Sunday, June 23, 2013

Ammon & Ruth wedding part 1

 Yesterday was Ruth and Ammon's wedding and we are happy to welcome Ammon into our family and it appears Ruth fits right in with the Opie family.
Ruth was radiant, Ammon embraced his crown, and the whole day passed in a whirl.  So happy for my baby sister and her husband.  They have some great years ahead of them!

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

dresser paint job

The week before Andrew's family visited us back in March we needed our carpets cleaned which resulted in emptying four rooms in our house and while they were empty I thought it was a great chance to do some painting so I took the opportunity to paint and switch Elliot's room with the girls room (Elliot's old room was bigger and the girls needed the space).
  That was couple months ago and the rooms are still unfinished but I'm getting there a little bit at a time.  When switching Elliot's room I wanted to change it to look less toddler and more boy.  As much as I like the red dresser I was ready for a little change (the paint was chipping and the lime green and blue underneath was rather unattractive) so we got a sander and I went to town.  The above picture is before.
That red paint dust got everywhere in the sanding process but it was fun trying out a new tool.
The Home Depot employee assured me that one can of primer was sufficient.  He was wrong.
I managed to spread out three cans of primer but when I started painting with yellow I quickly realized that you can never have too much primer.  The yellow covered much better in the areas I heavily primed.  Also, the areas that I was over-ambitious and sanded down to wood needed a ton of primer and paint.
Three Home Depot trips, 10 cans of primer, and lots of painting during naps and the job was done.  Well, as done as I was going to make it.  I think I could have easily use more paint.
Again, here's the before.
And the after.
^ ^ Like Elliot's Lazer Tag drawing?  ^ ^
Things I learned:
- get twice as much spray paint as you think
- regular paint is cheaper
- don't over sand
- use the recommended sand paper grade (mine was too rough)

In the end I'm happy with result and look forward to doing more in Elliot's room.  His walls are still empty so maybe that's my next project!

Sunday, June 16, 2013

fathers in my life

Did you have a good father's day today?  We tried to make it special by making crepes for breakfast, with Nutella!!, of course.  The kids made cards for Andrew two weeks ago and already gave them to him because they couldn't wait.  For dinner we had homemade pizza night with my parents.  
 Andrew is truly such an amazing daddy.
He's the kind of daddy that reads a book to the kids for the 100th time in a row.
He snuggles his kids to sleep every night, not just because they want him to but because he wants to.
He is the comic relief in tense moments.
He is constantly teaching me to be silly and not take things too seriously and I love him for it.
 When we went to California this spring (still haven't posted those pics yet!) my parents came and I got to spend some time with my Dad, just the two of us, in CA Adventure for his first time.  We had a blast!  Dad is probably the only one that would go on that roller coaster with me.  We just made some great memories that I will treasure.  My Dad always teaches me patience.
Neville, my father-in-law is such a fun person to be around.  He excels in telling "pub" jokes and has such a big heart.  Full of integrity and an intense love of rugby league.  He's silly on the surface but I thank him for Andrew's intelligence.

There are some wonderful men in my life, including my brothers, and I hope they know how much I appreciate and love them!

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Ruth's bridal shower

 My baby sister is getting married in two weeks and yesterday was her bridal shower.  I keep thinking she's so young to be getting married . . only 19 . . but I was only a year older!  We served a lot of really yummy food and just had a blast squeezing as many ladies as possible in my living room and kitchen.






Ruth enjoyed being the center of attention and even had a moment of overwhelming gratitude for all the magnanimity her friends and family showered on her.  She had Ammon are very loved.  Ruth is not one to be subservient but her flashes of honest gratitude are one of her best characteristics.

Two weeks until the wedding and so much to do!

Friday, June 7, 2013

May snapshots

May was such a wonderful month.  Elliot finished Kindergarten and lost his first tooth the first day of summer, Avery finished pre-school and mysteriously had hives (still don't know how she got them), and Zara has taken up climbing on top of everything, getting into everything, drawing on everything, and she found her laugh!


  So ya, everything is normal and happy.  In June we look forward to Ruth's bridal shower and wedding, my best friend Julie Dangerfield's bridal shower, and I'm taking a class on Photoshop Elements.  So fun!