The Girls' Room Gets A Makeover

This room was the first one we painted when we moved in eleven years ago. I love the pink, but after so many years, it was looking a little worn.

It's time to finally fix the floor we took up after the thermometer/mercury spill. We have had the wood to patch it now for a couple of years...

A room in transition. The pink will be painted over this week (sob).

It was *last summer* when the girls started thinking about what color they wanted their room to be. I drew the line after going to the paint store 5 times (or more, I lost count somewhere along the way) for paint samples.

As of last month, the room was going to be grey. But Abby wasn't ever happy with that. She wanted something more "cheery". So *she* went to the paint store (with her father because I gave up!) and picked up her own paint samples. And this mint green was the winner. We thought about painting in some chocolate chips for an ice cream theme, but thought better of it later :).

Hannah's Pictures

Hannah is playing with photoshop elements- taking some photos in black and white and then adding a pop of color.

And some pictures just for fun.

Hope's New Bed

I found this antique bed through Craigslist last month. It is perfect for Hope's bedroom update (since she is a young lady now and not a little girl. The kitchen set has been moved out - sigh- and a double bed and armoire- also from Craigslist- are moving in).

Since the bed is old, it has an "old" smell to it, so Brian wiped the frame down with mineral spirits to see if we could help it smell better. It's not terribly stinky, but when it is in her room, we would probably notice it.

The mineral spirits did take off some of the oil finish. If we can de-stink the bed, we will refinish it. If not, we will need to paint it to seal in all the "old" stuff. I think the bed will look nice with off-white paint, although I would miss the nice stained finish, too.

AWANA Grand Prix

Hope's car.

Jacob's car- shaped by him, painted by Abby.

Lots of creative cars this year!

Brian sent the cars down the track. We are happy to report that Hope did *not* come in the very last of all the cars again this year.

I made Taco Soup for the chili cook-off. I didn't' win any prizes, but a lot was eaten by the end :).

For Christy

Men in Ties

Since Jacob wore his new tie to church, he insisted that Brian wear one, too.

I think they were the only men at church with ties on.

Maybe what Kate Middleton is doing for nylons, Brian and Jacob can do for men's neckwear?

Blue Skies

And So The Winter Of Lotsa Snow Continues...

Around 3AM this morning, a major windstorm woke us up, hoping that the house would hold together.

By 4:30AM, we were snowed in. So grateful for a snowblower!

A Little Bit of Spring

Hard to believe that Abby is wearing 3" high heels and Jacob is *still* taller. Every morning he wakes up he is a bit taller. It's time to get that boy new pants! With most of them now, he looks like he's going wading :(.

Abby and Jacob went to a banquet for the church youth group last night. It was at a fancy home of one of the families from church and the youth group leaders were the waiters.

They had an elegant dinner complete with candles and flowers and chocolate eclairs (spelling?) for dessert.

In other news, Spring decorations have been up for a couple of weeks now.

But last week I bought a few new potted flowers to make it feel even more "springy" inside.

Maybe I'll get brave and plant the little roses outside when the weather warms up.

We have had snow on the ground almost continuously since the week of Christmas. I don't think I've ever seen that as long as I've been here (25 years). It was snowing this morning, too. Global warming?

I won't mind not going outside as much when the inside is so cheery.

At Anna's House, by Hannah

Anna's Horses, Photos by Hannah

Afternoon at the Museum of Nature and Science

It was a free day at the museum, so Brian took the day off of work and we made it a field trip for everyone but Hannah, who had on-site classes today.

We spent around two and a half hours at the space exhibit (no surprise there). It was the main thing we came for and we were not disappointed.

A popular game was "dock the space shuttle" using controls. There was an elderly gentleman who spent quite some time trying to dock his ship and he wasn't successful. So, I guess the kids who were less careful and refined in their skills shouldn't feel too bad that they couldn't do it, either.

Those tricky space shuttles.

There was a little time left to dash through two other exhibits- one on animals.

Outside the museum.

His license plate says "Mr. Bones".

And the last exhibit on the human body. This game uses brain waves to move a ball on some sort of grey strip. I guess the one with the stronger, more determined waves pushes the ball through the weaker one's goal. Wild.

Paper Flowers and One Thing Crossed Off My Bucket List

Top photo: Mom, center, in Kentucky cemetery on Decoration Day.
Bottom photo: Relatives on Decoration Day with better view of the paper flowers.

Growing up, I was always puzzled why my mother had so many photos of herself and others taken at the cemetery with people smiling. Obviously this was not a funeral, so why were they there? She told me that this was "Decoration Day", something not observed in California, when people made paper flowers to decorate the graves of their departed loved ones. I was fascinated by this and thought that one day, I'd like to make paper flowers, too (but I'll skip the grave decorating part).

Earlier this month while looking for crafting tools for Hannah, I came across this paper flowers kit. I made up two bouquets of flowers and now I can say I have made this craft from the past!