The Painting Begins

You can see below that I let Emma go to town on this wall while I worked on the rest of the downstairs.  

I think it'll take 1 more or maybe SEVEN coats to get the blue on the way I want it.  There will be a hood and a fridge and some fabulous stainless shelves that I saved three months of - giving guitar lessons money - on the wall as well.

Below:

From the front of my living room toward the back of the house/kitchen.  

The ceilings are white and Ralph Lauren has come out with some great colors which are on my walls.  This grey is a little darker than I originally thought but I love it.  I'll just have to change some of my fabric colors a bit.
I called my poor mom who was chasing Jack around a bookstore to bring out my camera so that she could chase him around a house with newly painted walls.

They didn't stay long.

A Friday Tradition

So, on fridays, after we pick Emma up from school, we go to the "candy store."  It's actually the local corner gas station (which I don't like to go to at night) and they have all sorts of crazy candy there.  The kids NEVER eat it all which is fine with me.  When we pulled up to my parents' house and went inside, Jack had his sucker.  When I finished getting his pre-nap milk ready, he didn't have his sucker.  As I was putting him to sleep I had visions of the sucker being stuck to one of my mother's beautiful leather sofas or mushed into her carpet.  I looked and looked but didn't find it until I was cooking dinner.  At least he didn't leave his sucker in trade for something else in the drawer AND I was so busy taking a picture of it that I forgot to remove it until the next day when again I was cooking dinner.

School Plays

This was a really cool idea.  The music teacher made an original song for the kids to sing that's also part of a book.  The art teacher helped kids create the artwork to go with the song and the book.  If you have kids, you probably know what book it is by the pics.  If you don't, it's "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?"

They sang a little song and did the art and it was all very cute until my kid wasn't onstage anymore.  Well, you know, cuz our kid is always the cutest one.

And she totally is.

I Think Winter Might be Here??

Just for you Rory.

Emma and her dad in the playroom.  Think we'll be able to fit all our stuff in here??

It's actually similar in square feet to many of our apartments.  VERY exciting.

The sheetrock, mud/tape/texture should be done by this weekend.  Then I'll be able to show you fun pics of cabinets and flooring...

This was taken in the dining, looking toward the front door where Jack is really trying to ride Emma's 4-wheeler.

My new fence!!!

And windows that still need trim!!!

Daddy's Birthday!

Emma helped a lot.  When she started making exclamations like, "YUMMY!!!"  Jack came over to check it out.

I want you to notice Jack in the background here.

Yep, it didn't take him long to figure out where the good stuff is.

Maybe next year we'll be organized enough so that we actually make daddy's cake instead of using Betty Crocker and Duncan Hines.  Maybe.

The kids love to be little helpers... especially when it comes time to eat the cake.

So, I got an email from Rory asking about the house and one from Kay asking when she's going to see more pics of her grandkids.  So, here's for K, we'll catch up for Rory next ;)

Here in Wasilla, Alaska

Any idea on what seemingly everyone is talking about??

(these are friends of ours, I think it's the only limo service in town)

local candy store.

Hopefully also from the local candy store.

The town was dead on the night of the Vice Presidential debate.

Except for the local bars televising the event.

And there have been press, lots of press, here in Wasilla.

I do have to say that I have totally lost faith in Time magazine.  They did a piece on Sarah, all the pics were taken from a biography that a local woman wrote.  The majority of the people interviewed were people he talked to IN BARS.  Yes, that's right.  The same person was referred to several times and when I went back to the beginning to see who it was, it was someone the author talked to in a bar.  

Now, to be fair, we have our share of small bars in this town but SERIOUSLY!  

This is Time, not People.

Thank You.