Stuff that we've been doing.

Be warned.  This is a VERY long post.  So it should take a good chunk of your time. 
I've been painting and such.  Not that painting is overly hard, but there aren't a lot of things I can do around the house without Jeff's supervision.  And it's not that Jeff makes me feel that way, but this is just me speaking from previous experiences.  I amazingly can easily ruin everything I touch.  I'd say it was a true gift if it wasn't so annoying...and expensive.  I started out with Cole's door.  Now that it's done, there are other things I want to do with it, but it was kind of a trial run.  I wanted whatever had dripped down it when the previous owners had it, to just disappear... I was tired of wondering what it was. Dog urine? Teenage boy urine?  I couldn't look at it anymore.  Before:  

And after:  

We're going to paint the playroom, as well. I'm already feeling like I have to defend the color and the placement--so don't judge, yet.  We're still figuring it out.  

Anyway, last week my sister Lora came down and stayed with us.  Riley graciously agreed to let Lora stay in her room, so I decided that painting it before she arrived would be in our, and more importantly her, best interest.  I wanted Lora to think her room was nice. Here it is before:

Riley wanted her room's color to be predominately green.  And we tried to make everything work together without painting, but the room was just too clinical looking and...dirty.  The paint that was there originally only had one coat, and you could see through a lot of it.  What I thought would be a two day process turned into four.  That's how all my projects go.  Anyway, here's the end result: (fyi, though the plain painted walls and ceiling were all me, Jeff just painted the bubble-looking things and such..this is why being married to an artist sometimes contributes to my feelings of inadequacy).  

Jeff did well, right? Despite me being a bit perturbed with his making my work look mediocre and such, Riley loves it, and I will admit, he made the room look cuter than I did.  And he says there's more he wants to do with it...however, for now, Riley is just excited to be back into her own room, enjoying the walls they way they are.  And I'm happy to write it off as being "done" for now.  But just so you know, my paint job was pretty sweet, even before Jeff's final touches.  That's what I keep telling myself.  

For those of you that were wondering?  By the time Lora got here, the paint fumes had just had enough time to disperse, so it all worked out.  


Lora and I called Muff, and we all made it a sister's night. Dinner and going through Spanish Fork's      Festival Days tents.  It was nice.  And crowded.  And I was reminded of how old I've become.  Looking at all the kids and their really tight jeans in 100 degree weather....I'm now really seeing why adults would choose comfort over style.  And I'm really thankful I'm on this end of it, even though it means I'm at that phase in life where I've lost all the "cool credits" I thought I may have had. Lastly I made them go grocery shopping with me...which I'm sure was a yawn and a half, but then we came back to my house and just talked--till 2:00am, and Muff had to work in the morning.  It was way nice of her to hang with us knowing what lay ahead of her in five hours, (a full day of work).  Big thanks to her for making us a priority, because I love long-overdue sister time. 


The next morning Lora saw how we really do sleep in on summer mornings, and that it's not something I exaggerate.  About 11:00am she came up to my room worried that we'd just been quiet and waiting for her to wake.  The reality was I had just heard Syd make her morning noises, and was getting up to get her.  From there, we just hung out.  It was nice.  There were no plans or schedules and all was laid back.  Lora and I took the kids to the Fiesta Days Carnival.  Syd didn't go on any rides, but she enjoyed her stroller.  

Cole was first to spend his tickets.  He wanted to slide.

After his ride, Cole decided to rate his choices in the thumbs up/thumbs down fashion.  A tried and true system that works for our family.

Remember last year when we went to Lagoon?  And how my kids were the ultimate chickens?  That aaaaallllmost happened this time, too.  However, they decided to expand their horizons.  Now, we didn't go overboard with the kiddie roller coaster, or anything.  That would have been too much too soon.  But the tilt-o-whirl was a giant leap, for sure. 

You may scoff, but Jeff can't handle this ride.  It makes him sick.  Both Riley and Cole were kind of tricked into this one, because they didn't get to see how it worked before they got on.  However, they were good sports at the end, and suddenly were more eager to try more exciting stuff.  

For a while they weren't too sure about the above decision.  Another ride chosen BEFORE seeing how it actually worked, but I dared them, and they obliged.  And were the loudest screamers at the carnival.  But they made it.  And I was proud.  

