Dress Design for Shabby Apple Dresses

Here are some dress designs for Shabby Apples Dare to Design contest.
For this dress I see it in a crisp white cotton but I think that navy would be a better choice because I don't see myself wearing a white dress. The ruffle would go all the way around and end at the hem. The sash would also go all the way around and tie in a big bow. I nice fit on top and an a-line skirt that goes just past the knee.
For the dress above it would be in a grass green knit. 3 pleats in the front and a fit like a favorite t-shirt that flares out at the hips. I also think this dress would be cute with a leather belt or a scarf at the waist to make is a little more flattering for some.
For this dress I like buttercup yellow or robins egg blue. The fabric would be cotton for the main dress and a matching silk for the ruffles. Three ruffles on each side of a button up top and three ruffles at the bottom. The skirt is gathered with a sash between that ties in the back.

I have had a great time thinking about these dresses. I wish I was better at drawing and explaining my idea. I love that Shabby Apple designs modest and stylish dresses. Thank you for the contest, I have already had a great time.

So there's one worth while thing to do in Utah County

Rob has been wanting to go to Timpanogos Cave for a while now. We decided to stay the night in Salt Lake and go to the cave. It was a perfect day to be outside.
We started up the mile and a half trail. It was a little intense for me because of my fear of heights but Amy stayed by my side and held my hand.
Her fingers weren't that purple.
The cave was very interesting and fun to go through. There are some tight spots but Jenna didn't seem to have a problem.
We were parked by the river. It was very pretty with the leaves on the ground.
We drove the Alpine Loop and ended up at Bridal Veil Falls.
It was a beautiful fall day. I am very glad that Rob talked me into it. I love to spend time with my family. I have the best one.

It's Done

The painting portion anyway. I finally got my living room/kitchen painted. It took a year to get paint samples, then 4 months to decide on a color, 3 more months to get started and 2 months to finish. It ended up that I painted the family room too. I am very happy with it and now on to hanging stuff on the walls. I am wanting to change things up a little so we will see how long that takes to decide. I couldn't find a good picture of the before but here is a little bit of what it is like now. I know it isn't a great picture but it is a really subtle gray with some blue. I think the blue furniture bring that out more.

The Conversation I Never Thought I Would Have

Jenna: Mom, we need some plastic gloves.

Me: What for?

Jenna: A grasshopper is having babies and we are trying to pull them out.

The BIG 1-0

I can't believe Amy has been a part of our life for 10 years now. She is growing up a little too fast. She had a party and invited 12 girls. She has a lot of friends. I guess that comes with being such a nice girl.

They played water balloon volleyball and through water balloons at each other because it was so hot. She didn't want a cake this year just ice cream so she had a sundae bar at her party.

She told me more than once that it was the best party, so at least the goal was accomplished. She is a great girl and I love to celebrate that every year.

Back To School

I guess you could say that the first day of school was a success. Amy said that her teacher is really nice. I guess she had heard differently but she said she thought she would like her. I can't believe 5th grade is here already. My baby is growing up. I guess that means I have to grow up too.

Jenna said that it was the best school day ever. I am glad that she likes it. We have been fortunate to have good teachers for her. I think she will like 2nd grade.

Yes, she did get her hair cut. I would have liked it a little longer but she really wanted it short. There are just some battles not worth fitting.

Vacation

This post will be mostly pictures with a little explanation. We had a great vacation to South Dakota. We saw a lot and I took a lot of pictures. First of all we stayed 3 nights in Deadwood, SD. It is an old mining town and had a gold rush in 1876. Wild Bill Hickok was killed and buried there. Calamity Jane wanted to be buried next to him so she is buried there also. It was a cool little town in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
This was the sunrise over Bear Lake on our way to South Dakota.Our first glimpse of Mt. Rushmore.

We walked all around the trails and learned a lot about the making of this monument.

You can't tell in the picture but this tunnel frames Mt. Rushmore. We drove on the Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway. It was built for the views. We went through 3 tunnels that all framed Mt. Rushmore.

We came upon some wild burros. As soon as you stopped the car they came over for some food. We had some carrots in the car so we feed them a little. They stuck their noses right in.

We drove on the Needles Highway. There were 3 more tunnels on that road.

We drove over to Crazy Horse Memorial. We watched a movie about how it all got started. It was very interesting to see all the work that goes into it.

The next day we went to Badlands National Park. On the way there we stopped and fed some prairie dogs. We also made a stop at Wall Drug.

The next day we headed to Montana. We made a stop at Devils Tower and went to Custer's Last Stand. We spent the night in Hardin, MT.

We started on our way to Yellowstone through the Bear Tooth Pass. It was an amazing climb to 10,947 ft elevation. That road made me a little (Rob would say a lot) nervous. Lots of switch backs on the side of a mountain.

Once at the top it was totally worth it. The lakes and meadows were incredible.

We stayed the night in Yellowstone and saw a few on the sights there before going to the Nelson Reunion.

On our last day we stopped at Rob's 20 year High School Reunion. We got there a little late so he didn't get to see many people. After it was all over we all felt like this.
It was a great vacation. If you haven't been I recommend it.