CA Vacation Day One

We were able to go to California this last week with Colby's family and we had a blast! The first day there we went to the beach and FROZE! Unfortunately, we choose a very cold week to be there. It was hard to leave the 90 degree weather in Phoenix for the 60 degree weather in California. After walking in the sand and ocean without shoes we weren't able to find a place to wash our feet so Kim and Lachelle made do with an outdoor hand washing facility by the bathroom. The crazy people at the beach were actually swimming in that overcast cold weather. I guess Colby and I have adjusted to Phoenix alot more quickly than I expected.

The photo below is an accurate photo of how the guys spent most of the trip, gathered around Colby's phone looking at something or other.

New Life, New Messes

This Spring we were very excited to see that a Mama Hummingbird was building her nest in our carport. We checked daily to see if the little eggs had hatched. Every time we went outside the Mama bird would fly away so we have watched the nest through our living room side window. Finally it happened, we saw Mama feeding the baby birds. Slowly the birds have been getting bigger. If you look closely you can see two beaks sticking up out of the nest.

You are thinking "Awww, how cute!" right?! Wrong! What we didn't factor in and what most people fail to think about is that Mama bird doesn't leave the nest to take care of business, she just lifts her little hind end over the edge of the nest to make sure it doesn't land in nest. As the baby birds have gotten bigger, they have followed Mama's example very well. What does this mean? Well, my car is completely covered and I dive into every time I need to leave, afraid that I will be tagged getting in. If you look closely, all the white marks are from the birds. Oh the joys of new life.

Okay, I am embarrassed to admit that I drafted this post some time ago and thought I had posted it but I hadn't. A quick update on the birds, turns out hummingbirds have more than one clutch a year and she is currently sitting on new eggs and I anticipate that I will have a dirty car for the next couple of months.

Spring in the Desert

When we moved in our front yard was bare, except for a few desert plants. It has been pleasantly surprising to see the wildflowers flourish in our front yard. (Well, it was pleasant until we got a warning from the city that it is a fire hazard and we had to mow them down.)

I was able to go hiking with Erika and the boys a couple of weeks ago and it was crazy to see how green everything is. Granted, we have one of the highest rates of rain in decades so everything is growing like crazy. Haydn took his light saber and cleared the path for us. Thanks to him we didn't have any attacks from the enemy. :)

Study Assistance

Lately Smokey Joe has decided that every time I am studying he needs to come in and help me. Half the time he climbs onto my lap as I am sitting at the table, forcing me to scoot back further from the table and contort my body in unnatural ways to work around him. (Because of course I can't just kick him off my lap.) The other half of the time he just lays right down on top of my papers so I can't read them at all. If Colby is home I can usually convince Smokey Joe to go bother him but if I am home by myself than it keeps things interesting.

Refinishing Project

Before:
After:
This weekend I restained a piece of furniture that I recently acquired from Dad. I am the third generation to own this buffet and it looked well loved before I fixed it. Old English makes a nick and scratch repair stain for dark woods. Because of the detail work on the front of the the buffet I didn't want to do a full refinish. I am very pleased with how it turned out. I was able to do the entire buffet, inside and out, using less than half of the bottle of stain. The photo below shows the difference between the two legs, one restained and one not.

Giveaway on Novelreaction.com

I am giving a novel and box of Godiva Chocolates away in honor of Valentine's Day. Just go to novelreaction.com and leave a comment to be entered. Good Luck!

Jillian Junior Prom

I was able to go to St. George last weekend to help Jillian get ready for Junior Prom. She had a great time and looked amazing! The dress she was wearing is one that Jordanne got for a dance and this was the first time Jordanne would even let her try it on. (Jordanne said it was because Jillian would look better in the dress than she did.) Jill looked all grown up and beautiful!

































Jocee was able to bring Mily and Cartr down to spend the day with us and help get Jillian ready for the dance. Mily was so cute! Mily loved watching us get Jill ready, she kept wanting to be in the bathroom with us, handing us the bobby pins while we did her hair. Jocee kept trying to get her to go play with the toys in the other room and Mily kept coming back to watch what we were doing. I pointed to the dress hanging in Dad's room and Mily, her eyes as big as saucers, said, "OHHHHH, it's SOOOOO pretty!!" Jocee is in trouble with her girlie-girl.