A New Branch on Our Family Tree

How the weekend started off:

Story coming soon...

Ketchup

Summer is nearly over.
It is.
School starts in a couple weeks!

I have been awful about blogging--just too busy living life to keep up.

SO here we go:

June.

Lotsa Home Staging...some of them are models for a local homebuilder.

Dani and her two boys came to visit us for a couple of weeks,

before they left for Idaho:

My neice from upstate Georgia came out West for a couple of weeks:

Dean. I love this guy!

Then we all headed over to the Utah side of the Rockies:

At Mt. Timpanogos State Park:

Yes, there's still snow in Colorado in July:

 Aaron's Camp for Joseph.
A visit from our Georgia peach cousin, Abi, whom we came to love and adore!
She gave Bee "southernese" lessons while we showed her all over Colorado and Utah.
I have to say that I have a mental block against ever visiting Utah in the summer.
Too dang hot.  I know you Arizonans are scoffing right now.  I know Arizona summers are worse.
I lived there for 8 summers.
But 16 years ago, I promised I'd never spend another summer in AZ and I have kept that one.
That's beyond hot.  I don't know that there's a word for the kind of heat that exists down there in the summer.  Maybe "sweltering".
But, man.  I'm a pansy. Can't do heat if I don't have to.
Lotsa staging homes here in Colorado.  Homes are moving quickly for the most part.

July.
July was the month of sleepovers, hiking, Water World, and a blossoming romance
for our new RM, Diana.
Oh and a new calling for Kent and I as Temple workers.
Lotsa of staging homes for me and Kelly.
A few evenings with Deano.  Everyone asks about him so this is a good time to share that he is stable.
His health continues to decline--he cannot remember his siblings names, but he knows their faces.
His needs to support continues to grow. He sleeps alot.  He still has a decent appetite, tho he is losing weight. He is mostly quiet these days. And he glows.
I think my new calling in the Temple came because I will need spiritual reservoirs in the coming days ahead
and I can think of no better place than in the Temple to prepare.
I have so much more to write but as usual,
my attention is needed elsewhere.
Arianna went to Girls Camp in Rye, CO. where it rained every single day and they still had a memorable experience.
Oh and I also hand-lettered a few hundred wedding invitations:

August:
Well this weekend is going to bring about the engagement of our Diana.
I'm sure there will be pics to follow soon.
Dani & Brad are moving to Saudi Arabia this weekend.
Dara's getting ready to go back to Idaho for school.

I think that's it for now.
Life is good.

Latest Annie Sloan Projects

I didn't have alot of summer projects,

but this is one of them.

I bought it from a staging client who was selling nearly everything in her house

for a big move to Arizona.

It was solid brown, but I knew as soon as I saw it,

I'd chalk paint it!

That was sometime last fall.

Oh yeah, I paid $40.00 for it.

I just happened to get a wild hair a couple weeks ago

and thought "IT'S TIME!"

So I used the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint

that I had on hand 

and went to town on this beauty.

Ok so here's the recipe:

Base Coat: ASCP Old Ochre

Wash: Old White

Insert panels:

French Linen with a teeny tiny bit of Henrietta

Clear and Dark Wax

Eventually, I want to decoupage the panels.

So look for that to happen in, I dunno, two years, maybe?

And these two:

A handmedown dresser for Diana and an old chair....

The dresser and chair were both originally a cherry finish,

but look how cute they turned out?!

These were each done in ASCP Old White, Clear and Dark wax.

Simple, Simple.

A Boo Baby and A Grilla

Danielle and Brad are adding a

Girl to their bunch in December!

I already knew that.

Years ago.

But now they do.

And so does everyone else!

David Scott and Tisha are beginning their little family

with a baby Boy!

Due on Halloween...

a little Boo Baby!

We're all pretty stinkin' excited,

as you can imagine!

More people to love!

Picking up Speed and No Sign of Slowing Down

Nana.

Home six months from her mission to New York.

Judson.

Home 12 days today from same mission.

Them.

Yeah. Late night conversations. Giggles. Sighs. Plans.  

A Baby is Such a Nice Way to Start a Person

Our SIL Brad has taken a job in Saudi Arabia.

He leaves in a couple of weeks, and our girl Dani will follow with the boys a few weeks after that.

This is what she sent us on Mother's Day.

She'll have a baby while they're across the world!

How stinkin' cool is that?

Way!

