Thanksgiving Weekend

What a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend we had! We went up to my Grandma's Cabin in Island Park and had a wonderful Thanksgiving meal. It started out with Joel going up on Wednesday with Grandma and Grandpa while mommy and daddy came up the next day. It was very funny -- when I was getting Joel in grandpa's "Twuck" (say it with a deep voice and one of Joel's favorite things!) I was telling him Love you-- and he looks at me and says "Momma - go way" (say this one with attitude!) Well, I know where he wanted to go and it was not with Mom! He did very good so I was told and Mike and I had a very nice date out to a movie and dinner and then came to the cabin the next day.

We also had a very important task to perform while we were up at the cabin-- a Christmas tree had to be found! So off we went in hunt of the perfect Christmas tree! We loaded into the truck, the four wheeler and the snowmobiles and started the hunt. Here are a few pictures!

Joel and Jason looking for daddy who was off playing on the four wheeler! This is one of Joel's favorite things!

This is Joel's other favorite thing and asks for the four wheeler at least 3 times a day! Oh, and we found daddy too!
And now, for the perfect tree! We found this beauty which someone hit with the snowmobile in it's youth and has a split trunk which makes it fairly full for a lodge pole pine from Island Park!

More pictures in front of the tree!

All the boys that were helping

And the cutting process begins!

Timber!

Joel and Jason

Mommy wanted to try this crazy thing and get Joel to sit in front of the tree and smile. Well, I got the sit in front of the tree- but someone would not smile! He kept looking at me like I was crazy-- which may as well be accurate- but still-- mommy needed a smile!

Hauling the tree to the truck

Joel and Allen-- and finally a smile from the kid! Who knew - all it took was dog!

That was our Thanksgiving weekend and the hunt for the perfect Christmas Tree-- which we now have to fit in the house-- thank goodness for vaulted ceilings!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!

What Happens When Mike Leaves!!!

Mike had to go up to Moscow for a business trip last weekend. (Long story- but we own 2 DVD vending machines similar to a Red Box -- only ours are blue. We have one at a grocery store in Blackfoot and another at Idaho State University -- and University of Idaho wants one there so Mike and his brother went to scope things out). So while Mike was away and couldn't reject anything I wanted to do -I decided our walls were too plain and needed stripes. I have always wanted to this and now that I can paint my own walls I decided why not! So here is the process.

First of all, I LOVE Frog tape! I got crisp clear lines and didn't have to do any touch up. Way worth the little bit extra it costs! So here are all the frog tape lines

The walls with the paint -- they were supposed to be just a couple shades darker than the original wall color-- but after having them mix it up it was the same color as the wall- I went back and we had to make up the paint color so it is a little so it's darker and a different color than originally planned, I think we are going to go over it again with a color similar to the wall- but we'll see!

Here is my wall to date. My dad, brother, and mom helped me make this beautiful crown moulding shelf that goes the length of the wall. This is mine and Mike's favorite part right now! Thanks for the help!!!

Here is a close up.

In spite of all the work it looks like it took - It really wasn't that hard nor time consuming- which is good - because I am exhausted and have no energy anymore it seems! But, here is my little project - with plans for a LOT more!!!

My Future Make-Up Artist!

I was impressed that an almost 2 year old could do this good with mascara- don't you agree? All I could do was laugh when I saw what Joel got into. I was talking with my sister-in-law on the phone and all of the sudden it got very quiet. NEVER a good thing with a toddler! I went in and checked on Joel and he tried putting make-up on by himself. He loves watching me put on makeup and always says "me makeup too." Instead of getting mad -- I got out the camera. Much better to have blackmail pictures for later!!!!

Halloween and Our Cute Little Monkey!

Here are a couple of our Halloween weekend activities. Joel was a monkey this year-- and I loved his costume! It was sooo cute the way his hips wiggled when he walked. We also carved our first pumpkin with him -- yes I know- he's almost 2, but last year we didn't do one so this was the year. At first he didn't know what to do, but then he enjoyed touching all the pumking guts!!! He also loved "helping" daddy!

The final product -- a ghost pumpkin!

Our monkey riding the 4-wheeler -- his favorite thing in the whole entire wide world -- well, except Disney's Cars movie!!!

Our little monkey- Joel loved his costume and asked to wear it to nursery on Sunday!