I'm not as young as i once was!

The girls really wanted to go to the carnival that comes to the mall parking lot every year. Well this year we decided they were old enough to go, so we invited a friend of ours to join us!  Kate wasn't old enough to ride most of the ride herself so i had to get a wrist band too!  Scott is so not a rides guy and so it falls on my shoulders to keep up with these ladies.  First ride they pick was the tilt a whirl......

Kate was so excited but the longer we were on the more she slumped down and began turning red.  I was afraid she was going to puke on me!  Bella and her friend Ashley were loving it!  Then Kate picked the carousel to ride next, and man was I dizzy after riding those two rides..... What the heck happened to me i loved fairs and going on rides.

Bella and Ashley are fearless, they went on all the rides and they were able to stomach all the twirling they encountered.  We decided Kate is more like daddy! The longer we were there the more red she got and the more she looked like she is going to puke.  I think the one that made me giggle a little was the roller coaster {kid size} Kate yelled " I want Daddy". Ohhhhh very sad but funny because she walks on all the rides with such confidence and then turns all squishy by the end! Bella's favorite ride was the gravitron, which spins them around while there standing. {i didnt join them on that}, and Kate loved the slide and berry go round.

Bella and Ashley all smiles

This is kate before she realized she didnt like roller coasters

I think this ride made her smile the most.... It was slow and went up and down steady

Bella thought this ride was more for the babies. {boring}

Kate is a serious cotton candy fan!

We were there for 3 hours riding and enjoying this beautiful day we had. It was a busy weekend Scott took the girls to a car show on Saturday night, air show on Sunday morning, and carnival Sunday afternoon.  I think tomorrow is going to be a low key day of  NOTHING. 

Curb Treasure

One of our neighbor's son has been cleaning out his dad's house, and one day they throw a bunch of chairs and furniture out on the side of the road. Well 3 chairs, and a book case had my name all over it!  Let me tell you the fabric on the three chairs were nasty, but the chair itself was a cute shape.  They were missing one chair of the set, but 2 of the 3 had arms and one didn't. I figured this would be a cute chair for Bella's desk!  So I made a trip over to Hancock Fabric to see what they had on sale, and my luck the bright color fabric i fell in love with was on sale for 50% off. Sweetness!  Then i ran to the Home Depot to get a some spray paint, i figured i didn't need much and spray paint is a quick and easy way to spruce up a chair.

I had to sand it down because it was super dirty and gross. Plus it's a good way to make sure your paint will stick to it good! It was kinda hard to sand this one with my sander because of all the grooves in the chair.  After all the physical  labor comes the fun part, spray painting! I used Eden... It's a fun green avocado-e color!

 I gave it one light coat first and let it dry in the sun. But when i came back i realized i should have let it dry in the garage. We have a lot of cotton wood trees around here and it has some fluffies on it!  After i picked them off  i gave it another coat of paint.

While that was drying i started on the fabric for the seat.  I usually just use the old fabric as my pattern, and use a staple gun to attach it to the wood and cushion.

 I have to say i love re-doing chairs because there quick and easy!  I had it almost ready by the time Bella came home from school.  It looks great in her baby pink room!  But now she is in the mood to repaint her room! Uggg... it does need it, she has so much grime on her walls that dont come off with the magic eraser. That might be my next project after i finish the other two chairs!  Those are going to be gray fabric with a soft aqua blue.

Good Bye's and New Beginnings

Hello! It's been a crazy few weeks here, and i'm typing over taking a nap on the couch. Well mainly because im sure Kate would sit on me if i fell asleep on the couch!

My Grandpa Virg passed away on the 2nd of May. Which was hard to say good bye, because we had so many great memories together. As a kid we lived only a few minutes from our Grandparents so we saw them a lot, and they were also our babysitters. My Grandpa had a stroke about 5 years ago and has declining health since.  Having a death in the family with small children is always difficult, it becomes a time where they ask "why" a lot. They are trying to figure out why things have changed all of a sudden.  I told Bella that Grandpa went to go live with Jesus, and a few hours later she came up and asked if Grandpa was going to be in our heart like Jesus is? I thought that was a great question.

