Room (s) Redo, step one

First off, let me just say, Pinterest is crazy. I can't stop. Hopefully I'll be able to pull myself away log enough to do some of the things I've pinned!

Week 2 was scout camp, enough said, crazy week.

June 18th

our front rooms (dining room and formal living room) are really multi purpose rooms. We hardly know what to call them, music, office, sewing, crafting, reading...room. They are such a hodge podge of hand me downs and really lack style. I thought maybe some rearranging might give us a good start to work with. This is them before...

Above, the computer desk and my desk are now on this wall with the filing cabinet in the middle, the couch and buffet are in the same place. The tv is gone (we don't have tv anyway, didn't think I'd miss it, come to find out I watched movies and shows on dvd more than I realized, oh well.)
Above, the piano is now on the wall where those bookshelves are, which is good, I hear you are supposed to have pianos on an interior wall. The sewing desk and machine are in the same place, the birds have moved.
Above, Peyton's dollhouse is about where the chair is, the chair and the lamp are more to the right, the birds are to the right of where the computer desk is in the picture.
Above, the 2 large bookshelves are on the wall that the small bookshelf is on, the small bookshelf is in our hall, at the end of it. It sounds weird but I like it.

June 21st

Below are all the new locations
The desks below can close now and I love the arrangement so much better now. We stole that mirror from our bathroom. The birds and dollhouse have since switched places.
My book wreath is now on that spot of empty wall. I am going to make some new pillows for the couch and chair to bring in aqua and maybe some orange and white. I want to change out some knick knacks too.
It has room to improve but I like it much better now.

November is here! segment 14

I am thankful for Robin, my friend, giver of the green paint. Without her, these cabinets would be cream, like the furniture in Peyton's room. I know they would look lovely in cream, but They would not have been so fun. This picture is before I started the sanding, and after I took all the clutter off.
Same here, just the top of the cabinets.

I am thankful for my little apprentice and companion, Ben.

I am thankful that P didn't fall off the ladder while I ran to get my camera.

Here they are finished, very green, clutter back on.

I finished the boys bathroom cabinets today and I like them even better in the green than the hall cabinets. I still need to get a finished picture of those. Thanks Robin!

November is here! segment 12 and 13

Well, tonight I was in the garage doing some night painting. This time I'm making the boys bathroom cabinets green to match the ones in the hall (thanks for the paint Robin). My little helper Ben was painting with me and Miss P was keeping us company. I was distracted with my painting when I heard a loud crash and then a wail. It was P and Micah's bike had fallen on top of her and she was laying on her back on top of my wet cabinets! I am thankful to report that she is fine, she was just scared, and I got most of the paint out of her little purple sleeper. So thankful for that!

I am thankful for furlough Fridays and a husband that enjoys grocery shopping. I'm thankful that we got to go shopping with just the 2 of us. Yolawnda had Ben and Morgan watched P. It was like a date, almost. I am thankful for full cabinets, a full freezer and a full pantry. I am a bit sad that I no longer have an excuse for feeding my family sorry excuses of a dinner.

I am thankful to report that P's eye is completely healed now and her cheek is just slightly red and a bit dry looking. I am amazed at how quickly it all healed. She looks much cuter now, like her old self.

I just thought this was so cute. I am thankful to have a daddy's girl daughter. It's really quite sweet.

Peyton's first shiner

Triple Bunk Beds, that's right, I said TRIPLE!

First off, if you're interested in making this awesome triple bunk bed, here's a link to the plans that we used.  Triple Bunk Bed Plans.  My husband is a fairly handy guy but had never built any furniture before.  These plans were easy to follow and use standard wood sizes that can be found at your typical home improvement store.