Lora pretty much took care of Syd while I "avidly encouraged" Riley and Cole to go on rides that weren't specifically for 3yrs and under.  It was nice to have a partner to take care of kiddos with me--going alone with three kids to a place with a lot of people walking around puts me in kind of panic mode, and I can't enjoy myself.  I'm afraid of a oncoming disaster.  But Lora let me have fun, too.  So it was super fun!

Until the last ride.  And Riley got to choose, because Cole went on a ride that Riley didn't go on, so Riley decided to go on the "Berry Bop".  (It sounds like a complicated system, and it kind of is.  But it cuts WAY down on any whining and feelings of being short-changed, so we use it).

This ride was honestly like four times the length of all the others.  They just kept going around and around at the slowest pace imaginable.  I almost felt sorry for them.  Almost.  

Despite that, we had fun.  (Cole was telling me he WAS NOT having fun on that ride).  It's a crappy video, but funny to me.  Anyhoo, hope you all have a good day, and this was nice distraction.  I've got so much stuff to blog about, that I'm a bit overwhelmed, so hopefully I'll be better about posting.  Later dudes. 

This and that

Hey You.  You missed me, didn't ya?  Of course you did.  

I think that my last post mentioning how lazy I've been was kind of a mistake. Because all of a sudden, life seems to have gotten a LOT busier. 
This last week we had a lot of visitors.  My mom and stepdad came down from Canada.  It was nice to see them, and they took the kids and I to the Aquarium in Sandy and the Dinosaur Museum in Lehi.  We started the day at the Aquarium, and we had a lot of fun...the last time we were there, it was only half the size it is now, so I would recommend going to those that haven't been in a while.  

And then we were off to the nearest Target...because Sydney peed all over the front of me while we were looking at the South African fish.  I'm going to just say it:  PAMPERS are NOT what they are cracked up to be.  Buy Luvs--you won't be sorry.   After purchasing a new shirt, we were then off to the Dinosaur Museum.  I'd never been before, and we all really liked it. 

I REALLY liked that part.  :) 

Riley loved reading the factoids around each exhibit.  She can remember all of it, and always amazes me with the stuff that she retains.  However, they didn't have anything written up for this section...and I think we all know why:  

I was kind of surprised that this arrangement of bones wasn't vetoed. 
Syd did her best at trying to replicate the facial expressions of each prehistoric creature she was stopped next to. (For those of you with dirty minds, I didn't park her next to the above display).  

Syd was great the whole time.  However, a consecutive three hours of wearing actual clothing is just too much for her.  So she decided that she was done wearing them. 

Coincidentally, this is why I haven't had a lot of pictures of Syd.  Although I think she's adorable in her birthday suit, and she seems to think it's the most comfortable outfit she owns, it doesn't transcend that way through photographs--instead coming across as creepy and uncomfortable.  And that was our day.  Big thanks to Mom and Scott.  They entertained all of us the entire time, and trust me, it's not easy.  I've got a lot more to write about, but I've got to pace myself.  Hope this gives you something to read as you're pretending to work, and all of you have a good Monday!

Fourth of July and such...

This past weekend was pretty fantastic.  We used the "fire pit" in our backyard to make S'mores, and I used quotes because I don't think it's really a fire pit.  I think it's actually a little flower garden-thingy...

But after some severe weeding and starting an actual fire in it?  Boom.  It's now a true fire pit.  Or as true as we can make.  So...yay for our ingenuity.  

Jeff also decided to put our kitchen sink to work:

 Look at her perfect little heart-shaped bum.  She thought bathing in front of a window was pretty radical.  Except when she couldn't FULLY stretch out, she was ready to be done.  

The next day Jeff and I did some massive pruning.  The flowers are gone now, so I didn't feel too bad about cutting all the Wisteria way down.  But, now when I walk under it, it doesn't rip all my hair out.  I know that pictures of plant life being cut back isn't as interesting to you as it is to me, definitely, but I'm always really amazed at how much time and effort it takes.  When I was done, despite the two city garbage cans full of branches, it didn't look all that different.  It's not like mowing, where everything looks so much nicer after you're done.  Sometimes it's a little depressing.  

Anyway, I should have taken more pictures at the Anderson family BBQ on Monday, but I got overly lazy.  I was enjoying the company, and the sun, and the food, and just...forgot.  Until Jeff showed up with Syd.  She jumped on the trampoline with her cousin Story and Riley for a while, but then decided that she was done--her attention span is pretty pathetic.

