Tracy Family

Still Here in the New Year! (Sorry it's been awhile!)

2012-01-07T16:11:00.000-08:00

Sorry you haven't heard from us in a while. We are still here and enjoying beautiful Flagstaff. 2011 left me feeling like "Where did that year go?" It flew by so quickly! We are excited for 2012 and all that this new year has to bring.

Since it has been a while since I posted anything I thought I would put up some of my favorite pictures that have been taken over the past couple months. I also have a couple of videos from the holidays that I want to post so look for those soon!

Enjoy this new year!! We love you all!

Liam's 5th Birthday!!

Justin's 3rd Birthday!!

Matthew's 3rd Birthday!!

A winter wonderland! So BEAUTIFUL!!!

Some good ol' snow fun!

Justin likes to dress up like this on occasion.

Picking out a Christmas Tree and candy canes at the Farmer's Market.

Little Matty!

Decorating sugar cookies on Christmas Eve. YUM!!

Christmas Morning!

New Year's Glamour Girl!

Pics, Thrift Store Finds and Projects!

2011-06-14T10:38:00.000-07:00

I have been so bad at blogging this year. Maybe it's the fact that it takes an hour just to get all my pics uploaded. I tend to put it off for that reason but I will try to do better at blogging more often.

This past Christmas Wade bought me a miter saw and sander with the intention that we would be doing some projects together. (Well, mostly Wade :)) I had the idea to build an ottoman/storage chest, mainly to have a place to store our throw blankets. The project began and was nearly completed over the Christmas and New Year Holidays. Then it sat and sat for the next four months waiting for the final touches. But at last it was completed and ready to be brought in for use. We set it in front of the couch and found that instead of having an ottoman we had an alter! A little tacky to say the least. Our little masterpiece was somewhat - Massive. (I will admit that I'm the one who came up with the dimensions. Not my area of expertise I guess.) So our ottoman went from being an ottoman to a bench. We found the perfect spot for it in the kitchen, taking the place of the high chairs that we were so happy to get rid of now that the twins sit at the table with the rest of the family. Wade then, so willingly, agreed to make me a simple coffee table. I went to Anna White's website (a place to find plans for building your own furniture) and found a simple bench that I liked. We altered the width and length a bit and came up with the perfect coffee table. The project fortunately was not as extensive as the ottoman and was finished in a couple days. Wade has informed me that he's done with furniture projects for a while and that's just fine by me. It was fun and was a good learning experience.

Below are some pics from the past couple months or so and the furniture Wade and I made.

I thought I'd add two "Liam Says the Darndest Things" quotes.

I was getting Abby and Liam drinks at lunch one day. One cup had a handle the other didn't.

Abby said: "Mom, I want the one with the handle."

Liam said: "Mom, I want the one with the cup."

Recently Liam and Abby were having a conversation in which Liam paused and said very seriously, "Abby, see my cloud, I am thinking about something." (Looking up as if we should be seeing a little thought cloud above his head.) You'd have to have been there. He was so serious about it. It was Hilarious!:)

Matthew doing one of his favorite things to do, coloring pictures.Justin, pretending to ride Dad's bike.
Liam, pretending to drive.
All the first graders put on an end of school year play called "Character Matters". Abby was the queen in the story of "The Princess and the Pea". She had a part to say and also a part to sing. She did a wonderful job! We got it on video which I will try to post later with Wade's help.
Liam just had to be the king for a moment.

A beautiful day at the playground! Wade posing.:) What a stud!

Matthew has recently acquired a fear of heights. Not sure why? Poor guy.

I went to the thrift store recently and found this old trunk for five bucks! (Sitting on top of the entertainment center.) It's definitely beat up and a bit rusty but that's the look I was somewhat going for. I'm into the rustic/country style decorating. I love it's aqua blue color! I think it brings out the color of my mason jars below.

I also found this chair at the thrift store for twelve bucks! It makes a nice sitting chair for in my bedroom.

Another view.

The storage chest Wade built and I painted. I also made these throw pillows to sit on top. (My new favorite thing to make besides book wreaths. :)) I have since made a fourth pillow as well. Just know the fabric looks a bit more yellow than it actually is.

The coffee table Wade made and I stained. I found a recipe for a simple, inexpensive stain. 1 quart vinegar combined with two steel wool pads. I let the steel wool pads soak in the vinegar for 48hrs. I will warn you my table still smells like vinegar. It's definitely going away though.

Another angle.

Rhett and Link and Buffalo Park

2011-03-19T20:56:00.000-07:00

Thursday morning, March 10th, I got a call around 7:20 a.m. from Amy (my sister-in-law). She called to tell me that Rhett and Link (our family's favorite internetainers) were on their Mythical Beast Road Trip, where they would be greeting people. One of their scheduled stops just happened to be here in Flagstaff, at a local truck stop, that very morning at 8:00 a.m. Well the only truck stop I could think of is the one just five minutes down the road from us, right next to the Little America Hotel. Sure enough that was the one!

