES country as much as I do...actually, maybe more so. Well, she at least buys the CDs! On August 6th we saw Miranda Lambert at the Clark County Fair. This was my first time seeing her and I wasn't a huge floower before so I didn't know quite as many of the songs, but it was still a good time. We had close seats but tall people in front of us...not the perfect combo but we still had a good time!!!

Me and Sabrina :)

the openers. Randy Rodgers Band.

Miranda Lambert!!!

year two...

This is my second year in the Camas School District. Which is REALLY nice because I'm not having to ask as many questions...or even figure out who to ask certain questions too :)

Every year a few days before school starts there is open house, but in Camas it really is a day filled with activities. We started out our morning learning then moved onto lunch, a union meeting, and the ever-entertaining assembly. Now, last year there was a skit and the band played...and it was very entertaining to say the least. This year, no skit, but the band still did play!

I went over and hungout with a bunch of my friends from school. I really do love my work friends!

The new Baller staff members. My friend Sabrina and Casey, she's the new SPED teacher. There is actually another one now, Katie, who also teaches 4th grade. She was hired last minute for over-flow reasons.

CHS band and cheerleaders putting on a show for all the teachers in the district.

During this same week we also had trainings at our school. This year we have a new principal and he is taking it all in stride :)

See the black lines on the calendar? He was informed that those are the weeks in the year that the women at Baller are PMS or Menopausing...hilarious.

Our new principal is definitely making some good changes around our school. We had a BOY assembly to go over behaviors and then we have a parade around the school to "show us as one". He sometimes calls that TFC - Touchy Feely Crap. Again, hilarious. Each class had made a class flag to display proudly all school year!

500+ quiet students. Very Impressive!!!

The beginning of the parade!

Here's to a GREAT school year!!!

sunday snapshot...

hilarious.

devistating.

remembering.

little Lizzy turns one...

I have successfuly made my first cake for someone else, as in, to show off at a family gathering. For Bree's cake it was for many many people I'd met before but for Little Lizzy, it was a different story.

Lizzy's Mom Megan and I went to college together! We were even roommates for a while. A few months back Megan and I had met up for a walk and lunch in downtown and were talking about Lizzy's first birthday. I said I would be honored if she'd let me make the cake and she agreed to it! Lizzy's favorite book is about farm animals so Megan had a farm animal themed birthday party. I googled a bunch of different cakes about farms and emailed them to Megan. She and her husband Bill decided they wanted the bottom tier to be a fence/pasture and the top tier to be a cow pattern. They also wanted a 'smash cake' that Lizzy could eat and so they decided on the form of a pig cupcake.

It was very interesting making something for someone else. Asking them what they wanted flavor wise, hue wise (bright, light, pastel, etc) but it was such a fun experience and Megan and Bill seemed very greatful. Now...on to the pictures!!!

WOW. Messy kitchen!!! Eek!

Pink Pig cupcake.

from the top.

from the side.

My first clients! Megan, Lizzy, and myself :)

Common mom!!!

going in for the kill...

Megan had to help her out...

Thanks Megan, Bill, and little Lizzy for letting me make the first birthday cake!!!

bree's home for summer!!

One of my other favorite friends Bree has been working at 'home' in Portland this summer. Though she currently resides in the OTHER Washington (DC that is) she convinced her job as part of her rotations to let her come home this summer. Its been great having her back! We've been over to her house for a couple camp fires as well as pool parties and sewing nights!!!

Before Bree came back she requested a cake, to which I was happy to oblige! Though I was certainly surprised to know she wanted a carrot cake but I was happy to try that out. I got the recipe I used from my Mom who'd tried it many times before so I had encouragement that between that cake recipe and Martha Stewart's creme cheese frosting recipe I'd be in good hands.

action icing shot! thanks hunny.

going for a 'tropical' theme. lemon yellow, pink, orange, and sky blue.

i used a cookie cutter to get the flowers 'about right'

Bree and her cake. This is the first cake I've ever made for anybody else :)

All the people at Bree's pool party. The kid in my arms is not mine, it is Bree's niece Maya.

Later that night...

...we went to Edgefield for their concerts on the lawn series. Thing is, we did it McLean style. This entertained getting there late (but really, we got there on time because Kathy mis-read the paper) which SHOCKED the older McLeans because they had to legally park to get into the concert. This Edgefield has an outdoor ampithiteather but the tickets are pretty costly...so in comes the McLean style. You bring your own chairs, blankets, and food. You sit behind the building so you can hear the music and you buy a beer from the place so you don't feel too bad about it :-) I loved McLean style. It was fun to hangout, listen to music and be with people I love!!!

