the attic

kids are so funny. miles is installing security camera's around the outside of our house and had to go into the attic to run cables. the kids were crazy excited about going into the attic with daddy. they were even more excited when they found a rat skeleton. fun stuff!

smores

the kids wanted to have a camping day yesterday so we pulled the mini tent out and set it up. jen, ray, christina, and all the kids came over for a sleepover. the kids played outside the whole day. they were having so much fun.

miles grilled some chicken for dinner. i set the table outside with my pretty new tablecloth. after dinner we roasted marshmallows in our chiminea. camping day wouldn't be complete without smores. kira decided that roasting the marshmallows took too long and she would like to just eat them straight from the bag.

poor miles had to work today. the kids didn't have school so jen and i had them help us wash the cars. we pulled the tent out again and they got to play some more. i love these three day weekends. i think we should have one every week.

our fish tank

the kids woke up early to feed their new pets. they were so cute fighting over who would get to feed them. we read the book "a fish out of water" by helen palmer about the fish that was overfed and got too large for it's fish bowl. it was a fun day.

pet owners

the kids have been begging miles and i for a puppy since christmas. they really want to get a dog. i would love to get a dog but it is not going to happen. we don't have an enclosed backyard and there are lots of coyotes that run around here. this really isn't a good neighborhood for an outdoor pet, so we compromised and got a fish tank.

we went out to the local fish store and picked out a very modern looking tank last week. the kids were so funny and the boys each picked out a castle and dahlia picked out a mermaid. we also got some fake plants and chose black for the gravel at the bottom. it looks really pretty. we had to wait a week for the fish tank to be ready for fish and the water levels to all be right. who knew getting a fish tank was this complicated?

finally today it was ready for some fish. they all wanted a different type of fish but the fish guy said to start out with just one type. we came home with two red swords. that was connor's pick. they said we could introduce a new type of fish after one week. so next week we will get some more. dahlia wants neon tetras and mason picked platies.

we are officially pet owners. we are all so excited. i love fish. we had a fish tank when i was a kid and it was really fun to watch them. we set up the tank in dahlia's room. it looks great. everyone crowded around to watch the fish in their new home.

cleaning up

i finally got around to taking down the christmas tree today. such a slacker, i know. i woke up super early and decided that it was time. packing up all the ornaments is always such an ordeal. it takes forever. as much as i love the house all decorated for christmas it is always nice to pack everything up and put the house back to normal again. there! now i am really ready to start the new year.

2 days until christmas

our sweet little angles sleeping by the christmas tree. we left the tree lights on all night and they stayed there until dawn. it was magical.

marshmallows and movies

it was a perfect day today. the weather was so nice. we decided to grill dinner outside. the kids ran around and played in the tree house while miles cooked the chicken. when he was done we let them toast marshmallows for smores. they loved it.

after dinner and bathes we went back outside for movie night with the projector. connor got to pick the movie so we all watched spiderman. it was a nice way to end the weekend.

summer bucket list

my sister christina had a good idea before school got out to make a summer bucket list. a list of all the fun things we wanted to do this summer. well, here we are with only six days before school starts and i have a whole list of unfinished things. how sad. i think i will have to extend the summer list until the end of the season. even if school has started it still is summer. right?

one of the items on the list was a picnic in the tree house. so today we did just that!

here is the list i made:

1. sew puppet theater
2. go to the movies - see monster university - done
3. go swimming at christina's - done
4. go to the river - done
5. go to sea world
6. read 5 books - have 4 done
7. go for a walk to the top of our street
8. explore the neighborhood on foot
9. teach mason and dahlia to play basketball
10. make a lemon pie
11. go cherry picking - done
12. have a picnic in the tree house - done
13. go to the beach - done
14. go to the aquarium
15. go the natural history museum - done
16. go to pretend city - done
17. paint my toenails - done
18. read a chapter book to the kids - in progress
19. build a sand castle - done
20. sew a summer blanket
21. buy a popsicle maker
22. make sorbet
23. eat sushi
24. grill pizza outside

movie night

miles bought a new projector so we could watch movies outside. it is so cool. we brought it with us to the river and the kids had fun watching movies on the side of the motorhome.

we decided to test it out at our house tonight. the kids wanted to watch arrietty. they loved watching the movie outside but it was a bit cold and miles ended up with some mosquito bites. not exactly ideal but i think it would be fun for a party.

basketball hoop

we got a new toy today. we got a basketball hoop. miles and i are going to sign mason up for basketball next year instead of soccer and miles wanted him to practice over the summer. mason didn't end up liking soccer very much. bummer.

miles loves basketball and plays every week with his friends so it will be nice for him to be able to practice also. miles brought it home and spent the afternoon building it. it is huge. i didn't realize how big it was going to be. we still haven't found the perfect place to put it. right now it is at the top of the driveway where i usually park my car during the day.

the kids were having fun playing in the box it came in while miles was putting it together. what is it about kids and a large box?

they were so excited when it was done and they could play. we don't have a kid size basketball yet so they were using our soccer ball. lets hope they don't get bored with it too soon.

the girl room

so, here is the finished room. we set up mason's toddler bed before we buy a twin sized bed for her. dahlia loves her new room. she has a place for her doll bed and changing table. she has a nice little corner where she is able to listen to music and play. it is very cute.

miles did a great job on painting the room. i think the pink and white trim is perfect. it is really sweet and girly. i am so excited for her to have her own room. eventually we plan on giving connor her dresser and buying a white dresser for the room with a white bed frame, but for the time being it is great.

the boys room

i have been meaning to write a post about our new boys and girls room but i never got around to taking pictures of it.

