Up all night

While Robert was running the Ragnar and basically staying awake all night... I was up all night too.  I got this last minute idea when I was getting contact solution for Robert late one night.  I have been looking for some solution for our bedroom, fabric that I like, comforter/duvet cover that I like.  I wasn't for sure what I wanted.  I did want a bedskirt which we didn't have, I wanted a pretty place to unwind and a place that would be desirable to be in.  (I was going to get him a holding banquet type table.)

While I was shopping I ran across a "bed in a bag" kind of thing, which had sheets, blanket, sham covers, bedskirt all in the same package.   Most the one I see and like are upwards of $100 or $200.  I am cheap... I am VERY cheap and don't like spending that kind of money on things.  Robert on the other hand, he is not cheap, he doesn't even look at the price tags I don't think. 

This bed set was $44, so I thought.... I can do that for a KING size bedding set.  I can live with that.  Not to mention fabric may be at least that and then I would have to sew it too.  At that point I thought... this will be for Robert's father's day gift.  I grabbed the bedding and then went to look at fabric.

I got fabric for the curtains, for $5....  a piece that would do shear under curtains and then grey outter curtains too.  I also picked up a grey flat sheet for $3 which I thought would come in handy.  (I love buying cheep fabric from other things to fill my needs.  I often will go to second hand stores and buy sheets that I like for other things, or even curtains to turn into different things.)

I also have been wanting to get a headboard for our bed, which we have NEVER had for any of our beds.  I remember seeing something with wooden pallets that people have used the wood from them to make other thigns... then I also remembered seeing a wooden fence like look for a daybed or a girls garden kind of bed.  I decided I would kind of go that route. 

It was Friday about 2pm and I found some wooden pallets off KSL classifieds for free... picked them up and then went to get paint from Walmart.  I also got some sand paper.  (Later found out we already had sandpaper, but that is okay.) 

I came home started pulling the boards off the pallet... and my goodness, they are stuck on there really hard!  They have those pallet nails I guess they are called, they are twisted nails, so they are inbetween a nail and a screw.  They don't pull out too well.  I had a hard time getting them out without breaking the boards or splitting them in half. 

I finally just got Robert's circular saw and cut down the sides of the pallet, then I just had the middle nails to get out of the boards.  Some of the boards would have 4-6 nails in just one side of the board.  Once I started cutting the boards things went much smoother.

At about midnight, after putting the girls back to bed (they were having a friend sleepover) I started to sand my boards.  I had shut my garage door, and spent the next 3 hours sanding my boards.  I then played with the salvagable boards to make a headboard.  I didn't have enough of them to make a full headboard without spaces, so I moved things around and played with it. 

I then decided to paint some of the boards pink and some grey.  I painted all my boards and about 4am, I ran out of paint.  Ugh!  I didn't want to go to the store to get more paint with the kids at home.  I knew I needed to clean the house too, so I went inside and cleaned the kitchen starting with the dishes. 

Once the paint was dry (it didn't take too long) I started arranging the boards together, and then nailing them together.  I have to admit, I wasn't loving it... something was missing.  I couldn't do anything more, it was now 5:30 am... I swept the floors and did some laundry and sent a few texts to Robert who was trying to figure out why I was awake.  Finally at 6am I went to bed, knowing I needed to wake kids up at 8:30 to get breakfast before the sleepover girl had to go home at 9:30ish. 

I woke up at 8, took a shower and suprisingly felt pretty good all day.  I think it was because I was too busy and was on the go all day so I didn't have time to be tired.

I talked to my sister for ideas... since I wasn't loving it and was afraid it wouldn't look rustic but instead just look like it was unfinished with the screw holes and the cracks in the boards.  I was afraid the fabric style and the headboard style wouldn't match. After talking to hear I decided to putty some of the holes and paint the whole thing grey and leave the pink out.  I puttied and sanded, then repainted.

In the meantime of it all, I made the curtains, hung them and cleaned all the toys out of our room and tried cleaning things up in there.  I made the bed and pulled it out so I could attach the headboard.  I sanded the corners of the boards and got a call from Robert that was saying he was on his way home... I quickly took the headboard up to my room (it was in two parts) and screwed it to the wall.  I pushed the bed back, put all the pillows on it and it looked great, or so I thought!

I am always trying to be frugile and Robert knows that... so once he saw it and we were laying in bed, I was asking him... how much do you think the headboard cost me?  He answered $4.  I told him to guess realisticly, then he said $40.  He knows how frugile I am I guess.  The headboard cost me $17... wood was free, paint was about $13 (including the pink that I repainted) and the sand paper was about $4.  And the curtains were $5, oh and the curtain rod was like $7.  I did buy 2 extra pillows too for the shams so that was extra too.  With all that, even though it was a good buy and things were pretty cheap in my oppinion, I was out of grocery money... which is what I used.  Oops! 

Amber seems to like our bed too! Almost as much as she likes her hat which she wore to the girls' baptism.