Yesterday my mom took all her grand girls out shopping for Birthday presents since all there birthdays fall between may and June, and she was in MN at this time.  Kate and Bella picked getting there ears pierced, I have been psyching them up on that idea for about a year now.  So we went to claires, and last minute Bella chickened out, she said she would wait till she was 6. So i let another girl go first to get her ears pierced so she can see it's not that bad. After watching that girl Bella was game, but Kate raced to the chair, because she wanted to go first. But i figured I better make Bella go first just in case she chicken out!  And im sure glad I did. Bella did fine, she didn't cry or even flinch! Kate gets up in the chair then and she didn't want anyone to hold her hand, but I insisted!  And when the first ear got pierced she cried and cried and then second ear she really cried. I felt horrible. But she forgot about it in 5 minutes.  I'm so glad they were so brave, they are now picking out all the earrings they are going to wear when it's time. Dad had to leave and go shopping at Best Buy because he said he couldn't handle watching them get there ears pierced!  But they had there cousins and aunt Erinn and Uncle Ryan cheering them on!

Today im heading off to go do a couple weeks of physical therapy again on my back. Since the accident my back has been sore and causing me lot of back ache. So i figure i better go take care of it before it gets worse. And i don't want to undo all the physical therapy i did a year ago.  So im hoping a few sessions will put it back to where i was before.

2 in one week!

Seriously if i were to play a scenario out in my head this is not how i would've guessed this week would've went! Getting 2 cars in one week. Not our normal week we have here at our house!
Well last night we headed over to Andover to see Scott's co workers daughter's car that he wanted out of his driveway.  Seriously this guy is not a car guy at all! I'm not used to guys being so clueless when it comes to cars. He didn't even know the year of the car!  But it was black 1998 VW Jetta Wolfsburg edition, which im guessing is the fancy version of the car. Scott and I are not the most knowledgeable  VW people. We have never owned one or really even looked at them. We do know they hold there value! So we gave it a look over and put a battery charger on the car because it has sat in his drive way for 2 years.  Once that was charged and the car was started up we made a check list of things to be replaced. Loud muffler- need to weld the hole or replace it, tape on the little triangular window on the passenger rear window- needs to be replaced {35.00 for used one}, re-glue the spoiler back on, and buy a radio, and inflate the flat tire.  Apparently the daughter bought a newer jetta and left this jetta behind to sit for a couple years, and someone broke the glass and stole the radio. End of story.

So today im going to transfer the title with the owner and when Scott gets home, were off  to go pick up the car.  It might be scotts new car or we might sell it once we fix some of the stuff. It all depends on much he likes driving it. He has already got 2 request to buy his focus wagon!

Problem Solved

Well we finished our shopping adventure. I don't know if i would call it a adventure thought! It was more like  torture..... It's hard when you and your husband have very different taste in cars. So it's more like a good game of compromise.  My friend Jenny called me up on Friday afternoon letting me know where she got her van from and to ask for a guy name Dan.  He is a friend of her fiance's and he would get us in a car with a great price. So we picked Bella up from school so we can get there before the lot closes.  Well i searched there website and found a  Subaru outback with really low miles, and newer caravan.  Well we were not to happy with any of them. But they did have about 6 mini vans to look at with a wide range of prices.  Mind you it was super cold, very windy, and raining that day which is the worst day ever to look at cars. But we had no choice!  On my way back to sit in the warm car because i was losing hope Scott pops his head out from a mini van and said you have to check this one out it's Amazing! Well he has said that before and he was crazy wrong.  But i hop in the car because i wanted to escape the rain and he was right it was nice inside. We didn't drive many cars before hand because the outside or inside of the vehicle was nasty or major rust holes.  So he got the key and we took it for a test drive.  It drove great!  It is a 2001 Oldsmobile Silhouette.  All leather seats, 2 bucket seats in the middle and bench in the rear. And the van has all the little features my impala had and even my pacifica had. And the kids have there own control for the listening to there cd while we listen to our radio station. My favorite feature it has seat memory for 2 drivers. Which is great since Scott much taller then me and i don't have to do a major seat change before i drive it each time. It does have heated seats but it doesn't work, Scott's checking it out to see if it fixable. And air ride in the back. So when you change the weight of what in the van it readjusts, crazy!

And since we don't know much about these make of van we called my dad to hear his 2 cents.  And then i made a low ball offer on the van and they took it. We drove home that night with a gold van.  I guess i never thought i would say that. Sorry i haven't taken any pictures of it yet but you can look up on craigslist 2001 silhouette and you will find what it looks like.  It's funny because when you look at Scott while he driving it he has a beaming smile, he is so a van guy!

We had to go to Braham for a Jenny's wedding shower on Saturday so we figured we make it up to see his parents.Well they were in Cambridge that day and Al had to go to work so Scott, Sherri and the girls drove around while i was at the shower.  Then we went and did a little BBQ'ing at there house and Scott and I even got a chance to go see Mirror Mirror at the Paradise Theatre.

