festival of colors 2013 spanish fork utah

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Last weekend the was the Festival of color down in Spanish Fork.  I’ve always wanted to go, but seem to miss it every year.  I always see the pictures and go- dang it, I missed it again!

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But this year I found out the date early and made plans to head down.  Mr. TT and the older boys went camping, so the girls, Baby Boy and I headed down!  We invited Jesseca from One Sweet Appetite brought her little guy and we had a BLAST together!  We started out all white

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And started getting colored right away.  I love this face Baby Boy makes, his shocked, hands over his mouth face.  Seriously, one of my favorites.  He actually LOVED getting colored!

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He wasn’t bothered by the chalk and had a ball having chalk fights with his sisters AND strangers!

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He loved THROWING it too, he’s getting Jess here…

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Princess would only throw the pink chalk, not really surprising.  She started out with googles, and a bandana over her mouth, but by the end of the day she had taken both off (we were worried about the chalk stinking the kids eyes)

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I was worried about my camera getting destroyed with all the chalk in the air so I bought this waterproof DSLR case to use.  BUT it’s a bit bulky and when I was switching to video I accidently switched from manual to effects… BOO I ended up with half my pictures from the festival in BLACK AND WHITE, including the full chalk tossing!!!

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but even in black and white the kids look great!

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The chalk hangs in the air quite a bit, but look how pretty the temple looks!  The festival doesn’t allow smoking, drugs or alchol, so it was a GREAT event, and fun for families as well as the crazy college kids!

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Baby Boy didn’t seem to mind the taste of the chalk either, but it def has a funky taste.  And doesn’t Jesseca look lovely?  Even covered in chalk?

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I still can’t believe I missed this moment, the chalk throw (they do it every 2 hours) because of my stupid mistake!!!  It was really lovely though, and we all had a great time!

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We wore out Baby Boy, seriously could be he any cuter???  And somehow I ended up with lots of ORANGE, not really my color, makes me look a little oompa loompa ish…

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We loved tossing our chalk!!!

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The Reader stuck with the purple, her goal being to dye her hair purple…  Didn’t work, washed right out.  Where Princess ended up a rainbow!

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Jesseca and her little boy stayed pretty darn clean IMO.

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And we spend a lot of time together but usually forget to take pictures (because we’re both usually BEHIND the camera) so a rare shot of the two of us!

Family Pictures – Salt Flats

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It’s crazy to think that these pictures were actually taken 5 months ago!  The kids have already changed so much, esp Baby Boy and Princess!  I added these to my about me page right away, as well as ordered this one to hang over our mantle, but I totally forgot to share this photoshoot here with you guys!

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I actually got this couch from Vintage Revivals hoard sale last year but I ran out of time to reupholster it before pictures, SO I painted it!  Yep, spray painted it with upholstry spray paint.  It’s still not QUITE the right shade of purple, but it totally worked for our pictures!

we borrowed a truck and drove out to the Bonneville Salt Flats before the rainy season and got some AMAZING pictures!

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My amazing sister, Chelsea Peterson Photography, has a natural eye when it comes to pictures.  I’m so lucky she lives so close and can take pictures for me!  AND she somehow managed to make Mr. TT and I look GOOD!  No small feat considering he usually closes his eyes in 90% of pictures and I don’t lose weight until I wean my babies!

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The Reader – My oldest is turning 12 this year, I can’t even believe I’ve been a mom for almost 12 years.  She still loves to read, she reads anything she can get her hands/eyes on.  I was the same way when I was young (still am in some ways) so I can totally relate.  I’m not sure I’m prepared for the next stage of her life!

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Computer Boy – This one is growing like a weed, he can’t eat enough and is super skinny.  Even skinny pants are HUGE around his waist or the pants are total high waters.  But he’s just a joy!  Always laughing, making jokes (although not funny ones) and asking “what if” questions. He tends to laugh at his own stories before he even finishes telling it, so we miss a lot, but I love the way his mind works.

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Lego boy – is CRAZY!  He’s such a hoot, always building, thinking, singing and humming.  He just never stops.  Oh how I love this sweet boy of mine.  Quick to laugh, quick to cry, quick to anger, quick to forgive, quick to joy, etc…  His speech issues are effecting his reading so he’s frustrated with school, but I think his speech is so sweet, it will be sadish when he talks “right”.

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And this guy makes SO many faces I couldn’t pick just 3.  Seriously, could you?  Narrowing it down to these 5 was hard enough.  He’s so expressive and is always making us laugh.  And of course he still loves Legos, and Pikmin, and angry birds.  He’s having the hardest time narrowing down his birthday party options for the year.

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Princess – or should I say, little Miss Sass.  Look at that attitude, 5 going on 15.  She has loved kindergarten this year.  She loves to draw, read, play with Baby Boy, and her favorite thing of all???  Annoying her older siblings.  Seriously she has a knack for teasing and making them SO frustrated.  No one can get the rest of the kids as riled up as she can.  Serious Talent!

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Baby Boy – A few years ago we were at a crossroad, do I go back to school and get a job to help support our already large family OR do we stay poor and follow my heart and have another baby?  Obviously we choose to have number 5, and I’m grateful EVERY DAY that this little man is a part of our family.  He has all the best qualities of all the other kids.  Smart, inquisitive, compassionate, adverturous, always happy, and also a bit of a ham.  He has me wrapped around his fingers.

