Silly Gracie

This girl seriously has her daddy's sense of humor she is hilarious and makes us laugh on a daily basis. This particular morning she woke up and came out of her room like this and said she was ready for the day. I was already at church at a meeting but Matt took a picture so I could see this silly girl. I was impressed she had even picked a bow that matched.

 A couple Saturdays ago we spent most of our day cleaning/organizing the garage and shed. The girls were so good and entertained themselves easily most of the day. In the afternoon we got the pool out so the girls could swim. After a while Gracie wanted her towel and kept it on for pretty much the rest of the day. She insisted she eat with it on. And when I tried to take it away would cry because she wanted to be a penguin....seriously Im not sure where she gets this stuff.

Its funny to see what a great mix both the girls are of both Matt and I but Hallie is definitely more serious like I am and Gracie is more silly like Matt. It works out quite well since the girls seem to balance each other much like Matt and I do. Love this silly girl.

A Crazy Thought....Bathroom Remodeling

On Thursday I got a wild idea that we should update both bathrooms not just with decor but also paint and redoing the cabinets. Another thing to note is that I'm typically not that patient of a person and once I get an idea in my head I have a hard time focusing until it is complete. I talked to Matt and he was on board but between riding in the MS bike race and writing a couple papers for his master program I was going to be pretty much on my own. Thursday evening while Matt was working on his paper the girls and I headed out to get decor and paint swatches so we could make some decisions. Friday the girls and I bought paint for the walls, stain for the cabinets, and more decor. When Matt left for Logan we started tearing everything apart and got a pretty good start on everything. Of coarse the prep works was what took the most time and my arms and hands were so tired of scrubbing.

These are the Pre-pics for the upstairs bathroom

 And the pre-pics for the basement bathroom

After putting the kids to bed I stayed up til just after midnight getting the 1st coat of stain on the cabinets and headed to bed. Saturday morning I got up early to do the 2nd and 3rd coats before the girls got up. This is the difference between the 2nd and 3rd coats of the stain/paint

Matt got home about 1 and while I put the protectant coat on the cabinets he worked on painting the upstairs bathroom. We had choose a grey with blue undertones to update the space.

I am finding the older I get the harder time I have with things unfinished. If I could have survived with no sleep I probably would have stayed up until it was completely finished and put back together. We had talked about doing the kitchen as well but I think we will hold out on that one. Im pretty happy with how they turned out. The upstairs bathroom ended up darker than I had anticipated or really wanted but I think it looks better than what was there. But I love how the basement turned out. Another DIY project completed.

Another Day at the Lake.....Just Relaxing with the Lindseys

Last weekend we finally found time in our busy schedules that matched up with the Lindsey's to get out and have some fun. We spent some time trying to teach the girls how to ski and then did some tubing. Most of our day was spent floating around having swim breaks. It was a great time hanging out in the sun.

By the time we were done everyone was exhausted and both the girls slept the entire way home.

That night we picked up dinner and called it an early night. The next morning meant getting everyone up early so we could get to church on time. But before we woke Gracie up she came out and said she was ready to go to church...hair bow and all...lol. Love this little girls personality and spunk

Our 4th of July

Saturday morning we opted out all of the morning festivities since we wanted to make sure Hallie was going to be ok and at least 24 hours out of having a fever. I was so bummed when my parents decided not to come for the 4th and then with both kids sick we didn't have the option to hang out with friends or Matt's family for fear we would get someone else sick. When I think of the 4th I think of family, food, fun, and fireworks so I was really frustrated with the situation. So when noon came and both girls were doing great we decided to get out and do some car shopping. with Matt changing jobs we were in the market for a new vehicle. We drove around the parking lots looking and if we saw one we saw Matt would get out to look while the kids and I sat in the car and watched a movie. It was super exciting....not. I hate car shopping. After the entire morning shopping we grabbed some lunch and headed home for naps. After naps we were ready for something more fun but also wanted to stay in open space just in case. So we found some cheap tickets to the demolition derby and headed out. Hallie loves the demolition derby but Gracie was to little to remember the last time we went but we know now she also loves it. When we first got there for the first hour it was so hot but luckily the sun went down quickly so we could really enjoy ourselves

It was so sweet to watch Gracie put her hand on her heart while they sang the national anthem to celebrate this special day. Im so proud to be an American!!!

Gettin our redneck on

We sat on the 3rd row on the isle so the girls spent their restless time in the isle and playing on the platform below.

We also took some pom poms to the girls could cheer for the cars they chose each heat

After a while we started to get hungry and while Matt was gone getting food the girls and I to some pictures of us enjoying the beautiful night

Our silly faces

At some points it was really loud so there was some ear covering

The girls decided on nachos to eat and I think they enjoyed every bite

During the final heat a huge fight broke out  below us and by the time they got it under control the heat was over but no one knew who won:( After they cleared the trouble makers out they shut the lights off for the fireworks. The girls were both so excited and had talked about it all day they didn't disappoint. Even though I missed spending time with our families it ended up being a good day with just us. Happy Independence Day!!!

