Upside down

In case you were wondering, I haven't forgotten about all of you. 

Our lives have been turned upside down. 

Gordon is currently in the hospital, lying in ICU, recovering from brain surgery.

Seriously. 

There is far more to this story, but I simply cannot type it all out right now. I would turn into mush and collapse, I fear, if I were to start categorizing what our last seven days have been like. I can't afford that -- need to stay strong and focused on putting one foot in front of the other. 

Time to decorate!

With Will's birthday in early December, I used to hold off on decorating for Christmas until after we'd celebrated his birthday.  After a couple of years, though, I realized that we were rushing through the holiday season without really having the time to enjoy it.  So we changed our tradition.  We again started decorating right after Thanksgiving.

Every year, the kids take turns hiding the Christmas Nail in the tree and placing the angel atop our tree.  This year, as in years past, I found myself having to go back through previous year's photos to remind myself who had done what last.  (This year was Will's turn to hide the Christmas nail and Di's turn to place the angel -- she didn't need a lift or stool, was able to reach the top on her own!)

The tree always ends up looking absolutely beautiful.  It is filled with homemade ornaments from all of the kids, as well as some from my own youth, as well as store-bought ones that bring sniffles of sentimentality from my each year.  Ornaments commemorating each of the kiddos' first Christmases.  Ornaments from best friends who live too far away to celebrate with us in person.  Ornaments that remind me of happy moments from all of our pasts and make me want to share those stories with the kids -- again!

Here are some pictures of the tree getting decorated this year. 

Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of Will decorating the tree. He lost interest pretty quickly. Instead of helping his sisters, he engaged Daddy in a couple of rounds of Connect Four.

When all was said and done, the tree is just as beautiful as ever. 

Travelling games

I'd like to start out by confessing that we own a dual-screen portable dvd player for entertaining the kiddos on road trips.  That said, I do not often allow it's use for trips to VT.  In my mind, a short(ish) 4.5hr trip to VT does not require entertainment of the movie/television variety (though I HAVE resorted to using them for the trek to VT).  We have used the dvd player primarily for longer trips, like when we've visited Grandpa and Grandma Pauline in KY and when we went to PA to visit niece/cousin Allison, her hubby, and their daughter.

For our more-frequent trips to VT, I try to keep the kiddos entertained in other ways.  I have created scavenger hunts (typed and printed a copy for each child) -- with normal things like "UPS truck" to not-so-normal sitings like "elephant".  I have also typed and printed out sheets that list every state in the US so the kids can keep track of all the different license plates they see.  The kids all know how to play the alphabet game.

Most recently (just in time for our Thanksgiving trip), I taught the kids the "Padiddle" game.  This game is for when it is dark outside.  You look at the headlights of the oncoming vehicles.  A vehicle that has one blown headlight is known as a "Padiddle".  We counted how many "Padiddles" we spotted.  If memory serves correctly, there were less than 40 that night.

I remember playing this game when I was about the age of my big girls.  It was a game that Mom and Dad introduced to us kids.  Probably for the same reason I introduced it to my kids -- to give them something to concentrate on besides annoying each other!

I told the kids that we used to try to see who could spot the "Padiddle" first, and then we counted them.  Eventually we stopped yelling, "Padiddle" and simply counted them aloud.  Everyone in the car always knew what Dad meant when he loudly stated a number.

Reading goal

I just finished listening to another book. After I updated my reading progress to 'completed' on goodreads.com, I decided to count how many books I have read this year. Thirty books thus far. I just may surpass my goal of 35 books!  Just five more to go. Seeing as I'm already into three different books (one book on CD, on hardcover, and one on my kindle), it's totally doable!!

Thanksgiving

We had a great time in Vermont, celebrating Thanksgiving with Mom, Bert, Anthony, Rita, Mitch, and Reba. 

Since work gave me a fresh turkey, I set it in a brine to soak on our way up to VT Wednesday evening and roasted it Thursday morning. I don't know if I ever really asked Mom how she felt about me just commandeering the turkey preparations. I hope she didn't mind!

The turkey was DELISH, by the way. 

Everyone ate their fill and then it was time for the Men of the family to rest. 

Grace photo bombed. 

Thursday evening/night we played games. Everything from Memory to Scattergories to Monopoly.  I cleaned house in Monopoly. ;)

A great weekend for all. Even if it was cut shorter than I'd have liked. 

