The Rigtrups

Back To School 2001

2011-09-08T16:19:00.000-07:00

The kids started school yesterday. Well, Tanner and Tate started school yesterday. Tanner is in 6th grade now, last year of innocence before Junior High begins! Tate is in 2nd grade this year and we're excited to see him progress. Taylor is homeschooling this year (8th grade). We aren't traditional home schoolers though, she is doing a virtual online academy where she works online and in books with a supervising teacher and virtual class. Tallula is currently on a waiting list to get into pre-school so we'll see if that happens. If not then I'm happy to keep her a baby one more year!

Instead of the traditional picture on the front porch, I decided to get a little creative and style something a little more fun. The kids had fun posing for this and I think it helped that I let them take a swig of the coke!

Tate's Camping Party

2011-08-19T02:29:00.000-07:00

While we were camping I threw Tate a surprise birthday party. It was a totally last minute decision and I'm so glad that I was able to throw it together. He was so surprised and touched. His face when everyone yelled surprise was absolutely priceless. I can't believe my little man is turning 7 already. Time is flying by me...

I pulled off these s'more cupcakes all by myself...that's saying a lot!

SURPRISE!!!

Oh my gosh, isn't he the cutest thing ever?!

Ensign Ranch Camping Trip

2011-08-15T22:21:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was our now annual trip to Ensign Ranch for some FUNTABULOUS camping! We love that place...river, lake, two rope swings, horse back riding, water slide, play ground, climbing wall, fishing, canoeing, trails, bike riding. It's enough to keep 20 kids and 10 adults busy for at least a weekend! Even though I'm not the worlds biggest fan of camping, it was worth the painful parts so that we can make a lifetime of memories for the kids. I just hope that someday I will be able to have the luxury of sleeping, cooking and showering in a camper!!!

We put together a scavenger hunt for the little kids and sent them off hunting clues in search of a treasure! I don't have pics of the big kids scavenger hunt because I wasn't about to hop on a bike and follow them around, but I heard it was fabulous.

Can't wait till next year!!!

4th of July Fun

2011-07-05T22:13:00.000-07:00

We had the best 4th of July this year. We decided to stay home and have a few friends over and that turned out to be a great plan. We took the kids to breakfast in the morning and then we spent the rest of the morning getting ready for the party. Everyone came over in the afternoon and the kids spent most of the time in the pool. It was really just a totally relaxing enjoyable day and night.

For the first time EVER we decked the house out for the 4th.

Alan has been wanting to try out a recipe he saw 8 years ago. He finally got the chance! One pot clam bake was a huge hit. It's a stock pot layered with red potatoes, kielbasa sausage, shrimp, scallops, clams and topped off with some lobster tails.

We bought a 20 foot pool this year and it has been the best thing we've bought for the kids in a long time. Forget the XBox, TV or laptops...the pool rules!!!

This was the first year that we adults didn't light off a single firework! It was all the kids...supervised of course. They did a great job being safe and following the rules. We just sat back and watched the show.

DESSERT!

Of course there was PLENTY of this consumed. We all have a problem...

Oregon Coast Weekend

2011-05-31T17:10:00.000-07:00

We had a fantastic Memorial Weekend on the Oregon Coast with our good friends Dan and Emmy. We stayed in Seaside but visited Cannon Beach and Tillamook. It was an amazingly relaxing and fun weekend. I guess the goal to a great vacation is to have nothing planned, because it seemed to work perfect for us! The only thing we had planned was this...

Emmy was totally shocked and surprised! It was such a fantastic moment. So grateful to have been able to be there to photograph it!

Alan got sick of the Emmy and Dan love fest and carved these for me.

Haystack Rock in Cannon Beach

We stayed in Seaside right on the beach. Great view to go to bed and wake up to!

Enjoying the view

I'm not sure what view is being enjoyed here?!

Alan's dreams came true and we visited the Tillamook factory in Tillamook, OR. He's been dying to go there for years.

Dan got really thirsty at the factory.

YUMMY!!!!

Taylor's 13th Birthday

2011-05-08T21:35:00.000-07:00

What kind of party do you do for a 13 year old???? That was the big question last month. After much thought we came up with a Baking Party. Taylor LOVES to cook and bake. Her favorite blog is The Girl Who Ate Everything. She loves searching out new recipes and trying them out. So I asked my friend Natalie who makes all my fabulous cakes and cupcakes to come and teach a cake decorating class for the party. She made 8 little individual cakes for the girls and taught them how to properly frost a cake, how to pipe frosting with a bag and tip and taught them about using fondant. I made dollar store cake stands for each girl and they all got a little dish towel and spatula to use and take home. We stuck with the same color combo that we used for Lula's party to make decorating a little easier. It was a great success! Taylor loved it!

{Dollar Store Cake Stands}

candle stick + glass plate + apoxy glue = cake stand

Even Lula frosted her own cake, she totally got into it! Which proves that this party can really be done for just about any age.

Poor Taylor had to blow out a tea light candle! That's what happens when you have 3 birthdays in one month!!!

She's been dying for a North Face jacket and thanks to Natalie and Nena she finally got one!

Rigtrup Easter

2011-04-28T21:23:00.000-07:00

An hour after Lula's birthday party we got all cleaned up and setup to host the Rigtrup Easter party. The Rigtrup grandparents do the BEST Easter egg hunt ever and we couldn't miss out on that just because we had a birthday party to throw. I kept it simple and just made up sandwiches ahead of time and I had everyone bring a salad. We had tons of extra cupcakes for dessert! Easy peasy!!!

What makes the Easter egg hunt so fantastic is that each child is given a # based on their birth order as grandchildren. So Taylor is #2, Tanner is #5, Tate is #8 and Lula is #12. They all have about 20 eggs or so but they can only pick up the ones with their # written on it. It's brilliant! So the egg hunt takes forever which is so much more fun than a 30 second free for all. The other fun part is that there is always an egg for each child filled with change, an egg that say's see Papa for a prize (a fun little toy) and an egg that say's see Grandma (for a chocolate bunny). My kids just love this tradition.

Notice Tate's boot...I mean MY boots! LOL, I love that kid.

This cracks me up because it's pretty much how you will always see Alan and his brother Scott at family functions. Deep in discussion about cars or bikes.

Lula's 3rd Birthday Bash!

2011-04-28T14:36:00.000-07:00

Lula's 3rd birthday party was a big hit. Lot's of work, lot's of prep but lot's of fun. After 3 years of fabulous parties for this girl I think I'm ready to take a break next year...let's see if I can resist! This year we opted for a friend party instead of a big family party for Lula because she has quite a few little buddies. It's amazing to see that my little baby is growing up, I sure do love her!!!

The Party Decorations

Vintage milk bottle and carrier found at a local antique mall.

My friend Carolyn helped me make these fantastic sugar cookies for the kids to take home.

I bought Costco's frappuccino packs and used the bottles like little mini milk bottles.

I bought a huge box (500) of these red and white stripped paper straws. I found them on amazon.com.

The whole setup.

Love my bunting and all the paper tags, cupcake toppers, sticker, ect. that Tasha Horsley made for me.

Cupcakes made by my fabulous friend Natalie Emmett.

Oreo cookie pops also made by Natalie.

My table all set up for the kids to color when they got to the party.

Treats!

The coloring pages are the same artwork that is on all of the tags and cupcake toppers.

The birthday girl sporting her red cape.

Lula's favorite "baby Megan" and Natalie.

Lula's friend whom she calls "the Man" because he's always sporting his Superman getup.

Lula loves this little lady.

Homemade playdough.

The string game. We tied bags of candy to the end of a very long strand of yarn for each kiddo.

Me reading the Little Red book to the kids. I made each of them a mini version to take home.

A bracelet for Lu.

Her favorite thing to get is clothes, so funny! She's a diva.

My Oldest Baby is 13 Today!!!

2011-04-17T18:25:00.000-07:00

Day 1 - So Beautiful!!!

3 Years Old

6 Years Old

7 Years Old

10 Years Old

11 Years Old

12 Years Old

Today she is a teenager!!!

The MANY faces of Taylor.

I love this girl!!!

Today is Tanner's Day!!!

2011-04-14T23:18:00.000-07:00

5 Years Old

6 Years Old

7 Years Old

8 Years Old

9 Years Old

10 Years Old

TODAY HE'S

and his dreams came true, he got one of these...

The Book.

