New rooms for the kiddos!!!

I decided  that I needed to switch my kids' room to make room for the new baby. My little girl's room was painted purple, and my little boy's room was blue and green....so if I wanted to switch I would have to repaint everything!!!  When I first started out, it didn't seem too bad....but then after the first room and having to do 2 coats of primer and 2 coats of white to cover the blue and green up, I was ready to cry......and being 6 months pregnant at the time didn't really help matters much. ( if you want to do a room overhaul, make sure you have help doing it and that the person who said they would help actually shows up.....)  I just wanted to post some pics of the befores and afters and then show off the cute technique I did for one of the walls.

This is a before picture of my little boy's room (soon to be the girl's new room).  We had a Buzz Lightyear wallpaper border in the middle.  I found some great stuff at Home depot that I sprayed on it and the stuff came off so easy....my daughter was actually able to peel most of it off.  It took 4 coats to get those bright colors covered!

This was when I was done painting.  All the walls were white and them I painted the purple on with a feather duster.  Yes, a feather duster. =)  To recreate that look here's what you do:

Put your paint in a wide bowl or paint tray.  Lightly dip the edges of the duster in the paint.  I would suggest getting some scratch paper and just trying it out before attacking your project.  Then just lightly "dust" the paint on the surface.  I had mine barely touch the surface and then i sorta swirled it around to get some lighter spots too.  If you want to do multiple colors, (which looks really neat!) apply the darker color first, let it dry and then just go over with the other color.  I wish I would have taken a video of it because it would be easier to show, but seeing as how it's hard to video and paint at the same time and my only other option was having the 3 year do it....I didn't think it would work out too well.....but believe me....it is easy!  If you can dust, you can do this!  And the best part is that it takes hardly any paint.  You could get away with about 1/4 of a pint of paint....or you could easily get one or 2 of the sample paints and just use those.

Here's the up close shot.

See what a simple feather duster can do?

I can't really get a wide shot of the room, but Brenna is quite pleased with her new room, beds and everything =) It looks completely different! The other walls are all white but I found some super cute wall decals that were flowers and butterflies to put up, plus I have a cute picture I am going to make for one of the walls. (so stay tuned for that)

This was Brenna's old room.  A nice bright purple.  By the time I finished the other room and was getting ready to start this one, my hands were killing from the roller and my back was killing (remember, I'm 6 months pregnant while doing this.....)  Lucky for me I have a sweet husband who helped a bit.  He got out his paint sprayer for me to use.  I couldn't in the other room because the primer had filler in it and would clog the gun.  I was using a different primer here.  I was told by the guy in the paint department at Lowe's that the primer I got would cover this in 1 coat and that the white paint/primer combo would cover in one coat.....he lied!!! the paint/primer combo was the one I used in the other room and I needed 2 coats.  So just plan on doing at least 2 coats to cover up bright colors.  Anywho....as I went to use the gun, it wouldn't work.  I was on the verge of a meltdown because I didn't want to roller paint it all.  My hubby came in while I went to pick up my daughter from school to see if he could get it working.  When I got home he had a discouraged look on his face.  He told me "Well.....I made a mess in there trying to fix it."  I almost threw myself down on the floor and had a tantrum. (hormones!!) So he took me to the room and showed me his mess....while I was gone he got it working and painted the primer on the walls for me.  Yay for an awesome hubby!! So then all I needed to do was wait for it to dry and then do the white with the sprayer.  I was much happier =)  

I did the same feather technique on one wall in Ian's new room.  He is super happy.  When I showed him his room his eyes got all big and he had a big grin "My room is green!" I am decorating his room in "silly monsters."  So I wanted something bright.  I also couldn't find a blanket with cool monsters anywhere (everything was Monsters, Inc) So I made his comforter for his bed.  I will do a post later about that.  I am also going to do some canvas painting of monsters for his walls, so that will be another post.

 I'd say all the hard work paid off for the smiles my kids had.  

I know this isn't really an tutorial, but maybe it will give you some ideas the next time you decided to paint a room.  

I am a slacker!

