A few 'After' Pictures

Robby & Annie's room...of course the color doesn't look exactly right in the picture, the shade is a little brighter than it seems, but you get the idea.

Tyler's room and the bunkbed I painted (which is still waiting for a bottom mattress! It's mostly used for forts right now.) If anyone else thinks it's odd that Tyler is the one who ended up with the bunkbed when he has his own room, I agree, but Robby insisted. He did NOT want the bunkbed in his room, he wanted a mattress on the floor, and he chose the smaller room even though he was sharing a room with Annie. ?? Whatever!

Painting Lessons

I thought I should let you all know what I've been up to for the last few weeks, since I haven't been around much. Before we moved, I got this crazy idea that I was going to do a few painting projects. We have been lucky enough to be the recipients of several pieces of free furniture from friends and family, as well as found a few deals at flea markets and yard sales. That's the good part. The not so good part is that our collection of furniture is sadly lacking in any type of cohesive theme. In other words, nothing matches! I decided I was fed up with this, and since buying an entire houseful of furniture was not an option for us, I would have to repaint everything the same color. While I was at it, I might as well paint a few bedrooms in the house too. (We're just renting here, but luckily the homeowners said it was fine for us to paint.)

Andrew tried to warn me that maybe I was taking on a little too much at once since I have never painted anything, ever, in my life. But I figured, might as well get it all done at once! So, since we moved in, I put aside the normal project of unpacking, and started painting. I have now finished (almost) everything I started out to do, which includes painting the following items:

one large, heavy desk & drawers

one slightly smaller desk

one tiny desk

another desk/sewing table (how did we end up with so many desks?? i guess since we paid for none of them, it was easy to justify!)

a VERY large bunkbed

a tall bookshelf

a smaller bookshelf

an end table

After priming and painting all those items white, I moved on to painting the house. (Actually, all these things happened more simultaneously. I think I was constantly painting about 4 things at once.) We painted an accent wall in our family room red, Tyler's room blue, and Robby & Annie's room green.

Whew!

So I know that many of you are probably quite experienced in home renovation projects, such as painting. And so for you, this post will probably just make you laugh at my inexperience. But just in case there is someone who is a step behind me, I thought I would share a few things I've learned.

1. Painting is a lot of work!

2. Don't tell your husband that you'll do it all yourself, even though he thinks it's ridiculous to do any of this painting in the first place, because you will really need his help. Only tell him this if you know that he will only let you paint because you said you'd do it all yourself, but then he will feel so bad for you that he will lovingly step in and spend his nights painting with you anyway.

3. Preparing to paint is even harder than painting. Taping a room especially...it takes at least twice as long as painting does! (although spending more time being careful while taping will really pay off...it makes all those mistakes you make while painting easier to hide!)

4. Buy really wide painting tape, like the 2 inch kind. Especially if you are like me, and somehow get paint in several places that you never thought the roller could even reach, like the middle of the ceiling?!

5. For middle of the ceiling emergencies as mentioned above, keep a wet cloth handy. Paint will wipe up fairly easily if it is very wet and immediately wiped off. If it has dried, it really just doesn't wipe off so well.

6. If you decide to paint something red, and you spend forever at the paint store with a kind employee who takes half an hour just to help you choose the right shade of red, and then you come home and open the paint can and it looks hot pink, and you put a test coat on the wall and it still looks hot pink....take a deep breath. Let it dry. It will probably be fine. (just to be safe though, you might want to put that test coat in a small space that's not too easy for anyone else to see...just in case!)

7. If you know the exact shade of green you want for a room because you saw it in your cousin's house and totally fell in love, don't try to go to the paint store yourself and choose the sample from memory, because you'll get it wrong and have to go back again, at which point you will still get the shade wrong, and have to resort to what you should have done in the first place, which is just ask the person who already chose the perfect shade of green exactly which shade they chose. Then you can go buy the right one the first time and you won't have several leftover samples of the wrong shade of green while your kids are rooting for the shade that you REALLY don't want to use!

