Proud Moments

Last Monday was a 4-H night for Ezri.  She just loves going to 4-H and gets so excited!  This meeting, she was chosen to hold the flag for pledges, something she has hoped to be picked for since our first meeting in October. 

Even more exciting for her was that she got her beginner pin.  She was so proud she couldn't stop smiling!  After we got home, she had to tell Daddy right away and has been thrilled to tell and show anyone who comes over.  It is now hanging in her room so she can see it.  Love her enthusiasm and excitement and I am so very proud of her!

This past week, this Mommy got a little creative with the girls' hair, much to their excitement, and made"Elsa" braids.  It started out just being for Ezri, but once Alora saw she insisted that I make one for her, no matter if her hair was long enough or not!

 We have absolutely loved the 50 degree weather that visited recently.  It  got a lot windier than we would have preferred, so it didn't feel as nice as it looked, but the sun and melting snow drew us outside regardless.  The girls really enjoyed being able to get out, run, scream, and burn lots of energy.

 

 Saturday morning, the girls and I headed to Allegan to cheer a friend on in her 5 hour run at the second Upward Spiral Endurance Run event.  This year, it was my friend Kelly reaching mighty goals, and we wouldn't have dreamed of being anywhere else but there for her.  The girls have been excited about going back to the fieldhouse in Allegan ever since last year's visit there for my friend Kathy's 24 hour run.  They really looked forward to being able to run on the track again as well as play in the inner courts.

Tierney spent her fair share of time in the stroller riding around as I walked, but when she finally convinced me to let her out, she was off!  Big sister by her side, the two of them went around the track a few times, played together and laughed a lot.  Ezri is such a little mama to her!

Ezri probably put in close to a mile and a half, Tierney got in a lap or so.  They had so much fun making their rounds.

Alora put in her few laps and then was more interested in making new friends and hiding in the curtains around the track.  She had a great time and played hard!

 

Similar to last year's event, I was part of a plot to surprise my friend.  Kelly is affectionately referred to as our UniKitty because of her always positive outlook on life.  So, Becci, Jacci and I got UniKitty t-shirts while Kathy, who was acting as her running coach, donned a bunch of pink and UniKitty fun.  Just as she began her fifth hour of running, we surprised her on the track with our new attire and what fun it was!

Now we are preparing for another birthday party and some bittersweet memories as our baby will be turning 6 soon!!!

Happy Valentine's Day

The big thing at our house this past week was Valentine's Day.  Throughout the week leading up to the day, Ezri and Alora, and even Tierney to a lesser extent, focused on making out Valentines to people of their choosing.  They also made little heart shaped mailboxes for their doors to hold the Valentines they would receive in our house.

 Like I said, Tierney worked on it to a lesser extent!  Most of the time she was climbing on the table, running off with markers, writing on thing she shouldn't, getting into stuff when we were distracted...  I love that kid!

 On Thursday, we had a last minute play date with a friend from church and her little ones.  My princess were happy to add another to their pack, and soon had Kaylee dressed up and playing the part.  Come lunch time, we had a full blown princess party going on, complete with accents (for some reason), proper language (for one of them anyway), fancy talk and the tea set.  Princess Pizza, made with the help of the princesses, was on the menu, and the tea was a lovely shade of red that tasted suspiciously like juice

 and stained like it too!

 We had such fun that day, even the moms were giggling at the fun the girls were having.

Surprisingly, Tobi must have caught the Valentines bug too, because for the first time ever I found him snuggled up with Lucky in the same cat bed.  Now, most likely it was Lucky who snuck in after Tobi staked his claim, but we'll take it!

 Valentines Day morning, which was a Sunday this year, the girls work up early, as if it was Christmas.  They were so excited to see the cards they had received, and were excited to find they had some new ones they didn't expect from Daddy and Mommy as well as some candy hearts.

 They spent time reading who each one was from, sneaking a piece of candy here and there.  Daddy had a special gift for the girls this year.  He decided that their first flower should be from their Daddy, so he bought and presented each of them with a red rose.  Ezri was most excited as she had a good understanding of the special moment it was!

 Alora was pretty happy too, and more serious than usual, so she must have understood it was an important event as well.

 Tierney wanted to do whatever her big sisters were doing, so she was all about getting her own flower too!

Normally, Valentines Day has not been a momentous event in our home, but with the girls it has become a fun holiday to celebrate and this year was pretty special and memorable for all of us.  Dare I say another tradition has been started?

Transformations

February is quickly passing by, and we have been immersed in life here.  To start out, the girls...

 We received some exciting news to start the month out.  A new niece/cousin has joined our family through adoption.  We are so happy for my brother and sister-in-law as they welcome little Anneliese Kathryn into their home.

The big news in our house is the bathroom.  Starting last week Monday, we said goodbye to this...

Day One:

My princesses and I worked hard all Monday morning tearing the dated green tiles off the wall one at a time.  Thankfully, they came down quite easily and quickly.  The girls were eager to help however they could.

Day one done!


Day Two: 
Tuesday came, and I began pulling up the white floor tiles.  It was fun for the girls to help me break up the tiles as we went along.  It was something special for them to use my hammer!

The tiles came up pretty easily... but the underlying cement board did not!

The first four feet into the bathroom took me almost three hours to get off, chipping up a little at a time thanks to the abundant adhesive and generous screws.  Thankfully, the second four feet in came up much easier due to a new floor board that had been replaced before we moved in.  45 minutes later, the floor was free of any tile or cement remnants.

 Day Two done!

Days Three and Four:
Wednesday, I painted, and painted some more.  The ceiling was in need of some love.  It was smooth, but pitted and cracked, so I primed, applied three coats of texture and a fresh coat of white paint over it all.  I also spent a considerable amount of time scraping cracks, chips and peeling paint.  After that, I spent even more time mudding and repairing all of those trouble spots.  I feel like I know those walls so much better than I ever wanted to!  But, finally they were smooth and ready for priming.  Two coats of primer went on the walls to cover up any patches.

 Day Five:
Finally we could move on to the color!  Initially I had thought to use a light green, but as we had just taken green off the walls, I was quickly convinced there were better options.  We chose to go with blue after much deliberation and much input from friends and family.  Choosing color is a hard thing for me to do when painting, and even harder was choosing the shade once we chose the color!  But, we are very happy we went with this one. And a little red for some accent inside our medicine cabinet just for fun!

 Day Six: 
Saturday, I added a second coat of blue paint on the walls and touched up any areas needing attention.  Then it was on to more fun work.  We pulled out the old vanity and toilet to prepare for new walls and floor.

Here, Alex got to step in and have some fun.  He worked hard all day putting in the new wall board and wood laminate flooring.  That evening, we had this!

Day Seven: 

Just a bit of work found us with a toilet installed and new holders for the toilet paper and towels.

 

We are so happy already with the change!  It feels like a brand new room, and so much bigger than it was.  The new vanity is much less deep, so it gives us more floor space and opens up what felt like a hallway.  The floor feels so much warmer than the tile, and looks cleaner too!  Soon, phase two will begin - trim work, and a new vanity mirror.

The girls have been so excited to help and to watch the transformation with us.  They are equally excited about the "new" bathroom.  So much so that they could not stand to wait for a bath in there on Monday :)