Cousins and new tricks

Celeste and the kids came out for a great visit. Everyone had a great time riding bikes, playing in the yard and learning sign language. There was even a soccer game where everyone got to use their new skills from this summer's early morning Soccer Camp.










And then there were the new tricks... Carl learned how to climb the door frames and my life hasn't been the same since. I walk a lot more stooped now, especially between rooms.

I love this picture of Alice and Grant. He had just given a heroic burp, and luckily I got this picture of them.

The kids and Ryan pulled up the last of the  dreaded landscaping rock and "black plastic of death", and they put down mulch. I hope that it was in time to save our redbud tree, but I have my doubts. We don't take pictures of that tree anymore.

Happy 4th of July

The hottest day of the year found us on the Best Hike of Our Lives! This hike is spoken of with a kind of reverence in our home, which is ironic since it's called Devil's Bathtub. There were 14 stream crossings, and we initially thought we were going to stay mostly dry. But come the 5th or 6th crossing, caution was tossed to the wind along with the ideas of dry clothing. 

 At our picnic spot, all the cousins decided it was time to make a dam. Hoover would be proud.

 Those were some cold wet kids by the end of our hike.

The kids and their moms successfully made it through another summer of swimming lessons. Tears were shed, feet were stomped, bribes were issued, but everyone learned a lot and no one drowned. 

Happy Spring Birthdays!

This spring Jane turned 8 years old and got baptized! 

 She was so happy!

 She really loved snuggling Grant.

 This is what happens when Carl finds my old sword and the kids commandeer the tissue paper from baby shower gifts. Fierce baby protection mode.

 Now that school has started again, I think it's fitting to include our end of the last school year party - inspired, decorated, and enjoyed by the kids most of all.

 Helen decorated her own birthday cake! Amber provided the cake and frosting; Helen provided the garden theme idea and enthusiasm.

Welcome Baby Grant!

We adopted a baby boy in April, but we wanted to wait until it was finalized before posting pictures on line. And also, life with a newborn is a little hairy.

 Here we are in the step-down NICU where we spent a few days as he got stronger.

 We were super happy to have him in our family!

 Thanks to Grandma Bee who came out and helped watch the kids while we were in Kansas picking up Grant. Carl is so happy to have someone else in the "boy room."

Camping in Florida

For spring break, our goal is to find the warmest place to camp in under a day's drive.  Northern Florida fit the bill again this year, so we headed down to Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park, along the Suwannee River.  Stephen Foster, from Pittsburgh, PA, never saw the Suwannee River, but his catchy song "Old Folks at Home" became so famous that Florida adopted it as its State Song and created this cool State Park to commemorate his music.  Grandma and Grandpa Johnson were good sports and joined us for the adventure.  Our trip was full of the required camping elements - tents, dirt, long hikes, rain, an unexpected cold front, ticks,1 snake and 1 toad.  Here's a slide show if you want to re-live it with us.

Visit from Grandma Bee

While I was in Argentina, Grandma Bee came to play with Ryan and the kids. They had a wonderful time making these fruit parfaits.

If that weren't fun enough, they also got to make these wonderful fairy houses. I'm pretty sure that we grow flowers for the butterflies, birds and children, although not necessarily in that order.

They got to go to Bays Mountain and enjoy a pontoon boat ride. I'm happy to report that no one fell in the drink, and they saw multiple fine beaver lodges.

Happy Birthday Carl!

 Carl turned 4 and thankfully Grandma Bee had sent these fine machines to top his birthday cake. Ryan's creative genius really came through in the digging, pushing and scooping of this creation.

It is really fun to bike ride with a four year old on the back. It is a little humiliating when everyone on the trail is faster than you are, but no one else has such great conversations.

Here we are supporting the marching bands in Bristol, TN. It was the snack that got us through the tough times.

 We have friends in our ward that let us come out a pick pumpkins for Halloween. Then kids loved it and took as many as they could hold. 

