outside shenanigans

Ella LOVES playing outside, especially in the water. Here are a few pictures of her outdoor adventures :)

fess up friday fifth edition

It is safe to say that whilst in my youth I was a bit of a character.I pretty much did silly things with my friends all the time and because of modern technology, was able to record it. But these pictures and videos are safely stored on my computer, away from the public eye...or so i thought...

fast forward to Christmas day 2012. We are having dinner at my parents with my grandparents and siblings with their significant others. I am in the kitchen with my mom, helping her clean up when I hear my dad say "You guys have to see this video. I was cleaning out my old computer when I came across a bunch of videos, I have to show you."
and then I hear christina aguilaras "genie in a bottle" and that takes me back to high school when my friends and I would create silly dances that we would sometimes record....WAIT A SECOND

I sprint out into the living room "NOOO dad DONT show them!"
but it was too late.
this gem was already halfway through and there was nothing I can do




the really terrible thing is there are literally 16 other videos (including a pregnant version) that they consecutively watched, laughing their heads off as I hid in the kitchen

the moral of the story is to delete any video of you doing embarrassing things with your friends because it will surface...somehow

*also I would like to apologize to the other dancers for posting this video...but...it's funny

doTERRA

I dont know if you guys have heard of doTERRA, but to give you a brief description, they are natural essential oils that can be used to cure...just about everything.
To be honest, I was wary of them at first. It sounded a little hokey pokey to me, I just rub this oil on this part of my body and it feels better? I dont buy it. But my mother, who was a massage therapist, is very much into oils and swears by them and gave me a start up kit because she loves me.
I have finally started using them. and they. are. amazing.
For example:
Lately I have been experiencing a bit of a cough, not a painful one, just an annoying one that keeps me up at night. I have tried, Dayquil, Nyquil, Tylenol cold and flu, but nothing was working. SO last night I whipped out my essential oils, looked up coughing and did what it said. I diluted "breathe" and rubbed it on my throat and chest and then I diluted "On Guard" and gurgled some of that stuff. I slept like a baby. IT WAS SO AMAZING!
Another thing that sold me was my sisters experience: Her daughter, Tessa, had a lot of problems when she was a baby (not serious ones) but she would get really bad diaper rashes, ear infections, and had acid reflux. The medicine that the doctors gave her weakened her immune system which led her open to many more infections. So Mallory decided to stop giving her the medicine and try the oils and she said it was such a great decision! Her experience is here:
http://malandmitch.blogspot.com/2012/07/doterra-love.html

I think what I also really love about doTERRA is their variety. they dont just have oils, but they also have face wash, lotion, shampoo, conditioner, vitamins etc. Michael LOVES the vitamins and religiously takes them everyday and he loves their toothpaste! He suffers from canker sores, but when he uses the doTERRA toothpaste, he NEVER gets them :) I have never had a canker sore personally, but I guess they are pretty terrible.

Anyways I just wanted to let you guys know about it, it is something that works for me and my family. If you have a young child I HIGHLY recommend using these. I hate giving Ella Tylenol and stuff because I know it is so bad for liver/body. I love that doTERRA is natural, so i dont really have to worry about "overdosing" and they are so safe to use on babies. I firmly believe that there are a lot of cures to ailments through diets and natural resources, we just need to educate and spread the word! If you want to looks at it yourself here is their website:
http://www.doterra.com/us/index.php

If you have any questions just let me know, and if you are interested in a product please let me know because i can give you my code that gives you a discount!

so it's a crazy story...