I have been a total slacker about posting this summer!  It's been a crazy summer though.  I was taking online classes through Weber State (Chemistry, Physiology, Geology, public speaking)  They kept me pretty busy. This summer totally flew by too!!  I want a redo!!  I didn't get to d any of the fun stuff I had planned to do.  Darn classes!  But I think the kids had a lot of fun just being able to hang out and relax.  We went swimming a few times, they played in the sprinklers outside, went to the park a few times.  We didn't get much of a chance to do a sumemr vacation but we did go up to Idaho in July and see some of our best friends, Alan and Kanani.  We stayed a night with them and the kids loved playing.  One really exciting thing is that we found out we are having a little girl.  ( I posted all of that stuff on facebook and totally forgot to blog about it).  I go in December 4th for my c-section and then we'll have our little Sophie join the family.  We haven't decided on a middle name yet.  I am super excited for another girl.  When I was going through some of Brenna's old baby stuff it felt like Christmas again.  I forgot how many cute dresses and shoes she had.  I love that I can reuse them.  But poor Ian....gets to be tortured by sisters the rest of his life....I think he'll handle it.  Brenna is way excited for a sister and doesn't even mind that she has to share her room now.  Speaking of which, I ahve been repainting and switching the kids bedrooms this week.  Ian's old room was just a little bigger and better arranged for bunk beds so I turned that into the girl's room.  I am almost done with teh painting in Ian's new room so as soon as everythingis situated i will post some pictures.  Just a word of advice to everyone.....don't undertake painting 2 bedrooms when you are 6-months pregnant.....not the easiest thing to do.  But luckily I got to use my husbands spray gun for one of the rooms and that made it a ton easier because I was on the verge of tears (darn hormones!) because it seemed like a bunch of things kept happening to get in the way.  

Here are a few pictures from this summer:

This was on the 4th of July.  We went to wyoming and hung out with Jason's cousin Amber and her family.  The kdis had fun shooting guns, riding 4-wheelers, playing in the dirt, and having fun with their cousins.

Ian got to hold a snake at the fair.  He was soooo excited to hold it by himself.  no fear in this child.

When it's just too hot for just a popsicle....you eat it in a pool of water.

We went to East Canyon and the kids had lots of fun swimming in the mud.....forget the lake....they had more fun in the mud pit =)

Hanging at the beach with Sasha =)

Fun times a the Treehouse

During the summer, Weber county sponsors free activities on Saturdays at various places.  Since I am el cheapo, I take advantage.  There are usually about 5 or 6 things to choose from each Saturday and they are usually different each Saturday.  Last Saturday's adventure was at the Treehouse Museum.  My kids love this place but I am usually too cheap to fork out the $6 per person, plus parents have to pay.  So we went and had some fun for free =)  The kids ran around from thing to think and every time I tried to get a picture, all I got was blur.....they had tons of fun!!!  They really loved the music room, my head, not so much.  But I love how much the kids can learn about different cultures here.  They have a Chinatown, and Indian village, a farm, medieval set, a section on the presidents, and a doctor's room

Ian is being a superhero!  He's go the pose down.

Brenna tried to pull Excalibur and be the next King of England.....it didn't work out for her......

My lil cowboy on a bucking bronco =)

This was my cowgirl on her prancing horse. (she didn't want to be bucked around)

With all the fires going on I figured we would be in need of some firefighters so I started training them early.  I'm not sure if the truck would make it to the fire with Ian driving.......

And this is my big kid........

Caution: Wild Animals at Large!

We had fun at the zoo a few weeks ago.  Some of our really good friends, Alan and Kanani, invited us to tag along with them and their family.  It was so nice spending time with them.  She is pretty much like a sister to me =)  Her mom has even offered to adopt me.  Whenever we all go out either Jason and Alan get mistaken for brothers or me and Kanani get mistaken for sisters so it all works.  The last time we had went was when i was bout 2 months pregnant with Ian.  He was so excited to see all the animals. I think hi favorite was the polar bear that kept doing flips off the window.  Brenna loved the baby elephant, especially when she did a headstand =)

Here was my train buddy.

Here's proof that they love each other =)  They sat next to each otheron the train

No DNA test needed here......

He's as big as a female orangutan.

She about as big as a female gorilla.

He was kinda an ornery looking guy.  But then again, I don't think I would be happy stuck in a cage either.

This is the new polar bear.  She kept coming up right next to us and the would flip onto her back.  She was being very playful that day.