  I wish I would have taken a picture when this bed was just a pile of lumber but I didn't. So, Micah used to sleep in a twin bed up in the loft and Jacob had the top bunk and Ben had the bottom bunk in the downstairs area. In the summer the loft got pretty hot and Micah also started complaining of bad dreams and wanted to be with his brothers. We moved him down to the floor on his mattress. There was hardly any walking room, it was pretty bad. Tyler started looking for triple bunk beds on the internet, yep, they have them, and they are about 1-2 thousand dollars. Well, we definately could not afford that. Tyler found a sit that you could buy plans to build your own triple bunk bed. He went ahead and did this. Now, I'll be honest. Tyler had never built anything before this, so I was kind of thinking that it would be months or years before we actually had a finished product and that it would look pretty "homemade". I know that's terrible. I have a wonderful husband who is quite smart and talented and I'm now ashamed that I thought this. Anyway. We had the plans for awhile before we were able to buy the wood, and once we bought the wood (Douglas Fir, the cheapest) it was pretty green and we had to let it dry for several weeks. Once it was dry Tyler took it to his good friend Rob McCune's house to joint and plane it (Rob changed our front brakes on our van in less than 10 minutes that night too, thanks Rob!). While Tyler was sick I went to my grandparents house and picked up Grandpa's router and router table, he was impressed that I could carry it to the van and lift it into the van all by myself! So, the next step, Ty sanded and routered the pieces, I skipped a step, he first cut the wood into the right size pieces before he did anything else. So, once all that was done I didn't realize the boys would be sleeping in their new bed 3 days later! Tyler built it on Saturday and on Monday, Memorial Day he and I put a sealer on the wood and Tuesday night they were sleeping in it!
Tyler, I am so proud of you for all of the projects you take on, for your dedication in finishing them and for learning so many new things. You are amazing and I love you and I love the new bed and how wonderful the boys room looks and feels now. I have been in there cleaning up after them more than I used to and I don't mind it because it feels so nice to be in their room now.

She got reprimanded for drawing on the wood and Tyler had to go around and erase all of her artwork.

These big side pieces were the hardest part of the whole project for Ty. The lags were hard to get in, once he got them in a ways they kept stripping, he spent the most time getting those pieces on.

This is our front room where the boys slept while Ty put the bed together. It is such a huge piece of furniture that it had to be assembled right in the room. That thing is really heavy too. If there is ever an earthquake we're all getting under that thing!

He hates these pictures but I had to get one of him with his first building project. Doesn't it look good too? I love it. I think it looks so much cooler than I was expecting it to. The wood really didn't look very nice when it first came home from Lowes.

These are all the kids, and the dog on M's bed. He got to pick first since he's the oldest, then J picked the bottom and B was left with the top. They have all been happy with their location, but when they play on the bed they all seem to like the middle bunk.

I love this picture because Miss P was just innocently loving on D not even seeming to notice that he wasn't into it. I'm sure he was growling too. Click on the picture so you can get a good look at his snarl.

This one is cute too, I love her little gap tooth smile and her wispy curls above her ears.

I'm sure these kids will make lots of wonderful memories in their triple bunk, and probably even the grandkids too cause this bed isn't going anywhere!

Fences and Frogs

Although we're a bit late for a garden this year plans are underway to be ready for the next planting season! Tyler built a fence and gate to surround our garden area and had some help from the boys. This year we are going to make it a pumpkin patch, I thought that would be something fun for everyone and I hear it helps make the soil richer for planting season.

As you may know from previous posts, my kids have a thing for frogs. The boys have on many occasions roamed the neighborhood collecting and naming frogs. Well, on May 12 I was sitting at the kitchen table watching Peyton through the windows playing in the backyard. It appeared that she was holding a large rubber frog, well, we don't have a large rubber frog. So I went out to see what she had...

Click on the picture to see the shot of her frog I captured. She kept letting the frog loose in the fountain and then picking him back up, as soon as the frog would start squirming Peyton would squeal and let him go again.

Tyler was not seduced...

Oh my the last few days have been eventful! Let me start by saying that we do have a lawn now, WOO HOO! Thanks to some wonderful members of our ward family, Kristie and Phillip Call and Yolawnda Stutzman. Also thank you to those of you who were more than willing to come help, Margaret McCauley and Craig Saunders and Larry (My Dad), and Ron (My father in law) and Brent Laing too! I also want to thank all of my and Tyler's wonderful friends for their calls and concern, you mean a lot to us!

Ok, so while Tyler was at the ER he called me to let me know they would be sedating him to relocate his shoulder. He called me a little while after and was talking funny (trying to make me think he had been sedated) he let me know that they didn't have to sedate him, he touged it out and the Dr was able to get it back in without too much difficulty. Anyway, he later asked if when he had called and was talking funny I thought he had been seduced. I had to laugh, he of course meant sedated.

So this is the before sod and after Tyler finished the sprinkler system. I am so glad he waited till those sprinklers were done to get hurt. I don't think I could have done that as easily.

Another before view. That is my Fountain that Ty found at OSH on major clearance and sale on top of that.

