happy dance

Try as I might, I have been continually unsuccessful in uploading these two videos from YouTube.

So you will just have to go over there and check them out yourself.

THIS makes me giddy!  You know all of those things I was complaining about yesterday?  Well this makes it all better!  It's Bentley's favorite song, too.  We put on our most brightly colored clothes and dance around the house like the happiest people in the world!

And THIS!  Seriously?  "Chickens just back from the shore" has to be one of the best lyrics of all time right next to "new chicken clucking open hearts and ears"  which is from a song by the Weepies, gotta have you. 

 

Any other great chicken songs out there?  Hmmm, I wonder...

In other news, Chris has been teaching me some new choreography which has been fun and challenging.  And  the chairs are coming along. It's a relaxing project at this point.  Just taking out all the nails and staples is quite the task.  But we had really nice weather last week, and if I work on it after running or dancing I don't even mind the extra humidity.

I am grateful for ice cream, fun music, and The Star Garden (and Chris for hunting it down for me!)

home

This past week has been total insanity.  My grandma's in the hospital undergoing dialysis, Bentley's cutting four new teeth, Olivia started Kindergarten, Chris went out of town, and I got some odd virus.  I've been leaning very heavily on escapism to get me through.  I read These is my words, only a month late for book club.  I LOVED it so much I was in desperate search of something else to keep me going.  I attempted Chasing Harry Winston, but was really disappointed in the amount of foul language in just the first few pages.  I turned my search for some more good fiction to the internet, and very happily I found more novels by Nancy E Turner, author of These is my words (did I mention that it is SO so good).  I just finished the second novel in the series, Sarah's Quilt.  Loved it!  It was just the fix for not wanting to think about my own mess, as hers are far more adventurous.  Katie asked me the other day if our house was feeling like home yet?  We are all moved in not a box in sight, pictures on the walls, but it doesn't feel like home, mot really.  We still have so many things in storage and are still hoping to sell even in this bad market.  I was sitting out on the porch last night, reading my book and listening to the cicadas, getting bitten all over by some apparently invisible mosquitoes.  It felt like I was in some strange tropical forest, the humidity was so thick.  Is this home?  I don't know.  How do you know when you have found home?   My brother asked how many times we had moved since we've been married. I hadn't really counted in a while.  Turns out its 11.  We have moved 11 times in less than ten years.  It will be 10 years this December and by then we may have moved a dozen times.  I know it seems like it's our thing.  But I really don't want it to be. I want to find home and stick there.  And how do you find home any way?  Is it just the last place you get to before you are sick of moving?  Or is there hope for finding home and feeling so rooted there that no matter what happens you cannot leave it.   Those books have got me thinking about home, could I be like Sarah Agnes Prine, and really love a place?  I married a man with restless feet and that is not helping my situation.

Kindergarten has taken its toll on me, too. Olivia is really enjoying

 it, especially now that she is on week two.  And Bentley and I are enjoying some one on one time together.  It is just such a huge adjustment for me.  Mostly emotionally I think.  I feel like my whole world has just turned topsy turvy.  And I'm feeling very reluctant to dig into all this NEW going on around me.  

So tell me, how do you feel about home.  What makes a place home?

pile of trash?

If you drove by this pile of trash would you become uncontrollably giddy?
How about now?
Well, I am out of control excited to find these great chairs in the trash.  I have always wanted some chairs like this.  All my best furniture I found in the trash!  SO happy to welcome some new chairs to the family.  I'm already having fun working on them.

Day 30: Bentley and Malachi

Is this cute or what?  Teamwork works!

Honestly, I did a horrible job of taking pictures at the reunion.  Shame on me.  We went to Dollywood, and hiked, and tubed down the river.  Tubing down the river is unbelievably fun!  I don't remember ever doing it before.  How weird.  I grew up in this area.  It's odd that I never went with friends in highschool.  That would have been a lot of fun.  I remember going with my family, but we just stayed in the "Y" as the call it.  It's kind of a swimming hole.  I wasn't sure before, but now it's official, I hate the Y.  People smoke there.  Need I say more?

