that's what i call a great afternoon

March 13, 2011

Last Friday, the kids were at school and the babies took a nap at the same time {YES!}. Add Cadbury Mini Eggs, some fun fabric and plans for new projects, a movie that I love, and that's what I call a great afternoon.

Hello! I'm Heather. Illustrator, photographer, and mom of five. I also love to plan a good party! Here I share what I'm doing, creating, and loving at the moment.

Hannah took over Ben’s room the day after he left and she can’t wait to paint over his orange walls!
Nina wants to repaint her room (that she’s now sharing with Olivia) and while we are at it I think we will paint Will’s room too. Now to decide on colors ...
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I guess Ben takes a couch when he gets home in two years? 😆
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#musicalbedrooms

Phew! Thankful for a low-key day today after yesterday’s excitement and weirdness - can I tell you about it? .
First, we were shaken awake Friday at 5 am by TWO super loud earthquakes (3.2 and 3.7 mag). Super scary, I was shaking like a leaf for awhile. No damage at our place, but on the other side of the valley, some bricks toppled off my parents’ chimney. 😳
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Next, the elementary school sent a message that they were in “shelter in place” mode due to a mountain lion sighting in the area. Students were kept inside until animal services caught it. Later we found out that this very mountain lion had happened to run through Clayton’s uncle’s backyard that morning, not far from us!! It was caught on his security camera. 😱 @wtycksen .
Minutes after the school notification came in, the crazy awesome news about missionaries now having the opportunity to call home EVERY WEEK started to blow up my phone. Yay for some good news, and perfect timing for us with Ben having just left a week and a half ago. 👏🏻
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So yes, today was nice and lazy. Slept in because I don’t like getting up at 5:00. Then my hike was super pretty with all the fresh snow! Tonight Clayton and I ventured out to a new restaurant my cousin @kettle.and.vine recommended - the most amazing pizza! @oakwoodfirekitchen
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And because we are still like 5-year-olds ... we stopped at IKEA on the way home to fill a bag of candy. Because that’s what you do at furniture stores. You buy candy. 😆
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Today was so uneventful that I even had time to stitch together my “1 Second” videos from 2018 and it’s sooo fun! Have you heard of this? Do you do them too?
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Here’s to (hopefully) no earthquakes in the near future! Or mountain lion sightings. I’ll take the missionary calls though. 😉

Ready to spread love! She had the genius idea of making her Valentine’s box from an empty Kleenex box, then painted and decorated it herself. 🥰
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I’m not great at doing hair but she requested a heart braid ... and I gave it my best Pinterest effort. 😆💗
And of course she wanted the look topped off with pink hair chalk and LIPSTICK. 💋
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#oliviahoneybadger

It isn’t too late to download, print and deliver some Valentines! {What do you think of these printable camera tags?} 💕
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Receive 15% off EVERYTHING in my shop with code VALENTINES15, now through Feb. 18th.
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heathertycksen.com #heathertycksenartshop

Got our first email from Elder Tycksen! It was like Christmas morning for me, seeing his name in my inbox. He’s so happy and he’s learning a lot! His dorm is pretty quiet - maybe because it’s right next to the missionaries who are learning sign language? 🤷🏼‍♀️😆
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If you are interested you can follow his weekly mission updates @elder.ben.tycksen ✨

“More than she was known for her accomplishments, she was known for the way she loved.” — Morgan Harper Nichols 💕
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This print is called ”Love is in the Air.” I hope you’re having a nice Valentine’s week! .
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#heathertycksenartshop

I don’t stand a chance against this Wookiee.

Ben is about to receive his first package! Valentine cookie kit (complete with frosting, plastic knives, napkins and enough candy to share with other missionaries), topped with a pile of love notes! 💌
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Thank you UPS store for same day MTC delivery!
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{P.S. These printable watercolor Valentines are live in my shop! heathertycksen.com}

Yesterday was our annual Valentine’s cookie baking and another big snowstorm! 💕❄️

$I’m always last minute when it comes to Valentine’s Day - how about you? Printable Valentines to the rescue, now ready for download in my shop! Watercolor hearts of all colors, vintage cameras and fruity tags for attaching to a variety of gifts; just download, print, cut + sign your name on the back side (unless you prefer to be a secret admirer). 😏💗 Lots of new clip art is in the shop as well! Come see! {link in bio} . . #heathertycksenartshop #valentinesday #printables #printablevalentines #watercolor_daily$

THE SEND OFF! // Yesterday (Feb 6) was the big day. It started with a snowstorm, last minute details, origami and plant care instructions.
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The roads were clear for the drive to the MTC (missionary training center) and we laughed the whole way about the way Sears catalogs were used in the old days, etc. (which is funny, ask me if you don’t know - although Hannah somehow learned it in her history class? 😂) and we learned that you can order chamber pots on Amazon. In case you were wondering. 🤣
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We got to Provo 30 min. early so we grabbed some J-Dawgs, and in the meantime Ben was smiling and tapping his fingers on his shoulder bag, saying, “I’m ready!” 😀 (Even though his stomach was too nervous to eat much.)
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The MTC drop off is like dropping someone off at the airport - we went down into the parking garage with a line of cars, and another missionary came out to help with luggage. We gave our last hugs and goodbyes as all the other cars in line dropped off their missionaries too. It was over with in less than five minutes. But it was good, like ripping off the band-aid quickly. 😉
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I was okay until it was my turn to hug him, then I totally did the ugly cry. Watching him walk away with his suitcases was the most emotional but also most JOYFUL and proud moment.
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I sobbed hard for maybe 5-10 seconds in the car ... and then something happened before we even exited the parking garage. I was filled with such peace and seemed to hear a still, small voice say, “He’s in the Lord’s hands. You have done your part!” And I had never felt so relieved or happy. ❤️ What am amazing experience.
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Thank you to all the loved ones who reached out yesterday, your support means the world to all of us!
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We went to the BYU bookstore for new art supplies after we dropped off Ben, grabbed Ice cream cones (mine had a remnant of peanut butter ice cream from the person before me so I had to toss it or die! Dang peanut allergy ...) and Liv hit our car door into the car parked next to us and dented it 😳🤦🏼‍♀️ so a few choice words may have been said and we left a note with our number. Life is perfectly imperfect isn’t it?
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At least my eye has stopped twitching! 😉

Thank you @catgeerty for the fabulous idea to hide notes all over inside of Ben’s luggage. 💌 He’s definitely going to get a laugh from some of them ... like the one Hannah drew of a blobby person giving another blobby person the Heimlich ... sad I didn’t get a photo of that one but I was trying to be quick and sneaky!

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