June 2012

This was a pretty great month and we started it off in an incredible way!

At school the kids had an opportunity to meet two players of the Reno Aces baseball team. They had a nice assembly and then all the kids got tickets to the game on June 1st. We bought tickets for Kannon and I and Joshua was free. It was so fun to be on the grass with so many of the families from school. It started out pretty hot, but there was a nice breeze.

We met Archie in front of the ball park.

This group of boys really had a good time together.
Toby, Sam, Malcolm, Ben and Marcus.

By the end of the game, we had all slid down the hill about 2-3 feet!

At the ball park on Friday nights, they shoot off fireworks after the game. So, about the 7th inning we moved over to the seats, and away from the firework area.

This was an endless tub of popcorn. It cost about $6, but was refillable. So, to get his money's worth, Kannon made sure we emptied and refilled it about 3 times! Makes for a great hat Josh!

Getting ready for the fireworks. Sam, Toby and Ben. The Aces won their game against the Tacoma Rainiers. It was an exciting game, coming down to a tie at the end of the 9th inning.

We were an exhausted crew by the time the awesome fireworks ended. I loved being so close to them. The 3-d glasses made for a fun show, too. We left Reno about 11 pm and I couldn't keep my eyes open at all. The kids were all asleep before we even got on the freeway. We're hopeful the school will host an event like this again next year. If not it's definitely something we'd like to do again.

Then we had Ben's dance performance. Sarah and I went to watch the dancers and really enjoyed the new cha-cha that Ben's group did. They performed it to one of Ben's favorite songs by One Direction - You Don't Know You're Beautiful.
Ben is on the far right, here, doing the Rockin' Robin west coast swing.

This is me after sanding the mud off the walls in our bedroom. We knocked out the lathe and plaster and put up sheet rock. We'd already done the floors and window a few years ago. I had to sand 3 times. After the initial mud, after the 2nd coat of mud on the joints and after the texture was sprayed on. By the third time I had figured out to wear my shower cap. That at least kept my hair from getting so nappy!

We had our bedroom scattered all over the house and I still feel like I'm just getting it put back together. We slept in the living room, with the love seat out on the front porch. Kannon's dresser was also out front, and those are my clothes hanging behind me on the shower rod.

We eliminated a closet in this remodel. I've worked long and hard to figure out how to make my kitchen happier. We decided to take the closet and add that space for the kitchen. So, now we have just the one small closet that we added when we did the bathroom. We plan on purchasing a unit from Ikea for the rest of our clothing storage, but in the meantime there are a lot of things just piled in our bedroom. We love the extra kitchen space, though! It really opened things up and I'm more anxious than ever to finish my plans in there.

(Closet - made computer and refrigerator space)

This is the color we ended up with in our bedroom. The ceiling is white, the walls are two different shades of gray. I painted 3 walls the super light color and then painted the 4th wall in the darker accent color. It was then that I wished I'd gone one shade darker on the other 3 walls. To fix it the best we could without buying more paint, I put dark paint on the wall opposite the 1st dark one. So, it goes dark, light, dark, light. And we really like it!

You can see that we don't have the trim up yet. Kannon decided that he didn't want to do the ceiling corners, so we will do some trim up there. And the original boards, that we usually have been able to reuse, didn't survive this remodel. So, we are waiting for more money before we finish that part of the room - and it will be done!

I got to make a quick trip down to Las Vegas with my sister, Susan and my mom and dad. We stayed with Nathan, Jackie and Natalie and got to attend Jackie's baby shower for baby John who will be joining the family in September. It was a really relaxing weekend for me, loved being with my family, learning how to Sudoku, laughing late into the night and putting together a crazy puzzle.

I had left my 3 kiddos in Winnemucca with Sasha and the cousins. On Monday I headed over there to pick them up and bring back 3 of the cousins; Kate, Stetson and Lillie. I kept them at our house until Sat. while Clint and Sasha kept Quade with them at Camp Helaman. We had some fun times. Like the Magician.....