2011-04-13T22:12:00.000-07:00

The Invite

2011-04-08T23:44:00.000-07:00

Little Red Riding Hood

2011-04-05T23:01:00.000-07:00

Lula's birthday is coming up and it is going to be a Little Red Riding Hood theme. I've been planning it for months and I'm super excited. I was laying in bed one night and came up with an idea. Of course then it kept me up for hours! I decided to design a book of the story Little Red Riding Hood that I can read to the kids at the party and then give each child a mini version of it. I came up with a photo shoot concept and today Alan helped haul things out to an abandoned house so that I could pull of the idea that was brewing inside my head. Here are a few of the images that I took today. I'm almost done designing the book, I'll post it when it's finished!

The Stairs

2011-01-20T21:08:00.000-08:00

Are you tired of house updates yet?

Today's INSPIRATION

I've been wanting to try this out on my stairs but just haven't found the motivation. Well today I decided to "just do it". I busted out my Cricut cutting machine...blew a thick layer of dust off of it and went to work. I'm super happy with how it turned out. My kids also love it...Alan, not so much in love with it. It's not his favorite thing I've conjured up around here. I'm sure it will grow on him just like the barn door did, right?

The railing isn't finished yet. We plan to replace all the spindles with simple white square ones but we're having a hard time finding the right size. Once we replace the spindles, we'll paint the post and rail black (like my inspiration picture).

Chalkboard projects

2011-01-20T17:33:00.000-08:00

INSPIRATION

I've had the chalkboard wall up for a while now but it just under went a few changes yesterday so I thought I'd share.

Last night I finally painted the top of my office coffee table with some chalkboard paint as well. The pretty white top was not holding up well with four kids and a husband who sits on it to play XBOX!

Kids Bathroom Remodel

2011-01-19T20:25:00.001-08:00

Now that the downstairs is pretty much finished we thought it was time to start working upstairs. Much of what we've started still isn't finished but the kids bathroom is about done. Time to share some pics!

BEFORE

If you've ever wondered how I get my ideas from brain to reality. Here's an idea.

INSPIRATION

AFTER

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T23:49:00.000-07:00

Natalie had her annual Halloween party on Saturday. It was lot of fun to see all of our friends. We went with her to her trunk or treat at church after the pary. My kids hauled in more candy in 2o minutes at the trunk or treat than in the hour and a half that it took them to go around our neighborhood.

Taylor was a devil at age 2, so of course we had to make Lula be a devil at age 2!

This is Tanner's idea of a scary costume! He hates hunting and killing animals.

Taylor's subconscious attempt at being the baby of the family.

Kitty Update

2010-10-23T13:51:00.000-07:00

I'm trying not to post about the kitties but sometimes I just can't help myself. Recent kitty news has been that one of the kitties "Pooh" went missing for 3 days. We were all so sad, especially his brother "Tiger". But thankfully he was found just 3 houses down. I'm actually a bit annoyed because they just took him inside their house and were planning to keep him until they started to feel guilty and decided to see if he had any owners. Anyway, we're happy to have him back. In three days he had fattened up so much he was no longer a twin, he was huge! I have no idea what on earth they fed him to make him so fat but he's nice and trim now. Back to being twins.
The other news is that they are 6 months old now so we got them "snipped". I really didn't want them starting to wander to far from home looking for hot ladies and spraying everywhere. So off to surgery they went. I really didn't anticipate the post recovery process. It was pretty annoying really. They are NOT indoor cats and we had to keep them inside for 7-10 days. OH MY GOSH, I don't know how you indoor kitty owners do it!!!! I HATE KITTY LITTER. They pretty much drove me crazy being underfoot and on furniture all day and rough housing and crashing into things, making a racket at night. I made it 6 day's then kicked em out. Sorry, I've warned you all that I'm not a "cat" person. I love them and I love that my kids love them but I love them a lot more when their inside just a few hours a day instead of ALL day and ALL night.

Here's some cuteness for you!

October so far...

2010-10-22T09:32:00.000-07:00

Spooner Farms pumpkin patch
It's been a yearly tradition to go to the pumpkin patch. Ever since Tanner and Taylor were little we've made the trip. Even though I love traditions I get really bored with "sameness" and this year, I just wasn't motivated to go. I'm insanely busy with work right now and haven't been able to find a day to fit it in. The kids were NOT going to let me get away with breaking this tradition though. They've asked pretty much every single day for 2 weeks when we're going. They even changed their clothes without any prompting from me. Taylor was directing the boys to put on something brown or orange. I can't disappoint my kiddos so we squeezed it in on Wednesday. We had to miss scouts and mutual to do it. I guess you gotta do what you gotta do! Maybe I can come up with something a little more fun and exciting next year.

This made it all worth it!!! Coconut Creme Pie Fudge...HEAVEN!

Sunday dinner with Dan and Easton. Carmel apple and sugar free chocolate pie for dessert, YUM!!!

Adults only costume party last weekend. Lots of fun!

Nacho Libre and Encarnacion

Superwoman and Clark Kent

Gangsters

Pizza Guy and his yummy slice

Futurama

Sad Day.

2010-09-20T09:35:00.001-07:00

Our favorite chicken died a last week. We got our first two eggs and the next day Henrietta was dead. I don't know if they were her eggs, but we haven't had an egg since. Henrietta was the only chicken that liked us! When we let the chickens out she would just waddle on up to the back porch wanting to come in and hang out. She would let Tate just pick her up and tote her around under his arm. He'd have a chicken under one arm and a kitty under the other. It was so cute. I'm sad to see her go, now we're down to 4 chickens and still no eggs. They are just over 6 months old now so we should be seeing some production anytime now.

California

2010-09-08T18:54:00.000-07:00

I grew up just two states away and yet I had never been to California until this weekend. I had the awesome opportunity to fly out to California to photograph the wedding of my friend Melissa Thulin...now Melissa Borland. It was a beautiful sealing at the San Diego temple. After the temple we went to the beach to take some bridal shots. Then we traveled an hour and a half north to the L.A. area for the reception. It was an exhausting but wonderful day. I'm so happy for Melissa and Brandon!

Of course I couldn't miss the opportunity to do something "California". First stop...In n Out burger. I've always wanted to try it and I was afraid all the hype would let me down. No let down here, it was soooo good. I did it double, double, animal style. I'm drooling just thinking about it. Oh did I mention the fries?! Oh, the fries!!!!

The next must do in California of course is Disneyland. Of course since I've never been to California that means I've never been to Disneyland either. I probably went on the worst possible day, Labor Day. It was crazy busy but that didn't stop me from having a GREAT time. I was there for 11 hours all by myself. I didn't have to negotiate with anyone or chase little ones around. I just did whatever I wanted. Splash Mountain, Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, Space Mountain, Captain Eo, Jungle Cruise, I may have ventured up Tarzan's tree house and of course tons more. My absolute favorite ride was Space Mountain. I would have ridden it over and over had the line been shorter than an hour wait. That ride just blew my mind and made my day!

Last thing I HAD to do was eat some Carne Asada. Oh man, It was heavenly! Thanks for taking me to lunch Sue!!!

I had to share my California black eye with you too. The night that I flew in I was getting into the rental car and totally cracked myself in the face with the top corner of the door. It hurt, but not that bad and I just got a little red cut under my eye. No big deal until I woke up the next morning ready to shoot a wedding with a nasty black eye. So I still have it and I can't go anywhere without being stared at. I'm pretty sure everyone looking at me thinks I'm either a battered women or I got in a bar fight!

1st Day of School

2010-09-08T18:05:00.000-07:00

Today's Qoute:

If there were no schools to take the children
away from home part of the time,
the insane asylums would be filled with mothers.
~Edgar W. Howe

The kids (and I) were so excited to finally start school today. All their friends in other school districts started last week. Our Georgia friends started last month. Taylor is in 7th grade this year and that means...dun, dun, dun...Junior High. She loved it and said she was even helping other kids open their lockers. Her bus comes to pick her up at 6:15am and I think that's crazy early so Alan is going to take her. On the other hand, the boys don't have to be in class until 9:30am. Love that! Tanner is in 5th grade this year and has a man teacher. That's a first for us. Tate is in 1st grade (thank goodness for all day school). He has informed me that his teacher is mean and he wasn't a very good boy, but he doesn't wanna talk about it. I think we're in for an interesting year! Lula and I had a great day together!

