Much Needed Feng Shui....

Do you have a spot in your house that just doesn't feel quite right?

You rearrange.

You switch some pillows.

You move a picture.

You add a rug.

Nothing.  It still feels "off" and you can't figure out why.

That has been the story of my living room for the last 7 1/2 years.  Seriously.  And I finally figured out the problem 2 weeks ago.  It all started with the grand idea of a backsplash.  Stick with me here.  (I know a certain friend who can appreciate this humble beginning.  I blame her for what unfolds next.)

I thought the problem was in the kitchen.  Liven it up.  Add a nice pop of color and brighten everything.  So, naturally, the first step would be to repair small drywall holes and dings in the dining room.  Every good BS job (short for backsplash, not the other stuff) starts in the DR.

Walls repaired.

Now to primer; because somewhere in time we thought it was an awesome idea to paint the room dark green.  (Please don't ask why or how.  It just happened.  And we're not looking back.)

Time for paint.

I finally got my beautiful yellow!  I'm in love with this new color, yet I can't remember what it's called.  (If someone really cares, I'll look it up.)  It's so bright and cheerful and really brightens up the kitchen and LR too.

The brightness makes me smile.

Mission accomplished, right?

Wrong.  Now I'm on this DIY kick and I'm feeling pretty talented.  Plus, I haven't quite done the BS yet, so I press on.

Because the room looks so great, I decide to kick it up a notch and install all new door knobs.  I LOVE them!!  It's amazing how a little piece of hardware can change the look of a room.

(For an update, click HERE.)  Just kidding.  That won't take you anywhere.  When I did the back door, I may have accidentally ripped out a little bit of the door frame, which forced me to manhandle the entire side of it off.  I just tell people we're remodeling to hold off questions until Clint can get home and fix it.  And also, the outside knob to the garage door leading in to the kitchen may have fallen off.  But, I blame Ethan because it was in his hand when it happened, and he broke one of my sliding door handles on my old van.  He's cute so it's not like I can be mad.  There's a chance something wasn't installed right, but that's doubtful.  Consider it added to Clint's "Welcome Home" list.  :(  Sorry, babe.

Ok, the rest is going good, mostly, so now I'm thinking, something has to give with this living room.  And it hits me.  After all this time of disliking our tv in the big space above the fireplace, I finally call Directv and have them move the cable jack.  Then I call the neighbor to lay the cable under the carpet and restretch it.

Fast forward.....buy and assemble new TV stand (which I love doing!).  No, really.  I love putting things together.

Move TV.

Rearrange couches.

Add a few new pillows.  And a rug.

Slide a bookshelf.

Take down a few pictures for a more simplified look and you get the peaceful zen of my new living room!

The view as you walk in.
Hello, cuties!

I kept the stripes.  I still like them.
And I didn't want to repaint.

Different angle.  There's still a little work to do
but overall, I love it.

I feel so much more relaxed.

Now the only thing left to do is pick out a new backsplash.

Barely.

This thing is barely on.

I made this big dramatic post about gettin' mah groove back and then I fizzled out like this generation's 4th of July sparklers.  ('Cause let's face it.....they don't make 'em like they used to.  We'd light 'em and something was sure to catch on fire, including but not limited to: clothes, hair, flesh, lawn furniture, lawns, etc.  They sparked like a dragging muffler and lasted forever!)

But really.  I constantly have blogging on my mind.  And like the above, I'm constantly making jokes, (to myself, of course), that I think would go great in a post.  Except I have to go in the basement and turn on my dinosaur computer to do it.  And so I tell myself I'll do it another day.  And now it's almost May.  Oh my gosh, I just rhymed!  No way!

(It's sad how many times I've made myself chuckle already.  And used parenthesis.)

Moving forward:

Let me pick a topic, find some pictures, and entertain you for a moment.  I mean, document my family life to preserve history for my children.

We're gonna call this "Random".  Because that's the best way to jump back in.  Shove it all down your throat at once.

For Spring Break we spent one of our days off at the Manitou Cliff Dwellings.  I'm a history nerd and I think it's rubbing off on my kids.  They enjoy looking at artifacts from long ago and seeing how life was so different for people before our time.

No field trip is complete without something from the giftshop.
The Lone Ranger meets bank robber.
He loves wearing gloves.

This guy got his first pocket knife.  (I bet he doesn't know where it is now.)
And a suction cup bow and arrow set.

This is Haiden.  Being Haiden.
Just taking this picture made the little brothers laugh hysterically.
And he was so happy with his switchblade comb
and glow in the dark rock.  It's the little things.....

