Starting - Finally

When we first moved into this house, we were thrilled with the amount of storage space. Not only with the built-in cabinets and drawers and the extra rooms, but also with the unfinished, "designated" storage rooms. Yes, rooms. Two of them! We were so happy that there was nothing to finish and nothing that needed to be updated (unless we wanted to - like our downstairs bathroom). But the more we thought about Quentin's "shop/storage room" and how often we really used it, it started making more sense to use it for SOMETHING. We had tinkered with the idea of turning the "shop/storage" space next to the downstairs kitchen into a theater room - and that's when the preschool opportunity came along. So we decided to finish the space with a dual purpose in mind - a preschool 9 months out of the year and a theater room during the summer. I know. Kind of weird - we'll see if it actually works out the way we're thinking! But all I know is that it's getting done. And it will be nice to have the space be usable instead of just a place to stash all of our junk. We've cleared it out, gotten rid of a ton of junk, and have consolidated all of our "storage stuff" into one area - the ONE storage room (and I like my storage room neat and tidy!) And now the fun part begins. Making plans and designs - and Quentin starting lots of hard work - to get the space finished. Yahoo! I can't wait to see this skinny, rectangluar, dark, cold, ugly room be transformed into something warm, bright, beautiful and inviting (though still skinny and rectangular - but hey - there's nothing wrong with that!!) I just hope we can finish the 230 square foot space in the 6 months we have till preschool starts!

Food Inc.

My friend did a post on her blog recently about the documentary "Food Inc." She and her family have been learning more about healthy food choices and have implemented it in their lives. (Even her kids that are about Kiera's age are on board!!) In her post she offered to lend her copy of the video to anyone interested. Quentin and I watched it last night and were blown away. I've been a vegetarian for about 23 years. Label-reading, decoding ingredients and trying to make healthful choices have been a way of life for me. But having a husband and two-thirds of my children prefer "kleenex bread," macaroni and cheese, and basically anything that has white flour and cheese has been hard. At least Makenna eats (actually she adores!) fruits, veggies, quinoa, soymilk, and whole, natural foods. But seeing this movie has inspired both Quentin and me to prioritize and put our family's health and food choices at the top of the list. My only dilemma - how to get the picky eaters to get on board and begin adoring whole, natural, organic, yummy food! Hmmmm....

You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown!

Last night was the last production of "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown" at the girls' school. The last 3 1/2 months have been filled with weekly rehearsals (some 3 hours long!) and this past week has been crazy with the school assembly (where they put on the play for the school) and 2 cast shows for each of the two casts. Whew! I must say though, that the girls have loved being involved in this play. Makenna had been interested in doing some theater classes and this play came along just in time. The girls were both little birds (Big Hoot and Peety) in the play and even though their roles were small, they felt just as important as the "big" characters. The directors have been absolutely wonderful, and I've been impressed with the quality of the teaching and the production. It's been a great experience - one that we'll never forget - and we can't wait till next time!






WITH THE DIRECTORS ADDIE HOLMAN AND DANA MADISON


THE CUTE BRACELETS THE CAST MEMBERS RECEIVED FROM THE DIRECTORS

Discovery Gateway

Today I got to help "chaperone" the second-grade field trip to Discovery Gateway (also known as the Children's Museum). I always like a good excuse to have fun with my girls, especially if it means a little one-on-one time. Kiera was so excited to have me there with her, and we were happy to have Quentin pop in from work for a bit. Fun fun!

Valentine Parties

Don't ya just love how each holiday has celebrations lasting the whole week? Yep, the kids get all sugared up for days prior to the actual holiday! Anyway, today was Kiera and Makenna's class Valentine parties. I had volunteered to help with both - I was in charge of a craft for Makenna's kindergarten party and just had to help with the "cookie making station" in Kiera's class party. After Kiera's party, she begged me to stay for lunch. So Makenna, Kasidee and I ran home, made a quick sack lunch and joined her for lunch and recess. These are the days we'll remember!

MAKENNA'S CUTE LITTLE VALENTINE CREATURE!


KASIDEE THOUGHT THIS IS WHAT THE STICKERS WERE FOR...


MAKING COOKIE'S IN KIERA'S CLASS...


ONE KID'S COOKIE - YES THERE'S A COOKIE UNDER THERE. I GOT A KICK OUT OF WATCHING HER EAT IT!!


KIERA'S WHOLE CLASS


RECESS...

