Happy ONE month!!

Mr and Mrs. Brandon and Shelly!!

Since I never really posted pictures from the wedding I thought I'd do a little, Happy 1 Month post! Here are picutres from January 1-5th 2009!

PS. I'm almost finished with your quilt! :)

Pictures soon!

This is my Dad's sister, Clink, we flew out to PA together for the wedding!

This is my 'shower' gift for the happy couple.

(better late than never...)

Reverse side... ha.

This is the beautiful Church Shelly and Brandon were married in!

Brandon gave me a tour of his cute little apartment. Here he was making fun of how deep the pantry goes... ha! At least he has a place for the S & P...

Aww, I thought this was cute. I made these for Brandon and Shelly... they are just chillen' on the couch. Green and Pink Steve.

On our way to the wedding rehearsal... Shelly and B sporting the "practice bouquet"

(...which were all the ribbons from the Bridal Shower!)

This is the inside of the Church where they were married. It's absolutely stunning in the day light... all the windows are stained glass... wow. just breath taking!

After the Rehearsal, we went to dinner at a pizza place... and then headed to the church to make last few touch ups...

They are not excited at all to get married... huh?

The BIG day! Mother of the Groom, Mama Sue with Aunt Clink

Clink with 'special' brother, Father of the Groom: Papa John

Nah, he's just really excited!

Enoch and "Uncle Panda" (he called me that last Christmas! ha!)

This time, when I was visiting... he was telling his mom in the car... "I like Antie Panda... He so funny!" I love my sweet nephew!
The Bride!

Amy: un-wrapping the flowers

After the wedding, before the dinner.

Sorry it's a bit out of focus.

Maid of Honor, Katie. Best man (in back) Billy. and Justin (from the wedding party!)

... oops his eyes are closed.

First Dance:

Mm. Wedding cake!

Sua and Emily

Pic with my married bro B

Emily with B

Amy with B

B with his sisters...

this is so cute... Shelly poking her head in behind us... :)

PS. Dad called us his 'little leprechauns" the whole evening.

The next night... Brandon and Shelly surprised us by delaying their honeymoon one day... they came and hung out with us, ate left overs from the reception, including the chocolate fountain goodies, opened gifts and then we played CLUE! (one of the gifts they got!)

Mmm. Chocolate

Cute Caitlin...

We were listening to primary songs in the car this afternoon.

Caitlin was singing along to "Follow the Prophet" only she was saying...

"Follow the paw prints..."

Homemade Bags, Darling!

I made this bag for my sister, Emily... I'm so happy with the way it turned out!!
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the reverse side!! :) Mm. Good looken' bag... Enjoy Emily!

I made this bag a few weeks ago for Nana's Birthday!!

I've got another bag, i'm making right now for a friend of mine... i'll post that when i'm done!

The Cracroft Family Update...

Ha. Yeah, this was supposed to be our Christmas letter, and then it was supposed to be our New Year's letter... and we'll lets just say I've dropped the ball on this one... but someone, somewhere once said "Better late than never..." (click on the highlighted words to view actual posts, with pictures!)

So here it is...

Justin- spends his days working in downtown Salt Lake City at Far West Bank located in the newly renovated and gorgeous historical Walker Center. We sold the Mazda this summer and Justin got himself a bike, which he enjoys riding to and from work in the fair weather months. When he’s not enjoying the breeze in his leg hair, he’s taking advantage of the local public transportation (bus and light-rail) which he actually LOVES most days… “I enjoy the care free commute to work while catching up on my reading. It’s also refreshing to hear ‘good mornings’ and feel the energy of down town… makes me feel like I’m back on my mission in Lisbon Portugal!”

When he’s not at work, Justin’s been spending most of his spare time working on his CMBA through Western Governor’s University, and is scheduled to graduate at the end of Feb 2009! YES! In his other spare moments, Justin enjoys spending time with the kids and doing small remodeling projects around the house. In the year and a half we’ve lived in our little “sugar house,” he’s taken on A LOT of projects… including refinishing hardwood floors, bathroom makeover, paint, trim, texturing, leveling, bulldozing in just about every room of the house… as well as a few exterior updates! You get the idea …lets just say he’s having a lot of fun!

