Art Contest

Last month the kids competed in their schools art contest. Everyone who entered got a free dinner from Texas Roadhouse (love that place!!!) so Riley and Samantha were entering whether they liked it or not. ;) I did let them choose what they wanted to do and only got the supplies ready for them. They were given the theme "I Wish..." from Wellsville Elementary and I was proud of what they came up with.

Riley decided to hang our front door Valentines heart on the rock of our house and then snapped this picture.

It took a few tries to get the heart in the middle. Then I showed her how to change the contrast in photoshop and she altered it just how she wanted to.

It turned out pretty good and she ended up taking 1st place in the photography catagory out of the K-2nd graders. She was one happy cookie. It was titled, "A Cupid's Wish".

Sammie come up with a more complex idea that required many more supplies. She wanted to make a mobile where fish were swimming around. She spent a lot of time on her project as she is very detail oriented. She even stuffed her fish with toiler paper so they would be round. It was REALLY hard to not help her as she became frustrated a number of times so I was hoping she would be rewarded for all her hard work. We (meaning I) was nervous when we walked in to see the displays as there were TONS of entries in her catagorie of 3D art but were excited to found out she had won 2nd place out of K-2nd grade. Phew! Out of all this I just really wanted her to learn that hard work can pay off. Her title was "Under the Wishing Well".

Texas Roadhouse here we come!!!

Junk in my Trunk

Actually it's not so much my trunk as it is my garage. And it's actually not all junk either. Since moving I've found that much of my previous home decor just doesn't work in my new home. Plus there's just a bunch of stuff that I'm trying to clean out that I don't use or need so if you like to go a garage sellin' on Saturday's I've got a hot spot for you. A few neighbors and I have pulled together and are throwing a big GARAGE SALE on Saturday, June 11th from 7-11 a.m. Just tryin' to spread the word.

Have a wonderful rest of your day!

We're Still Married!

So we stood the test of a successful marriage. We were able to build a house without beating, strangling, leaving, or screaming at each other. Okay, maybe just a little of that last one. ;) About 3 weeks ago we moved into our finished product (minus a yard).

Good work Luv! He spent many hours there (as well as his Dad who pretty much deserves half our home). Thanks to all our family and friends who pitched in on various projects. You guys rock! We are VERY grateful for the love and support!

Getting caught up on our lives other than house stuff for the past 5 months is too overwhelming so I'm just starting with the present.

Sam has been taking Dance at Tueller's this year and has turned into quite the dancer. At her recent revue she hardly looked at the instructor as she did her 3 dances. I was impressed! We came home and found her dance music online and now I get mini-revues at home. Hopefully she decides to stick with this since it seems to be her calling. She's a very shy little girl but feels right at home on the stage or when she is giving a "show".

Ms. Sammie Baldwin in her Hip Hop costume.

Resting up before her ballet number.

Posing with her cousin Sophie. They have become little buddies. It'll be fun to have them in the same dance class one day.

A Peek Inside

We're getting close! Our walls are painted and the tile is done and we are just waiting on cabinets, counters, and carpet. We have a ton of light fixtures, plugs, and light switches to install which will take a little while but that's about it. Here are a few inside pictures (before the tile was done).

Front Entry/Living Rm. - Here's the corner where the baby grand piano goes. The front door will be stained darker as well.

Backing out of the living room you see the stairs and the beginning of the family room. The thick column will be wrapped in the same rustic cherry wood as my cabinets and there will be an iron spindle railing attached to it.

The rest of the family room.



Dining/Kitchen - this is all tiled now. It turned out great! It's all shades of brown and has a marble look to it.



Stair wells - Standing in the family room you can see the stairs going both up and down.


Top of the stairs - I have a big pendant light going here and I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out.

Master bedroom - We set it apart by vaulting the ceiling as much as our attic allowed.

Master Bath - Our vanity is 8 ft. long (hello counterspace!!!) and will be on the left. No more fighting for mirror space. We've been squeezing into a small 18" mirror for the past 7 months and it aint pretty.

Best part is the closet. Its not in this picture but it's large and I'm in love.

The girls room. I love these windows! It sets their room apart plus I don't have to get blinds for them since they are so high up and on the top floor.

And that concludes our tour. ;) I've wanted to put up an updated picture of the outside but there's always trucks, machinery and dumpsters out front that block the view so I haven't gotten a great snap shot yet. Hopefully I can get one soon.

Job Chart...Attempt #5

I've made several attempts at getting my kids to follow a job chart. The problem...

Me.

I'm not very good at enforcing it. It always goes good for about two weeks and then I forget to tell the munchkins to check their chart for the daily jobs and they don't generally hop on the job wagon by themselves. Or I forget to print out new jobs after they've filled up the previous chart with stickers.