Now I just need to work on the furniture in our bedroom that I would like to replace...  Maybe that will be for Robert's birthday in September?

Good Clean Fun

Maybe not really clean, but it was fun, or so they said!

The kids were playing in the left over dirt from our yard, that is piled up in the area that will someday be our playground area. 

I think someone decided they needed water... but I think they got a little carried away!

If you think this looks bad, you should see TWO of my bathrooms now!!

This was from Lindsey, Lauren, and Thomas, a cousin from WA and a neighbor boy that must have decided it all looked fun too!

They took turns hosing them off, and then Robert took over with the hose.

Girls got Baptized

Did I already say I can't believe my twins are 8?  Where did the time go? 

My girls got baptized today, and it was fantastic!  We had lots of family and friends there supporting them, it was so wonderful!  Afterwards we had a little BBQ at our house. 

I am so proud of the girls for making this choice to follow Jesus and be baptized like he was.  It melts my heart!  I was over joyed today with a flood of emotions that I tried to hold back.  As we prayed in preparation for the baptism and talked to the girls about what a wonderful thing this for them, what a special occasion this is. 

What a wonderful day!  I feel bad for Emily because she was feeling a little bad about how not many people came to her baptism.  My parents and 2 of the girls' cousins came from WA for the baptism.  Robert's parents live here now and could attend the baptism. My parents nor Robert's parents were able to attend her baptism.  She of course recognized that and was feeling bad for herself.  Poor thing.  Why is it that she can't see what the wonderful person she is and that she doesn't have to compete with her sisters.  Poor Emily, she is really struggling right now, and in turn.... I am REALLY struggling with her too and her outburst and (as she would say) her odious behavior toward those in our immediate family.

Robert's Ragnar

This last weekend was the big Ragnar race for Robert.  He looks forward to it every year.  Last year after the race, he was so excited about it he signed up to do the Ragnar in Nevada (around Mead Lake I think) and then even looked into doing the Ragnar in Washington while he was up there too.  He planned his trip around the race.  He will be doing the Northwest Passage (Ragnar race in Washington) again this year.  Again, we planned our trip around it. 

This is the half of the team that was together in the car.

While he was gone running for 2 days I had a last minute idea for Father's day and spent the 2 days working almost non-stop.  That will be a post for later with pictures hopefully (since Robert had my camera at the race, I only had my phone so I am not sure how the pictures will turn out.)

Here is their car.... all decorated.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the Ragnar, it is a 12 person team that takes turns running.  It is relay style so you have a slap bracelet kind of thing that you pass off to the next person.  They have these exchange places all set up where you meet your next runner ready to go.  Then that person runs to the next exchange and then passes off to the awaiting runner.  You have to run 3 different times, and the sections of the race are ranged from easy to very difficult based on distance and elevation change.  You have to stay in the same order and if for some reason one person gets hurt or can't finish their portion then someone else can run in place of them but from then on they have to be the proxy for that person everytime they are suppose to run. 

Normally you have 2 cars, with 6 runners in each car.  Robert really likes doing this race, he has a lot of fun.  I volunteered for the NW Passage Ragnar that goes from the city just barely south of the Canada border (Blaine) to Langley, WA that is on one of the islands (Whidby) in the Puget Sound area...  It has to be a pretty amazing race with the scenery and all.  When Robert does that race he is on a Ultra Team that is a 6 person team instead of a 12 person team.  Instead of running one section you run two in a row and then pass off to the next runner who then runs 2 as well before passing off.  You end up running longer distance.  Last year they had a guy not show up so they ended up doing it with 5 people... Robert was suppose to run 25 miles, and he was a little nervous about it but ended up running I 40 miles in the 2 days.   This year hopefully they have all 6 people show up.  He was so beat last year running all those miles. 

Does anyone else run the Ragnar? 

S'mores without the chocolate and grahams

Emily is in California with her Grandparents (Robert's parents) visiting family.  I thought it would be fun to do some fun things with the girls while she was gone.  They haven't complained about not getting to go but I wonder if it will come up later. 

Last year we didn't ever make it camping.  I hope to go camping this year.  My girls are getting older now so it should be easier right?  One of the things the girls LOVE to do when we camp is of course.... make s'mores! 

One day after church Robert had a meeting so we were kind of on our own for dinner.  I told the girls we could cook a hot dog on the fire and then roast marshmallows afterwards.  They liked that idea.

Appearently Samantha didn't go to the nursery so Robert came home a little early to BBQ hot dogs and hamburgers. The girls were alittle upset that we didn't get to do the hot dogs but we still were on for the marshmallows. 

Samantha wasn't interested in marshmallows or roasting anything at all.  Amber was for a small bit but then she was off to play too.  I couldn't find our normal roasting tools, so I refashioned some wire hangers and made some roasting tools.  (I don't like wire hangers in the closet but they are good for some things.)

