Inspired to Sew

Orange Ribbons Everywhere

2011-04-14T16:45:00.000-07:00

Last September our incredible friends in our neighborhood decided to surprise our family with orange ribbons on every tree in the neighborhood! They were placed on each tree to honor my husband John during his fight with Leukemia. We woke up to an orange ribbon decorated porch and at first didn't realize they were on every tree! It was a wonderful surprise just to see what our friends had done for our own home. They also put a beautiful poster on our door.

When we made it outside later to take the kids to school we were overwhelmed by a sea of orange! Just to drive down the street made me tear up with the thought of our friends spending so much time planning, making, and then attaching all those ribbons. Still today we have people ask if the ribbons are for us. Yes, the ribbons are still on most of the trees! It has been so many months and they are looking a little tired after all this time, but they still make me smile every time I walk or drive down our street. It is an amazing reminder of the love and support we have here in First Light. We truly have the BEST neighborhood. Funny story...back in October last year someone commented on how much our neighborhood must love Halloween since we had "decorated" with all the orange ribbons! Anyone that drives into our neighborhood is impacted by the sea of orange ribbons, especially when they find out it's been done to honor John and our family.

Thank you First Light friends so much! We are truly blessed.

Inspired by Cookbooks

2011-04-04T20:49:00.000-07:00

There are always cookbooks and recipes waiting to be read or tried here at the Wright house. The picture below is a recent collection of cookbooks that Peyton and I picked up at the library. Jamie Oliver is a fav of course, especially with his amazing work with the Food Revolution. I can't wait to see the new season starting on April 12th on ABC.

Giada De Laurentiis and Ina Garten are two amazing ladies we love to watch on tv and get inspired by their many cookbooks too. Martha Stewart's Cookies book is full of mouth watering photos. All the kids have found recipes they want to bake. We might need to renew that one a few times just to have time to try them. Next week in cooking class we'll be making Blueberry Sour Cream Muffins from a wonderful new cookbook called The Sono Baking Company Cookbook by John Barricelli. I think I'll be adding this one to my kitchen wish list. I had been searching for a recipe to prepare with my HSC kids for the spring semester to substitute for the Cranberry Apple Crisp we prepared in the fall. The trickiest part to teaching cooking classes in about an hours time is it has to be prepped/prepared/cooked or baked all in that one hour! So needless to say it can be a challenge. But I have to say it is a very fun challenge. I'll let you know how the Blueberry muffins turn out in class.

3rd installment of Disneyland pictures

2011-04-04T12:49:00.000-07:00

Well I guess these are mostly California Adventure pictures. Here's Minnie in her flight suit signing the kid's books and Brena's Wright Cause t-shirt. JoJo is looking on since she got Minnie to sign her's already back at Minnie's house in Toon Town.

JoJo wasn't going to sit out of a photo op though. It was so fun to see all the kids get excited about pictures with the characters, especially the big kids.

Lightning McQueen and Mater were not into signing autograph books but they posed well for pictures.

Delanie and Peyton loving the vintage Minnie Mouse.

The ferris wheel on Paradise Pier is HUGE! All those compartments where you sit slide along towards the center and back as the wheel rotates. I just said no to that ride. But it sure looks cool from far away.

BFF's

Not sure where I was while these were being taken? This is a great photo op location! BFF's in a box!

Brother action figures take one...

Brothers in action take two!

Back at Disneyland, the whole gang of kids with Goofy. Q is playing the part of Goofy's understudy.

Madhatter was awesome! He had so much personality and really interacted with the kids. They got into the crazy spirit too!

It really is all about the cupcakes these days. Delanie and Peyton were loving all the candy shops and bakery's with cupcakes and super fun treats.

More Memories from Disneyland

2011-03-28T21:54:00.000-07:00

Here's on of our favorite rides, Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters in Tomorrowland. Q is giving the thumbs up that he's ready for a fun ride with his sister! John is already holding onto the blaster gun. He's not too competitive. :-)

JoJo hoping to get some points by shooting the camera.

JoJo posing by the Buzz Lightyear map.

Switching gears, here's my little driver! Kind of scary to see into the future. I was driving with her and that's how I got this close up picture of her concentrating. She could barely see over the wheel.

This ride is just like I remember it from years ago. I guess the car models are a bit more updated but still a great time cruising through Autopia in Tomorrowland.

When we first got to Anaheim the kids noticed all the palm trees. I wasn't driving so I could snap up pictures of the beautiful surroundings.

Grammy Janet helping get the Goofy hat set just right so it wouldn't fall over JoJo's eyes.

The final shot with the hat in place. Yeah, she doesn't like getting her picture taken.

After enjoying the Astro Blasters we got the chance to meet Buzz in person! JoJo noticed him and asked to get in line. So Grammy and I waited with her since the others were on Space Mountain. Perfect timing they came looking for us and JoJo was just about to the front of the line. He's signing all the kids books as they watch in amazement.

