Beads, Beads, Beads

I have not been able to find any cute bracelets for Holland at any children's stores for a decent price.

I decided to become the crafty mom I always knew I could be. I went to the craft store, stocked up on some beads, and pulled out my old bead kit. I went a little crazy last night and made Holland 6 little bracelets. I think she now has one for every outfit. I am pretty sure she likes to wear them too. I will say, "Holland, come here and try on your jewels." She comes running over with her little arm out stretched waiting to try on her newest accessory...so sweet!

Goodbye Grandma...

My Grandma passed away on Saturday, February 17th, 2007 at 7:20 AM at 83 years old. I have so many memories with her. She was a big part of our lives. She taught me how to drive long distances in her Caddy, how to knit, and how shop. I am so glad Holland has her name (Ella). I am super sad that she is gone. There is definitely a void. I don't know what to say so I have included lots pf photos of her. There are some of her with my kids, which I will hold dear. We love you GG!

Priceless

2 grumpy kids, a sweaty mom, and an hour in the photographer's studio.

Cute photos of my kids...PRICELESS.

Ray's Old House - Living Room

So here is my first edition of "Ray's Old House - Living Room". We have yet to complete one room. The office is sort of done...the kitchen is almost done..and the Living Room is not quite done. This renovation has led me to drink more and more Diet Coke. I have had more Diet Coke in the last few months than I have had my entire life. Drink up because we are not done yet!

Last night we worked late into the evening to re-arrange furniture and to empty some more boxes in the Living Room. Check out the photos below to see the progress we have made.

This is the look of the house the day we moved in. The curtains were disgusting...filled with smoke!

The curtains have been removed - Huge improvement! The room is quite nice, but the carpet is cheap and the LARGE cabinet needs to go!

We took out the cabinet, base moldings and carpet. We were very happy to find hardwood underneath. Our dream was to put in large 4" planks for the hardwood, but finding this wood underneath will save some $$$.

The painting begins! Ryan applied the first coat of primer. We used the really strong stuff to get rid of the smoke smell. The house smelled like paint...much better than smoke!

The floors have been stained and the paint is on. Our contractor was still cutting all the crown and moldings. We had saw dust everywhere. I found some in a cup in a closet just the other day. Yuck!

This was the room last night. The couches were still covered and boxes were everywhere. Although they are not in the picture becuase they were all stacked behind me.

This is the Living Room in its current condition. The floors still need a good washing and we need a large rug to cover all the brown. But, it feels good to have a HOME again (kind of).

Happy Valentines Day

I love Valentines Day! It is such a happy holiday. Maybe it wasn't when I was single without a b-friend. Now, I love all the RED, the hearts, and all the treats. We made sugar cookes in the shape of a heart last weekend. I ate half the batch. YUM-O! The kids found the extra stash and ate those last night before dinner.

I have been munching on conversation hearts all week. I bought a pack of them for the girls at church (I teach YW) and realized they were in Spanish. I had no idea they made conversation hearts in espanol? If that is the case...Besa me y Adios!

I have a new favorite...darlybird

Thank you Mandee for introducing me to this clever little website. I bought a couple barrettes (county fair is to die for!) and bracelet for Holland. She will look stunning in her new accessories. I only wish I had a website as cute as darlybird...

Snow Day

Right now I gaze out my office window and it looks like a complete whiteout. Just about an hour ago the twins were playing outside in that freezing cold snow. What was I thinking? It didn't cross my mind that there may be a better day to introduce the cold, white, snow to my children??? So, we ventured out in the blizzard for as long as I could last - about 10 minutes. Our nanny, Gabby, played along too and went outside with us. She is a very good sport.

Before heading out, I placed mittens on there little hands. It was hard to persuade them to keep the fleece mittens (without a thumb hole) on. Once outside and countless times of removing the mittens, they both realized the importance of mittens.

Holland was frozen in her tracks once placed on the foot of snow. She stood there in the middle of the backyard laughing (with her binky, of course). I had to teach her to pick up the snow and play with it. She finally began to eat it.

Ethan immediately began eating the snow. Then the next minute he was rolling in the snow. He was covered from head to toe in white fluff. He is definitely a boy! My camera battery died so I could not get any photos of him doing that...so sad!

The kids were both crying once we entered the house. I guess they like the cold, wet, miserable snow?

Our first outing in the snow was not long, but it was fun!!!

I am SO into Lost

I have an addiction and it is to TV. Currently my obsession is with LOST. Right now my favorite character is Sahid. I would be more than happy to be stuck on a deserted island with him. Sawyer is not that bad-- I love his dirty stringy hair...don't ask me why?

Okay back to the plot.We found a cool website...http://www.mittelosbioscience.org/ Once you get to the main page, go to the "Projects" tab on the top of the website....the login name is "jburke "and the password is "rachel". Make sure to click on the email message and video link. You will not be disappointed. If you find anything like this, pass it onto me. I love all the theories!

p.s. Amazing Race - Allstars starts next Sunday. I am psyched !

I Heart My Twinnies

My babies are so cute. They love to play and laugh. Ryan and I love being with them. Holland is now saying "ball" and "baby". Ethan is saying "dad" and "oh". Ryan beams every time he hears his name. Actually, their vocabulary is much bigger than those 4 words, but they seem to be the words of the week. I like to think they are the smartest kids and we work on a couple words a week. But they really don't care what I want to teach them.

I am trying to teach them numbers, but they seem to think "3" means getting out of their highchairs. I guess I usually say " 1, 2, 3" and then take them out of their highchairs. When I get to "3" they are pulled out of the chair. Holland will say "3, 3, 3" if she wants out. They love it when Ryan comes home too. They hear him walk in the door and they drop EVERYTHING to run to him. Except for Ethan, he grabs his blue blankie and runs to Dad saying "oh".

This week has been a big week for new toys. I pulled out a tepee and tube they got for their birthday. They can't get enough of it. We also got a basketball hoop. I figure we are raising 1 NBA star and 1 WNBA star, at least we hope so. They really are so tall. They wear 18-24 months right now. They love throwing balls in the hoop.

The last gift was a little Radio Flyer sit and scoot. I think they are a little overwhelmed with all these new toys, so it may be time to take one away and introduce it next month. As usual, they fight over the same toy. We are too cheap to buy 2 of everything, plus they need to learn to share! These kids are spoiled in my opinion. It is so much fun to buy them stuff. Their little faces light up, which melts my heart!

We love it when Grandma visits

Ryan's mom came out to visit us last month. She had a great time with the kids while I was away on a business trip. She helped us take them home to Utah as well. Here is a photo of them...

Pix from Hawaii...