I am re posting this as part of the "get your craft on" fun! Hope some of you that haven't seen it enjoy some of the pics!
There is another post about the party prep here, enjoy!!!

Here is what the cake looked like (after Nevaeh stuck her fingers in it!) It was pretty easy, besides the mess! (see below…) John had done the dishes before I started the cake and fondant, I used every dish in there!!!

I made my own fondant. Tried the stuff in the stores for previous cakes, and it was gross. This you can actually eat, doesn’t taste like rotten fish. It was pretty easy, melted marshmellows, a couple drops of water, and powdered sugar. Tinted one batch green and wanted the other one more a fuchsia, but couldn’t get the color right, so it ended up pure purple… Still ok!!! I did one rectangle cake, and two rounds. The round cakes were really cool when we cut into them. The rectangle one did too, but you got each color in the rounds!!! Nevaeh partially ready for her party! She was modeling the skirts that I made for the girls as party favors. Aubrie showing off her skirt! I made it with some of the “mistake” cuts that I made! The older boys headed outside to make tops, while the younger kids made candy necklaces! Tinkerbell is a tinker fairy and tinker’s love to build things!!! I got the kits at Walmart, and they were ok. Might have been a little too old for the 3 year olds, but they still had fun! All the boys outside working! My dad does this type of top when he spins. Just a dowel cut and one end sharpened to a point, then a circle cut with a hole in the middle. You decorate the wood circle with markers and then put the two together and wa-la(s/p) a fun toy!!! (I used a tutorial from Grosgrain for the skirts, and also blogged about making them here.) All the girls in the skirts that I made for them! They were pretty excited to get them! Nevaeh (july), Karis (june), Emily (july), Bekah (august), Selah (october), and Taylor (september I think). All turn three this year! There are two boys too that will turn three sometime before december, but I don’t know their birth months either… Watching Tinkerbell on the TV.

Nevaeh opening her presents. She quadrupled her “girly” toys in one day! Thanks guys she loves the gifts!!! (above a tinkerbell flutter toy, below a few suckers and a matching game and also a crown pillow. She has taken the crown pillow everywhere with her!!!) This is what the cake looked like decorated. The green fondant got too dry and ripped, so I had to try to figure out how to fix it…so the cake wasn’t the most beautiful, but it was super cute anyways!!! Under “Nevaeh” was a huge rip and the resulting horrible fix it job!!! There are blades of grass and purple “rock” like things around the cake. Hanging out while we wait for lunch to be done cooking. This made us all laugh, reminded us of a wedding dress picture! With the whole skirt lifted up behind her!!! Aubrie enjoying lunch. She was nibbling off of Nevaeh’s plate Our cloudy day turned beautiful and we got to head out side for cake! Here is a shot of the round cake! Doesn’t it look awesome! Thanks Mikki for sharing your cake!!! My brothers came out to help, here is Paul pulling some girls in the wagon.

One of the boys that will turn 3 this summer! The aftermath!

Nevaeh showing off one of the presents that she got. She wants to wear these shoes all the time! I think someone started something that I am not ready for!!!

All in all it was a great day, fun for everyone I think. I have to say that I am glad I am done planning parties for a while. Wyatte’s birthday isn’t until December!!!

Another link to a giveaway!!!

Love September Favorite Skirt Pattern GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

The skirt looks like fun, and while I am not "into" sewing right now, heaven only knows how long that will last. Maybe this will get me back into the swing of things!!!

Unredeemed by Selah

Here is a song that was shared by Angie Smith, wife of Todd Smith in Selah (He is the one in the rust colored shirt that sings in this video) a while back.  She got permission to share it for a few days, and since then I have been waiting for the CD.  I got it in the mail today and really wanted to share the song with you all.  Really listen to the words, they are amazing.

If you want to check out Angie’s blog, you can do so by going to bringtherain.blogspot.com.  She has a great story, if you look back far enough, and lots going on that is current.

Kookles Nursing Cover GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Kookles Nursing Cover GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

I have a friend who had something like this with her last baby and it looked so much easier than a blanket! I would totally use one if/when we get pregnant again!

