House Projects

We thought, when we moved back to the great state of MN, that we were coming back to a house that needed nothing done. We should know better by now! We always have to do at least a few drawn-out projects, the annoyance and pain that we cause ourselves somehow makes us feel at home!

Eli taking a few whacks at the wall- Ethan's hands over his ears say it all! We took out the wall in between two small bedroom to make one giant boys bedroom.

Our neighbor Dan. He did most of the work. He also changed clothes a few times in front of us. We're tight now.

All done, and so nice! Curt Sr. so generously laid the carpet, it's called super soft and it is perfect for wrestling and playing.

Finally here is the before and after of my green mud room. There was a closet that Dan also took out. Jill says that it's a new green and we're going to see more and more of it. I think she's really saying that I'm a trend setter which is true:)






I painted the week that Curtis was in China, which was crazy, but good in a way because it gave me a project to work on that I could actually see progress (unlike dishes, laundry, and naughty boys). Hopefully Curtis is satisfied now, although he told me this week that the wallpaper borders and vertical blinds have to go SOON, and he REALLY wants to paint JK's room a soft pink color that he saw over at the Lapicola's house, it would go so well with her bedding he said ;)

Mother's Day

Jonah was the one who woke me up today, bringing me a card that he made (and already ate the sucker that was attached to it the day he brought it home).

Jonah: Huh hu hu happy Mowthers day!

Me: Thanks Jo!

Jonah: uh uh uh I made you a card! It has two flowews, then one flowew... then I scribbled on the back...

Me: I love it! What is the picture inside of?

Jonah: uh... it's a ghost... killing a guy...



awesome



Then: Breakfast in bed, rush and get ready for church. I love Mother's Day in the Elm Creek ward. Relief Society is all about visiting teaching, and food!! Before we moved to Jersey I was the VT coordinator, so I got to plan it once or twice before. But today there was a skit. It was great. And mini loaves of bread (mine was lemon choc chip) so good!! Great job Jackie!



After church I opened up Ethan's card. It was a fill in the blank:
Mom, you are as pretty as a ----------- butterfly
You are as busy as a -------------bee
You are as nice as a -----------spider a wolf spider
???

Apparently a wolf spider does not bite people, so Ethan must have noticed that I, also, do not bite people. What an astute observation from my brown eyed first grader!

And Eli made me three really sweet Mother's Day BOOKS using staples. I love them all!

And last but not least a sweet card from Curtis that made me cry.

Wow, it was a great Mother's Day!

My private Idaho

I am putting off downloading the pictures that I took while I was in Idaho last weekend for some reason. Probably because I have been playing catch up this week for being gone those 4 days!

JK and I braved it and traveled from MSP to PHX and then PHX to SLC. We got to see Noelle and Josh, Joel and Sara and the twins, Landyn and Miles, Dionne and Sandy on Friday night. Congratulations graduate Joel!!! Then Saturday we drove up to Bountiful and spent a few hours with Blake and Lara, and James (oops, I meant orange boy!) and Bethany. Then onward to Pocatello, made it in 1:45 a personal best, just in time to be home for the awkward moment of Rosie being late for her debut in "As You Like It." (it's a long but entertaining story, not involving the use of cell phones) It was pretty amazing to see my little sister rattle off Shakespeare like nobody's business. Not only did she have her lines memorized, but I think she had the majority of the play memorized. It was great. Good job Rosie!!

I got to see my Grandma Duke, and she got to see JK for the first time. I hope I look as great when I am 81!!!
Also saw Aunt Suzanne and Uncle Brian, they brought a beautiful doll for JK, from them and my cousin April.
Sunday we went to church, and saw some parents of an old high school friend. First thing that comes up is "oh, he's divorced..."
Why oh why do some parents feel the need to broadcast personal info to the world? And it's usually negative.
I loved hanging out w/ Curti, Jordyn, Jeff and Dave Saturday night. It was like a time warp laughing and playing games until late at night.
The drive back to SLC Monday morning was so beautiful. I love being able to see for miles and miles, the only thing obscuring my vision was the mountains and the curve of the earth. It's amazing how few people there are! I feel so lucky to call Idaho my home.
We made it home safe and sound, and I don't think I flashed anybody, so by my standards, an excellent trip!
The guys had 'boys weekend' which included putting carpet in their new bedroom and a trip to Chucky Cheese, and also haircuts. I was so excited to see their faces when they picked us up at the airport. Wow I missed them so much! I need to take lots more trips so I can appreciate them more and more!!! Ha ha! Good night Shanghai!