And Here It Is!

TaDa! Rebecca admiring the finished room!

The walls are a warm chocolate brown. It has a "close" resemblence to Lisa's basement walls! We have a new clock-----a necessity in every bathroom!

New wall decor, new towel holders new towels, new overhead light. I hear Bryan Nelson installed the towel holders. Yes, it became a very "involved" project!

New door and window trim and wallboard. Lisa painted the knobs on the vanity to match the curtain rod/towel holders.

New shower curtain and rod. Well, there you have it! The new and improved bathroom! You'll just have to come and see it for yourself!! :)

Extreme Makeover!

I have been talking about re-doing the bathrooms for a year, but I just hadn't gotten started! I had planned a trip to Mother and Dad's in February and the girls decided that while I was gone, they would re-do the main bathroom. They began asking specific questions when I was going, how long I was staying, etc. To complicate the issue my trip got delayed by one day, then they really started calling asking when I was leaving, how were Grandpa/Grandma doing, were Marilyn and Barry going on their trip...... On Monday morning Lisa showed up with children and Rebecca came and they informed me "the crew" had arrived!

I left as planned on Tuesday, but had no idea of paint colors or what the color scheme would be. I wasn't afraid, though, because Rebecca and Lisa are classy decorators! Here's Lisa pulling nails out of baseboard wood. Yes, the work was being done in the hallway, on the carpet :)

Ryan hadn't planned on being an "active" participant. In his words the girls looked at him with these sad "puppy dog" eyes so he helped with the drywall patching because.......

the wallpaper must have been put on with vinyl glue and it was a PAIN to get off. I'm sure the girls had planned on this being a one-day project. I think it took most of the week. Sorry, Girls! The wallpaper came off in tiny bits and of course, the drywall got gouged, so that had to be repaired. Ugh! They made me vow that I would never put up wallpaper again!

I'm sure Rebecca was thinking, "What did we get ourselves into!" My next blog will be the finished "makeover" pics. It turned out fabulous! Thanks, Kids.

Not Playing Around!!

Ryan decided he was DONE fighting the cold. From the picture you just can't feel how cold it really is today. He was decked out in his snowboarding goggles, mask and his "new" John Deere furry hat.

And this is how he looked when I got his attention!

Hey, Mr Tyler, how's it going?? A night at Grandma's.

Merry Christmas 2010

This year Kayla wanted to be "Mary" when we read the Christmas story. Last year she was an angel. Not a bit of hesitation on her part!

Joshua was certain he wanted to be "Joseph".....until they were driving to our house. Somehow....Brian was able to skinny into the costume I had made for Joshua and he played the part of Joseph. Kayla and Joshua were sure that Tyler wanted to be "Baby Jesus" instead of a sheep. Tyler was not amused with the idea of being wrapped as a "babe in swaddling clothes!"

"just let me sit with my Uncle Ryan"

Joshua and Aunt Rebecca with big smiles.

This picture wasn't posed. Poor Bryan just couldn't handle all the excitement while opening presents :)

It's Time for an Update!

Remember the first time you tried to rollerskate! Ryan was helping Henry skate. It was much easier on the carpet!!

Henry, Max, and Joshua helping Stephen check out the "laptop."

Happy 6th Birthday, Joshua.

This is how you shop at Lowe's with a broken ankle. I was actually surprised Richard consented to use the cart.

Mom and Dad's Creative Projects

This picture doesn't do justice to see how big this building is that is going up over at the lot. This view is looking west. They guys have really been putting in long hours trying to get as much done as they can before bad weather begins. Richard has spent many evenings drawing the plans on the couch, re-drawing plans on the couch, etc.

I thought part of the picture was "missing" then I realized that is part of the privacy fence showing in the corner. I get a little nervous watching the guys perched up on the beams. That's Brian up on the beams at the moment, but Ryan has seen his share of time up there, too.

So while Dad is drawing his plans for this huge building, I was downstairs sewing doll clothes. Kayla is getting this baby doll for her birthday and Lisa said it would be fun to have matching jumpers for the doll and Kayla. She made Kayla's jumper, and I made the doll's. Then I just kept making outfits. It was so much fun!!

The hat was so much fun. Who can remember the fabric?? Rebecca had her leg in a cast for three months when she wore that dress!!

Okay....this is the last outfit I'll post. I had tooo much fun sewing these outfits!

Happy Birthday, Brian

We finally found a time when we all had free and had a birthday supper for Brian! Joshua was more than ready to offer to help blow out the candles!

....and of course we played a party game --- Pin the Tail on the Donkey! We all played and Rebecca was chief organizer. Dad was just certain she had him faced in the wrong direction after spinning around.

Here are the final results. Notice number 12 is "Bem!"

If the party games weren't enough, then it was time to carve pumpkins. Deal of the day was $1.00 pumpkins at Ron's IGA.

Kayla wanted to not only carve her pumpkin, but also paint her pumpkin! Fun evening.