Before and After

I've been wanting to add some more pops of color throughout my home and this great summertime weather was the perfect excuse to do a little painting project over the weekend. I thought this little table I've had for a while could use some updating and would be the perfect piece to use a new accent color on. I purchased this little guy during what I like to call my "black" stage. Isn't he cute? He's the perfect size to fit into all the little nooks and corners I have in my house.

Before:

Nothing too bad, just kind of plain and tired looking.

After a couple coats of paint and a pretty new drawer pull, here is the new, improved, and much more fun table:

The picture definitely doesn't do it justice, it is a lot more of a vibrant blue/green and less of a turquoise in real life. The paint color I used is "Stained Glass" from Valspar and I used the paint plus primer so it covered really well. I bought a small can of paint, but barely used a quarter of the can. This was an easy morning project and it was all dry before noon. The drawer pull I purchased at Lowe's and was on clearance. I think the total project cost about 12.00. Not bad, especially since I have lots of the paint to spare for other little projects.

Here's another side by side look.

It's funny how changing just a little bit of color makes me that much happier when I walk past that room.

I also hung some new curtains on the bay window.

Sorry, no before pictures -- the other ones were just a pleasant neutral brown tone, which although they looked nice, they just weren't doing much for that space. I think these accent the shape of the window more. The chairs I got on craigslist for a steal and I'm trying to find some chair covers I like for them, although the original color has been growing on me. I'm also thinking on staining/painting the legs a new color to update them a bit. This is my new favorite spot to sit and read at night when it's quiet.

I've got quite a long list of other projects in the works so hopefully I'll remember to take and post pictures as they get done as well.

Wow - I can't believe how sporadic my posts are getting. I only posted ONCE last week, that is totally abnormal for me. I guess I've just been caught up in the lazy days of summer. Well, they haven't been all that slow and lazy yet. Here's what we've been up to:

**The day after school got out Kendle and Morgan started swim lessons. They are taking private lessons this year at a home here in Pasco. Not only are they loving the lessons because their teachers are great and their classes are small, but more than that they love the awesome backyard to play in and the zip-line they get to ride on while they're waiting for the other one to finish lessons. The hard part is having lessons right during lunch time, but so far it hasn't been so bad. We get up in the morning and get all the chores and work done that we can, go to swimming (with a lunch packed), come home and put the babes down for their nap, and then enjoy the rest of the afternoon. They're lessons go for another three weeks and then we'll be done for the rest of the summer. The kids will mourn the loss of their daily zip-line rides.

**I moved the kids' rooms around and now all the boys are together and Kendle has her own room back. I feel like in our "cozy" little house I have to use super magic trickery to make everything fit and work and I took apart and took down the bunk beds, the cribs, and removed two doors and moved multiple pieces of furniture almost all by myself with some great help from Kendle. When Riley walked in the door that night after work and saw stuff all over the living room waiting to be put back I assured him that it wasn't as bad as it seemed and I was almost done. So far the boys are loving it and their room stays nearly spotless every day. Imagine that. Guess who's room is still cluttered and messy? Yep, Kendle's. Blaming it on her little brother's isn't going to work anymore. She is loving having her own space/privacy back and I'm loving being able to girly up her room again. We strung a big line across the wall above her bed where she can clip up her art, awards, pictures or whatever else she wants to display and I'm on the hunt for a bigger bookcase for all the books that are spilling off the shelves and hiding under the bed.

**For Morgan's birthday my mom and dad bought him his own miniature shovel, work gloves, and a wheelbarrow. It's neat because everything is real but just his size now. He wakes with the sun and before he even eats breakfast he's out checking things at his "farm". He actually has lots of peas and some potatoes growing and he loves to dig holes. He dug a huge one that looks more like a pit. I've been calling him Zero (the boy from the movie Holes who likes to dig). We've been trying to get him to go back and fill the holes in before someone gets hurt but it sure keeps him busy and he is going to be one muscly and strong little kid. He got an awesome new bike for his birthday and I think he's about ready to start riding without training wheels. That kid just flies.