Catch Up

I've been a slacker in the blogging department lately. Most of you could probably care less about what I have to post about today, but since I use my blog as a record of our family's events, I like to include even the mundane things! So here's my modge-podge of events in the last couple of weeks:

Anyway, awhile ago Kiera asked Quentin if he would come to her class to speak about Denmark (where he served his mission). I guess Kiera's teacher had been asking for volunteers to talk to the students about different countries and Kiera was so excited to have her Daddy come to class. I took a few pics but believe it or not this was the best out of the bunch (too bad we can't even see Quentin's face). He was showing the class a long, skinny Danish flag - how cool is that?! He also talked about a blind lady he met in Denmark, who showed him how to write in brail and where to purchase the equipment. Quentin was excited to learn, since his niece Sasha was blind. While preparing his presentation to the class, he "punched" everyone's name in brail to give to them - they thought that was so cool!




Our cute little "Scootlebugs Preschool" sign is up in my yard, attracting cute little customers! :) My preschool partner and I have been busy getting our registration packets ready to send out - we're so psyched!! We each have 7 students on our list already! Yipee!




Playdates at our house are a "feast or famine" type of thing. Since this past week was "early out" from school every day, we had more than our usual share of playdates - and most of them at our house which is fun. (The weather has been so nice they've mostly been outside!) I think I counted 11 different friends in 6 days. Crazy but fun! Makenna had a few of her friends from school over Monday and they wanted me to get a picture of them with the birthday cake they made for Kasidee.


Later in the week we also had my friend Amanda's girls over to play. Quentin and I went to school with Amanda and her husband and have done a few things together here and there. Last summer they moved to Centerville (probably just over a mile away) and we finally had them over to dinner to catch up. Our kids totally hit it off and they invited our girls to a birthday party the next week. Amanda and I haven't stopped hearing about them wanting to play together again, so they came over on Thursday. We figured our kids ages are right in between each other - my Kiera is 7, her Maren is 6, my Makenna is 5 1/2, her Emily is 5, her Katie is 3, and my Kasidee is 2 1/2. She also has a 9-year-old son and an 18-month-old daughter, but her middle kids and my girls have instantly become good friends. And don't you just love a bunch of smiling girls?




This is probably a silly picture, but one day I was walking past my big wall with the clock on it and I noticed a shadow - the sun was bouncing off my backyard neighbor's window and shining on my wall. But it was passing through our trees and the big pinecone my mom had hung in the tree when she made "peanut butter and birdseed birdfeeders!" The shadow was so pretty that I had to quickly grab my camera!




Big news - Kasidee is officially potting training! She's been sort of interested for a few months but I didn't want to do anything until after the holidays. The other day she saw me putting some laundry away and saw some of the girls' panties. She wanted to try them on. So I dug out some in her size and she wore them for about an hour then peed all over in them. But she kept asking to wear them. Since we only had 1 pair in her size, we went to Walmart and let her pick out her very own. She chose Minnie Mouse, of course. She was so excited and wore them the whole day. She would announce when she needed to go on her potty chair, and she even did the big #2 in it. I was even able to take her to church today in her panties! She has had a couple of accidents, but I guess there's no turning back now. She's so proud of herself and I must say I'm amazed at how well she's doing! She's just such a smartie!




Last night Quentin's Grandma Stephens stopped by with Dallin, Crystal and Shlenae. Grandma will be celebrating her 95th birthday next week. Doesn't she look great?! She's an inspiration to everyone. She's always so positive and fun and sweet. Ya just help but smile when she's around!

Bed Time Story

Ya wanna hear a long (but oh, so fascinating!) story? Some of you have already heard this story - if you have, sorry. At least you can look at the pictures!

Anyway, when Quentin and I first got married, we were so poor that we couldn't afford a bed. So we borrowed my parents' air mattress and slept on that for 6 months. 6 MONTHS! Then my grandma's neighbor was selling their practically new mattress and sort-of new headboard and footboard, and we got those for a steal. Life was good.

See how cute our little bed was?



Then last summer while I was browsing at a furniture store at Gardner Village, I was struck by a bed I fell in love with. I wasn't even in the market for a new bed, but I just loved the look. You wanna see?



I ended up showing Quentin the bed the next time we were at the store. He liked it too and we decided that we'd put it on our list of "someday" purchases. And that was that. I filed the picture away and thought maybe someday we would get it.