Just to give you a brief background about Rhett and Link, if you don't already know, they are hilarious! We discovered them over a year ago and we've been cracking up ever since. We love that they are so clean (no worries watching their videos with the kids) and hilarious at the same time. My twins love their "Backwards Pillow" video and beg to watch it over and over each day. If you haven't seen any of their videos I would highly recommend it. They have two You Tube channels. I would start off with their "Epic Rap Battle" video. It's one of my favorites!

Anyway, despite the fact that I was in the middle of the "morning rush", and had to get Abby to school around 8:30, and knew there was no way I was making it into the shower before leaving or even having time to put on a little makeup before heading out, I knew I couldn't pass up the opportunity. I knew my twins would love to see the "Pillow Guys". So after one attempt of driving to the truck stop (after dropping Abby off at school), thinking they were gone, driving home, calling Amy, having her talk me into driving back to the truck stop, we lucked out! It was after 9:00 a.m., and I was sure they would have been gone, but we caught them just as they were getting ready to pack up. They were so nice! Upon seeing them, Liam suddenly became extremely shy and would not come out from behind my back. Matthew was his normal self, shy as always. So it was all up to Justin. He, thankfully, was "Mister Friendly". It was a fun experience and I'm so glad Amy happened to be watching them that morning.

Liam would not look up! Such a funny kid!

This past Sunday was so beautiful we just had to get out. We discovered the Buffalo Park, not far from us, which has a two mile trail. It was so much fun to be out on a leisurely walk on such a beautiful day. We love Flagstaff! Here's some pics from our little outing.

P.S. I do have some videos to post but for some reason they wouldn't play once I had them downloaded. I'll have to figure out what's going on. Hopefully the next post.

Bedtime Videos

2010-12-16T19:49:00.000-08:00

Sorry, I know the quality on these is not that great. I was filming in the boys room at night. Not the greatest lighting. Wade bought a new camera as a family Christmas gift. So nice to have a camera that takes pics as well as video.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Monkey Boy

The Nutcracker and an Old/New Table

2010-12-16T13:22:00.001-08:00

I've been trying to upload some bedtime videos of the twins but it is taking FOREVER!! I'll try a little bit later.

Abby and I went with some girls from church to see The Nutcracker this past Saturday. So much fun! This was Abby's second time seeing it. The first was a couple years ago and was the full ballet. This was a much shorter version but still a lot of fun!

The orchestra for The Nutcracker was performed by the Lollipop Orchestra of Flagstaff. Afterwards they gave out lollipops to all the children.

It's snowing today! :)

We just got this table off craigslist!:) For months I have been wanting a new table and chairs (mainly chairs). Our old chairs were so rickety. We were down to four out of six that were still in useable condition but close to retirement days. Wade had talked about making me a farmhouse table but there was still the problem of finding sturdy chairs. I found this set on Craigslist for $250.00 and was thrilled! The color is definitely not my favorite, but I love it's country charm. My plan is to paint it (maybe an antique white) at some point in the near future but for now it serves it's purpose and is definitely a far sturdier table than it's predecessor.

'Tis the Season!

2010-12-01T10:19:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving turned out to be a day to lounge around this year. We had thought of inviting some friends over but then the cold season hit our family and we didn't think anyone would appreciate the gift of illness this holiday season. I have to say when you do Thanksgiving just as a family it's a lot less stressful - not quite as fun but definitely less stress. Abby spent a good part of the day looking at everyone's blogs and trying her best to comment on them. We created her a blog as well. It's called Abby's Castle. You'll find it in my Family Blogs. She would love comments from you. I think that's her favorite part. She checks often. (Seriously, quite a bit.:)) I wish I could say I took some pictures on Thanksgiving Day but the only picture I took was of the table setting which Wade so kindly surprised me with. I think he did a wonderful job decorating with the autumn crafts I made recently. I love that he lit a candle to add to the ambiance. It didn't stay lit long. Once the boys woke up from their nap that was the end of that.

We set up our Christmas tree on Saturday. We thought it best to go really simple on the tree decorations this year (nothing breakable, not with the twins around). My mom had given me some of Grandma Boomer's old ornaments to add to our own. The kids loved them and had a fun time decorating!

Grandma's Ornaments

The kids love to clump all the ornaments into one section. We had to do a little tweaking when it was all done.

This right here is the reason the bottom half of our tree is now bare.

Matthew's new favorite food is peanut butter on a spoon. You can hear him "mmmm"ing as he licks it up.

Aim, this is for you. It's not a great picture of the stitchery I came up with but you get the idea. Wade made the frame for me and I painted and distressed it. I really wish I had done the large words "human" and "spiritual" in a darker thread. Oh well, lesson learned.