Amanda- is happy to announce that she’s expecting number 3! We are excited to say that we are having a Girl!! We are all looking forward to May 14, 2009! Amanda is SO grateful that she’s is able to be a stay-at-home-mom; and LOVES all that comes with the title. One of the highlights of this summer has been taking the kids to the Zoo with our family pass… It’s been a true joy to watch the kids study the animals and then act like them later on at home. “My children amaze me, it is a lot fun to watch them grow and develop. There is never a dull moment, especially when they try out their new animal skills by growling at people in the check out line…”

In her spare time, Amanda enjoys a variety of sewing projects from hand bags to stuffed animals to apron (s)to quilting! In October Amanda took the kids to visit her parents, Grammy and Papa, in PA for two weeks. We had a wonderful time visiting. Amanda also had the opportunity to attend a Reflexology workshop with her mother and is putting her new skills to good use. Justin is very grateful she learned this new trade!

Caitlin- will be 4 in March! We successfully got potty training out of the way and she was able to start preschool, which she absolutely loves! She enjoys helping Mommy and Daddy out around the house by doing the dishes, feeding and caring for Pepper, cleaning up toys and being a sweet and loving big sister to Will. Her interests are very well-rounded from princesses to dinosaurs, trucks to horses, and one of everyone’s favorites, singing! She loves to sing songs from Annie, Wicked, and Hello Dolly (mostly because of the movie Wall-e!). It’s so sweet to hear her sing! She also loves singing along to Disney CDs in the car, and she’s working on her directing skills too, as she’ll often assign us all particular parts to sing. One afternoon, Caitlin was overheard saying this in the car. “No, Will… stop singing! Mommy is Belle… you are Maurice! And I’m Gaston!” Later on in that conversation I found out that Justin was playing the part of the Beast! She also learned to ski this year, thanks to her Dad, Uncle Jonny, and Pops… and she LOVES it and looks forward to anytime she can go.

Will- has really developed this year as well. He’s finally started talking and 99.9% of the time he’s telling us about his friends "Thomas, James and Percy" (trains, trains and more trains!). They are the love of his life… they eat, sleep and take baths with him, literally. He was thrilled to find out that his coat has pockets, allowing him to bring along even more trains on our outings. He too has developed a love for music, his favorite songs being the Thomas DVD sing-a-longs! He’ll be turning 3 in May and will join his sister in attending preschool in the fall. Additionally, while Will’s interests usually don’t typically extend beyond trains and cars, we’ll occasionally find him enjoying a tea party with Caitlin…both of them decked out in the finest princess attire. We are just happy they get along as well as they do!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Love,

Justin, Amanda, Caitlin and Will

Holy Schnikey!!

For an explanation of why Justin might appear to be missing over the next six weeks, check his personal explanation here.

a DaDdY-DAdDy-SoN-OuTiNG...

Last Saturday Justin and Pops took Will to the park to go sledding! (Mommy and Caitlin went to a baby shower!) Here are pictures of Will's first time sledding!!

With Daddy...

With Pops...

As soon as they got to the bottom of the hill... Will ran for the playground! :)

Look at that cute little pointy head kid... aw.

Tagged!!

Random Post:

1. Link this post to the person who tagged you: Rachel
2. Post the rules on your blog (pretty easy, kids)
3. List 6 random things about yourself.
4. Tag 6 people at the end of your post.

Random Things about Amanda:

1. I really enjoy cooking... (when I have the energy for it!) I used to watch Food Network all the time... there is just no time for it now. I would LOVE to go to culinary school... or at least take some sweet classes in the community. And I just LOVE walking doing the cooking tools isle at any store... (It's like walking into an Office Max for Justin... apparently office supplies really does it for him. HA!)

2. Mmm, speaking of food... when i'm not cooking...I crave Mexican food (pretty much EVERY Saturday!) #1 fav. Cafe Rio-chicken salad, #2 fav. Chipotle- chicken burrito. Justin and I have a joke that we are Mexican on Saturdays! HOLA!