Look at us awesome ladies doing Man work! Thanks for checking my blog Kristie to know what was going on and take the initiative to come and sweat and get dirty! Yolawnda, thanks for always being there to help me with whatever and making me feel like I can always ask for anything.

At one point Tyler asked me to help him get his sling off because it was "restrictive" I told him no, that was the whole idea. He backed down and did a great job supervising and cutting holes for the sprinklers, I let him do that much.

My sister Morgan was the photographer, so I have no pictures of her, but she helped with my kids as well as Yolawnda's kids. They were very good. Morgan also cleaned up all the messes they made while we were working.
I was dreading laying sod, but I was ready to do it all myself if I had to, and I was prepared to suffer. Surprisingly, I enjoyed it. It wasn't hard. Of course, if I had to do it all myself I'm sure it would have taken lots more than the hour or so it did take and it would not have been as fun or as easy.

See, isn't he a great supervisor. Believe it or not, this is really hard for him. He would way rather be doing the work himself. He has a hard time delegating and not helping.

Savannah was just getting a little toe jam for her bread.

Here is my crew, all sweaty and dirty. Thanks guys, so, so much. I had fun, really, I did. I rarely get to visit with Kristie and everytime I do I always think of how I'd love to visit more with her. I also thought that since the sod was Tyler's Father's Day gift, it was fitting it should be laid for him. I wish I would have thought to do that on my own, without the injury. Phil is a really great guy too, thanks for loading up the wheelbarrows with all that sod. That was a huge, huge help. I learned that I am not that good with balancing heavy wheelbarrows full of sod while pushing them. I only turned one on it's side once though, I'm learning, what can I say?

Cutting the shape into it, and keeping the edges wet. Tyler was telling me how cute my feet are in this pic, I like that we are both smiling. What a happy and fullfilling day.

Right after I got dressed after my much needed shower, the phone rang. It was the kids school nurse, Micah's to be exact. She called to let me know Micah had an accident at lunch recess. He had a double bloody nose, a busted lip and she was afraid he was going to lose his top front left tooth. She asked if I had a good relationship with our dentist because she thought I should get him in right away in case something could be done to save his tooth. My dentist has been my dentist for many years and he's the best. I called his wife at home and she had him call my cell phone not 30 mintutes later. He asked how soon I could get him there and met me at his office.

His name is Dr. Williams, we lovingly call him Dr. Bob. This is what he showed up in to his office. I love it! My mom said it was exactly what she would picture him wearing off hours.

His lip will be swollen for a few days, but the Dr. says his tooth should be fine. He says he got lucky, any lower or higher hit and his tooth would be a goner. I promise I will no longer think Ill thoughts of people that are missing teeth. Teeth are a precious gift, take care of them!



Slep with one eye open, gripping your pillow tight.....this is how I found Ty sleeping. He has been catching up on sleep the last few days, so unlike him! I'm not big on letting him get much sleep, but I'm allowing it now because I think he really needs it to help him get better.

Miss P is enjoying the yard, everywhere there isn't grass! She is super girlie, except when she's not! Helga, I'll see if I can get the stains out of this one for Makyla! I love a challenge.

Before AND After!

Tyler and I have been wanting to redo our kitchen cabinets since we moved in more than 3 years ago. We finally braved the job and got it done. I know a lot of you are not fond of black cabinets and when I mentioned the color to people before we did it I heard a lot of skeptics. That being said, Tyler and I both love them and it's ok if no one else does because they're ours! I don't think you can see it very well in the pictures, but I did distress them, also not everyone's favorite, but I love it and I'm very happy with the results. What's your opinion? Don't worry, I really want to know, I don't think you can hurt my feelings! What do you guys think of the decor? Any suggestions to improve it? Is there too much stuff? There will be more cabinet redos in the near future, we still have the bathrooms, hallway and maybe the laundry room, we'll see. Also, new kitchen towels. Any suggestions on where to go for those?

We're almost there!

Tyler and Matt
I think he is just deciding where to put all these plants!

Lots and lots of festuca!!!
It's really starting to resemble a yard.

My 3 beautiful boys and the Flax on the left that I really wanted in our yard.

I cannot begin to tell you how much work and how many hours Tyler has put into this project! The plants are here and we are finding places for them and it is all coming together! There is still so much work ahead, so many holes to dig. I can't wait to drive up to a beautiful yard. Thank you so much for all your hard work Ty, and for those that helped, Matt and Brent! And thank you to Margaret for loaning out your husband!