Ensign Ranch

2010-08-30T00:24:00.000-07:00

This was one of the best camping experiences we've ever had. We went up to the Ensign Ranch near Cle Elum, WA with our friends the Nerland and the McConnels. The amount of laughing that went on over the 3 days we were there was therapudic. Words cannot begin to describe how much my face hurt from laughing at Alan's pants ripping incident. We know this is a camping trip our kids will remember for a very long time.

Before & After

2010-08-14T15:54:00.001-07:00

You may remember this hideous mess from exactly 1 year ago...

I don't know why I haven't posted any after shots yet. This part of the house has been done for ages. Of course there's many projects still needing attention but we're taking it slow these days. We plan to repaint in a lighter shade of this olive green sometime in the near future. The paint has already taken a beating from our 4 kids...deep sigh. Hence the reason I'm sticking with plywood floors, this floor can handle the kids.
We also plan to replace the fridge with a black one someday when there's extra money laying around to replace something that's working just fine!

For anyone wondering...
- We did all the work ourselves with a few helpful hands here and there from family and Friends.
- We reused the old cabinets. Added beadboard, trim on top and bottom, painted, glazed and added hardware that was purchased on ebay.
- The granite counters were purchased on craigslist and installed by my hubby.
- The apron front farm sink and butcher block island counter are from Ikea and they were both a screaming good deal.
- The floors are made out of 4X8' 1/2 inch plywood. The hubby ripped them down to 8" strips then routered on all four sides. Then install them with screws. I then painted them black and sanded them. Voila, farm house floors on the cheap.

More Chalkboard Love...

2010-07-27T11:38:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to paint an entire wall with chalkboard paint but Alan was not feeling the chalkboard love like I was, so I haven't pushed it. But after buying my super fabulous chalk ink pens I couldn't resist any longer. So...while he was at work I went to work on a little wall in my kitchen. When he got home I showed him the wall and he was not so happy (he gave me the scowly face). I told him to read the quote so he looked up and then bursed out laughing. He said as long as I keep the Nacho Libre quotes up then he loved it. He wants me to take down the chores and just cover the wall in Nacho quotes...um no.

Family Pictures

2010-07-21T18:05:00.000-07:00

Since my entire family was together in Idaho last weekend we decided to take a family picture. It was a little chaotic and we were in a big hurry but we got a few good keepers.

The Dille Reunion

2010-07-21T00:28:00.001-07:00

We were finally able to make it back to the Dille reunion this year. I grew up going to Shoshone, ID every single summer. Alan hasn't been since Taylor was a baby and the last time the kids and I went was 4 years ago. It felt good to be back. We had a great time swimming in the irrigation canals that we call "the drops", swimming in the local outdoor pool, playing at the park, visiting with family and eating ice cream every day! It was blazing hot but we loved it. My entire family was able to go this year. My brother lives in Idaho and my sister and her hubby live in Utah. So the best part for me was getting to see my whole family. I miss them and wish I could just make them all move into little houses on my property so I could be with them every day!

This is the house my Dad grew up in and the one that we visited every year until it got to be to much for my Grandma to care for about 13 years ago. It was made from lava rock, how cool is that!!!

I did what I said I'd never do...

2010-07-11T14:06:00.000-07:00

I got the kids a cat...no make that 2 cats! My friends cat had a litter and she hounded me until I gave in and took one of the kittens home as a surprise for the kids. We live in the country now and the threat of mice outweighed my dislike for cats. We took home this sweet adorable little thing and my kids were fighting over it like they were starving and it was the last slice of bread at the table!!! So we "borrowed" the cat's brother the next day and "borrowing" turned into keeping. I have to admit, they are ridiculously cute and sweet and patient. Maybe I'm more of a cat person than I thought. We've had them for several weeks now and I haven't regretted it one bit..surprise, surprise!

WARNING - PLEASE READ!!! This post reveals that my children run around in diaper/underwear with messy faces and mangy hair...I apologize, but that's how we roll around here!

P.S. They're names are Tigger and Pooh. We already had the name Tigger picked out so of course his best friend would HAVE to be named Pooh. I kinda feel sorry for the poor thing though, how would you like to be called Pooh? It's pretty funny to listen to Lula calling out Pooh over and over again.

Today's Project

2010-07-10T16:18:00.001-07:00

I've been dying to finish my pantry re-do. I've had an idea for labeling all my fabulous containers and I finally figured out how to execute the idea I had in my head. So today's project was labeling. I would still like to paint all the shelves but that will have to wait for a day when the temperature in my house is below 90 degrees!

I was thinking about painting some chalkboard paint right on the containers but it just seemed messy and way to much work for this lazy girl. I have been trying to find stick on chalkboard but couldn't. Then today I saw online that someone had used vinyl. I got all excited and rushed out to the craft store. So all you need for these fantastic labels is a roll of vinyl, I chose the Cricut brand. Then I really had to hunt for the Chalk Ink that I've been hearing all about. After 3 stores I finally found it at Micheals...and DUDE, I freaking love this stuff!

Chuck e Cheese

2010-07-10T11:13:00.000-07:00

On the last day of school we took the kids to celebrate at Chuck e Cheese. I used to hate this place, It gave me serious anxiety! But now that the kids are older I really enjoy it. It's especially fun to go with a friend so you can sit and enjoy the never ending salad bar while chatting. So I made my friend Jen come along with her kiddos.

6th Grade Graduation

2010-07-10T10:56:00.000-07:00

I'm a little behind on my blogging...

These are pics from the last day of school.

Taylor recieved the citizenship award (teachers pet award)

Taylor's baby picture!

Tate saying goodbye to his classroom.

Tanner and his awesome teacher.

4th of July + Family Reunion = FUN!

2010-07-07T15:47:00.000-07:00

What a great weekend it was with the big ole crazy Rigtrup family. Although, I have to say they were way less wild and crazy this year. It was really a very nice relaxing weekend that ended far to early.

Daroga State Park on Lake Entiat

We had our own private inlet connected to our group campground

This little man was so happy all weekend. He was in his element, free to run and play all day!
My handsome hubby with his "vacation whiskers".
My two beautiful baby girls.
My s.i.l. Georgia showing me a hilarious picture.

(why didn't that one make it on your blog Georgia?)

Homemade root beer stewing in dry ice.
Taylor and her cousins all ready to serve dinner to the masses.
Lula was stealing watermelon before dinner was ready.
Of course she's to cute to say no to, I think she got away with 3 slices.

Some Candle Love

2010-06-17T20:50:00.000-07:00

On a recent expedition to Pottery Barn I snapped a picture of a display they had created. I saw it and fell instantly in love, then I thought...dude, I can totally do that myself! So check out my creation for the new and still unfinished pergola...

I'm pretty sure it cost like 1/10th the cost of the Pottery Barn version.

Random Stuff...

2010-06-16T10:51:00.000-07:00

I forgot to mention that my crazy awesome husband got me my long awaited point and shoot camera for Mothers Day! Actually he gave it to me on his birthday (May 18) because I was in Georgia for Mothers Day. I'm pretty sure I got a better present on Alan's birthday than he did. This baby is all that I dreamt of and more...Lumix LX3, I LOVE YOU!

Last week Lula, Tate and I went to school to have lunch with Tanner first and then Taylor. It was field day and it rained hard all day...actually it's rained hard for the past two months! We are all feeling pretty soggy and cranky waiting for summer to start.

Speaking of summer and sun. We did have a wonderfully sunny day this last Saturday, it was like manna from heaven. We took full advantage and busted out the kiddy pool. Lula was crazy happy. My Mom, Sister and nephews came out to visit and we had a really great day.

Yesterday however it hailed so hard it looked like snow...today...more rain.

Lula and the bookcases

2010-06-02T10:52:00.000-07:00

We finally got our bookcases up in the loft so the books could be unpacked. I still need to paint and "pretty it up" but I was going through book withdrawls and the bookcases needed to get done. My kids have never lived without books at their fingertips at all times. It's the way it should be!
Lula and Tate have been hanging out there a lot reading and playing and it just warms my heart. Yesterday Lu was takng a bath and while I was in another room cleaning up she snuck out of the tub and this is how I found her...

My very own Bob The Builder!

2010-05-29T10:38:00.000-07:00

Tanner used to watch Bob the Builder religiously when he was about 4 years old. I have this one episode embedded in my mind forever. It's the one where Wendy goes out of town to visit her sister. Bob gets the idea to build her a garden with a pergola for shade. I was so jealous of Wendy because I've always wanted a pergola!