3. I LOVE to dance... one of my favorite things to do when no one is watching is turn up the tunes... and go CRAZY! at least the kids think I'm funny! (I'm much to reserved to let go completely in public, or even in front of Justin... maybe one day! Yea, maybe I'll even audition for So You Think You Can Dance? haha!)

4.My favorite musical and food have one thing in common... MY FAVORITE COLOR!! Green! (Wicked and Avocados!) la la la laaaaaaaaaaaa!

5. I'm a list maker, LOVE IT! I used to wonder why my mom would make lists when I was younger... but I find that I actually get things DONE when I make a list and check it off... otherwise I jump around to different things... and nothing gets done!

6. Amanda Cracroft MD (It's a long story, but definitely random!)

I here by tag: Amy, Emily, Lauren, Lindsey, Laura, and Heather!! Bonus Tag... Justin (because you need to post SOMETHING on your blog!) Get to it, Ya'll!

Happy Birthday Nana Great!

Nana is an avid reader of our family blog.

I just wanted to take a few seconds to say

how much we LOVE her... you truly are GREAT Nana!

Hope your day is wonderful and this year is the best yet!

Love,

Justin, Amanda, Caitlin and Will

...and what's better than Birthday Cake??

BIRTHDAY MIXED BERRY COBBLER, (of course!)

(adapted from recipe: Northwest Blackberry Cobbler)

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup butter, melted

2 cups blackberries, fresh or frozen (I used a tripple combo: black, blue, and raspberrie)

2 teaspoons almond extract

Mix flour, sugar, salt and baking powder in an 8"x8" glass baking dish. Stir in milk; blend well. Pour melted butter over dough. Toss blackberries02\';/ with almond extract. Spoon over top of dough. Bake 45- 50 minutes at 350 degrees, or until dough rises to top and is brown. serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Mmmm!

I'm the newest member of...

... the I [heart] Tums club!

(Hold tight and never let go buddy!!)

Baby Update:

We had our ultrasound today...

IT'S A GIRL!!!

Important follow-up on Master Cleanse

For those of you who may have read my posting on the Master Cleanse in November, you may be interested in this follow up. Please click here.

- Justin

"Dear Elder"... for TWO years!

Pictures of Elder Cracroft at the MTC today!

Mama T and Elder Cracroft!
Nobody likes good-byes...
"Elder, what do you think about all this???" "Uhhh..."

For a video of this momentous occasion, please click this link.

(Breathe!) It's JUST HAIR... it will GROW back!

OH! Every kid goes through this stage... I was 5... maybe 6...
My sister, Emily(10) and I were enjoying a summer afternoon in the back yard... when Emily got this brilliant idea that she was going to give me a new look! We DID ask permission first... but granted... mom was taking a nap on the couch... and was seriously out of it. I'm SURE she didn't understand a word we were saying when we asked her if Emily could cut my hair... and remembering her reaction... I'm POSITIVE she didn't hear us! She cried... Just like I did... when I found that Caitlin had the same bright idea as her Auntie!


OK.... I know it's really not that bad... it could have been SOOOO much worse! I Know... I've been to Wal-Mart, I've seen it! I'm just glad I found her before she could really get creative...

I was just thinking the other day, how beautiful her hair was, and how much I LOVE it long. She is a lot like me, and didn't get her hair (really) until about 2... and then it was just wispy-crazy-scientist-hair that would not yield to any brush or spray... actually... it looked a lot like a scared cat!
I really don't know what came over me... I mean I cried... No, I sobbed for a good 30 minutes. It must have been all the pent up feelings from when she was a baby... when people used to tell me what a cute little boy she was! (Come on people, She's wearing PINK!) And when I saw all that blond hair on the ground... oh, it must be... yup, I'll blame it on the pregnancy hormones. I mean, it's just hair, right? (sigh) It's going to grow back!

So, When Justin got home we went to get Caitlin's hair fixed. We decided to take her to Cookie Cutters, an over priced kids salon, but it was worth the $13.95 because there was no crying, she got to watch TV and sit on a sweet motorcycle and she got a balloon and a cookie cutter and sucker when it was all done. (Yeah... reward your child for cutting their own hair... oh well.)

It was fun to watch...

