Weekend warriors

On Thursday night I decided we needed to remodel our half-bath this weekend. :) Before you feel too sorry for Ryan, remember he likes projects, too. I even asked him and he said so.

That poor half bath has been on the back-burner for a while, now. I finally got so sick of apologizing for it every time someone wanted to use the bathroom. I found it downright embarrassing! Not to mention this deep down belief I have that if something looks nice, I will be much more prone to clean it. I have discovered these past few days that I am not nearly as good a housekeeper as I like to think I am and it is kind of depressing. So what could make it better but a little remodel?

So here is the dreadful before...
I will point out all that is wrong with this picture. Cheap, builders-grade faucet, ugly formica counter top that for some reason extends along the entire wall, making the top of the toilet impossible to clean, blah cabinets (at least they are upgraded maple), ginormous boring mirror, paint color was okay--I picked it--but I painted it quickly when I was eight months pregnant and I'm pretty sure I used satin paint, which is not easy to clean, especially when there are little boys living in your house if you know what I mean. And then the gorgeous light fixture--wow. So the overall effect is bor-ing.

So yesterday we ripped it all out and got going!!
Two days of sanding, staining, tiling, painting, installing, patching drywall, texturing, plumbing, reassembling and decorating later....
This is my favorite part--
We salvaged the original sink, then Ryan tiled over the ugly old counter top! I love, love, love the backsplash! And here is the much improved new light!

The color is hard to capture on film, but it is a bluish/greenish/grayish color. It's perfect. You will all have to come by and see it.

Yay! The only problem is now the rest of my house seems so shabby. I will have to sell more things on Craigslist to fund the next project. I'm thinking it's about time we tackled the kitchen...

(Don't worry, Ryan likes it, remember??)

Motivation

A few months ago the girls' best friend was able to buy her own American Girls doll after saving and working hard for months and months. My girls thought that was pretty cool, so they decided to try it too. Let me tell you, it has been wonderful to get them to work around the house!! Anytime I need something done I just open it up to the kids and tell them how much the job is worth and I almost always get someone to do it. I have only scooped Kirby's poop once because that is a pretty high paying job. Ryan made all four kids little charts that they color in--each square is $0.25. We have tried motivating them with little prizes and even money before, but having something specific that they are saving for has been the best motivation ever. The girls hung up pictures of the dolls they are saving for next to their charts--Audrey is now saving for two different ones!

And the boys are even more ambitious. Isaac started saving for a Wii game, but has since upgraded to an ipad. So technically he will need to fill in six charts. Hmm... And Lincoln is saving for a $3.00 Lightening McQueen car and the "park" he saw at Sam's. That costs $997.00.

Maybe he will get it by the time he is about 14.

Unfair Advantage

Today was "Twin Day" at school.

Can you tell which is which? Chloe lost her second big tooth on top last night, so Audrey had Ryan help hers out this morning so that they could really fool everyone.

My sweethearts...

Lincoln gave me quite a scare last night. When I went up to bed I decided to check on the kids. The three older kids had all fallen asleep with their lights on, so I went and turned off their lights and closed their doors. Then I went to check on Lincoln and I couldn't see him. I moved some of the stuffed animals he sleeps with out of the way and I realized he wasn't in his bed. I then looked under the bed and on the other side in case he had fallen out, but he was no where to be found. I called down to Ryan and he came up and we looked together--in Lincoln's closet, in the other kids' rooms, in our room, in our closet. I was really starting to get freaked out when Ryan called to me softly. Look where we found him...

He had climbed up to the top bunk and crawled into bed with Audrey. My heart melted. We let him stay there. How sweet.

Dog Park

We took Kirby to the dog park for the first time today. It was a lot of fun--although very, very muddy. It took him a little while to get used to it, but then he had a lot of fun playing with the other dogs. At the end of our outing a very big, hyper dog came over and was trying to play with Kirby. Well, I think he was trying to play. None of us were very sure. Including Kirby. The giant dog barked at him and he literally tried to crawl into the fence he was next to and then just buried his head under his paws. The big dog wouldn't let up and poor Kirby just played dead. Even after the dog left he just laid there, inert. Poor little guy! Then that crazy big dog knocked Lincoln over. That was our cue to leave. It was a fun time--I will enjoy it much more if we can go when it isn't covered in MUD.

New set of wheels

We got Lincoln a new bike before Christmas. Gotta love thrift stores--we got what looks like a brand new bike for $8.00!! We are still working on teaching him to ride it, but he loves it!

Chuck E. Cheese's

Last night we got to go to a party at Chuck E. Cheese's. My kids have only been there once before and the girls weren't even old enough to remember it. It is not my favorite place. But the kids had a blast. And of course we had to go celebrate this sweet little girl's birthday.

Happy 3rd birthday, Ava!!

Chloe used all her tickets to buy presents for everyone in the family. What a sweetheart! All I have heard about all day long is how wonderful Chuck E. Cheese's is. Thanks for inviting us, Ava (and Tara and Gabe!)

Isaac takes a swim

Today I got a call from the school nurse. She started off the conversation by saying, "Thank goodness you are home!" Not the kind of call you want to get from the school nurse.

She then proceeded to tell me that Isaac had been sledding at recess and had somehow gotten wet. I thought, well of course he did--he didn't have any snow pants on so I'm sure he got a little damp. She suggested I bring him a change of clothes or even come get him so he could go home and take a hot shower. I thought that was kind of overkill, but whatever.

