Tribute to Max

On Sunday we found a good home for Max. He left our home but of course there are plenty of things around our house to help remind us of all the fun (and not so fun) adventures we have had with him. After we took Max out to the car and said good bye for the last time we came back in and the kids ran for the T.V. to turn on their show like nothing had ever happened. Kirk and I sadly looked at eachother and couldn't believe he was really gone. He was really a great dog. But dogs just take time and responsibility and it's another thing to worry about. We miss him but know that someone else will love him and take great care of him.

Our shoes were one of his favorite things to chew as a puppy. Kirk is the only one to escape the shoe chewing. Max even chewed friends shoes when they came over. We can laugh now!!!

Kirk never got his shoes chewed but his hose was often a little shorter than the last time he watered. One day Kirk turned on the hose as he held the end of it and waited for the water to come on. After about 30 seconds of no water he looked down and realized Max had chewed the end of the hose completely off and Kirk was holding a 3' long hose that was attatched to nothing. Way to go Max. We all laughed (except for Kirk)

Katelyn loved Max. I would find them in her closet with the doors shut just playing. He was so good with the kids and especially the baby. He liked to lick Carter's toes and head (Gross- I would have never let anything like that happen with my first child :)

Everyday Max would go with me to pick Katelyn up from Kindergarden. Max would stick is head out the window looking for her. All the kids and teachers knew him. As we would pull up the kids would be yelling "hi Max". Katelyn loved being greeted by him everyday, and was very disappointed when he was too wet or muddy from the rain to get in the car.

Max is just 2 months old. What a cute puppy. Kaleb was terrified of him at first. Then they developed a love-hate relationship. One minute they would tease eachother, and the next minute they would be playing in the mud completely covered and having a great time. Kaleb also liked to share his dinner with Max.

Halloween sneak preview

We were getting a little excited for Halloween and got out some of the kids old costumes. We were thinking about dressing Carter up as Raggedy Andy and so we dressed Abby up as his side kick Ann.

Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday to You!!! We celebrated with cake and ice cream a few days early at Grandma/pa's house so on Kirk's actual birthday we didn't do cake. Instead we had mini candy bars with candles. Kirk and Kaleb went to Joe's BBQ for his free lunch and later Kirk and I went out for dinner at Kwan's (just down the street on McKellips and Gilbert) It was quite good and pretty inexpensive. We would definately go there again. And the kids enjoyed the evening at Grandma/pa's house. We ended the evening with a movie at home.

The best part of birthdays is being together and knowing that people love you. We love Kirk/Dad!

I'm it

I love reading stuff about everyone else but hardly ever put myself out there. So watch out, I am finally doing my first tag.

8 Favorite TV Shows:

The Office

Survivor

The Amazing Race

Divine Design (HGTV)

Designed to Sell (yep, another HGTV show)

Flip that House

Hope for your Home
Scrubs (my husband makes me watch it but I secretly like it)

Favorite Restaurants:

(We have a hard time branching out, any suggestions...)

Panda's

Paradise Bakery

The Olive Garden

Pei Wei's

Oregano's (love the pazookies)

8 Things that Happened Yesterday

Watched Kirk change Katelyn's bandage from her head wound (good thing we have an RN around)

Fed & changed diapers for not one, but two babies (I watch my brother's 3 month old)

Had Presidency Meeting

Went to my parents house just for a change of scenery
Went Birthday shopping for Kirk with 2 babies (easier said than done)

Watched the Parent Trap 2 with Katelyn

Let Kirk use my toothbrush (He threw his away and we thought we had another one in the cupboard, but we didn't. I think I'll buy me a new toothbrush today too.)

Fell asleep on the couch at 9:45

8Things I am looking Forward to

Friday

Cooler weather

Christmas

Finally retiling the kids bathroom shower

Finding a good home for Max (our dog, not my child)

Planting new flowers in the front

Season Premiere's of favorite shows

Kirk going back to school (the sooner he starts the sooner he's done)

8 Things on my Wish List

A garden than can withstand a Golden Retriever's digging urges

New kitchen countertop

Sprinklers

Clean House (especially the floors)

More time in the day for the fun stuff, and less time for the not so fun stuff.

No sickness (except Kirk would be out of a job)

A bike with a trailer so I (and the kids) could enjoy the cooler weather that should be coming

A laundry center like the Jetsons (washes, dries, and folds in a matter of seconds)

Feeling Crafty

A year ago my dad bought a laster cutter to help him build architectual models but as we all know the housing market is a little slow so he has had some down time to do "fun" stuff with his cutter. I knew we could do cool things but just didn't have the time and resources to figure it all out. Lately we have been messing around a little more and this is what we came up with. They are so fun and look great in the corner of a mirror or frame. I spray painted them black and covered them with Martha Stewart glitter and they are a great addition to my Halloween decor.

