Summer Happenings

We started out the summer painting and redecorating Madison and Brooke's room. Here's a before picture of a dresser we picked up for the new room. The funny thing is that when we brought it home, Brooke looked like she was about to cry at how ugly it was . . . not to offend anyone, but ugly for a little girl's room. I told her to have faith.

The finished product is much better, and fitting for their new digs. They are very happy with the end result:

We did the same to a totally different armoire. You'd never know it was a country-pine-looking thing!

The room is almost done, just a couple more finishing touches, like a nightstand shelf between the two beds (so the lamp and clock are not on the floor), and some sort of artwork for their walls. I love the shelf above the window that John whipped up one Saturday afternoon while I was chaperoning youth conference. His skills never cease to amaze me.

There's nothing like a good summer rain storm that comes out of the blue, with no warning, and pours down on the two cars you just spent the afternoon washing.

It's all worth it though, because not only is it so rare, but it is fun to play in the warm rain, and even better to have a rainbow over your house!

I love how during summer the kids get to spend so much time together that they become best friends once again without the disruption of school and sports. Then, at the end of the day, they fall asleep contentedly knowing that they are there for each other.

(At least that sounds good.)

Christian and Ashlyn share a room anyway, but they asked if they could fall asleep in mom and dad's bed. I let them; one was on dad's side, one on mom's. I was in the middle to read the story. I left to let them drift off to dreamland and when I came back in to check on them, Ashlyn had moved all the way over to Christian to snuggle with him. It was so cute and sweet I had to go get my camera. There may come a day when neither one of them will believe this ever happened.

Summer is not complete without at least one lemonade stand!

We did it during the heat wave, which was not so pleasant to be out in, but good for sales!

We have some little day trips planned that are fun to do and safe with casts.

First is Gardens of the World. It's a local place that has beautiful displays of well, gardens of the world, and is a perfect place to have a picnic and let the kids run around.

Madison and her friend Monroe loved the giant chess board and had a fun, competitive game going.

Next up is an afternoon at the Getty, which is such a beautiful place. I wish we had more time there. I think I need to go back, sans children, to really get to spend time with all the artwork.

Many (a lot!) of the paintings include nudity or religion. One of the first ones we saw was of a chubby naked baby who was supposed to be John the Baptist. Brooke pointed it out and I read the description, then Christian says, "They have Church stuff in here?"

He knew John the Baptist, but doesn't make the connection quite yet that religion permeates all of recorded history! Too funny!

The gardens and the views are marvelous! The raced to see who could spot the L.A. Temple first.

It's cast day! Are they going to come off? They are both hoping so!!

Oh well, we have one disappointed little girl. Only two more weeks; you can do it!

We spend an afternoon/evening at Carpinteria where we enjoyed dinner, campfire, and s'mores with Matt and Cyndi. Brooke couldn't go down on the sand, and it was too chilly to go in the water anyway, so it worked out well. Andrea came, too, so we had fun with baby Taylor as well!

The kids have been enjoying creating plays and using Photobooth and the video camera as they direct and act in wonderfully silly productions.

On this particular day, our friend Iayn was over and she and Brooke decided to give Ashlyn a make-over, which led to Ashlyn starring in a one-woman show.

We went over to Iayn's house later in the day where the hours of choreography and rehearsal came to fruition.

The Grand Entrance, complete with electronic curtains:

She danced her little heart out to Taylor Swift. We even had tickets and assigned seating.

What I didn't have though is my good camera; I only had my phone.

The older girls were behind us giving her cues as to her next move.

She was super cute! Normally she is very shy around other people, so to see her dancing unabashedly was really something.

The kids even made photos for her to autograph for us at the end of the show. She 'signed' each and every one.

Summer Alterations

The weather has been so unseasonably cool - like 65 degrees - even though it's JULY so we decided to take full advantage of the beautiful temps and enjoy a hike at our local National State Park. We brought cousins, so there were 7 little kids, and a dog and we enjoyed nature and had a picnic and loads of fun . . .

. . . especially walking along the logs, which is something the kids do every time we're there.

Until now.

Unfortunately, Brooke hopped on a wobbly one and lost her balance and fell. Her arm hurt and she ended up accompanying Madison and I to an already-scheduled orthopedist appointment.


It's a good thing she came along because one little x-ray later revealed a fracture right below her shoulder.

And Madison's pinky finger is in fact broken - from falling on it while playing with Christian last Saturday.

The sling is going to be a major pain, literally, as it kills her neck. They also start a writing camp next week - that will be interesting.

We went for the water-proof cast so they can shower and go in the pool, but no beach. That will definitely alter our summer plans!

Do you think they're taking their commitment to their Greenanators Club a bit too far? :-)

Sunscreen ~ Always Use Sunscreen

This is what happens when you let the sun be the boss of you.

