Toad's Treasures Lifestyle Family Blog by Emily Ashby: August 2010

I'll be okay.

{Fabric & School}
Its a good thing I just picked up this...

to help get me through this...

Kindergarten.

I'm not sure who cried more.
I was emotional for a variety of reasons.
Aidan was emotional because he didn't get to ride the bus.

Don't worry. Ethan was fine, & had a great day.

"There is no greater good in all the world than motherhood. The influence of a mother in the lives of her children is beyond calculation."
-Faust

Ms. Long Legs Pattern & Tutorial

{Introducing...Ms. Long-Legs!}

Yes, its true. Trey's owl will now have an "easy to make" friend...Long-legged Lucy!

{And yes, they are named after my niece and nephew!}

As you know, Pottery Barn was the inspiration for these two & they are quite the pair don't you think?!

Here is the link to download for the Ms. Long-Legged PATTERN pieces that you'll need to for the tutorial below. Just don't forget to download all 3 pages.

Please enjoy this fun, easy pattern! If you'd like to make and sell from this or any other of my patterns, please purchase my Commericial Use License for $12. And be sure to email me with any other questions! toadstreasures@gmail.com

{To download each of the pages below, you can click here. Just be warned...I made the tutorial in high res so it can take 5-10 minutes for the entire tutorial to download page by page. I'll try and get the husband to help me condense it soon, but figured you'd rather have something!}

Now, let me introduce you to...

Horray! Look out cute! If you make one, I'd love to see how it turns out! Just add it to the Mr. Linky below, or leave a comment with your blog address!

+Emily Ashby

I'd Do It All Again.

{Worth it?}

I was holding Aidan on my hip as I bent over to pick up my keys that he threw on the bathroom floor of a truck stop in Idaho. I couldn't find his shoes when we stopped to rush Ethan into the restroom, so I had to one arm wrestle him to keep his bare feet off of that filthy floor.

Then when Ethan put the treat of his choice...twinkies...on the counter {that I was sure hadn't been washed in weeks} I wondered if I'd make it. Bathroom breaks were the hardest on the drive back. That is one long drive {14+ hours} alone with the boys.

But all I had to do is remember how wonderful the past few weeks were, and I'd do it all over again. What made your trip so great you ask? Well, I'll tell you. It wasn't air conditioning going out in our car, chasing Aidan out of the dirt pile {aka what the cat uses as a liter box} at my parents house, making the best wild blackberry shakes ever, having someone else pump my gas, not having any sales tax, or even the great sales at the North Face outlet {gasp}.

It was...

{The Family}

{The Friends}

Including Josh:
Seeing Josh, one of my best friends from high school, was an unexpected surprise! Since he's a big wig health care lawyer in DC now our visits are rare and totally treasured. Anyone who knows him knows how great he is. Come SLC ASAP Hoser!

{The Food}

{The Adventures}

{The Lifelong Memories}

One of my dearest memories of this trip was Aidan actually falling asleep on me. He has NEVER done that his entire life. It only happened at the beach. I loved it.

Yeah, I say it was worth it.

{Payoff}
And for those of you who have endured my host of posts that may have little or no interest to you--here you go. Here's the download for my Lucy Long-Legged Owl Pattern and Tutorial! Your little owl will no longer be lonely!

But here's a warning...I created the tutorial it in high res so it takes a while to download...like 5-10 minutes, & you have to download each page seperately. I know, its real pain. I'll try to make it easier {meaning I'll get my husband to help me condense it better} and post it again soon. I just wanted to reward you trusty blog readers/sewing minded people.;)

Now let's all go mourn the loss of summer.

"Photojournalism"

A picture that tells a story...

Africa, Mary's little lamb, & Elephant Ears

{My 1st Safari}

During our trip to Oregon I decided to head off to Africa. I've never been on a safari before and thought the boys would love it.

Okay, alright already...maybe I fibbed just a little. We DIDN'T go to Africa, but WE DID go on a wildlife safari! My very 1st one & I loved it!

And really...we might as well have been in Africa...

We didn't need a map, because we had experienced safari tour guides...my sister in law Mary & and her wildlife sidekick Greyson!

The voyage began as we got into our safari jeep...my Trail Blazer with broken air conditioning...and headed for the hills full of wild beasts!

Does anyone else think this looks like we were entering Jurassic Park? Mmmm...but at that point there was no turning back! I knew if anything happened I would fight to the death to protect my babies...I only wished I had done a bit more...or any...weight training this summer.;)

We didn't get 100 yards into the place when we had an official ambassador from the welcoming committee greet us at our car!

Our resident head observer, Ethan, captured the essence of the moment with pen in hand!

And as we drove on I couldn't believe all of the cool wildlife just roaming around!

For a moment I even thought that Ethan and Aidan had jumped out of the car! Then I realized it was just 2 elephants...not boys... having a good time.

{Camels}

The wildlife park also had a fun petting zoo, playground, and camel rides! I knew one 5 year old that couldn't wait for a bumpy, humpy ride...

And when it comes down to it, who could resist such a face? Calvin the camel was one of kind. And get this...he didn't even stink!!!

I say that in all kindness really. Those of you who have spend any time around camels know how awfully stinky they can be. I lived in the middle east for 4 months at the BYU Jerusalem Center and we could smell camels around the corner before we ever saw them. Yucky.

I asked the the camel guy about that and he told me that their camels don't smell because the have taken certain males parts off...and I said...hmmmm...interesting. {So males don't stink if you fix them? Yes, interesting...}

Oh, and he said they bath them often.

So my little Arabian knight saddled up and had the ride of his life!

{Aidan's Ride}

Don't worry. Aidan didn't miss out. He also had a fun ride at the park given by his sweet cousin Greyson!

{Turtles, Toads, & Trains}

{..the lamb was sure to go...}

Isn't it great that his mom's name is Mary? And how about that ~~fleece~~ I mean face!

This little lamb is one of kind I tell you. This next picture isn't the best, but I wasn't quite expecting this kind of show! I guess his mom and dad must be very affectionate...right Peter?

{Hat guy}

Peter {my brother}, Mary, and Greyson were such great hosts! Greyson is truly quite the little character and sweet little guy. They even exposed Ethan to a whole new world...the world of Star Wars video games.

{And when we watched the actually movie the other night he was giddy with excitement!}

{The Fair}

Peter and Mary even treated us to the biggest event of the summer in these parts. The whole town gets put on hold. Weeknight church activities are cancelled, closed signs are left on the doors of shops, and parking lots are filled to the brim!

And I treated myself and the boys to one of the best fair foods of all time...

If you don't know what an elephant ear is, then you'd better get out your "bucket" list. You won't be disappointed. There's nothing like one.

Isn't fair food the best? I never even knew meat like this existed.

{This little piggy...}

And speaking of meat...;)

These piglet were actually born at the fair just 14 hours earlier.

And Aidan was convinced they should escape. Or wait, maybe he was going to join them. Sometimes I wish I had a nice caged area like that!:)

{A Real Robot}

Besides riding the ferris wheel with Peter, meeting this robot was the highlight of Ethan's fair. He could not stop thinking or talking about it. All I could see was Rosie from the Jetsons.