My kids have seen the magician at the library more than once. But, this was the first time for the cousins. Look how excited Stetson was!

Petting the bunny after it was over. I have to say one of my favorite parts is the beginning with his birds. Each colorful bird appears out of thin air.

An almost daily occurrence. The scooter ride inside. We've got things down to where he keeps the scooter outside. Mostly.

On friday, we took all the kids out to the lake for a camp out. I think it was fun. We set up our camp while the kids introduced themselves to the lake.

The water was still pretty cool. I didn't try to get in until Saturday, but it was cold. I got in as far as I could and then put my hands in and it felt like ice water. Brrr. The kids mostly stayed close to shore and played in the sand.

We cooked hot dogs on the charcoal grill and roasted marshmallows. It would have been nice to have had a fire, too, but our Suburban was so full as it was.

We had our 11th anniversary while the kids were visiting, so we didn't do anything special. But, Eleven Years! We're Tweens!

Father's Day. We woke Kannon up with breakfast in bed. And a few cards and gifts. He was sustained this month as the ward membership clerk. I think this will be a great calling for him.

This is the dress my dad bought for me when we were in Las Vegas. I just love it! I'm sure grateful for the relationship I have with my father.

We had dentist cleanings this month. Everyone had great teeth. Even me. No broken fillings or new cavities, hurray! Joshua had his first checkup, too. The dentist said his broken tooth is fine for now - just to watch for discoloration or bleeding. No prob. It just makes him that much more full of character!

I just thought this was the cutest thing ever! Sarah made bunk beds for her babies. She tucked little blankets on the bottom of her bunk bed for them to sleep in. She is really good about playing by herself. She plays more of the mommy/baby or teacher/student than she used to. I think this day she was running a day care.

And our little princess turned 6! She wanted a fancy castle cake. This was what I told her I could do. It was fun to do, way too much sugar, though. I have a picture further on of the inside layers. She wanted pink and purple on her cake and I surprised her by putting the purple inside! Then there are the fruity pebbles treats molded into the towers with ice cream cones. And sugar cubes and special marshmallows adorning the outside. Like I said, too sweet!

At Grammy and Papa's for the celebration the day after her actual birthday. Nancy and her boys were in town so we waited for them to have our shindig.

Mr. Sketch markers! Sarah loves to draw and color and is always stealing my computer paper. So, she got paper and markers and some fun activity books. We also signed her up for ballet and got her a new outfit and bag.

(I'm pretty sure they'd been to the pool with friends earlier and therefore they both have really rosy cheeks!)

She also got some fun dress-up stuff, a jewelry box and beads, a scrapbook kit, a piggy bank, a bunch of Polly Pockets, a backpack.

I love how intense it always is for her, blowing out the candles. And she told us her wish, "I wished that today was the best day ever!"

So, this was pretty crazy. Nancy had been over with her boys to visit us and it was a struggle the whole time to keep Joshua in clothes. That wasn't the norm. Just a crazy day, I guess. By the time they got ready to leave he was here. In a mud puddle. (My mom had been planting a tree for me and we had moved another bush, leaving behind a hole that was just dying for water.) He doesn't look too bad here. But as the water evaporated or got splashed to the sides, he became muddier and muddier.

I finally hosed him off and took him in for a shower. Our sprinklers leave some mud puddles every other day. On those days I have to wash off his hands at feet up to 4 times. Because after 4 times, he gets locked in the house until it dries up!

When Nancy comes in the summer we like to pay a visit to the lake. This time the water was perfect! We enjoyed a good few hours out there.

On the last day of the month we had a Relief Society conference. I "got" to sing and also do the pioneer woman chautauqua again. I'm debating on wearing my pioneer dress again for the 24th of July celebration. It's a thought I have, but I'm pretty sure I'm not that brave!