Thanksgiving vs. Christmas

Since just prior to Halloween, every store I have gone in is bedecked with Christmas.  Christmas decorations.  Stocking stuffer ideas.  Christmas foods.  Even Christmas caroles on the loudspeaker, in some cases.

I have steadfastly refused to even THINK Christmas just yet.  I refuse to allow all the 'marketing geniuses' and their silly notions to rush me along through the holiday season.  I wish to experience one holiday at a time.

Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday.  I love that it's all about food and family.  When I am hosting Thanksgiving, I feel like I'm in my element.  I thoroughly enjoy the symphony that I create in the kitchen.  When I am not hosting Thanksgiving, I love spending time with family members I don't always get to see.  Sitting and relaxing with each other while smelling the yummy foods cooking is my idea of heaven.

This year's Thanksgiving will see me relaxing.  I will enjoy the company of family I don't get to see often enough.  With the exception of listening to Christmas music during the day (a tradition I have held on to from my own childhood), I will do nothing but celebrate Thanksgiving.  Perhaps after work on Black Friday I will put together a Christmas shopping list.

One holiday at a time.

First dance!

Approximately once a month during the school year, our town's rec department puts on a dance for the 6-8th grade students. The last Saturday of October was the first one of the year. Knowing that my girls would more than likely want to attend, I volunteered to chaperone.

It was Dianna's first Rec Dance. Also a first for her best bud, Katina. Here is a picture I snapped of the two of them just before the dance started. Don't you just love the looks of sheer excitement??

Happy Halloween (a little late!)

This year we had a ghost (again! Third year in a row....I now wonder if Mom ever got tired of my dressing as a clown for years on end...), a nerd, a minion, and a ninja. 

As in years past, we joined the neighbors for a fun evening of trick-or-treating. 

The parents were all surprised to find there were adult treats at one of our neighbor's houses. 

She had beer and wine waiting in the cooler. How awesome is that?!?

p.s.  Sorry for the grainy quality of the pictures.....that's what happens when I use my cell phone camera rather than my Canon Rebel.

More to come!

So I just posted a couple of pics of the kiddos carving pumpkins.  I have more pictures to share, but no time to upload them right now.  Need to get ready for church.  Check back later for more images!

Catching up

I've got some pictures to share, but not a lot of time to post them.  Here are a couple that Gordon took the night before Halloween.  The kiddos really got into preparing their Jack-O-Lanterns.  I think this was the first year that I didn't have to do all the work myself!

Busted!

To the Anonymous commenter:  simply put, "poocorn" is what happens a when Auto-Correct does not catch my typo!

Thanks for pointing out my error. I've fixed it. ;)

Popcorn

Tonight, we're doing Family Movie Night for the second week in a row. After we all finished our homemade pizza, Gordon made stovetop popcorn. (I swear, he makes the BEST popcorn EVER!!).  As we're all partaking of the salty, buttery, yumminess, Dianna declared that the popcorn didn't have near enough butter nor salt. 

I instantly laughed. 

Then, I told Gordon about Dad and how he liked his popcorn. I remember making popcorn as a kid. We used an air popper. Dad always got his own bowl because he liked his with LOTS of butter and even more salt. As in, so much butter that the popcorn kernels would shrivel to almost nothing.  And so much salt that the sea would seem bland in comparison. 

Dianna instantly chimed in with, "THAT sounds GOOD!!"

A chip off the ol' block, I tell ya!

Shoe graffiti

Eleanor had a pair of white canvas sneakers. She loved them when we first bought them. They "skated" across the floor, she said. 

When I asked Nora why she hasn't worn the shoes in recent weeks, she said it was because they were boring. They were just white. She didn't want boring, white shoes. 

Instantly, I recalled drawing on my Keds as a youth. I also remembered that we happen to have some fabric markers downstairs in the craft room. Eleanor was excited when I suggested that we could color on her boring shoes. 

I can't wait for Eleanor to get dressed for school tomorrow morning!

Inch by Inch

For years now, Gordon has measured each of the kids on the back side of our basement door. 

It can be quite fun to look and compare the kids' heights at similar ages. 