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Seeing my 5 babies makes me so happy.  Is there anything better?  So while I may not be the most consistent blogger, my goal is to be an amazing mother.  And that’s where my passion truely lies.  Sometimes I get off course, get too into blog nunbers, readers, and what OTHER opportunities other/bigger bloggers have.  Then I remember how blessed I am, and how much I love my life.

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Have you ever seen such beautiful girls?  It’s amazing what a great mix of Mr. TT and I they are, a lot of My husbands family in The Reader, and a lot of My mom’s side in Princess.  I can’t believe I MADE them.  What a miracle babies and children are.  My own mother and I had some rough years during my teens and I’m scared, as my oldest reaches those years that I’m making major mistakes and repeating history.  But I’m trying to maintain our relationship.

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And the level of handsomeness here is insane!  My mom’ family in Lego boy, to an insane level, like my grandfathers twin.  Computer boy is my dad’s mini me, and Baby Boy is a great mix of both boys.  They get their pale vampire skin from me though…

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I love Princess in this picture, jumping on the couch, but the other kids were so… stoic.  I think we went a few mins too long in our family time (2 1/2 hours in the van driving to the Salt Flats).

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By far my favorite picture of the whole day!  I love pictures like this that let us be US!  I have framed on my wall a similar picture from a few years ago before we got pregnant with Baby Boy.  I can’t wait to add this one to my wall.

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have I mentioned I love myh life?  My husband is amazing, and oh so patient with me and my crazy.  I think the pictures with the two of us are the best since our wedding.  12 years, and hundreds of lbs later…  not to bad!

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The girls…

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The boys…

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I think this was the kids favorite, getting to “scare” mom and dad!  Notice Baby Boy isn’t even phased.  Oh it was scary alright…

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The end!

Cupcakes for Charity

Last week I got invited to attend a celebration for Ivory Homes 25th anniversary! As part of the celebration they are hosting a cupcake competition for charity!

The picture with the most likes on this Instagramimage and REPINS from this pin on Pinterest wins and their charity gets $1 from every like/repin!

It ends Friday at 4pm so if you are on pinterest or Instagram please please PLEASE go like/repin my cupcake!

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This is my cupcake! (cupcakes and frosting provided by One Sweet Slice- flower and everything else is all me, thanks to Rhonna designs for the insta celebration fonts)

My Charity is Spectrum Academy, a charter school for children on the Autism Spectrum. Autism and Aspergers kids tend to get bullied very badly in public schools. Our oldest was being bullied by mean girls (calling her names and throwing rocks at her at recess) in 3rd grade when we found Spectrum Academy.

It has been COMPLETELY life changing for us. Our children went from being bullied, depressed and suicidal to happy, successful in class and they even have FRIENDS! And for me having teachers that GET my kids, see their strengths can deal with their difficulties and truly LOVE them is beyond amazing to me. They have great advice, tips, they know how to reach and help my children.

Charter schools are always in need of funds, especially charter schools where 80% of the families attending Spectrum are below poverty level. They keep the classrooms small, with a teacher and assistant in every room, along with occupational therapists, speech, counselors, etc…

There are very few schools around the nation specific for children on the spectrum and almost all of those are private schools with high fees. Spectrum was the first charter school of it’s kind and there are now 4 (Spectrum has exanded and counts for two of those, with another expansion in the works!), and hopefully more to come, so many families need these specialty schools and cant afford the private ones. Hopefully the success of this school will lead to others being started so that more children and families can benefit!

University of Utah – Girls night out

Remember last week when I told you about the University of Utah Girls night out?  Well I was able to attend and it was WONDERFUL!  It was at the new University Facility down in Daybreak, and it’s gorgeous.

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I went with Jesseca from One Sweet Appetite and Becky from Utah Sweet Savings.  We enjoyed walking around all the stations they had set up and learning about all that they had to offer.  They had healthy eating tables/demonstrations.

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Healthy cooking, and recipes, along with lots of delicious food, Mmmm I even ate asparagus (if you know me I’m not really a veggie or fruit person, there are a FEW I really like though.

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I love trying new recipes so I’m excited to try these.  I’ve been craving pasta since that night

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Have you seen the new food “pyramid’?  It’s not a pyramid anymore, it’s plate shaped (and milk)

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AND an example of a lbs of fat vs a lbs of muscle? although they look very close to the same size, which isn’t right is it?

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Upstairs they had tables set up to answer questions about all the doctors at the new facility.  OB/GYN, high risk pregnancies, cosmetic surgeons, facials, etc…  And at one table I picked up this tube to test the size of choking hazards for children under 3.

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The main event of the night was Mary Nickles speaking to us on taking care of ourselves.  She is an anchor with KUTV.  And she spoke of her battle with breast cancer.  They found it through a routine checkup that she did for a news story! CRAZY.

The lesson of the night? we women need to take care of ourselves.  Considering I attended this the night after finally feeling better after a week long illness I can attest how important it is for a household for us Mom’s to take care of ourselves.

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After that we headed up to the self defense class AND stumbled upon an impromptu example in stitches…. the wife of one of the doctors came in needing stitches and she agreed to let him sew her up in front of all of us!  It was AWESOME!!!

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Then we headed to the self defense class, one I’d like to repeat, it was amazing.  Becky even showed us all how to get away from a make 5 times her size!