Rollerblading

So a while back Heidi B mentioned at our Bible Study that there was a Inline Marathon in Duluth in Sept.  She thought it would be great for us to do it.  We all got excited, and started making plans.  John and I dug out his old rollerblades, we met at the trail.  And I only made it about 2 1/2 miles!!!  I went with two others that first time and they went about 3 1/2 or 4 miles.  Then I didn’t go out again for about 10 days.  I went 1.9 miles Tuesday, 3.1 miles Wednesday and then met them for our second go round.  I went about 4 Thursday, and they went about 5. 

Then my whole family got sick and I worked overnights and afternoons and didn’t go out.  So tonight (even though I worked an overnight last night) I went out because we are meeting again in a couple of days and Heidi wants to do like 11 or more miles………  And I did 3.1 miles again tonight.  I was going to do both my routes and get 5 miles in, but it got dark REALLY FAST!!!  So I only got part of the skate in.  Hopefully tomorrow I can do the whole 5 (or more) but we will see. 

I am not super worried about the time or how far I go.  What I am more concerned with right now it the fact that I am getting out and I am exercising.  I have quite a bit of weight to lose to get back to a healthy weight, and this is a start.  What is really nice is that I actually enjoy rollerblading.  I might get VERY tired, and weak by the end, and not know how to stop very well, and am scared of falling but I really enjoy getting out there and feeling the wind in my hair, and listening to the praise and worship pouring into my ears.  God is totally amazing when I am too winded to talk over Him!!!  He is amazing all the time, but…  You know what I mean right!?!?! 

So right now I am looking for a good way to keep track of how far I have gone, and what days I did it, and how long it took me.  Just to have a record.  Right now I can remember the times I have gone out and how far, and so forth and so on….  But would like something that I can look back on.  So if anyone has anything that they use to keep track let me know.  I found a couple on Google Documents, but they aren’t quite what I want.  So I am going to keep looking. 

Keep asking me about the rollerblading so that I have some accountability!!!

Not quite sure what to name this post…

Phil (my oldest younger brother) moved to Maine a couple of weeks ago.  The week before he left Wyatte got sick on Monday, Nevaeh got sick on Thursday, Aubrie got sick on Friday, I got sick on Saturday; and we had a going away supper Saturday night.  So being the wonderful sister that I am I took all my family to the party, even being sick.  I told everyone to stay away from us, but as you can see above that only lasted part of the night.  Mom wanted a picture of all four of us kids, and the boys complied.  It isn’t the greatest picture of us, but hey at least we are all there right!  The sad thing is Phil and Kirk got sick.  Made for an interesting drive to Maine for Phil. 

 

For those of you that haven’t met my family before I am the oldest of the kids, Philip is four years younger than me and is seen in the picture below checking out his new iPhone.  This is my dad, Stan.  (my parents are divorced, but live in the same town)

This is my baby brother, Kirk.  He is eleven years younger than me.  Wyatte is eleven years younger than Kirk.  Kinda fun!  He is the one the kids see the most because he still lives at home with my mom.  Paul is the one in the picture with a beard.  He is the middle brother, and is 8 years younger than me.  He was going to school in Duluth, but in now transferring to ICC for this semester.

 

Anyways, back to the post….  oh wait, I haven’t really felt like blogging lately so I don’t really have anything to say……

Update on Wyatte.

Just thought I would let you know, since a few of you commented on Wyatte and the turtle.  Wyatte seems to be back to normal!  He spent one (late) afternoon, all night and the next day (until about noon) puking.  But the rest of yesterday and all day today he has been fine.  No puking here!  I will make a call to the doctors office tomorrow to see if we need to do anything else, but I think he is ok.  I didn’t really think about it until I was posting the pictures and got to wondering if that could have been what made him sick. 

I hadn’t blogged for a while and really felt like starting there, so apparently God knows what he is doing!  Getting the pic up there and reminding me what could be making him sick…

Oh well, hopefully he is all better!!!

New side bar button.

One of my “cousins” (we share an aunt but on different sides of the family) had a baby that was “born to the angels” last month.  She had as normal a pregnancy as you can have, but when her contractions got close enough to head to the hospital they got some news that no mother or father want to hear.  Avalon had gone to be with Jesus.  Today she posted a picture and a link on facebook that I had to share with you guys.  I was bawling while looking at the pictures, and if you read Christian’s Story (it is a link on the right hand side of the website) be prepared with a box of tissues.  Here is the pictures that Shelby posted

and here is the website that she linked to.  Please check it out.  Heart wrenching it is.  You can also click on the button on the right hand side bar if you would like, it should take you to the website as well.