This was not something from the gift shop.
This was sad me.
Getting a root canal just one week later.
I'm thinking of using this for my next headshot, should I ever need one again.

And, as of a few weeks ago, my sweet girl is a working girl!
Wait, not the Julia Roberts, 'Pretty Woman' kind.
We're so proud of her!

This one is just sweet.  All jokes aside, Jett loves his big sissy
and I think she's pretty in love with him too.

So, this was just a screen shot of our life.  A quick flash of a few things that have passed.  Because whether I write about them or not, they continue to pass.  I better play catch up.

Testing, Testing.....? Is This Thing On...?

This is a test.  I haven't blogged in almost 2 years and by the looks of things.....I've got a lot to re-learn.  This is an attempt to get back to the keyboard.  Our laptop took a dump about 2 years ago and we never got it fixed.  And I never tried to blog on the desk top.  But, until I'm gifted my shiny new Macbook, I'm sucking it up and getting back to the grind.  I've had so much life happen and no documentation to prove it.

And so today, I make a vow to change that.  I can't promise daily, or even weekly, blog entries.  What I can promise is.......well, you'll at least be able to see this.

We'll see what happens from here.

Back on the Fourth of July....

Well look who's back to blogging!  Me!

I figured I better write about last 4th of July before the next one approaches.  And, at the speed which the year is flying by already, I'd say that's right around the corner.

What a great view!

Here we are!  Holy crap, my family is huge!

The heads.

Me with the kids.
(Notice the little girl in the bottom left corner.
Several times that day, I thought she was our Destini.)

Here we are with the father of our country, George Washington.
Wait, where's Ethan?  (Did you even notice?)
The amazing photographer said she had everyone in the shot.
Thank goodness I didn't pay for this.  Haha!

We were also lucky enough to get our family picture taken with Abe Lincoln but because of cropping issues as well, that one wasn't even salvageable.  It was either, cut the whole family off to see Abe, or cut Abe off at the belly button to see the fam.  I figured you'd have enough family shots.

Jett was getting so tired and it felt great to be in the shade with dad.
Notice the puppy "backpack" he's wearing.
He's an adventurer and likes to wander.
This way he doesn't wander too far!

This guy was done.
He didn't even care to stay awake for some good pizza.

Our next stop was to Crazy Horse Monument.  I remember visiting this right after I graduated high school on my way to Utah.  Not much has changed.  I'm not being sarcastic, I just mean, usually you visit some place many years down the road and you can hardly recognize it.  Not this one.  Take your time people.  These rocks aren't going anywhere fast.

I better add: the entire funding for the blasting is all from donations and there's been a good change since I was last there.  BUT, because of cost, and the final size of the monument, I'm not even sure if this thing will be done in my lifetime.  No matter though.  It was still really cool to see the progress, which was noticeable, (because of the progression pictures they have on the wall).  The gift shop was cool and, of course, the kids wanted to blow every penny they brought with them.  It's so hard to teach control while on vacation.  Many times we opted for the "squished penny" keepsake.

It turned overcast very quickly after lunch and I
wasn't able to get a good picture of the mountain.
You'll have to settle for the scale model on the patio.

Jett hangin' out in the sling.

So there's a funny story here.....  After lunch, Jett still wasn't quite awake so he opted to be carried around.  Who wouldn't?  He didn't make a fuss, and only asked to get out once when it started to rain outside.  He wanted to see the Coi fish in the pond and play in the raindrops.  So, we're getting ready to leave and an older man says to me,
    "It's so nice to see you carrying your baby in that and not on one of those dog leashes."

My quick response was,

    "Well then, it's probably good we didn't run into each other at Mt. Rushmore."

'Mom-of-the-Year', right here, folks!

Round 2.  I would say this vacation was kicking his booty
but he was sick almost every single night we were there.
There's more to that later....

Ok.  There you go.  Another installment of our life that passed by so long ago.  I really have a ton more to update, and I think I'm finally feelin' my mojo.  This could be good people!

Thank you to everyone who's patient with me, and I hope you still enjoying reading it.

Oink, Oink, Moo....

This was one of the cutest days, by far.  We went to Old MacDonald's Petting Farm.  All the kids had a good time but I'm sure the little ones enjoyed it a little more than the big ones.

He wasn't sure whether he wanted to pet the baby.

And then he decided he liked them.

Ethan wanted to take them all home.

Kids, kids, and lambs.

Say cheese!  Wait, don't!  Goats eat anything!!

