Redesign

Our little redesign in the family room/kitchen area is done and I'm really excited about the outcome.  Below are some before and after photos to check out.  The changes are subtle but it really makes our house feel warm, cozy, and kind of like a grown ups house now :)

Family room before

 

Before After

AfterCabinet lights above

Sweet Potatoes

We tried 'em and Mr. R likes 'em.  Butternut squash too.  The jury is still out on carrots but we'll try again soon.

Summertime FUN!!!

I love summer.  The heat doesn't seem to bother me too much and I love all the fun things we get to do as a family when the days are long.  We have the best backyard and summer nights are so much fun.  Even though our backyard faces west we have some great shade trees and from about 3pm on the entire pool is shaded and it's the best time of day to swim.  We have been getting in the pool when Cory gets home from work and everyone loves it. We also just installed some great floodlights so we can play in the backyard after it gets dark.  Here are some shots of Cory and the girls doing motorboat and a few other random shots.

Five months

Ryder is 5 months old and it's hard to believe how fast time is flying by.  I am trying to soak up every precious moment because he is growing like a weed and all of a sudden doesn't seem like a little newborn baby.  He weighs about 15 1/2 lbs, has 2 bottom teeth that came in days apart from each other, can almost sit up on his own, loves to be on his belly and do the "Superman" moves, has discovered his voice and loves to yell out to get our attention, is seen often sucking on his fingers for teething relief & really enjoys his Bumbo seat and Exersaucer for entertainment.  He is such a great addition to our family and every day I think about how blessed we are.

 

Weasel

R&R have an IKEA easel set up outside so they can paint, draw, use their chalk and the mess stays outside.  They have always enjoyed it but Ree seems to really love it right now.  She calls it her "weasel" and I laugh every time I hear her say it.  I will ask her over and over again what she's doing.  She replies, "I'm drawing on my weasel"---as if to say, "Duh, Mom.  Can't you see what I'm doing?"  I gave her some dry erase markers the other day and we spent almost an hour drawing all kinds of animals like skunks, fish, sharks, dogs, & cats.  Tonight she got upset while getting ready for bed and came into our room while I was nursing Ryder.  She was crying and I told her it was okay to be upset and asked her how I could help.

Me: "Do you want a hug or to sit in my lap?"
Ree, looking out into the backyard: "No, I want to go draw on my weasel."
And off she went to go draw a few skunks on the weasel.

I smile every time she says it.  It never gets old.

Graduation

Today was the Graduation Day for the girls' Apples to Zebras class. They really loved their class and their teachers and I'm sad it's over. It was pretty amazing to hear from them each day about what they learned. They are little sponges and came home with new information every day.

A little dirt never hurt

Ryan face planted in our flowers and didn't get hurt but came up for air with a face full of dirt. She had no intention of wiping it off her face and continued to play.  She is such a crackup.

We love our bikes

Living in a cul-de-sac is so much fun.  We can ride bikes without worrying about a lot of traffic.  The girls love riding their bikes and the weather has been so great in the late afternoon. 

Maddie likes to come outside and play too.

Stormy

 We had such a fun weekend and one of our outings included a stop at Aunt Dianne & Uncle Mike's house to see the new baby pony that was born (she told me the correct name for the baby pony is a stud but I will continue to call it a pony).  He's adorable and they are going to call him Stormy because he was born on a stormy night.  The girls love their house because they not only have horses and chickens but also a trampoline, a playset, a pool w/ a slide, AND a playhouse.  It's all on one huge acre and it's so much fun.

Ryder's 4 month birthday

Ryder is 4 months old.  Where does the time go?  I can't believe that we are 1/3 of the way to his 1st birthday.  Someone please stop the clock.   He is the happiest, sweetest baby and he loves watching his big sisters run and play.  You can tell that he's dying to get in on the action and can't wait to be mobile.  He's rolling all over the place and pushing his strong legs to move around.  This kid is going  to be on the move really soon. 

Design on a dime (kinda)

 We have been making subtle changes to our house recently and it's been fun to "fix" things up.  We moved R&R into the front bedroom and recently painted it pink and painted the bathroom yellow. It's definitely a better fit now.  We bought beds for them and put their names on the wall.  It's a beach theme just like the playroom.  I am really happy with the outcome--it's so much brighter than the bland taupe that was there before.

Mr. R's room is a mix of surfer dude and soccer dude.  It's leaning towards soccer dude but we have some fantastic surf bedding that we borrowed from our friends and some vintage surf posters.  Auntie Casey made the adorable soccer mobile that hangs from the fan.  We love it.We recently painted the outside of the house and changed the landscaping of the front island.  It had lots of crusty dead bushes before and Cory had the idea of building a planter with flowers and adding 2 small palm trees.  It turned out so great and the darker paint on the exterior made a huge difference.
There is still lots to do.  We want to add a security door soon, add more pavers in the backyard, redo the firepit and bbq grill.  It's always a work in progress.  Stay tuned to see what's next.

Facials with Emmie

We went over to Auntie M's house for a visit and she gave the girls "facials" while we were there.  They have been dying to go to her house and we made an impromptu visit the other night.  They loved being pampered in her luxurious spa.