Harley chick...

Those boots! Caitlin, you're killing me...
C-bug with her new do...

side view: I asked them to do something about her bangs... her hair was always in her face. I like this much better...
Then we took the kids to Wendy's for dinner... it was a fun little family night out on the town...

I am pleased with how her hair turned out, and she's still the same spunky and crazy Caitlin!

December 30, 2008

...32 Reasons Why I Love My Justin...

1. He is the most thoughtful man I know!

2. Loves to be out doors (mowing the lawn, camping, or taking a walk, he loves it all!)

3. Is one AMAZING Daddy! Sweet and very loving!

4. He tells me I'm pretty

5. Yes, he will even rub my feet!

6. He loves to travel!

7. Those blue eyes... and that gorgeous smile of his, 'dazzle' me to the point that I lose my train of thought.

8. He's a very skilled handy man!

9. He's not afraid to admit he's wrong about something

10. Justin has this laugh... I call it his 'Saturday Night Live Laugh'... I love to hear him laugh this way, I know he's worry free and having a good time!

11. He'll watch 'chick flicks' with me!

12. Is very kind to animals, yes: even cats!

13. He has read all the Twilight books and LIKED them... it's fun to talk about them together!

14. With a pen and a blank piece of paper, he can draw the the United States by memory... (individual states and all! What can your man do?)

15. He will read the kids 3 or 4 more books after saying... 'OK, last one'...(and with a smile on his face!)

16. He's a wonderful BIG brother... good at giving advice and a great example

17. He can carry a meaningful conversation with just about anyone!

18. He strives to improve himself more each day, sets new goals often

19. Loves to surprise me!

20. He's Musical! (GREAT singing voice and he's learning to play the Guitar and Harmonica!)21. LOVES to watch movies and cuddle

22. He has a 32 oz Maverick soda fetish just about every Saturday afternoon! He doesn't even have to tell me where he's going... I just know.

23. Has good taste in women... (Umm, woman... yeah, that'd be me!)

24. He laughs at my jokes... ha.

25. He does the DISHES!!26. Will play with the kids on Saturday mornings to let me sleep in! Ahh. That's a good man!

27. He's a great speller! (my personal dictionary)

28. He is tidy... most of the time. ;)

29. He's the finance geek of the relationship... and with out him my free spirit would be lost!

30. He's a worthy Priesthood holder and loves serving the Lord in anyway he can! (even if it's in Nursery for two whole years!)

31. OK, I have to say it... he's dang SEXY!

32. AND...Today is his birthday!!! What a great day it is! I love you, Honey!

Happy Birthday! 32 years...

Now...here comes my favorite part... A kiss for each year!

Happy Birthday Parker!

BIG 1-9

You hoped, they called!

Hard to believe you're already 19... even harder to believe that you leave in two days!

Best of luck, We LOVE you!

Justin, Amanda, Caitlin and Will

The Cutest Star on the Block!

I mentioned that I was looking for a new star for our tree...

Well, What do you think?

M E R R Y C H R I S T M A S

love, The Cracrofts

First Baby Quilt!!

I almost forgot about this baby quilt that I made two months ago... I was holding off on posting about it until I delivered it to my buddy Heather, who is having her first baby ( A BOY!!) due in FEB!! :)

I had a really fun time making this quilt... Caitlin helped me pick out the striped fabric... and I match all the rest! I cut what felt like a milllion mini 2 1/2 inched squares , but the awesome part about it is that I used my sweet Roatery cutter (looks like a pizza cutter) and mat... Makes quilting life SO much fun and easy! Then I layed out my squares and started a pattern...

Will was VERY interested in all these little colorful squares... lucky I cut more than I needed because he (and Caitlin) ran off with a few...

I guess I forgot to take pictures of the next few steps...(So, picture this in your mind.) I basicly made single rows by sewing the blocks from left to right. Then I sewed the rows together, starting with Row 1... going down to row 18 (or whatever it was...)

Below is a picutre I took after I 'sandwiched' the quilt top, batting and back; and after I machine quilted it all together.

The finished product...

Here is a close up picture, after I washed it.

