P-R-O-J-E-C-T-S!

The change of seasons always means I’m doing them (you know P-R-O-J-E-C-T-S). Don’t say the word out-loud right now or we may just run off to finish one. They are the reason for the lack of posts, though there is plenty to post about. Here’s a little update:

P-R-O-J-E-C-T #1 – Growth.

Our chickens have grown so big! When I came back from D.C., one flew out of the box to say “welcome home”. Though I appreciated the welcome, I didn’t appreciate them pooping on the kitchen floor constantly. We decided that weekend to go look for a temporary home before getting a coop and found a perfect solution! A rabbit cage, with a ‘rabbit run” that we can keep closed while they are still inside(it’s on the right of the cage). Then, for their permanent home outside, we will open the run so they can run out in the yard (we are putting up some high chicken wire around to protect from predators) and they can still use this cage to lay their eggs. The best part - it only cost about $139! Most coops start at $300 & go up from there. Plus, now Austin doesn't have to build one from scratch.

Cadence had to help daddy put it together. Here he is stopping for a drink.

And the finished product…

…which brings me to more stories on growth. Our garden is growing alright this year. The plants were having a hard time getting sun inside (though they can’t be outside yet). Our lettuce and most of our tomatoes are gone. We plan to just buy plants from the store to replace the ones we lost. We still have plenty of peppers left and our strawberry plant. Plus, we are starting to see

peas outside! I could go on about the projects we have waiting in the yard but on to…

P-R-O-J-E-C-T #2 - the kitchen.

Yep – still! It’s been a period of about 6 months already and I finally got sick of looking at the kitchen without any kitchen cupboards. I buckled down last week during nap times and after Cade went to bed and sanded almost all of the cabinet bases myself (though Austin did help, and the “project group” I’m in helped me get to this point). I was so exhausted and wondered several times why I tackled this insane project. I’m hoping I like the color though, because it’s going to stay like this either way I think.

This week we are priming (and hopefully painting). I’m having hard time in general with colors. You think you like one and you get in the wall and …yuck! Plus I have a hard time piecing things together for the final outcome I want. It’s a work in progress! It’s frustrating sometimes for me seeing the homes of friends I think are really cute. I know what I like when I see it, but getting there is a whole different story for me.

P-R-O-J-E-C-T #3 - The personal projects.

Part A - Family Herbalist 101. Yep, I’m taking an online family herbalist course. I will probably save most posts about it for my personal blog, but it has definitely been taking my attention away from blogging. I forgot how much work “structured” learning can me. I am really enjoying it!

Part B - I’m also working on getting the music @ Girl’s Camp squared away (which in less than a month)!

C-O-N-C-L-U-S-I-O-N

The most important part of all of this for me is balance. Austin says you just have to “juggle”..literally. Throw a ball up in the air and another starts falling down. Your job – just keep them all in the air. It’s tough but we like being “anxiously engaged” around here. Another one of Austin’s quotes “it keeps ya’ out of trouble”.

Birthday Time For You!

Austin turned 26 this year on the 30th! We made some of his favorite meals (biscuits and gravy, baked ziti) and his favorite cake (spice cake and lemon pudding). Other than that, we are saving the money we planned for his birthday for a overnight white-water rafting trip, as soon as the rivers are calm enough.

Mother nature did decide to give him a little birthday surprise – SNOW! Just when we are really ready for warm weather too!

Austin almost shares his birthday with a close friend of ours, Matt Thompson. His wife, Elise, threw him a party the next night. Check out the wii bobsled team!

Cadence always has fun playing with their son, Evan. We found an especially fun toy that was just his size too!

THE Wedding

 

This past extended weekend, Cadence and I took a trip to Maryland & Washington D.C. for the wedding of my older brother, Allen & his new wife Martha. Their family was so kind and just opened their home to us! It really felt as if we were all one big family. It was kind of fun talking to all of them and finding common interests and even friend we didn’t know we had in common!

    

One of the best parts was learning how much their family loved music (I can’t think of music without thinking of my family). We spent some time on Sunday evening singing hymns while mom played. Music has such power to bring the Spirit, especially the hymns. Even more than that, it always brings unity to our family.

We were planning to go to the capitol on Monday, but everyone was so exhausted (and we had some wedding prep to do) that we decided to have a chill day in the hotel. The kids all took really great naps (my 2 nephews and 2 nieces, plus Cadence). Cristina and I took our little boys down to the pool. They both love to swim and it was fun spending time together! Here is Cade helping me feed Holly (my niece) a bottle).

Funny story – I ended up driving through the middle of Washington D.C. in a minivan full of kids and sisters! That was intimidating (a big city, a big car I’m not really used too…oi!).

  The van itself was a blast during the trip! It was HOOKED UP (DVD player, audio/visual hook ups, backup camera, ind. temp. control, power doors, etc.)! Maria and I kept laughing (she always rode shot gun) and pretending we were driving a spaceship. We’d pretend to press a bunch of buttons and she’s say “re-entering earth’s gravity”. I still laugh just thinking about it. We affectionately named it the “party van”.  I love my sisters! I laugh more with them than anyone else.

   One of the happiest parts of the trip was seeing my family interact with Cadence, especially his grandparents! I always wanted grandparents (growing up I only had 1 living and she lived across the country). Being on this trip made me wish we lived closer to them, especially now that Cade can play with them. It was a tender memory for me watching my mom chase my son!

  There were lots of friends, ward members, etc. supporting Allen & Martha so the sealing room (room where couples are married in the temple) was full (standing room only). Yet my sister Cristina and I were the only two in the sealing room. I’m hoping my other siblings will be there with us someday soon!

I love my family and nothing makes me happier than to think I can be with them forever!

 

 

Garden 2010

This year we made our garden bigger, and added 2 families to help us out (The Clays & The Dopps). It took a lot of work to get the ground ready, but here are some fun clips from working on it.

The baby chicks are here!

We have been talking a lot lately about getting chickens. We've had to research how to take care of them and what the city requires of us. Finally, they are here! We are excited for them to grow and produce eggs for us (at least that's what we hope - we won't know their gender until they are big). Stop by and see them!

Here is a video of Cade interacting with them. Despite how the video may seem, he actually really likes them. He has to look at them every time he goes into the kitchen (their temporary home while they are still small).

Cadence Colors