It's Another Floor to Sweep, But I'm OK With It

In between bouts of rainy weather, Jay and I tackled another project around the house. Actually, this time it was a backyard project, and it was a ton of fun.

Here's the before:

(basically some useless space next to the deck)

And here's the after:

A treehouse, complete with slide! The kids are in heaven (and I kinda like it, too). There's nothing like laying in the treehouse, listening to the birds chirping, and staring up at this:

Jay designed and built the entire thing. I supervised. Actually, I helped quite a bit, mostly in the painting department, although I did have a few turns at the chop saw. (There is photographic proof, but I'll spare you.)

The kids are loving it! Now with outside toys, a trampoline, a hill, bikes, and a treehouse, they have no excuse to come inside on sunny days. Well, except to get a drink of water, and Jay took care of that, too:

He created homemade water fountain. He is one clever guy, I tell ya. When he told me he wanted to make a water fountain, I admit I was a little skeptical. But not only did he pull it off, he made it completely adorable. I think the kids aren't the only ones who will stay outdoors all summer!

Some more pictures, if you're so inclined:

Another Momentous Occasion

Dexter ...

... adores his sisters and will do anything to get their attention, which usually includes following them around, crying, begging them to go on the trampoline with him, or throwing toys at them if necessary.

... talks back a bit, but it's so cute that I have a hard time taking it seriously. I know, I know, it's a bad habit to get into. But when I'm telling him to do something and he yells with all the feeling he can muster, "Mom, you no bossing me!," it really is quite comical. Unless I'm in a rush to get the girls to school and he's refusing to put on his shoes, or some other typical drama, then it's not that comical at all.

... loves trains, Star Wars, riding his tricycle (or "scooter," as he calls it), and eating snacks. He also has a slight obsession with gum.

... always asks for "Papa come back," in his nightly prayers, and nearly fell off the dining room chair when we told him that Papa was indeed coming to visit in May. He was so excited that his prayers were being answered!

... is talkative, observant and very sweet. Oh, and he's a music lover. Jessie's Girl is his current favorite. (That's my boy!)

... is growing up.

Happy 3rd Birthday, buddy. We love you!

He was so excited for the cake, but mainly because he wanted the Thomas train that was riding the icing rails.

Opening a present from Nana. Can you sense a theme?

A train table! (Gotta love Craigslist!)

Pioneer Dresses Are Really Quite Versatile

A few weeks ago, Natalie needed to do a report and presentation on a historical figure for school. She chose Florence Nightengale.

What a cutie!

She already knew a little bit about The Lady With The Lamp because of a book we have, but she loved learning more. She did a fantastic job with her presentation (she has Jay's memorization skills), and was one of five kids asked to do their presentation for the Principal! Natalie was very excited.

The costume consisted of a Princess Leila dress, a Laura Ingalls apron and bonnet (turned backward), a homemade sash and ruffly cuffs, and of course, the all important lamp, which we found at Goodwill for 3 bucks.

I think I'm going to make the kids dress up like historical figures once a week, it's just so cute. What do you think? Cal as George Washington?

Easter, Spring, and All That Good Stuff

Happy April!

Now that Spring Break and Easter are over, it feels like the end of school and summer vacation are just around the corner! This year, like all others since my children have started school, seems to be flying by at record speed.

We stayed local during Spring Break, but had a great time going on hikes and having picnics, and taking a short trip to the Jelly Belly Factory. (Free candy, baby!) Easter and General Conference were also wonderful, and then Monday brought us back to the reality of school and schedules and homework.

But because I don't want to think about all that right now, I will reminisce about our backyard Easter egg hunt instead.

Wait, before we get to the egg hunt, here are the kids with some of their loot. (Hooray, Dollar Store!)

Cal was still sleeping when the baskets were opened, but once he woke up, he was more than a little excited to find a new jump rope. The boy loves cords, jump ropes, and basically anything he can trail along behind him. It's a very strange obsession, but hey, what can you do? Better than Dexter refusing to try on anything but girl's sandals at Target. But I digress.

Ok, now onto the hunt!

After the first round of hunting was done, we discovered they had all found the exact same number of eggs. (And Jay and I barely interfered, I promise!)

Oh, and in case you were wondering, Dexter eventually agreed to buy boy's sandals. He looks like a little man in this outfit ... it kills me.

The end!

Scenes from Sacramento

Every few days, I will randomly exclaim to Jay, "I really love it here!" And it's true. I am happier here than I expected to be. Or, better put, I thought it would take a lot longer to love our new hometown than it did. I love the neighborhood, the friendly customer service, being close to bike trails and the lake, being literally 5 minutes from the temple, and watching wild turkeys meander in our backyard.

Of course, I might change my tune in July when the approximately 150 degree weather hits.

Anyway, the point is, as I was looking through pictures thinking about what to post, I found a lot of random snapshots of our life here that I thought I would compile for your viewing pleasure. At least I hope it's a pleasure.

A small section of Candy Heaven in Old Town Sacramento

A very small part of the Railroad Museum, which is always a bit hit with all the kids

Atop the Capitol Building with Jay. I nearly had a panic attack climbing the rickety spiral staircase to the cupola. My sister-in-law, Emily, and Jay both had to keep reassuring me that I wouldn't plunge to my death. Incidentally, this part of my behind-the-scenes tour of the Capitol made me seriously reconsider my plan to climb Half Dome with Jay this Spring. I don't remember having a fear of heights until I had children.

Speaking of children, here's Cal (with his new haircut!) roaming one of the many wide open spaces near our home.