The kids were loving watching teh bear swim and the walrus swim around.  The little boy on the left is Tyson (green shirt), then it was Jamison (blue shirt) then Kona (brown shirt, and his due date was the exact same day as Ian's =)  ), then Ian and Brenna.

Isn't she such a pretty poser?

When we went to the rhino exhibit he said he wanted to ride the rhino......the real one.....but I made him settle for the metal one.

Brenna could have stayed all day watching the baby elephant.

Happy Birthday Brenna!

This is about a week late, but better late than never.  My little girl turned 7 last Sunday.  I really can't believe that it's been 7 years since she was born.  Time has really flown by.  Where did my little baby girl go?!  She is growing up sooooooo fast.  She is such a sweet girl, but she definitely has her sassy moments.... which are usually days.  She is such a smart girl too.  Her reading has skyrocketed and she is reading books that some her friends in grades ahead of her aren't even reading.  I think she gets that from me....I am a big bookworm (ok....I know I'm a nerd).  The math skills they learned this year amazes me.  She was in first grade and they were teaching them how to read and make graphs, add together double digit numbers (34+56=?), solve story problems, and telling time on clocks with hands.  I know there were more but those are the ones I was surprised they teach 1st graders.  She mastered all of them pretty much the first time the teacher taught them about it.  Her writing is also pretty impressive.  I'm not talking penmanship, that's pretty good too (she writes better than me =)  ) but the quality of her writing and the information, detail, and structure of her papers were the best in her class.  She got an award at the end of the school year for it.  Not only is she smart, but she in one of the most spiritual little kids I know.  She is constantly teaching me things.  She always reminds us to say prayers and asks questions about different topics.  There have been times that she has been sad about something at school and she tells me that she sat down and said a prayer and then her day went better.  I will also hear her saying her prayers at night.  I am the biggest slacker about nighttime prayers (That is on my to do list....).  I will tuck her in bed and as I am walking out of the room she starts saying her prayers without any prompting.  When she finds out one of her school friends doesn't go to church she gets so concerned and worried about them.  I tell her that by being a good friend and a good example she can help them to learn about the church and maybe one day they will want to go.  She has invited some of the girls to church but they haven't wanted to come.  I love that she is already a little missionary.  She is always willing to help out in primary at church.  Every Fast Sunday she wants to get up and bear her testimony.  I sure hope this light stays burning bright in her for the rest of her life.  It makes me so happy to see her make such good choices and be such a great example to those around her. She is turning into such a big helper with me.  Especially since I have been sick a lot lately she has been helping do stuff for her brother and help me things.  I love it that when she is hungry she can make herself a snack and will even get her brother one too.  She doesn't complain as much anymore about her chores of cleaning her room and feeding the dog.  Now all the sweet stuff being said......she has her diva/sassy times.  She can be very stubborn and wants to get her way. She also has a sassy little attitude and loves to argue (no clue where that comes from......).  I have been told on several occasions, as she is stomping down the stairs, "You're ruining my life!"  I thought I had a few more years before she hit this stage.....there are times she acts more like teenager (attitude) than a 7 year old.  Let's just hope she gets it out of her system now and will be an awesome teenager.....cross your fingers and toes for me please!!!  

I love my baby girl!  She lights up my life.  I couldn't imagine how it would be without her.  She brings so much joy to our lives.  I look forward to watching her grow and learn and can't wait to see the person she turns into.  If how she is now is any indication, she will be an amazing young lady.

For her birthday this year we didn't do a big party.  We have decided that every other year will be a family party.  But I told her that she could pick 2 friends and I would take them to go do something.  She chose her friends Maryann and Sammy.  They are in her class at school and in her primary class.  These girls love spending time together.  

I took them bowling at fat cats, then playing in the arcade, and then we ate pizza in the park.  These 3 girls polished off a large pizza by themselves!  They had lots of fun.  It was funny watching their competitive spirits come out when they were bowling.  Brenna and Sammy were neck and neck up until the last frame, but Sammy pulled ahead by 2 points.  I was worried that there would be drama and tears over losing but they were all happy and fine about it.

The next day was Saturday, the day before her birthday.  She got to choose whether we went out to eat or she got to pick any meal for mom to make.  She wanted to go to TGIFriday.  That's her favorite place.  After we were done eating, they brought her out a birthday sundae and then they sang "Happy Birthday" to her.  She loved getting the attention.  