So far, it looks like Nora will always be our peanut. At 5 1/4yrs old, she's got the shortest stature of all four of the kiddos at that same age. Dianna actually has almost always been ahead of everyone else. It'll be interesting to see how the final growth spurts of the teens years plays out. I wonder if William will be the tallest, or if Dianna will retain that claim to fame for posterity. 

Popcorn

Gordon is making popcorn for the kiddos to have for snack. 

Stovetop popcorn. The best kind there is!  Yummy!

Punishment fits the crime

This was a rough afternoon. I had had to work a little later than normal. I called home to make sure someone would be out at the end of the driveway to collect the Littles. 

My phone rang shortly after I started on my commute home. It was Dianna. William was giving her a hard time. 

I'm going to fast forward to the moment I got home. 

Will was still being very difficult. Defiant, even (which is TOTALLY not like him). I sent him to his room, to wait for me to come talk to him. On the way to his room, I heard at least five or six doors slamming. 

So now Will's bedroom door looks like this:

I took it off it's hinges. 

I told my boy that he just might get the door back this weekend, but he's going to have to prove to me that he can use a door responsibly and properly first -- by opening and closing a door at least 15 times in a row. 

I pray to never have to jump to such an extreme punishment again, but won't hesitate should the need arise!

Nora-ism

"When something is sour, it makes me twitch!"

Princess and the Pea?

I came home from taking Di to karate to find this:

Think this means she might be feeling better?

Unexpected quality time

Eleanor complained Monday morning that she didn't feel well. I took her temperature (normal temp), saw that she'd eaten a hearty breakfast, and declared that she was fine. I sent her off to school, telling her that she could visit the nurse after lunch if she still didn't feel good. 

She made it through the whole day. 

She still appeared fine after getting off the bus. I figured she had just experienced a case of Monday-morning-itis. I didn't think much of it as I set out to prepare dinner. 

Fast forward to now. I now know that Eleanor is suffering from a case of strep throat. Her fever seems to have FINALLY broken. Her appetite is still pretty low, but I think the fact that she pitched a small fit when she learned that she'd have to stay home again today is a good sign. 

She and I are both looking forward to getting back to our regular routines tomorrow. 

Creative teaching

Will's new teacher sends home a homework packet every Monday. As part of his weekly assignments, the teachers includes practicing spelling words on a daily basis. Instead of merely writing and saying out loud each of the words, Mrs. L offers a list of out-of-the-box options instead. 

Today, Will decided to choose option #8 -- "choose 10 words and write them in flour". I told him he could use salt (I accidentally bought iodized sea salt one time, rather than iodized table salt). I also told him that I would choose which spelling words he would spell. 

Little does William realize that I had him write out all 19 of the words from his list!  

Gillette Castle

Last weekend Gordon had a lot going on. He planned to spend the entire afternoon on Sunday helping a friend out. I wanted to do something with the kiddos. To make the most of our time together, because if I didn't, we'd end up being blobs at home - either in front of the tv or in front of a computer.

So I decided to take the kiddos to see Gillette Castle. I remember visiting there myself as a child. I knew the kiddos would enjoy it, and it looked to be the perfect afternoon for such sight-seeing adventures. 

Here are a couple of the pictures I took that day:

Happiness is....

Happiness is driving around the backyard in an old tractor. 

Too bad the girls refuse to put a mower deck on and actually MOW THE GRASS!!

How do they do it??

There are times when I'm caught up in the running to and fro where I wonder -- HOW do working moms do this?  I feel inadequate.  I feel like I simply cannot be everywhere at every time and get everything done.  HOW do working moms do this?

ESP

I remember watching Mom balance her checkbook register when I was a much younger girl.  Sometimes the balance at the end of her checkbook register wouldn't match what her monthly bank statement said.  She would try to figure out where the error was.  If that didn't work, she'd make an adjusting entry into her checkbook register and label it "ESP".  Voila! Her account was balanced.

What does "ESP" mean, you ask?  Simply put, it means, "Error Some Place".  Those three little letters fixed it all.

As I got older, and obtained a checking account of my own, I became an accounting Nazi of sorts.  I took to the challenge of balancing my register like it was the challenge of a lifetime.  I would not let a penny escape me -- I WOULD find that error and knowingly correct my mistake.

Even after we started using online banking, and no longer received monthly statements from our bank, I regularly balanced our account.  Gordon watches our balance online regularly, but doesn't often take the time to reconcile it to what our checkbook register says.  I NEED my accounting balance to match what the bank's balance says it should be exactly.