Then here's the final shot with Q and his thumbs up again!

Back to the Mad Hatter shop...Goofy and Donald in disguise.

I couldn't take a good picture of both faces at the same time. Can you tell it's Q under that famous quacker?

JoJo was the queen of trying on hats. It is amazing to see all the choices of hats and ears they offer now at Disneyland. Anything you can imagine they will make for you.

Here's Sorcerer JoJo using some of her magic and putting a spell on the camera.

I loved this shot of the giant Etch a Sketch.

Let the Memories Begin!

2011-03-14T22:37:00.000-07:00

This is the iconic Disneyland sign that sits in the middle open area between Disneyland park and California Adventure park. I, of course, didn't catch the sign while it read Disneyland. Here it is showing pictures of many happy faces on kids of all ages.

JoJo was waiting so patiently while John got our tickets. She was taking in all the details...like the Mickey head shaped benches and the monorail tracks.

We first went to City Hall to get John's special pass. Donald was hanging out right outside but the kids weren't used to lines yet and didn't want to wait for his autograph. They learned more about lines as the days went by.

There's Sleeping Beauty's castle and our crew about to walk through it! It was so fun to see the excitement for every new thing they discovered.

JT and Quinn were fascinated by the "magic" apple. When touched the witch's voice spoke.

JoJo didn't like the Snow White ride too much. I think the fact that it's called Snow White's Scary Adventure should have been our first clue, but it had been a long time since we'd been on it. I know that's a poor excuse for traumatizing her. We all decided to go on It's a Small World next to convince her that there are very fun and not scary rides at Disneyland. Something new is all the characters from movies that they have put into the doll form and strategically place throughout the lands. Here's some I snapped up...Alice, Dori, and Woody and Jessie.

I did remember all the fun shaped bushes at Disneyland and Peyton requested pictures of the elephant and giraffe, her favorite animals right now. They were super cute and hard to resist snapping their pictures.

Okay that's all for today. I'll post more pictures and details from our amazing trip real soon.

Disneyland 2011

2011-03-13T14:30:00.000-07:00


The boys were super excited even at 6:30 am when we left for the airport!


The girls were a little more subdued...they would have loved a little more sleep before heading off to Disneyland.


Grandpa Chuck dropped us off at the airport. Then when bags were checked and the gate was found we settled in for a bit of a wait. There were the readers and the DS players. And then there was the "coffee" drinker too!

John was so ready to get to a true shorts weather destination.

The plane going was not full at all and we enjoyed stretching out with lots of space.

Green Grocery Bag Challenge

2010-11-27T23:20:00.000-08:00

After hearing about the possible link of lead in reusable grocery bags made in China, my heart just sank. After finally getting so many people on board to shop with cloth bags it seemed to be a slap in the face for all the efforts. However....there is a better way! I was privileged to learn about the Green Bag Lady from a friend's blog about a year ago. And now, Sew Mama Sew has put a challenge on the table...the sewing table that is. Green Grocery Bag Challenge is a way for each of us to really use our resources and abilities to help out one gift at a time this Christmas season and beyond. Check out all the highlighted links and learn more about this great idea.

ps. I was fortunate enough to win a Green Bag Lady bag (#8321) for myself and one to give away to a friend last year.

13,445 Green Bag Lady Bags Given Away!

Green Bag Lady bags are being used in 2415 cities in every U.S. state

plus 349 cities in 206 territories/provinces/countries world wide

It really has made an impact on me and my family to reuse bags and take along our own whenever possible.

DQ Night was So FUN!

2010-11-07T15:56:00.000-08:00

This was after we had already eaten our fill of yummy Dairy Queen Blizzards!

The place was packed with dear friends and others that had no idea why it was

so crazy for a Thursday night.

Good friends and yummy treats...what more can a girl ask for?

It took a while to get these guys to stand still for a picture, but how cute are they?

All pink and smiles and filled to the brim with ice cream.

Brothers bonding over Blizzards, ahhhh.

Do the WRIGHT thing. Thanks DQ and Leanne!

On our way home, one more photo to remember this amazing night!

Friends are Awesome!

2010-11-04T14:12:00.000-07:00

Tonight we are headed to Dairy Queen for a special event set up by our wonderful neighbors. Our local DQ is generously donated some of their profits to help with our medical bills for John. I want to take pictures to share since I forgot to do that for the Chick Fil A fundraiser last month! That was an incredible event too. Some other neighbors spearheaded that crazy day and it was a blast! Thank you Larkridge Chick Fil A! You are an amazing resource for our community.

a winning prize for JoJo

2010-07-19T00:00:00.000-07:00

Oh My Handmade Goodness is a wonderful blog that gives great advice about running a small business. Lots of successful business owners offer tips and tools on how they have made it to where they are today. I really enjoy reading this blog because my heart is still in the entrepreneur mind set. I love reading how others have taken something they love doing and turned it into a business.
Their tag line is...