Tall Timber Days

I have a TON of pictures from things between my last post and this one, but am too tired (I just rollerbladed a couple of miles and am pretty sore too…) to get up and get them.  So for now you are going to have to jump ahead in the Hoard Family Timeline a few events!!!

Every year we have a community event called Tall Timber Days, I guess I don’t really know why, but it is.  Maybe I can look it up and find out.  There are vendors there with all kinds of goodies; cotton candy, mini donuts, gyros, beautiful pictures, doll clothes, carved rocks, engraved picture frames, sports stuff, if you want it you can pretty much find it here!  The town brings in a Lumber Jack Show (which I have pictures of too, but they are on the card that I am too lazy to go get…)  This year it wasn’t as good, alot of adult humor that I don’t think they needed to put in.  The kids did enjoy it and i am grateful for the fact that they are still too young to “get” any of that kind of humor.  No we didn’t win the chair that they accidently make, but we did have fun!  We had a couple extra kids for the show, two of John’s nephews.  Our kids have a ton of fun with them and get along great so it wasn’t really that hard having five!!!  Now if we get pregnant with twins don’t quote me on that!!! 

Part of the festivities on Sunday are a parade.  For the GRHS it is a pretty big deal because it is the first performance after band camp.  Kirk (my baby brother) is in the marching band again this year.  Took me a few pictures to find him, and a fellow parade attendee yelling at me to “Run, Sharalee, Run!!!”

  This was my first picture of him!  Can you find him???

A little better one, but you have to know who you are looking for.  He is the 3rd one in the back row, playing the bari sax.

 

  Here is the crew that we sat with!  All of them are from church.  The W’s, the B’s, the P’s, the C’s, the B’s and us.  Lots of kids huh!!! Aubrie being the candy hound that she is.  She was totally content being held until she realized that they were throwing CANDY!!!  She starts making her little noise, that I can’t figure out how to spell(!!!) and about jumps out of my arms!  Couldn’t hardly keep her still after that.  She is my daredevil too, doesn’t care that there is a car barreling down the road going .0005 miles an hour!!! Wyatte loved this rig most of all.  Not totally sure what it is, anyone else know???  I think our guess was the fire truck at the airport, but… The boy waving in the middle is a friend of our, V.  Wyatte really enjoys spending time with him and was super excited to see him in the parade. One of the only other times Aubrie was still was when she joined Katie Lady in the wagon that Heidi bought at a garage sale (that we got up at a ridiculous hour to drive to Cambridge for!!!  I have pictures from that day too, but guess where they are…  Yep!) Loving the small cars.

Aubrie was getting tired and so buckled her up in the stroller and gave her some animal crackers.   John and I can’t remember the name of the tortoise but the kids loved him! Looking at the turtles before the turtle races. Picking out a “painting” turtle. Getting to touch and closely see the tortoise. The hare didn’t even move!!!  So much for a speedy hare, slow and steady did win the race though!!! Wyatte was trying to whistle to the hare to get him to come!Waiting for his name to be called so he could race a turtle. Nevaeh didn’t want to touch hers, so Grandpa Stan rescued us and helped!  Thanks Grandpa Stan. The turtle at the top middle of the top picture ended up winning, Wyatte and Nevaeh’s turtles the two that are still in the center ring!  They didn’t want to leave home plate… oh well, they still had fun! Enjoying some mini donuts after the races.  Just a note of precaution, make sure you wash your hands after you touch a turtle.  Wyatte has been sick for a couple of days, and we didn’t know why.  I still don’t, but as you can see he was the only one to actually hold the turtle, then didn’t wash his hands and is seen above shoveling donuts into his mouth.  So just be more careful than we were and WASH YOUR HANDS.  Not something that you think of all the time when you are doing this fun kind of stuff, but necessary none-the-less.

Aubrie having fun watching Wyatte and Nevaeh run around.

 

Hope you enjoyed seeing these, and hopefully I will get my butt fingers moving and get some other pictures loaded for you to see what else we have been up to!  Have a great day.