A "just to post" post

I haven't posted in awhile and even though I don't really have anything to say, I thought I had better get something up here, so the people that check on us via the blog will know we are still around.

Last week was our spring break, we didn't do much for fun other than taking a little day trip to Flagstaff. We are saving up to take the boys to Disneyland this fall.  So, the rest of our week was spent getting some stuff done around the house.

We painted the master bedroom.  I was happy to see that brown go.  We painted the room that color over eight years ago - - before Thomas was born, so it was definitely time.  You can't really tell in this picture, but we painted it a blue-gray color.  I had originally picked it out for our great room, but when we started painting it in there, I decided it was too blue, and it would be best to save it for our bedroom and find a more true gray for the great room.  That is a story in and of itself - it turns out that picking out the perfect gray is tougher than it sounds, but I am happy to say that we did finally end up with a great gray for the great room and I am happy with this blue-gray in the bedroom.

Here are some pictures of the completed paint project.  It really brightens up the room.

We decided that it would be easiest to remove all the furniture and paint it empty, but the computer armoire (our home office) and the gun safe were too heavy, so they just got bumped away from the wall to paint and then replaced.  Can you tell our house is a little too small - our poor master bedroom has to serve as the bedroom, home office, gun room, library, and storage room in our house.  I am working on doing a bit of redecorating in here, so I will try to remember to share some of it after everything is done.  So glad to have the painting out of the way.

Okay, since I can't have a blog post without my kids I will share a few pictures that I snapped a few weeks ago on a typical school night around here.

Tad and Drake playing on the Ipad in the family room.

Dallin working on homework.

Thomas reading a Magic Treehouse book.  He loves, loves, loves this series.

Jack doing a little Kindergarten level reading.  If he wasn't doing this, he would probably be building with his Legos, or fighting with the little boys over the Ipad.

And finally, I have to share a little bit of our Spring with you.

This year I finally got to enjoy the flowers on my flowering plum tree.  The wind is usually so bad here in the spring that they are blown away as soon as the little petals emerge.  It was so nice to enjoy them in all their cuteness this year.

The Forsythia at our house is in full bloom.  I love it, but it really makes me want to take a trip to Kentucky.

A Few Things. . .

I just wanted to quickly share a few random things.

First, and most importantly, Thomas earned his Bobcat award.  He is so excited to be part of cub scouts.  I am glad he is too.  If I have to work in cub scouts, at least one of my boys is in my group.

Second, this is one of many, many, many pictures I have taken of Jack's Lego creations lately.  He got a huge set of Lego Duplos for Christmas and he is constantly creating with them and then insists that I take a picture before he takes them apart.

Finally, I used up almost all of my pink fabric on a "hugs and kisses" quilt.  It is our lone Valentine's day decoration around here.

 It was a fun quilt to make and if a valentine quilt isn't a good excuse for a pink quilt at this house, I don't think I will ever have one.  Plus, I was tired of all the pink fabric in my stash that was never being used, so it is nice to have that space freed up.

I was a little worried that they boys wouldn't touch this, since it is soooo pink, but they love it just like all the others.

Do your kids do this too?

The other day I wanted to capture a cute moment of Tad playing with the little kitchen in our kitchen.

I got this one shot before I realized that my camera was on the wrong setting.  It took me 5 seconds to fix it, but it was too late - - I had been caught.  At that point, there was no more acting natural, he wanted to pose. So this is all he would do for me. . .

Oh well, he is so cute, I guess any picture of him is a pretty good one.

Thomas' Baptism Quilt

I made Thomas a quilt as a memento of his baptism day.  I started this tradition with Dallin and plan to continue it with all my boys.  I promised a few people that I would post some pictures of the quilt on the blog, so here goes...

This quilt was b-o-r-i-n-g to piece, but I think it turned out sooo great.  All those HSTs were worth it.  It is the perfect quilt for an eight-year-old boy!!  I wish these pictures did this quilt justice.  I seriously think it is my all time favorite that I have ever made.

It is backed with soft white chevron minky.  I like how the pattern reflects the arrows on the front.

I ordered and attached a label to help him remember his special day.

I quilted it on my machine in vertical straight lines and I am totally in love with the quilt and its cute owner.

Thomas is Eight!!

 Thomas turned eight and was baptized a few days ago.  It was a short and sweet baptismal service and such a nice day.  We are so proud of Thomas and what a good boy he is.

After the baptism we came home and had another little birthday celebration.  This awesome boy requested brownies and ice cream instead of cake (HOORAY!!  We are not really cake people around here, so birthday cake mostly goes to waste.)

Of course, having my boy turn eight and be baptized is a big milestone in our church, and it always makes me feel pretty nostalgic, so please indulge me as I share a few pics of my handsome Tom through the years.

What a handsome, smart, fun, and good kid!!  We are so grateful for Thomas and the happiness he brings to our family.  Congratulations and happy birthday Tom.  We love you!!!

Tad's Quilt

Tad's baby quilt was getting a little too small for him, so I made him a new one for Christmas.



I love seeing a quilt come together.  When I was in the middle of piecing this one, I was not so sure, but by the time it was finished I really liked it.

 This quilt is throw-sized and I quilted it in horizontal straight lines on my machine and bound it with a two fabric binding.

We still love Tad's little baby quilt, but this one is becoming a new favorite quite quickly.

Jack is Six!

Jack just had his sixth birthday!  He had a fun day.  We went to Flagstaff, did some shopping, and ate lunch at Chili's (his choice).  After we got home we had cake and opened presents.  He was very specific about his cake.  He requested a chocolate cake with strawberry ice-cream filling and vanilla buttercream frosting. He also wanted sprinkles and transformers on top.  I was able to satisfy all his cake requests and he was pretty happy.

Jack is a sweet and creative boy.   He is tons of fun to talk with and we love his enthusiasm for all of his favorite things in life.  We are so happy he is in our family.  Happy Birthday Jack!!