I found this shutter at a thrift store several weeks ago. I've been wanting one for a while. (That, and an old window frame if anyone comes across one.) Now I'm trying to decide if I should paint it. Wade likes it the way it is but I'm not sure I do. I've seen a lot of good ideas out there. I'd love to know what you guys think. Happy Holidays! :)

Three Birthdays in Seven Days!

2010-11-24T08:40:00.000-08:00

All three boys had their birthdays this month. Liam turned four on Nov. 13th and Justin and Matthew both turned two on Nov. 19th. Their birthdays were pretty uneventful seeing as they all had yucky colds (add on ear infections for the twins). They seemed to have fun for the most part despite not feeling well. I sure love these boys! They bring us so much joy! It's hard to believe time has flown by so quickly.

This picture captures Liam's quirky personality perfectly! These two pictures are of him attempting to hold up four fingers to show how old he is.

When asking Liam what he wanted for his birthday, the only thing he would say was "a red XBOX 360 controller." We've got to help this boy find some other interests.
A rare picture of Matthew smiling without a pacifier in his mouth. (Please ignore the dirty highchair.)
Can you say PIZZA?
Abby and Liam took over when it came to blowing out the candles. I was going to have the boys redo it but Wade wasn't to interested in having sick germs all over the cake.
Justin and Matthew love making music. Their favorite video is Stomp. We thought a drum and other instruments would be perfect.

Matthew loves to build with blocks and stack anything he can find. He loves taking things in and out of their containers. He's a great helper when it comes time for cleaning up.

Once a Princess Always a Princess

2010-11-04T17:53:00.000-07:00

This was Abby's sixth Halloween. For four of those she has gone as a princess. I really tried to get her to go as something new this year. For a while it seemed as though she was all up for going as a cat. That fell through. Then she agreed to go as a witch. That fell through as well. She just loves dressing up and looking beautiful. Don't we all.

Liam as Indiana Jones.

Our ward's Trunk or Treat Party was at Foxglenn Park this year. It was awfully cold and windy. Wade hunkered down in the trunk with a warm blanket and passed out the candy while I braved the elements and walked around with the kids. Lucky duck! It was difficult to get any pictures of Justin and Matthew that didn't involve crying, runny noses, and pacifiers. Matthew went as Superman and Justin as a glow in the dark skeleton.

I had some book pages left over from past projects and came up with this small wreath to make. I feel the need to craft and these wreaths are quick and easy.
My attempt at some fall pumpkins inspired by Amy and Laurel's creations.

Loco for Book Wreaths!

2010-09-23T13:39:00.000-07:00

With half a book of unused pages left from my last book wreath project just waiting to be turned into art I decided to attempt a different style this go around. I've been spending my evenings searching book wreaths on Google images. This Victorian style isn't my favorite but I've had the center pictures since before Wade and I were married. I think my mom picked them up from a garage sale. I've been hanging on to them thinking I could do something with them and so I thought this project would be a perfect fit. I'm thinking of hanging them in our half bath (not a lot of moisture) where I have a Victorian picture already hanging. These wreaths were fun to make and took a whole lot less time. If you google book wreaths you'll come up with loads of images and some tutorials. You tube has several tutorials as well. For this project I watched a tutorial by Jenna DeAngeles. For the book wreath I posted on my last blog I went to http://summerstead.blogspot.com/2010/02/book-wreath-tutorial-and-tip.html. I guarantee you this isn't the last vintage book craft you'll be seeing from me. I love books and now for so many more reasons!

P.S. Sorry about the glare and I will try to put together a list of directions for the coat rack I made (Thanks Jennifer!). It was super simple (hence the reason I attempted it). :)

Alot of Burning Going On

2010-09-21T09:33:00.000-07:00

Late Saturday afternoon we took the kids out to an area close to our home to have a campfire and roast marshmallows. They had so much fun, especially the twins, but oh my goodness did they get dirty.

Aunt Amy is so talented! She sent Abby this dress she made. Abby loved it! I've really got to learn to sew.

I have been in the process of making this book wreath for some time. I started about two weeks ago and got half way through the process when the pages started pulling out with each new row I packed in (the folded pages are just pinned into a foam wreath). I decided to start all over, using hot glue (OUCH!) and pins this time around. It worked like a charm! For those of you who may think it's a crime to tear apart a book I have to admit it was a bit difficult at first. I went to a thrift store and found an old book that was pretty beat up and one that I didn't think anybody would be dying to get their hands on. I actually had to use 1 1/2 books because the first I bought didn't have enough pages (my wreath is pretty big). Both books were printed in the 1930's so they had nice thick pages and a cream tint. I love how this turned out! I am considering finding a nice thick ribbon to hang it from. We'll see.

