Our New Locker

Our porch is ALWAYS a MESS!  Indeed it is!  

I found this picture in a school catalog of these lockers that they use to help keep all the kids' things organized, and I asked Marion if we could get one.  He thought it was a GREAT idea...until he looked at the price...LOL!  Over $400 for a 5 space locker...ummm...he said NO!  

I pouted and pondered for several days, and then I asked if I could MAKE one!  He liked that idea alot better and I began looking around to see what I needed, what we had, and drew out the plan.  On Friday I went to the lumber yard for the back piece...the only piece I didn't have from the scraps left over from the cabinets on the porch.  And Saturday I began building.  I had it done in one day! (at least the assembly part).

Then on Monday, I painted it...or FINISHED painting it.  Each of the kids have a color that we 'associate' with them.  Abi is Pink (or sometimes purple), Nathan is Blue, Jonny is Green, and I decided Ethan will be Yellow!  So, I came up with a great idea to help them know which locker is theirs...I'd color code them:

Yes...I know...there is an orange one...YES...I got MANY comments about that from Facebook...but seriously, the design was simply from the one in the catalog and I just went with their measurements which was for a 5 slot locker!  It offers a great 'visitors' spot!

The kids LOVE it and so far are doing GREAT at wanting to use it.  If we can get in the habit of coats and shoes go in the lockers, our porch will improve GREATLY!

An Unusual Rider....

Okay...brace yourself...(I can guarantee the horse was)...yes, that is ME!  

Once upon a day or two a go, I rode my dad's horses.  Ever since we had gotten Strawberry, I had wanted to ride, but Marion absolutely refused to let me ride pregnant (a wise man indeed) and it wasn't until about 6 months after Ethan was born that I started riding.  

Horseback riding is great exercise, it burns quite a bit of calories and uses all kinds of muscles.  I thoroughly enjoyed the days I got to ride Strawberry around the yard. Hopefully this summer, I won't be as much of a burden to the horse..LOL!

Youth Group Reunion

When I was in high school we had the BEST youth group EVER!  I have so many amazing memories from that group (it was actually a combined group from two churches but we felt as one).  In my later years I ventured away from the group but several of us stayed in contact through the years.

Crazy as it seems, several of us got connected on Facebook and decided we wanted to have a reunion with as many of us as we could get.  Candi (Bernhardt) Frey, Stephanie (Davidson) Hernandez and I organized a camp out/barbecue at the lake.  

The lighthouse tower at Lake Minatare, Nebraska
(the kids loved it)

So, as crazy as it seems, we actually packed up a tent and all the stuff we'd need to camp out at the lake for one night and headed to Scottsbluff!  We had an amazing time (but I'm not sure I'd do it all for one night again...lol).  The other crazy thing is that I had my camera the whole time and took absolutely NO pictures!!  It was our very first actual camping some where other than home experience and I have no pictures!

I also got NO pictures of those that came!  Now what was I thinking?!  We had a great time though and I loved the reconnect!  Maybe we'll do that again in a few years...but I'm staying for more than one night!

:0)

First Taste of FOOD!

All Serious and ready to experience the new world of SOLIDS!

Okay...maybe now we are a bit happier about the new world of SOLIDS!

And here goes our FIRST BITE...

Not so sure about that...um...should we try again?

Okay...so we just really DON'T like solids...hmmmm.

To be honest, it took us MANY weeks of trying to figure this out...Ethan was just NOT getting solids at all...and finally we figured out it was the spoon and the way we were putting it in his mouth.  If we used a different spoon and held his tongue down while he sucked the food off...he did marvelously...so we just had to learn how to feed ETHAN.  :0)

A Creative Gift...

Abigail got a cake decorating kit for her birthday from Uncle M, Aunt H, and the cousins.  Here are some pictures of Abi and Nate making a cake: 

getting ready to decorate

Nate helping put sprinkles on

delicately placing the sprinkles.

TADA...the finished product...
Hair in eyes an all...lol!