Right of Passage

For the last several years, I've made it tradition to make Carmel Apples every October. I think of it as a right of passage. Every kid should get to do it at some point in their childhood. (If not every year!) The girls had so much fun but I forgot to take pictures of them making them. But I got them eating them!
Layla threw a fit when I told her she had to write her own name on her paper because she didn't know how to make her letters. I asked her if she knew how to write an 'L', which she did. When I asked her to write an 'A' her eyes lit up as though maybe she could do this after all. Then came the 'Y' and she grew real excited because she knew another 'L' and 'A' came after that. She was so thrilled that she really could actually do it! Great job, Layla!

We couldn't do camel apples last night because the girls were so grumpy and tired. So I told them after school that their rooms and the toy room had to be cleaned first. That worked brilliantly!

After we put the apples in the oven, I told them they had to take a quick bath before they could eat them. Let me tell you, that will get a girl to hurry in the bathroom!!!
Unfortunately I'm not the smartest mom on the block because I continually give my children baths and then feed them sticky snacks before bed. *sigh* Oh well. They can have another bath in a couple days. I'm sure they'll need it!

Shane's Newest Addition to the House!

WAIT FOR IT...

Okay, now tell me. Are you surprised by this revelation at all?

Now to fair I told him that if we moved away from home I would spend several thousand dollars and buy him a nice set of tools so that he could do the work on our cars. Because honestly, it would drive him nuts to pay someone else to do it. And it will probably save us thousands in the long run too!

So before he left for his last week in Casper, he shopped around and bought the things he needed. The really good thing is that he was thrifty and got everything for less than what I was expecting!

Of course, we can't have these fun toys ... excuse me, tools, without a reason to use them! He told me what exactly was wrong with his Toyota, but it was working fine when he left the house in it! I think he just needed to see how his new tools really worked.

The really funny thing is that he had a smile on his face nearly the entire time he was working on the truck!

I love you, Handsome!

Painting

So I have done nothing lately except paint! And, to show you all how dedicated I am to your peace of mind and well being, I am posting pictures of my work, instead of reading Sea Glass by Maria V. Snyder (which is LONG overdue!)
So, I started on Layla and Seryn's room. I think I've posted before pictures in a previous post. And to keep this post from being eternally long, I'll only post the after pictures. And since Facebook is loading faster than Blogger tonight, for the virtual tour of my house, (at least the main floor) you'll have to visit me on Facebook! :)
But as I was saying, Layla and Seryn's room was first.
They had to have stripes! And since the wood was already painted, it wasn't a big deal. Unfortunately, the room was covered in wallpaper which WAS a big deal! But, I finally got it down and all painted. (FYI: The color is called Purple Surf.)

Lylli also wanted a purple room (Plum Frost.) She wanted the wood painted with stripes too, but I think it looks neat this way. And the wood matches the other parts of the house too, so we left it. Once she has curtains I think it will be greatly improved!

Shane took this week off and (thanks to him) I was able to get nearly the entire main floor painted! I still have the bathroom and playroom along with the cupboards in the kitchen, but there is no way I would have gotten so much done without him. Thanks, Handsome!

You can't tell in all the pictures, but there are three colors here. Mountain Ridge, Classic, Sandstone Cove. I think it turned out real nice. And I had a girl over tonight who couldn't stop looking at the dark brown. (I hope that was a good thing!)

There was no way I was getting up there that high!

Here's a shot of the kitchen. Not quite pre-construction, but mostly.

Here's after the track lighting is done. I really like it! In fact, when the lights are on, it kind of makes the blue look purple! The walls will also be the same color of blue but I'll post more pictures of the kitchen when the entire thing is done!
And here's the dining room. Originally the living room was supposed to be done in two colors but I was afraid it would be too dark. So, I added a third color (which was a good decision) but I had a ton of extra paint. So I used some of it in the dining room. It's only two colors, but it looks quite elegant!

Well, I know this isn't the same as looking at it first hand, but hopefully you enjoyed it anyway! Like I said, there are many more pictures on FB.

I think I'll take next week off!

Seryn's Potty Trained!

In my earlier post I completely spaced informing everyone that Seryn's potty trained!!!!! WHOO HOO!!!! I put her in panties on Monday. She had an accident in the store because I forgot we were potty training. All week, she's only had 4 maybe 5 accidents. And the best part is (besides being potty trained) is I didn't have to do anything!! Between Seryn and her sisters, I remind her from time to time and she does the rest. Her sisters give her plenty of praise (I do too, but theirs is better than mine.) Her sisters clean out the potty, and give her rewards for her success! I wish they were all this easy!