Sunday was her actual birthday.  After church, we had Papa, Makayla, Jaydon, and Aunt Tasha come up for dinner and cake.  Brenna loves Shepherd's pie so I made that.  Then I made her a butterfly cake.

It turned out pretty good for last minute.  I spaced making the cake until the night before but then had to bake everything Sunday morning before church and then decorate it when we got home.  Normally that wouldn't be a big deal but when you have to do 4 little cakes and you only have 1 pan in the shape you need, it takes awhile.  Brenna helped decorate it.  Then it was time to blow out the candles after dinner.  Jason got the trick candles that kept relighting.....it was a hoot watching her try and blow them out each time.  She eventually got them. =)  

After that we did presents.  She got kinda spoiled this year.  She got this huge Littlest Pet Shop tree house, and then about 12 little animals that go in it.

She has been wanting a Bullseye horse (from Toy Story) for awhile.  I had been searching everywhere and couldn't find them anywhere.  Luckily, I had a friend that said she was going to the Disney Store in Salt Lake a few days before her birthday.  I told her to call me if they had any.  They did!  (and surprisingly they were cheaper there than the other stores I had seen them earlier in the year).  Brenna was stoked to get it!

Can you tell she liked her other present?  It's a Wappy Dog.  It's a little dog that you can control and play with with the nintendo ds.  It has a game with it too that you can play games with the dog on.  She has had so much fun playing with it.  she also got a Zoobles ds game too that she loves! (Zoobles are the girls version of the boy toys bakimon or something like that.  They are little balls that spring open when they are on metal.  The boy version have "battles" but the girls just play and have fun with theirs.)

She also got a sprinkler and bubbles from Ian.  The sprinkler is a long tube that lays on the grass and has water shooting out of it in different places.  The kids will have lots of fin playing.  Ian was happy to be able to pick something out for his sister for her "happy birthday."  He even sang to her and gave her a hug and kiss that morning.  It was super cute!

After the fun was over we headed outside and watched the solar eclipse.  Brenna thought it was pretty special that there was an eclipse on her birthday.  Papa brought his welding mask and we were able to look through it to get a good view of it.

Brenna had a very good birthday and we had lots of fun celebrating this sweet girl of ours!

Ready or not.....

The past couple weeks I've been feeling kinda sick and blah. So I went to the doctor today. They found out what it was. I have a parasite. symptoms include nausea, weight gain, moodiness, random food cravings, and in my case the filter between the brain and mouth may not always be functioning. The doctor said it will make it's way out around December 11th. It's fairly common and most women contract it at least once in their lives. Here's what it looks like:

Jason is FINALLY done with school!!!!

Ok....so he was officially done in December but he didn't do the whole graduation ceremony until last week. I am just happy that he is all finished with school.  Since we've been married he's pretty much been in school.  The last few years have been crazy with him being in school, working full time, plus having to do all his student hours.  We didn't get to see much of him.  Now we actually get to see him.  I'm proud of all the work he's done to get to this point.  He has made so many sacrifices for our family but I know it is worth it.  I am happy that he is doing something that he loves to do and at the same time, it's something that pays enough that I get to stay home with the kids.  Sure, we could probably have some more "extra" money or stuff if I worked, but we've weighed all the pros and cons and it is definetly worth going without a few luxuries to be able to spend the time with my kids.  Now that Jason is done he'll actually get to spend some more time with the kids.  I'm hoping that maybe now him and Brenna will get closer again....she used to be such a daddy's girl but now she's a complete mommy's girl but she is getting better (she's realized that daddy can tuck her in once in a while and daddy knows how to do some of the same things mommy does.... =)   )

The kids are proud of their daddy!  I hope this will help them realize that school is important and that they need to continue their education as well.

Of course Ian wanted to be like daddy and wear daddy's hat =)

Now that Jason is done, it's my turn!  I am going to be doing some online classes this summer and then depending on how Jason's schedule is in the fall (and if we get financial aid) hopefully I can keep going....but we'll see and I'll just keep doing what I can, when I can.  I should be able to get my Bachelor's in Biology Composite Teaching in less than 2 years.