I think we got our money's worth!

Yesterday after school.  I decided to mow the grass.  While I was doing that.  Claire found the apples I had purchased earlier that day. And proceeded to eat it.  When she was done this is all that she had left.

And it was no little apple.

Next, she wanted another.

At least they are good for you!

Umm... What Happened to My Cake?!?

I guess I cannot leave the kitchen while baking a cake... even to update Facebook.

They (Benjamin and Claire) were very hungry. Mostly for cake... 

But they told me they were VERY sorry! 

(in the most dramatic voice they could muster)

After it was frosted no one could tell.

Grandma's Panties

I will spare you a picture of this one.  Aubrey the other day, while she was getting dressed, was running around saying.  I love wearing Grandma's panties.  I was like what are you talking about?  Then I figured out that she was talking about the panties that Grandma had given them on her last trip here.  Something you don't hear everyday.  "I love wearing Grandma's panties!" at the top of someone's lungs!  I just hope the windows were not opened.  I am afraid what the neighbors think of us already.  What a funny girl!

If you don't have a shot, don't take it...

Some times we save a trip downstairs, by throwing diapers at the trash can from upstairs.  Today it did not save a trip or time.

The diaper hit the chair and EXPLODED!

EVERYWHERE!

I was just glad that it did not have a present inside!

Hope you have an EXPLOSIVE day!

I already am!

Eggs anyone?

The kids have leaned how to make bird nests and eggs with playdoh.  Their friend Brinley was over for a fun play-date.  They want her to come over everyday.  They have so much fun playing with her.  The reason that Aubrey is not pictured is that she is off drawing pictures for Brinley so she can remember coming over.

Subtle hints...

So I found this in the food storage area of the basement. I was what is this? Why is there a smiley face on the cereal? Then I looked at it closer. Benjamin has left me some clues on what he likes and does not like!Apparently he is not a fan of the bananas or the nuts.

But likes the flakes. Thanks for letting me know Benjamin. I will keep theses in mind when I go grocery shopping. Got love this guy so so funny!

Finally some of the painting we have been doing!

So here are some of the painting projects we have been up to! We are by no means finished! With the painting or the decorating! This is just the start. This first one is the art niche over the fireplace. And yes I know that the picture need to be updated. And for all you funny people out there no we did not change Zachary's name to Chelsea. And no he is not really a flower.
My friend Amy Farnsworth is going to take the replacement pictures. I think that they will be amazing!
This one is in the dining room when you first walk in the house. The colors are Cappuccino and Garnet from Restoration Hardware. LOVE their paint!
This is also in the dining room. This is the fabric for the curtains.
This one is a hallway between the dining and the kitchen. I will be adding more to it than just this shelf, but for now this is what I have. The paint is chocolate from RH.
Here is going up the stairs. The paint is Cappuccino.
Here is the study that is off of the family room. The paint is Flax again from RH.
Another view of the study. We also painted the powder room in Flax.
Here is the kitchen. I am proposing Saffron from RH in here. We are trying to find the same tile that is around the fireplace to do as a back-splash.
Another view of the kitchen. We have not painted the living room or any of the rooms upstairs. Let us know what you thing! People I want to see comments here.

Did you know we have bones?

Aubrey just came up to me and asked if I knew we had bones. And that she drew me a picture to show me the bones. Thanks for the Osteology lesson!

If the inventer of Spot Shot is out there...

If the inverter of Spot Shot is out there we would like to shake your hand! Last night I was telling Dan about everything I do in a day. Yesterday it just happened to be getting grape jelly out of the new carpet! Spot Shot got it out with ease! It is the best carpet cleaner out there. So, this is a public thank you to the inventor and makers of SPOT SHOT! (sorry there is no pictures of the named jelly and carpet incident. I could recreate it but... I am sure there will more opportunities to prove the true miracle of Spot Shot in the near future.) I did just find a screaming deal at Sam's Club. Two large cans of Spot Shot for just $3.21! I was very tempted to buy all they had, but settled on all I could carry to the basket.

The littlest monkey is now 1!

So. we finally celebrated Zachary's birthday last night. We had a small gathering over for dinner and cupcakes. As you can see from the pictures he thoroughly loved the cupcakes!
I cannot believe that my baby is one!