We decided to get in the pool.  Syd hated it at first, and slowly she came around.  I made Jeff get the camera while we swam, and that's why these pictures actually turned out--cause I didn't take them.

After our swim we visited, chased Syd, and watched fireworks with family.  It was a great 4th of July holiday.  Big thanks to Bob and Maida for the get-together and the yummy BBQ, to everyone that brought food for me to eat, and to the Stevensons and Coplens for the fireworks.  We're so lucky to have people that entertain us.  It was fun seeing everyone.   

Loving the Laziness.

So it's official.  I have become so lazy that I can't even blog lately.  I get these ideas, and then I'm like..."Wait--that would mean I need to take some pictures and come up with ideas; preferably interesting".  And thus, no posts, because that is way too much pressure for me these days.  And I go back to whatever it was that I was doing, which is watering the plants, or setting the hose, or taking care of the lawn.  Stuff that I would have sworn I'd hate?  I'm actually loving.

And see what I have to work with?  It's kind of overwhelming because I have no clue as to what I'm doing, but it's nice having the chance.  At our last house it was all about getting grass to grow...now it's other stuff. A lot of it.  What you're seeing is after two weekends of Jeff cutting down trees and shrubs that had grown out of control.  And due to my lack of photo taking skills, it still looks kind of messy, but it's a bazillion times better than it was.  Next year it's going to be amazing.  This is my goal.  
I know.  Who have I become?
I'm loving it here...and the kids and Jeff are, too.  With Jeff's schedule, he gets to work from home a lot.  Now with the extra room, we can find places here in which we actually have the ability to keep to ourselves.  We can stay out of each others way, and so while Jeff is technically working, we all try to let him do his stuff.  Except for Syd.  

Just so you know, any of us would be told that he's "trying to get work done", and to "give him his space".  But not "Daddy's Baby Girl".  She does whatever she wants. 

Just in case you couldn't tell from the first picture, I had to post this one--check out Jeff's arms as he's "working".  And yet Syd is permitted to take up ALL the space she likes.  Dis-gust-ing. Proof there is obvious favoritism involved.  

The family room is Syd's favorite place.  Not only does it have the TV, but (obviously), this is where Jeff does a lot of his work, and if Riley and Cole come up to watch a movie or play the Wii, Syd can usually convince them to take her out and let her jump on the trampoline. 

We finally got our room fixed up.  I guess it would be more correct to say, "I finally got most of our crap put away in our bedroom so that it now looks like a bedroom".  And as you can see, our love for the color brown is stronger than ever.  I'm wondering what that says about us...

And that's the entrance to our closet.  Fyi, it's messy again, so I didn't take a picture of the inside.  But just know it's still incredibly awesome.  (Jeff said that the pictures I take make all our rooms look a lot smaller than they actually are.  But I think if he can do better, then he should be in charge of the situation.  And let me just say that you'd then have to use your imaginations for everything).  Obviously my way is better.  Right?  
Cole has been the biggest surprise, I think.  He loves his room.  He loves to keep it immaculate.  And he loves to remind me that Riley doesn't have that same love for her room.  Earlier this week he said to me, "Mom, now I don't want to be mean....but I was walking past Riley's room, and there was a LOT of toys and stuff on her floor.  A LOT.  I wonder why it's so hard for her to keep her room clean?  I think it's SO easy".  I thanked him for his input and then proceeded to check out Riley's room.  It was as he said, a complete pigsty.  After I told Riley to clean her room or she couldn't have her friend come over, I noticed that Cole was bringing the vacuum out of his room.  "Oh, I just wanted to make sure my carpet looked nice, too, Mom".  That's my boy.  :)

He has like three tables on which to build Lego stuff.  When Sydney goes downstairs he watches her like a hawk--he doesn't want her to "mess his room up", or "eat his Legos".  

And finally, Riley got her room somewhat organized.  Not up to Cole's standards, but at least you could walk into it.  So her friend from school did get to come over.  We're all very settled.  It's a fantastic change from last month at this time, when we were living out of and on, boxes.  
Anyway, that's where we are right now.  I'm enjoying having visitors, because we can actually talk and such without the kids being right in the middle of everything.  That always used to be so stressful to me, and now they have options to be elsewhere, and so they use them.  It's awesome.  Not that I don't love having the kids around, it's just been hectic for so long that having space is a completely welcome change for all of us.