A week from last Tuesday, April 2, Michael and I returned from our class. I immediately left to go get Ella at Michaels moms house. When I got there I got a phone call from Michael asking if Harvey was with me, when I told him he wasn't, Michael said he was going to go out looking for him because he wasnt home. (We figured he must have slipped out when we were leaving for class and didnt notice) About an hour later I got another call from Michael, crying (sorry honey) sayings that Harvey was dead. I drove right back home and Michael said that he went across the street (we live in front of a busy road) and he was asking the neighbors if anyone has seen him. Well one neighbor lady came up to Michael and said that about a couple hours ago a guy was knocking on peoples doors. I guess he hit and killed a tiny dog. Then our neighbor lady described harvey perfectly and then she told michael that his head was all crushed in and he was dead. But the guy didnt leave his number and we walked up and down the street looking for Harveys body. We couldnt find it, we called the vet and animals shelters around our area, but we still couldnt find him. We assumed that the guy took him and buried him. Also, that very morning Michael took off Harveys collar because we were going to shave him/give him a bath. So he didnt have his name tag/our info on him!
Our little family was heartbroken, and it was hard not having his body because we didnt know for sure, but at the same time we were afraid to find it because the lady gave michael a pretty gory description. But after a couple days and no news we finally accepted the fact that Harvey was dead. Fast forward to yesterday, April 12 (Michaels birthday). I get a call from my sister in law, Emily. Apparently she was telling her friend Sara Slate about how Harvey died/the situation. Sara then said "that is so weird, the other day I saw a dog on El Dorado Exchange that looked just like Harvey" (El Dorado Exchange is a facebook page for people who live in el dorado county, you can sell used items, or whatever on there)
So Emily checked out the picture and thought "that looks just like Harvey!" she tried calling Michael, but he was off riding his new motorcycle, so she got a hold of me. Long story short we contacted the person who posted the picture and we were able to pick him up that night! He wasnt injured except for some minor cuts, and the family said they found him a couple miles up the road from our house.

So I have no idea what our neighbor lady was talking about! Maybe a little dog got hurt and because she was used to seeing harvey I think maybe she just assumed it was him? or maybe she hated him and drove him a couple miles away and dropped him off and then told us he was dead?! I DONT KNOW! but I also dont care. He is home and alive!

Fess up Friday..and by Friday I mean Tuesday..fourth edition

the time where I hear the truth:

I have always considered myself a tom boy. I enjoy sports and I usually had more guy friends than girls. I just always got a long with them better. So when I moved to BYUH it was no surprise to me that one of my best friends that I met there was a guy. We were close and we usually hung out with a certain group of guys. However, the strict rules at BYUH would not let us be in each other hales (dorms) which is understandable at a church school. But one day (hypothetically, and I say hypothetically because if i were to say that I actually did do this there is a good chance that I wouldnt get back into any church school, and even though that is not my plan, I like to keep my options open) Anyways one day this particular group of guys were talking about their fifa tournaments (soccer videogame) and I decided I wanted in on that action. So we (hypothetically) decided it would be a good idea if I dressed myself up like a guy and snuck into the male dorms so I can participate in these soccer tournaments. And so I did. (and just so you know I have found that I have a certain skill at being able to look male, which I decided is a talent and lets just leave it at that.) Everything was going fine, and we were playing away and then we hear a knock on the door.

OH NO

I would also like to add that the honor code at BYUH is extremely strict, if I was caught I easily would have been expelled from school. and so would have everybody in the room. I guess at the time it didnt really matter to us...

so everybody kinda freaks out, they push me into the closet, shut/lock the doors and hide any evidence that there is a girl hiding in the room. Come to find out it is only Rob, who is not part of the close group but, a mutual friend. So i breathe a sigh of relief that it is not a RA, but we still dont want him to know that I am there, because some people are tattle-tells. Anyways I am crouched down in this tiny closet, listening to chit chat, when one of the guys (who knew I was in the closet and knew i could hear EVERYTHING) thought it might be funny to ask this Rob person what he thought about me. Now the person who asked the question is actually a very nice guy and I am sure he thought Rob was going to admit he was secretly in love with me. However, that is not what happened. This is the conversation that took place

Friend: so what do you think of this Sarah Welty girl
Rob: I dont know. I dont understand what the big deal about her is (I wasnt aware that I was a big deal, by the way) she is not that cute, she isnt even that cool. I dont understand why guys like her. I dont get it. I mean if she was cute I would get it, but she isn't.

