August 2016

When we went to Colorado in July, some of our good friends were out of town so we didn't get to see them.  However, they stopped to see us in Iowa on their way home!  They just spent the afternoon and evening with us, but it was great to see them!

These two boys have been friends since they were toddlers.

We were neighbors when these two girls were born.

Daddy and Laurel love to snuggle.

Alex is such a funny kid.

He's always been our kid who can't get enough of water.  The good side of it is that the floor in the bathroom is generally clean from a good soaking!

I had a 'yes' day with the kids one day.  Annie wanted to make ice cream, so we did.

Logan celebrated his tenth birthday by having a lateover with friends.  We played kickball, and then when it was dark played kick the can and capture the flag.  It was a very fun night for everyone.

We have a tradition of having an adventure the day the schools in our area start back in the fall.  This year we visited a state park that is full of caves.  It was awesome!  I'd only wished Jim had been with us so that we could have explored the caves more fully.  With Laurel on my back, I couldn't go into all of them.  The kids all matched by accident that day, but it was a fortunate coincidence; they were easy to spot in red shirts!

We started school the following Monday and took first day pictures.  Instead of grades, they held signs showing what phase of learning they are in.

This kid is so funny. His expression in this picture really captures his personality.

On the day of Logan's birthday he opened family presents and we had a treat.

He's such a gracious kid.

He had an amazing book haul for his birthday!

July 2016

I finished a great fitness challenge at the beginning of the month.

We played the 'before and after' game a lot during clean up time all summer. It's very motivating for the kids.  This was one of the before pictures.

Abby looks like she'd been crying here.

I love the after pictures as much as the kids when we clean up.  It's so bright and cheerful!

My sweet boy takes forever washing dishes because he has so much fun playing in the water.

"Mom! Take a picture of me!"

Now that we have a Chick Fil A here, we resumed our Cow Appreciation Day tradition. 

I had an adorable little herd.

We madeover our mudroom one week.  This was the only room in the house that we didn't paint when we originally bought our house (I ran out of motivation) and it had been bothering me ever since.

Before...U.G.L.Y.

The floor was in terrible condition.

I went into this thinking I could paint it in one day and put it together the next.  Once we'd unloading and disassembled our pantry shelving I was committed!

When we emptied the rest of the room there was no turning back! 

The kids were my demolition team.  They scraped all of the yucky tiles out of the closet, and they also removed all switch plates, outlet covers, and cabinet handles.  It ended up taking a full day just to prep for paint.

I spent a second full day applying the primer coat.  It's a good thing I was overly optimistic about how much work this project would be or I may have never started!

I spent a second and third- day with the paint.

Jim was originally planning to lay the new floor over the old floor, but changed his mind at the last minute.  The kids helped him demolish the old tiles.  Jim also removed that old plumbing that we didn't need.

Annie showed us her creative fashion sense at some point during this project.

Jim laid the floor late one night so I could put the room back together the next day.  We were leaving on vacation the day after!

Finished!  And beautiful!  It's incredible how some paint and flooring can transform a room.  (This is the part where you scroll up to look at the before picture again.)

The kids reassembled the shelving for me.

After everything being piled in our dining room for four days, I was relieved to put it all back!

Eventually I plan to have Jim build me a nice shoe shelf with storage boxes for everyone's shoes, and the ceiling still isn't pretty, but I'm so much happier with this room now.

I need no excuse to take pictures of my sweet baby girl.

Abby loves trying on my shoes.

Precious little girl...

We went to Colorado because Jim's brother was getting married.  During our week there, we spent time with both sides of our family, went tubing down a river, went camping and fishing, attended the wedding, and saw some friends.  Whew!

At some point during the summer (July?), Annie took a trip with Jim's parents to Colorado and Utah.  His sister was graduating from medical school in Utah.  Jim actually flew out for the graduation over the weekend, but Annie was gone for two weeks.  She apparently charmed everyone at the graduation, and then she got to spend half a day with my brother who lives in Salt Lake.  He took her to see the new Provo City Center temple in the evening, an early breakfast the next morning, and then to Temple Square.