Later that week we had a sewing party. Bree has been wanting to learn to sew for a while but has been wanting my mom to teach her. You see, Kathy and I are like-sewers. We eye everything, don't really measure...etc. My Mom and Bree are like-sewers. They measure everything twice and worryworryworry!

A funny thing happened though. My mom brought over a project for us to work on because she wasn't sure if Kathy and Bree would have anything. The project...a burp cloth. You know...for people who might be having babies some day. The razzing started there! Kathy and Bree had a HAYDAY teasing my Mom about being passive agressive about wanting grandchildren...and she did not deny it. Oh no, she did not admit it either. Not sure which is worse.

So my mom prefaced the project with "you can buy ribbon to customize it to who you are giving it to. You could buy basketballs for a sport fanatic, ABC letters for a teacher OR...AND THIS IS THE FUNNIEST PART...you could buy cupcake ribbon for someone who likes cupcakes". That brought on even MORE razzing!!! Bree decided to first make me an eventual baby shower gift of a burp cloth made out of a cloth diaper with cupcake ribbon sewn on. How thoughtful ;-)

My Mom teaching Bree (with her little helper Maya).

Bree and I sewing. I think our Mom's were very proud of this moment.

B hard at work. Making a reusable bag.

B and her bag. Now all she has to do is add handles. I taught her how to do this and my Mom had taught me. I love family :)

Bree is only home for one more weekend so hopefully I get to see her again!!!

seahawk sunday...

I'm writing this post a bit behind schedule...about 7 weeks late actually. Whoops!

We hadn't been to a Seahawks game since Decemeber 2008 so we decided this year we should go! We already had been planning to go to Maranda and Kolten's wedding in Tacoma on September 11th and with a Seahawk game on Sept. 12th, it worked out perfectly. We went with Jason's brother's Chris and Matt. All four Eeds kids = TROUBLE.

Matt, Jason, Me, Chris.

Mr. and Mrs.

Brothers.

We also had a really good time playing with the Canon Camera my parents got us for our anniversary. The long lense has amazing zoom and it definitely kept me busy!

TOUCHDOWN!!

The wave :) and a sold out Qwest Field.

Huddle up!

gooooo hawks!

happy wedding day maranda & kolton...

This September 11th we had something to celebrate which was nice. Jason's cousin Maranda got married to a seemingly wonderful guy name Kolton (that was the first time we'd met him). They had a nice ceremony and reception at The Point Definace Pagoda in Tacoma, WA. It was a lovely day...great weather, fun family, good food, and a wedding celebration! Enjoy the pictures!

Dad and Daughter!

The vows. Theirs was the shortest wedding I have EVER been too! Less than 5 minutes!

The favors. They had 3 flavors in their wedding color scheme!

Group shot

Maranda with Grandma Sprague

I hear this picture is something to behold. This is Jason's grandma and her 9 kids. All of them, for supposedly the first time ever in a picture...by the time the youngest (front, right) was born the oldest (front, left) was out of the house...Needless to say I am happy I thought of this. I was sitting at dinner with his Mom and Aunts and thinking about the order of his aunts and uncles and that is when we realized they were all there. I decided a picture was in order and set about making it happen. Too bad his Grandpa isn't here to share in it. I have never known him, he passed when Jason was a kid, but Jason still talks fondly of him. PS. This is the best out of 8 pictures ;-)

Us :)

country concerts - H2O tour...

Sabrina and I ended our first week of work with a concert. Which also was the start to one of my busiest weekends to date.

Sabrina and I went to the Brad Paisley H2O Tour. This concert/festival started at 4pm, school got out at 3:30...we hustled up there!!! This evening consisted of 6 different performers! Easton Corbin, Steel Magnolia, Josh Thompson. These three all played outside from 4:45 - 6, in three different sets. Since we had actual seats, as opposed to lawn seating like some people had...we got to watch all 3!!! After them everyone moved into the amptitheater. Where Justin Moore, Darius Rucker, and Brad Paisley.

Easton Corbin.

Steel Magnolia.

Josh Thompson.

$8 worth of spilt beer. My beer.

Justin Moore.

Darius Rucker.

Brad Paisley!!

At one point in the concert it became very apparent that Brad was going to be leaving the main stage and coming back to this little stage inthe section next to us. Then it became even more apparent that he was goign to walk RIGHT by us...we could tell because the security peole were lining the isle way. We happend to be in the front row of the second section!!! GREAT SEATS!!

You can hear Sabrina and I screaming, along with others. We were SO happy!!

Look at Sabrina! All smiles!

Equally as excited!

:)