The joys of home ownership....II

So...it was a busy day on Saturday.  We spent it working outside and in!  Bro. Rasmussen came over with his tractor and spent about three hours scraping dirt off our front yard.  The sad thing is that we need more removed!!!  It should be an interesting summer during this project.  We will need to remove a bit more dirt and revamp the sprinklers.  After that, I hope it won't be too hot for us to seed the grass.

I did finish painting all the dark baby poop brown walls.  They actually wouldn't be so bad if there was consistency in the painting.  I think that all the different colors really detracted from them and made them look really bad.  It was nice to get the walls painted the lighter brown (taupe) color.  I'm sure sore today, but once I got started, I couldn't stop.  Perhaps that is why I'm still sore after three days!

Abbie has a field trip today.  Her class is going to the zoo for the day.  I'm a bit worried because of all the walking that she will do.  We got the results from the MRI and the news wasn't good.  We have an appointment with a specialist at Primary Children's later in June.  It was sure disappointing that we couldn't get an appointment any earlier.  I just hope we can do something soon so she doesn't keep suffering.  Of course not going to the field trip just isn't an option!  I don't think Abbie would consider staying home because she has been looking forward to it for weeks now!

Have a great one!

Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day to all!  I hope we can all take a moment to be grateful for all the sacrifices our past and present military personnel have made for us.

We have spent a very quite day here.  I wish it were that we were being very patriotic and pensive about what this day stands for, but to be honest, the rain has made it difficult to anything else bust stay inside and be quiet.  It is a break from the work we did on Saturday.  I'll post pictures and tell you all about it later.

Have a great day and spend some time remembering those who have gone on before....

The joys of home ownership....

So, we have lived in our new house for one year today.  Happy Anniversary to us!  We did a lot of work on the inside when we moved in.  To be honest, every wall in this house had to painted.  We did the master bedroom and part of the living room before we got painted out.  Well, painting our townhouse top to bottom before selling it, contributed to my burnout.

Now that winter is over and I have renewed energy, I tackled painting the very dark brown walls that encompass the majority of the family room and hall way.  Of course, I still need to do Abbie's neon green walls in her room, Nigel's blue striped walls, and all the yellow with purple sponge painting on it in the family/dining/kitchen area, but it was nice to accomplish as much as I did yesterday.  Yes, this house was a circus....with no rhyme or reason to it.

We have also been working on the yard.  Turns out that the reason it took so much water last year is that whatever sod the previous owners put down, never took root.  It is just sitting there.  We have had to pull out the front yard, and so it is sitting there, all dug up, waiting for next Saturday when Bro. Rasmussen from the ward brings his tractor over to haul away the extra dirt.  We will replace the sprinklers and reseed the grass.  Hopefully it will make the yard better, so we aren't wasting water!

The other yard project of yesterday was our garden.  I can't wait to get the tomato plants, cucumbers, and carrots going.  Dan made a couple of grow boxes to make it easer to plant and weed.  Last year we didn't do much except throw the old veggies into the garden to "compost".  In fact we threw the pumpkins from Halloween in.  Dan tilled everything up earlier this spring.  Now we have pumpkins growing like wildflowers!!!  We will have the biggest pumpkin patch in the neighborhood!  I am so excited!

It was such a busy day yesterday, I am very grateful for a "day of rest".  

I've updated my Photo Blog!

Just a really quick post for now.  I've updated my Photo Blog (see link on the right) with some pictures and commentary.  For those that will wonder about "light writing", that is what photography really means.  Photographer is a "light writer".  I love that imagery!!!

Nigel's Preschool Graduation

Today was Nigel's Preschool Graduation.  It was a darling program where the all the students sang their songs about school.  Nigel was the cow part in Old MacDonald had a Farm.  He stood up with his cute stuffed cow when they sang that part.

I am so glad that his preschool is just across the street, so we can see his teacher all the time.  She is in fact the Bishop's wife, so we see her at church too.  I think Nigel is going to miss going there, but at least we can swing over there is he needs a Sister Welty fix.

She passed out the cutest yearbooks that showed their progression over the year.  It was so funny to see how writing his name evolved over the months.  It started out so scribbly, but now it is so clear.  I didn't notice how much it improved because I see it every day.  The progression isn't obvious until you look at it all at once.

I took a few pictures and scrapped the page above.  I am so happy that he had this great opportunity.  He is so much more prepared for kindergarten this fall.  Oh my...my baby is going to kindergarten!

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all those moms that I know.  There are a few that are moms-to-be, so that counts too!  For my own special mom, Have a wonderful day!

I love this picture of Nigel and Abbie.  This was the Sunday after she was baptized.  They look so darling, and of course...clean!  I am so happy that I'm their mom.  Abbie made me a very cute recipe card holder in the shape of a tulip.  She made it at school and has been very secretive about what it was, despite all the hints she kept giving me.  There was also a very nice card to go with it.

Dan took me to dinner last night and we did a little clothes shopping afterwards.  He was so patient as I wandered around trying to find a new skirt/dress for church.  I did come up with something I liked and then spent time trying to find red shoes to match.  Luckily we did find something in the end, so I felt like new today for church.  Dan also bought a new suit, not necessarily for Mother's Day, but it was perfect timing.  He sure looked fantastic.  He did get teased that he would be the next bishop, but then again, he hasn't worn a suit to church for such a long time, people thought something was up!  Little did they know, it was mostly for me! (And the wedding we are going to in a few weeks!)

I hope that everyone had as wonderful day as I did.  Thanks to my sweet family for making it such a fantastic day for me!

This is the Right Place

We had the most amazing stake conference on Sunday.  We had a broadcast with President Eyring and Elder Bednar speaking.  I loved it!!!  It certainly filled my spiritual need for the week.  I can't tell you how much I am grateful for all the blessings I have in my life.

After conference we decided to go to This is the Place monument.  We have the 1-4 pm church, so this was a treat to have the afternoon free.  The weather was fantastic and we wandered around the outer park to look at all of the new things they have there.  It has been a number of years since Dan or I had been there, so many of the statues were new to us.

The view of the valley was so pretty.  This picture does not do it justice.  There were a few dark clouds lingering, but overall, it was fantastic.

Here is the best part of the day though.  We visited Dan's parents where we got to see the tandem or side by side bike.  Dan took me for a spin, but it sure was different.  I think I'll need a bit more practice at trusting him to keep us upright!

And I vowed never to ride a bike in a dress again after my mission!!!!!

Daniel's Spice

You Are Cilantro

The bad news is that there are some people who can't stand you. The good news is that most people love you more than anything else in the world. You are distinct, unusual, fresh, and very controversial. And you wouldn't have it any other way.

What Spice Are
You?

I made Daniel take the quiz....how funny, it fits him perfectly.  My friend Tonee says that there are whole websites dedicated to those who love and don't love cilantro.  I'm not sure about the spice, but I sure love Daniel!!!

The Spice of Life

You Are Basil

You are quite popular and loved by post people. You have a mild temperament, but your style is definitely distinctive. You are sweet, attractive, and you often smell good.

What Spice Are You?

How funny!  I got this from my friend Tonee's blog and thought I would "take the test".