Well, about a week before Christmas, our little family went to Gardner Village to browse and Quentin said he wanted to look at that bed again. We both agreed that it looked really nice. But when Quentin "kicked the tires" so-to-speak (you know how men are), we noticed that the bed was actually poorly made. The headboard seemed pretty flimsy. And when we both sat down and leaned against it, both of our heads bonked on the top cap part of it. Not a great feature if you want to sit in bed and read!!

So on the way home from Gardner Village (remember, it was about a week before Christmas), Quentin said he had a confession. He told me that he had bought the bed a few days earlier to surprise me for Christmas. He had borrowed his mom's van, timed things just right so I would be at Kiera's piano lesson when he returned and found a hiding spot for it, and he was planning on putting it together on Christmas Eve as a Christmas surprise. Isn't he just the sweetest? But he told me that after seeing how flimsy it was and how it wouldn't be comfortable for reading in bed, he knew it just wouldn't work. But he had bought it. And it was in our house. I was so tempted to just say, "Forget sturdiness and practicality! It's pretty - let's keep it!" But I knew it wouldn't be for the best. I could tell Quentin was really disappointed, but we knew we'd find something even better someday.

I was telling Nikki about this and she suggested we do some paneling, like I've been wanting to do in our dining room. Kind of like this:



So I told Quentin about that idea, and we thought it would be cool to do it, but not have it on the whole wall - just by the bed so it would sort of look like a headboard. Again, the idea was filed away and put on our "someday project" list. (And yes, I literally have lists for this). But one day we had a free Saturday to ourselves and I could tell Quentin was in Project Mode. So I suggested doing that project, thinking we'd buy a few 2x4's, nail them to the wall, and slap some paint on it. I know Quentin is a perfectionist and does everything "just right." But I had no idea that this project would take not only 10 hours on that Saturday, but about 30 additional hours through the next 2 weeks.

This is our "camping bed" (as the girls called it) when we were in transition mode. When we slept like this, we realized how much we loved having a footboard. We must sleep weird, but without a footboard our blankets would all slump off the end of the bed during the night - even if we tucked them in!



See how cute Quentin is? (P.S. He's in his "shop," which will soon become the preschool/theater room - that's his next project!)



Anyway, he worked really hard on it and put so many hours into it - while working a required 6 hours overtime per week and doing his Scout calling. We didn't see much of him - but we knew he was having fun on his project! And guess what - he even surprised me by making a footboard!! Yipee!



So Friday night he put the last coat of paint on and Saturday we put it together. And I can't tell you how much I absolutely LOVE it! Quentin was nervous that I would say I love it even if I didn't because I wouldn't want to hurt his feelings. But honestly - yes, I love it because he made it. But if I had to choose one out of a catalog, this would totally be it. I love how it makes our room look! I love the simple lines, and I love the high back so we can sit in bed and read (we couldn't do that in our other bed). And you know what's weird? When we slept in it for the first time last night, I just had this overwhelming sense of security being in it. I know that sounds cheesy, but I just felt protected somehow. I think not having a footboard for a few weeks made me feel somewhat vulnerable for some weird reason. Anyway, I just love, love, love it! So...you wanna see it? And it's even better in "Real Life!"

January, How Do I Love Thee...?

As a kid, I thought January and February were the longest, most boring, most pointless months out of the whole year. But now as an adult, I just relish these months! They provide a good excuse to do some of the things I love the most. So here's my Ode to January...

January, how do I love Thee? Let me count the ways. In January, I can:
* Tear apart the house, organize every nook and cranny - and not feel guilty that I should be doing yard work instead.
* Work on decorating or "house projects" - and not feel guilty that I should be doing yard work instead.
* Scrapbook - and not feel guilty that I should be doing yard work instead.
* Cuddle up with a mug of hot chocolate and a good book - and not feel guilty that I should be doing yard work instead.
* Cook yummy, hearty foods and try new recipes - and not feel guilty that I should be doing yard work instead.
* Grab a blankie and my girls, close the blinds, and watch a movie in the middle of the day - and not feel guilty that I should be doing yard work instead.

Singin' in the Rain

Here's a shout-out to the best theater company ever - Rodgers Memorial Theater!! It's no secret that Quentin and I LOVE plays. And after patronizing several Utah playhouses, we've decided that Rodgers Memorial Theater is the best!! Yes, we are biased. Anyway, we gave each other season tickets for Christmas, and we're so excited that the first play will be Singin' in the Rain! That's one of my favorite musicals of all-time and we were able to see it last summer at the Hale Center Theater in Orem - so awesome!!