You get to be a bit like Frankenstein and oh is it lovely.

What a Difference New Carpet Makes

Although there is still a long (loooong) way to go, progress is being made and it is exhilarating!

BEFORE:

The upstairs hallway (loaded with Madison and Brooke's bedroom stuff while we painted their room).

AFTER:

BEFORE:

This was taken while the flooring was being replaced in the bathroom in January.

AFTER:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

This one's an almost after as there is still much to do with the stairs, but what a difference new carpet makes!

Seventeen Years Goes By So Fast!

Seventeen Years Ago, I Married My Best Friend.

We put each other through school

We graduated together

We vacationed together, just the two of us, to really nice places, like New York, Niagara Falls, England

and Hawaii

and with wonderful friends to not-so-nice places

like camping in Mexico (but having a ton of fun)

The journey has been perfect every step of the way

And will continue to always be perfect

with my best friend by my side.

Happy Anniversary!!!

Still Going . . . and going . . .

Here's just a glimpse . . . more to come.

You know how if you change one thing it creates that domino effect? And you really know that the domino effect will happen, that's why you avoid changing the one thing to begin with.

Well, the still-going-on bathroom project has led to repainting our room, which then led to redecorating it;

needing new carpet has also not only led to the ceilings being retextured, but also the stairwell and upstairs hallway being repainted and if you're going to be repainting things, you might as well repaint the girls' room since you've been talking about doing that for some time now. It's better, you know, to paint a room before the new carpet is installed.

Why take the chance and ruin the new carpet?

Before the carpet can be installed, the stairs have to be built out and retreaded, and of course the wainscoting needs to be done beforehand as well.

Again, why take the chance of ruining new carpet?

In order to paint the girls' room, everything needs to come out of it, except for the beds. They are too big to fit through the door. The carpet installers are going to love that. Having crowded hallways is perfect timing for having house guests, don't you think? Kim and her three boys were here last week and I think they must have thoroughly enjoyed barely being able to reach their room.

Also, the linen cupboards need to be redone - new paint and doors. Heck, why even bother with doors? They're a waste of time. Those fractions of seconds that it takes to open cupboard doors really add up you know. One can get used to having 'naked' linen cupboards.

Or not.

Not only does the girls' room need to be redecorated (OK, need is more like want, I still liked their room. Although it was the original nursery decor and it's been over 11 years and they wanted a change), they need new furniture. Finding a great dresser and armoir on Craig's list was practically miraculous, and full credited is due to John's amazing research skills, but said furniture then needs to be refinished.

So, that bathroom remodel that began 13 months ago is still happening, but currently (like today) is progressing with the painting of a dresser.

Who would've thunk?

BUT . . . the carpet is due to be installed in no less than SIX days! Well, it was scheduled for today, but John's been really busy and needed more time to get the stairs ready.

New carpet seems like a dream!

Will that dream come true?

Youth Conference '10

I got to chaperone Youth Conference again this year. I love doing it - it's so much fun, especially with a great group of youth like we have now. There was not a bad apple in the bunch! It really made my job a whole lot easier.

Youth Conference is a bit abbreviated now, only being one night, but it starts bright and early at 7:00a.m. sharp on Friday morning and goes non-stop all day until midnight when a strict lights-out curfew is expected, then up again reporting at 8:00a.m. the next morning.

We were family Nine - and we rocked!

Friday was spent at Fulcrum Adventures in Malibu which was a ton o'fun. What was even more unique is that the Fulcrum leaders expected all adults to fully participate. They said you never know when a youth will connect with that one person. I fully expected to just be on the look out, but was knee deep in the adventure!

The beautiful wildflowers on the walk back from the beach (where we had our first team building exercise).

The Ropes Course. You had to climb a ladder and walk across the tight rope. The point is that it's much easier to accomplish the feat when you ask for help, and also help your partner. Everyone had to work together and to TRUST. Very important when you're dangling 50 feet in the air.

This was the Giant Ladder. Let me tell you, it's not easy hoisting yourself up on swinging wood beams (that are NOT padded and have sharp corners), but I did make it all the way to the top. I could not have done it without the help of my partner (co-chaperone Susan) and advice from my family down below. It was a team effort!

The descent was fun! But accomplishing something I did not think was possible, especially wearing very restrictive jeans, was quite exhilarating! I was very sore for a couple of days, especially my forearms from utilizing muscles that are often neglected. And let me tell you . . . I have some bruises! I kept finding more two days later. I seriously looked like I went on a honeymoon with Edward.

It was worth it and a very fun adventure. The highlight of course is the testimony meeting at the end of the conference which reaffirms my faith in the future generation. Our youth rock!