Hand, Foot, and Mouth...not so fun

Sunday night Gracie spiked a temp of 101 while I was at a primary fireside. By the time I got home it was 102 but she was acting fine. We decided to put her to bed and we would just check her before we went to bed. But before we even got the chance to get to bed she was up 5 different times. We gave her some Tylenol it brought her fever down but didn't seem to do much for her restlessness. The next couple nights were rough she would get up and asked to be tucked back in only to be up less than an hour later asking the same thing. We knew something wasn't quite right after Monday afternoon there was no more fever so I just figured she had something viral that was passing through. Since she wasn't sleeping good she was back to napping 2x a day. On Tuesday she woke from her 2nd nap about 6pm with a horrible rash from her neck down. It was everywhere and looked not very good. I called her pediatrician and his nurse asked a bunch of questions and then suggested that she be seen but it could wait til the morning. Wed morning I called and talked to the Dr himself and he said it sounded like hand and foot and just to watch her and gave me a list of reasons I would want to bring her in. Both girls we running around like nothing was wrong playing and laughing I was a little surprised but happy it was that way. The rash started to diminish and still no fever or any other accompanying symptoms. Nights were still hard she would wake up when Matt left for work and climb in bed with me and we would sleep a couple more hours. I hate when kids are sick but love cuddle time.

 Wed night I went to check on Hallie before Matt and I headed to bed. When I went to pull up her covers I brushed her arm and it felt like it was on fire. I ran upstairs to get the thermometer and took her temp only to find that it was 104.6 F.I attempted not to panic as I ran back upstairs to get her some meds. I spent the next couple hours sitting up checking her fever every 30 minutes. By about 1am it was down to 102 and she was sleeping soundly. I check on her periodically through the night when I awoke worried about her. Thursday morning she was tired and still didn't feel well. She laid on the couch and watched tv. I went to look out the window and was startled to see a young buck in our front yard. Then it moved on to the neighbors house munching on the leaves. Hallie showed some signs of life as she rushed to the window to see the deer. Not everyday that there is a deer in our yard.

 Throughout the morning I would refill both girls sippies and we just took it easy. Ever couple hours I would take Hallie's temp but she was holding steady at 102. About noon she started to look more red so I check ed her again only to find her temp at 104.8....yet again panic. I call the dr immediately and they wanted to see us. They were able to squeeze us in so we got ready and headed for the Dr. By the time we got to the dr Hallie was starting to feel better with the medicine kicking in but I was relieved to have someone else assess her to make sure she was ok. After listen to our complaints they swabbed her throat for strep. While we waited for the rapid test to come back the dr asked to look at Gracie and sure enough she said she had a textbook case of hand, foot, and mouth but from her symptoms a very mild case. Hallies strep test came back negative so then we were assuming what Hallie had was the same as Grace but no spots yet. The girls enjoyed their sucks while the Dr. and I talked about what to do next.....pretty much wait and see if she had more symptoms.

 Here are a few of Gracie's "spots" they are diminishing everyday and have only been on her feet since about day 2 of the rash....like I said a very mild case. But we were still under quarantine since we are contagious and don't want to share our germs.

It is now Sunday Matt stayed home with both girls from church just in case. Hallie still has no spots and no symptoms. Both girls are still acting fine we will see what happens.

Another Year of the MS Bike Ride Complete

It has pretty much become a tradition for Matt to do the MS bike ride since he has worked with Wadman. Matt had high hopes of riding the 100 mile ride this year but with their crazy schedule he and his riding partner, JJ, didn't have time to train. Although Matt did say afterwards that he and JJ thought they could have ridden the 100 but felt like they would have been all day due to their slower pace. Either way they raise quite a bit of money to help fund MS research and had a great time riding for those they know that have MS. This was also the 2nd year that Brit had decided to ride with Matt. 

This is before the race

 And this is after

A great race for a good cause

Summer is Here

Summer has been busier than I had expected and the days just seem to fly by there is never enough time for everything we want to do. This past week Matt went back to school which puts a damper on our summer fun but we will make the best of it since its his last summer in school!! The girls have become quite creative and spend hours on end in the sandbox. Hallie is the ring leader of this. She started "baking" items. They mix dirt with sand to make brown sugar and this is their cake they made complete with decorations. I have really learned to love our back yard it is pretty much perfect for us. 

 Some of our plants are also starting to grow its so fun when the girls get so excited to go out in the morning and pick the raspberries and eat them for breakfast. The only problem is there never seems to be enough raspberries.

 The girls and I were out watering the plants after getting dressed since they were done swimming. I came around the corner to find this little girl had taken her pants off and put herself in the pool.

 This picture describes there relationship pretty perfectly. Gracie looks up to Hallie and they love each other so much. They really are best friends

 Don't mind us just swimming in our clothes!!

 We have been looking for a battery for Gracie's new 4-wheeler but until then Hallie has found a solution. Hallie came in the other day and asked me to come she how she had solved the problem. I about had a heart attack. So after I took a picture we talked about how dangerous that could be...silly girls. But I must admit it was pretty good problem solving

 Friday it rained buckets and it came down so quickly our yard was flooding. It was crazy.