The First Day of School

So, I think that I can post about this now. We had quite a traumatic first day of school. It was Aug 24th. So on Aug 23rd I decided that I was going to had a Boo-Hoo or Woo-Hoo luncheon. To make a long story short I did not have the ingredients for what I needed to make for the luncheon, so off to Sam's we went Monday morning. Yes, just hours before school. I can do it all right? So, we get home with just an hour for me to clean the house and make the food and oh get the kids to school.

We headed off to for the girls to catch the school bus. The bus is suppose to come at 12:07 (Yes, that is the time they told me.) I am thinking they have it down to the min. They are good. I cannot get anything down to the minute when kids are involved! Well, we found out they can't either. So we waited for a good 20 mins. Then I snapped this picture and decided I needed to take things into my own control. Told the kids to run home and get in the van, because we could not wait any longer or Benjamin would be late for school. Yes, to add a little excitement in my life the girls go to a different school than Benjamin. They are bused to an elementary that has Preschool. The one down the street does not have Preschool.

So back to the story... Run kids run. Then right before we get down the street to Benjamin's school, Benjamin decides that he needs milk. He is not giving in. Oh, I forgot to mention that I was suppose to meet the Special Ed director to sign some papers at 12:15 well we are way past that. So I call her and tell her to meet us at the kindergarten door. Which she is outside waiting for us when we get there. And Benjamin and his milk obsession. She goes in to get him some milk from the cafeteria (and please do not "help" him by getting chocolate milk that would put him at a whole new level). She is now his new hero.

Now, the girls are going to be late if we do not hurry. So we leave Benjamin with Miss Lauren to wait the few minutes till school starts. Then we rush off to Henderson Elementary for the girls. Only to find out the only way I know how to get there the road is closed. Well, I am going to go around it. Yeah no. The whole road has been covered in a pile of gravel and I forgot the 4X4 van at home. So now what do I do? It is 12:40 their school starts at 12:45 and a dozen people are going to be at my house at 1 o'clock! So I find a different way! Yes, I made it in time. My poor kids. I ditched them too. I did not have time to be sucked into the whole first day of school sob story. I need to party!

So, I get back home and the party goes great! I meet a lot of great people. They food turned out great. Then all of the sudden could it be time to pick them up? Already? So we start the pick up process. Load the two kids that are still at home up and head over to the school to get Benjamin. The good news is that he had a good day! Then, off to the park to wait for the bus for the girls. And wait and wait and wait. After 50 mins. I run home to call transportation. My friend Amy stays at the park with my kids and her kids, just in-case the bus comes. Only to find out when I get home there are three messages from the school. The girls are at the school. What? They were not sure if they should put them on the bus! So this whole time they have been waiting for me to pick them up. What did I say to give them that impression? Oh well, off to the school to pick them up. Good thing I know how to get there now.

So by the time that Dan gets home. We are ALL in are jammies and ready for bed. We were all exhausted. The next day was better. And everyday since.

To cover or not to cover...

So here is a little project my sister Tammy and I did a few weeks back. These are before and after pictures. We recovered the chairs for the kitchen. There are four and they are all different fabric layouts but same collection. I think they turned out great!
Thanks for the help, Tammy!

We are Building a Home!

http://www.richmondamerican.com/Shop+and+Buy/Home+Detail.htm?mr=Denver%20Metro&pl=8294&cm=1037

I think we are here to stay.  Denver has been great for us so far, our Business, my job, church and of course the beauty of "Gods Country, " so we are building a home.  

This is a link to check it out.  The link is not to the same neighborhood or price,  just floor plan and specks.  We are pretty excited!  We got to go to the design center and pick out the flooring, counters and cabinets ect.  two weeks ago. 

Our neighborhood is great.  We are 15 houses down and on the same side of the street as the elementary school and a block from the park.  

This is actually our third home to build but we get all excited every time we go thought the process.  We should be moving in at the middle of July.   

1950 All Over Again!

Our Ward had a little party!

The kids loved dressing up with lipstick and in the clothes Amie skillfully make for them.  

Then Benjamin saw a cake that he just had to have.... we won it in the auction and everyone got a little buzz.  (of sugar)

What's for Dinner?