Well my own personal (and way hotter) Bob The Builder has come through. Yesterday he whipped me out the most beautiful 24X16 foot pergola! AND...he did it in the pouring rain. Eat your heart out Wendy...mine is better than yours!!!

It still needs some finishing touches so I'll have to show you the whole shebang another time!

I'm LOST...

2010-05-26T09:18:00.000-07:00

We've been huge Lost fans since the beginning. I've watched every single episode waiting and wondering what the "answers" would be. We watched the finale this week with a bit of sadness that our favorite show is coming to an end. I was looking forward to getting some long awaited "answers" to my many questions as well. But...no such luck. They didn't answer much! I'm not saying I didn't like the ending because I was totally satisfied by the way it wrapped up and I had already figured it would end this way. I just think the finale felt rushed and they could have done a better job leading up to it. What done is done though and I've loved every minute!

Although I sure would like to know the answer to some of these...

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Georgia On My Mind

2010-05-14T18:45:00.000-07:00

I finally went back! It's been 3 years since the last time I went to visit and that wasn't under fun circumstances, so it doesn't really count.
Man did I have a good time! When my plane was coming into Atlanta I started choking up all suddenly. I had to check myself before I started all out bawling. It just felt so familiar and so much like home. Before I left, Alan told me he was terrified that I would get lost driving around but I never had a problem. It all came back to me like it was yesterday. The entire time I was there I kept wishing I could just call Alan and the kids and tell them to get on a plane, leave Washington behind and stay in Georgia forever. Of course that's never going to happen but I sure wish it could. I love my Georgia friends who were my family for 4 years and I miss them more than I realized. I'm just going to have to make it more of a yearly visit instead of every 3 years. Thankfully I won't have to wait a whole year to go back though! I get to go in July to shoot the wedding of Chad and Kari, woooohoooo! I can hardly wait.

Our family favorite! The ice cream shop in Hickory Flat where they make all the ice cream themselves. Oh ya, it's gooood!

Went back and it had moved and now looks like this. Still yummy!

Another one of my favorites. A cute little boutique in Hickory Flat. It had also moved but it was better than ever. I bought myself a great necklace!

Oh the yumminess of Ellijay...FRIED PIES!!! I bought a black raspberry one for breakfast and then bought 6 fried peach pies and brought them all the way home. Along with some fudge and taffy.

These are the two houses that we owned in Georgia. Love them both! I have to say it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be to see them. They didn't feel like mine anymore. I learned a big lesson. A home is truly where your family is, it's a feeling, not a place.

Lula Belle's 2nd Birthday

2010-04-19T18:41:00.000-07:00

Lula turns 2 tomorrow but we celebrated on Saturday with a big ol bash. This little girls is so much fun! She's a spoiled rotten diva for sure but we adore her. Alan tells me that I've ruined her and I have to agree, I have no defense. For example she didn't show any interest in her presents until she opened the frilly dress from Grandma, then she cracked a smile and let out a giggle. This girl LOVES clothes and possibly loves shoes even more. I'm really not the only one to blame in her spoiling. All 5 of us pamper her. She's our baby and we can't help ourselves!

Our Young Woman

2010-04-19T18:12:00.000-07:00

Our baby girl isn't a baby anymore. Taylor turned 12 on April 17. She celebrated twice. On Thursday I took her to Sephora to get a makeover and buy some makeup for her, then I took her to her favorite restraunt Red Robin for dinner. On Friday she had a party with 8 of her friends at our house. The girls all made flowers into hair clips. Then I took pictures of each of them as a keepsake. My friend Natalie made some awesome cupcakes for Taylor's party that Taylor helped design.
This Sunday was Taylor first Sunday in the Young Woman's program. All of the girls and leaders came to primary to get Taylor. Alan and I stood in the hall to watch her go. We had big smiles on our faces but a little bit of sadness that our baby girl has grown up so fast. I really don't know where the last 12 years have gone! I'm so proud and thankful for this young woman of mine.

Tanner's Big Day

2010-04-19T17:17:00.000-07:00

Tanner turned 10 on April 14th. Totally amazing that he's so grown up! I love this little guy so much. The 10 best things about Tanner are:

1. He'll still snuggle up to me.
2. He has a big huge heart.
3. He loves animals.
4. He can read better than most grown ups.
5. He's adorable.
6. He has a sense of humor that you don't see coming.
7. He's so logical.
8. He doesn't allow people to be insulting.
9. He's brilliant.
10. He has a great testimony.

For his birthday Alan took him for breakfast to the Pancake House. After school they headed out with his friend Easton and Easton's Dad Dan to the Family Fun Center for some serious fun.

The egg hunt.

2010-04-09T23:17:00.001-07:00

We had our friends the Nerlands over for Easter this year. It stopped raining long enough so that we could have our Easter egg hunt outside. Yah! The kids were pumped. We tried to count the eggs while we were hiding them but we totally lost count and didn't end up with a number. I think it was around 200 eggs though. The kids had them gathered in about 5 minutes! Although, they went out later and spent an hour finding about 16 more eggs. Next year I'm not being so nice and hiding them in plain site, I'm going to make it much harder.

Happy Easter!!!

2010-04-04T12:40:00.000-07:00

I love Easter sunday. This year is especially wonderful because we have the opportunity to hear the Prophet, Apostles and leaders of the church testify of the Savior. What a special confrence it's been! I love my Savior and am so grateful to him, to all that he has done for me. If you didn't have a chance to hear the confrence messages, click here...go be edified!

HAPPY EASTER TO OUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS!

Ours Girls are here!!!!

2010-04-01T12:50:00.000-07:00

WE HAVE CHICKENS! We've been wanting to get them ever since we moved into our house. They call our ward the "chicken ward". Apparently the previous bishop asked the ward members to do a few things to be better prepared...have a wood stove, a garden, fruit trees and CHICKENS! So we just had to get some so we could fit in. Alan is almost done building their new home, it looks like a mini red barn. I love it, pictures of that when it's done.
We had agreed that 4 chickens would be a good number but when it came down to it I just couldn't resist them. The kids and I brought home 6 chickens, one for each of us. We have 2 Silver Laced Wyandottes named Oreo (Tanner) and Sally (Tate), 2 Barred Rocks named Chickita (Taylor) and Black Mambo (Alan), 2 Buff Orpingtons named Hazel (Tallula) and Henrietta (Karina).
We decided to get month old chicks instead of day old chicks because they're healthier and have a better life expectancy. So they're a little gangly, we joke that we've adopted a bunch of teenagers. Some of them already have very distinct personalities. Not surprisingly Alan's chicken is a trouble maker and riles everyone up. Tanner's is quite the explorer and Lula and mine are sweet and love to be held. Tate's has a little disability (he has a fifth toe). Taylor's comes right to her. We can already tell them all apart and it's starting out to be a great adventure!
By August we'll have 4-6 big brown eggs a day from our little family of chickens, can't wait!

Clam Digging

2010-04-01T12:27:00.000-07:00

My brave, adventurous husband decided to take all 4 of our kids clam digging in Ocean Shores last weekend. I wasn't able to go due to a photo shoot...darn (she says sarcastically)! I think he can now say they had a good time since it's a week behind him. The lack of sleep is what did him in. Tent camping isn't really Princess Lula's "thing", so she kept him up most of the night. The clam digging went great and they brought home a bucket full. Apparently the beach was packed with people but there were plenty of clams for everyone. Tate was the spotter and Taylor, Tanner and Alan were the diggers. Tanner wouldn't touch the clams so Taylor had to pick them all up and put them in the nets. Once they got home, Alan steamed them out of their shells and froze them. We'll make some clam chowder later and can it in my new pressure canner!

These last few pictures are courtesy of Tate. He got ahold of the camera and snapped off a ton of hilareous pictures.

Happy GREEN Day!!!

2010-03-17T15:00:00.000-07:00

CAN'T PINCH ME!

We had our annual GREEN dinner last night since Alan had the day off. We had Alan's friend Dan and his son Easton over which was fun. This dinner is always so weird to me. When I cook there's usually a theme. Like if we're having tacos I'll make guacamole and salsa to go with it or if it's a roast we'll have potatoes and a steamed vegetable. Hamburgers would have a side like chips and corn on the cob. They GO together. Our green dinner never makes sense but oh well! The kids pick out a bunch of things they can think of that's green and we cook it all up.
This year we brought back last years favorite shepherds pie (green mashed potatoes on top), paired that with a side of asparagus and chips and guacamole. To drink we had green Gatorade. We followed that up with mint chocolate chip ice cream for dessert.
Today I have had the pleasure of changing 2 green poopy diapers so far and it is only 3:00 in the afternoon. GOOD TIMES!

