Build-A-Bear

How fun! When we went to the Draper Temple open house, we first made a stop at Build-A-Bear workshop. I don't think it matters how old a person is, it takes you back to being a kid again! Cami and I joined the girls in the fun and we each made our own stuffed animal! Then Mom joined in and made one for Morgan. We had to include the guys somehow, so we made them hold our stuffed animals and pose for a picture! They weren't too thrilled - especially Chris - but they were good sports and did it anyway!

Thanks everybody for going! We had a great time!

Warning!

For all of you out there who like a "short-cut" when it comes time for cleaning....Be WARNED!

In March of '08, we intstalled a new shower stall in the bathroom that we just finished. Wanting to keep it 'like new' with minimal effort, I bought one of these....

Yes, I still clean my shower regularly, but isn't it nice to be able to push a button and HOPE that it might help keep the shower a little bit cleaner?

Well, yesterday, as I go to get out of the shower, I here a CRACK! Now, by no means, do I think I over exceed the weight limit for this shower floor! (At least I hope not!!!) But, sure enough, there is a 3-way crack about 2 inches long in the floor of our shower! So, today when I get home, I start digging through receipts. Luckily, I still have all the receipts from when we did our big renovation! (Usually, I am not a receipt keeper!) I call Lowe's and they say, Sorry but we only have a 90 day warranty on this product. But call this number of the manufacture and see if they will help you.

I mean, come on, this shower isn't even a year old!

So, I call this number and the first thing she says to me is "What do you clean your shower with?" I tell her that I use Soft Scrub and also a Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner. And of course, she says, that is the problem! Soft Scrub without bleach is wonderful. But the Scrubbing Bubbles is NOT! She says that is one of the most abrasive and chemically corrosive cleaners on the market. She said that not only is it bad for shower and tub inserts, but leaving it on and not rinsing it off, like the instructions say to do, is even worse! It eats away at the finish on these inserts and leaves them very weak! So, GOODBYE scrubbing bubbles and hello elbow grease!

P.S. I will give scrubbing bubbles credit, the lady said that it is a good product for porcelain and tile!

P.S.S! And in 7 to 10 days, we will have a new shower sent to us under warranty! Ya! But, more construction!

Random!

Since it has been so long since I last posted, and several people have asked me when I am going to update my blog, I figured I would post a few random pictures of things that have been happening! But, the only problem is that I am TERRIBLE at remembering to take my camera with me when I go places! So, I didn't get pictures of some of the best activities we have had lately!

This is Chris and Jesse at a family Christmas party......




Chad and Sharlee jumping rope at the same party....


Dad keeping Trudie warm!.....




Kenlyn loves to play in the snow. One of the disadvantages of 5 years between our two girls is that Sharlee is now "too cool" to play in the snow! BUT, being the GOOD big sister that she is, she went out with Kenlyn and played all day! (Good way of getting out of doing chores in the house!)

Kenlyn had her first Junior Jazz game....She did great! This is her first time playing basketball on a team. She is learning a lot and having fun while she is at it! It is fun to watch her play. She is such a little thing, and the majority of the girls that she plays against are HUGE! They just mow her over! But, it doesn't stop her from trying! She loves to play defense....she is an awesome little blocker! Her attitude is that it is all about fun, it doesn't matter if her team wins or looses, as long as they all had fun! Keep up the hard work, Ken!

Since February of 2008, we have been doing some major remodeling in this house. We knocked out two bathrooms upstairs and rebuilt one huge bathroom. Then, we built a bathroom downstairs. We moved the staircase from the dining room into the sitting room. This opened up our dining room and made it bigger. It also opened up our family room downstairs, so instead of having 2 rooms, we have one HUGE family room. We painted throughout the house. We layed new tile in the kitchen/dining room and basement. And new carpet throughout the house. Our very last project was to redo the counter tops in our kitchen. Finally, this last week, we got it done! I love my house!

Here we are pulling up the old countertops...

Finally, we are done! Almost a year, but well worth it!

Diva Dresses!

