Projects II

For the bathroom, the towel rack was hanging by a thread... or just loose screws. I decided to take them down and put up something a little easier for the boys to hang up their towels. I bought these great rod hooks at Tai Pan for $2 each. Now each boy has his own hook with his own colored towel (Ethan blue, Isaac green and Leo white). The picture above was a long time in the making. The picture of the sailboats is a puzzle (thrift store $1.50). I had the frame it's in for about 6 years. The larger frame was another great thrift store find for $2. I spray painted it black and voila! Hung and done.




Now if you read 'Joys of Home' or 'Thrifty Decor Chick' blogs, there seems to be a trend with spray painting branches. Only I painted mine black. I bought ribbon and glue gunned it to plastic Easter eggs. It was interesting to get the ribbon to go around the egg, but it was fun and now I'm addicted to glue gunning anything!

boys room

The other day I was looking at a friend's blog and the cute room they have for their son. Grant you he's 2 and there is an age difference for how a room is put together. But still, I was sad and wanted something cute for my boys. I got to work. I organized their shelves, closet and put their wall together.

Crawling and Sesame Street

Leo absolutely loves Sesame Street. Once it's on, he's hooked. He had just woken from a nap and he wasn't in a good mood. Found the recorded program and BAM! He's good to go.




Leo figured out crawling last week. I didn't even need to show him how to move his knees and hands at the same time. He's a quick learner. I'm just scared that he'll be walking next week. (And yes... the gate is not up to block the stairs.)

Let's go fly a Kite

Today was a perfect day to fly a kite. Chilly, but still good to fly a kite. I put the boys kite's together and got them flying. Isaac just wanted to watch, so his friend, Carter did the flying. Hopefully this picture also gives you an idea about the country life I live. The field across the street was full of corn last fall.

project

I've been frustrated and jealous by watching blogs go by with before and after projects. I wanted a project of my own. And then I found this frame at the thrift store. I wasn't a 100% sure because of the hole, but I bought it anyway.




I'm not one for letting my boys keep dead bugs, but for this I made an exception. Ethan found this huge dragonfly a year ago at a neighbors. With the frame, I first filled the hole with putty. Then I hand-sanded the frame to smooth the wood. I spray painted it black. I used scrapbook paper for the back and mesh. I found the scientific name for dragonfly and antiqued the edges. It is up in the boys room.

Don't brake on Ice

Yesterday I was driving home from my sisters in Layton. The roads were clear. But then I got into the canyon. The roads weren't too bad for my little red Ford Escort. Then I drove another 5 minutes. I was going 40mph. The truck with a trailer in front of me started to brake. So I, with my tiny knowledge of driving in the snow, was braking. My car started to slide to the right. My stomach was in knots and I was freaking out. My boys were worried too! A thought came to me to get my foot off the brake, I did, the car came out from the slide. I quickly told Ethan to pray for our safety. I honestly was freaking out. I wanted to throw up the entire drive through the canyon. My knuckles were white from their grip around the steering wheel. I now was going 30mph and I wasn't going to go any faster... but then about 10 minutes later the truck (with the trailer) started to brake AGAIN! I started to pump my brakes. My car wasn't slowing down... IT WASN'T SLOWING DOWN! I was (YES!) freaking out again praying I wouldn't hit the trailer. I tried getting into the left lane (I checked for any cars) and moved over so that I wouldn't be eating the dashboard. Phew! That was a close one. I don't think my boys were ever so quiet during a road trip when they were actually awake.

Needless to say, we got through the canyon safe. Stupid long canyon! There is nothing like learning to drive with actual experience rather then being told what to do. And I told Nathaniel he needs to get me a car with AWD. As we got closer to home, I asked Isaac to say a prayer to thank Heavenly Father for our safety.

Passing out

While watching my neices, Olivia pushed over Leo and his head hit the tile. Leo cried, Leo passed out. His first pass out and certainly not the last.

Volunteering

Today I volunteered at Isaac's class. He did so well writing the numbers 1-20 without help and he wrote them all the right way. He also got to hold the chicks. I can't believe how quickly they grow in a week. The kids were very excited to hold the chicks.

Growing

Leo is growing like crazy. He already weighs 21 lbs and is 8 months old.

My sister

I took several (okay many) pictures of my sister so that she would have a picture for her Facebook profile. I would take a picture and then she would look at it and scrunch her nose and say whatever she thought was wrong with the picture. I would look at it and think 'There is nothing wrong'. She is a beautiful person. Inside and out. She's gorgeous! She has the cutest figure (skinny brat!). She makes me laugh. The way she thinks... it cracks me up. But then most people don't understand me either. Anyway, back to Mary. She is an amazing person and she is very thoughtful. Even if I'm 45 minutes away and it's 9pm on a Sunday night, she still drove up to bring me a bag full of goodies. Mary, I love you and am so thankful and blessed to call you sister and friend.

It's a girl thing

I was watching my then six week old niece. I swore to myself that I wouldn't do anything girly to her. But then I saw her nails and they called to me. Needless to say, she got her nails polished. She was a good client and just looked glamorous!

Nothing makes you prouder

Tonight I had asked Isaac to give the prayer and to remember to bless Isaac to get well. Isaac asked me to give it because he isn't feeling well either. After prayer he told Nathaniel that he needed to give Leo and him a blessing. How great is it when your 6-year old has faith in the Priesthood? I am amazed at how often he thinks of the Priesthood and it's power to heal. I am also thankful to have a husband that respects and honors his Priesthood and was able to perform an amazing ordinance.

I will go, I will do...

I was reading a post my dad made to my brother on Facebook. For those that don't know, my family is spread around the U.S. with Jonathan in Iraq. My parents are in Virginia, Emily (Jonathan's wife), David and Lindsey in Arizona, Mary and Reese are in Layton, Utah (45 min south of me) and we are in Nibley (near Logan). My dad's comment was that we wouldn't leave this place even if we hit famine. My entire family misses being apart and the family gatherings. Jonathan wants to rally everyone back to Arizona. As much as I would love to have my family closer and miss the crap out of them, I know that this is where we need to be. I thought about Lehi and how he had to leave all of his possessions and tary in the wilderness. The Lord also asked that they get the brass plates from Laban. Can you imagine Sariah's scare? And Sariah had children in the wilderness. Regardless of what struggle or "hell" we go through, I know that Heavenly Father wants us just where we are. I just pray and hope that I can visit my family often. Love you guys.