Abree 3 yrs old, going on 13...or should I say 30!

Abree LOVES to act big. She's always saying things like, "Mom, I'll be the mom and you can be the kid." She also loves to boss her older siblings around, especially Treyson. I think she thinks he needs a second mom.

Abree and I hang out a lot. We're buddies. She runs errands, shops, cleans, emails and blogs with me. I have to admit, I'm not a very good, "get on the floor and play with my kid" mom. (I actually feel a little guilty as I'm typing this...but will that change my behavior?...I don't know.) So she's created her own way to "play" with me. She sets up her Barbies, babies or office, next to me and interacts, asks questions and non-stop talks to me, while I'm on the computer or going about my business. She's always telling me what to say to her babies or Barbies. Like, "Mom, tell them I'm going to the store and I'll be right back." So I'll say my line and she'll continue play. Then she'll say, "Mom say, 'The kids were good for me, while you were gone.' " And so on and so forth.

Recently, she's set up her "office" next to my computer. She'll find some sort of surface and some sort of chair and do her "work". She likes using the calculator for her computer and usually has her camera and cell phone close by. She also LOVES to draw, color or write. She shows me all the letters she knows how to write and how she spells Abree. The letters I can decode usually are; A, e, e. She hasn't gotten the b or r down yet. She also LOVES any type of little paper scrap. If I'm doing a project, she's always asking if she can have the scraps. Then she creates cute little masterpieces for me and daddy.

She's generally a sweet, content little girl and usually doesn't mind "playing" my way. Thanks for being my buddy Abree! I love you!

PS-She likes to do her own hair and sometimes doesn't allow me to have a turn. This is one of those days. :o)

Here is Abree on her "computer". I think she's typing an email to grandma.

Memorial Day Fun

On Memorial Day, Jason took the day off work and wanted to BBQ. Then we got a flyer on our front door announcing a FREE commuinity BBQ and carnival. It was put on by a Christian radio station (I think) and was held in a nearby park. It was great. There was live music, a family photo booth, a cupcake walk, children's art booth, volleyball, several big bouncy houses, ring-toss and more. For the BBQ they offered hotdogs, chips, corn and soda. We partook in all that was offered and had a nice family day.

It took several rounds, but Abree finally was a winner.

Here's the art tent where the kids could choose from 3-4 different art projects. One of the favorites was the marble art. They put a clean sheet of paper in a shoe size box, dipped some marbles in paint and rolled the marbles around in the box creating a masterpiece. Treyson has a basketball, with flames coming out of it. Taylee a pink horse on one side and twirly-flurries (I don't know what to call them) on the other side. Abree chose a pink vine of flowers and Rylee has a very large creeping vine of orange flowers on one side and again twirly-flurries on the other. You really can't tell by the picture, but this face painter was one of the best I've seen. She really did a good job and the kids loved it!

The Final Countdown

It's almost here... Amber and Brinton's wedding. I offered, or should I say I took over, the tablecloths and table decoration for the reception. (Sorry if I stepped on anyone's toes. I just got excited about helping.) They are having it outside in Tim's backyard. Amber wanted it fairly casual and naturey (nice word, huh?). Here's what I came up with... grass, rocks and twigs.

New family rule = 4 new holes

So when Jason and I got married and started discussing parenting rules and such, we decided that 12 years old was when our girls could get their ears pierced. The decision came about mostly because that was our family rule growing up. As time passed, and I really started thinking about this rule, I started to regret that I had ever said anything. I really didn't care about waiting until 12. The only issue I had was responsibility for their own ear care. So then I talked to Jason and asked him if he was really set on age 12, for ear piercing. No, not really. So we came up with a new family rule: You must be atleast 9 years of age for ear piercing.

I casually mentioned this new rule to my girls one day. They were very excited. They pestered me (gently, as not to upset) every day until we finally did it late one night at Walmart.

The girls are carefully listening to ear care instructions. They are totally nervous... but way excited too.

Are we having fun yet?! I don't think Rylee is.

I did it!

Look at that face. Rylee said she was squeezing her hand so tight it really hurt.

Ahhh, that wasn't bad.
She kept saying, "Mom, why did you say it was going to hurt. It didn't hurt."

Two beautiful girls with new acessories.

Another School Program

Rylee had another school program. It was about the "Nifty Fifty". (You know, the 50 United States.) It was written by a 6th grade class in their school. They sang songs, did dances and had cute costumes and skits. Rylee participated in a dance and did a solo part in "This land is your land" song. She did a great job.

The Bestest Friend EVER!

This post is long over-due, but I still wanted to post because it was so much work (we had fun too)and so appreciated...

My good friend Kristin a.k.a. Krissi, flew from Post Falls to come see my new house and to help me get organized and decorated. This was an especially sweet gift because she had just worked hard helping another friend get settled into her new house and because one of her daughters got sick right before she left. She came on a Friday morning and left late Monday night. As she stepped into my house, she immediately started unpacking boxes and helping to decorate my kitchen. Just having my kitchen decorated made it seem more like a home (instead of just a house).

In the time she was here, we did non-stop shopping, unpacking, organizing, putting together, hanging and decorating. Here is just a little sample of what we accomplished over the weekend...

Decorated kitchen cupboards.








My kitchen utencils have never been so organized!








Here's a bookshelf in my front room. I like the way Krissi arranged the books on the shelf.










Here's my closet. Notice all the nice baskets. We got them on clearance at ShopKo for 70% off original price. A lucky find!










We cleaned and organized the kid's bedroom's and closet's. Here's Treyson's new bed. He is so proud of it and actually has kept his room/closet fairly clean since.







Well sort of.










Broom/mop organizer for the laundry room.











This was Krissi's inspiration. She thought I needed a laundry room shelf (and a place to hang clothes). She was right and it's been wonderful to have. (Krissi- notice the clean counter top. Now that's something you didn't get to see while you were here.)








Organized kid's clothing in the laundry room closet.


















Out of all the stuff we did together, Krissi might say that the greatest accomplishment was me FINALLY deciding on a new bed for Jason and I. I drug her to every furniture store in Boise (or that's what it probably felt like). I'm still awaiting the arrival of the new bed. I hope I just LOVE it, cuz it was a hard decision to make. :o)

P.K. or Post-Krissi: These are some of the things I've done since Krissi left. It helped so much to get that jump-start and motivation to keep going.

I hung pictures, a clock and other decorations including this one, in my master bathroom.












I decorated the top of my armoir. This is the view from my bed. I like looking at our wedding picture and being reminded that we used to kiss... just kidding.









And I FINALLY purchased 2 livingroom chairs from Target. (This was one of those long decision things too.) I accidentally erased the photo, so you'll just have to come see them in person.

Thanks so much Krissi. You're the bestest friend EVER!