How to Build a Raised Garden Bed

 

 

 

 

Just hand a drill to your 3 year old!

 



These two are so cute together.....



Overheard...

Why is it that 3 year olds are always the ones saying the funniest things?

 

Yesterday we were in our woods looking for deer antler sheds.  We didn't find any, but we followed quite a few deer trails and saw LOTS of evidence that deer were indeed around. 

 

As Ben and I were walking together he turned and looked at me and said, "Mommy, deer poopy looks like Jelly Beans."

 

Thank you Ben for making me never want to eat a Jelly Bean again.

 



Brielle's Birthday

Brielle's birthday is just 4 days after her little sister's birthday.
 

 

Brie is our kind hearted, compassionate child.  She is always looking out for those with less than her.  She prays every day for children in other countries that do not have food to eat.  The candy her sisters bought her for her birthday was gone in a day because she immediately passed it all out to share with her siblings. 
 

 

Currently Brie's favorite thing to play with is her doll.  She got "Sally" for Christmas and adores her.  Laina and Abby had a lot of fun making birthday gifts for Brie and Sally.  With daddy's help they built a bed, couch, and a counter with a sink in it for Sally.  They also sewed some skirts and made a crown for her. 



Brie likes any make believe, imaginative play.  She loves playing doctor and school.  She also loves playing Sorry, Blockus, Uno, and War.

 

 

Brielle has learned to read this year and is looking forward to 1st grade next year.  She loves practicing her math and reading on the iPad. 
 

 
 

We do one huge "un-birthday" party in the summer for all of the kids to invite their friends to.  On actual birthdays we just celebrate at home.  Brie asked for chicken tacos for dinner and a horse cake.  We also bring the birthday child out on a date with just mommy and daddy.  Since Graham came home we have been splitting it up into two dates, one with daddy and one with mommy until we are ready to use a baby sitter again.  Brielle brought daddy out to Pizza Ranch last week and Mommy out to KFC this week.  
 

 

Happy 6th Birthday Brielle!!!



Overheard...

Sunday we were celebrating Easter with Brett's family.  Brielle's birthday is in just a few days so Grandpa was asking her how old she was going to be.  When she told him six he said, "wow, you're getting old!"

Without missing a beat, Ben looked at Grandpa and said, "You're getting old too."

Riah Turns One!

 

Easter is a wonderful day for a first birthday!

 

 

 

I cannot believe my baby girl is one already.  It has been such a busy year.  I can easily say that Moriah takes the prize for the easiest baby EVER.  She is such a sweet heart. 

 

 

 

Her love language is 110% touch.  She loves to cuddle.  She will grab our hand and push it up against her face asking us to rub her cheeks and head.  She loves giving kisses, those slobbery, open mouth, drooly baby kisses. 

 

 

 

 

She is obedient!  A child that actually listens when I say no?  Crazy.  I wonder how long it will last.....  It is so fun to have Moriah right after Josie.  These two are polar opposite in personality.  If you say "no-no" too sternly to Moriah she is likely to cry.  Josie would look at you and laugh.

 

 

 

 

Riah is a thinker. She will study things for the longest time with her little eyebrows furrowed trying to figure out how they work. Brett was whistling with Riah in his lap one night a few weeks ago and she was trying sooooo hard to copy him. She would watch and make a little "o" with her lips and say "oooooooh, oooooh." Then she would stick her finger in his mouth, pry it open and bend her head down to look inside and examine. Then, he would whistle again and the whole scene would repeat itself. 

 

She can clap, wave, and play peek-a-boo. 

 

She says mama, dada, Riah, hi, bye, yeah, boo, and ticka-ticka (tickle-tickle). This last one she does while poking her two pointer fingers into her tummy over and over. 

 

She has shown hardly any interest at all in walking. Why should she with 6 older brothers and sisters to constantly entertain her, bring her what she wants, and carry her around everywhere? She has finally just started cruising around behind a push toy. 

 

 

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY RIAH-ROO!

 



Faux Tile Backsplash Project

We finally finished the backsplash in our kitchen this weekend!  And I love it!  And it cost us under $10!  (Well, we had most of the materials on hand already, but it was still really cheap.)

 

What you will need:

1/8 inch painter's tape

1 inch painter's tape

pencil

level

tape measure

joint compound

trowel

drywall sponge

primer

paint (several colors)

sponges

rags (cut up t-shirts)

 

Step 1: TAPE OUT YOUR DESIGN

Decide on a design that you would like for your backsplash.  Measure the distance between your counters and your cabinets to determine the size of your tiles.  Measure and draw out some grid lines in pencil, right over the ugly wallpaper.  Then, start laying your tape lines down with your 1/8 inch tape.  These will eventually be your "grout" lines.  Add some 1 inch tape around all of the edges and on the counter tops.

 

 

Step 2: MUD

Grab a trowel (or hand one to your husband) and spread a thin layer of joint compound over everything.

 

 

Step 3: PULL UP THE TAPE

Pull the tape off right away before the mud dries.  This is where it starts to get fun as you can start to see some progress.

 

Step 4: SAND

After the mud is dry, use your drywall sponge and sand everything down.  It doesn't need to be perfect, but try to get everything even and any lines sanded out. 

 

 

Step 5:  PRIME AND PAINT

Now, prime everything and paint your grout lines the color you want.

 

Step 6:  RE-TAPE

All of the grout lines need to be re-taped so that you can paint your "tiles."  This is time consuming, but goes much faster than the first taping since all you need to do is line the tape up with the grooves that are already there. 

 

Step 7: PAINT, PAINT, AND MORE PAINT

Now, comes the fun part, paint your tiles.  We did several layers of sponging and ragging on paint in different colors until we got the effect we were looking for.  If you don't like it, just let it dry and keep trying something else over top until you do. 

 

 

 

 

 

After a couple of busy months of looking at it half finished and waiting for a free day to work on it again, it feels good to finally have it done.  It still needs a clear coat over the top and some caulking along the countertop and that is it.