Happy Easter!

We tried to get a cute picture before church but someone is always unhappy.

So then Sammie and Olivia obliged and tried to be unhappy to balance out the photo.

Then I tried to join in to make things better but with no luck.

After church everyone was much more cooperative.

And then things just got crazy.

Spring Break 2016

This year for Spring Break we went to visit Joey's parents.  Sammie was already sick when we left and I had taken her to the doctor the day before we left because she had a persistent fever for 5 days straight.  After some blood work that we got the results of the next day, the doctor said it was a virus and we headed out of town.  Sammie just wasn't herself for the next 2 days and seemed to feel a little better and then a little worse.  After dragging her around shopping and then going to San Francisco, I called her doctor and she prescribed some antibiotics.  She immediately started to feel better.
The whole reason we wanted to go to San Francisco was so Sammie could visit Chinatown.  She chose it for her State project and wanted to take pictures and get some things for her presentation.
Even though she wasn't feeling great, we went anyway and had a good time.  She and I took turns riding in my wheelchair so neither of us would get too worn out.
We also saw the movie "Zootopia" which we all loved.
We enjoyed seeing Grandma and Grandpa.  I loved watching everyone gather around Jackie as she showed us a memory book she had been working on for herself.  We don't get to visit often enough and Grandpa Jerry had to be extra careful around Sammie because he had a liver transplant a few months ago and is on his long road to recovery from that.  We feel so blessed that he was able to have the surgery that saved his life, but it will be a long road ahead still.
We made it home Saturday afternoon tired and exhausted since we had all been sharing a hotel room and poor Sammie was coughing all night every night.  Except for Abby.  She slept like a log.  We enjoyed being with family and I always find a trip to San Francisco satisfying and refreshing.

Jackie bought Abby this yellow sweatsuit on our shopping trip and all day we kept referring to it as "the banana suit."  We kept telling her if she got lost, we just ask people if they saw a little girl in a banana suit.  She thought it was hilarious.

Crazy Hat and Sock Day

Sometimes I impress myself on a morning when I don't feel well and I manage to pull off something in spite of it all.  It was crazy hat and sock day for Abby and I quickly made her this paper hat to wear to school.  She was thrilled.

Basketball Season

I love the after school sports programs.  My kids have enjoyed the experience of learning a sport without the super competitive edge to it all, and the bonus is that they just stay after school for practice.  Sammie was much better this year.  Just like in soccer, she is learning to be more aggressive.  She took lots of shots and made some and was a great re-bounder.  She was always in on the action and had a great time and made friends with some of the girls in her grade at school.

Perfect Party for a 10 Year Old

Sammie had a fun little art party for her birthday last weekend.  I was a little nervous that the weather wouldn't hold out for us and it actually turned into a perfect afternoon.  It was warm, but little drops of rain would fall.  Not so that it was storming, but just enough so that it was fun to listen to while the sweet birds were chirping.  It felt so refreshing.

Sammie loves art and so this was just perfect for her and her friends.  First, they had a youtube drawing lesson where they learned to draw a simple owl, elephant, and butterfly.  Then we went outside and the girls drew one of their animals on a canvas and then painted it in.  We also played a pictionary game, but didn't have time for anything else.  They each were very careful with their pictures and wanted to do well.  I love how they all turned out!  It was such a fun and simple party to plan.  I love this 10 year old girl!

Double Digits

(Showing off her much needed new birthday back pack.)

Today is Sammie's 10th birthday.  For me, I always find that birthdays are a time that I reflect on each of my children and who they are growing into.  Sammie has such a sweet and tender heart.  She cares deeply for the people in her life and for the things that she does.  She tries so hard to be good and to be good at the things that she is doing.  We love this girl.  She shows us how to laugh and how to work.  She is a loyal friend and and loves to be active and doing the things she loves.  Right now she is enjoying learning to play basketball, is getting great at the piano, and has started violin lessons, and also trying to be a star student!  She is feeling very busy, but wants to try so many things.  I can't think of anything she has done that she hasn't done well or worked to get better at.  We love this tender girl.

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.