Since we didn't make it to church on Saturday we planned to go Sunday, which isn't my favorite day to attend. To crowed and we are not good about getting up and ready for early morning church.  But Scott miss read the clock and got the whole family moving and ready and then realized he was hour ahead of himself. So we decided we would go get a early morning oil change and coffee and then make our way to church. Well my caribou was way backed up and we were almost late for church.  See we are Saturday night church goers!

And since Scott is looking for any excuse to drive the van he thought we should go see his brother Josh and help him fix his Beretta.  Mind you he lives in Burnsville.  Well the auto stores don't carry supplies for a Beretta any more. So he had to order his part, and it takes 3 days, so we will be visiting him again a few days.  It seems like when cars act up it always in a groups of 3. Watch out you might be the next with car issues!

Since dealing with the replacement of my car, Scott and his co workers have been doing a lot of car talk. It turned out his co worker has a jetta in his yard and he wants it out. So we are going to look at it tonight and maybe replace Scott's focus wagon.

I'm just ready for normal! And this snowy day isn't normal to me..... So glad i didnt plant my garden early.

Crash... Boom.... Bang

This week has been a emotional roller coaster!  Tuesday afternoon Kate and I were doing some errands around town and we were on our way to the last store. I was first in line at the light waiting to go straight ahead and when the light turned green i went and then all of sudden my plans had changed.  A truck ran the red light and hit my car.  Thank the lord Kate and I were able to walk away without a cut on us, and the same for the other driver.  But this accident sure has shaken me.  I remember the noise of the truck hitting our car and how my body felt after i realized what just happened. Kate didn't even cry or nothing, she was like what are we doing? Luckily we had someone was in the parking lot eating there lunch in there car and saw what happened, she came right over and helped Kate sit in the grass so she would be out of the road. She talked to her and asked her fun questions.   Then the ambulance, police car, and fire trucks came, they let Kate sit in the fire truck where it was warm. She thought that was the coolest thing ever!  Since they towed my car away i didn't have a ride home the fire truck gave us a ride.  I guess i can check that off my list of things i have done!

Man does my body ache  from being tossed around. Kate hasn't complained once or have any bruises on her body. Kids bonce back way faster then adults.  The seat belt saved me, but it sure bruises you up too.  Then came the time to call the insurance companies. I was so happy with our insurance and his insurance they were fast and so nice. We had this whole accident settled with in 2 days. There insurance went and checked out my car and said it was totaled so they came and wrote me a check for the value of my car.  Luckily they gave me a rental car to for at least a week till i can find my new car.  I'm driving around a Chevy HHR and im not to impressed. It roomy but the windows are so tiny that its claustrophobic.  To be honest im scared to drive, i look like 3 x's before crossing a intersection, and any car that looks like a bad driver i move away from.  But i had to drive yesterday to cash the check and fax some insurance release forms. I haven't really had any emotions since the accident until yesterday while driving. Which i figured would surface sooner or later, but a song came on the radio that i really love just at the moment when it really hit me.  It's by matt redman 10,000 reasons.  Which just reminded me that I do have 10,000 reasons to praise the lord for protecting us thru this accident and reminding me how great he truly is.  And that he will continue to keep me safe as i begin to drive again.

Well our check wasn't as much as we were hoping,  we have both of our cars paid off so we enjoy being without a car loan.  And we were just starting to save for a different car for our family next year so it's making us decide if we should take out a small loan, or just buy a car with the amount the insurance company gave us.  And after we went car shopping last night we received a big fat slap in the face on how the used car market is over priced.  We will be lucky to get a car in the year 2000 for in our price range.  Which sucks cause my car was newer then that! And it feels like a rush to buy a car because within a week im car-less again.  And if you know me i like a non crappy car, i like a car that looks descent and i don't have to worry about breaking down.  And i think we are going for a mini van this time. We are only a family of four but as our kids grow up and they have friends over it makes it hard to have more then 2 car seats in a back of a car.  So at the moment i think we are a van family. So pray that we are able to find our car that's safe and reliable and in our price range. And that the stress of looking doesn't kill me!  I'm ready to be done with this.......

Do you want to see what a truck does to a impala?

This is right after the accident.

This is them getting ready to tow it.

 It ripped my dash all apart. It even took the keys out of my ignition.

My dash board

my dash board

A peek into project land

Wahooo i'm taking a short break from endless projects that have gone on for the last 6 days! Seriously I cant complain i decided to do them, and i love doing projects around the house.  There is something about spring that gives me a extra pep in my step to do a little revamping around the house.   So I will give you a recap of the last 6 days.

