Three Loads of Laundry

Emma surprised me today. She sorted, folded and put three full loads of laundry away. Completely. I am still in shock. And did I mention I didn't ask her? I hugged her for an hour. Okay, not quit an hour. Just wanted to share how wonderful Emma is.

The Painter

Chris has been a busy man this week, painting every chance he gets. We finally picked all of the colors. I am glad that is done. It can be overwhelming with all the choices. And it's not like I can change the color easily. The girls playroom we painted yellow (Summer Wish). It is bright like the sun in that room. The guest room we painted light blue (Crystalline). The office/scrapbooking room we painted the same off white (Cincinnatian Hotel Hannaford) color as the girls bathroom. The exercise room we painted light green (Pale Jade 1) with a darker green (Pale Jade 2) for the accent wall. We also decided to paint accent walls in the family room the same green as our kitchen.

As you can see, Chris gets painted as well as the walls when he uses the sprayer. Click on the pictures to see up close how much paint is really on him. The ear picture is a must see up close (smile). The colors he is wearing are the off white and yellow....

News

We have exciting news. We had 3 students except Jesus Christ as their personal Savior on Sunday during youth group. Thank you to all family and friends that are praying for our ministry at Sonrise Baptist Church. We are getting to know our youth and we love them. It is neat to see them grow in their faith and serve the Lord.

Sad news. My grandpa on my mom's side has not been doing well and I just found out that they are moving him into a full care facility with Hospis care. Mom has been keeping me updated throughout his declining health, but it didn't hit me until today that it's getting closer to the time he could pass. I want to jump in the car and go see him right now. My grandpa loves the Lord and of course, we are glad that he will be with the Lord, but I love him and selfishly want him to stay.

I love you Grandpa! We are praying for comfort and peace for you and Grandma.

Our House Stinks

Friday, Chris was able to spray our basement with primer. Although our house stinks, I love the smell, because it smells like we are getting closer to being able to move into the rest of our house. Chris and I are so excited to buy our paint tomorrow. Although we still have many things to do in our basement, we are making progress.

I am sad I didn't take a picture of how funny he looked after he got done priming 1,700 square feet of walls and ceilings. His hair was completely white and you could barely see his skin color on his face and arms. The girls and I got some good giggles in.

I know we are painting the family room and hallways the same brown as upstairs. We also know we are painting the girls playroom yellow. The guest bedroom is going to be off white. That leaves two rooms left. Our office/scrapbooking room and our exercise room. I would like our exercise room to make us look slim and motivate us to work out hard. Do you know any colors that will do that? I would like our office/scrapbooking room to be warm, but not too warm that we want to sleep instead of work. Any suggestions for either?

6,485

Do you have any guesses on what the number in the title stands for? Any? What could it be? I will tell you. That number represents the minutes read at home by Emma in 3rd grade. Of course this is recorded minutes and we don't always catch every minute. Madi's number is close, but I don't know an exact. In April I helped Emma's teacher with a task that involved the classes reading log. I then came home and wrote it down, then kept track for the rest of the minutes read through the end of the school year. Emma came home one of the last days of school and proudly told us that she read the most in her class. Way to go Emma and Madi!

Picnic

These are the last pictures of when my parents were visiting. One of the days they were visiting we went on a picnic. The girls played with Grandpa on the playground, chased butterflies, and played tag football with their daddy. And of course we ate.

Emma's face gets red after she plays hard. Good thind her mom brought water for her to drink.

Madi flying down the slide.

The girls enjoy climbing on the row of tires.

Mom and Me

Cabelas

Everyone, except for Dad, had never been to Cabelas. So we decided to go and check it out. It is a neat store. My favorite part was the fish. Impressive. The girls enjoyed identifying all the different animals. But their favorite part had to be the adorable Springer Spaniel puppies someone was trying to sell (in front of the store). I had a Springer Spaniel when I was the girl's age. Her name was Dutches.

When we were out in front of the store eating our delicious candy bars Dad bought us, Emma saw Joanna, our church's secretary. We saw a similar vehicle of hers, and thought Emma was pointing to it, but then Joanna walked around the post. It was nice to see her. The girls enjoy seeing people we know in this big area we live in. We used to see people we knew all the time in Oregon. But living in a big area for a year and a half, we don't usually see anyone we know. So Joanna was another treat for us.

Fun Times With Family

While Mom, Dad, and Rusty were here we went to Five Guys Burgers and Fries. It is a yummy hamburger restaurant that they have never been to (girls haven't either). Yum! They also got to experience Cheesecake Factory for the first time. My mouth is now watering for cheesecake. Double Yum!

I think Grandpa read most of his vacation. Maybe even more then riding bikes. The girls loved it!

One of the last days my parents were here, Dad, the girls and I went swimming. Later that day while waiting for dinner, Emma decided to style Dad's hair. I had to put these in, Dad, they are great pictures. Doesn't he look fabulous?

Happy Birthday Dad

Last week we had the privilege of celebrating my dad's birthday while my parents and brother were visiting....

Rusty and our family got Dad a quesadilla maker. He enjoyed quesadillas with us, so we thought he would enjoy making them at home.