So...in case anyone is interested in seeing an awesome musical in an awesome theater, get your tickets now! The play only goes till January 31. We've decided to exchange our tickets so Kiera and Makenna can join us. They like plays too! Anyway, for more information, check out www.rodgersmemorial.com.

(Do I sound like a commercial?)

Sledding

Quentin has been itching for a few weeks to go sledding. I'm not a big fan of winter "sports," mainly because I usually just standing there and freeze. But today we went sledding with Corbin, Nikki and their kids and it was actually fun! The kids had a lot of fun and it was good weather - fresh snow from yesterday and not too cold out. Good times!

Happy New Year!

Happy 2010! That's just such a cool number - but how do you say it? Twenty-ten? Two-thousand ten? Two-thousand AND ten? Hmmm...I guess I'll have to find out!

The last few weeks have been so crazy-busy for us, we were craving some down time with our little family. So we had a quiet celebration, which was just what we were needing. We got pizza and snacks, watched movies, and hung out. Our movies ended around 10:00 which was pretty late for the girls but Kiera begged to be able to stay awake till midnight. I wasn't quite sure what she was expecting, but we said yes, thinking that they would all conk out on the couch at some point before then. We got out the Lego set the girls got for Christmas and all 5 of us got to work. It was so fun building the house - just like a puzzle (sorry the pics are a bit blurry)! We worked for about 2 hours, till it was about 10 minutes before midnight. Surprised that the girls were still awake (and happy!), we dug out the sparkling cider, turned on the countdown, and greeted the new year. Then everyone quickly and quietly went to bed!

This morning we had waffles and hashbrowns and juice, and we're planning on going sledding this afternoon. We're in vacation mode - the new year (at least for me) doesn't start till Monday when everyone is back into the routine and we can go over some family goals during Family Home Evening. Till then, we're just going to play and enjoy!! Happy New Year!

Lazy Days

Okay, so I admit that when I realized the girls would be out of school for Christmas break for 16 whole days, I got a little nervous. I figured they would be bored, they would fight with each other, and they would make messes all over the house. And you know what? They haven't been bored, they've been really nice to each other, and they've actually helped a lot in keeping the house clean. I've loved having them home! The other morning they requested breakfast in bed! I was happy to oblige since their requests were easy - leftover pasta (for breakfast!) and hot chocolate for Kiera, cereal and an orange julius for Makenna, and an orange julius for Kasidee. Ahhh, simple pleasures!

Merry Christmas!

Hope this posting finds everyone happy, healthy, and with memories of a wonderful Christmas yesterday! For us, Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without craziness! Quentin only got 2 hours of sleep on Christmas Eve because he was busy playing "Santa's workshop"; schedules and plans changed and our Stephens party was rescheduled from Saturday morning to Friday night - so we had only had muffins and juice to offer for dinner! But in spite of the craziness, we had a good holiday. We spent Christmas Eve at Mom's with her and Grandma Johnson (being at Mom's house just sets the mood for Christmas - we all love being there!!). The next morning, Mom and Grandma stopped by to see what Santa brought, then we went back to Mom's house for leftovers and to do gifts - and we had a nice surprise visit with Aaron, Lisa and Beau! Then we came back home for the party with the Stephens family. Lots of fun! And today has been a nice "down" day - the girls played with their cousins for a bit, and they've had lots of fun playing with their new toys. Tomorrow will be the Johnson family party, so there's lots of celebrating this weekend! And next week will be nice, relaxing and uneventful - just what I need!

MOM GAVE THE GIRLS A CHRISTMAS EVE GIFT WHICH THEY PLAYED WITH FOR HOURS! KIERA EVEN PLAYED WITH IT FOR AWHILE ON CHRISTMAS MORNING WHILE SHE WAITED FOR HER SISTERS TO WAKE UP!

QUENTIN READING THE TRADITIONAL CHRISTMAS EVE STORY (KIERA AND MAKENNA HAD TO WEAR THE HATS NANA MADE THEM, AND KASIDEE HAD TO TAKE HER CLOTHES OFF)...

SANTA BROUGHT A WOODEN KITCHEN SET FOR THE GIRLS AND A DOLLY BED FOR EACH OF THEM.

SANTA BROUGHT KASIDEE A READING CHAIR FOR HER BEDROOM...