During a bike ride with Jay and the boys, we stopped at a local bakery and refueled before heading back home. The boys were a big hit in the bakery, and they scored some "hard hats" to wear on the ride home.

Two wild turkeys hanging out on our deck. Cal is slightly freaked out by them, but Dexter always wants to go outside and touch them. Of course, they fly/walk away as soon as we open the sliding door.

Well, I think that's the end of our Sacramento tour for today. I hope it has convinced you to come for a visit! You're more than welcome! (Just don't all come at once....)

More Home Improvement Fun

So, during the same week we did the Stars Wars bathroom, we also updated the entryway. The entryway wall was white - one of the only walls without wallpaper - and boring. (I searched for a "before" picture, but we don't have one, so you'll just have to use your imagination. It shouldn't be hard ... think, "plain white wall.")

We had such a hard time deciding on a color to paint the entryway, mainly because we had already painted the nearby walls some pretty bold colors, and we didn't know what other color would work with them. Probably because there *is* no color that will work with them.

So, Jay suggested we put flooring on the walls.

And that's what we did.

Jay and his brother, Jack, used IKEA laminate floor and adhered it to the wall while I watched from the sidelines and tried to keep the boys out of the way. I am so happy with how it turned out. I've even stopped worrying about the fact that the instructions screamed "do not glue down the laminate under any circumstances!" We're all about throwing caution to the wind here.

Here's the view when you walk in the door:

I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "That's paneling! I thought the Fear's hated paneling!"

We do dislike paneling ... bad early 80's paneling like this:

What we have now is flooring. On the wall. Horizontally. It's different, I tell you, it's different!

Ok, where were we? Oh yes... here's a view from the living room. You can see one of the bold color choices I was talking about, along with my knock-off George Nelson clock.

I really love that view. Except for the flooring and the wicker chair and the 80's chandelier ... but those are projects for another time.

We're having a lot of fun putting our stamp on this home. It's leaning towards the 70's a bit, but hey... the house was born in the 70's and so were we. It's like going back home, man. Like going back home.

Mix Tape

Jay surprised me with a new iTunes playlist of songs that remind me of my growing-up years. It was awesome. I was rockin' out in the kitchen as I flipped pancakes and sang along with every new song. Some of the songs we already owned, and some were new purchases that I know he only purchased for my sake. (Rick Springfield!) I really lucked out in the husband department. As if I need to tell you all that.

Here's a list of what he included. I'm rocking out to #21 right now.

The question is, what songs would you add?

1) If You Leave (OMD)

2) Walk Like An Eqyptian (The Bangles)

3) Karma Chameleon (Culture Club)

4) Jump (Van Halen)

5) Policy of Truth (Depeche Mode)

6) Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough (Michael Jackson)

7) You're So Vain (Carly Simon)

8) Forever Young (Alphaville)

9) Oh l'Amour (Erasure)

10) Glory Days (Bruce Springsteen)

11) Red Rain (Peter Gabriel)

12) The Reflex (Duran Duran)

13) Jessie's Girl (Rick Springfield)

14) Faith (George Michael)

15) Everybody Wants to Rule The World (Tears for Fears)

16) Mony Mony (Billy Idol)

17) Mandy (Barry Manilow) - I think it's hilarious that it comes after Billy Idol

18) Who Can It Be Now? (Men at Work)

19) Head Over Heels (Tears for Fears)

20) Your Love (The Outfield)

21) The Promise (When in Rome)

22) Dancing in the Dark (Bruce Springsteen)

23) Drive (The Cars)

24) Total Eclipse of the Heart (Bonnie Tyler) - if you haven't watched this version on YouTube, then you haven't lived.

25) Just Like Heaven (The Cure)

26) More Than Words (Extreme)

27) The Heart of Rock & Roll (Huey Lewis and the News)

28) Don't Stop Believin' (Journey)

29) With or Without You (U2)

If you're ever bored, you can look up a lot of the original videos of these songs on YouTube. It's quite entertaining. But for now, get commenting! I know there are some awesome songs I missed. (But don't say "Tainted Love." Oh, how it irritates me!) :)

She might not look like much, but she's got it where it counts

Jay had a few days off in a row, so we tackled some projects around the house. First up, the upstairs bathroom! We kept our specific plans a secret from the kids, but when Natalie found out we were planning on making changes, she was very apprehensive. For some reason, she had become attached to the faded yellow 1980's wallpaper that adorned the walls. I tried to assure her that she would love what we had in mind, but she seemed skeptical.

The before ...

With wallpaper (and me! hello!):

With wallpaper partially taken down:

The After ... (It's a challenge to get good pictures in a small space, so you'll just have to use your imagination to piece it all together.)

A Star War's theme!

Old-school Star Wars poster

"May the force be with you" vinyl on the mirror ... my favorite part!

And yes, that is the Millenium Falcon attached to the back wall. The kids haven't been playing with it as much (it had been in our garage for months), so we put it to good use. It can still be taken down and played with if the kid's are begging.

The only thing left is to put the kids' names above each of their towel hooks. I tried to paint them on myself, but it was, um ... unsuccessful. I contacted the person who made the vinyl we purchased for the mirror (love Etsy, by the way), and they are going to custom make the kids' names in yellow vinyl Star Wars font. The perfect last touch, I think.

When we did the grand reveal for the kids, they were very excited. They have been telling everyone, including strangers in Dexter's case, about their new bathroom. And the biggest fan of all? Natalie. I guess Star Wars trumps funky yellow wallpaper after all.