Before and After

We have been living with a purple accent wall for over 6 years.  The other color was a light tan (with a subtle pink hue to it.)  We've been wanting to get the walls painted for a long time now, and we were finally able to have them done.

Before





During

We had a paint company come in and do it all.  They painted the ceilings as well and it was a big old dusty mess.  Thank goodness the kids were with my parents and I was at back-to-school meetings while all of this was happening.

 

 







I had to use the laundromat one day since our washer and dryer were out of commission.  At least 3 loads of laundry at once goes pretty fast!



After

The house looks so much lighter and "airier" now.  We love the light brown walls with white baseboards.

 I'm only posting pictures of the front room because it was the most dramatic change, but we also had the dining room, kitchen, family room, downstairs bathroom and upstairs hallway painted. Besides the  new paint job, we also had the carpets cleaned, the couches cleaned and the blinds cleaned.  We don't have everything back up on the walls, but we're loving our "new" house.

 

August

We were able to get in a little fun before school started.  We met up with my friend and her son at a park for a picnic and some playing.

Megan




Tyler





Emily



Megan and Emily



We went camping (see separate post) and had a great time.  Megan drew this cute little picture.  The girl is saying, "I love camping."



We got together with "old friends."  These are friends Darrell met in a singles ward over 20 years ago.  They've been nice enough to befriend me also, and we always enjoy getting together with them.



My parents were nice enough to let the kids stay with them for a few days while I had back-to-school meetings.  They had a great time.  We met them half way and stopped at Costco. Check out these HUGE teddy bears.



As per Tyler's Pokémon Club sign, we had Pokémon Club in August. 



Here he is introducing us to his stuffed puppy (we haven't really talked much about actual Pokémon lately, but Tyler enjoys having a platform to teach us stuff.)



During Pokémon Club we also watch the next episode of "Mine Wars."  It is a mixture of Minecraft and Star Wars.  Tyler makes up the episodes in his head and then acts them out using his Legos and micromachine figures.





After Pokémon Club we headed to a nearby school to play.



Tyler



Emily



Megan

We enjoyed dollar custards at Freddy's.  (Megan and Emily)



Me, Tyler and Darrell

The first day of school!

Emily first grade with Mr. Dodge





Megan first grade with Mrs. Rogers





Tyler third grade with Mrs. Mott





And me--fifth grade



It was a good first day all around for everyone, so yay!

My mom, sister and 2 nieces came down for a brief stay.  The kids loved playing with Aubrey and Olivia at the hotel swimming pool.



We had Fathers blessings and Menchies yogurt for Family Home Evening.  (Emily, Megan and Tyler)

Tyler had "meet the coach" and soccer pictures, so the girls came along to play on the playground.

Emily



Megan and me



Not to be outdone by Pokémon Club, the kids came up with "Build a Bear Club."  Only Build-a-Bear animals are allowed. (Megan, Emily and Tyler)

Camping

We went camping for 3 days in August and we LOVED it.

I set up the tent while the kids explored.  We had such a beautiful campsite.



The creek/river right by us.



Megan with her "rock doll house."



Tyler



Emily



We had a fallen log right by our campsite.  Megan and Tyler



We also had a little creek flowing right by our campsite.  Emily



Enjoying dinner--hamburgers and chips (Megan, Emily, Tyler)



The kids and I arrived a few hours ahead of Darrell so the kids had to show him their "hideout" down  by the river.  It was obviously easier for shorter people to make through.



Enjoying some s'mores.



Emily, Megan and Tyler--we had little boxes of cold cereal for breakfast.



We went on a short hike.



Stopping to take a break--Tyler,  Megan, Emily



We stopped where the water trickled down the mountainside through the rocks.

Tyler



Emily



Megan



Big rocks are ALWAYS fun to climb.



While the kids did exploring, I did some "light reading." ;)  It actually was a pretty interesting book about PLCs (Professional Learning Communities) within the school setting.




The campsite next to ours had a swing!  We were able to go play on it after the first night's campers left and before the 2nd night's campers showed up.  It was a little freaky at first to swing out over the receding mountain and get really close to a tree, but after awhile everyone was fighting over a chance to swing.  (I had to bring the old timer out to keep it fair.)

Emily





Megan





Tyler





Darrell had a blast too.



We loved having the river right next to us.  We enjoyed this part of the river while the nearby campsite was empty.

Emily



Megan



Tyler





The only way I get in photos





The kids all had to try climbing in this hollowed out tree trunk.







It became a contest to see who could find the biggest rock and make the biggest splash. 





Here they are all huddled around Darrell as he threw in a huge rock and they all got soaked.



We took shelter under the trees while it sprinkled a little.



Tyler headed down to his clubhouse



Roasting hotdogs.



This is Darrell's ingenious way of roasting the hotdogs.



You can see Megan and Tyler, but Emily is hidden. She completely rolled off her mat in the night and slept "on the ground" between mat and Tyler.



Breakfast of pancakes before getting ready to pack up and head home. :(



We had such a great time camping.  There is something about being with my family up in the mountains that makes my spirit sing. 

Emily, me, Megan and Tyler



Emily, Darrell, Megan and Tyler



Darrell and the kids played "hide and seek" right before we left.  Here is Darrell hiding.



On a side note, this campsite was the same one Darrell, Tyler and I camped at with my brother Derek and his wife Tansy 7 years ago.  It brought back lots of great memories.  (And yes, I'm wearing the same sweats and sweatshirt as I am in the above picture.  And yes, camping IS more enjoyable with 3 big kids, rather than one little one who could only crawl in the dirt and who didn't want to take naps.)