Getting ready for Tom

Elder's Quorum came over today to help with last minute home-improvement type stuff that needed to be done before Tom's return.

Master Bath: touched up walls, baseboards, painted ceiling,

and patched small hole behind door with the mirror

Front yard: Put up nails & hung our Welcome Home banner

(though it'll still be a little while until Tom is back home)

Kitchen: What can I say??? We painted the dining room this green color about 2 years ago, and everything below the shelves in the picture about a year ago. EQ painted the wall above the shelves and fixed our broken microwave handle w/superglue.


Backyard: They pulled ivy vines growing in the corner about a week ago, and today de-weeded the back & trimmed everything along the bottom of the walls. (The kids love it as now the lizards who crawl on the wall have no where to hide)

Ivy has named the new plants. The bigger one is appropriately named "Fluffy" and the smaller one is "Mr. Plant"

Nothing Says Sorry Like...

We're really sorry about Mr. Plant, Daddy (he had Mr. Plant for 15 years). Hopefully Mr. Plants' siblings will last longer than 15 years and *hopefully* they won't have to go thru a deployment like Mr. Plant did.

The current situation of Mr. Plant, before today's burial.

We will have to pick names for the new ones when Tom gets back.

Random photos by Ivy

Ivy learned how to take some pictures w/the Nikon. Here are the ones she's taken so far.

Andrew w/paper towels

She did several screen shots of Littlest Pet Shop

A screen shot of when Tom video called us on Skype

One of me talking to Tom via video

Collin & Andrew

Not sure why she took this of Andrew. Maybe he was about to turn off a dvd?

Her Littlest Pet Shop Collection: Panda

Mouse. She also has a purple peacock. I'm surprised she didn't take a photo of it.

Collin sitting on my lap today

Andrew picking a book from the shelf.

feeling crafty again

This morning, I found an online tutorial for a crayon roll. I thought it looked like a fast project and would be helpful for long car rides, at church, and keeping Andrew busy when Ivy starts swimming lessons in a few weeks. This one is Andrew's, sans crayons. He picked out the fabric. Ivy has already requested me to make one for her out of fairy fabric. Oh, before I forget, this is where I found the tutorial:

http://www.skiptomylou.org/2007/04/25/on-a-roll/

We have thoroughly enjoyed my sister & her husband staying with us on their short trip. Andrew really warmed up to both, which was awesome, considering a little over a year ago he didn't want my sister(then a sister missionary) to hold him. It has been really nice to have someone to talk to. I'm going to miss that soo bad.

A very short update

Ivy finishes kindergarten the end of next week, with 2 weeks off till swimming starts. Our peach tree is now empty. Tom told Ivy he'd be home soon after the last of the peaches fall off the tree. We have a pretty good idea when he will be coming back, but no "official" date till 10 days before. Not much time left till our estimated return date. I've made it this far, but doubt my ability to make it this last stretch. I told Tom as soon as he's adjusted back to this time zone and he's done w/his demobilization process, I may just take a long nap.

On the bright side, one of my younger sisters will be in the area for a short trip this week--I think for a wedding in her old mission area. Hopefully, we'll get some time with her & my brother-in-law. Oh, and we have our missing camera back. It was gone for a month & a half @ the in-laws(who didn't know it was there). It figures, after we got a replacement. I figured it was lost forever in one of many black holes at my in-laws. Have to say though, I like the way the Fujifilm takes pictures better than the Nikon I just got.