Pine Wood Derby 2010

2010-03-15T22:40:00.001-07:00

Tanner's sweet car! His scout leaders named it The Phantom.

Well this years derby proved to be a learning experience. Tanner built the car all by himself this year and it looked AMAZING. Looks don't always win though. His car didn't do to great and he really struggled to be a good sport. He was near tears a few times. I felt so bad for him but I just left him alone until it was all over. I had to take him out in the foyer and let him cry it out for a few minutes. Then we talked about it being hard to loose but it's important to try to have fun and be happy for the person who wins. It's a tough lesson to learn when your a competitive little 9 year old. I will admit that he comes from two VERY competitive parents. One who will remain nameless has been known to throw a board game a time or two!

The Yard

2010-02-27T22:11:00.000-08:00

Our yard is in as bad of shape as the house was. It hasn't been high on the priority list of things to get done around here so it's just this huge eye sore for us and for the whole neighborhood. We've been having some amazingly beautiful days and I can feel spring coming. I really want my kids to be able to run and play and explore our property. We also really want to plant a garden this year. Thanks to Alan's wonderful brother Scott it looks like we'll be able to do all of that this year! He dropped of a CAT dozer to our house today and Alan spent 6 straight hours in that thing. I don't have the done pictures yet because he didn't finish until it was dark. I'll post those later. Really it just looks like a giant pit of mud but I can see the vision! I'm so excited!!!

This is Scott giving Alan driving lessons. There in the garden on the side of the house here.

Alan's all ready to rock and roll.

First he pulled up these nasty boards left over from the nasty dog run that held 8 dogs.

As soon as Scott left Alan found the ONLY mud pit in the entire yard and proceeded to get himself stuck for 2 hours. It took the winch on the Jeep, a snatch block and our very helpful neighbor to get him out. There was absolutely no hardpack under the 10,000 pound dozer. This picture doesn't do it justice he had the dozer sunk more than halfway under. This picture was after he got out and the hole filled up.

Me in the Jeep working the winch. These are seriously my favorite pair of shoes. I Lurve them!

Here's a before picture.

Hard at work knocking down the weeds and leveling the yard.

Painting 101

2010-02-24T11:50:00.000-08:00

I sometimes get asked for advise on repainting furniture or cabinets. I thought I would write it all down in a blog post so it's handy for anyone who might need it. By posting this I am not saying I am an expert by any stretch of the imagination. I have however refinished 4 kitchens 4 bathrooms and countless pieces of furniture so I'll share the knowledge I do have.

PREP WORK

This will probably be the most time consuming part of your project.

- CLEAN. You want to thoroughly clean the item with soap and hot water. Be extra diligent if it's kitchen cabinets, they tend to have a grease build up you want to really get out.
- SAND. If the item has any rough spots, chipping paint, etc. you will want to sand them out. I hate sanding so I try to avoid it at all cost. Sometimes you just have to though.
-DEGLOSSER. I believe this is the greatest invention of my time...no joke. This stuff is amazing. You just take an old rag and wipe it on your item. Don't wipe it off, just let it dry. If you want you can do it again and again. This will prep the piece for primer, no sanding necessary. I almost never sand anymore thanks to this stuff. Yay for DeGlosser!!!

PRIMER

All I'm going to say is...YES!!! Primer is your friend. It doesn't matter if you paint it on or spray it on, just do it.

PAINTING

There are a few options as far as paint goes.

- PAINT AND PAINTBRUSH. Chose a favorite satin or semi-gloss paint and a REALLY good paintbrush. I can not stress the importance of a REALLY good paintbrush enough. My favorite is Purdy. It can be a bit of an investment but it is worth it. You will get nice even coverage with no brush strokes if you use a good brush. This is how I paint 90% of my projects.
- SPRAY PAINT. This is a great option because you get really good even coverage...if you do it right. Don't get ahead of yourself and lay it on thick. You want to do multiple light coats to get the best finished product. The downside to spay paint is that it can get very expensive. I spray paint my small projects or anything metal or plastic. I don't have a favorite brand but you'll want to use a good name brand not the $.99 Wal-mart can. That stuff is junk!!!! Buy the good stuff and you'll be fine.
- PAINT SPRAYER. This is probably the best option although it's the one I use the least. My husband is the master paint sprayer and I don't go there! He has spayed 2 out of the four kitchens we have re-done and the coverage is wonderful. We don't like to break it out for small projects because clean up is kind of a pain but sometimes it's just worth it. You can rent a paint sprayer for pretty cheap if you don't own one.

FINISHING

I do a few things to my finished projects.

DISTRESSING - You can do this a few different ways. You can rub wax on your project in the areas that you want to sand later so that the paint comes off easy and controlled. Or you can do like I do and just bust out the sander and go to work. I think it's a bit of an art that you learn the more you do. I've had my share of bad distress jobs. You can take it to next level and bang your piece up with chain or a screw driver. Distressing is a GREAT way to cover up you mistakes as well!

ANTIQUE GLAZE - I love this stuff. I've glazed cabinets and furniture alike. I've found a method that works after lots of trial and error. I like to brush the glaze on, then I wipe it right back off with an rag. That's it. Pretty simple but I used to try to rag it on, then rag it off and it always looked yucky.

POLY - I use a poly acrylic because it's specifically states that it is works on paint. The poly urethane didn't mention paint. You can probably use it but I didn't want to take a chance. Someone else who knows, feel free to chime in. Choose the finish that suits your needs: matte, satin or gloss. Again I just brush the poly on with a GOOD brush and let it dry. You can do additional coats for extra protection.

Now your done! Enjoy!

Is it to late?

2010-02-16T17:14:00.000-08:00

Hope you had a Happy Valentines Day...

I know it's late but Alan has had 5 days off of work and that always turns my schedule upside down. The kids have had the last 5 days off of school as well and it's been a great long weekend! I had a wonderful birthday on Sunday with Alan, the kids, my parents and my sisters family. Tomorrow it's back to reality.

Visions of Fireplaces

2010-01-30T13:37:00.000-08:00

I've had visions of fireplaces dancing in my head for a long time. I have a deep love for all things fireplace related. When we bought this house there was an awkward corner fireplace in an awkward back family room. That family room was immediately transformed into a kitchen and the fireplace was turned from the corner to the wall. We've been talking and planning out this fireplace from day one. The problems are proving bigger than we want to deal with though. The fireplace manufacturer is out of business and we can't buy replacement parts to fix the chimney. It would cost way more money than we want to put into it right now. Fireplaces really aren't energy saving at all unless you have a wood stove so it just seems silly to dump money we don't have into something just because it will look pretty. We've been debating for 6 months now weather or not to keep the fireplace or rip it out. The other factor is that we would like to add an addition onto the house sometime in the future and the location of the fireplace would be the only good place to put the doorway to the addition. So I think after great debate and a lot of changing our minds we've decided to rip the thing out. It's sad and I want to change my mind every day but I think next week it'll be time. I'm sad that my visions will be put on hold once again. The one redeeming thing in all of this is that if we do put in an addition we will put in a fireplace, so at least there is still hope!

Adventures in Couponing

2010-01-29T19:48:00.000-08:00

So let's just lay it out straight...I really HATE couponing. I have tried to get into it but I just have no time and no interest. It seems to be the the new and cool thing to do around here but I'm just going to have to be a part of the un-cool crowd on this one. This doesn't mean I don't LOVE a good deal. A good deal is like a high for me, I get all crazy eyed and giddy when I find a really good deal. I am a complete and total bargain hunter but coupons just make me crazy. I follow a blog called The Bargain Jargon and I love it. I usually glaze over the coupon deals but there was one I couldn't pass up this week. Albertsons is having a smoking good deal on a few things and I would have stocked up just on the sale price but the Bargain Jargon suggested buying some coupons on ebay for the sale items. Who knew you could buy coupons on ebay??? So that's just what I did (I spent $1.75 on 35 coupons). I got them in the mail today and off I went to Albertons. Basically I spend about $45 on 15 boxes of cereal, 30 boxes of granola bars, 5 boxes of instant oatmeal and 10 bottles of syrup. The awesome part is that I saved $185!!! Woooo Hoooo, that's what I call a smoking good deal! I had to get a rain check for the 30 boxes of pancake mix I plan to buy with 15 coupons for at total of $15. Ya me!

