April 1 - Getting the House on the Market and a few other moments

We're working so so hard to get the house ready for putting up on the market. De-cluttering, deep cleaning, finishing things like painting the newly installed pergolla's over the playroom windows, cutting back the deck, building the stairs and replacing the top part of the railing, painting the back deck and rails with ultra thick deck fixing paint, weeding and spreading pine straw in the beds, building a brick facade around our scrap metal fire pit ...etc.   I don't know what we would've done without Rebecca's help! Trevor was out of town and she used most of her spare time to help us with all projects. We even found a way to broadcast General Conference outside so we could keep working while we listen. 

Every time I see paint on my hands I think of my dad. I seem to remember his hands always having evidence of some project he was working on. 

Here are some pictures of our house right before getting pictures taken. Gosh I love having a clean house. 

And here are some before and after pictures of our Master Bath remodel, in case I forgot to put them in when we finished it a week or so ago!

I REALLY wanted to finish the aprons we started way back in November with the YW before Elizabeth leaves for college and we leave for Utah.  We finally finished them!  I'm proud of the girls for sticking with it and being willing to just make them up as we went along... I know sewing on the fly isn't everybody's cup of tea. 

I'm trying to savor the good weather and the beautiful walks in our beloved neighborhood. Especially with Freddy's good friend Addison. We've been doing a lot of swaps ...having Addie over at our place one day, and Freddy over at her's another day. 

Freddy really loves little creatures. At one of our last Nature Kid Co-Ops at the Homestead center, he caught 3-4 caterpillars and had them crawling all over his shirt. 

March 2019

 Its tornado season! We've really enjoyed the peace and mind and safety of our storm shelter. And its extra fun to share it with friends. Trevor and Rebecca have really become like extended members of our family. Gwen loves having her as her Activity Days leader and Charlie loves having Trevor work with him in cubscouts! They are the best.  Also we love to listen to Matt Laubhan. He is a meteorologist that has won Emmy awards or something.  At first I thought he was a little ridiculous but over the years in Mississippi I've come to trust him! It's like I don't feel settled with any tornado warnings until I've heard him tell me about the situation. hahaha. I even follow him and his cute family on Instagram, the only non-friend/family person I follow. 

We decided to take advantage of our proximity to world-class beaches (proximity... only 5 hours.... compared to a land locked state like, Utah).  We drove down early one morning, spent all day there and then drove back in the evening. I love watching my kids explore beaches and the ocean. They're all appropriately awed by it and don't try and go too far out. 

Gwen was awarded with a special school award only given to a few kids in the school.  They were treated to chick-fil-a lunch for her and her parents and teacher! It was special. 

The kids love playing out in the yard. They recently discovered how fun it was to put some of the boards we found in the grass when we first bought this house across all the swings to make a giant swing.  Also the warmer weather means the grass is starting to grow again and needs to be mowed. Max loves to sit on Chris' lap and help him mow. 

During Spring break the boys in our branch went on a backpacking trip. With Alec's first year in YMs, this is our first experience with YM campouts. The YW in our ward felt a little left out so we planned a fun day hike. It's funny how little hills are considered good hikes... but in this flat landscape you take what you can get! The woods are always beautiful and I love spending time with my YW and fellow leaders. 

MS State had a special tour of the football facilities available for all faculty who signed up. Chris of course signed us us and we were able to watch the team practice too. We love that MS State does these kind of things.  Also MS State hosted a fun-run for local schools. Charlie and Gwen signed up and did a great job!

In anticipation of possibly selling our house and moving to Utah we're trying to finish up house projects and organize things really well.  We finished the wall tile in our bathroom and installed the toilet.  Its so nice to be able to not have to walk across the house to use the toilet!