When I walked into the nurses office, the principal, the nurse and Isaac's teacher were all crowded around him on a bed. He was bundled up in like 4 oversized fleece blanket and sipping hot chocolate. The principal was very apologetic that this had happened and pointed out a bag of sopping wet clothes on the floor. His clothes were all so wet he wasn't wearing any of them. (Luckily the school keeps random extra clothes on hand--he was wearing shorts, a t-shirt, black socks, someone's underwear! and one of the teacher's sweatshirts.) We got him out to the car on a rolling chair (his boots were also too wet to wear.) Once we were alone I asked him what on earth had happened that he got so wet while sledding.

Apparently he had been sledding down a hill and landed in the creek! (It was a high of 25 degrees today.)
Me: "What did you do then?"
Isaac: "I swam to the shore."
Me: "The water was so deep you had to swim?!"
Isaac: "Yeah. My feet didn't touch the bottom."
Me: "Did you go underwater?"
Isaac: "Yeah, but my head just popped right out."
Me: "Did you break through ice?"
Isaac: "I don't know--my feet went through first."

We got him home and into the hot shower. As he was drinking some hot chocolate to get warmed up further he said, "I don't think I'm going to go sledding at recess anymore." I said, "Yeah, after this little incident, I don't think anyone in the school is going to be going sledding at recess anymore."

Yup, that's my boy.

Look at my boy!

Today was Lincoln's first day in Sunbeams (his class at church.) I can't believe how big he is!!

Playdates

Linky had his BFF and future bride, Katy, over for a playdate this morning. They looked so cute "playing" Connect Four. They are just hysterical to listen to. They have big plans, these two.

The girls also had their friends Avery and Briar over for an American Girls Doll playdate this afternoon. While Isaac was at his friend, Garrett's house on a playdate of his own. Gotta love friends!!

One HUNDRED years!!!

The whole reason we came over to Utah this year was to help Ryan's grandma celebrate her 100th birthday!!! Her actual birthday is tomorrow (the 2nd) but today they had a huge party for her with most of her living family members and posterity in attendance. It was fun to visit with all the family and to hear stories about her life. She is a wonderful woman and still just as sharp as a tack. We feel very grateful that we were able to visit with her and celebrate with her.

Ever hear of an alpaca?

On Friday we met up with Ryan's family in Orem and then drove down to Mona, Utah to brave the cold and visit an alpaca farm. They are kind of like llamas, I guess. They were cute and very curious. Unfortunately it was 19 degrees outside, so I spent most of the time in the car. I'm not that brave.
Here is everyone learning how you make alpaca fur into yarn. It is very soft and warm.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

My parents took us on a fun adventure on Thursday night. We bundled up (again) and drove out to a remote ranch in the mountains. There we were greeted by real cowboys passing out hot chocolate and cider. We loaded up in authentic horse-drawn sleighs and snuggled in tight for a twilight ride through the snow. We then came back to the barn where we ate a cowboy dutch-oven dinner, listened to a country band play and then enjoyed some cowboy poetry told by the ranch hand. It was so much fun!

Here we are in front of the sleigh...

Bundled up and ready to go...
The girls and Linky dancing to the cowboy music.
Ride 'em, cowboy!

Adventures in the snow

We got multiple feet of snow on Wednesday and Thursday. I'm really not even sure how much it was in the end. So we had to take advantage of it all on Thursday! We bundled up (it was COLD!!!) and went to a nearby hill. The kids lasted almost an hour--half of that I spent pulling some of them through the snow on the sled. It was really fun and beautiful!

More fun with cousins

Well the above picture is just cute--it has nothing to do with the title. We really had a lot of fun with my cousins when they were snowed in here. They are such a fun family and my kids fell in love with them!! We are excited to go visit them this summer.

Here are the girls with Faith. Faith was a tiny baby when Ryan and I got engaged. We have a picture of Ryan holding her. If I was at home I would find it. The girls miss her terribly already. She was a good sport with them! They can be a little leech-like when they decide they like someone.
Kirsten had to work hard to get Lincoln to warm up to her, but he finally came around and now he talks about "my friend" all the time. He wanted to send her a letter so he drew her a picture and dictated it to me. I think he told her he loved her at least 5 times in the letter.

And these are just my boys playing in the snow...

Hitting the slopes

On Monday my dad took Ryan and Isaac down to Sundance to take advantage of the spectacular ski weather. They had a great time and stayed all day long. My mom and I took the girls and Linky to see "Tangled" which is absolutely adorable and which Isaac categorically refuses to see due to any and all princess content.

More fun!

Ugh--one day I will take the time to figure out how to blog on this computer. Anyway--here is more of the fun things we have been up to! The above picture is my cousins playing our new Wii. I hate video games, but I have to admit this one does really seem to be fun for the whole family. We have all enjoyed it. My aunt, uncle and cousins came down last night and we went down to the art museum this morning. The weather turned on us and they ended up staying tonight, too! Maybe if we are lucky they will stay even longer. We don't see them very often, and it has been really fun to spend time with them.

Here is grandpa reading to the kids when we got back to Park City this afternoon. The roads were sooooo bad--it took us 2.5 hours to get home when it should have taken about 45 minutes.

Here are the kids proving that we actually did attend the art exhibit. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside.
Fun in the massive amounts of snow we woke up to this morning!!!!!