Updates

Just a few updates. Layla has started riding her bike again. She was riding without training wheels in March or April but when she discovered that none of her friends could, she no longer wanted to and talked herself into believing she couldn't. Well, when Shane moved down for good, she decided to ride again. And since we have no yard, that's all she's been doing. Her bike was too little, so we decided to get her a bigger one. We debated about waiting until Christmas, but we got her something else for Christmas, and since that's all there is to do outside, we decided to go ahead and give it to her.

And she LOVES it!!! And she rides every day!

She's even been on several bike rides with her dad!

Shane and I finished the kitchen a week ago (or so.) Here's the before shot.

And this is what it looks like all done.

It's different, but we really like it!

*And just an FYI: The guy who offered Shane the transmission job backed out, so we are still jobless. So prayers on our behalf are welcome.

Happy Halloween!

Halloween has come and gone! It was so beautiful here in Utah! And the kids had a great Halloween. We attended the ward Halloween party and Trunk or Treat. Shane made it back to Utah just in time to attend! It's always wonderful to see him! The girls and I also carved pumpkins! They love doing that! Lylli got a coupon at school for the Days Market for a free pumpkin, so we had to get them there! And what luck! Pumpkins were 9 cents a pound!

On Halloween, here in Provo, they actually still go door to door trick or treating! What fun!!! It was our family's first time going door to door and the girls had a blast! Shane and I used to bundle up with snow pants under our costumes and go when we were little, but here all we needed was a coat. On the street we went down, a family had rented a couple giant commercial blow up slide things. So all the kids from the neighborhood got to play on them! They even had spotlights out for after it got dark. If was a giant party! And the girls had a ton of fun! And they are already asking when Halloween comes around again.

Lylli is a 'garden' fairy!

Layla is a beautiful princess.

Seryn is a fairy. (And yes, her wings are upside down, but when they were on the other way, they kept flopping onto her head and she kept bending her head over. So she preferred to wear them this way!)

Shane at the ward party as a zombie. He did the Zombie Ball for YEC before he left Casper. (I think Will's band played for it too.) Anyway, Shane had quite a bit of make-up and looked pretty freaky, I guess. He didn't have time for that at the ward party, which was probably a good thing! Still, it was fun because this was the first year since we've been married that he's dressed up!

And me. Shane and I only dressed up for the ward party. I made this dress 10 years ago and had Lylli help me squeeze into it. I think I must have made it big. Either that or else my chest size is exactly the same size! (With only a little more meat on my ribs!) Still, it was fun looking beautiful. Especially when the kid next door did a double take and couldn't think of anything intelligible to say to me! That always makes a girl feel good! :)

*P.S. Shane got a job at a transmission shop in Orem. He should start full-time next week. However, he is still in the running for the position as the assistant dean at UVU. So, he may get to choose what he wants to do!

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.)