Books...oh, how I've missed you

I got some time to read while on vacation. I highly recommend these titles:

7    by Jen Hatmaker

When I Lay My Isaac Down  by Carol Kent

Choosing to See by Mary Beth Chapman

And the next two books on my pile:

Interrupted by Jen Hatmaker

(Thanks Mindy)

So Long, Insecurity by Beth Moore

(I have owned this for several years...I am determined to get it read!)

July--Colorado vacation

It has been a good month, with lots of stuff going on. We enjoyed a vacation to Colorado--our first family trip to Colorado during the summer. Everyone loved it, although there was still a lot of talk about snow skiing. We traveled to the ski resort Beaver Creek, where we have gone in January for the past 5 years. This year in January, there wasn't enough snow to ski. We rescheduled our trip to July and it worked out great!

We left behind wretched Iowa weather--high temps near 100 or more each day and humidity that felt like a rain forest. Colorado delivered well, with afternoon highs around 80 degrees and lows in the 40s each night. I love the days of jackets in the morning/evening and t-shirts in the afternoon!

We enjoyed hiking, white water rafting, fishing, horseback riding, mountain biking, our favorite pizza joint, beautiful scenery in the Rocky Mountains, and time to relax and spend time together as a family.

Diaper Cake

My last two baby shower gifts have been diaper cakes. They are simple to make and no worries about giving something the parents don't need. I chose Pampers swaddlers, because they are mostly white without many pictures or designs. Size one diapers seemed like the best choice, since they won't be outgrown too quickly. I purchased a package of 3-4 white cardboard cake platforms (14" size) in the cake decorating  supplies at Hobby Lobby and used one to hold the diaper cake. There are lots of pictures and tutorials on various websites if you need creative ideas for diaper cakes.

supplies:
Pampers swaddlers diapers size 1 (box of 108)
Large rubberbands (3-4)
large round plate/platter or round cardboard piece for bottom
ribbon to cover rubber bands (I like to use 2 sizes, wide and narrow)
something to decorate the top (optional)
pins or glue gun for the ribbon
small dowel rod to stick down through the center of each layer

To make this especially easy, I borrowed round cake pans from a friend who makes wedding cakes. The pans held the diapers in place while I arranged them, then I slipped the rubber band over each group/layer to hold them snug.

*Cake pans and number of diapers per layer: 12"pan/44 diapers, 10"pan/32 diapers,  8" pan/20 diapers and 6' pan/12 diapers.

The layers on my diaper cake are not hooked together, so I stuck a small dowel rod down through the center of each layer to stabilize. I have also seen netting/tulle used to gift wrap/enclose the cake, which makes it easier to transport.

Diaper cakes make a pretty decoration for a baby shower and a simple crafty gift, as well.