Help me!

I've had this since we got married, and the poor thing needs some TLC. (notice the green original artwork by at least ONE of my kids - luckily the picture actually makes it look a little better than in real life!) Before we moved here it's use has been for my recipe books and the drawers just held pens/pencils and our small wimpy baker phone book. The poor thing looks worn and tired. I just can't decide what to do... obviously an overhaul with paint/stain - SOMETHING! All you bloggers out there that have a good eye for restoring stuff - post some ideas for me! My school brain can't seem to turn off lately - and I am in desparate need of some creative time!! Try to ignore the TOTALLY disorganized mess of recipe books inside - I have too many to fit inside now!)

(So if I do decide to actually paint *gasp* this treasure, what is your favorite paint to use.. something that will actually stand up to my kids for the most part?!!)

YUMMY!

It's been quite a while since I've purchase this yummy stuff, but I decided to grab some when I was in Costco the other day. I don't know if any of my kids have experienced Nutella yet, but they have now and it's a big hit at our house!! Brynley was the only one with a messy face, so of course she's the one who gets photographed!!! If you haven't tried nutella - you must go get some! Our favorite way to eat it is spread on toast. YUMMY!

Happy Belated Father's Day

Ok I know.. so it's WEDNESDAY already and I haven't posted a thing about father's day. Here's he is... Steven... He's a great father. All our kids totally love him and even though Brynley is SUCH a mama's girl, lately she has been calling out for her daddy. He always gets down and plays with them and they love that about him. He's great about helping around the house (he's done dishes almost every night since we moved here! WHOO HOO!) teaching our kids about Jesus and reading scriptures (and other stories) every night. He almost always does bedtime for the boys (sometimes Brynley) and he is a hard worker. He has been very dedicated at his new job, leaving early - staying late, and even working a little after the kids are in bed to make sure we are going to have what we need. It's nice to be here in Boise where he isn't working full time and doing a little research on the side. So far, no callings - which is awesome since Elder's Quorum Pres was a little time consuming! We got a new Bishop the first week we were here, so I have a feeling it might be a little bit before they catch up with us! It's been nice going to church TOGETHER, rather than at separate times! We love you Daddy! (Steven!)

Here's a few pics from Saturday when we went up to Lucky Peak for the afternoon to play in the water. The kids had a blast!! (and I got a little red on the shoulders! ouch!)

We're alive... BARELY!

Yes, we made it to Boise. My mom and dad took the kids on friday, and we came saturday morning. I am TOTALLY reminded why I need to get rid of a bunch of crap each time we move. The nice thing is this house actually has room (and too much of it!) for all our stuff. It's easier to organize when you aren't thinking of creative ways to stash stuff! We have a living/family room both, so right now we are needing another set of furniture!! The house is nice and the kids love having space. I'll post some pics someday, when boxes aren't strewn about!

We have also been battling the flu. Luke puked ALL over the backseat(s) of the car on Sunday. Brynley was sick from Monday until ... well, she's still a bit queezy today and not eating too much. Anything she has eaten runs really quick out the other end. NOT FUN! But at least we have moved on from the puking.

I have started new classes this week, and take my last finals tomorrow as well. I will definately feel a bit relieved when tomorrow's exams are over. I don't recommend doing finals and starting new classes in one week.. on top of puking kids and trying to unpack. It's amazing I haven't sent to the loony bin by now! (maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing.. some quiet, alone time?! Hmmm....) Oh - and note to self... Boxes are such cheap entertainment!

Mommy's Little Helper

I just realized how big of a whiner I've been the past week or so! My goodness! I have to put up something positive - here's my cute little helper. After the guys put in the new window, I was vacuuming the floor behind the couch, so she ran and got her pink vacuum to help me. She said "Look mommy! I cleanin too! I helpin'!!" She's SOO cute!

PLEASE! Just shoot me now!

Ok.. so you're not going to believe this... so that's why I took a picture. So much for getting any of that $1050 security deposit back.

(the story: that large table you see is a ping pong table my mom brought over for our yardsale last weekend. It's SUPER heavy and huge. It was sitting on the porch, leaning up against the railing. That smaller table is a train table. So - the wind blew the ping pong table, into the train table, then into the window - Kinda like dominoes!! And no, I'm really not laughing - but seriously! at this point.. I'm just expecting MORE to happen to us this week!)

Summer Fun!

Check out this idea... How fun is this? I totally signed up for it!
http://elizabethkartchner.blogspot.com/2008/06/wanna-play.html

Who's Next?

I think the flu bug has plagued our house... Victim number 1: Michael (2 days of school missed) Hopefully he can go to school tomorrow and thursday because the last week of school is always the most fun! Just please don't take any more victims until AFTER saturday's move!

SERIOUSLY!

Ok.. so who is going to get hurt next this week? This afternoon Michael and Luke were helping me shred some old papers, and I reached up to hand michael a paper and well... Paper cut his eyeball! Seriously?! What are the chances of that? So I called our eye doc, with 5 minutes before closing, hoping to rush in a get some numbing drops, but instead she wanted us to come in so she could check him out. Sure enough - a vertical slice on his little eye! Poor guy! He is totally tramatized by the whole thing. He's such a sensitive kid as it is! She added some antibiotic drops to prevent infection (which TOTALLY freaked him out) and we're just adding "fake tears" as michael calls them for the next couple of days. Ok.. ranting is over... for now anyway! :o)

Obsession

My daughter has an obsession with these two guys... She has to watch it ALL the time.. and she has to watch it on "mommy's bed!" As I type this, I have put her down for a nap, on my bed, to Monster's Inc. Bad Mommy i know! I have never let my kids fall asleep to a movie, but this past week has been so crazy with trying to get stuff done, that I know if I pop that in for her, she'll be out in no time! It's like a comfort thing for her.. another binky. When we get to Boise I'll be able to crack down on the naptime.. But for now, it's just survival mode!

G'day from the land down under!!

On thursday night Michael's class presented a program on Australia. They had been studying Australia for the past 6 weeks or so. It was so cute and the kids all did very well! They each had their own parts to memorize and we learned all kinds of things about Austrailia. We learned where Austrailia is and how it broke apart from the other continents long ago, it's flag, different animals that live there, even how some kids go to school by walkie talkie instead of in a real classroom! Here's a few pictures from the evening. The one of Michael on the horse is him getting ready to "ride out" during the song Waltzing Matilda. They had their own "coral reef" display, along with Austrailia's flag and pictures of austrailian animals and the student's own artwork and projects on display. They were told to wear something they thought the people of Australia would wear, so he came home and told me very specifically that he wanted to wear a Camo shirt with Khaki shorts! Funny kid!