I didn't 'pre-wash' my fabric because I wanted it to have that old fashioned krinkly

quilt look... I'm really happy with the way it turned out!

Shhh...Here is a sneek peak at the fabrics for my next secret project!

It's almost done! :)

This is WHY...

...Yes, This is why we didn't take the kids to see Santa this year! (I'm thinking our kids need a little proof that Santa brings toys... then maybe they'd be up for a little visit!)

I tell you... just for kicks... we should have taken them to see him... I mean... LOOK at how priceless these pictures are...

Christmas 2005

Christmas 2007

GoiNg tO a HoliDaY ParTy??

...and don't know what to take? Try these festive and easy recipes!!!
Yummy Appetizer...
Fruit Salsa
1 apple, cut into very small pieces
2 kiwi, cut into very small pieces
1 cup frozen mixed berries, (I use a mixture of blue, black and raspberries)thawed and put in blender just enough to break into small pieces
Sugar (to taste- maybe a few tablespoons)

Mix all together in a bowl and let “marinate” for a few hours. Serve with cinnamon chips!

Chips
Flour tortillas
Margarine or butter
Cinnamon
Sugar

Butter the tortillas and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar, then cut like pizzas. Bake in the oven until slightly crispy: 350, for about 5-8 min. So yummy and easy!

Salad...
Autumn Pear Salad

Dressing:
5 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon chopped green onion
Salt and fresh ground pepper

Mix dressing ingredients in jar; shake well and refrigerate.

Salad:
½ head green leaf lettuce, washed and torn
½ head red leaf lettuce, washed and torn
2 ripe pears, thinly sliced
½ cup unsalted cashews, toasted
Couple handfuls dried cranberries
Optional: 2 oz. Asiago cheese, shaved with vegetable peeler

In salad bowl, combine greens and ¾ of the dressing. Arrange pears, cheese, cashews, and cranberries over top and drizzle on the remaining dressing. YUM!

Dessert...
Buckeye Bars

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
3/4 cup crunchy peanut butter
22 NILLA Wafers, crushed...(place in gallon ziploc, use rolling pin, this is fast!)
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 of 8-oz. tub COOL WHIP Whipped Topping (Do not thaw.)
3 squares BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate


LINE 8-inch square pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides. Beat butter and peanut butter with mixer until blended. Mix in wafer crumbs. Gradually add sugar, mixing well after each addition. Press onto bottom of pan.
MICROWAVE COOL WHIP and chocolate in microwaveable bowl on HIGH 1 min.; stir. Microwave 15 to 30 sec. or until chocolate is melted; stir until well blended. Spread over peanut butter layer.
REFRIGERATE 2 hours. Use foil handles to lift dessert from pan before cutting to serve.

Merry Christmas!!

Directive?

I saw this "cube" of towels on the bed this evening, and I couldn't help but think of the movie Wall-e. Our kids have been watching it--without fail--every time we go to my parents' house. In fact, "Wall-e" has become synonymous with "dinner at Nans & Pops house."



So, for any of you who have seen it, take a looksie at these photos and try not to think of that cute little box-shaped robot shaking as he hurriedly compacts a cube of stuff to demonstrate to his pal Eve the main purpose of his existence...


I don't know if I should admit to it, but I insisted that my sweet, pregnant wife come take a look (these towels were recently tipped out of their large, rubbermaid container after a trip upstairs from the dryer). She could hardly stop laughing, which, of course, made me laugh! LOVE it.

Whoopy... More Snow!!

We got more snow today...and I've decided that I'm starting to love snow again. Not that I want to move to Alaska and become an Eskimo or anything...but I am beginning to love this short unappreciated season. Watching Caitlin and Will get excited as the snow starts to fall... then bundling them up in their snow suits, gloves, scarfs, hats, boots and whatever... it's just cute to watch them prance around the back yard, tilting their heads back catching snow on their tongues, it makes me happy that they are happy. Snow... it just makes a childhood 'magical'.

PS...

My friend Cristi has a new fun little blog... where she's made blog backgrounds with easy to follow instructions. Deck your blog out with cute homemade Christmas backgrounds by Cristi!! click HERE!

Thanks Cristi!