Did I mention...

2010-01-16T11:35:00.000-08:00

I got a new calling in church. I'm the 1st counselor in the Relief Society Presidency. Which is the women's organization for anyone who doesn't follow Mormon lingo!
Why not add it on to the madness that is my life! I really am looking forward to serving the sisters of my ward. It gives me purpose and reminds me to slow down and take time for the spiritual side of my life. My bishop was concerned about adding this responsibility on to my already busy schedule but I feel so blessed to be able to serve the church. How could I not be willing to give back only a tiny portion of what my Savior gives me every single day? I know I'm being watched over and guided, I'm so grateful for the gift of the Holy Ghost. I couldn't function without it, now if the Spirit could just get the laundry done!!!

Current Projects

2010-01-12T17:27:00.000-08:00

We are almost done with the office, it just needs a few finishing touches. The frames are currently being built for the gallery wall. They will all be black with black and white pictures. The frames are proving to be a long process so we'll see when they get done. I still need some accessories like 3 baskets for inside my red shelf and I have a sweet plan for my coffee table. Speaking of the coffee table. I purchased it as a dining table off of craigslist for $25. Alan cut the pedestal legs down to make it coffee table height then it received a nice fresh coat of white paint to wash away the dull boring brown that it was! Sweetness!!!

We are currently working hard on the office bathroom. It is a MESS! It's now gutted, except for that hideous black toilet. Until I have the money for a fresh new white one it will have to stay. The corner thing you see has been torn down and now there is a ton more room. I bought and antique dresser off of craiglist for cheap yesterday and it received a coat of black paint last night. It is now all distressed and ready to become the new bathroom vanity. We are having a friend in Georgia ship us 3 bowl sinks, faucets and light fixtures from our old house (2 for upstairs and 1 for the office). Once those arrive we can get the vanity in. We'll be putting in black slate floors and a coat of white paint on the walls.

New Pictures

2010-01-06T22:16:00.000-08:00

I finally took new pictures of my kids. I really have empathy for my clients when I have to try and get my kids all together to get pictures done, it's like pulling teeth. I'm glad I finally bit the bullet and did it because I love them! Now I just have to get them printed out and on the wall.
We are going to have them printed 16X24 (yes, that's huge) with a linen finish. Alan is custom building the frames. They will be a 5" frame made from Hemlock with a black glaze finish, then distressed. I can't wait to get it all done! I'll post pictures once they're up on the wall.

On a house note...I've been dilegently working away on my office. It's getting pretty close to being done. So I'll have pictures for you soon.

New Years Eve

2010-01-02T01:50:00.001-08:00

Crazy good times! We took the kids with us over to the Nerland's house and partied like we were still teenagers. We enjoyed some Rock Band, a little game of Dirty Minds (perfect group to play it with), Pictionary, a lot of laughing, tons of food, the necessary banging of pots and pans at midnight along with a few fireworks, followed by more laughing and a few rounds of Wii bowling.
Tallula tried her hardest to stay awake and ring in the New Year but alas she gave up and fell asleep around 11. Tate was in and out until 1am when he finally conked out. Alan took a nap between the hours of 2-3am. Taylor and Tanner on the other hand stayed awake until we got home at 4am. That's some serious New Years eve dedication if you ask me. Our kids are well trained in parting like rock stars!
I couldn't have asked for a better way to bring in a new year than spending it with great friends who have supported us through a tough year. Thanks for your love and freindship guys! I'm looking forward to a new year with less stress and more joy.

Christmas Day

2010-01-02T01:14:00.000-08:00

I'm just gonna say that I'm glad it's over! I love everything about Christmas except Christmas day. It stresses me out!!! Let's have a recap.

-3:58 am I was awakened by children and 1 giant child named Alan.
-The best part of the day was spent opening gifts with my husband and kids.
-7:00 am I went back to bed until 10:00 am.
-2 hours of driving in a car with no heat, 1 hour of that Lula spent screaming.
-3 hours with my family. I was so tired that I don't remember much.
-2 hours of driving in the car with no heat again, Lula slept.
-4 hours with Alan's family. I was more awake by then so I remember we had fun.
-1 hour driving home in the car with no heat. Lula SCREAMED the ENTIRE time.
-Spent the rest of the night cleaning up the bomb that went off Christmas morning.
-Happily went to sleep knowing the day was over and wouldn't be back for 12 months.

I swear every year that I'm not going to go to both families in one day. Then every year we do and I regret it. It makes for a very long day and a LOT of driving. The problem is that we REALLY do want to be with all of our family on Christmas. It just wouldn't be the same if we didn't see all their happy faces. The problem is, it doesn't leave me with a very happy face. I still haven't figured out a solution but I'm going to by next year because I'M NOT DOING IT AGAIN!

The COOLEST train EVER!
This is an ormanment of Alan on his Mom's tree. So cute!

Christmas Eve

2009-12-24T22:24:00.001-08:00

What a great day it was!

Our friends the Blacks have been missing one part of their family for a little while. Their Dad Pete has been depolyed in Turkey. He was supposed to be home for Christmas but because of the snow storms back East his flight got delayed. It wasn't looking like he'd make it in time. Some how though at the last minute a miracle was pulled off. He got a flight home on Christmas eve. So we concocted a plan! The kids came over to my house for the day while Jonae went to get Pete from the airport and put together the suprise. They found a Santa suit and a giant box and wrapped Pete up. When I brought the kids home Jonae told them that a big shipment had come and that they could open it up. It was the cutest thing ever!! Pete came popping out of that box yelling Merry Christmas. It just really reminded me of the what Christmas is all about and how lucky I am to have my family all around me tonight. Merry Christmas Black family, I'm so glad you have Dad home with you safe and sound.
When I got home we had cookies and cocoa while watching a movie. We read some Christmas stories and put out cookies for Santa. This year we were all prepared with nothing to have to put together. We had the presents under the tree in 10 minutes! Now it's off to bed so Santa doesn't skip this house.

Christmas Goodies

2009-12-24T14:54:00.001-08:00

So you know those people who spend days baking. They revel in the joy of cooking up tasty treats. Treats they will deliver to every person they've made contact with in their lives. I'm not one of those kinda people! My mom did this every year and I remember how fun it was but I still can't bring myself to do it. The thought of trying to accomplish this task nearly sends me over the edge straight to the loony bin.

This year though Alan wanted to take some treats to the families he home teaches. I couldn't bring myself to plan and prepare for it. I saw this post from The Bargain Jargon and thought maybe I could pull this off. It still took me a week to muster up the guts to attempt the goodie making. Not to mention I forced Alan to leave the house with all my children so that I wouldn't loose my mind. You think I'm exaggerating? No....I hate cooking/baking with my kids around, I get all anxiety ridden and start turning into Monster Mom. Believe me you don't want to witness Monster Mom.

Anyway, I pulled it off, treats were made and happily delivered! My kids loved the delivery part of the process just like I did when I was a kid. They don't have to know how my Mom cooked 6 different types of cookies and candy, packaged them all and delivered mass amounts of plates each year all the while filled with the Christmas spirit of love and joy. My kids can just go on thinking my pretzel dipping was an amazing feat of Christmas spirit and not know how sadly lacking I really am in that department.

So I'm sorry if you were expecting goodies from me and did not come through for you. Know that I love you and I'm thinking about bringing you treats. I'm imagining how much you would love pecan snowballs, peanut brittle, dipped oreos and cookie bars. Heck I'm imagining how much I'd like all those things. Do you see them? I can almost taste it, can't you? There that was so much easier than actually doing it. Enjoy your virtual treat from my heart to yours! Merry Christmas!

Emmett, Emmett & Rigtrup

2009-12-23T16:39:00.000-08:00

We had the two Emmett clans over today for a quick little Christmas party. The holiday season can be so crazy we don't even see eachother. So we decided to be sure and let the kids party hard together this year. Natalie made some incredibly delicious yet slightly disabled gigerbread men for the kids to decorate. Nena had her Mom with her who is visiting all the way from Dubai, and her sister in law and nephew who are here from Utah. It was wild and crazy as always and tons of fun! Love you guys, thanks for taking the time to trek out to my neck of the woods!

