Christmas 2008 at our house.......

Hope your was just as joyful and fun!

My youngest sister Jill came over and tiled the backsplash in my kitchen for me.

My husband was somewhat skeptical about the tiles I had chosen. To be honest, he was skeptical about my 23 year old sister and I doing such a big project at all.

So, here are the results of all of our labors:

What do you think? When we were all done, my hubby just stood there looking at the finished project and said, "I never would have dreamed that those tiles would look that good in this kitchen!" He was truly impressed. So impressed that the regular outlet covers were not good enough for our new tiles and so he went and picked out these black and copper ones. I LOVE them and think they look great.

Over all, the tiles cost about $130, the other materials we needed like grout and trowels came to about $50 and I paid my sister $150 for doing the job. She did most of the work - I was merely the assistant tile-er ..... lol. So that makes the whole project about just over $300, which I think is money well spent!

Thanks Jill!

Yesterday, I went shopping for something to wear for our upcoming family portrait. I actually got the rare opportunity to go shopping all alone and actually made the extra arrangements to go to the closest really large town in Montana - about 100 miles away - to make sure I got the very best selection.

So, you would think it would be an enjoyable day. No kids, lots of stores to shop in, no schedule or time table to stick to as my hubby was taking care of picking up both kids from their schools.... Not so.

The first problem was that I was limited color-wise. Photographers, when you have portraits made, want you to stick to having a color scheme - mine was red and white - and the clothing items should be fairly plain in pattern....so, no plaid, wild stripes, shiny stuff....

You would think that red or white would not be a problem, but I was not happy with the limited selection of things in those two colors. Even at the most expensive department stores, there was not a whole lot to choose from. The sales lady in Dillards, bless her, pulled every single red sweater from the ladies department and I tried every single one of them on. I actually did purchase a sweater in Dillards - to the tune of $150 - that I am returning today. I like it, but not enough to pay $150 for it! It is cashmere - and gorgeous - but honestly not my style at all so it is going back.

Finally, after scouring several stores, I went to one store that I never go to anymore - Eddie Bauer. Right in front, folded neatly in a pile, was the perfect sweater and it was white. Now, I had been looking for red for myself, but I ended up with white and that is fine. As long as it fits well, which it does, and didn't cost $150 - which it didn't. $50 is way more reasonable, don't you agree?

By the end of the day, I was disheartened though. Shopping used to be fun, but yesterday it was a chore that I didn't really want to do. Not sure why I felt that way, but I did. Now, the real chore begins.....getting my family all to sit straight, smile and co-operate for these portraits! LOL

Springtime has finally come to the Rocky Mountains and that means mud. Lots and lots of mud! I am eternally grateful for the mud room we added on to our house when we built our new room last year. It really keeps the yuck out of the house and contains it to one area. This year, we plan to build a deck out on the front of the house and do a bit of landscaping including planting some aspen trees to take up some of the water. I am really looking forward to working on this project. It is just the kind of thing I like to do and it is going to put the final, finishing touch on our house!

Meanwhile, the hubby and I have purchased a camper trailer and are both looking forward to taking it out with the kids. My hubby is more of tent dweller and is therefore not as excited as I am, but he will get over it when he sees how much fun the kids have. Our first trip will be to Canyon Ferry lake for some fishing and fun!

And.....it has been 5 days since I have changed a diaper! Owen still wears a pull-up diaper for sleeping, but he actually changes that himself in the morning. I am so happy to be done with diapers - and I am about $40 or $50 dollars richer every month as well!

To add to the fun stuff....my sister and her family have just come back from a very fun vacation to Southern California. Here is a couple of Happy Kid Pics:



These girls has a blast at Disney - eventhough the oldest one was afraid she would be bored - LOL!



Look at the look she is giving Alice! ROFL!!

Coffee Art -

Thanks to my buddy Cyn for sending this my way!

It has snowed here for 10 days straight and this is the result. I have *plenty* of snow for anyone who wants some!

My closet project is finished! Well, a more accurate statement would be to say that Stage One of my closet project is finished. When I started, I thought that what I accomplished this week was all I wanted to do. In the end, I have discovered that I could do a bit more and so have decided to do that at a later date.

So, much to my utter embarassment, here at the before photos of my closet:

And...drum roll please....here is the result:









I realize the pictures are not all that great. It is really hard to take photos of a 6 X 8 walk in closet that is, erm...fully furnished. You will just have to take my word for it that it is *much* better than it was 3 days ago.

This entire project took me about 5 hours and cost around $125 altogther. I had to empty the entire closet and then sort and organize all the contents. I thought that I would get rid of the dresser that was in there, but decided in the end that the contents and area the dresser currently occupies will be the subject of Phase Two of this closet makeover.

The hardest part of this entire thing was getting the frame of the closet organizer on the log wall. About 45 minutes of my total worktime was spent with a hammer and chisel cutting out notches to make the frame fit. In the end, it fits great and it very sturdy.

Now, I am hoping my husband will be impressed with my handiwork. He has been promising that he would get to that closet for a while now. Hopefully, he will be satisfied with what I have done - and I still left a bit for him to do if he wants to. But, he better not take too long - or I will have my way with that part of the closet as well.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!

Halloween!!

Halloween was a lot of fun this year. Owen was finally big enough to keep up with his cousins and not tire out so quickly. Maya was particularly excited as she had been planning her costume since June. She is a planner, just like her Momma!

Owen went as a great white shark. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to find a great white shark costume in a size 3? I finally did find one online and it cost me a goodly sum - but he wore it all day long and loved it.


Maya went as Fiona from Shrek. The kid has such an eye for detail as you can see from the pose! She was very upset because the dress I bought for her was not purple like the one is Shrek the Third. Finally, she relented and was satisfied though she let me know that Fiona wears a purple dress too!


After getting their bucket full of candy, it was time to get started home. Their buckets full of candy are sitting in the dining room as I type - hardly touched. For my kids, it is all about the getting of the candy rather than the snarfing and hoarding of the candy - for which I am eternally grateful!

Halloween Pumpkin Carving!

I'm Back - and Boy, Am I Beat!!

Just a quickie post to let you all know that I have finally returned to Montana - safely and in tact - compete with a starter sun tan, some killer threads from Ann Taylor and about a thousand pictures and fun stuff to share.

We had an amazingly smooth trip that was jam packed with lots of fun. There are lots of stories and pictures to share - and I will - over the next few days. Right now, I am exhausted and need to go to the grocery story and work on the laundry, so the fun stuff will have to wait.

I will leave you with this though: I was 86 degrees and sunny in Raleigh when we left, and 32 degrees with a couple of inches of snow on the ground when I pulled onto our private road at about 1:00 AM today! What a contrast!!!

And, in case you were wondering - the kids did GREAT!! I am so proud of them. They were awesome and were duly rewarded with a trip to Toys R Us before we left North Carolina :)