Tuesday, May 31, 2011

New Desk

It must be the time of year, but for some reason I get in the mood to do some projects! Last week I went to the thrift store and found a plain wood table. We have been in need of a new desk, so I thought why not turn this into our desk?! I forgot to take a before picture, but just picture a boring wood table.


Here is the finished product...

I sanded and stained the whole table a dark walnut color. Then I painted just the legs white. After it was dry, I got the power sander (I love that thing) and distressed it a bit to make it look old. I am really happy with the way it turned out! I can't wait to get it down in the office and see what it looks like. I have also painted the office so I will post some pictures when I get it all done. I'm kind of addicted to refinishing things and making them new again. It's really fun!



Sunday, May 29, 2011

This and That

It's been a busy couple of weeks at our house, as usual. I have really been slacking on my blogging. About a week and a half ago, Mabel came down with a skin infection. It was the nastiest thing. Her skin was sooo red and very tender. She wouldn't let anyone near her mouth or neck. The smell from the infection was even nastier!



Our dog was once a cute fluffy lion.






I just threw this one in here of Chloe because I thought it was cute! We have had a few warm days here- I hope they come back soon.





Now Mabel is a skinny, shaved lamb! The vet had to shave her down where the infection was and then decided it would probably be best to shave the rest of her too to make sure the infection wasn't anywhere else on her body. Mabel looked really funny for a few days. Chloe even said, "I don't feel like that is my dog."





You can sort of see how red her skin was in this picture. It itched her so bad we had to give her pain killers and a sedative for five days to keep her from scratching it. Don't ask how much that cost! I get a knot in my stomach just thinking about it.





Luckily, Mabel is doing much better and her hair is starting to grow in a bit. I sure hope whatever she had never comes back. We still love her though!






I have started a few projects this week- actually too many, another reason for not blogging- so I want to post about those when I get them done. Bryan and I started P90X this week. I'm happy to say that I am still moving and not as sore as I thought I would be. It's a great workout! We are looking forward to Niah getting out of school and for Bryan's vacation time coming up. It's amazing to me that summer is already here. Wahoo!











Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Notre Dame Baseball

Niah has been playing sooo much softball! She loves it and never complains. She really looks forward to games and even practices. She has made lots of new friends. This past Saturday the league that she plays for had what they call a 'Day at the Eck'. (that's the name of the stadium) We got to go watch Notre Dame's baseball team play. It was so much fun. There's nothing better than a day at the ball park.


The league drew names and the winners got to run out on the field with the players and stand by them for the National Anthem. Niah's name got drawn!! She got to run out with the short stop, Mick Doyle. As you can see she was very serious and nervous about the whole thing! She wouldn't smile at all for me.
Mick was nice and talked to her to help her feel less nervous. I wasn't sure if she would actually go out there or not.










She even got to join the team huttle before the game.








She got out there and was so brave! I think she had a lot of fun, but she wouldn't admit it.






I was trying to make her laugh and told her that maybe she would get to go out there with a cute boy! She smiled at that and when he bent down to give her a high five I think he won her heart! She came back with a big grin and was watching him the whole game.




I love baseball. Being at Niah's games reminds me of watching my brother play and my dad coach. Those were such fun times. It's weird that my daughter is old enough to play now. I didn't think that would happen so fast!














Sunday, May 15, 2011

Visit to Utah

We took a trip to Utah for a week so Bryan could attend a sports medicine conference and also so we could see family. It had been a year and a half since we visited and it was great to go back. The week went too fast though. I want to go back!
The kids had a blast with their cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. We've been home for a week and a half and I think they are still going through what I call 'Grandma detox'! We got to meet two of our nieces, Paityn and Bentlee, for the first time. We celebrated my Mom's 50th birthday and also my Dad's 51st birthday. Bryan's sister, Shaylie, plays softball and we got to watch her play. The best part of all was just enjoying each other's company. I'm looking forward to the day when we can be closer to family!

Here we are at the top of Niah's castle!


Here's Niah and her best friend Addi playing in the dirt!

Bryan's favorite things:

  • BYU Football
  • Pandora.com
  • Surfing the Internet
  • Mountain Biking
  • Homemade Cinnamon Rolls
  • Kayaking

Natalie's Favorite Things

  • Naps
  • Blogging
  • Cooking
  • Going on dates with Bryan
  • Reading good books
  • Being a mom

Niah's Favorite Things

  • Hannah Montana
  • 101 Dalmatians
  • High School Musical
  • Reading books with her dad
  • Singing
  • Disney Princesses
  • Playing outside with her friends

Chloe's Favorite Things

  • Being outside
  • Her binki
  • Bananas
  • Macaroni and Cheese
  • Playing with Niah
  • Taking a bath