Bike Wash

We are giving the sister missionaries a ride to a neighboring city later today, so Jon decided this morning we had better wash the van really well, and as long as he was at it, got the girls out to clean their bikes. Hope was just an innocent bystander and got sprayed several times with the hose. She hates getting wet by sprinklers and rain and random hosing downs, so was a bit dramatic about the whole thing. Now that we have clean bikes, we need to get these girls riding them! After 3 years overseas during prime bike riding learning-years, the girls are getting a late start with knowing how to ride. Madelyn is doing pretty well, but Cailin and Emma definitely need more practice time with a side runner/pusher. Now that Jon has hung up his painting cap for a bit, he gets to put on his riding instructor hat.

Office Makeover

Our office makeover is done! I have been so excited to get all my craft and office supplies out of boxes and put away into my new (old) card catalog. We filled every single drawer, and had not a thing left over. It was perfect. Today I made a couple little things, and it was so easy and fun to find exactly what I needed right at my finger tips
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Look at my ribbon, look at my punches! So easy to find and see. How did I ever survive without a card catalog? How does anyone? ;)

I filled a bunch of tiny baby food jars with brads and eyelets and set them on top. Jon painted the lids red for me. (He is very tired of painting.)

Here's another shot showing the fancy curtains I made, and our family silhouettes over the computer. I recovered my chair seat, too, since the stuffing was peeking out of it's old fabric.

Here is the paper and stamp station. Again, so happy to have things out of tubs. I hate digging!

Here is the last wall with my newly painted red shelves, and the prints Jon has made for me the last several Valentine's Days.

Just for fun - this is how the room looked before we moved in.

Baby Room

I have thoroughly enjoyed prettying up the new baby room. We took the bright blue box and turned it into a pale pink beauty. Here we have our pink tissue pom poms over the crib. Hope loves these. We will have to make more for her new room as she is displaced by a little sister.

We painted an old dresser this pale blue, and I made a little skirt to beautify the ugly changing table on top. It has light blue stripes running through the pink roses. I framed a couple photos of our neighborhood peonies, and made a garland with the baby's name-to-be to go between. Diapers will go in the basket, but for now it's holding a favorite dress.

Here's a close-up of the garland. It turned out so pretty! I blew up the letters from one of my digiscrapping alphabets, and printed them out on matte photo paper. I cut them out, while Jon exacto-knifed the tiny details, then strung them together with pink satin ribbon.

Here is a before shot of the blue box. I love a man who can vacuum (and paint and do a million handy things - thanks, Jon!)

renovations and recreation

Since Jon finished teaching summer school, I've kept him busy painting and staining. We found an old card catalog at a yard sale for $15, but it needed to be completely refinished.

I've always wanted one of these to organize craft and office supplies. It is almost ready to be put into use!

This dresser is going into the baby's room. Time to get all those little outfits sorted.

Jon was begging for a little r&r, so we took a day off to go see the Henry Ford Museum in Detroit.

There was lots to see - we couldn't get to it all. Here are the girls in a car Miley Cyrus used for some performance.

I loved all the rv exhibits. The sign on this camper reads, "Camp Wahoo".

Jon loves checking out old printing presses. The girls each made a print of their own. Madelyn laying down the paper.

Cailin working the press.

Emma reeling it back in.

"Courtesy Will Prevent Accidents". So true.

Happy 4th!

Happy Independence Day! We are enjoying a perfect day - temps in the mid-70's with a gentle breeze. We've been on walks, had our barbeque, and this fantastic patriotic cake. (Go here for directions. It was fun to make!) Now the girls are waiting for dusk to light up some sparklers and little fountain fireworks.

At dinner we talked about the stars and stripes, using this story from an LDS Living Family Home Evening lesson:

A new nation needed a new banner. So "The Makers of the Flag" chose red and white stripes. But, instead of using a cross that represented countries across the sea, they chose stars to be the emblems of a new country.

"We take the stars from heaven," declared George Washington, "the red from our mother country, separating it by white stripes, thus showing that we have separated from her, and the white stripes shall go down to posterity representing liberty."

A grouping of glorious white stars in a flag was a new design, and, as Washington said, they took the stars from heaven. Stars have always been the emblems of high thoughts and high ideals. Very beautiful are the stars in the dark blue sky, glowing with their calm and steady light.

It was these wonderful blue-white stars that gave the fathers of our country a pattern for the flag.

And that is how the flag was made,
And how it came to be,
The stars and glorious stripes arrayed
To wave on land and sea.

All of us should remember that one who loves the flag will always honor the law, whether the law of his home, his church, his town, or his state. He will be loyal and "true blue."

Your flag and my flag -
And how it flies today
In your land and my land
And half a world away.

(A Story to Tell, [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2004], p. 366.)