OUCH

Friend: (who is obviously embarrassed and feels bad that he even brought it up): Oh...I dont know I think she is pretty cool and I think she is cute (which I am pretty sure he didnt, i think he was just trying to make me feel better)
Rob: Why?
Friend:....awkward silence...


eventually Rob left and I was let out of the closet with awkward apologies. To be honest it didnt hurt my feelings that bad, I am fully aware that I am not the most attractive gal, and it would be silly to assume that every male on this earth thought I was cute. but he didnt think I was cool? I mean COME ON! Lets look at the facts:

I won SECOND place in a hula hoop contest on New years eve while dressed in my little sisters pirate costume. COOL

I am extremely talented at making ugly faces. COOL

I dressed up like Chris Farley at a church summer camp! (I also was the reason why cross-dressing was no long allowed during skits at girls camp) COOL

AND when I was in high school this is how I took pictures with my friends!


In Jr. High I would wear capes and toe socks to school on special occasions! if that doesnt make me cool, then I dont know what does.

anyways, we eventually told Rob about me hearing everything he said when we were dropping him off at the airport later that year. This pure look of horror came over his face when I repeated word for word what he said about me. It was hillarious and amazing. and for like 2 months after that he would randomly message me on a facebook telling me that his fiance/sister/friend/ thought I was cute. Which is even more funny...uh thanks?

anyways the moral of the story is to watch what you say about people because they might be hiding in the closet.

The End.

Harvey Birdman Danger

This post is to celebrate the commemorate the life of Harvey Birdman Danger. Unfortunately he passed away earlier this week and even though this dog absolutely drove me crazy (and just about everybody else) 95% of the time. He was still a great dog and we will miss him immensely


We'll miss you Harvey!

Ella 15 Month Update!

- she LOVES to play outside. she would be outside all day if I would let her
- she loves to talk and babble. Some of her favorite words are : doggie, daddy, mama, ooooh, hot, hat, eye, belly, bunny, nice, bye, hiii, whats that,
- she REFUSES to say the word please. REFUSES! she has not said it once. usually when I say "say horse" or something she will usually attempt if not say the word horse. but she WILL NOT even try with please. I dont know if this is some sort of mother-daughter power struggle or maybe she just doesn't understand the concept.
- LOVES Toy Story. She will sit and watch that movie on repeat. We bought her a Woody doll for Easter and I am SO excited to give it to her :)
- wears size 4 diapers
- eats everything and loves it. but some of her favorite dishes are pizza, spaghetti (she thinks the long noodles are so cool), bananas, cheese, and of course ice cream

- still loves her bottle. That is how we usually lay her down for her naps or bedtime is with a bottle, but next week I am going to try and take it from her, but I have no idea what I am doing. Help?!
- loves to play tag
- loves to climb onto couches and then calmly walks off the edge (she has done this twice and thankfully has not hurt herself)
- whenever she is eating something she always says "mmmmmm"
- she usually takes about 2 2-hour naps during the day and sleeps about 10-12 hours a night. she is a great sleeper and I am SO thankful for that

- stuffed animals/babies are her absolute favorite and she is usually never without one
- she loves to pretend that random things are purses/necklaces and she walks around the house with her little arm holding a purse and something around her neck saying "ooh peeetty"

- she also loves to do your make up (by brushing make up brushes on your face) and brush your teeth (but not hers, that is usually a struggle) and brush hair

- she also loves to play clean up. Michael has this jar filled with guitar picks, she LOVES to pour all the guitar picks out and then put them back in one by one and then says "all done!"
- is a little sweetheat, when she sees someone crying (like babies in nursery at church) she just goes up and hugs them
- MY FAVORITE part of the day is getting her out of her crib in the morning. she usually gets so excited to see me that she runs around her crib and does a little dance, and then when I pick her up she ALWAYS gives me a hug and pats me on the back. it melts me and is my favorite part of the day

words cannot describe how much I love this little girl!

swings

Today, Michael decided that he wanted to make a swing for Ella. and he did. and she loved it. Here are the girls on their first swing, Tessa wasnt so sure about it. it was amazing :)

fess up friday...third edition

the one where i freak out:

This one just recently happened and I am proud to add it to my collection of embarrassment.