For Halloween we had a pirate, bunny, leopard and cat - all purchased at the dollar store and enhanced by day-to-day outfits from Wal-mart.  I love holidays for a fraction of the cost.

Carl and I spend a lot of time together with the girls at school, and he can make a mean batch of muffins.

Garden project

We have a large patio/garedn on the side of our house that was covered in black plastic and rocks. The rocks spent most of the time being hauled around by creative kids and the black plastic had a tendency to flap in the wind. We decided to haul out all the rocks with help from the Finches and then redo the patio into a more plant friendly environment (mulch). 

Why not wear hot pink protective eye wear you've stolen from your sister?

 Lucky Carl got to drive a skid steer at the local landscape supplier. I'm pretty sure that we will never be able to provide him with a more exciting experience.

 That is a lot of compost to move around.

And here's the pile of mulch that came on the very same day. Nothing like hard labor.

Here's the finished rock patio/path with mulch. Now I can plant flowers without moving around rocks and cutting up nasty black plastic. Our patio is going to be significantly cooler now. Not really necessary during winter, but we'll look forward to it this spring.

Dining Room Remodel

So maybe I didn't get a pre-remodel picture of our dining room either. But this is what it used to look like - with family meal in full swing.

Ryan got a new 3 foot ladder for his birthday that I am using to wet the wallpaper. I'm pretty sure that you're not supposed to step on the top. The kids and I got that room scrapped clean in 2 days. I've taken to rewarding them with frozen yogurt for their hard work. I really feel like I am getting the better end of the deal.

Sometimes it's fun to jazz up old chandeliers with Chinese take-out boxes when you're celebrating the Chinese New Year. They were unused, lest you think we grow mold and bacteria on purpose. Can you see Carl hard at work? After this project, and before the next, Ryan decided to take his Dremel and round off all the corners of kids' plastic scrappers. The whole time he was muttering something about spackling all the new nicks and scratches.

This room took the longest to complete because we couldn't decide on a light fixture. We finally decided on this fine drum light. You might think it looks familiar. This brand of this light is hanging in many LDS meetinghouses all over the US, just not this style. Also notice the beautiful platter rack Ryan made me to house my thrift store treasures from Japan. He got some big new tools so that he could make it for me - a great investment!

Here are the curtains I made to finish the windows. I hope to never use a slippery polyester fabric again. That project probably took three years off my life but it is done and we love our dining room. Come over for dinner whenever you are in the neighborhood.

Home Remodels 2017

Cold weather puts me in the mood for taking down wallpaper. Something about the smell of old paste makes me really nostalgic. It also gives me and the kids something to do when we are trapped indoors. These pictures were taken a year ago when we started these projects. Don't worry, we finished them a long time ago. In fact, I think Alice has grown 5 inches.

Those are 10 layers of wallpaper you see being torn from the wall. No small task, but the kids love doing it. To the right you can see the completed stairs and landing. Ryan did a great job putting a substantial handrail in.

We found this original hanging light stored in a dark basement corner. It looked so much better here than the 1980's etched glass number that until recently graced the stairs.

 The next project was fixing the downstairs bathroom. The beautiful oak wood trim and door had been painted with three coats of white paint. It takes a lot of toxic paint stripper to get that off.  This was the nastiest home improvement job I have done to date.

Once again I failed to get a pre-demolition picture. I was just so excited to get all the paint, tiles, claw-foot tub and over-sized vanity out that I completely forgot. Or maybe it was the fumes from stripping the wallpaper that clouded my memory.

Ryan was in charge of removing the built in cabinet that was nearly unusable because the toilet was right in front of it.

 Here is an example of wallpapering the ceiling. The ceiling is so easy to do once you get used to the numb sensation in your arms. There are no windows or doors to cut around.

Before: (photo from previous owner's for-sale photo gallery)


After: The finished bathroom with a Moroccan flair. The key to a great bathroom is ease of cleaning (hence the vinyl that looks like tile but doesn't have dirt-trapping-grout, and the solid-surface countertop with integrated sink lacking a grime catching joint too).