I know, I know.  I'm weird.  I actually LIKE balancing checkbooks.

My boss looked at me cross-eyed when I told her that one time.

I relish the challenge of finding where that one-cent mistake is.

I'm more than a little ashamed to say that it has been MONTHS since I last updated our checkbook register and reconciled it.  MONTHS.  It has been looming over my head.  I was always saying to Gordon, "THIS weekend, I have GOT to get the checkbook balanced!"  But the kids' various activities and household chores and LIFE just kept getting in my way.  I never got around to it.  Until today.

I'm proud to say that I finally tackled it.  After more than seven months.  It took me 3.5hours (mostly because I had to write in every single debit card purchase we've made since I last balanced).  Even after all that time spent, I was still off by $0.02.  I went back through it all, re-calculated it, and was still off.  Two cents.  TWO CENTS.

Want to know what I did?  I wrote:  "ESP......+.02".  Suddenly my account balanced.  Mom was right!  Voila!

Homemade Hamburger Helper

While perusing Pinterest the other night, I stumbled upon a blog post that screamed to me. It was a blog post about homemade Hamburger Helper recipes. You can read the actual blog post here: 

http://m.chickensintheroad.com/cooking/homemade-hamburger-helper/

I'm not gonna lie. We ate Hamburger Helper more than a few times when I was a kid. As a matter of fact, Hamburger Helper was one of my favorite dinners. 

I have often wished that I had a "homemade version" of Hamburger Helper. I wanted to enjoy the flavors and ease of putting together a quick, well-rounded, flavorful meal -- WITHOUT the added preservatives that the handy box mixes come with. 

So I tried the Cheesy Jambalaya recipe that the blog listed. Except I had to tweak the recipe a bit because I realized that I don't have any rice on hand. I got rid of it when I cleaned out a few weeks back. Remember the Flour Moth issues?!?Thankfully, we had some leftover white rice from when we had Chinese takeout the other night. 

I have to say that it looked and smelled DELISH. 

Okay, so maybe that's not the best photo to use. It's all that I've got. Trust me -- it looked MUCH better in person. And smelled HEAVENLY!!

Grace, Nora, Gordon, and I all LOVED it! Neither Will nor Dianna would even try it. 

I will DEFINITELY be using these homemade helper recipes again!!

9/11

Five years ago today, I posted about a conversation I had with my big girls.  You can go back and read it by clicking here.  Please don't feel you have to go back and read it.  I'll quickly summarize it.

Every year on this day, I ask the kiddos if they know why September 11th is a significant day in US history.  Usually, I talk with the big girls about it.  This morning, however, I missed my opportunity to talk with them about it.  That dang bus just comes too early!

So I sat down with my Littles this morning.  I asked them if they know what happened on this day, twelve years ago.  Of course, neither of them knew what I was talking about.  I explained to them, in the simplest, non-scary terms I could, what happened.  I told them of the bad men who comandeered the planes and how two of them crashed into big towers in NYC.  I told them of the regular people who were on the planes and in their offices that morning, and how they got hurt because of the actions of a few bad men.  I told them of the police and firemen who risked their lives to help those people as best they could.

I also told the kiddos how that day impacted me.  I told them that when something important and life changing happens like this, that the exact moment and day that you experienced it is somehow stamped on your brain for ever.  I told them how Nana can still tell anyone who asks EXACTLY where she was and what she was doing the moment JFK was shot.  (Of course, I had to briefly explain that he was a President of the US before I was born, and that he'd been shot while in the middle of a parade)  I also told them that one day, in their own lifetime(s), there will probably be a day where History is literally in the making.  They will recognize it as such, and their lives will never be the same because of it.  They, too, will always remember the exact details of what and where of their own history-in-the-making-moment.

Double Whammy

It turns out that the Tooth Fairy had to make two stops last night.  Dianna lost a tooth late in the day yesterday.  Luckily the TF wasn't out of dollar bills!

P.S.  This gig is getting harder and harder.  Dianna was awake till an ungodly hour, even though she went up to bed at her normal bedtime.  I think it was close to midnight by the time the TF was finally able to make the exchange!

Gap-toothed grin

Will (finally) lost one of his three loose teeth this morning. I love his gap-toothed grin. Even took a picture to share with Gordon and all of you. Except Will didn't want me to share the pic with my friends.

