Busy, Busy, Busy

It seems that the last week or so has been extremly busy around our house. We have managed to build and plant a garden. Hopefully this summer we will have a little bit better luck than last year. I was also able to paint the master bathroom. Now, to some of you, you might be thinking no big deal. But, it was easier said than done. I tried, for the first time, a faux finish. This required paining a base coat, waiting two days and then applying the finishing coat. Well, the finishing coat took about 4 times longer than the base coat to actually paint, so it was spread out over a number of days. So, after having the bathroom in shambles for about a week, it is finally done, tape gone, and put back together. I have to admit, I kind of like it. Not sure that I will do it again, as it was way too much work for one little room, but it is a different look and I think that it looks really nice. Drew really likes it. He didn't think that he would, but after seeing it completed he says it looks really good. I have learned a little bit about faux finishing. The next time I do it, it will not be a bathroom, and it will probably just be one accent wall in a room. It looks good, its just a lot of work. The other big thing from this last week was we bought a new car! Its a 2007 Honda Odyssey. I never thought that I would drive a mini van. In fact, I resisted for a long time. But, when it came down to it, it was just more practical than the other vehicles out there. So, we made the plunge. I have been driving it for about 3 days now, and I have found that I really like it. I like sitting up higher, I like all of the features, I like the smoother and quiter ride, I just really like it. And the kids like it too. C likes to tell everyone to come see our new mini van. The first couple of days he kept asking if we were going to keep it because he really wanted to. And I still find him trying to get into it without permission when he is supposed to be doing other things. All of the extra room that a bigger vehicle provides will be really nice as we travel this summer. We will post pictures as soon as we get some taken.

It's Finally Warming Up!

Okay, its the end of April and its finally warming up around here. Hooray! It seems that winter just kept holding out for one more day, or even one more week. This last little while has been really busy for us around here. Drew was able to finish the framework on the basement and has started in on the electrical. He is going to start classes toward his masters tomorrow, so progress will probably slow a little bit.
Easter was wonderful. Thie kids really enjoyed being able to hunt for Easter Eggs. It was an indoor event due to the snow outside, but it was still really fun. In the middle of April we had Grandma Glass and Tracie and Lillie come to visit. We went out to Dresden, OH (home of Longaberger baskets) and did some shopping. Jana was able to weave a basket with Grandma and Tracie and Lillie. It was a lot of fun and a great learning experience. After Dresden, we all came back to Dayton for a day or so before family had to leave to go home. It was wonderful having family come to visit. We are really excited for warmer weather. C and K both take every advantage that they can to go outside to play. They really love playing with each other. K has started walking, finally! It took a while, but once she started, there is no stopping her. She has become a pro in the last few weeks.

Grandma's Visit

It has been a while, but nothing too exciting has been going on. We have kind if been trudging along. Drew has been spending all of his spare time working on finishing the basement. It is going pretty well. Though this is the first major project, it is going pretty flawlessly. We have done a lot of reading and studying on how to do it all and are taking it slow enough that we are not messing anything up. We are hoping that in the next month and a half, before Drew starts school that we can have most of it done. We are probably going to have someone come in and do the electrical, but we are doing everything else.

Grandma Glass was in town this weekend. She was in Columbus for a meeting last week and decided to come over on Thursday night and stay until Sunday afternoon, when we had to take her to the airport to fly back home. The kids loved having her here. They don't get a whole lot of opportunity to spend time with family, so they love it when they do. Grandma loves to spoil them too, so that doesn't hurt. Jana went out of town to St louis on Friday night and is coming back tonight (Sunday). Grandma helped Drew with the kids so he could even get some work done on the basement yesterday. We didn't do anything really big this weekend with Grandma, but it was just fun to sit around and play.

Now This Is Snow!!

Well, we thought we had gotten some snow with that storm a couple weeeks ago, but we were just getting prepared for this past week. The cold weather started on Monday with the windchills in the negative 20's. Monday night, the snow started. It snowed fo about 12 hours or so and then it turned into freezing rain for a couple hours. After that, it turned back to snow. Overall, we got about 8-10 inches of snow with somewhere between 1/2 - 3/4 inch of ice.

The base was closed and so I didn't have to go to work on Tuesday or Wednesday. I think we were all starting to get a little Cabin Fever by Wed morning. C really wanted to go outside and play, so eventually, after many hors of snow-blowing and shoveling, we went outside for a little while. We went over to the hill in the culdesac and went sledding and then built a snow fort. Both kids surprisingly loved the snow. They did not want to go back in the house. When Daddy's face started hurting, we decided it was time to go in. So, the kids had a blast and Dad got quite the back workout from shoveling snow and ice. Mommy had a good time just getting a little break from the day-to-day routine of watching the kids all day while I go to work. Overall, I think everyone had a lot of fun. We are in Roanoke this weekend visiting with Grandma, Amy, Layne and Dale. We came to see Meredith swim in a meet at Radford and also to visit with my Great-Uncle James and Great-Aunt Leta.

Sledding

We got about six inches of snow yesterday, so Daddy got off work early. We were very ill-prepared and so Daddy had to go to the store to buy a sled. We all went over to the big hill near the house and sledded for an hour or so. C surprised us. He is not usually the "daredevil" type, but he could not get enough of it. He kicked Daddy off after the first trip and it was all flying solo after that. K enjoyed it, but was a little more indifferent to the whole experience. All day today, C has been begging to go outside and play. He has been out to play like 4 times and can't get enough. He loves making snow angels and he even made his first snowman (not too impressive since the snow is very powdery and not good to pack tight). Daddy got home from the gym, worn out, and C put on the "Please Daddy" eyes and so we went out and played some more. Luckily the stomach grumbling and the smell of dinner beckoned us in.

Let's Boogie!

It's been an interesting week. The average high around here has been around 20 degrees. Today's high is 8 degrees. The windchill is -15 degrees. I wouldn't mind the cold if there was a good accumulation of snow to be able to play in, but it has been snowing for a week now and not a lick of accumulation. Oh well, hopefully we'll get some later this week. They are calling for some.
The other day we were sitting around listening to the radio, when I put in the Cherry Poppin Daddies CD, "Zoot Suit Riot", and C started his spaztic dancing. K was jamming too. We were able to get a couple of videos of it, but we can't post them. Write us a comment and we will send them to you. We hope you enjoy them. These kids are so much fun, that the fun times far outweigh the trying times.

Our First Snow (21 Jan 07)

As most of you know, C was able to fill out his Potty Training Chart, which required 35 days without an accident. His chosen reward was to go to Chuck E Cheese, so we did on Monday. Both kids had a blast and after 3 hours, we finally had to drag the family out of there and go home to bed.

We got about 4 inches of snow this morning. It was the first significant snowfall of the year. After we pulled into the garage from church, Daddy "accidentally" dropped C in the snow, so we made some snow angels and threw some snowballs (Yes, in our church clothes). We are forecasted to get another big storm with several more inches on Wed and so we will probably have some pictures of snowmen and the sort later on. Take care of yourselves. We love you all and miss you.