I had to put this picture in. Every time I look at Madi's silly face, I laugh. Thought you might get a laugh in as well. Laughing is good for you. Click on the picture for a closer look.

Happy Birthday Dad! We had a great time with you. Thanks for being a great Dad and Grandpa. We love you!

Fourth Of July Parade

On Fourth of July, we decided to go to a parade. None of us had been to a Fourth of July Parade, and I have to say, even though it was super long and there were parts that were too loud, it was fun....

Some of the policemen entertained us while we were waiting for the parade to start. They did some neat formations.

Those that know Madi, know that she doesn't like loud noises. When the loud part of the parade got closer,she got up and stood by me. I was plugging my ears and holding my elbows over her ears for extra protection. Emma was even plugging her ears. We were glad when that part was over.

Where's Waldo?

That evening we went to another city and watched the fireworks. It was the best fireworks show I have ever seen. We were all impressed. Well, all impressed except for Madi. She was hiding under the blanket with earplugs in her ears. She has never liked fireworks. She cried the whole time at her first fireworks show, at 7 months old. I would never of guessed at 7 years old, she would still not want anything to do with fireworks. At least now she stays quiet under the blanket.

Bike Rides Galore

Last summer we didn't ride bikes much. Emma's leg was healing (broke her leg in three places in Spring 2009) and was too nervous to ride, so the girls mainly rode their scooters. Emma grew quite a bit since she's been on her bike; when she got on it this spring she looked like a giant.

This spring I have been shopping for a used bike for Emma. Hadn't found anything. When my parents got here, I had told them that it would be great if I found a bike while they were here so we could use their Suburban. First day they were here, we found one. It is a used Trek. She has been going on bike rides with my dad the last two weeks. Speaking of bike rides, she just got back from one with Chris.

Madi got Emma's old bike; it fit's her just right. Dad, Chris and myself have been helping her learn to ride with no training wheels. She is doing great. She just needs to grow her arms a tad longer and get a little stronger so she can break. Just a minor detail.

Copper Mine

While my parents were visiting we took them to the Kennecott's Bingham Canyon Copper Mine. We had a great time. As you can see it was very windy....

The picture above is Madi. The picture below is Emma.

Grandma and the girls (plus another little girl) looking at rocks under the microscope.

Last summer we went with my in-laws to the mine. To see the post on it, go to July 2009 "Kennecott's Bingham Canyon Mine With My In-Laws." There are some good pictures of a truck and the big hole.

Last Day

On June 30 our zoo membership was up. Thankfully we had my parents visiting, so we went to the zoo one last time. Of course we will go to the zoo again, but not buy a zoo membership for a few years. We definitely made many memories with many friends and family. As you can see by all my pictures throughout this last year, we always saw new and different animals.

My brother Rusty, Dad, Madi, Emma, and Mom posing in front of the giraffes.

The red panda is usually so far up in the tree we can't see it. The last two times we went, it has been low enough to see. Just to note, we went to the zoo the Friday before this day with one of our sweet teens from our church; I didn't have my camera.

What a perfect pose. The crocodiles are usually hidden in the water. This one was sunbathing today.

I can't get enough of adorable Zuri who, by the way is almost 1 year old. When we first came up to see Zuri, she was taking a nap. Then on the way out we took a peek at her again and she was attempting to drink water. It was adorable as most of the water dripped out of her mouth. Even how she was standing with one foot forward was adorable.

Our Girls Rock!

Last Monday, Chris and I attended the girl's award ceremony at their school. We thought it was just for their Coyote Pride Award, but soon found out there was more....

Madi received an award for being on Honor Roll for all three terms. She also completed 19 out of 20 accomplishes (needed 17) to receive the Coyote Pride Award. Madi received this honor last year at her other school (see post tittled: "My Little Soaring Eagle" in June of 2009). She also received the Academic Excellence Award, which was awarded to one person per class. We are so proud of how hard she works in school. Way to go Madi!

Emma also received an award for being on Honor Roll for all three terms. Also completed 12 out of 12 accomplishes (needed 10) to receive the Coyote Pride Award. Some of her accomplishments were completing three book reports, reading 100 minutes every week, completing 80% or higher on her spelling tests, and completing her multiplication and division tests under 5 minutes. We are so proud of her. Way to go Emma!

Note: I asked Chris what the title should be for this blog and he came up with "Our Girls Rock!" Good choice Chris.

Ant, Moon, and Earth

A couple of weeks ago, Emma and Madi had their class plays at school....

Madi and her classmate, Emma, were ants in a play called "What Do You See?" Their line was: "the world is big." Madi was adorable. Her whole class did a great job.

Emma was the moon and earth in a play called "Vacation on Mars." She had two lines and was in a trio for the moon. Her lines were: "Of course I don't, I'm the moon" and "it all depends on how much of my reflection you can see." She also had a solo as the earth. As you can see they let the students hold their scripts. Most of them didn't need them. Emma definitely didn't need them as she had most every one's lines and songs memorized. She sang her solo (holding the script, but not looking at it) well. I even had a tear in my eye as I watched my earth sing. Good job, Emma.