8. If you decide to try and be a fun mom (or if you just feel guilty because you haven't really paid any attention to your kids in days), and let your kids help you paint, stay nearby. Drips dry fast, and once they are dry, it is really hard to make them look nice and smooth. (although, if you are staying nearby, you WILL get covered in paint, probably even more than you can cover yourself. and of course, so will your kids!!!) Oh, and one of the most important lessons learned, before you decide to paint, go buy your kids bikes at Walmart (or some other comparable exciting activity that they will happily spend ALL DAY doing) so you can actually get a little painting done, and don't quite feel like such a bad mom since they really do seem to be having fun without you.

9. Even if you are sick of wearing the same old cutoffs because you've worn them almost every day for a couple of weeks, it's probably best to stick with the same old clothes. Because no matter how careful you think you are, you will still get paint on whatever you are wearing...as well as your hands, your arms, your legs, your face, your hair... you get the idea. So you might as well not ruin more than one outfit, since paint REALLY does NOT wash out.

10. Painting is hard work, but somehow, once it is done, it really does seem worth it!!!

I'll post some pictures as soon as I can find that camera, oh, and get a few more things unpacked, since that normal project got put on hold for a while.

A Birthday, The Zoo, A Tornado, and other Adventures...

After our time in Nauvoo, we got the kids ready for bed and hopped in the car for a few more hours. (word to the wise, when driving with kids for many, many hours, drive as much as possible while they are asleep!) We spent the night in some state...can't really remember which one anymore. The next morning was my bday, and Andrew was really sweet to take all the kids when they woke up (with the sun) to let me sleep in. I woke up to three cute kids bringing me breakfast in bed (courtesy of the continental breakfast at the hotel we were staying at).



Then we all loaded up for a few more hours of driving. Around lunchtime, we were needing a break, and as if someone could read my mind, I glanced to the side of the freeway and saw a huge sign for the "Omaha, Nebraska Zoo". "Why not stop?" we thought. And so we did.
We had so much fun! I was really quite impressed with this zoo. We have been to several zoos, aquariums, and exhibits over the years, but this place really combined the best of them all!

We took a train ride around the zoo, went to the butterfly exhibit, saw the aquarium complete with puffins and sharks (which you saw while walking through a huge, underwater tunnel), and went inside a massive dome that was created to look like the desert (with wolves, bats, and even an underground cave). We even saw an adorable baby giraffe who was running around chasing birds. I have never seen a giraffe run before, it was really cute.









Seriously, this place was impressive. Who would have guessed? And to top it all off, when leaving the zoo we stopped by a run down looking place that boasted the best cheeseburgers in town. Well, we decided to test out their claim, and not only were their cheeseburgers amazing, so were their fries AND their ice cream .





We were all pretty exhausted by the time we hit the road again, quite a bit later than we had planned (it was hard to leave that zoo...we already had to skip a bunch of exhibits as it was!). We thought the kids would fall asleep quickly and that hopefully Andrew and I would stay wide awake for several hours while we tried to reach Wyoming. It was only an hour or two later that our next adventure began.



Andrew pulled off into a rest stop area so we could take a bathroom break before everyone fell asleep. It had been threatening rain all day, but we hadn't really seen much of anything yet. By the time we stopped at the rest stop, there was some wind and a few raindrops, but no more than that. Thanks to our wonderful Ipod, we hadn't listened to the radio for any of the drive, so we were taken by surprise when Andrew went inside the bathroom with the boys and was told by several kind people that there was a tornado warning in effect...right now...for the area we were currently in. In fact, the tornado was headed straight for us and had already touched down a few cities away. Hmmm....



That's when our adventurous day took a different turn. By the time everyone had gone to the bathroom, the weather had already changed severely. The wind was whipping around us and the rain was starting to pour. We sat in the car, debating. If we stayed where we were, we did have shelter, but we were also sitting directly in the tornado's expected path. The phrase 'sitting ducks' comes to mind. If we kept driving in the direction we needed to go, we would be meeting the tornado head on. (the word 'crazy' comes to mind!) Or we could go in a completely opposite direction and try to outrun, or run away from, the tornado. And of course, all this guessing was based on the assumptions that unknown weathermen were making about what the tornado would do next...tornadoes have the right to change their mind, and it's been known to happen before. Anyway, it was a bit of a tricky situation to be in.

