Oh Hail

Yeah we had one of those nights. On Saturday we had some of the biggest hail I had ever seen it was about the size of a golf ball when it was coming down. After it was over William grabbed one that was melting. It was CRAZY! 

We started the summer reading program this week and the kids had lots of fun doing the National Guard inflatable obstacle course. Brevick didn't go but Emmerlyn could even do it and was having a blast! Charley had his t-ball game and he did great! 

Father's Day was on Sunday and I am so grateful for the Fathers in my life. They are the very best I don't think I could have picked better ones! 

Before and AFTER!!!

It has been a long road of blood, sweat, and tears (Ben's of course, at least inwardly, when he heard and saw and heard my plans) but we have finished the KITCHEN!!! there are a few little details left that we are hoping to wrap up in the next little bit and then decorating and reorganizing over and over but I can happily say it is finished and I LOVE IT.

 (you have to excuse the fridge and wall clutter!!) Its an ongoing problem and I have a fix it plan but Ben says NO projects for the next little while so unless I can get up the courage to attempt it on my own it must wait. . . 

Some of my favorite parts are 

1. The sink, faucet, cabinet, light, and window ALL line up and are ALL centered!! Love that it appeals nicely to my ocd

2. The light fixture above the sink. It needs some cute edison bulbs but it is lovely and my awesome guy made it just how I wanted it. *throughout this kitchen remodel I started telling Ben how I pictured it and he would get a concerned look on his face and tell me that it wasn't going to work and I said "hey it's OK I have a guy that can do it" He was that guy ;)*

3. the cabinets under the other window. They use the space so well and are not over bearing into the kitchen

4. The pantry. STORAGE!!! need I say more. Also I like that it hides the microwave and I like the cute door that I helped my guy build. *side note, for about 24 hours my kids thought the top was a window and kept trying to look through it. It's not, its a chalkboard (for those of you having a panic attack I do not have chalk to write on it with but I have chalk markers = no choking!!!)

5. The island. The counter top is warm and beautiful and it holds all of my baking stuff, which is a lot. It also houses the garbage can so it is no longer displayed proudly in the side window.

6. The sink is no longer only 6 inches deep. I can actually fit dishes in there and I don't get totally soaked when I wash them.

7. Having enough room to store all of my stuff. I unpacked kitchen boxes that have been stored away for almost 5 years, it was like Christmas seeing all of my stuff! *It's funny because the last time we had people over when they left I was like we can't ever entertain because I have no pretty serving dishes. How have we made it 10 years without any pretty things to serve our food in?? Guess what 10 years ago we had pretty things that I had no place to put when we moved here so I packed them away and forgot about them. Now they are in the cupboard where I can look at them and think happy thoughts*

I can't believe what a difference it has made it makes me happy every time I walk in!! I don't think we can stomach the thought of doing it again but it was worth every bit of trouble!!

 We tested it out. It worked great! I have lots of helpers and just enough space for them to help me!

T Ball Time!!!!

I swear tball just ended last week but alas here we are again. Charley is LOVING it this year. He did great in his first game last night and liked playing first base. I think it was the best T ball game I have ever been to. The weather was perfect. Brevick was contend to just hang around and watch so we could just relax and the bugs, well they were there.

 This is his monkey pose showing he is ready for the ball.

I picked up the kids last week and we have really loved having them back! It was a long day for us and Brevick did great in the car until we were about 10 minutes outside Billings, then he threw up. That kind of put a damper on the day but we made it.

On Saturday we drove to Glendive for Stake Conference. We stayed over night this time because Ben was supposed to speak in the preisthood session and I was singing with the choir in the adult evening session and then the general session on Sunday. Naturally on Friday night Brevick came down with a fever, diarrhea and threw up. Thankfully we were still able to go and as luck would have it right before we left Ben got a call saying that they were changing the program so he didn't have to speak! He was told to keep his talk however because he would be given another opportunity down the road. At this point I debated not going at all but we had a hotel reservation so we just did it. Brevick did really well and Ben and I worked it out. The kids had fun hiking, swimming, and eating pizza in the hotel room. They did SO good in conference too! We got a new stake presidency so the conference went a little long and our kids started falling apart at 12. It was like they had paced themselves for 2 hours and couldn't contain it anymore! 

It turned out to be a really good weekend for everyone except Brevick, who had to just make the best of it!! 

Happy Birthday Brevick

 This cute little stud turned 2 on the 4th!!!! I can't believe how fast that year has gone. He is a funny dude. The kids were out of town on his real birthday so after a day of lots of work we had a cupcake per his request.

 When the kids go home we had cake and ice cream and opened presents.  

 He was very serious about blowing out his candles and he got them both. He loved the cake and ice cream and the excitement that the kids worked up for him.

You are such a great kid! You love to eat and are willing to try new things especially meats. 

Your favorite food is fruit snacks

The word you say the clearest is cookie.

You are a great talker and are picking up new words everyday.

You do a great job saying the prayer and you love to 'read' the scriptures

Your favorite thing in the world is still Snuggle Puff.

You love to play outside and get really muddy

You like to play in the shower and I have to fish you out of the bottom of the tub when it is time to get out.

You have LOTS of energy and love playing at the park

You adore your siblings and really look up to them.

We love you Brevick and are so glad you are part of our family!

No Excuse

I still don't know why I can't get back into my life but I am working on it. This last week we were busy finishing up school and then we got to have Grandma and Grandpa Allen come and stay with us! We all had so much fun and actually caught some fish! Early Monday morning they loaded up with 3 little sto-a-ways and headed back to Idaho. I tell you what I miss my big kids SO much!!!!! I know they are having a great time. They had a good ride down and informed my that "Grandpa drives fast!" I am glad that I have such a great group to represent our family.

Brevick has actually been doing really well on his own (this surprised me, a lot.) He has been spending LOTS of time outside and being a busy boy.

he had his 2 year well check yesterday *which we almost forgot* and he did so good. He even talked to the Dr a little. 

He weighs 30 lbs 12 oz (88.8 %)

He is 37 inches long (97.9%)

He has actually gone down in percentile by about 2 % in both categories since his last appointment but he is still a fairly good sized fella. I think it is because he is SO busy that his body can't store as much on!

Ben and I have been working like mad to finish the kitchen completely before the kids get home. (minus the reorganizing, that's going to take some pondering) We made a schedule of what we want to do each night and then a list of things for me to do during the day. I tell you what when bedtime comes we are ALL exhausted. We just want it done so we can enjoy the summer with the kids and have our major projects out of the way!

We will see how far we get. . . 

Piano Recital

On Sunday May 22, 2016 William had their first piano recital! It was also my first piano recital as the teacher which was just a little nerve racking but not too bad. We kept it pretty casual and the kids did great! I am so proud of all of my students and especially my boys! It's not easy having your mom be your piano teacher too! I learned some things that I will do differently next time.

William did great and he didn't seem to be nervous at all. He just shrugged it off like it was no big deal.

Charley did great too but he was SO nervous! He practiced like 8 times during the day and then he wanted to make sure he was fist on the program and when we got there he played through it again just to be sure. What a funny little dude!

 Don't they look great! *yes Emmerlyn did wear her night gown. It had been that kind of a day and I wasn't about to fight it. 

 This is from a couple weeks ago when William went to his cub scout field day he got to be on the front page of the newspaper (4th from the left) That's the plus about living in a VERY small town! He has some great pictures on facebook too thanks to one of the other Dads. Someday I will get around to putting them on here too. . .