So here we go again. I used these cute job pictures that my friend Kylene sent me (about 3 years ago) and made a chart. Then I laminated them so the girls can use dry erase markers to check off their jobs and we can re-use it week after week. So far so good.


The award = $$$

I was in a ward council once where the Bishop had been spending time interviewing the youth in preparation for their trip to the temple to do baptisms. He was very concerned that a lot of the kids were unable to answer if they were full tithe payers because they were rewarded with toys, activities, video games, etc...instead of cash so they weren't able to pay tithing. Ever since then I decided that my kids would earn money. For Christmas they each got one of those banks that has a slot for tithing, savings, and fun. They pay tithing first, then savings, and then put the rest in fun money.

We've been going for 4 weeks now and It's going pretty good and I don't push them too hard to do their jobs. If they don't do them, they don't get paid. And the next time they want me to buy them something (which is every time we go into any store) then I'll ask them if they have their money. If you haven't earned any money then SORRY, no can do.

Just One Word

We made it! Another year has flown by and we have managed to stay up on our game. Now I'm turning my focus on what I'd like to improve on this next year.

It's been said that no one ever is at a stand still in their lives. You are either progressing or regressing, moving forward or falling back. I prefer to make each day better than the one before but if I bite off more than I can chew then I get discouraged. So at the beginning of each year I like to pick ONE word that I will focus on for the next 12 months. Just one word. That's not so bad right? This year I have chosen...

"PRIORITIZE"

Most of us Women/Mom's get REALLY good at multi-tasking because our job description depends on it. However, I tend to take this to the EXTREME and start too many things at the same time only to get them halfway done before I burn out. OR I've run myself so ragged accomplishing my task list that I find myself feeling resentful. This turns me into a Grouchy Mama and believe me, it ain't pretty. Somethings gotta change and this is my year...ESPECIALLY since I was just called as the Primary President. Ahhhh! I can already tell that if I don't write down my "to do" lists and organize them into a realistic time frame than I'm going to get overwhelmed. Plus if I just try to remember all the things I need to do than I don't even know where to start and once again...overwhelmed!!! One day at a time people, one day at a time.

Good thing I have moments like these to keep me sane. (or maybe I've already lost it!)

Do you have a 2011 theme?

House Update!

The Christmas bug has bit me hard and so I've been a slacker with the house photos (sorry Gma!) Too much to do in so little TIME! It's all been holiday bliss though...just not a whole lot of time to breathe.

Here's the last few photos I've taken.

We have a roof!

If a house had clothes I guess this would be considered it's underwear? It's "outfit" (siding and rock/stone) is still being determined. I've got about a week to commit. Ahhhh!

Windows and doors!

The plumbers and gas people (gassers? ;-) are finishing up inside right now and then we'll get started on the electrical. It's really starting to take shape and I'm still super happy about the layout so my nerves are in check...for now.

We Have Walls!

The basement and main floor have taken shape in the past couple of days.

I can't wait to see what the second floor looks like! Then I can start to explain what's behind each window.

THIS MAKES ME FEEL GOOD

When I was gone late one night I came home to find this on my pillow after the kiddos had gone to bed. It made me smile.

Riley had recycled an old race ribbon of mine. I like this award much better!

Wanna Win?

I've got a contest going on at Fitness Junky and I just wanted to spread the word for those of you that like free stuff but haven't taken a gander at my other blog. There's only so much blog stalking you can do right? Well here's what's up for grabs...

A pair of Brooks NightLife reflective armbands.

These are a great accessory to anyone who is walking, running, biking, hiking, skiiing, snowmobiling, etc... and want to be more visible. They are VERY reflective and adjustable so they will fit over anything you are wearing plus you can put them on your arms, legs, or wrists. Click HERE if you'de like to enter for a chance to win. Good luck!!!

Squeezin' It All In

If your like me you have TONS of pictures from the October festivities and so instead of creating a post for each activity I'm just throwin' all my favorites pics up in one post. It was still hard to pick them out but I think these sum up our month.

Can you find something in common with these next 3 pictures?




It's a trait inherited from there Dad. In order to concentrate my kids have to stick out there tongues. Riley barely pokes hers out. Tyler just pokes his straight out. Then Sam gets hers going all over the place. As you can imagine there was a lot of licking going on during the 30 minutes she painted her pumpkin. We had to apply chapstick on her lips and the area around her lips for a week afterwards.


These next photos were takin' at the Paradise Halloweeny Raost. It's a farm turned Halloween with tractor/train rides, haunted barn, and a guided tour of there spooky decorations. SO CUTE...and FREE!!! (The pics aren't great because they were takin' at night then doctored in photo shop). They have a fire pit too that we brought mellows to roast. YUM! I love this pic becuase their peronalities shine through. Sam is looking as cute as possible, Tyler is distracted, and little mommy Riley is trying to get Tyler to follow directions. Then our little friend Savanna who is a little crack up is doing her thing too. Luv it!


