Beautiful Bethany

Kasi Good takes beautiful pictures! Here are some of the pictures she took of Bethany this morning. Isn't she beautiful?!

Fourth of July

This year's fourth of July celebrations were a bit mellow. It rained all day and was cold on top of that. David and I spent most of the day working on the kitchen floor - but we did s few fun things. The kids helped make some holiday food and we had some friends over for a rainy BBQ.

Guest Bedroom Make-Over

Knowing we needed to put the house on the market next spring gave us a good reason to redecorate the guest bedroom. The guest bedroom was one of the first bedrooms we decorated when we moved in four years ago. Being the frugal wife,I decided to use decorations from the last house, which was country decor. As we decorated the rest of the house, we discovered our decorating style had moved away from country and toward... something else. Not contemporary, or modern or classic, but something else. Anyway, we bought a new bed off craigslist and the process began. I found a beautiful fabric for the bedding. Daylin helped pick out the art work and my neighbor helped me with the curtains. I think it turned out pretty well. Here are some before and after pictures.

Laminate Floors

These last few weeks have been a whirlwind. Three weeks ago we tackled laminate flooring. It looks great - but there are a few things we have learned along the way

1) It will take three times longer than you expect.

2) At least one tool will break before the project is finished

3) Don't even attempt the project if you don't have a local hardware store close by. You'll become good friends through multiple visits.

4) All the kitchen and laundry room appliances being in the living room creates a classic "ox in the mire" situation.

5) Good knee pads are totally worth the expense!

6) Great neighbors who take care of your kids all day, feed them, entertain them, make you meals and loan you their spouse are incredible!

Here are a few before and after pictures.

Bethany turns 8

Last week was Bethany's eighth birthday. She has accomplished so much this year and we are very proud of her.
* In January she began reading the Book of Mormon and she just finished it about two weeks ago. Impressive for a first grader!
* She has really excelled in school and has become a great friend to so many of her classmates.
* She also had braces put on in February and has dealt very well with them. She is very please at her straight lower teeth - they were turned sideways and made it difficul to eat!
There are so many wonderful things about Bethany - but right now I need to go pick her up from Piano lessons, so the list will have to remain short for now. We love you Bethany

Naptime?

Summer is hectic! I imagined long lazy days with few demands on our time and the kids running around the house and the neighborhood. My imaginings were a little off. Lazy days become really long days as the children try to figure out what to do with themselves. My vision of having few demands has faded as the calendar continues to fill up. Anyway, all the fun activities have left little room for Anya's nap time. Here are a few pictures of where she has slept lately.