Lawn Art

Jacob and I have been having some fun with our back lawn. We found a design and mowed it into our yard. Do you like it? 

Also notice in the picture that Jacob is not alone. We have Connor and Carson for a few weeks. Carson loved Jacob very much and when he is sad or upset all he wants is for Jacob to hold him. Connor is becoming potty trained. This was his first day and we had some success in the peeing department. The other department . . . Not so much. We will keep trying.

Saturday Fun!

We had Rachael and Eli come home for a very quick trip. We played a lot on Saturday! We did our nails, went four wheeling, slipped on the slip and slide, blew bubbles, jumped on the trampoline and watched fireworks! How is that for a fun non stop kind of day. Here are some pictures to chronicle the day.

Happy birthday to my Dad!

How I miss him! This is a man who is one of the best in the whole world. I couldn't have asked for a better father. He worked with us and played with us and taught us the important things in life. Most importantly, he taught us the gospel of Jesus Christ. I didn't doubt, my father knew it. He has been gone eleven years. Those have been some pretty tough years for me. I am so glad he gave me a foundation of the gospel so I could get through those tough times. I am sorry he missed all the good times.

Got It!

After months of looking and our local furniture company telling us that "it's ordered, it's ordered", we finally picked up our new sectional in Billimgs yesterday. There were four things that I originally wanted but I think I got only one of those.....well maybe.

1. Couch and a love seat...I got a sectional. Close.

2. Leather....leather-air. Again, close.

3. A look that wasn't very dark. Um. Not really. It is dark brown but not black so....

4. Nail head finish on the arms, mostly to keep in the style of my house. Nope.

So am I happy? Yes I am. I realized about halfway through the process that what I wanted did exist but it was going to cost way more than I was willing to pay. 

My blue couches are gone. The dog had ripped the front and the sides and there was dog hair on it everywhere. I spent hours sewing that couch back up and washing the cushions because of the dog smell. I am glad it is gone!

I have a huge sectional that will be so much fun for Jacob to have friends over and watch movies and play games. Let the fun begin!

Jared's trip to France

I suppose it is ok to post a few pictures that Jared sent me of his trip to France. Some of them are showing up on Facebook so here you go.

The Eiffel Tower!

I don't know what this a picture of.

Camille's dad let Jared ride this around. A WWII American jeep all restored.

Jared and Camille while at a wedding of her friend.

This is probably one of Camille's cousins children.

Mini Vacation!

Rachael decided to run a Tri-at halon. How cool is that? She has been training for a long time and invited us to come watch. What a great time we had and such a great motivation. This was sort of a mini event where you swim for 300 yards, bike about a 10K and then run a 5K. I think there were 800 or so women competing. Rachael and her friend ran this together. There were women of all shapes, sizes and ages and it was downright inspiring. So much so that I told her that I would like to do it with her next year. Is there anyone out there who would like to join us? Anyway, the really cool thing is that Rachael didn't even need to use her inhaler the whole time. Way to go Rachael!

The night before we got to spend some time on temple square and tour the conference center. We had gone before but Jacob was too young to remember it so we needed to go again. We got some good pictures of the family.

After the Tri-athalon Saturday morning we went up to lagoon for the rest of the day. Eli was such a good sport to go on all the rides with Jacob. Rachael's girls were such fun. Eve is so fun to be around. Grandpa spike hung out with them while the rest of is went on rides together.

On the way home we stopped at every historical sign so it took us a while but it was a very enjoyable ride home.

How Difficult Can It Be?

Help! Spike and I have been trying to buy new furniture for the living room. These have been my thoughts. I want leather furniture because it will clean well and the dog hair won't be such an issue. 

So....

#1 Leather.

#2 Medium brown shade preferably with a variation so it doesn't look flat and painted. I thought of going dark but I don't want a black hole in the living room.

#3 Thinking about doing a large sectional. I think a couch and love seat would look better in the living room but the size of my living room would accommodate a sectional and we were thinking more about function than form.

#4. Recliners in the sectional. Spike and Jacob have been pretty adamant about that. The living room is where we live and watch tv and do homework, well, pretty much everything so they want a lot of comfort.

So you would think that this wouldn't be that difficult. We went to billings and sat in like a million couches and sectionals. I decided I do not want the console included in the seating. Not in my house. We found one that looked beautiful and felt good. We got a good quote on it and did the research. We decided that although it looked good it was something called "leath-air". Tricky salesman. Then we found out that the hardware is not strong and the frame was not made out of hardwood. Ok. No, not that one. So we go to the local store and get information from them and are so, on another brand but again find out that although the frame is solid it is not made with actual leather.

How hard is it to find what we are looking for???

I want something that will last for more than five years, hopefully ten or more. Any ideas? I was hoping this would happen by my birthday but now I would settle on finding something by august. This is just silly. 

A Day At The Zoo!

Just wish I could have been there.

Lucas and the boys took Shanae to her Insanity workout certification, where she passed and is now a certified instructor? Congratulations!! So Lucas had the whole day to play in Denver. Rachael and Eli saved his day by going to the zoo with them. It sounds like it was a great day.

We are missing a picture faith Leah. I need to beg one from Rachael.

What cute grand kids I have!