A little house love

2009-12-17T22:09:00.000-08:00

I don't know if I've mentioned the barn door around here, but I had big plans for a barn door! It took some convincing for Alan to get on board for this project but I won him over eventually (I always do). So thanks to my favorite website (craigslist) I was able to buy the barn door and track from someone out in Olympia who didn't know what they'd be missing out on when selling this bad boy. Little did they know that if your brave like me you can use a barn door...indoor. Instead of your traditional french doors leading into an office, in our house you get this...

Believe me, I realize that this is not for everyone, but it's sooo me. I'm really very in love with it...can you marry a barn door? No, Alan may have a problem with that.

My other true house love is my new fabulous dining room lights. I can't even put into words the deep joy these bring me...deep joy I tell you! I've wanted/coveted/lusted after these lights for 5 or 6 years now. They are now mine and I stare at them all the time, but then my eyes hurt so I have to look away. Now you may have the pleasure of staring at my beauties...

Just don't judge my crusty table to harshly. I have pictures to take and blogs posts to write, there's no time for scrubbing tables around here!

The poor missionaries...

2009-12-05T12:19:00.001-08:00

We had the missionaries over for dinner last night. Alan loves to try and feed them something they wouldn't normally have at a members home. He fed the sister missionaries ribeye steaks last year, needless to say the loved that! When he found out that one of our missionaries had lived in Japan for a few years he decided to make sushi. The hard part is that we have to drive an hour to buy sashimi quality fish for the sushi. Worth it to Alan though. He tends to go overboard on most things and this was no exception. Thankfully we already had a lot of the items he needed like seaweed, shitaki mushrooms and rice. But he still spent around $60 on the ingredients! I'm going to interject here and tell you that there isn't a single person in our house aside from Alan that will touch Sushi with a 10, no make that a 100 foot pole. So he made mass amounts of Sushi and it turns out the other missionary agrees with the rest of my family and was not super excited about the sushi dinner. LOL, he tried one and he seriously turned green! I ended up making him a roast beef sandwich. I felt so bad for him! The sushi didn't go to waste though, amazingly, Alan and Elder Baxter ate ALL of it. Just makes me want to vomit thinking about it!

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree...

2009-12-01T22:47:00.000-08:00

Yes, I already have the tree up! Alan gave up years ago trying to convince me not to get a tree so early. I don't really care if it's dead by Christmas, I want to enjoy it as long as possible.
Although one year we were having a Christmas party and the tree was so dead, it was embarrassing. So I went out and bought a new tree, drug it inside, tore down the old one and redecorated the new one all by myself. I knew Alan would never let me do it, so snuck and did it all while he was at work! Mwahaahaa!
Anyway this years tree was up and decorated on Saturday. Another tree rule of mine is that it has to be decorated the same day we buy it. WHY? Because my Scrooge of a Dad would force us to "let the branches rest" before we could decorate it. This would take a day or two in his opinion. It nearly killed me to wait. Really it was just my Dad who needed to rest! He made us all suffer the anticipation of tree decorating, I've never forgotten the torture. I promise never to put my kids through it.
I'm really rambling today, sorry! This was my second year trying not to be a tree Nazi. Which means I let my kids put all the ornaments up without interference from me. Thankfully Taylor is a chip off the old block and she takes care of the Nazi part for me. She moves all the ornaments the boys put on so that the "flow" of ornaments is more uniform. Ahhh, I love that girl!

Thanksgiving

2009-11-30T17:54:00.000-08:00

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-01T19:28:00.001-08:00

I hope you all had a fabulous Halloween! We had a great time trick or treating with a few friends. Good dessert and company followed. This is the first year we've lived in a house where we actually get trick or treaters. I had a blast seeing all the costumes and handing out candy. We had LOADS of teenagers though, which I thought was weird. I think I stopped trick or treating when about 12 or 13. We had kids that were pushing 16 and 17 for sure, is that to old or am I just getting old???

Team Edward vs. Team Jacob

2009-10-20T22:04:00.000-07:00

New Moon fever has hit! My ticket was purchased the day they went on sale and I'm totally excited. I even designed a t-shirt for me and my peeps to wear. Oh ya, I am that big of a dork! Taylor is mad at me because I won't let her come along to the opening night but I have to sensor it first.
I suppose it's time to finally admit that after more than a year of pestering I finally broke down and let Taylor read the books. She wasn't allowed to read the first part of the 4th book for obvious reasons. Frankly she didn't want to, she's still young enough not to care about all the mushy stuff. She would skip ahead if it got to kissy for her. She's totally Twilight obsessed now, especially New Moon. She's read the book 3 times. She's in love with Jacob, the little traitor!!! So now we're a house divided. One for team Edward (ME) and one for team Jacob (THE TRAITOR). I love that kid! She's getting so old, how can it be that we're reading the same books and fighting over who's the cutest guy?!

Here's a little Edward yumminess for you...

My Mom

2009-10-14T00:50:00.000-07:00

My mom had a stoke a week ago. I'm to tired and exhausted to go into details but it was a big one and it scared me. I saw her a few hours after it happended and it's something I'll never forget. I adore my Mom and I don't want to think about life without her so I'm happy to say that she's making a remarkable recovery. My dad emailed an update today and I though I would share it...

To My Family & Friends,
I thought I would give you an update on how Jeannie is doing. She is recovering rapidly. She was suppose to be in the ICU for three to four days but they moved her out the following evening. I was told she would be in the area where the stroke victims are for another four to five days. She was there two days and they moved her to the rehab center. I was told that she would be there for at least a week and maybe two or three. Yesterday the therapists told her she has made so much progress that she will be able to go home tomorrow with 4 days of occupational and physical therapy. I'm not sure if she was being seen by a speech therapist or not. She still slurs her words some but she is so much better than she was last Wed. when she had the stroke. I can understand most of what she says and what I don't understand is in part due to my loss of hearing. She has been walking on her own and has gone up and down stairs with someone with her. She won't be able to drive for a while which is probably a blessing for all the rest of the drivers on the road. She should be able to do about everything she did before but it will be at a slower pace. She will need to continue working on using her left side and retrain her brain. Thank you for your prayers on her behalf. I know they have made a difference. I also know that the power of the Priesthood is real and is the authority to act for God here on the earth. Our Bishop came to the hospital the night she had the stroke and we gave Jeannie a Priesthood blessing and she was told that through her faith and the faith of family members everyone praying for her she would fully recover from the stroke. Yes, I believe in miracles. The doctor in the ICU told me that it was the worst kind of stroke and that she may not live and if she did it would could take a long time to recover and may never fully recover.

NORMAN B. DILLE

...I want to add my testimony to my Fathers. I know God is real and that he hears our prayers. I know that the priesthood has been restored to earth. I have felt it's power in my life many times. I have seen it work miracles in my life as well as the lives of my loved ones. I am so grateful!

Memory Lane

2009-10-01T18:38:00.000-07:00

So I'm spilling my guts here. After everything we've been through it looks like were going to loose our house in Georgia. We'll be enduring the big bad F word...forclusure. I know that's a little heavy for a blog but this is my journal so...
I thought I would write a bit about our house and what's happened along the way. We love this house and spent a lot of time and money making it a home. We lived there for 3 years which for us is a long time. Taylor was only 4 and Tanner was 2 when we moved into this home. I remember bringing Tate home from the hospital. My sister Michelle lived with us for 8 months here, good times. First day of pre-school, first day of Kindergarten for both Taylor and Tanner. Christmas. You get the picture, there are memories galore. We made the decision to lease it out and move into a house that we were going to fix and flip. When we moved it looked like this:

When our leasor jumped ship and took off it looked like this:

Alan and I flew to Georgia for 12 days over Easter and literally spent night and day trying to put it back to it's former glory. We also spent $15,000 that put is into debt and sucked all of our savings away. We did this so that we could put it on the market and sell it. When we got there we were shocked to find it in the condition it was in. The smell was sooo bad it would just knock you back. They had been breeding dogs in the house and it was just so foul. The damage was overwhelming. The flooring was replaced, every single wall was painted, every piece of trim was painted, I won't bore you with the endless list...Here's what we accomplished:

After all that work the house sat on the market for 11 months. 11 months that I had to work full time to pay the mortgage so that we never paid a single late payment. We had lost to much value in the real estate slump so we decided to risk it again and do another lease purchase. That didn't turn out to be a great solution. Our renters were always late paying rent and were full of lies galore. They missed months that I still had to pay the mortgage and my rent here in Puyallup. The final straw was when they didn't pay rent for 4 months. All while we were trying to buy our house here. We had to work and scramble to pay all of our bills so that our credit wouldn't be ruined and so that we didn't let our landlords down. It was one of the most stressful times ever. We had to go through the process of having the tenants legally evicted. They sqautted in that house to the very last second they could. Thankfully the lord blessed us and we were able to close on our house amidst all of this. We had hoped that we could rent the house out again but we have found out that it's been trashed again. So I'm afraid this is the end of the line for our Georgia home. We no longer have the money to do all the repairs nessissary, nor do we have the money to pay two mortgages. It's super sad and makes me want to cry whenever I think about it. It was such a beautiful house and I hope that someone will live there again that will love it and take care of it like we did.
Forclosure is scary and we don't know what lays ahead of us. We're trying to seek out legal advise so we can be prepared, I guess we'll see.

