Sunday, August 8, 2010

Pack-in-Play!

Well, well, well...it's already August. As usual, my favorite season of the year is slipping by all too quickly! July was a busy month, so I'm posting pictures and doing some recaps. Nothing is quite chronological, but everything did happen in July (I think)!

Family hike on one of the beautiful mountains of the Cascade Range.

At a Relay for Life event, some of my husband's employees had a team so we stopped by.

One booth had some pretty talented face painters.

Really talented!

The kids and I have had fun attending several of our ward playgroups. Tall totems.

Playful pirates.

We were able to go to northern CA to spend a little over a week with my husband's bro and his family. Beach combing in Monterey Bay is always on the list.

My husband (on the left) and his brother. I thought this picture looked cute of them scrouring the pools for crabs (which they use to do as kids all the time too).

Show and Tell.

I took several more pictures of our CA trip, but too many to post. Here are all the kids and their cousins, ages 7 months to 10 years.

We were able to squeeze in a visit with my grandma and her sister, my great aunt. (My grandma has the glasses). Dig that wig.

And of course, the floors have been done for a while (this is the living room before). I've been painting the trim when I get a moment. (Which means it's still not finished, yet!)

Still gotta paint the walls and put up new window treatments and decorate the living room...

Family room before.

Family room after.

I even got around to painting some rooms, too! Yes, painting is fun for me; the keeping the kids entertained and out of my way is NOT fun for me! This is the girls' room before. I call this color diarrhea pink, it was just, well, ugly?!

We like this color choice much better! As you can see, they still need a nightstand, and I still need to put up decorations. Let me tell you though, getting the curtains detailed and hanging up was a VERY big accomplishment for me!

The downstairs bathroom seemed so dark to me and I've always been annoyed that the towel holder is not near the sink. Kids use this bathroom at leat 25 times a day--imagine all those fun little water drips all across the floor from sink to towel.



I chose this color and it definitely lightened it up. I am in the process of staining the cabintry. We put new trim in here too, but you can't see it (and it got painted, too!)



A few friends have recently had baby boys. I saw baby bouquets similar to this in a catalogue so thought I'd try it out. I love it! You may copy my idea just be sure to give me credit for giving it to you ;)!


I thought this second one was even cuter!!

The garden is growing, just a little slower than last year due to our mild-weathered summer. Fun shelling peas.

When your mom is from West Virginia you are heavily inclined to have teeth like this.

I usually do crafts and science projects with the kids during the summer breaks, but I haven't done as much as I wish I had. But, I wanted to share the best playdough recipe I've ever come across. Most homemade playdoughs leave your hands dried out and salty-crusted. But, here is the best one I've found:

Play Dough
2 c. water (add food coloring to water)
2 c. flour
1 c. salt
1/2 c. cornstarch
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 Tbs. powdered alum
Mix all ingredients. Cook over medium heat until thick (won't be long). Remove from pan and knead until smooth. Keep in fridge in an airtight container.


And, lastly, during all the July hustle and bustle I had to spend a Saturday doing traffic school to "repent" of my speedy sinning. The lieutenant was this Hawaiian dude who kept us learning and laughing. It was actually not bad. And, he even made us these cool graduation certificates.

Hope you are having some great fun in the sun!