October - (also called Marching Band Season)

October weekends were filled with marching band competitions and Halloween festivities. And the weeks were filled with work and sewing projects.

After Halloween 2014, we suggested to Brek that his costume for 2014 be one of the old marching band uniforms at the school. He HAPPILY agreed, since this kid loves anything band. Really, all I did was cut up one of the purple suit jackets that goes underneath (you can only see the sleeves) and make it smaller. I say "really" because in the whole look of the uniform, it isn't that big of a deal, but REALLY, I had never altered any article of clothing before and my sewing skills are already limited to straight lines, so this was a HUGE ordeal. There was one suit jacket that was completely sacrificed and didn't pull through the operation. 

I thought Brek looked awesome. Brek thought he looked awesome too. As did every single other person that saw this cuteness:

Again, sorry for the sideways look. I'm working with some new computer programs and haven't figured this part out yet.

My other sewing projects were also using the old marching band uniforms to make other items for a band raffle basket. I was super proud of this drawstring backpack that I made from the old capes. I'm planning on making one for each of us, and have been approached by several members in the community that have shown some interest. I also was able to make a pillow too. (Lucky for me, Joe's sister Janelle who has some amazing sewing talent made one for us a few years ago when we first moved here, so I was able to copy her pattern.)

This is the whole raffle basket: We put it all in an old drum and just turned it upside-down. We got a nice plant and put it inside one of the old hats. Students contributed drum sticks, earphones, an iTunes gift card, a band shirt, and school colored treats. You can see the edge of the pillow in the back, and the backpack is hidden in there too. It was the best raffle basket at the event, and we were all pretty proud of it.

Marching band season went really well for us this year. We marched 50 kids which was awesome. (Last year we were at about half of that.) Joe arranged the song "Hooked on a Feeling" and it was fun. We had to do some re-scheduling of the competitions we wanted to do vs weekends when the kids weren't already committed to volleyball/cross-country/football events. But it all turned out. Brek got to come to both of our parades this year and he wore his costume/uniform (pictured above.) He walked with me on the side of the band and did a great job. And of course, he received lots of "oohs" and "ahs."

Once marching band was done, we focused in on Halloween. We had a church Halloween party that was a lot of fun. We had dinner and games.

Brek with his friend Parker

Brek with his friend Addy 

We also carved pumpkins as a family for the first time. Brek got to help pick out the designs for carving, and of course he got to help gut the pumpkins too. He thought it was pretty slimy, but he was still all smiles:

Here's the result of our carvings. Joe did the cat in the moon, and I did the silly face.

Here's Brek posing with the pumpkins. Kinda hard to see a a brown boy in the dark.

The biggest highlight of October was the birth of our new nephew, Bennett David Aaron Belt. Brek LOVES the idea of having a new cousin, and I'm so excited for my sister to have a sweet little prince to add to her 3 princesses.

One night we were having a cobbler for dessert and Joe asked Brek if he wanted it "a la mode." Joe thought that Brek would either turn it down because he didn't know what it was, or would actually ask what it was and discover that he was getting ice cream. Instead, Brek asked Joe if he was having it "a la mode." Then he followed his question up with, "I just like to copy you."

Actual Halloween night: He used this old toy drum (which used to be Joe's younger brother Dan's) to hold his candy.

He stands up here on the couch so he can look at himself in our big mirror.

It was a fun month. It was also nice for November to come so we could have some down time at home. Brek's pretty sure he'll dress up as a marching band kid again in a couple years. And another post to come where we had Joe's sister Janelle take some more professional pictures of Brek in his costume. For those that read this blog and haven't seen them already, be prepared for awesome!

Christmas Presents

So this post is all about how amazing I am. Well, sort of. :) This project did not originally start out so big. See, I like to cross-stitch. It's a craft I can do while we watch TV or while Brek is sleeping. Just after Christmas last year, I finished a couple really big projects. And I was in need of another one. The problem is, I want what I cross-stitch to be of value. There are all those nice kits at the craft store and whatnot, but I wouldn't know what to do with them once I finished them. You get the idea?

So anyway, I was looking for a project, and I happened to have borrowed a Disney Princess book from my mom with cross-stitch patterns. At the time, I only had 6 beautiful nieces (and no nephews). So I thought I could cross-stitch their favorite princess and then turn that into something. And I settled on aprons. So that's how this started - I was making 6 aprons. 