If you know me at all, you know that my dogs are my babies! (Neither of my girls allow me to call them my babies anymore, so somebody has to be!) I take them every Wednesdsay to get groomed at Linda and Jerry Earl's. These two people are the best when it comes to dog care! So when I go to pick them up today, Jerry tells me that he thinks they need to stay living there! My dogs love to go there! He laughed and said they know the routine so well. Chris drops them off in the morning and it is an all out race to get to the door! They both charge inside and right into their favorite kennel! Lucy knows when it is her turn to get bathed and jumps right in! Chloe knows that as soon as her bath is over to go into the next room and Linda will clip her! Jerry says it is a sight to see! Anyway, today, Linda says they just had to give my girls "Christmas Diva Dresses!" And how cute are they??!!! So, I came right home and put them on! Sure enough, as soon as Chloe got hers on, she sat down and wouldn't move until I took it off! (Make's taking the picture easier!) And Lucy, she LOVES to wear sweaters, she takes off running around! I finally got her to settle down by Chloe for some "DIVA SHOTS!" I think they look awfully cute! Thanks Jerry and Linda!

Dare Graduation

Way to go Kenlyn! Dare Graduation was held last night at the school. Kenlyn graduated and had a great time doing the course! She enjoyed working with Officer Blanchard and everything he taught her. Good job, Kenlyn, and remember to always say NO!

Temple Square

We have had one of the BEST weekends in a long time! To start, Wednesday night, Chris's sister and her husband were able to go to the Logan temple and recieve their endowments. What a great blessing for them. This is something she has wanted for a long time and we are so HAPPY to see this happen for them! Then on Friday, Chris and I traveled to Salt Lake to watch them along with their three kids be sealed as a family! It was great! The kids just glowed as they come into the sealing room!
Meanwhile, my kids have an AWESOME Grandma and Grandpa! Before Chris and I left for Salt Lake, we dropped Shar and Ken off with them. They took the girls to Layton shopping and then made their way to Salt Lake to be with us. We all stayed in the Plaza Hotel. That was nice, cuz we were right across from the temple so we could walk and not have to drive and fight traffic! ( I say this, cuz Chris REFUSES to drive in Salt Lake, so I do all the driving!)
At dinner time, Chris and I again left and went to dinner with the "wedding party" at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. The dinner was really good, and the company was even better! Grandma and Grandpa, again, took the kids and they all went to dinner. After this, we met up and headed up to the "This is the Place Heritage Park." There is a festival going on up there to celebrate "Christmas in a simpler time." We were able to go into most of the homes and see what they were like. There was old time crafts for the kids to do, puppet shows, stories being told, hoe downs in the school house (in which Sharlee was asked to dance by a gentleman and he even kissed her hand at the end of the dance! She was soo embarrassed!), and best of all, there was a Live Nativity. As we walked down the path to the stable, there was a shepherd by a fire that told us if we followed the star, we would find the baby. It was so humbling to walk into the stable with the live goats and sheep and have Joseph and Mary and the Baby Jesus sitting amongst them. I didn't even feel right taking a picture! Meanwhile, there were carolers just outside the stable singing Away In A Manger. It was awesome! There was also a train that we hopped on and rode around the park. It dropped us off at the Brigham Young home where Saint Christmas was waiting! We all had our picture taken with him and Kenlyn sat on his lap. We had a great time.
On Saturday morning, Mom, Chris and I, Chris's Mom and sister and brother-in-law, all got up early and we went to the temple to do a session. (And of course, Dad took my girls and the two nieces and one nephew to breakfast! ) Chris has never done a session in the Salt Lake Temple, so he was excited! We had a really nice time. Chris said it meant a lot more to see everything being portrayed "Live". He can't wait to be able to go back and do another session!
The crazy part of the whole trip was driving home in the snow storm! Why don't they put heaters in the roads????

Christmas Traditions....

What fun we had doing our family tradition of Gingerbread houses....

We had a good time with most of the Bywater family present! (I hope nobody minds that I am posting their pictures!) I would love to put all the pictures on here in full size, but as you can see, we took tons! (So, click on the collage for better look!) Thanks Grandma for the great tradition and all the work you put into it!