We are experimenting with big letters for signs and monograming too. I will post more ideas later. My dad would be happy to cut them out for anyone. He can make them any size. The price would vary from about $1.00-$2.50 depending on the size. The webs in my mirror are about 7" ($1.50). They are made from matt board and can be cut from thin wood if you would like but we found the matt board lays and looks better in a mirror. If you want them painted and glittered it will be a little more. We will also be doing a Halloween give away in a few weeks on thewell-roundedwoman. Keep checking back for great inexpensive presents and crafts.

mama said there would be days like this...

Do you remember this old song??? Today was one of those days. It started off with Kirk going to the dr. for strep throat and a weird eye infection (his eyes got so puffy with junk coming out of them). Then I was suppose to watch my friend's child while she went in to volunteer in our children's classroom (we switch off every other Monday) but of course I totally spaced it and was just hanging out at my mom's house. Then Katelyn tripped in our entry way and split her forehead open so Kirk took her to Urgent Care that is just a block from our house. It was 8:15 when they walked in but they stop taking patience at 8:00. So Kirk ran to the store and got a butterfly bandage and worked his medical magic.


However, the day was actually filled with good things too. Kaleb got his first free book at preschool for reading 100 books. Carter held a toy and put it in his mouth for the first time. And Katelyn came home from school with her bottom 2 teeth loose.

Camping Aftermath

The sun was a little brutal and we all got sunburned. Carter looked like a beet and his cute little nose peeled. But of course he didn't seem to mind and would smile just the same.

Camping fun

We decided to go camping with our friends this weekend and had a great time. We went to Mormon Lake and were a little disappointed when we drove up considering there isn't a lake there at all, the camp site had tents lined up one right after another, and the facilities (bathrooms) were not the greatest. So we decided to make camp down a little dirt road in the trees. It turned out to be awesome even though we had no running water or bathrooms. I have to admit I have always been a little leary of squatting in the woods but the kids did great and it was a fun adventure for all.

The kids (and dads) had a great time kicking the soccer ball around and chasing it down the hill but the real fun started when the soccer ball popped out of the leather covering.

The kids also entertained themselves by catching flies and bugs in water bottles and throwing them up in the air to see how long it would take to actually kill the bug- nice

Katelyn could spend her whole life picking flowers. She made sure our campsite was decorated with bouquets and that mom always had flowers (or twigs) in her hair.

We went down to the lodge and found horseback riding. The kids rode Jughead (yes, that was really the horses name) and loved it. Katelyn even drew pictures of her horseback adventure all the way home.

This was officially Carter's first camping trip and of course he did awesome. (okay, I need help. I don't know how to rotate the picture, any suggestions)

Katelyn's haircut

Katelyn has been asking me for a few days to cut her hair so I did it. It probably isn't salon quality but she loves it and it was free!!!

Carter's Room

Lisa, here are the pictures I promised months ago.

Another Project I have been working on is decorating Carter's Room. I really liked the bedding that I had for the trundle bed so I decided to make the crib bedding out of it too. I bought another twin Martha Stewart bed in a bag and took it all apart and used the fabric to make the bumper pads, dust ruffle, recover the rocking chair cushion, and make a pillow. I had the crib I used for my other kids but it was light oak and so I of course spray painted it (I love painting, if you haven't noticed). My cousin gave me some frames she didn't want anymore so I took them and spray painted the matts and frame too. My talented neighbor took great pictures of all three kids when Carter was just a few days old so I actually had fun pictures to put in the frame.

Project Completion

I started painting my laundry room walls over a year ago and never finished the detail work (around the cupboards and counter). I even still had blue painter's tape on the ceiling- oops. When I went to Utah and visited one of my favorite stores Rod Works I found this great laundry sign that motivated me to finally finish once and for all. Of course I couldn't just finish the touch up paint I needed to paint the cupboards and redo the counter too. The whole projected cost about $50. I love inexpensive but cute redo's, yes HGTV is one of my favorite channels. I used left over paint for the cupboards from our desk project, spray painted the hinges silver (which
works great because you don't have to fit new hinges and why spend money on something you hardly see anyway), finished all the touch ups, and installed the countertop myself. I used the adhesive tiles that are meant for floors. I figure if it can stand up to foot traffic I am sure it will survive a laundry room counter. It was super fun to watch the transformation and the best part is I did it all by myself without asking anyone for help (okay Kirk did help me put a few of the cupboard doors back on) I really enjoy the challenge of transforming our "fixer-upper" with out spending too much $$$. I always remind myself that it can't be any worse than when I started. So far I have always been pleased with the results.

Happy Labor Day

Some of you may notice a new look to my blog. Thanks to my good friend Tara for giving me private blog lessons. Today for Labor Day we went swimming with her fam and then had a BBQ. The boys enjoyed football while Tara and I blogged and the kids ran crazy. Check out her amazing blog, The Well Rounded Woman for all sorts of fun posts and give aways. Hopefully in the next few days I will figure out how to make a cute header too. Thanks Tara(I wouldn't have a blog without her)!!!