After a while of debating, changing our minds, and of course a lot of praying, we decided to stay where we were. The kids were all in their pajamas, ready for bed, and Robby had actually already fallen asleep by this time. We gathered blankets, and went inside the rest stop, along with several other people. It was an interesting assortment of people-and pets!-but I was impressed with how kind everyone was. Nothing like a tornado headed your way to bring people together. Most of the people there were locals, and for them, this was something they had all done before. "Oh yeah, May is the worst time for tornadoes in this area!" Oh, really? We didn't know that!
Andrew found that in between the men's bathroom and the women's bathroom was a smaller handicapped bathroom without windows. So as the expected time for the tornado's arrival drew closer, and as the skies became visibly black, with the wind and rain pounding at the windows around us, we took our blankets and our kids into the handicapped bathroom, along with the other family who had young kids with them. It was nice and cozy in there, one poor lady had to sit on the toilet holding her baby, but we felt grateful that we had this option in case the tornado did decide to touch down.



After about ten minutes, someone peeked their head in and told us that they were pretty sure the tornado had passed. We went out of the bathroom, and sure enough, the skies were already a light blue, with the blackness moving away from us. We waited for a little longer, and then headed out to our car to load up the kids. Robby slept through the entire thing. I don't think we realized quite how close we had come until we had driven about 4 minutes down the interstate and saw a huge motor home turned over on the side of the road, another car in the ditch, and a tractor trailer that was also flipped over on its side. About a half a mile further down the road, police cars were blocking off the freeway because of how many other cars and trucks were down. The detour they sent us on showed us several trees on the ground and more cars that were stranded. We found out that the tornado had touched down just a few miles from where we were. We were definitely counting our blessings.

We didn't make it as far as we had planned that night, but we couldn't have been more grateful to be where we were. It was quite the day to remember!

Nauvoo

Writing in this blog has started to feel like writing in my journal, and just like writing in my journal, I have a tendency to get behind and then struggle to decide if I should try and catch up, or just write about the most recent life events. (And as I try and decide, I just end up not writing anything!) Well, right now I will make a last effort to catch up...hopefully my efforts will be more successful than they have been with my journal!





Here are a few pictures from our afternoon in Nauvoo, Illinois. After leaving Wisconsin on our drive out west, we drove straight to Nauvoo. I have been there a few times before, so I was a little surprised at how overwhelmed I was when we drove around the corner and right before our eyes stood the gorgeous Nauvoo temple. It really is an amazing sight, and very touching to see the beautiful statue of Joseph and Hyrum Smith on their horses, facing the temple. It was built to commemorate the last sight they saw before leaving their homes on their way to Carthage jail, where they both were killed for their faith.

Of course we had to visit the brickyard. We barely made it there before they closed, but we couldn't leave Nauvoo without the traditional handmade brick!

There is a beautiful garden area behind the visitors center that has several different statues of women at different times in their life. It is a very beautiful, peaceful place and I love going there. But we did get a little silly trying to recreate the statues 'live'.

The Search Is OVER

Well, after dozens of nights of throwing tired boys in bed (thank you Kristin!) and dragging tired Annie around to look at 'just a few more' houses, one failed attempt at a house we liked, a few tears, some laughter, several new ideas for 'dos and don'ts' with interior decorating, and the beginnings of a list as to what our dream house will one day be...



WE FOUND A HOUSE!!!



We've been searching for a while now...for one month if you count how long we've been out here looking...for four months if you count how long we've been checking craigslist several times a day to see if anyone has posted something new.

So, with all this looking (hundreds of homes online and dozens in person), I had come to the conclusion that we were never going to find a house that was perfect. Every single one had something(s) good and something(s) bad about it. We would just have to choose the good we wanted the most and the bad we were willing to live with.

