Transformation

I came home from work the other day to a new formal living room. Logan had talked about putting up some leather wall paneling in the room since he got a gift card to Lowe's from his mom this past Christmas.

Unfortunately, when he finally had a couple of days earlier this week, but the leather paneling was discontinued. Instead, he found a wall paper that looked similar and put it up. Pretty good look I think. He started it one morning and had it all finished that afternoon. When he sets out to do something, it usually gets done ultra fast, so I really wasn't surprised.

Just to refresh your memories, I have put up a before picture of the room when we bought the house. We painted it before we ever moved it, but I think the new look gives it a lot of dimension. Thanks for the gift card, Debi!

Original Look

New Look

Baby Harley

Even though I don't have much time for this blog post, I figure the next few weeks won't slow down much, so I guess now is better than later.

After some business meetings in Denver last week, I was able to go home for a couple of days to deliver birthday presents, Father's Days gifts, attend a baby shower and take some photos. It was a whirlwind of a few days but at least Logan was already in Utah for work and was able to meet me at the airport for the quick trip.

The highlight of the weekend was getting to see Jim and Alesia's new baby, Harley James, and take pictures of their family. Although Harley is precious, I think a newborn is a little too much work. I would however be willing to take Sydney home with me for a while. She is a handful, but is oh so cute! Below are a few pictures of their cute family.

But my all-time favorite photo...

Is this one of Harley grinning. Why do you suppose he is so happy? Maybe it is because I caught him in the act of PEEING...on my camera. Yes, folks, that is urine on my lens. No worries though, it is a cute photo and the camera is fine. I guess that is one of the potential hazards of naked baby photography.

Memorial Day Weekend Projects

The weather in California has been great lately. We've had a little rain, but at least it will hold off the rotten summer heat for a little longer. This is a picture of a sunset we had in our backyard earlier this week. I swear the clouds in California look different. Maybe because we are at sea level, I don't know.

It has been a busy couple weeks at the Ipsen residence. I have had a lot of events to attend for work, Logan has been traveling - as usual. After being apart all weekend, we got to have dinner together tonight and then he is off tomorrow morning to work in Missouri for the week. Luckily, I have got more than enough on my plate to get caught up on while he is away. Between sewing some blankets and taking photos here and there, I have a trip to Denver next week for work, going home to Utah for three days and then back to California for an annual meeting at work. July should slow down some, but Logan won't be here much to enjoy it....maybe in August.

This week, I was working on a blessing blanket for my good friend Kristan's baby, Macy Jo. I was glad Kristan asked me to do it because quilt bindings are not my specialty so I could always use the practice. Macy's blanket is the one in the middle below. The blanket on the right is also for Macy just because I like her. The yellow and pink blanket on the left is for one of my mom's waitresses at the cafe who is due in July.

Today, I went up north to Gridley to take pictures of my friend Melanie's large family of 10. Holy cow, she has her hands full. Getting eight children to all look in the same direction is a little challenging, but it was a great experience and we got so many fun shots. Below are just a couple  of my favorites.

I hate to play favorites (but this little guy is probably my favorite.)

Fun Photos

I love talking photos. I really do. Especially when kids are this happy! And he is teething folks and is still such a nice child. These are just a couple that I liked. It is amazing what you can capture in just a few minutes!

Jackson and his dad Justin

Jackson and his mom Julia

He really is all boy. We couldn't keep him away from the truck.

Justin is a guy I work with and he was selected to go on a special nationwide leadership tour and needed a family photo. Plus, Jackson's first birthday is next week so it was a perfect time to get some photos done. There were a lot more photos I liked but I had to stop somewhere. 

Sew Much Fun!!!

All of my grandmas are amazingly talented and crafty and my mom's mother has been an extraordinary seamstress for years. My mom is no slouch either. So, naturally, I never needed to learn to sew. I was always surrounded by women to do the work for me.

I tend to pick up hobbies - like knitting, crocheting and gardening - for short time stints before I get bored out of my wits. So, I have knitting needles, crochet hooks, fabric and yarn filling my storage closets. Hopefully this hobby be different, but only time will tell. I guess watching my mom and grandmas for years may have paid off, because despite not running a sewing machine since 7th grade, it wasn't as difficult as I had imagined.

I take little to no convincing when it comes to most purchases. My cousin Susie and aunt Diane suggested a Brother sewing machine. It fit my budget so that is what I bought. I LOVE it. No bobbin trouble, or anything. It just powered right up and got through my projects like a champ. I didn't even break a needle! For some of you, this may not be that impressive, but I was quite intimidated by the new machine.

It has a lot of adorable stitches too, so I am enthused about finding more home projects.

Isn't she cute?

For those of you in my family who are expecting little ones, try to be surprised when you get something like this in the mail. I couldn't resist showing them off. I kind of want one for myself! Maybe not in baby colors.

These were this weekend's projects. Only about 4 hours each, from start to finish! 

I can't wait to start the next one! 

We are expecting several new baby boys in our family. Hopefully someone will bring a new girl on board in the Ipsen, Stewart or Nelson families soon. I would like to do lavendar and yellow next!

Rollercoaster

I had the opportunity to fly home this weekend to see my family. It was an interesting couple of days filled with emotions - happiness, humor, heartache and hate. My family is great and I am lucky to have supportive people in my life. But the drama and highs and lows of it all sometimes don't seem worth it.

 It is easy to say I will try to stay uninvolved in someone's decisions (or lack thereof) but it is awfully hard to function normally while worrying about other people - especially when their decisions string you and everyone else along for the ride. I sometimes wish I could just get off the ride for a while.

Where We've Been Lately

These are some of Logan's photos that I liked from Big Sky country.

The ones below are a few that I snapped while I was working out of the office this week. These are from in the foothills near Marysville, California.

The difference between Utah's state flower, the sego lily and the California state flower, the orange poppy, is that I can count on one hand the sego lilies I've seen in Utah, but poppies grow EVERYWHERE in California, even in rock beds!