If you have ever wondered what's for dinner I think that Pampers has come up with a solution!

Watch the short video below and see!  

Now if you can pick yourself up off the ground and try to contain the laughter, but most of all have a great day!

Pay it forward ~ with Crafts

While looking at my sister-in-law's blog I couldn't help but get excited about this wonderful idea she had about paying it forward. It's a great way to spend some time thinking about someone else and getting those creative juices flowing for the benefit of others! So thanks Misty for the motivation and here's how it works:

The 1st three people (and only those three) to leave a comment on this post will receive at some point during the next few months a handmade gift from me. If you don't live nearby, leave me your address on my email, isonhouse@me.com

What your gift from me will be and when it will arrive is a total surprise! But here's the catch: you must participate as well!

After leaving your comment you MUST write up a “pay it forward” post on your own blog (or, do it in your neighborhood if you don’t have a blog) to keep the fun, creativity and good-works going. So, as you wait for your own gift, you must be making gifts for your three friends who commented! Lets share the love and have fun!

remember the snow?

Here is a small clip of good times in the snow.  Including tunnels snow balls tromping in quicksand snow and more.  Even some training passed down from my father to me and now to my son about a well placed snow ball onto a tree heavy with snow on the branches.  

My office closed down one Friday because of all the snow, so we did the only reasonable thing... find the biggest hill in Boulder and take Claire and Benjamin on their first sled ride.  

This was a great winter!

FACES

Thanks to our awesome brother in law, Jordan, we now have a new photo software. It uses facial recognition and analyzes all of your photos in your library. On a separate page it categorizes all of the photos with any given name. Then when you scan your mouse over the face it laps through all of the series of photos of that person. It is pretty tripy to see the change in faces through the years. OK, enough with the Apple Software sales pitch...

That got me thinking about doing a highlight of the short stuffs. This way you can actually see their faces as opposed to that motley crew that is our Easter Family Picture.

P.S. I realize this is something only the mom and dad would do but... if you click on the picts you will get all up close and personal with them.   

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



BENJAMIN


____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________




AUBREY & CLAIRE





____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________




JULIA










____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________




ZACHARY

Happy Easter!

FOR A SLIDE SHOW OF NEW PHOTOS, CLICK ON THE LINK AT THE TOP, ON THE RIGHT.  

                      

We had a great Easter last weekend!  It was also Aubrey and Claire's fourth Birthday on Saturday.  We had some family come in to celebrate with us.  We must have hid and found easter eggs five or six times over that weekend.  

Happy Easter!... Amen

Amie got the kids some marshmallow peeps. Of course they loved them, took them every where and then had an even better idea. They went up stairs to our Master Bed Room, got there friend and helped get him ready for Easter! Then they brought him down and put him on our entry way table for all of our visitors to see! We didn't see it until latter that night. At least they know who the season is about. HAPPY EASTER... amen.

"Got to go someone is at the Door!"

This was last month... but wanted to report in our make shift journal, the blog.  

My sister, Misty had a birthday! It was Friday the 13th of March.  That morning I text her wishing her a happy birthday and hope all goes well.  Little did she know I was at that same moment at the Denver Airport getting on a plane to come see her.  I arrived in the afternoon, her husband Jordan and my mother who had also flown in came and picked me up.  That night Misty and Jordan had invited several friends to have a party at the church building.  

Misty had to work a little later so didn't get there until around 6:30.  Finally she arrived.   I slipped out the back door as she came in the front.  I then text her again asking about her day. She said so far so good.  Then I knocked on the front door of the church.  She stopped texting my message and went to answer the door.    You should have seen her face... she was more confused than anything else.  She looked at me then down at her phone then back at me again.  She said it was like a star trek move to be beamed up to the party.    

We sure had an awesome time.  We had game night every night, we had to let birthday girl win a couple of corse.

We went to the smithsonian and down to the memorials.  We also went to Abraham Lincoln's Memorial. On the way up the elevator my nephew Asher needed a little more entertainment for the evening... So right on que, Jordan with the Beat, Misty with the back up lyrics and beat, mom with some big 'ol boy lyrics and all with some sweet moves gave the needed entertainment for Little Asher in the stroller.  

Defiantly good times!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMIE!!

Tomorrow, Sunday the 5th, is Amie's birthday!  