Although I still think there is a lot of truth to that conclusion of mine, we must have found a good one, because I'm having a hard time coming up with too many things to put on the list of something(s) bad. That must be a good sign, right?

We are very excited, not only that the search is over, but also for the chance to begin our new adventure out here, to settle into a new routine (or I'd be happy to just get back to our old one again!), to make new friends, to set up house (although I must admit that this opportunity has me both very excited and extremely overwhelmed all at the same time!), and just to have our own home again.

I must take a moment to express my extreme gratitude to my parents and the Davenports for giving us a home to call our own for the three months we have been in between. I seriously don't know how we would have survived without your kindness and overwhelming generosity! You not only put us up, but gave us a home where we truly felt welcome and happy. We will always be grateful that you made this difficult transition time so much more easy and enjoyable for us.

And another huge thank you to the MANY people that helped us move. We sure have a long list. We didn't exactly just move from one house to another the way most people seem to...first out of our house in MD, then into a storage unit in UT, then out of a storage unit, and into our new home here. (Did I mention that we just moved in last night? And we just found the house last week, so that might explain a little bit the craziness that's been our life lately.) That was an awful lot of people that ended up carrying an awful lot of boxes and furniture an awful lot of times, for some of you poor people it was many times! (In case you can't tell, I happen to feel right now that moving is just AWFUL!) We really feel grateful for the help and support that so many family and friends have given us.

So...I do intend to finish writing about our trip out here, even though it's been a month since we arrived, if for nothing else, just to show you some of the pictures from our drive. But, since I now have several boxes to unpack, I won't make any promises as to how soon I'll manage to post those.

Goodnight!

Daddy's Girl

"I not going to tell you!"

"Why?"

"Because! You NOT my mommy!"

"I'm not your mommy? Then who's your mommy?"

A brief look of confusion and fear while she tries to come up with an answer, and then, a split second later, a look of pure satisfaction as she triumphantly shouts:

"DADDY!"

In Memory of Kennedy

September 26, 2003 ~ June 14, 2005

We miss you Kennedy. We love you so much. Thank you for everything you taught us. We will always be grateful that we were a part of your life.

Adventures in Madison!!

Below are some pictures of the fabulous time we spent in Madison with my sister and her family on our way out west. It was the first time we have been there, and the first time seeing my two month old nephew. We loved the city, loved our time there, and loved being with my sister and fam. It was so much fun!

You'll have to scroll down and start from the bottom because I am not thinking backwards very well today, and I don't know how to make posts from the same day show up underneath instead of above. Is this possible? Any help from you expert bloggers out there? (does anyone even know what I'm talking about?!)

Yummiest Ice Cream Award

I don't know how many calories were in this (as you can tell from the large sign they hang in the shop) and I don't really care, because this ice cream seriously was amazing!

The Best Hotel Pool Ever!

When we were choosing a hotel to stay at in Madison, I saw a picture of this pool on the Courtyard website, and that decided it. This pool was awesome! We went there whenever we weren't roaming the city during our two day stay. It was so much fun and a great way to give the kids some fun and exercise before getting back on the road.

Day 2

On Tuesday the adventure continued with a trip to downtown Madison. We saw the capitol building, ate lunch at an AWESOME african restaurant where we ate everything with our hands family style, and just had a great time exploring the city. I really love this place!


pigtail cousins!

some of the best food i've ever had!

the capitol building

sisters with sleeping babes

Lab Work

After filling up on Brats, we went to Jason's lab, where the kids all had a science lesson and helped Jason with his cancer research.

Brat Fest!

So who knew that the world's largest Brat Fest is held on Memorial Day in Madison? After trying to catch a few hours of sleep at the hotel after an all night drive, we started a two day adventure with my sister, her husband, and their two cute kids, one of whom I hadn't met yet (since he was born two months ago). First stop: Brat Fest! You wouldn't believe the amount of people that come out to chow down on the world's best Brats. They were actually pretty good. We had a great time!