Oh My! Handmade Goodness is a community for independent children’s retailers and the hip parents who support them.

So I entered a comment to win a birthday shirt for JoJo and what a wonderful surprise when I read email the other morning and saw my name in print on the blog.

The winner of the Little Cupcakes Company birthday shirt is:
Comment # 46 from Stacy (inspiredtosew.at.yahoo.com)!
Congratulations and thank you to Little Cupcakes Co. for another great giveaway!

She is going to love it! I picked the Polka Dot Princess Tee - in Lavendar and Pink

New Curtains?

2010-04-04T22:43:00.000-07:00

Here's a wonderful blog I enjoy reading called i have to say . Randi has a fabric store on Etsy called Fresh Squeezed Fabrics. She's having a sale and a giveaway for a $50 gift certificate to shop in her store. Well I'm sharing the good news in hopes to be a winner! I love these two fabrics by Laura Gunn and thought they'd make some beautiful new curtains in our kitchen.

Pictures Are So Precious!

2010-03-17T13:49:00.000-07:00

Our Mac was having trouble and John took it in to have it looked at. A couple hours later he called with good and bad news. Good news...the computer was fixed (or so they thought). Bad news....we lost our hard drive! Including 3 years of precious pictures of birthday parties, trips, every day silliness etc, etc, etc. I cried and cried remembering all the beautiful memories. Then I realized that I still had so many pictures from so many other special times. It made me realized just an eensy, weensy bit of how it would feel to lose everything to a fire or other natural disaster. Thinking of Katrina and Haiti and Chili survivors....wow, I'll take some pictures being lost anyday. I pray I can remember that when I'm so caught up in my selfish little world. In honor of the "lost" pics I'm posting some incredible ones we still have of wonderful memories to cherish.

Good times, good times!

For you Grammy!

2010-03-04T13:22:00.000-08:00

Looking through old pictures on the Dell computer and found this treasure from last summer!

It feels just a tiny bit like spring is here and then summer is around the corner.

The whole neighborhood is coming out of the winter hideouts of our homes. I love to see the kids riding bikes and playing at the park. The bummer is with all the beautiful sunshine coming in I really see the dust on our shutters! Spring cleaning time would be about right.

Valentine's Extravaganza!

2010-02-21T09:38:00.000-08:00

Here are some fun pictures from Valentine's prep, off to school to share goodies with friends and Valentine's morning too.

Quinn and JT gave these fun treats out to their friends and teachers. I got the idea here and here .

They love music and playing guitar hero too, so these seemed a great match for them.

JoJo LOVES cotton candy and I found the perfect idea here to make goodies to share with her friends and teacher. She created her own stamped cards and wrote Love, JoJo on each one!

She was very proud and excited to get to school.

Peyton was so excited and prepared pink heart pancakes for the little kids and even

had gifts for each of them. Misty got into the spirit of the day too!

I've been wanting to cover our couch pillows for quite awhile and took advantage of the beautiful red print fabric I got from you mom at Christmas. I made the cover double thick and added some cotton batting to camouflage the pokey feathers that are in the stuffing.

I appliqued felt hearts on the back and added buttons to help secure the ties. I wanted it to be zipper free and it has been fun to have something cute on the back when I find the pillow on the floor!

Getting ready for Valentine's Day was so fun and celebrating the actual day with the family was even better! I had a couple other things I did to decorate and celebrate the kids. I post some pics when I snap them up before the decorations come down.

2010-02-08T22:18:00.000-08:00

Remembering Hawaii 2 years ago for our anniversary.

Our anniversary this year, all about the Colorado snow.

Love, love, love giveaways!

2009-11-27T21:37:00.001-08:00

One of the many blogs I love to check out is Natalie Jost's. Her design work is so incredible and she is just so real! Very inspiring to see such a successful faithful woman. She is doing a giveaway on Paper n Stitch you don't want to miss!

Little girls will be little girls

2009-11-16T13:21:00.000-08:00

Little girls will be little girls. Mondays are my day to have a small group of kindergarten girls over after school. 3 is a tricky number for little girls to play together. There always seems to be the 2 to 1 issue happening at some point in their play time. Drama is added to the most simple task and seems to add to the emotional climate. They are all wanting to be little leaders but can't always figure out how to handle it without stepping on others toes. Today I had them start a surprise craft project that hopefully will turn into some Christmas gifts for their families. I need to go check on their progress and see how they've done.

just the beginning

2009-10-25T22:57:00.000-07:00

Just the beginning of my blogging experience. I'm not very good at sending photos and emails to all I care about so my hope is to turn this into a resource for anyone to catch up on our crazy family life and the fun we are having living it! The clock hit 12:00 I must get some zzzzzzzzzzz's.