Wishing Flowers

Ashley is enchanted by dandelions, especially the blossoms that have gone to seed.  She calls them "wishing flowers."  Ashley finds the largest, most perfectly round white flowers and carefully severs the stem so as to avoid jostling the flower prematurely.  She loves to carefully pluck off the cottony seeds and watch the wind lift them away from her hand.  Sometimes she opens her lungs and heaves a great gust of air at the small blossom, and then she laughs with delight at all the seeds dancing and twirling through the breeze.

For the rest of my life, no matter how old my darling Ashley is, I think I will always hear her small, sweet voice in my mind, "Look Mommy!  A gorgeous wishing flower!  Here, blow the seeds!" and perfected in my memory will be the way she bounces and claps her hands with a dimpled, delighted smile on her face and a sparkle in her hazel eyes.

Homewreckers

A few weeks ago, Joel and I (but mostly Joel) did something a little crazy.  We knocked big, fat holes in the soffit above our kitchen cabinets.  

We wanted to see what was up there, because we were thinking of replacing the cabinets.  Would we be able to extend them to the ceiling?  Have a space above them?  Or would we have to patch up the soffit and continue to live with it?

Well, minus one small pipe, we were in the clear.

So we (Joel) continued the demo.

My kitchen was a disaster zone.  Insulation from the attic fell onto our heads.  Gaping holes greeted me each morning and stared at me each night.  We couldn't leave food on the counter or it might be frosted with fluffy insulation as well.  

Now, our kitchen is better.  We hired a man to patch everything back up, minus the soffit.  Where we had confining walls, now we have one smoothly-flowing room.  It is exciting.  Do I have pictures of this transformation?  No.  

But never fear, we are installing cabinets this weekend!  Then, the countertops, and then, my undermounted sink.  I will be sure to post some pictures after all of that happens.

We also decided to replace flooring.  The bare wood stairs you see were covered with that green-blue carpet.

So were these.

And now they're not!  Do I have a picture of this?  Yes, yes I do, but not on this computer.  I will try to post one later.  

Picture wood treads with white risers, and wood continuing on into the kitchen and dining area.  The living room will remain carpeted.  As soon as everything else is done, we will get some new carpet as well.  Any thoughts on the carpet that you have?  What do you like?  What works well with kids?

None of these renovations would have been possible without the hard work of my Dad.  He is the one who volunteered (volunteered!) to come out and lay flooring, a tedious and grueling job.  That dominoed into the kitchen cabinets, etc.  And I was happy to finally have an excuse to buy the compound miter saw I've wanted for a while.

He did a perfect job.  We are so grateful he would give up his time to do this job for us.  He was basically on his own, as Joel couldn't take any time off work and I was not very much help until we got to the large kitchen area.

He also bought my kids a treat from the ice cream truck.  Lucky kids!

Of course they chose the most neon-colored ice cream they could.  But they thought it was delicious.

Even better was the week they got to spend with their Grandpa Burton.  They were spoiled and loved, and so was I.

Visit from the Johnsons!

We were so excited to have a visit from Joel's parents and his youngest brother and sister earlier this month. (Yes, I am behind on blogging.)  We had tons of fun and they spoiled us all. 

One day we decided to have a cookout at a state park not too far from our house.  It is a beautiful, but small, area with some impressive stony cliffs.  The greenery wasn't in its full splendor but it was pretty just the same.

Aunt Mykell took the kids on a little hike.  Everett enjoyed collecting some treasures in his backpack and Ashley picked a sample of each kind of wildflower.

Joel enjoyed talking with his dad.  These two like to talk.  They can easily talk on the phone for an hour.

David and Joel provided the rest of us with some entertainment when they decided to compare heights and weight.  Let's just say that David isn't going to beat Joel in a wrestling match any time soon.

We also took a day trip to Nauvoo.  

Ashley and I enjoyed smelling the beautiful flowers behind the visitor's center.

Everett made a rope with Aunt Mykell.  He was thrilled when he got to take it home with him.  He asked the rope-makers about it so earnestly and so hopefully, I don't think they could have told him No even if it was against the rules.

Ashley and Joel found a hollowed-out stump and called it a fort.

And the kids made some friends, especially Ashley.  She caught a glimpse of some horses when we first arrived and could talk of nothing else until she got to feed some.  She was quite upset when she found out it wouldn't happen immediately, but she was ecstatic when it finally happened.

Ashley loves horses with all of her heart.  She is awed by them.  It is fun for me to share that with her.

Ashley also loves her grandpas.  They are good sports when she clings to them all day.

The Mississippi river was, well, brown.  But it was enjoyable to be close to the water anyway.

William loved throwing rocks.  

Those are not capris, in case you were wondering; they are pushed-up pants.

We all had fun watching a barge travel down the river.

This picture was taken after one of us asked the question, "Do you think you could swim out to that barge?" and David answered, "Yeah, sure I could."

Is that skepticism on Joel's face?  You decide.

We also got to celebrate William's birthday!

He was spoiled by his grandma. 

 He loves these trucks and is very proud that they are his very own!

Everett, as always, was more excited for William to open the presents than William himself was.

We had a fantastic visit and are already looking forward to the next visit from family.  Any takers?