The girls had a fun time... and maybe next time I will be prepared and have graham crackers on hand.  I did have chocolate bars in the freezer, but didn't tell the girls that. 

Soccer is over (well for the girls)

The girls had a great time with soccer!  This was the first time they played it and all three of them looked forward to practice and their games.  The girls had great coaches too.  They look forward to play again in the fall. 

While the girls soccer is over, Robert is on a competive league (Utah Soccer Associate I think) and also on a different co-ed league.  He is no longer on the indoor team but I am sure he will be when the other soccer ends.

Emily is getting ready at Lindsey and Lauren's game.  We had to leave sometimes before theirs was over to get to her game on time.

Emily did all she could to convince someone else to put on her socks... a chore she didn't like to do.

Amber loved sitting in the camp chairs we would bring.  She even loved it more once we got a pink little kids chair.  That was her chair from that point on.

At Emily's game field we always saw airplanes.  Samantha would point them out and then say, "bye airplane!"

I look forward to doing soccer in the fall with the girls too.  That is if they are wanting to still do it.

Lindsey and Lauren turn 8

Being a twin is pretty cool... I know what its like.  But in other ways its not always nice.  For me it wasn't too bad because not many people mixed my brother and I up.  Lindsey and Lauren are always confusing to people who is who.  Lindsey has braces now but still it seems to still be a problem. 

In the past we have sang to the girls together, this year we decided to do them seperately.  We sang to Lindsey and she danced during the Happy Birthday song.  She blew out her candles.

She wanted a dog cake.  I took a cake mix and put it into 2 8in square pans and then stacked them.  I then traced the 8in pan on a paper and drew what the dog shape should be from the top.  Then I started cutting.  OH-totally a good idea to freeze the cake before cutting it that much.  Then I kind of just went from there on how the dog shape should be.  I thought it turned out pretty good for my first time.  I think it would have been easier and been better if it was bigger to start with.  It is hard to shape something so small.

Then it was Lauren's turn... we sang to her and she blew out her candles.  Samantha was in front of her cake and she blew out some of the candles.  I guess she knows what to do now for birthday cakes.

Lauren's cake I wasn't even going to put on here... I was very disappointed with it.  I ran out of frosting and the cake just didn't take shape really.  I used the pan for the barbie doll type pan.  I forget what it is called, but the cake is the dolls dress and you put a doll pick in the top or a barbie in the middle.  I couldn't get it right... the cat turned out kinda scary and pretty ugly I thought.  The face, the front legs... it is just not good.  It did look a little better once I put on the collar, but before that I was not even liking it.

Then came the presents... Amber got the girls some stuffed animals from the zoo.  We had gone to the zoo and at our house it was nice and sunny but at the zoo it was really cold.  My girls were in shorts and summer clothes, so I bought some sweats for my little girls and then got a great discount on the animals.  We did this the very first thing at the zoo so the girls rode in the stroller with animals.  Samantha held the giraffe the whole time. When we got home I imediately wrapped the animals so Samantha and Amber wouldn't keep playing with them.  Although Amber told the girls what she got them. 

When Lauren opened the giraffe, Samantha saw it and said, "jaf," grabbed it and took off with it.  She acted like she lost her little friend and then was happy to see him again.  Poor Lauren. 

Of course Lindsey knew what she was getting since Amber already told her... an elephant.  Isn't it cute!

The girls turned 8, so they will be baptized, and got scriptures for their birthday.

Here is Lauren with her scriptures too.

And they also got new dresses to wear at their baptism.  Lindsey was in a bad mood.

I can't believe my girls are 8!  I can still remember being on the ultrasound table seeing two rib cages and the tech saying, "you knew you were having twins right?"  When I recall that moment I still feel a little panic of being overwelmed.  I am glad the hard part of having two little new babies is over.  That first year or so seems like a blur.  My twins are 8, wow!

Amber's Dance

On Samantha's birthday... we had soccer games for the big girls and also a dance recital for Amber.  It was a busy day.  Amber was all excited about her dance... she wouldn't even take a nap that day.  Poor thing was so worn out by the time dance started at 7pm with no nap and bedtime is early for my girls anyway.  She still did great!

By the way, I made her tutu... cute isn't it!  It had more static electricity than I wanted but forgot to get something for it.  I did rub a dryer sheet on it but it didn't fix it all.

The girls were introduced and then waited for the rest of the girls to come out.  So cute aren't they!!

Amber seemed to be a little off, but she was still fun to watch.

Then something happened and she had a hang nail or something that kept bothering her so she gave attention to her thumb/finger so she wasn't really dancing much.

This is the beginning of the video I put on here... check previous posts for the video.

These are all the girls that were in the class.  Leave it to Amber to make some really silly face instead of looking all nice and cute.  Funny girl.

After I told her to put her fingers down then she was all grumpy and didn't really smile or do what she was suppose to.  I am not sure which was really better.  She is learning too much drama from the older girls.