Friday~  I pulled out the best pallets from our pallet pile. Yes! I have a pallet pile, seriously they are very handle little pieces of wood.  So i set them up to see how big I wanted to make our compost bin.   And then I waited patiently for Scott to get home so he can get his power tools out to cut them to size!  And the Mr. went all fancy on me, he made the tops to match our fence that sits next to it.

Then we made a trip to the Home Depot to get our lumber for our raised vegetable beds. And for some reason i cant avoid the paint section when i go there. I love opps paint. Well it was Kate's lucky night we found a purple in the pile, and she wanted it so bad she had her hands smushed together and was bagging for it. It was meant to be because i was just saying she needed her room repainted.
 We could only fit one garden bed amount of lumber in the car at a time. Which was ok. It gave us a chance to build the first one and see if we wanted to add or change anything before going again to the store. So we built it and carried it to where we wanted it to go. Seriously they are heavy!  I just kept saying it must be like what they do in Boot Camp at the YMCA.  We did end up tweaking it after all, we were originally were planning on making two 16" long  beds and instead we decided to do 2  8" foot beds. And then i thought we should have a little bench along the three sides.  Cause you should have a little luxury while slaving over your produce.  :) Then it was time to prep Kate's walls for painting, After that we so called it a night.

Saturday~ Early Saturday morning i couldn't wait to get out to bed to get to the lumber store again to get the second round of lumber for the garden. So I sent Scott while i waited for the sleeping beauties to wake up. Then put on our gloves and got to work. Man those girls really wanted to hammer away, but they are just to young for breaking off a finger nail yet!  It was fun to work on  project with the Mr. we don't have that happen to often.  Then it was time again to move that 923 pound raised bed to the spot it was going to rest. Seriously i had sweat rolling down my forehead.  Then we had to dig them out so they will fit perfect in the hill of the yard.  I also turned the dirt so the grass would die and i can lay the weed protection fabric.  They are not done yet, Scott still has to put the bench on the two sides. He has last bite sin drum, where he gets so close to finishing something and instead moves on to something else to work on.

Then it was time to tackle the spot around the strawberries in the corner of the yard by the driveway. I have hated this spot of the yard since we move here. It was a big mess of shrubs and trees when we moved in and i couldn't see to back out of the driveway so we removed them but the stumps where still there and a bunch of small rocks they put in.  So I raked it to remove some of the rocks and scott got his saws~all out and cut them stumps down as best as it could go.  Then another trip to the depot. So glad we live a few steps from there...... I got some top soil and grass seeds and I prayed that it takes and makes that little corner look half way ok.

Then it was time to do a little family painting.  Scott finished up the painting on the bottom of our brick wall on the front of the house. We had to paint before the day lilies popped up anymore. And I started painting Kate's room. I love the reaction you get when you do something for your kids. She was all smiles and couldn't stop telling me she loved the purple. And I love that this costed me a whole $7.00 to redo her room.  This was great because it also have me a chance to clean out and get rid of stuff she has outgrown playing with. I still haven't finished it yet, I want to make new curtains for her and also i wanted to do big white polka dots on her one wall. I saw this room on pinterest and I loved it. And I have to re write her name on her room again, she made that request! It was a little hard to paint over her bedroom, i painted that room when i was pregnant with her.

 This is her wall before, it's a light green with her name on the wall. We also had flower/butterfly stickers around her whole room.

Sunday~ was a day of cleaning up all the mess we made Friday and Saturday. Man total damage control!

Monday~ My dear friend Jenny that i used to work with came over and helped me decide what i am going to do with my dining room. It was yellow and i have never liked it, plus it showed ever piece of food the kids have flung on the wall.  Jenny and I have always shared a love of decorating and when we worked together in peoples home we would talk about what we liked and dislike and how we would change this room if it was our home. She has started her own cleaning business, and also does redecorating which also includes painting. She has talked about this since forever, glad to see her doing it. So if you need any cleaning or redecorating let me know i will pass her info to you!  So we  loaded the car and went to go look at paint samples and came home to pick the lucky color i would paint.  It was between two colors and I asked Scott what color he liked and it ended up being the same choice as mine. Yeah that never happens. This is the Before

Tuesday~  I ended up going with a slate color similar to the living room color, just darker. It's called dragonfly!  It didn't take me long to paint since it's a small! I decided not to put everything i had on the wall before back up, but it sure feels bare. I need to figure it out what to do with the wall by the dining room table.... Sometimes it's good to sit with it and figure it out!

So that is my crazy week of projects. Cant wait to see what i pick to do next!