Jett was getting hungry.

Apparently everyone was.

"Here chicken, chicken, chicken..."

Waiting for the piggy races!

They thought the best spot would be by the "water hole".

The pork chops lining up.

And they're off!!

Coming around the bend...

And then we got wet.....Mmm.

What is he waiting for, you ask...?

The lawn mower-led choo-choo!

Ethan loved it.  Jett wanted nothing to do with it.

Haiden almost didn't fit in the car.
Surprise, surprise.

I can't believe I have enough children to fill all the holes!

 Another amazing day on our vacation in South Dakota!!  Stay tuned.  There's more where this came from!

Back In The Old West.....

Time to catch up on the blog.  Attempt #27.  (This resolution thing isn't going so well....)

During our amazing week in SD, (last summer), we spent one of our fun-filled days at the Circle B Ranch.  What an awesome place!  This was seriously an all day event.  We started out with some trail rides in the rain.  Definitely my favorite way to start the day!

Haiden being hardcore with no jacket.
He put it on later when the rain came down harder.

Same story for Hailey.
You have to at least start out looking cool.

Destini was just fine wearing her hoodie.
However, it was soaked for the rest of the day.

The lineup of the kiddos, including Abbey,
Dale and Krissy's daughter.

And here's me; ready for the weather.  Hat and rain coat.
Kids just don't listen.

The ride was awesome and took about 2 hours.  While all us girls, and Haiden, went riding, Clint went back to the cabin with Jett and Ethan to nap a little and get some rain gear for later.  Ethan was too young to ride with us and he was pretty bummed out.

During the ride, it was nice to feel my horse sense come back to me.  I grew up around horses and it's always fun to get back on them.

At one point, we had to cross a small river with a little bit of depth in the middle.  I was toward the end and watched carefully as the kids crossed.  There were several guides throughout the lineup but as a mom, that doesn't matter.  I still had to have eyes on them myself.  After I crossed there were just a few people left.

Out of nowhere, a lady's horse bolts!  She stayed on for a while but it wasn't long before she bailed off.  When she was crossing the water, her bright yellow rain jacket shook around the horses head and spooked it.  This caused the horse to get the hell out of dodge; only he couldn't figure out why this plastic crap was still on his back.

A few of the guides took off to try to stop the horse and myself and another guide took off to check on the lady.  She was alright, mostly just shaken up, and I'm sure she was a little sore later that day.  Things settled down after someone from the main camp came down to pick her up in the truck.  We then headed back to the barns to end our ride.  Talk about extra excitement!!  (On the way up, after witnessing that little fiasco, I was offered a job as a trail guide.  If only we lived closer.  Haha.)

When that was over, we headed to "town" and the kids got to shoot some pistols with wax bullets.  The three middles wanted to participate.  Hailey did not.  It's ok.  Shooting isn't her thing.  I don't see the military as an option for her future.

Ethan taking aim.
He was so excited when he hit a can.

Haiden's turn.
He also hit his mark.

Destini picking a target.
Either our kids are all good shots, or they had something set up...

This was Ethan's "trail ride".

He loved it.  Notice Mr. Ed's pinned ears.
They were like that the whole time.

Don't let this picture fool you.  He was a beast.
(The pony, not the boy.)

The boys had fun feeding the goats while waiting for the
Chuckwagon dinner.

This goat's thinking, "I wish that kid would spill the bag!"

Like a model at a photo shoot, Haiden chose his backdrop
for his picture.

My love and I.
(The bottle is Cream Soda made right in SD.)

For the second time on this trip, my friend Krissy and I
realized we wore the same outfit; by no sort of planning what-so-ever!
The first time was at the pool when we both
came out in the exact same swimsuit.  Haha!

Daddy and Jetty getting crazy waiting for the "Gun Show".

The "Biscuit Bandit" just ran through town
and stole some dinner biscuits!

The kids were given the opportunity to help chase down the "Bandit".
This is when Ethan turned around and said hell no!  He wanted nothing
to do with this little dog and pony show.
Moments later, the "Bandit" came back through, shooting his (cap) gun,
scaring the hell out of all the kids.  Ethan said, "See, I told you".

One kid enjoying some Buffalo meat, the other Chicken.
(The other one isn't chicken; she's eating chicken.)

The Cowboy Music Show.
Great tunes to enjoy with our Cowboy dinner! 

All filled up and enjoying the music!

This was such a great day.  The fun went from morning 'til night with no complaints from anyone.  Now that's my kind of vacation day!!