I haven’t given a family update is a few months and we have been super busy! Birthdays, head wounds, and projects galore. Here is the good, the bad, and the ugly.
As soon as the snow melts we are usually found outside either playing or digging in the dirt. We are super close to having our garden all the way in. Since I didn’t garden the last two years, it was a bit of a mess. We bought some lady bugs (1500 actually!) for my daisies since they get aphids really bad each year. I shared a video of me releasing them on my facebook page. I am going to get some more for my artichokes since they get aphids too.
I did a laundry room makeover for a friend and I can’t wait to share it with you! I will give you a sneak peek of the before since I can’t share any of the after just yet.
We had four birthdays since the last update. My youngest turned 6, the second youngest turned 9 and my second oldest turned 12. And Shane got even older… :) The 6 year old has been obsessed with mice ever since getting an IKEA mouse when he was 3 years old. I tried my best to come up with ideas that did not involve real live mice since that is the one thing between Shane and a million dollars if he were ever on the TV show Fear Factor. We made rock mice, raced wind up mice across the floor, played pin the tail on the mouse, and had “cheese” cake. It was one of the easier cakes I have ever made. You can see my past cakes here.
The 9 year old wanted an art party. EASY. I literally put it together last minute. We had guess the color where I had food coloring under the baking soda on the spoon and they had to guess the color before I stirred it in the water/vinegar mixture. When the potion foamed it turned the color of the food coloring and the winners got a treat. We made key chains with shrinky dink and the kids loved watching their creations shrink in the oven. We also made pipe cleaner animals.
Our 12 year old wanted a family party instead so we had a whole day of family activities and went out to eat.
Shane turned the big 4-0 and I surprised him with shirts that we wore all around town as we went out on our date. The kids also surprised him with decorating the dining room and making cards.
Our 16 year anniversary was the weekend after Shane’s birthday. It was also the annual Father & Sons camp out for scouts. We decided we could put off celebrating so the boys could go. Our 12 year old ended up getting hit in the head with a bottle rocket and spent Saturday in an ER getting 10 staples. I’ll spare you the picture. I can’t wait to get that hospital bill. At least we finally paid off the last one. Happy anniversary to us!
I found a chair through our local online classifieds that was a killer deal! It was literally brand new. I bought it with the intention of having it recovered but I may keep it grey since it is such a nice chair. But my DREAM chair is navy velvet (remember my Instagram post with my dream chair?) so I am torn. As of right now, Kevin has claimed it as his throne.
We finally were able to go up the canyon for the first time this year. The snow had melted enough to allow us to go to one of our favorite spots. There has been some road damage due to the winter weather so we haven’t been all the way up, but I am looking forward to our once a week trips up the mountain! It is one of my happy places.
I have something HUGE in the works and I am not allowed to tell you. I literally signed a contract saying I couldn’t say a word. But you won’t have to wait too long. I am hoping to squeeze out a few more projects between working on that and all my yard work. Spring is such a busy time!
What have you been up to? Do you have any fun projects in the works now that it is spring?
hi,
I am in the process of making tree stump table and seats for our secret garden. I have debarked three of the five stumps. Just trying to figure out what is the best sealant to keep it safe from weather (rain,snow). And bugs like ants and termites. Because once I put it in its place I am not moving it ever. The table stump is way too heavy.
Helmsman’s sealer is meant for outdoors. That is probably what I would use. But no matter what you use, it will probably need to be reapplied after a certain number of years.
I love the birthday party ideas you gave us. Those mice are adorable. I know the kids had fun doing them. Can’t wait to see the “updated” laundry room as I am ready to redo mine so could use some ideas. thanks for sharing.
Would like to have a copy of the photo of the ladybug on the leaves–it would make a terrific quilt. Please email me a copy of this photo if you are willing to share it with me. mickiem@Comcast.net
You bet! I just sent you an email :)