CLICK HERE FOR THOUSANDS OF FREE BLOGGER TEMPLATES »

Fireplace Mantle

Our fireplace after staining and decorating. I still want to get candles for the candlesticks, but I still haven't found what I'm looking for..... :)
Our door from the inside. The oval mirror is from the bathroom - it used to be white. I thought it would be cute if we had girls, but I want something more practical in the bathroom (normal square, flat bathroom mirrors) so I took one of the mirrors and used it in a way I liked more.

Welcome Home Mom and Dad Clarkson!

Tim's parents returned home from an 18-month mission to the Buenos Aires, Argentina Temple. Almost all the family was waiting for them at the St. George Airport, which is a really small airport.
Here is Andrew with his cousin, Kylie, coloring the "Welcome Home" banner.Grandkids holding up HALF of the sign! There were so many people my camera couldn't get everyone in!
They arrive!!!! I love how the sign says "No Entry". It didn't keep the grandkids from mauling their grandparents!
Isaac was born after they left, so this is their first kiss. :) Look at those chubby cheeks!!
Our family with the new RM's.

Matthew's 1st day of Kindergarten


Matthew's first day of kindergarten! He is growing up so fast! Here he is with his teacher, who is wonderful! We live about 2 blocks from the school, one block being our cul-de-sac, so it's a no brainer, the way to school and home. However, on the first day, I walked with the 2 little boys to go pick Matthew up from school, and he was missing! He wasn't at the "Parent Pick-up" place or at our meeting place. I started to feel panicked and kind of freaked out at the teacher "Where is my son?!!" She said to go home and see if he was there (I has just walked from there). So, I ran home to get the van to start looking for him, but there he was, sitting on the couch! He had had to go to the bathroom and ran home as fast as he could. All I can think of is while I was in the garage getting the little kids into the stroller, Matthew came in the front door. Needless to say, I had to call the teacher and apologize. Good thing we were friends before she was Matthew's teacher!

Funny Boys!

Isaac is determined to feed himself! Unless he's starving, he won't eat his food unless you give him a fork or spoon. The other day I scooped his first bite of dinner for him in his spoon and he promptly emptied his spoon and scooped his dinner himself! He's so funny, and MESSY!Matthew was waiting patiently for me to put Isaac and Andrew down for naps so we could read stories together, but I wasn't fast enough and this is how I found him - fast asleep!!
I am really going to miss Matthew when he goes to kindergarten in one week! He is such a helpful, happy boy and so much fun to have at home. He does 4-5 chores each day for me so that he can play 1 hours worth of video games! He plays so well with Andrew and Isaac and will even "babysit" Isaac for me for a few minutes while I do the dishes or something. He is starting to communicate very well and it is fun to have grown-up conversations with him. Even though he is growing up, he still likes to snuggle and read stories and give me hugs and kisses. He is so sweet and it is going to be very hard for me to let him go to Kindergarten every day.
Andrew is excited for Matthew to go to Kindergarten because he and I are going to do preschool. He is very proud of the fact that I am going to be his teacher! I had him signed up for preschool, but kept thinking how much he needs one-on-one time with me, so I pulled him out and am going to do preschool Tuesday and Thursday while Isaac takes a nap. He is so much fun and is growing up way too fast! He loves to do everything Matthew does so he already knows his letters, numbers, days of the week, etc. "Preschool" is going to be mostly crafts, writing, and just time spent together.

Pics I promised

Isaac wearing the cloth diaper I sewed by hand! As of today, however, I now own a sewing machine! Thanks Wael!!!Isaac wearing the very important plastic diaper cover - a necessity for cloth diapering.
YUM!!
At the top of Angel's landing, well, as far as we could safely go with our little boys. We are here at "Scout Lookout", about .5 miles from the summit. We forgot our camera, so a really nice guy took our picture and emailed it to us!
Our "new" front door and shutters I stained. Much better, don't you think? (I would have stained the wooden bench, too, but it's going to break any day now and then we'll get something else.)

The "before" picture is below.

Our little garden

I feel so proud of the grapes growing in our backyard, even through I didn't do anything! The previous owners planted the vines and now here are delicious grapes!Pumpkin plants I have to thin soon. Just in time for Halloween!!
We also planted cucumbers, zucchini, bell peppers and some herbs. Basil and parsley are below.
I don't have a traditional garden with the rows, etc. I just planted "garden items" among our landscaped back yard that already had a drip line going to the spot. Maybe next year I can get Tim to show off his muscles and get the hard-baked earth on the side of our house ready for a garden, but for now this will just have to do!

How many licks to the center of a tootsie roll pop?