**Riley has been even more busy the last few weeks than during soccer season which I did not think was possible. It is hard, but when you are in sales that is a good thing. He's been leaving super early almost every morning, and driving lots and lots of miles for appointments as far as Brewster. He's been logging lots of long hours and leaves again tomorrow for a conference in Montana where he has to do a big presentation on bed bugs to a whole bunch of hotel people. I'd hop in and go with him in a quick second if I could, but my duty is here on the home front. Hopefully he won't have to go too far after that for a little while. He's coaching Kendle's summer league soccer team and they start tonight. Should be a really fun time and we've put together an awesome team.

**I've been busy gardening, weeding, chasing Cooper and Kale out of danger (why do they have to flock to dangerous things?) cleaning out, reading some great books, being a chauffeur, being a nurse (which we've had some bad owies and bonks lately), and just the usual day-to-day things that keep the family and the household together. I really enjoy sitting in the backyard with the kids and watching them play and sitting around the fire at night roasting marshmallows and talking. I've been trying to cook almost everything on the grill outside that I can and coming up with some creative ways to do it. Riley's big old smoker can still be kind of intimidating sometimes, but I mostly have it figured out. It's so nice not to heat up the house, especially when it starts getting really hot. I'm counting down the days until our beach vacation in July.

**The twins are growing like weeds and are an unstoppable force of chaos and fun all wrapped together. They fight with each other and have been biting each other really bad, and I'm hoping that they get over that sooner than later. Sometimes they will find something that makes them both laugh and they laugh at each other laughing and it is hands down the happiest little scene. It gives me hope that they will be buddies someday. They watch Morgan riding his bike and they really want to go riding too, they have about had it with being in the stroller -- they think they are big kids like everyone else. They love to rock out to music in the car and dance when I turn it up at home as well. They've recently tried to start snapping their fingers. They pretty much like to follow Morgan around and do whatever he is doing, so I'm fairly certain they are going to be his little clones. They already want to put baseballs on the tee and try and hit them off and they love playing catch. I am so devastated though, they are always playing with plugs and chords and they broke one of the prongs off of my treadmill plug in. I could have just cried. They definitely know how to wreak havoc and are lucky we love them so much!

Morgan

I didn't know what to expect four years ago when Morgan came into the world and became part of our family. His older sister was outgoing, boisterous, and had a big personality that captured attention wherever we went.  But I immediately sensed something different about this sweet, sweet boy that had the most precious little face and big blue/green eyes. From the first moments after his birth and on into the next few days I became aware of what a calm and at ease baby he was; so laid back with a happy little aura about him that seemed to spread the happiness to everyone else around him. The nurses in the hospital oohed and ahhed over him and remarked on what a content little guy he seemed. He was the easiest baby to rock and snuggle and loved to be close to me. Sometimes I would just hold him and stare at his perfect little face and he'd stare right back at me as though we were having some sort of telepathic conversation with each other. I remember when Riley gave him his baby blessing in church that one of the things that stood out to me was that he would be kind and sensitive to others needs and have a desire for service.

Now as I've watched him grow into a handsome 4 year old little boy, I see a hard little worker that can't be matched and the sensitivity that is a big contrast to his rough and tumble exterior. He is still my snuggle bug when he needs it, and will often pay me sweet little compliments that make me smile. It is hard as he gets older to see a little of the sweet personality get replaced with a little more defiance and disagreements, tantrums and harsh words, but I know deep down it is still there and hopefully will resurface more often than not as he continues to grow older and become less of a little boy.

On his birthday today I want him to know that his family completely adores him. His dad and I can't wait to watch his personality and talents keep developing and that we are amazed by the wonderful way his little mind thinks and works. We also want him to know the joy, fun, and happiness that he adds to our family each and every day. We know that he has an awesome future ahead of him and we can't wait to be by his side being his biggest cheerleaders the whole way. He is such a special little boy.

Happy Birthday Morgan!

Frozen Peanut Butter Bars

Nine out of ten times, if our family is picking out a candy bar that we like to eat, it's usually  Reece's Peanut Butter Cups. We are big fans of the chocolate peanut butter combo. I've loved them since I was a kid and always will. So I was thrilled when a while back, someone posted on our family web page a simple and delicious recipe for Frozen Peanut Butter Bars. I had to try them out, and boy oh boy did I open up Pandora's box when I did. It is kind of embarrassing to admit that I may have eaten about half the pan by myself. They were just too tempting! Now I make sure to share them with friends and neighbors when I make a big batch because a little of these babies goes a long way. This is a definite keeper and a handy go-to recipe that has become one of our family favorites and is a very close stand in when we are craving some Reece's. I love it because I would always put my Reece's in the fridge to get cold, I liked them better that way so this is the perfect recipe for me!

