Papa and Grams visit

Ben's Dad and Lana came to visit us on the 14th. The girls had so much fun having their undivided attention. We all went to the zoo for the day on Monday while Kara was at school. The girls thought it was pretty fun to feed the geese, but I was worried, because these geese were quite aggressive. 

It had rained a little that morning, but was stopped by the time we got there, so it made for a pretty perfect zoo day, with not much of a crowd. 

The girls are always excited about tea parties with Grams. This tea party was extra special, as Minnie Mouse was able to attend! 

Since we had Kerry and Lana here, Nancy drove out with her kids so they (and we) could meet her new baby! The kids always have so much fun playing together. 

snuggling with the sweetest little guy!

Ben and his new best buddy.

Everyone left on thursday to go home. It was a fun visit, and Kiersten is already talking about next time we'll go out to visit Papa at his house. She says that's what she wants to do for her next birthday.

More room makeovers!

I haven't gotten around to posting the finished pictures of my latest projects. So here's a bunch at once. 
We did the second guest room/craft room before Christmas. I did the painting, and we got a full size bed for when we have multiple guests at once. I didn't think that would be very often, but we've actually needed the second guest room several times now, so I'm glad Ben talked me into giving up part of my craft area. 

This shot shows my bow making/scrapbooking/sewing table. I thought I'd miss having several different tables for the different things, but it hasn't been any trouble at all now that I have my custom closet down there to keep organized. It still needs some accessorizing, but it's definitely a happier place to be now that it's not a white, boring jail cell. 

I put up the framed cork board to hold my bows that are currently for sale in my etsy shop. I just thumb tacked pieces of ribbon to the board so I can clip the bows right on. 

Ben used curtain rods and chain to make this ribbon holder for me. It's so nice to have it all at arm's reach when I'm creating, and nice to be able to see exactly what I have. Though I still dream of a true sewing table, with a surger, this setup actually worked out pretty well for me when I was making the girls's princess dresses.

I already posted pictures when I got the closets put in, but here's a picture with it all filled up. 

I intentionally left the area to the right with a rod for guests to hang their clothes, but as you can see, it quickly got filled up too. 

about 2-3 weeks ago, I painted inside the basement closet that we use for the kids play area. That wood is where a shelf used to be that Ben removed so they can play in there more easily. there is still a taller shelf above for storage. I wish I had a before picture to compare, but o well. The flowers and bees are fathead stickers that the girls helped put up. 

Ben put up a wire shelf and rod, so the girls play clothes can all be hung and more easily accessible. I thought it'd create a huge mess, but it's less of a mess now that they don't have to dig through a bin to find what they want. 

He also hung a light below the higher shelf, and they do actually spend a lot of time playing in here. They also drag the toys out so they can play in the family room, but it has stayed pretty organized so far, and I think it's easier for them to clean up now they can walk around in there instead of ducking and crawling. 

Evie's room finally got painted about 5 weeks ago. I was determined not to paint another pink room, but she was so determined to have a pink room like Kiersten. So we finally decided on a much lighter pink, and only did it 2/3 on the wall. Then I picked 2 shades of brown I liked, and used those along the bottom third of the wall. The butterflies are also fatheads, and so far she hasn't peeled a single one off, though I'm sure it's bound to happen eventually. Every time she goes in there, she mentions the butterflies, and how they can't get away. 

another view to show the stripes a bit better. Of course all the stripes that I got perfectly straight with no bleeding, ended up behind furniture, and the spots I messed up on were out in the open, and had to be touched up. I'm sure it's more noticeable to me than anyone else, though. 

She couldn't be more proud of her room, and loves showing it off to anyone who comes over. I'm glad I resisted the urge to do a Minnie Mouse room, since who knows how long she'll keep loving Minnie? Kiersten loved Wow Wow Wubbzy at that age, and now never mentions him, or watches the show anymore. Hopefully it'll be a few years before I'm having to repaint any of their rooms. 

girls sports

Kara has been participating a Go St. Louis since the fall. She had to read 26 books, do 26 good deeds, and run 26 miles. She has had a great time doing it, and it was interesting to find out what things she considers a "good deed". On saturday, all the kids who participated ran in a 1 mile race. Ben said they weren't timed, but all got medals. There were 5000 kids from all different schools. She is pretty proud. 

