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!

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!

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!

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!

Easter Sunday

Our Easter was a pleasant one. The sun was shining and spring is in full bloom! This year, I really tried to focus on the Savior and the resurrection. I am so grateful for all he went through for me. My heart was full of gratitude yesterday.

The kids had been having egg hunts all week in the backyard and in the house, so when the real thing came it was no big deal. Benny had lots of practice so he knew just what to do when he saw those eggs! Chloe found a golf caddy by her basket.

Niah found one of these. I'm not sure you call it- a hopster or something. We have yet to figure it out!


Bennett got his very own t-ball set. Boy, does he love it! I'm sure something will get broken by the ball soon. Maybe the rain could stop so he can play outside?!




The kids looked adorable in their Easter outfits. The girls picked out their own dresses this year. I tried to get them to match, but they would not have it. They take after their mother. I hate matching with other people. I'm not sure why I expect them to like it!

I had this vision of going to a big field somewhere, having a picnic, and taking pictures of the kids all dressed up. It was supposed to be rainy, so I just accepted the fact that it wasn't going to happen. But, after church the sun was out and it was perfect for pictures. We had changed plans and were invited to dinner by some friends in the ward so we decided to stop on the way and have a fake picnic.
I told the kids they got to be actresses and pretend to have picnic. I think they were excited about that!

I love my kiddos. When I look at those pictures I am overwhelmed with love for all of them! I am one lucky mom to have such darling, well behaved, healthy, happy children!

Easter was a success, I think. It's hard being away from family on holidays, but we are excited to go spend a week with them. It's been way to long since we've been home to Utah. We are counting down the hours.

Hey, Batter Batter

Niah started softball last week! She has loved baseball ever since she was little, so this year she wanted to play. When we signed her up they asked if she had ever played before. I told them no and they said, "Okay, we'll put her in this league." Not knowing any better I just went with it. When she got to her first practice her coach asked if she had played at all before. I told him no and he acted surprised that she was on this team. He said, "We'll see how she does tonight. The machine throws balls fast and is a little hard to get used to." He talked about putting her in the t-ball group, which would be fine. She got out there and played and after being very nervous to hit she got up the courage and hit a couple of balls! Anyway, she is going to stay on this team and she is doing very well. She is the youngest one on the team, but it doesn't seem to bother her that she is playing with second and third graders!

The other kids love being at the ball park. Bennett is obsessed with baseballs and bats. At night when he doesn't want to go to bed, he climbs up on the couch and pats the seat next to him and says, "Ball," summoning Bryan to sit and watch ball on tv with him. It's so adorable!





Here's a picture that's just for fun. Mabel is growing. She weighs 24 lbs. now and is four months old. She is sweet with the kids and most of the time she is an awesome dog. I had Chloe pretend to dance with her so that we can remember how big and tall she is!


Niah plays her first softball game on Saturday. I'm excited to see how she does. I'm hoping to take some video so I can post it here. Let's hope the weather cooperates for us!

Spring Break 2011

Niah had spring break last week. It was so nice to have her home during the days. Chloe and Bennett couldn't figure out why she was gone again on Monday!! To pass some of the time, I decided to take the kids to a couple of museums. They had so much fun. We went to the train museum in Elkhart with some of our friends. It was really neat. Benny was in heaven!

We attempted to get a picture of all the kids together in this old train car, but I'm not sure we were very successful. I think there are a few kids hiding behind the seats! The old train cars were really fun for the kids to climb up in. They were not safe at all. One of the cars had insulation and nails all over the floor. I was surprised that they let people in there! I wonder if there have been injuries before?! The kids didn't seem to mind.

After building up the courage all week, I decided to go for it and take the kids to Chicago to The Field Museum. It's a natural history museum and the kids LOVED it! Niah was especially into it. She is really into learning new things about different people and cultures. The highlights for them were Sue the dinosaur, the ancient Egyptians exhibit, and seeing Bushman the gorilla that used to fling poo at the people that came to see him. Haha. That's the only story about any of the animals that they could remember!

Their favorite part was probably playing on the steps when we were waiting to catch the train! Why spend money on a museum when there are steps to climb?!

Niah took this picture for us. I think she did pretty good.

My kids were so well behaved! I was very impressed. They learned a lot and had a great time. The train was a great idea because it takes you right to the museum, but I don't think I will do the train again with the kids. It took forever!! Driving would be much quicker and it woud probably be cheaper to just pay for parking. Anyway, we had a great week with Niah home. Now I can't wait for the summer break to get here.