I live in Placerville, well actually I live in Diamond Springs, which are both not very well known. All you need to know for those who are from Sacramento area is that I live where you guys travel to to go camping. It is nice, and beautiful, but there are a lot of critters. Well lately at the Cray household we have been having problems with skunks, they have been coming around the house and in our attempt to kill them they spray and the house smells like skunk for a good amount of time. Well I have class two times a week from 5 PM to 10 PM and I was running late to class. Usually I leave my car windows down because I like to leave my keys in my car at my house (only if you saw where I lived you would understand) and I also leave my car windows down because my car likes to randomly lock itself (which I unfortunately learned at a gas station and had to wait two hours before michael got off work to pick me up) anyways I was running late to class and I jump in my car and zoom off. As I was driving I thought I heard an animal scurrying around. I thought it was my dog, Harvey Danger, Who looks like this:

so I call his name and nothing happens..which isnt too odd considering he is a very rude dog and rarely does what he is told (my fault really) so I call his name again and again nothing happens. So i dont worry about it and i keep driving, a few second later i hear the sound again. this time i am kinda weirded out, soo I take a quick glance over my right shoulder to make sure a killer isnt in my car and I see... a skunk.

Now is about the time i thoroughly freak out, but quietly because I dont want to scare it and have it spray in my car! So i start saying "oh my gosh its a skunk its a skunk" and i pull over my car on the side of the road...I slowly get out of the car...and I am just trying to figure out how to get this thing out of my car without scaring it! So i slowly open the back door...I slowly open the other back door and then I just stand back away from the car and I hope that the little thing will scurry out on its own. So I wait..and I wait...but I am impatiently waiting because I am sitll late to class. Finally i start to dial my husbands number because he knows what to do in every situation. But he doesnt answer. SO finally I decided I am going to check up on this little guy...I slowly creep forward (for real I am like tip toeing) and then I peak in the backseat...and I see some fur...and then I get a little closer...and closer...

and I realize that the skunk that i was terrified of was actually my fur hood on my coat which was on the floor in my backseat. awesome.

and I was late to class

oh dear

For those of you who follow me on instagram/facebook I am sure you have seen the pictures i have posted of the paintings I copied from Katie Daisy. I am a HUGE fan of her work and i loved copying her paintings for fun. If you want to see some more of her amazing pieces she has a shop on etsy called thewheatfield and it is AMAZING.

It was while I was copying some of her stuff that I thought that maybe I can create some of my own with using her as my inspiration. Therefore the creation of Latter Day Sayings. I was pretty excited about it! At first I was nervous that she would be upset that the sayings I was making would be so similar to hers, and then I thought "this girl is so talented and so successful that she wont care what the heck I do. I mean she has contracts with pottery barn, she has sold over 20,000 items on etsy, she has illustrated a book for crying out loud!" So i decided not to worry about it. and Honestly i figured she would appreciate me trying to create my own then just copy hers. So I set to work. and then yesterday I got a comment on my instagram account on a picture I posted:



"you are very talented but I wish you wouldn't copy another artist's work. Develop your own style it will feel a lot more rewarding and you certainly have the talent to do so. I noticed the artist has seen your work."

To be honest I am not sure how I should respond to this. I have no idea who this person is. I am extremely aware that it is similar to katie daisy, I have no problem admitting that she is absolutely my inspiration for these sayings and I give all the credit to her. But is this person right? Should I be ashamed that I didnt come up with an original idea? I dont know and I am seriously considering just shutting down my etsy shop. The last thing I want to do is offend others. I think right now I am just a little heartbroken.

Latter Day Sayings

Hello All! If you are my friend on facebook then this post may seem redundant, but I just wanted to share with everyone that I have opened my own etsy shop!!! I am pretty excited about it! I decided to name it Latter Day Sayings because there are so many inspirational sayings that I grew up with in the LDS faith, and I just wanted to share those sayings with everyone! I have LOTS more that I plan to paint/create, but I figured that I would just add them as I go. Here are a some that I have done so far and you can order!












A few more ideas that I was thinking of creating are:

1. A true love story never ends (with temple) - I actually already created this but the scan didnt come out very well so I am going to have to think of something else
2. Find Joy in the Journey - Quote by Thomas S. Monson
3. Love at home


If you have any ideas or suggestions I would love to hear them!!
and for those of you who are not LDS, please dont feel left out! I feel like these sayings can be applied to anyone and I am also creating some that have nothing to do with religion! Those will be posted as soon as I create them also :)