All the kids from her school that were there. She was excited to wear her t shirt and medal to school today. they did a group picture at the school, and also were supposed to talk to other students about their experience. It doesn't sound like she talked to anyone about it, though. 

I couldn't go to Kara's race, because Kiersten had her first soccer game at the same time. She was assigned to the black team, and was a little sad not to be on the purple team. Her name suggestion was "cool black kids", but they ended up going with the black dragons. My personal favorite was the kid who suggested they be called "the batmans".

She was one of the faster runners. there are two six year old boys on the team, that were both faster, but barely. 

A dancing picture of Evie, as she felt left out. She kept doing tricks, and begging me to take her picture. 

She's not so great at it yet, but I definitely see an athleticism in her, and she tries so hard, and really listens to the instructions, so I'm sure she'll just keep getting better. 

There are four boys and two girls on the team. Of course, the other girl on the team is now her best friend. It was kinda cute that they kept getting caught up in giggly conversations when they were supposed to be running drills. But when the coach would remind them what they were supposed to be doing, they got right back into it. 

And a few pictures from our first six flags trip of the year. 

Grandma and Grandpa Boot and Johnsons visit!

Jackie and her kids came back up from Kansas city again on Tuesday. It was so much fun having them and my parents here all week. We took the kids (besides Kara) to the zoo. 

All of the kids besides Jolee piled up in this little hole. I wouldn't have thought they'd all fit in there. 

We've only ever seen the sea lions from the above viewing area, as there's usually a huge line to the under water part. 

It was pretty fun, and the kids loved it.

On Thursday, my parents treated us all to dinner. It was pretty fun and tame for having 6 kids in a restaurant. They all behaved so well. 

I got to sit by Kaymie, who is such a sweetie, and Cash made me a picture on the back of his placemat. 

Friday was really nice, so we took the kids to the park. 

When we ordered our Halloween costumes last year, they accidentally sent us a ninja sword kit with a sword, dagger, nun chucks, and ninja stars. My kids weren't interested, so I've been holding on to it still in the package. I thought Cash would like it, so I asked Jackie if she was okay with him having it.  He was in heaven with it. He thanked me so many times, and kept saying how much he loved it.

Kiersten hasn't quite mastered the monkey bars, but she doesn't stop trying. 

After Kara got home from school, we let the kids play around outside for a while. Baby Jolee went down for a nap, and didn't stay out for long. 

Evie insisted on wearing her warmest winter coat, though it was almost 70° out. 

After Ben came home from work, he grilled burgers for us all, and we enjoyed dinner out on the deck. By that point, Kiersten was the one in a winter coat.  

We had birthday gifts for Jojo, whose birthday we just missed, and Cash, wo will turn 5 at the end of the month, so they got to open those. 

And Kiersten was thrilled with the nail polish and lip gloss they brought her for her recent birthday. 

I bought a little candy kit for the kids to decorate bunny and chick cupcakes. 

They all loved it, and it was simple, so they didn't need too much help. 

I told them all to hold up their favorite one, and they all chose their bunnies. Good to know for next time to skip the chicks, which were messier to make and harder for them to eat. 

They all left early on Saturday morning. It was so fun having them here, and the kids were sooo good. When they were about to leave, Cash was in the dining room, hiding in the corner. I asked what was wrong, and he said he wished he could go to Keirsten's soccer game, and stay longer. I reminded him that he'll be coming again this summer, and he cheered up a little. Then he thanked me again for the ninja kit, and I said, "now I'm your favorite aunt, ha?" and he answered, "yes. but mostly because you played wii U with me". And of course that made my day, even if I had to fish for it.