Our Favorite FHE Game

The other night when we had Family Home Evening, I felt like sometimes I don't blog about the little things our family does.  It is always an event at school, or a vacation, and I used to write more about the little things I noticed about my children.  Maybe it's because they are getting older and they don't want those things noticed about them.  I'm not really sure, but it got me thinking about recognizing those small moments again.  As we sat around the table everyone was so excited to play this game.  All of my girls love to draw and they have since they were very little, so this game is perfect for our family.  We were laughing hysterically and loving the goofy pictures that we came up with.

My house project

Before:

I have been dreaming of this project for a long time, but knew I needed some help to pull it off so a few months ago, my mom and I planned that we would do it this month for my birthday.  I love working on projects with my mom.  It reminds me of the times that my Grandpa came down to visit and helped with so many things in our other house.  It was sweet and special to be doing something that I know he would have loved working on.  The process was not too difficult, but definitely the most difficult woodworking thing I have ever done on my own.
First I started with pulling down the old molding and then using spackle and sanding the wall smooth.

As soon as my mom got off the train, we headed to the store (after picking up a sandwich) and bought all of the wood that we needed.  I already had most everything else ready as far as paint and other supplies and I had already figured out how much wood I needed.  That night, my friend just down the street used his saw and cut everything for us since I didn't have my own saw.  I just gave him all of the measurements and he was done in about 40 minutes.  It was so nice of him and a great solution to my problem of not having my own saw.

Then we started priming the next day and painting.  We also pre-painted all of the boards before we hung them.

Then we started hanging the boards the next morning.  There was definitely a learning curve and we made a few mistakes along the way, but nothing major.  Once we got in our groove, it became easier and using a nail gun is really fun.

I was looking for an old window to go over my fireplace.  So once we got all of the boards up and were finishing up those details (all the caulking, paint touch-ups, etc.) my mom and I did a little shopping on Friday morning.  I found my window!  And we got some new pillows, and a cute sign.

I am so happy with how everything turned out.  I love it and it feels so cozy.  It turned out just like I thought it would.  Whenever I decorate a room I just stare at it all the time for a few days.  I still have projects in mind for other things in my home.  It is such a fun creative outlet for me.

Sock Hop

It was Abby's turn to go to the sock hop this year.  Abby was so excited about this and couldn't wait.  She carefully laid out her clothes the night before on the floor just like a person.  Shier, then skirt, then socks and shoes.  She even had her socks in each of her shoes.  Abby's class had been practicing the twist and some other dances all week long and so she was feeling super prepared for this day.  Abby really wanted me to come so I stopped by the school with my mom amidst all of our house project craziness.  Abby was SO glad that we came.  Sometimes I forget that these small moments are such a big deal to my kids.  The sock hop was 20 minutes.  It was just a bunch of kids jumping around  but it was so important to Abby,  I love seeing this girl get excited and she is a goofball with her friends.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Keeping up the traditions.  I love how my kids drive so many of the traditions in our family.  When I do one thing one year, they hope to have the same tradition the next year.  They love waking up to these cookies and seeing the valentines hanging in the window.  Some times we mix things up a little bit, but these small traditions create wonderful memories and unite our family.  Tonight we fed the missionaries a pasta dinner and they shared a message with us about Gifts of the Spirit.  I had a busy week with my mom.  We worked on a fun wainscoting project in my living room and I love how it turned out. She left early this morning on the train and the house felt a little empty when when she was gone this morning.

A Visit from a Cute Cousin

Last weekend, Tyler had some work to do close to our home so he made a trip down for the weekend and brought Brennan with him.  While Tyler worked, Brennan hung out with the girls.  They had lots of fun playing outside and jumping on the trampoline.  Brennan was really trying to improve his jumps when we started recording them in slow motion on my phone.  He was trying to get higher and higher and was thrilled with himself when he Brennan told me all about his favorite airplane, Dusty, and also all about Baymax.  And some time spent with Brennan wouldn't be complete without watching "Planes: Fire and Rescue."

36

I turned 36 just a few days ago.  It seems strange that I am at an age that I can clearly remember my own mother being.  I remember life then.  My mom had just had her last baby.  We were a busy, busy, family with everyone doing different activities.  It is a bit surreal to enter into the second half of my 30s.  Joey has been super busy the past few weeks because his State We the People Competition was today.  He took me out to lunch during his prep period/lunch.  I really haven't seen him much this week.  After this weekend though, he should be around more.  The girls each wrote me sweet notes and gave me new cookie dough scoopers.  My mom is coming this week so that we can do a fun project in my living room. I also got a much needed new phone.  Joey hurried home for a quick dinner that he picked up and I enjoyed it along with my birthday crew.  It was a pretty good day--just quiet and with my family.

A Library Card and some Missing Teeth

Describing Abby's excitement on Friday is hard to capture.  She had worked so hard the first half of school to read and read and read and take AR test after AR test to earn her Library Card at school.  She had to earn 25 points to receive her Library card which gives you some sort of special privileges in the school library that I'm not totally aware of.  This was a big, big deal for this girl.  She told me, "Mom, when my teacher gave me my card I had tears of happiness."  I asked her to explain this a little more to me and she told me all about how this was the best day of her life and when her teacher gave her her card, she had tears well up in her eyes.  She is so proud of herself for working so hard.  She had to take many tests because all of the books she was reading.  So it was at least 50 tests that she took on books she had read.  Now she is an awesome reader!  Her goal is to get 50 points by the end of the year.

Also, look how grown up this toothless mouth is looking.  Once those baby teeth start to go, they never look the same again.