It also meets all my criteria for a user friendly recipe:

*Uses ingredients you always have on hand, no fancy things you have to run to the store for.

*Makes enough for the whole family, with some to spare for friends and neighbors

*No complicated steps

*Can be stored and portioned easily.

Frozen Peanut Butter Bars Recipe:

Ingredients:
1 cup butter or margarine
2 cups peanut butter - creamy or chunky
2 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
2 cups chocolate chips, semi-sweet or milk chocolate
1/3 cup milk

Directions:
In a large saucepan, melt butter/margarine and peanut butter together over low/medium heat. Mix well. Remove from heat. Add graham cracker crumbs and powdered sugar, mixing well. Spread peanut butter mixture in a jelly roll pan (for thinner bars), or 9x13 pan (for thicker bars). Chill. When the peanut butter layer is firm, melt chocolate chips with milk over low heat. Spread over chilled peanut butter mixture. Chill again.

You can leave them in the pan or cut them into serving size bars. You can wrap them individually or freeze in layers in a large rigid container or gallon sized zip-loc freezer bags -- separate layers with wax paper so they don't freeze/stick together. Then freeze.

Eat straight from freezer, or thaw slightly. You can also keep the whole pan in the fridge if they are going to be eaten right away.

*I usually line the pan with wax paper before spreading the peanut butter mixture in the pan, it just makes it easier to slice and pop them out of the pan that way. You can use a 50/50 mixture of semi-sweet and milk chocolate chips or just whatever you have on hand. They are good no matter what.

P.S. I forgot to add that these are a great warm weather treat because they won't heat up your house to make them. I love that.

Wicked: A review by Kendle

Memorial weekend Kendle, my mother, and I made our way to Spokane to see the totally fabulous and magical production of Wicked. Here are Kendle's thoughts about the day:


Okay, first this is one of the only (awesome) plays I've seen.  I thought the coolest prop was a dragon that breathed fire -- aka red smoke.  We got to sit in row F.  Good for me 'cause I'm pretty short.  When we finaly got into the event center I was super excited.  My top 2 favorite songs were Popular and Defying Gravity.  The main characters in the play were Galinda, (Glinda later on) Elphaba, Fiyero, Boq, Nessarose, The Wizard of Oz, Chistury, (that was a flying monkey), Madam Morrible, and the fellow Ozians.  There was one part I don't recommend for kids age 6 and under. I thought it was just loud and violent in one scene. (The part where the Wizard's big talking head moves around and makes lots of noise.) Oh, and did I mention in the beginning it had a big map of the Emerald City? My favorite scene was when they sing Defying Gravity and Elphaba's a witch and her dress is HUGE!  It's like her dress just magically grew. 

I will just add that Kendle had a huge smile on her face for the majority of the show and her eyes got really big quite a few times. I'm so glad it worked out that my mom was able to come with us as well. It was the best girls day ever! After the show we walked the water front and the park, Kendle climbed the huge red wagon and rode the carousel, and we stopped in at Cyrus O'Leary's for the pie we'd been craving all day. The weather was perfect to boot. My mom and I concluded we MUST do that more often.

Pictures of the Kids

My kids are growing up so quickly and going through some serious growth spurts so I thought it necessary to post some of their latest pictures.

Here is Kendle's softball picture:

She has turned into a real ball player this year. There are only two games left in the season. Her favorite positions are pitcher and shortstop, but I'm still holding out hope she'll learn to like catching more. Last night at her game she was the lead off hitter and went 3 for 3.

This is Morgan's preschool picture. They had a fantastic photographer come to the park to take their individual and class pictures. She did such a good job of capturing his signature glimmer of mischief in his eyes. I'm not sure which one I like better, the color or black and white.



He is getting to be such a big boy and will turn 4 in just 2 weeks!



The twins are as busy and curious and mischievous as ever. They've been enjoying playing outside and eating lots of popsicles.

They love their new found freedom of playing in the yard on a sunshiny day and can almost open the sliding door by themselves. Morgan does a good job of keeping them out of trouble. Most of the time..............They listen and follow directions pretty well for their age and follow me around and "help" in the yard.