Photo update of the house

2009-09-29T23:08:00.001-07:00

We've been here for 2 months now and we've made pretty good progress.

-Knocked down two walls

-moved plumbing

-MANY wallpaper boarders removed

-3 weeks were devoted to electrical work...yawn

-drywall is the worst invention know to man and my greatest nemeses (plural NE-ME-SES: a formidable and usually victorious rival or opponent)

-the kitchen was dismantled then reassembled one room over

-an island was built and painted

-farm sink installed

-granite slab counters installed, all by Alan's big bad self

-cabinets (beadboard added,primed, painted, glazed, knobs and pulls)

-fireplace moved and framed

-flooring is a story of it's own (see below)

-24 knew light fixtures installed

-kitchen and family room painted

-my beloved hutch moved in, armoir and couches also moved in (we stopped working for a week after the couches were moved in, I'm not kidding, we couldn't get up)

-backsplash going in as I type

-undercabinet lighting going in also as I type

Ok, so the floors are a story. The flooring we wanted was going to cost $3,000 for the downstairs alone. We don't have said $3,000. What do we do? We convince our handy dandy husband to build us some floors. I have had this idea rolling around in my head for like 10 years. I never thought he would do it for me. It took some convincing and a few books checked out from the library but I won. I've always dreamt of having reclaimed pine floors like you would see in an old farm house. So we faked it! Alan and I ripped 1/2" pine plywood into 8'X8" boards. Alan then routered all 4 edges of each board. Alan picked black as the paint color and I agreed. So I painted the installed boards then took a sander and sanded over every sqaure inch to give it an old worn and weathered look. Final cost to do the entire downstairs $200...can't beat that!

Things left to do:

-stacked stone the fireplace and install mantle
-wood wrap all windows and doors
-baseboard trim
-kitchen cabinet crown & trim
-paint, paint, paint
-install the rest of the floors
-tear down hall closet
-new doors
-a super duper cool suprise involing barn doors
-powder room/total remodel
-upstairs bathroom/total remodel
-total makeover of the stairway and railing
-Build walk in closet in Master
-Build master bath (that'll be a few years away, unless someone would like to donate $)
-yard work, yard work, yard work
-paint porch and outside trim
-build a treehouse!

Are you tired, because I am?!

I love it here.

2009-09-28T17:54:00.000-07:00

I was out scouting locations today for a photo shoot I have coming up and I just need to say that I love it here! We only moved 10 minutes away from Puyallup but it's like a whole nother world. Living in "the country" as everyone calls it is such a blessing. Every time I leave my home I have the most incredible views of Mount Rainier and sweeping farm land. I feel like the trees are hugging me as I drive down the windy roads out here. Sometimes it reminds me of driving around the back roads between Canton and Cumming in Georgia, which strangely makes me feel at home. After 3 months it hasn't gotten old, the sense of gratitude hasn't even begun to wear off. I hope that in 10 years I'll still be driving home from somewhere and feel that overwhelming sense that this is where I belong. I have lived in many homes and in many cities but I have never felt so at home and at peace before. It's good to know that this is where we have landed and we're staying for good.

These spots are only 5 to 10 minutes from my home. What you can't see in the shot below is Mt. Rainier, big and beautiful, hiding behind the clouds. I snapped these with my Iphone so I could remember these spots for future photoshoots.

Do The Puyallup!

2009-09-16T02:09:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again! I can start to smell the elephant ears and roasted corn a month early. I love the Washington State Fair! I've been going to it for as long as I can remember and it's a tradition I'm passing down to my kids. Last year we discovered Monday Madness, all the rides were $1. This year the price went up to $1.50 but it was still a great deal. We played hooky from school and work and spent 8 hours at the fair.
We filled up on scones, corn, BBQ and our favorite elephant ears. We rode ride after ride. Alan has finally turned "old" like the rest of us and got a bit sick this year. It was a first for him, I don't think he was so happy about it. Tanner on the other hand had his own first. He was brave enough to ride the BIG rides. Taylor was thrilled to have someone to go with since Dad was looking a little green!
I took Tate on all the little guy rides. As you can see from his expressions he was in HEAVEN! He is so fun to watch, full of pure joy. I made a slide show of the pics from my phone but I can't get the HTML off my phone so you'll have to check it out on my facebook page instead. Below is the slideshow of Tate, pics from my camera.

I'm already itchen to go again!!!

KINDERGARTEN

2009-09-08T13:31:00.000-07:00

Well it wasn't officially the first day but Tate thinks it was. That's all that really matters! He did testing and I went with him to orientation. His official first day is Thursday...can't wait! This little man belongs in school, he loves it. He's been riding the bus to pre-school since he turned 3 so it's no new business around here but still, it's totally exciting.

P.S. Don't be judging me by my teal trim and my bird house doorbell. I'll get to it.

FINALLY...the first day of school!

2009-09-08T08:45:00.001-07:00

This was the LONGEST summer of all time! For both the kids and I, school starting is a blessed event. Taylor and Tanner had to watch as all their friends from Puyallup went off to school last week, it was painful. They both love school and would be happy with 2 weeks off for summer break! With the craziness of moving into a vacant home and not having any video games, TV, or even any of their toys or books it was truly a tough summer. Things are slowly coming together and we can see a normal life on the horizon. First step, we've got the kitchen complete. 2nd step, kids back to school. Next step, drywall and paint. Then, oh glorious day...we can move our "things" in!!! I have never been so excited to hang a picture on the wall in my life.

Thank you first day of school for making life a little more "normal".

Stay tuned for Tate's first day of Kindergarten. He has testing and orientation today. He has asked me every five minutes "how many more minutes 'til we go". Only 2 hours to go which means I only have to hear that about 24 more times!

It's a miracle...

2009-08-24T17:14:00.000-07:00

Tate has made it to age 5 without major injury or death. We've been saying since he could walk that we'd be surprised if he made to his next birthday alive. He's alive and kicking! He's my bundle of energy that just doesn't stop and is sooo fearless. He plays hard, fights dirty, loves easy, teases relentlessly and every night after all that he sleeps like a rock.
We celebrated his birthday all weekend but he insisted that he would not be 5 until he blew the candles out. Funny thing was, we couldn't find anything to light the candles with! The one lighter we had decided to give out on us and the rest are still packed. Between Alan, Uncle Scott and Uncle Nick they tried everything, finally after 20 minutes Nick's boy scout days paid off. He was able to light toilet paper on fire with nearly burnt out ashes from the grill. We had already dished the cake out to angry, hungry children but Tate was able to blow a candle out and turn 5! He was so relieved.
Today we picked up the registration papers at the kids new school and I'm starting to really freak out about sending Tate to Kindergarten. I don't think I've blogged about this yet. Tate has been in pre-school since he was 3 through the school district. He gets special services for his speech delay and sensory disorder. He looses services at age 5 unless we put him in school. So we had to decided whether to take a year off or to send him to school earlier than we feel he's ready. After counseling with his teacher we decided to send him. He will probably need to repeat Kindergarten but he just function better when he is in school. We don't want him to regress so off to Kindergarten he goes. I'm soooo nervous!

I apologize to all of you out there who think his insanely long hair is an outrage. I've heard it all before. I know he can't see. I've just been a bit pre occupied lately and he's SLIGHTLY overdue for a haircut! You will be happy to know that I cut it this afternoon and his eye's are once again visible.