Train Ride

Gramps/Grams with a bunch of the grandkids. We were missing about 1/2.



Family pic before we headed out to hit some stores. I let the girls pick what they wanted to be then tried my best to make it happen without spending too much $$$. Riley wanted to be a butterfly, Sam picked to be Corrine off of Barbie 3 Musketeers (maybe 2 people new who that was) and Ty was a Ninja. I went with a runner and pinned on an old race bib to some running clothes. I know it was kinda a lazy costume but it was a great excuse to not do my hair or make-up and then skip a shower so I could top it off with a "runner's smell". It was a crazy morning okay!

Before it's freezing...

After it's freezing...


"Patiently" waiting for her number to be called. My little sweet shy Sammie has almost NO patience whats ever. If you think she's mad about having to wait for a number to be called, you should have seen her when it wasn't her number. Good thing this was our last stop at Macey's because it was the kicking and screaming kind of fit. Stinker.


FYI - Lee's is the BEST place to stop. Macey's is usually better but it was still fun. Especially if you get the mini pizza that Papa Murphy's hands out next door. The mall is a joke...don't even try. I appreciate the effort they made but there's just so many people that it was rediculous. We've yet to hit down town so maybe next year. Hope you too had a wonderful Halloween! I"ve taken down my scary decor but don't have a lot of Thanksgiving stuff to add. I'm hoping I get to see some of your ideas on your blogs. Please share!

Foundation

We got our foundation finished just before the big storm. They actally took the braces off a few hours before the rain started but now we have to wait for the ground to dry up a little so they can finish pouring the garage and floor. Bummer!

I'm SO not ready for this weather. I think I've been freezing for two days straight. It's a good thing I love hot chocolate and warm apple cider so at least I've got a good reason to mix me up a drink. It's never the same sipping on cocoa when it's 90 degrees outside.

Dad's Elk

Last Saturday Brandt went up the mountain and came home with this baby....or....big daddy I should say. It was a 6 point elk and the biggest one he's got yet. Why my girls are so interested in seeing the dead Elk's brain and watch Dad extract the prized teeth are beyond me. But they are and Brandt thinks it's great. Good thing it doesn't bother me too much either cuz Brandt just chucked the Elk's head (you see it next to the horns) into the garbage with it's brain sitting right on top of it. What a wonderful surprise it was to open up the garbage to throw out a stinky diaper and find that. Thanks honey, really, highlight of my day. At least we have a freezer chuck full of steak, roast, and ground Elk that should last us until next year!

Footings

I'm afraid this blog is going to have a "house update" theme to it for the next 6 months. There's a couple reasons for this.

First - Of course I want to document the whole event to prove to myself it's really happening and then in the following years we can remenisce about how we survived the process.

Second - For my dear Grandma who may be the only other person who is more anxious than I to see each step completed. So to help her with her nerves and to resist the temptation to drive up here each day I dedicate the next months worth of house photos to you! (Oh, and I wouldn't mind if you came to visit each day. 100 miles is just kinda far.) Luv ya tons!

So here are the next progress pictures.

We've got our footings layed and are waiting for the foundation to be poured with in the next day or two. So far so good!

Here's What's Going On at My Place

Somebody pinch me! I still can't believe this is happening. I had to drive by our lot several times today just to make sure I wasn't having some sort of cruel dream. But it's true! We actually have a hole! Just a moment....I gotta do a jig....Hooray!


The last month has been a blur. We finally sold our house and moved (which goes down on my list of things to do only once, maybe twice, for the rest of my life). We have squeezed into a tiny rental house in town but it's been worth it to stay close to school, church, friends, family, and now to keep an eye on our house being built. The clincher is that we also have a two car garage which for us is a big storage unit. I'm determined to somehow fit my van into it come winter but we shall see. We gotta whole lotta crap!

Our contractor has told us that he thinks our home will be finished in April but I'm just going with sometime next Summer. I've had my hopes dashed WAY to many times through this process already (I think it's taken us 2 1/2 years to get this far) so I'm trying to under promise myself and hopefully they'll over deliver and I'll be thrilled!!!

12 Years to Go

A few weeks ago Riley began her next 12 years of all day school. It was of course a bittersweet day for Mom but it's also fun to hit these milestones. Being a first grader is cool because "You get to have three recesses, sit at your own desk, and eat lunch at school" - Riley.

Ready...

Set...

Go!!!

(Don't you love how the back-packs are as big as the kids)

With Riley taking these first milestones for our family we had cousin Sophie come over for a play date so Sammie could also have a special day. They were rockin' the 3D glasses.

Could Tyler look any more nerdy? I love it! The girls put his hair in a Mohawk after his bath and paired with the glasses it looks like a Dennis the Menace hairdo on steroids. One of those pictures that makes me smile whenever I look at it.