i wrote a while back about how we were changing things around our house and making a new boys room separate from dahlia's room. we got rid of our tv room and moved our tv into the living room that didn't get much use before. miles painted the room blue with a dark blue accent at the top and we bought a new bunk bed for it. miles was working six days a week during this process so it took a while for us to get the room painted.

we moved mason's dresser and the bookshelf with canvas bins that we have been using as connor's dresser in the room. we also moved the toy bins in here as well. there is still tons of space. our long term plan is to get a new dresser for connor and move the little white book shelf into dahlia's room to be used for toys. we also think we will buy a desk at some point so mason can do his homework in here.

we kind of did a space theme and purchased the solar system quilts from land of nod. i think they look great. there isn't much artwork up yet but we had a "j. otto" print that worked perfectly with our theme. we also hung the growth charts in the corner that they have had since they were born. miles was thinking he might paint stars in the dark blue portion of the wall but he hasn't quite decided how to do that.

they love their new room. mason has been sleeping on the top bunk since we got it all set up. connor and dahlia still sleep with us in our bed. we have tried to get them to sleep on the bottom bunk but it hasn't caught on just yet.

almost done

the treehouse is almost done. miles ran out of rope to finish off the front railing but other than that it is done. we let the kids play up there today. they tied a rope to a bucket and were pulling drinks up to the deck. so funny. miles is thinking now he will have to add a pulley and rope with a bucket so they have an easier time doing that. it was so fun to see them all playing together. they are so excited to have a treehouse. it is really pretty cool. you don't realize how high up it is until you get up there. you can see in the picture that it is pretty much level with the roof. yikes.

little helpers

for some reason the last few days the kids have been wanting to do the dishes. yes, that's right! they want to do the dishes. being the super mom i am i would never deprive them of this privilege. they actually have been doing a good job. dahlia and mason take turns washing and rinsing and connor cleans the counters with a sponge. i love this. of course i know this is only a passing interest. there is no way that i am lucky enough to have this hold their attention for more than a couple of evenings. but for now i am enjoying any help i can get.

smore please

we have been using our fireplace almost everyday. our heater doesn't work so we are going old school and just building a fire for heat. i love it. the only downfall is that we are going through wood really fast. i can see how people had to stock up on wood all year in the olden days. we have already burned through our big pile in the backyard. now i have been going to the market to buy a bundle.

tonight the kids got the great idea of roasting marshmallows by our fire. it was so fun. miles was the supervisor and helped them so our house did not burn down. i brought out the chocolate and graham crackers from the kitchen. we all sat around and made smores, eating them and licking our sticky fingers. who says smores are a summer food. turns out they are just as delicious in january.

broken

miles and i had our house broken into last week. i am so depressed. they broke in through our bedroom window and stole my jewelery. ugh. i left the house at 4:00 pm last saturday to take the kids to church and miles got home at 8:00 pm so it must have happened during that time. he didn't even notice that it had happened when he got home. they had only searched through the master bedroom so the rest of the house was fine. our master bedroom however was a complete wreck. they had broken a picture frame when they came in through the window so there was glass all over the floor and bed. they broke our window frame and pried open the window. the broken screen was thrown on the bed. they dumped out all the contents of our dressers, nightstands, and closets. my bras, and panties were all over. man. it is such a huge violation to be robbed. i don't feel safe here at all anymore. miles and i have been just paranoid since it happened.

the police came saturday night and told us not to touch anything until they could come and take fingerprints. of course since it was a holiday weekend that would not be until tuesday morning. we couldn't even sleep in our room. we had set up our air mattress in the living room and all sleep in there. we slept out there for five nights. and by sleep i really mean sat out there wide awake with every light on in the house jumping at any noise. i am so exhausted. the csi woman came on tuesday and looked but didn't find any fingerprints. she did get a footprint but i don't think that will be very useful. i was finally able to clean up everything and we are now back to sleeping in our room.

i am so sad. they stole my wedding jewelry. they took the diamond earrings that were a wedding gift from miles. they took the white gold bracelet from my mom that was my "something old." they stole all of my jewelry except for my wedding band and engagement ring. luckily they were not with all the other stuff and they didn't find them. they did take every piece of jewelry that miles bought me over the years and gifts from my sisters and mom. this really sucks. the worst part is that our homeowners policy only will cover $2,000.00 worth of stolen jewelry so we will not even be compensated for our loss. the wedding earrings alone cost more than that. everyone keeps saying it could have been so much worse and they are right. i just can't help feeling sad for the loss of all my precious possessions that held so many memories for me.

new chairs

we got new chairs for all three kids this christmas. after moving our tv into the big living room we had to get rid of our comfy couches and now use our nice couches for everyday use. we figured to save the furniture from lots of abuse we would get the kids their own comfy chairs.

i think they are so nice. the kids love them and they have become connor's new favorite napping place. the best part is that the covers are washable. yes!

christmas card photos

this year i do not have a theme for the christmas card. am i losing my touch? i usually have a very clear idea of what i want to do but this year i am just drawing a blank. i did manage to buy them matching pajamas that were simply adorable but that was it. i told miles to just "take some cute pictures of them by the fire."

he took all these great pictures tonight. thank goodness. the kids are really good together. i think you can tell how much they like each other. i am so relieved. now i just need to come up with a design for the card. yikes! what day is it?

we picked a shot and just for fun here are the outtakes.

decorated

i finally got around to decorating the christmas tree last night. yes, yes, i know we got the tree three days ago. man. i have just been too busy to get it done. so last night was the night. the kids helped to unwrap the ornaments and put a few on the tree but it wasn't near being done by bed time. after they fell asleep i stayed up late finishing decorating and cleaning up.

this morning they were all excited to see the tree done and couldn't help playing under it. they were so silly pretending to sleep under the tree.