Fat Lips & Water fun

Life has been going well here in Provo. Lylli is still reading Harry Potter. She's on book four and loving it. She had to take a break for a couple weeks because we were so busy, but she read the other three in two weeks. Layla is being social and made several new friends at church today. And Seryn is trying to keep up with her sisters.
Today was our first day in our new ward. We are in the Grandview 8th ward. It is strange being in a new area with new people. Everyone seems so different, but maybe we're the ones who are different. But people seem nice. The girls will get to participate in another primary program on the 25th. Our last Sunday in Casper, they did the one in our ward and will get to do one here too! We also will get to go Trunk or Treating, and they have a ward temple night once a month too, which will be neat. Everything seems to be within 2 miles of our house (except Walmart, which is 3.7 miles.) The temple is just up the street a few blocks! We are beginning to enjoy it here, though we don't know many people yet. Shane is still looking for a job and has a few leads, so we hope he'll have something soon.
So per my sister's request, here's a picture of the outside of our house. It's a twin home and we only own the one side (for now.) The otherside is going into foreclosure and Shane would really like to buy it and rent it out. We'll see.

Here's a picture of Layla's fat lip. She was playing outside one day and biffed it! Her lip was pretty fat for a couple days.

The first two days we were in Provo, it rained. (It snowed in SLC, so I'm grateful for the rain.) Every day since it has been 55 - 65 degrees. It's been so nice!
Here's Seryn in the rain. She's finally starting to get over her fear of the rain. However, there was no thunder and as long as she had an umbrella, she was just fine. She even took off her shoes and socks!

Lylli and Layla were taking turns playing under the eave of the house where the water was dripping!

They had so much fun!

All in all, we're doing well. The unpacking is nearly done and I will probably begin painting this week! We'll see how that goes.

*Lylli is sitting next to me editing as I type and volunteering various information (such as the title.)

Update and Our New House

Today is the first day I have forced myself NOT to unpack and straighten the house. I have SO much stuff! The girls are really enjoying having a new house and having their things again! I have been VERY tired. The best time to get things done is after the kids go to sleep, so I've been staying up too late! Shane has been in Casper because he still works there and it's been hard to have him gone. But the Blevins girls have come over a couple times to help. That has been very nice! Thanks girls! I have enjoyed the company and help!

Lylli started school on Friday and really liked it. I really like the programs they have there. Her teacher has an honor roll program for kids who need more projects to do. They are pretty detailed and advanced projects she can chose to do, so that will be nice! They also have a GT program at the school. The way that works is that she will attend class with her class and then they'll just pull her out a couple hours a week (or so) for the GT program. They also have a program where they speak English in the morning and French in the afternoon. They just started that this year and they started with the 1st grade, so Lylli won't be able to do that, but that will be an option for Layla. I haven't decided about that yet, but it's neat that the school has so many options.

Layla has already made good friends with the little girls across the street and the girls have been playing everyday. It's nice for them to have friends to play with!

Seryn has been enjoying going through boxes! It's like Christmas finding all sorts of things!

I thought that everyone may want to see some pictures of the house. Of course, pictures never do the house justice, so I guess you will just have to come to Provo to get a first hand look yourself! We LOVE company.

For our house warming presents, the girls and I got Halloween shirts! They loved them.

Now keep in mind, I'm planning to paint everything, so I'll be posting before and after pictures later. And I don't have pictures of everything but this may give you a little idea.

Lylli's room. She got to chose if she wanted her own room or have the smaller room by herself. She chose her own room and loves it!

She also got to get a new bed. She originally wanted a bed/desk. The bed on top and the desk underneath. But it was too expensive and she already had a neat desk. But I like this and I think she likes it now too.
Layla and Seryn's room. Layla loves being on the top bunk and Seryn loves being a big girl with a big bed and being on the bottom!

This is the family room upstairs.

This is the other side of the family room where Shane has his TV. That was the first thing he set up!

The downstairs bathroom.

My dining room which is directly opposite of the kitchen. It's nice to have a place that will fit my table!

And of course, my kitchen. I thought it would be smaller than my last kitchen but I have enough space for everything.

This is the living room as seen from the loft upstairs. That's kind of fun!

And the living room from the front door. Do you like the boxes?

Over all, we are enjoying our new home! Thanks for all your love and support!