Then during a conversation with my mom and sister, they both told me that they wanted me to make them another apron. (I made them aprons back when I was in college, pre-mission. I used towels. It was a fun pattern I got from a roommate.) So that was 2 more aprons I needed to make. And then my brother got re-married, so that added a sister-in-law, plus 2 nephews. And once they got added, I figured I might as well get the rest of the men in my family. Which brought the total to 15.

Shortly after we moved here to Nebraska, as I was thinking about the project, I really considered backing out. My depression was "flared" up, or however you want to say it, and I just didn't want to. But by then I had almost finished all 6 princess cross-stitches, and my oldest niece is almost to that age where princesses are not so cool anymore, and I figured this was the last year I could get away with something like that. So I sucked it up and got to work. And boy was it work! But I think it all paid off, and here's the photogenic proof of my craft-i-work. I like how almost all of them turned out, and that's saying something, tho they are far from perfect or even close to perfect craftsmanship.

For all of the aprons except for my 6 nieces, I picked a material for one side, and a towel for the other. The aprons are reversible, with a pocket on each side. And the straps are adjustable too, so you can wear it where you want. 

This is my dad's

His material is measuring tape, cuz he's a contractor.

This is my mom's. It was the first one I did, so I actually altered the pattern after it was finished and made the neck line a bit thinner, which I think works out better. But I still love this one. Even tho I'm not totally into pink, I really love this one and think it seems so fun.

This is my brother David's.

His material has lizards (I think) playing sports, soccer and baseball and stuff. I think it's really fun.

This is my brother Mark's.

His is Star Wars.

This one is for my sister-in-law Eliana.

I tried to do a little pucker thing. I proved to be much more difficult than I thought, so I didn't try it again.

My new nephews are 11-year-old twins - Cody and Colby. They both really like sports. I did one in green and one in blue. To be honest I can't remember which one liked which color, and I was pretty sure I mixed it up when I mailed them all wrapped. The green one is probably my least favorite. The shades of green really don't go well together, but I couldn't change it, and I'm hoping said nephew won't mind too much.

 

This one is for my brother-in-law Dustin 

His material is Batman. It's really hard to find "cool" or "manly" materials. I wish I had grabbed a picture of him wearing it at Christmas, especially after he wore it outside to take the dog out. :)

This one is my sister Tracy's.

And now for my 6 princesses. These ones are not reversible, but the back layer is also a towel so it will still be nice and thick and absorb well.

This one is for my niece Heather.
Her favorite colors are brown and purple (the towel is purple, you can see it along the bottom.)

This is for my niece Katie. Her favorite colors are pink and blue. 

This is for my niece Anna. She's 2 and doesn't really vocalize favorites yet, but it followed the same design as her big sisters, so I picked this one for her. It actually turned out that the red material was double sided. It was so cool to work with. You can't tell in the pictures, but I used that and so the pockets and the neck strap are the opposite material as the main body of the apron. I think it turned out awesome. Her towel is also red.

And yes, I made my son model for me.

He stands up on this couch so he can look at himself in the mirror.

Love his cheesy grin!

This is for my niece Adelynne. Her favorite colors are blue and purple. I didn't have as much material for this one, so the inside of the pockets are a yellow rose material, which I thought was fitting for princess Belle.

This is for my niece Amy. Her favorite colors are yellow and pink, but I thought the teal towel went better with Ariel's design, so I used it instead of a pink towel. I only wish the yellow wasn't as see-through.

And finally:

Aurora, for my niece Aurora, who we also call Rori. Her princess is pretty much a given.

And yes, I had Brek model for me again. Rori's was so tiny and cute. I've never made something so small before.

He makes such a pretty princess.

Again with the cheesy face. :)

And well, since we celebrated Christmas with my sister and her family, we got to be there when they opened up their aprons, and I got pictures of my nieces wearing their's.

You can see Brek and Joe and Amy and Dustin and Tracy's foot, and my parents on the computer..

Adelynne holding hers up.

And then trying it on. Hers turned out practically perfect, so I love it!

Amy is showing her apron to Grandma and Grandpa on the computer.

Putting it on.

Mommy tying it in the back. 

And smiling for Aunt Amy. Brek's smiling too.

So there they are. My sister-in-law Eliana sent me a picture of their whole family wearing their aprons. But it's on my phone and I don't know how to put that on the blog. Oh well. I love my family, and I'm happy they all like their aprons. 

Still to come, the rest of December, which is mostly Christmas. Stay tuned.