                    David Scott and Tisha are also pregnant!!
                         We have prayed and prayed for a little spirit to come to their home!

                        The baby is due around Halloween--and we are so so so happy for them!

30 Years of Motherhood: 30 Things My Children Have Taught Me #itwasmom

1. Children are like airlines tickets: No refunds.
2.  Children are like lawyers: Anything I say, can and will be used against me.
3. Children are like the mafia: They have ways of making you work for them.  Sometimes it will be unpleasant. Except that "going to the mattresses" rarely means "a nap for Mom".
4. Because of children, I developed bionic hearing.  I can hear my child's cry or laugh six aisles over in a grocery store.  And my ear drums have a direct connection to my heart.
5. I never thought I could stay up a full 24 or 36 hours without sleep, Motherhood has proved that I can.

6. The best sunrises of my life have come after a long sleepless night with a sick baby on my chest.
7. Don't let my mouth make promises, my butt can't keep.
8. Desitin cream isn't for diaper rash only--it's also great for Halloween make-up: vampires, oompa loompas,
ghosts and clown make-up.  Kids can apply it by themselves.  In April, right after you dress them up in their holiday best for family pictures.
9. I'm grateful that Pinterest was not around when I was a young mom. Only older moms may appreciate that statement.
10. Old School VCR's hold more than Video cassettes: cheese, pizza, toast, slices of roast beef, bologna, socks, and legos also fit perfectly well.
11. It's OK if my child wants to wear the same clothing item every day for two weeks or more. If CPS comes over, I can show them my kids' closet and dresser drawers full of clothing that my child refuses to wear.
12. Macaroni and Cheese can be a whole meal.
13. Cheerios. Best cereal on the planet:
14. Teenage young men and young women can multi-task better than most adults--when they're motivated.
15. Just like our Golden Retriever and Black Lab--my kids are happiest when they are worn out from playing outside.
16. Video games do not make children smarter, happier, or healthier.  
17. It is possible to get pink Pepto-Bismol out of the carpet in a vomit-fest, but not Sweet n Sour sauce.

18. Dad's Northface windjacket hood can hold 3 cups of  a 3 yr old's vomit.
19. Being picked up from school in the middle of the day is a Miracle-cure for stomach aches.
20. Boys are NOT easier than girls to raise--different, but not easier.
21. Teenage young men eat as much as three grown men, only faster.  See "17 Again":



22. This commercial from 1986 is still relevant today:


23. I'm a Happier Mom when I get enough sleep. Best advice I ever got as a new mom was to sleep when baby sleeps. 
24.  Noone likes a cranky Mom.  
25.  Yelling is not an effective way to discipline children. It's annoying. And it's not pretty. It can age you and the side-effects are ugly too.  
26.  Dancing in the Kitchen is a great family tradition.
27. A sense of humor has saved many meals, many owies, hurts, and relationships.The sound of laughter is the best sound in the house.
28. Loving unconditionally is worth whatever it costs. It should not be confused with co-dependency though.
29. I have acquired the ability to love and forgive my self, which has enabled me to love and forgive my children. This is a gift.
30. My best moments are when my children do good for themselves and others.

For all the Moms out there:

This is Alot, So Try To Keep Up

Christmas 2013:

 Diana had been home from her mission just about a week she was up earlier than anyone else!

 Then January 2nd we headed to Rexburg, Idaho to drop our college freshman, Dara aka Daisie,

off for her first semester:

 Her own little corner of her own little world:

Somewhere in the middle of January,

we went to the Denver Temple:

 Snow. We've gotten alot of it this year. It's a Thing:

 Dean came over sporting a new haircut and looking better than we'd seen him in a long stinkin' time:

 St. Baldricks!  Joseph has wanted to do this since he was in 3rd grade, this was his year!

 The Caboose's 13th Birthday! Lotsa girls, lotsa giggles, zero drama! I call that a SUCCESS!

 Another trip to Idaho and then to Utah:

                         We met up with David Scott & Tisha in Rexburg! So great to see them!

She starts school at BYU-I in September

A trip to the Rexburg Temple! Loved it!

Me and my good friends, Lynnel and Debbie. 

I have to say we laughed so hard, 

I even blew water thru my nose at one point.

The parents of a certain missionary whose coming home in July.

Yeah. This summer is happening.

At the Christus statue on Temple Square.

 My April Fools' Prank on the Family:

Yummmmm!