Kale's new room

Kale got his new room today. He chose the colors on Monday morning and I went to the hardware store and bought the paint. I finished the third coat of red this morning and we have been moving him in slowly thoughout the day. He loves it and is very excited to sleep downstairs tonight. He has been waiting for this all summer. Above are some pictures of his old train room which is upstairs and his new room downstairs. Now if he could just learn to tie his shoes, he'd really feel grown up, maybe he'd even ride his bike!

I thought I'd better let you all know what we've been up to this week. Tuesday and Wednesday were big swimming days. We had cousins visiting and we took them swimming. It's always more fun when cousins are around.

Last night was our Ward's 24th of July party at the church. We combined with the other ward here in Royal and that was nice. I am the Activities Chairman and so I worked with the other ward to plan. We really went low key and it turned out great! We had some people bring dutch oven dinners and then the rest was pot luck. We had crafts for the kids, a water slide down the hill, and a blow up water toy. After dinner we had a Royal 1st Ward vs. Royal 2nd Ward softball game. I heard someone say that the score was tied at the end of the game. It was a great evening and not much work for me.

Kale got bit by a bug before dinner started at the Ward party and then got bit by a mosquito when he was in bed after we got home. He is really not having good luck with biting or stinging bugs this summer and is now fighting a fear of those bugs. Some days, I have to make him go outside to play. He didn't want to stay at the Ward party last night either.

All week long we've been drying apricot fruit leather in our dehydrater. The kids love the fruit leather and if I let them, they will eat it before I can even get it put away. I'm sticking to my guns and I keep saying no so, we'll have quite a stash of it for the fall and winter months. Thanks to Jande for sharing her piles of apricots!

Fishing

Justin caught 2 fish on Monday and 3 fish on Tuesday evening. I went with him Tuesday morning and then again this evening after we got back from girls camp. I got motion-sick both times. I threw up both times. I think I'm done fishing with him on the river. I'm not happy about that. I actually like fishing. I don't like being sick. I don't like throwing up.

Girls camp was fun except for sleeping on the ground. We forgot to take our air mattress and the ground was extremely hard. At times, it was even painful. I really need to go to the chiropractor now. I pinched my neck during SummerFest last week and my lower back is sending pains down my leg. Justin said he slept alright so that's good. I don't like getting older. And I'm not really that old yet, I think. We cooked beef stew and cornbread in the dutch ovens and fruit cobbler for dessert. The girls liked the dinner and there was hardly any left-over. Sam and Shelli didn't stay for dinner. They headed to Ellensburg for a dinner alone without any kids. For breakfast this morning we did hard-boiled eggs in a paper cup, toasted bagels, and fresh fruit. It seemed to be a big hit as well. That's good. There's nothing worse that serving food that no one likes. We were able to stay for the hike, canoe races, and raft races. It really was a fun 24 hours (other than the sleeping part).

SummerFest, Braces, and New Countertops

So, SummerFest is over for another year. It's always such a crazy week for us. This year, besides being the chair for Friday night, our family decided to sell chicken and rice on Saturday. We are also in the parade every year and Kai runs in the Fun Run. It was quite a juggle to get all those things done but we managed pretty well. We couldn't have done it without help so I'd better say thanks to Justin's Mom for coming and staying with us and playing with Kale all day.

On Monday, Seila had an othodontist appt. She has done well with her braces and will get them off in 4 weeks, which is 2 months ahead of schedule! Unfortunately, we still have to make payments for another year. When we're done paying for Seila, it will be Kai's turn and then when he's done, Hadley. I figured we'll be paying Dr. Cacchiotti on a monthly basis for 6 years solid!

Seila left for girl's camp this week with our church. She loved last year's camp and could hardly wait to go this year. She got up at 5:40 this morning because she couldn't sleep anymore. She was sitting in the kitchen waiting for me when I walked through at 6 to get her up. Justin and I get to go up tonight (Ensign Ranch) with Worshams and cook dinner for the girls and then we have to stay and cook breakfast in the morning.

I got crazy yesterday and painted my laminate countertops! I found paint especially for laminate at Lowe's and I had to buy it. I don't want to spend money on new countertops so this was a great alternative. One can for $25 did all of them and I think I love the look. I'm not perfect at painting so there are bubbles and a few bumps here and there but it looks tons better than what it was! The counter was white with yellow marbling and now it is called "Wheat". Here are before and after pictures:

What a week.

After a great stay here at my Mom's house, we are heading home tomorrow. We've had a lot of fun and a few disappointments like being rained out and late fireworks but still a lot of fun. Here are just a few things that we were able to do while we were here:
tour Sweet's candy factory (quite interesting)
Hogle Zoo
Discovery Gateway
Alpine slide and coaster
Of course it's always great to just be with family, even if we aren't doing anything at all.

Justin and Kai had a great time in Philmont, NM and it is good to have them with us again last Friday.