As you all know, Amie is really amazing with her plethora of talents, her constant eye for service and her super human abilities to maintain this home and teach our kids everything she knows.  

So if you are grateful to know that Amazing Woman, give her a shout out and a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Self-Incrementing Evidence

We went to download some photos from our camera today and found that our sweet little girls who we thought were sleeping last night were actually not.  Here is a little movie of what they were really doing!  Thanks girls for the nice footage, but next time you better stay in bed!

Missing!

After looking at our blog all of our favorite blogs are MISSING! So if you want to make our list and even if you don't please send me your blogs so I can re-add you!

I think that it was worth the trip!

Okay, I have not fallen off the ends of the earth. Apparently I have just been clipping coupons. Sometime I wonder if it is worth going grocery shopping. On the phone the other day Dan asked me if I had a bunch of cats in the van. I told him no, but I felt like I was herding some at the grocery store today. On that note, my friend Leah told me that this receipt was blog worthy. And I would have to agree. If you look at the percent saved it is 101%! After all my coupons they owed me .58 so I bought a candy bar and they still owed me .06! I walked out of there with 2 bags of frozen chicken breasts, one bottle of salad dressing, a bag of tortilla chips, tortillas, 3 boxes of Frosted Mini Wheats (the 24 oz size!), Alfredo sauce, a bag of frozen veggies, a frozen pizza, and 5 lbs of onions! I think it was worth the trip!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Yes, this is a Thanksgiving clip, but it is the most recent.  The family all came to Denver to celebrate with us.  We had our Thanksgiving feast, Benjamin and Brad's birthday, Zachary's Baby blessing and through in a little Christmas with everyone.  Good Times!  Hope you enjoy.  

The First Snow!

Well, we made it to Colorado!  And the computer is unpacked.  

We had our first snow this morning.  I would post some pictures, but I was not able to locate the camera for the 3 sec Claire would stay outside. (she was the only one to venture outside)

Just now Benjamin came and asked me where the snow went!  I told him that the sun melted it.  Then he proceeded to cry for about 5 min.  I am sure by the end of the winter he will be crying that the snow will not go away!  

P.S. I loved all the comments on the last post!

What a great fortune!

I just wanted to share a cute thing Benjamin did yesterday.  We went out for Chinese last night for dinner.  In the car on the way home I gave the kids their fortune cookies.  When Benjamin opened his he read the fortune and said "It says I am a child of God".  I thought that was too cute to not to share.  

I hope everyone is having a great day.  The kids and I are on our way to Denver this Saturday. It should be interesting 2 adults and 5 children on 1 airplane.  I think that security scares me more than the flight.  Wish us luck.  We are going to LOVE being together as a family again.  amie

New Photos!

On the top right side of the blog is a mac link to our photo page.   Amie has put some of the kiddos on there yesterday!

Remember Us?

ZACHARY IS HERE! 

 He was born last Friday, September 5th.  Eight pounds and eight ounces at 20.5 inches long.  Happy healthy chunky monkey!  So it is official, we now have our coed basketball team in the making.  

Amie and the kids are all staying with Amie's mother so our home would be easier to show (hopefully sell)  and for the support she needs.  (since her dead beat husband is across the country) 

I flew in on Thursday night and stayed until Wednesday.  Amie's sister Tammy is flying in to stay a week to help as well.  (Thank you Tammy!)  Then some of Amie's great friends are helping out as well until Amie recovers.  

Our home in Houston has still not sold,  which is the only real hick-up in our grand plan.  But it is a big hick-up that has caused some rough times.   Mainly, Amie and the kids staying in Houston longer than we wanted while I start work in Denver.  

 

Benjamin rides the bus to preschool each morning and really enjoys it.  He showed everyone including the bus driver his new baby brother "Wackery"  aka  Zachary.   The girls are definatly growing up to their own individualls.  And Julia has supprised me the most.   When I came up to Colorado she had taken only one step.  Now she is walking all over the house, throwing dipers away for Amie, throwing clothes and shoes in the trash for Amie... well she is trying to help.   

 

Thank you all for your prayers and help.  We are blessed to have such great family and friends!


Follow our new link on the top right side of the blog page to see more new pics. 

Mac Photo Gallery