He DID say that Nana could see it. 

So. If you are not Nana, please avert your eyes. The following picture is not meant for you. ;)

Ooops!

I was just looking over my recent blog posts and realized that I unintentionally posted two very similar posts, one right after the other.  Both were posts about Nora's accessorizing and hair-styling.  I guess I'm just in love with my Littlest and all of her sweet, innocent, strides toward independence.  I'll try not to be so redundant in the future.

Bows and arrows

I left work just a few minutes late this afternoon. Worried that I may not make it back home in time to catch the Littles' bus, I called the girls and asked that they wait at the end of our driveway. I got home in time.

When I pulled into the driveway, this is what I saw:

The girls were creating bows and arrows using things from nature. 

Grace happily posed for a picture, showing off her creation:

I love witnessing moments like this. Moments when they are creative and not just sucked into the latest electronic gadget. 

Hair

This morning, Nora insisted that she wanted to decorate her hair with clips and barrettes. She's quite proud of herself!

What do you think??

Bedecked

Eleanor got herself all dressed and accessorized this morning. Even did her own hair. Check her out:

I'm fairly certain her teacher will take one look and KNOW that this was all Nora's doing. At least I hope so. ;)

Game night again, finally!

Last night, Rachel and Lee came over for dinner and a couple of rounds of Mexican Train. 

It was the first time we've gotten the chance to play in many, many, many months.  I'd forgotten just how much fun we have when we play. Really need to make the time to do it regularly. 

We ended up playing two full games. Even though Rachel had begun the first game with a strong start, Gordon managed to pull out the win in the last couple of rounds. My brother-in-law, Lee, won the second game. It was really close at the end -- I thought that Gordon would pull out a last-minute win for that game too!

Infiltrated!

This is what my kitchen currently looks like:

And this:

And this:

And (finally!) this:

Why does my kitchen have full countertops and bare cabinets, you ask? 

Because we have been infiltrated by flour moths, that's why!

I had never heard of flour moths until earlier this week. I never knew such a critter existed. Apparently they're more common than you'd think. A lot of times, I'm told, you actually end up bringing them home direct from the grocery store.  They like dried goods like packaged cereals, rice, pasta, and flour. They lay their eggs in and around such food items. You'll find these little grey moths in your food cabinets and pantries.  Eventually, like I did, you'll also see their little worm-like larvae too.  (Ewwwww!)

I have cleared out those four cabinets, wiped down all of the sealed packages, tossed a lot of suspect (already opened) packages, and prayed that we've gotten them all. 

I'll take fruit flies over these moths ANY day!

First Week almost done!

 Only a couple of hours left before we can officially put the first week of school to bed.  With my new work schedule, things are a little hectic in the morning.  I'm sure once we have a few more morning to 'practice' with, we'll get into a much better groove.  This morning is already going infinitesimally better than the first two.

Here are some pictures from the first day:

Grace, our resident 8th grader

Dianna, the now-well-established Middle School 6th grader

Will and Nora, both excited for another year of elementary -- this year as a 3rd grader and Kindergartener

Both Will and Nora, hamming it up at the bus stop.

 Finally, a brand new bus for the kiddos to ride.  Thankfully, it's the same awesome driver!  

We <3 Ms. Heather!!

Details!!

Finally. I have found the time to come back and fill you in on the details of my surprise opportunity. 

A couple of weeks back, one of our neighbors called. She asked if I wanted a job. I laughed and asked her what she meant -- she knew that I'd gone back to work last December!  She went on to explain that there were a couple of job postings within our town's Superintendent's office. She wasn't sure what my qualifications were, but wondered if I'd be interested in working a lot closer to home. 

After much consideration, I decided that it was worth a shot. I pulled out my résumé and looked it over. I updated it, typed up a cover letter to go with it, then mailed them both in for consideration. 

A little more than a week later, I received a phone call from the Director of Special Ed. One of the two positions that my neighbor had told me about was the admin assistant for the Director of Special Ed. I talked with her, and agreed to an interview just a couple days later. 

Fast forward to last week. 

I had a second interview and was subsequently offered the position. I was elated! The hourly pay they offered was quite a bit more than I'd been making at my other job. The hours were far more family-friendly (9am-1pm). Best of all -- the job would be practically in my own backyard!

