Where Did They Get Their Creative Genes???

My girls never cease to amaze me!  Not because they're mine, but because they came to earth with wonderful talents, determination, intellect, and loving tendancies.  As of late, I have been amazed at their creativity.  Just thought I'd share a bit:

Sarah hosted Katelyn's 1st birthday party in December, and though she was inspired by a party blog and by a couple of Dr. Seuss baby showers that had been hosted by her cousin and sister, she took the idea and ran with it:

The invitation!

A place for the presents in the dining room!



The "adult" table in the dining room



Even the Christmas tree, not yet decorated, took on a Suessical theme!



The mantel in the family room.  Love the characters in the stockings!



The kids' table in the kitchen was based on One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish---notice the fish crackers in the fish bowl for the centerpiece and fish-shaped plates!



Sarah's cousin helped her make the tutu, and Sarah designed the shirt logo and printed it on an iron-on so she could make the shirt.



Then, there was the cake.  Sarah made that, too.



Once Katelyn was moved to the kitchen, she got to "have her cake and eat it, too"!



And...enjoy it, she did!



Sarah customized the party favors:  Yertle the Turtles for the adult couples who came, If I Ran the Zoo Animal Crackers for the toddlers, and candies and Swedish fish (One Fish, Two Fish...) for the older children!  She designed the toppers for the treat bags on the computer.



Disclaimer:  Must tell you that Israel is behind Sarah in every creative pursuit.  He made the lasagne for lunch and supports her through clean-up detail, playing with Katelyn, and contributing his own creative twist!


The next month when Rachel's second, Becca, had her birthday, she chose to have an art-themed birthday party.  Sarah helped by designing the invites for the party:



The cute invitation (sorry for blacking out the address and phone number, safety first).



The first activity of the day was to design their "art" aprons so they would be covered during the other activities.  They each had a customized design at the top with their name on it---computer generated, and designed by Aunt Sarah, and ironed on by Rachel in advance.



Here are their finished products, along with a giant paintbrush created by Rachel's co-partner in creativity, her husband Russ (one swim noodle, a package of black pipe cleaner and some tin foil!).

They created an art gallery in their upstairs hallway.  The kids had a list of objects to be found in the masterpieces  (Rachel teaches art classes at their local co-op school, so she had lots of prints from which to choose; and Russ really pulled this together---they're a great team!).



The kids created masterpieces of their own.  Becca is shown here doing marble painting.  A box, a piece of paper, a marble, and a glob of paint.  It's kind of fun to see what becomes of it!

A variation of musical chairs.  Each kid started out by beginning to draw a picture.  They had to get up and move to the music.  When the music stopped, they had to continue drawing on the picture by which they stopped---usually not their own.  Fun times.

 

Becca with her cake, another "masterpiece" by Rachel.

 

A close-up.



Two and a half weeks later, it was Anna's 6th birthday.  She wanted to have a party with a western theme (cowboys/cowgirls):




Another of Aunt Sarah's designs



Everybody got a cowboy hat and bandana as a favor!




There were even horses!

 

Little brother got in on the fun, too!




Another cute cake by Rachel.

Aunt Sarah also designed a topper for the take-home treats.  It read "Happy Trails".  The bag was full of trail mix!

Two days later (and with Rachel's own birthday, the day in between), it was Isaac's first birthday.  He had a ball-themed family party.  They played with his new balls and went to the park.  And even though Rachel did not want his cake on my blog because she doesn't think it turned out very well, I thought it was cute:




Meanwhile, back in the FREEZER (Rexburg), Abby was creating on her own.  She had to plan a themed dinner party, complete with invitations, decorations, an activity, the menu, the budget, etc. for her meal management class.  She planned a version of the Amazing Race.  She had the dinner on Saturday, February 12th, just in time to celebrate Valentine's Day. The invited husbands went on a "race" through town to gather up their clues and move on to the next spot, ending up at a friend's parent's house for their dinner (an unexpected surprise)!  Abby and a friend had taken clues and things to all sorts of places including local businesses and locations on the BYU-I campus, so the guys were busy for quite a while.  Meanwhile, back at the house, the wives were preparing dinner (it wasn't required that Abby fix it totally on her own---just plan it).  They had fun as they visited, cooked, and made bouquets of Big Hunks for the guys.

When the husbands arrived at their final destination, this is what a awaited them:



Rose petals leading to this...



...a beautiful table set and the first course of dinner waiting for them, along with this...



...a beautiful centerpiece, put together by one of Abby's friends who is majoring in horticulture.



The girls had made "BIG HUNK" bouquets for the guys (the picture was too blurry), but the guys picked up these  bouquets for the girls up on campus as part of their Amazing Race.  All of these flower arrangments were made ahead of time by Summer with each of the girl's favorite flowers.

Since Abby's majoring in Family Consumer Sciences, she's also taking a clothing construction class.  She has been busy sewing.  Here are two of her creations so far this semester:



A plaid, button-down shirt for Steven



Look how she matched the plaids vertically and horizontally on the placket!



She also matched the plaids on yoke and back of the shirt even with the pleat.  Way to go, Ab!



Next project, a pair of striped dress pants for her,...



...completely lined with...



...pockets, and...



...all this detail work!

Pretty good for a girl who never took home economics in middle school or high school.  We paid for her to have sewing lessons only one summer in Sugar Land.  She's a natural!

Each Monday night after Rachel and Russ hold Family Home Evening, they always have a treat.  Since Valentine's Day fell on a Monday this year, this is what they made for their refreshments that night:

The granddaughters are even getting the hang of cake decorating!

Just have to show you another creative work of genius made by my daughter-in-law, Marinda for Conner's birthday in February:



Isn't this the cutest dump truck cake, ever?

 

Of course, Conner enjoyed his cake as well!

 Just last week, Sarah invited the cousins and their kids over for St. Patrick's day and an Irish dinner of corn beef and cabbage (the little kids had their own menu).  Before dinner began though, the little kids, who had come early, got in on some "GREEN" fun!



Katelyn ready to go!

 

The lepruchan left this green lunch box at Sarah's.  Cousin Ike is so excited.  It had magic green potion in it,... 

...perfect for coloring whipped cream for finger painting.

Next project, lepruchan hats for everyone:

Brianne helping her boys, Ike and Jake, make their hats.

 

All the cousins with their hats, but Brynley.  She's MIA for some reason.

  The night also included a treasure hunt with 10 clues and stops that they had to solve/find so they could find the pot of gold:




Looking for the next clue under the couch cushions!



Game Closet---they know the pot of gold is in there...

Gold coins and lots of candy underneath!

They also took a scavenger hunt in the toyroom.  Aunt Sarah had printed cards with pictures of every green toy she could find on them.  They had to look for the items on the cards:




Success!



Benson helped add the magic potion to their dinner!

Dinner was a little on the green side!



Rainbow cupcakes created by Brianne were had for dessert!



Dinner for the adults was held here with a little LUCKY BYU basketball to follow!


And not to leave my Liz out of this equation (she doesn't send pictures very often), she creates a lot of things.  She's become a really good cook and makes really good rolls!  She has sewn some really cute decorative things for the boys.  But a lot of what she's creating right now can't be seen in a picture---it used to be a warm loving environment for an older patient or a soft cushion of compassion and understanding for a family who was losing a loved one.  More recently, it's a safe place, both physically and emotionally, for expectant mothers who are anxious and in pain, as she now is working full-time as a labor and delivery nurse. 

I'm so glad these girls have learned how to create---things, memories, children with inquistive minds, happy homes, fun times, and budding testimonies.  So thankful to have them around to teach me.