Someone had mentioned posting this coat rack I made last winter. It hangs in our mud room. I love creating things that serve a purpose! It's fun and practical.

The Simple Joys in Life

2010-08-23T22:29:00.001-07:00

Ok, so I am definitely not the best blogger in the world. I think I would blog more if I would remember to pull out my camera once in a while. It's lame I know.

Abby started first grade today.:) I am so proud of how independent she is. (Something I certainly was not as a child.) When we walked into her class this morning there were several kids crying and very distraught over their parents leaving. Definitely a situation that could cause the other children in the class to feel somewhat apprehensive. Abby on the other hand informed me that she wasn't even nervous. I gave her a hug and kiss goodbye and that was that. I admire her so much.

Life here in Flagstaff is good! It's strange to think that this is where we'll most likely be settling down for good. Wade loves working for Gore! It's nice to finally be at this point in our lives. I'm so glad we get to live somewhere so beautiful. Just so you all know there's always an open invitation for anyone who would like a free place to stay and an opportunity to go see the Grand Canyon or Meteor Crater while you're at it. We love having visitors!

Ok, so I just have to mention how absolutely thrilled I am to be getting Suzanne Collins's newest book "Mockingjay" this week! The third book in the Hunger Games series for those of you who don't know. Wade informed me that it was shipped today!:) Now it's just a matter of anxiously waiting. Please Suzanne let it end the way I want it to. What would life be like without a really good book to lose yourself in once in awhile. For those of you who will also be spending this week in the world of Panem, happy reading!:) Go Peeta! It's true I may seem a little over the top, but hey, if your day began and ended with the changing of two diapers and one pull-up to boot you might feel the same way.

Be Gone Illness

2010-05-22T14:20:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I am officially ready for summer to get here. I feel like we've been dealing with winter related illnesses since the month of October, the height of it being at the end of February when both Justin and Matthew spent a week in the hospital with RSV. The past two nights Justin has awoken from his sleep hardly able to breathe. Come to find out after going to the doctor this morning he has croup. And even though I didn't take Matthew and Liam to the doctor they have similar symptoms, just not as severe. Bring on the warmth! (I never thought I'd hear myself say that.) Hopefully next winter we'll have a better run of luck. :) I have to say I'm so grateful to have a wonderful husband who helps so much! Wade's amazing! I am one lucky woman.

So here's a "My Kids Say the Darndest Things" quote for you. One evening last week as we were getting ready to have family scripture study I asked the kids where Dad went and Liam in all seriousness turns to me and says "He died". Where that came from I have no idea. :)

Taking Over

2010-05-01T21:02:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I am officially taking over our blog. Wade has his own blog and I know it's time I share my view on things. I'm actually liking this blogging thing. It's kind of like an online version of scrapbooking. I thought it would be fun to have an ongoing quote of the day or maybe quote of the week, depending on how busy life is, called "My Kids Say the Darndest Things". Here's one for today. I walked out this morning in my pink plush robe and Abby so lovingly says to me, "Mom, why does that robe make your hips look so big?" (spreading her arms out wide as she says it). :) Oh these kids! Ya just gotta love 'em!

I've been so good about exercising this week! Justin has too in his own way.:) He loves to exercise with me. This morning he was doing the stretches and when it came time for the sit-ups he laid flat on his back and kept lifting his head up over and over. Try to imagine this little 17 month old exercising. It's so cute! I love my kids.

Goodbye Facebook!

2010-04-26T10:03:00.000-07:00

I gave up! I'm tired of Facebook deciding to hand over my personal information at the drop of a hat. So here is my new blog and I will work hard at keeping this thing up to date.

Oops! Link for pictures

2008-12-19T13:47:00.000-08:00

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wadetracy/

New pictures!

2008-12-19T13:03:00.001-08:00

You can see how well we keep up with this blog thing. So now there are 6 in the family with the addition of Justin Noel and Matthew Dallon. I would post a picture of the family as well, but Amy and I don't show up in pictures or mirrors anymore since the twins were born. We hope all is well with everyone and Merry Christmases to all!

DVR = best thing in life

2008-05-19T20:52:00.000-07:00

I am watching Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom that we recorded on Saturday and have to say that having a DVR is the coolest thing ever. Anyways, I finally put up a family picture but it was depressing to find out that the closest thing we have is a picture of me, Amy, Abby, and a Cabbage Patch Kid proxy for Liam. Actually, looking through our pictures it is hard to believe Liam ever made it out of the hospital--we definitely need to take more pictures.

Welcome!

2008-05-13T16:01:00.001-07:00

I think it is about time we started keeping people up-to-date with the goings-on of the family. I am posting this while taking a break at work so you will have to wait to see pictures and other stuff, but I will work to put some interesting things on as soon as possible!