I went in to work last Monday fully intending to give my two weeks' notice. I was a wreck -- I felt more than a little disloyal to my boss. My anxiety was in full force. I couldn't decide if I was going to cry or vomit. 

After talking with my boss, I was even more a mess. She explained that she truly didn't want to let me go. She's got big plans for me. She'd like to train me to be an office manager. She said that she was more than willing to change my working hours. After some negotiating, we agreed on a raise in pay and a change in my work schedule.

So, I decided to stay where I am. I switched from working 10am-5:30pm to working 9am-3pm. My pay raise went into effect immediately. And I'm more than excited at the prospect of learning more things and taking on new challenges. 

More details -- coming soon!

Before I get into the message of this blog post, I want to first extend a warm hello to you. My faithful blog reader. I honestly wasn't sure if many people still read my blog, besides Mom. I know Mom wasn't ever quit me. I was pleasantly surprised when more than one other person reached out to me to tell me that they miss reading my posts. I was so touched!  And feeling more than a little guilty. But I think it was the kick in the pants that I needed to get me thinking about blog topics again. Thank you. 

Now. Time to get to the 'meat' of the message.....I just wanted to quickly let y'all know that I will be back later to finally post the details I couldn't mention in my last post. I appreciate the prayers and positive thoughts that you sent up for me. They worked!

Surprise Opportunities

Last Friday morning, I answered the house phone to hear one of the neighbor's voices.  Sandy had something to share with me.  An opportunity that she thought I might be interested in.  She was right.  I think.

At this point, I hesitate to share too much.  I don't want to put all of my eggs in one basket, so to speak.  Also, if I type it all out here, and share it with all of the the World-Wide-Webbed-ness, there's no un-sharing it.  So I'll wait until we know more details before I share with you.

In the meantime, I'd like to ask you to please pray for me and the family.  Please pray that God will reveal His plan and that His will be done.

The Difference of 13 Years

Thirteen years ago from this very moment, I was in the throes of child labor. I'll save you all the details and will fast forward to the moment when I was able to hold and snuggle and enjoy our first baby. Gordon and I were no longer just a couple. We had suddenly transformed into a family. 

I look at Grace and all that she is becoming, and I still sometimes feel that same initial awe that I felt 13 years ago. She amazes me. She is kind. She is generous. She's super smart. She's super athletic. She is creative. She is filled with boundless energy.  

I look at our girl and wonder just how we could have done it. What it was that we did so right. I don't know as though I'll ever figure it out. 

Fifth Birthday

It seems so crazy to say this, but today is Eleanor's fifth birthday. Seriously. 

Eleanor has invited 8 of her school friends to come over this afternoon to celebrate. We will play all kinds of water games, from water limbo to whack & splash (wiffle ball, using water balloons in place of the plastic wiffle ball) to hot potato (using a water balloon with a hole pricked in it) to sponge toss. I made an ice cream cake, per the Birthday Girl's request. 

She's very much looking forward to her party! Hopefully I'll take lots of pictures to share. 

The Return of Herman (again!)

Many, many, many months ago, I used up the last of Herman.  I was baking and needed every last bit of the starter that I had on hand.  So I used it all, figuring I'd start a new Herman in a few days.

A few days turned into a few weeks.  Then into months.  And now I've lost track of exactly how long it has been since we've had an active Herman in the house.  I've lost track of how many times I've had to explain to the kiddos that I simply cannot make sourdough pancakes, cinnamon rolls, whatever, because I don't have any starter to use.

Ten days ago, I decided enough was enough.  No more procrastinating.  The time had come to start a new Herman.

Tonight, we will have "breakfast for dinner".  Complete with sourdough pancakes.  Courtesy of Herman III.

Independence Day!

As we begin this day of celebration, here are some pictures from Independence Days of Past:

2008, at the annual 4th of July parade where Grammie lives:

2009, visiting Grandpa and Grandma in Kentucky

2010, boating on Lake Champlain with Uncle "Kracker" (aka Uncle Rick)

I don't have any pictures from 2011 -- that was the summer that the kiddos were in VT, visiting Nana and Bert for two weeks.  The only pictures I have from that time frame are of the renovations Gordon and I were doing to the upstairs bedrooms.

2012, celebrating with sparklers right in our own yard