Mother's Day

I had a great Mother's Day. The girls really wanted to do breakfast in bed for me, so I obediently stayed in bed until they brought it. It was so nice to eat in peace and not be trying to cut someone's waffle while eating my own! They were so cute, coming in my room every few minutes to see if I needed anything. I loved all their cards and poems they made for me at school. Nicole wouldn't go to nursery at church because there were substitutes, so Matthew took both her and Ashley to priesthood so I could go alone to Relief Society. That was wonderful. I had a nap in the afternoon since there was no choir, what a nice break.

I'm so grateful to be a mom and have 4 girls! They are so sweet and lots of fun.

Kitchen Remodel Week 3

These pictures turned out pretty dark since it was at night. They don't really show the color of the cabinets well, I will have to take new ones. Earlier this week, the finishing touches went on the cabinets, appliances put back in place, and the granite people came out to get a template. Our contractor thankfully put in some plywood for a temporary countertop and hooked up our old sink and the dishwasher. I have never been more grateful for the dishwasher! Granite usually takes a week or two after they do the template, 9 days for us, so it's coming next Wednesday. In the meantime, I have been moving back into the kitchen. It's been fun to organize everything and figure out where things should go. It feels so much bigger in here than it used to. We can all be in there without feeling so cramped.
I am so glad we changed the layout!

Kitchen Remodel Week 2

I feel like I've been in a fog, this remodel has taken up so much of my time and mental energy. It's all coming together now though and the end is in sight! Last week, we spent a few nights (actually most of the week) painting the ceiling and walls. We weren't able to match the paint color on the ceiling in the family room, so we had to paint the ceiling in the entire room. Then there was a problem with the wall color, I went to get more of the same color I used 2 years ago to paint the room and it was so much darker. They said that can happen, so I figured I was going to have to repaint most of the walls too, and after using up that paint, I went to get more and that paint was lighter, the same as was originally on my wall. I was so frustrated! All that wasted time! But I was glad I wasn't going to have to repaint the whole room.

Our contractor was so nice to leave our sink and dishwasher hooked up as long as possible, so he did the demolition in stages. It was nice to have the counter and sink around for the painting.

Goodbye to the sink and dishwasher. We were without it for 7 days. Washing bottles in the bathroom sink was lots of fun! We used paper everything and pretty much either microwaved, ate at other people's houses, got take out, or went out.

Here's a picture showing how much darker the paint was.

Cabinets going in! The plumbing for the sink was moved over for it's new position centered on the window. The flooring also had to be fixed to go around the new footprint of the cabinets.

Here's how it was at the end of last week.

Jog-a-thon

I went over to the school to watch the girls run in the Jog-a-thon. It was so fun to see them having fun running and they both did great! Angela pushed herself so hard that the next day she complained all day about how sore her legs were. It's such a fun activity, music blaring, parents and siblings cheering them on. I will be sure to go every year!

Cinco de Mayo Party

I had such a good time helping at the 1st grade Cinco de Mayo Party last week. At their school, each grade learns about a country and has a party to celebrate, so they've been learning about Mexico. I haven't been in the school much this year since I had a new baby, so it was so nice to see Angela interact with her classmates and meet some of the parents.

My Little Reader

About a month ago, Angela got hooked on a series of books and all of the sudden started reading all the time. She often says she can't put her books down, she has to find out what happened. I'm so glad to see her love to read. I've always loved reading and hope that all my kids will love it too. Last week when I was at her school, her teacher told me that she has passed 4 reading levels since Spring Break. I'm so glad Angela caught the reading bug!

Piano Recitals

The last week of April Emily participated in a piano festival and received a Superior Rating (the highest). She practiced really hard to prepare her two memorized pieces and played very well. I was so proud of her. That Saturday she played in her teacher's spring recital at a piano store downtown. What a difference a year makes. Last year she was the most beginning student and was quite apprehensive about playing in the recitals, this year she was very confident and seemed a lot older and more experienced than the beginning students. She has made so much progress this year. She often resists practicing when I want her to or the way I want her to, but she does have the desire to get it done so she can report to her teacher that she did it. Her teacher requires more practice time than most kids her age practice and I'm proud of her for sticking with it. I think she can tell that it's really paying off.

Kitchen Remodel Part 1

Work started on our kitchen yesterday, yah!

Here are some before pictures: This picture shows the dropped ceiling in the kitchen, it is 6 inches lower than the rest of the house.
Now for some pictures of the work in progress-
Old ceiling exposed. I'm not sad to see the flourescent lights gone!

End of Day 1: Old ceiling gone!

End of Day 2: New lights and ceiling! (There are 3 more lights that didn't make it into the picture.)

It makes such a difference already. It feels so much bigger with the taller ceiling and those overhanging cabinets out. It's going to be a few more days before the ceiling is all done and a couple more weeks before it's all done. Living without a fully functioning kitchen has been interesting and I'm trying to get used to it since it's going to be awhile. I just keep walking in there and reminding myself, this will all be worth it!

Treat Pizza

Emily and a friend made up a recipe called "Treat Pizza." Emily loves to cook and when she was younger, she would just mix up ingredients to try and make something until she learned to follow recipes. Anyways, it turned out great and she had so much fun making her own recipe. I thought it was very creative!
Here it is if you'd like to try it:

Treat Pizza
Sugar Cookie Dough cooked for the crust
Vanilla icing
Hershey's chocolate syrup
Rolos