Yay photo challenge done!

Day 29: sort of...

On Sunday I went to church, got two really awesome packages in the mail just for fun from two of my favorite people, and then took my Grammy to the walk- in clinic, but we ended up spending most of the day in the ER.  not fun.  She hurt her knee on the trip, and they were afraid of a possible blood clot because of all the travel.  She didn't have one luckily.   And the doc fixed her up for the rest of the trip.  Needless to say, no pics on actual day 29 so these are still from day 28.

On Saturday we crossed a suspension bridge.

Bentley really wanted in the water, so did all the kids.  My dad kept Bentley happy for a while...
Then cool aunt Darcy had an idea, "Let's go to that side of the river, without all the rocks!"
It wasn't long before all the kids were in the water, clothes an all.  Well, some with more clothes than others.  I was pretty uptight about the whole ordeal.  I was worried about the cute dress Chickie had on.  Laundry is my worst home making skill.  (I'm really bad at getting stains out and ironing.  Although, I'm a pretty stellar folder, thanks to all those years working at the mall.)  But how can you argue with this much felicity?  

That's why we all love Darcy so much!  I love spending time with her.  She is so much fun.  It's a good thing she was with us at the ER!

I'm grateful for being with family, learning to relax, and that the trip to the ER turned out well in the end with Grammy feeling much better the next day.

day 28: reunion

I know I totally dropped off the face of blog land!  I had full intentions of continuing the last three days.  Unfortunatetly, turns out we didn't have any internet service in our big cabin in the woods.  Who knew?  

First day I picked up my Grammy, uncle Brett, and cousin Sylvia at the Nashville airport.  We took a side trip to see the Bowen-Campbell house.  It turns out I'm directly related to the people who built the first brick home in TN.  Cool. huh.

Day 27: finished project

Cute coasters for silly Bucket Party at our family reunion are finished.  It's one of those white elephant gift games.  This project is also from this book.  Can you tell I'm loving it?  Although, it takes me a lot longer than it does her.  But maybe because I never make just one.  

Day 26: The end of an era

Today was the very last official Edie/Chickie day.  Because next week is our family reunion and the week after that Olivia starts Kindergarten.  

It's been fun!  First thing they do is take off their clothes and put on PJs.  They love pajamas more than I do!  Can you believe that's even possible? 

Day 25: the perfect day for a thunderstorm

A view of our living room.  Forts included.
Don't you want to kiss them?   Sweet baby feet.
This is what I worked on.

Today, I'm thankful for thunderstorms, rain, and bed time.

Day 24: Kindermat

Today has been filled with Kindergarten preparations.  First, there were the shots (insane screaming and kicking included).  Then there was school shopping, Kindermat cover making, and well that's about it.  But all that took all day...pretty much.  The little mat cover was such a hit Chickie contemplated sleeping on it at bed time.  But after a comparison she determined that her bed is indeed, more comfortable.  It's two am and I'm still awake. Curse this 30 days of blogging.  Who's idea was that anyway??  

So I haven't ran in like, for-ever.  It's amazing that I don't weigh 500 lbs by know.  I think I probably have lost weight.  Although I wouldn't actually know because my pretty pink scale is packed away in storage land.  Probably have managed to stay the same size because of the constant running around all day and night long.  I'm feeling a bit ragged at this point.  But good ragged, as items on to-do list keep getting crossed off.  If this is incoherent, well...it is 2 a.m. what do you expect.  I have to go find my sleep mask now, or as I like to call it... the blanket for my eyes.

Day 23: dresser mania

We are almost all done with moving.  We have to bring over our playset and make some curtains and we will be all set.  So here is a little peak into our new home.  This is our first dresser in 8 years!  The real shame is that I don't have a before picture.  It was pretty beat up and ugly brown.  Chris found it somewhere.  For some reason we are both really good at finding diamonds in the rough, at least when it pertains to free furniture.  The middle panel opens up and there are three more drawers in there. 

We used to have a dresser that I didn't like. I got rid of it thinking if we didn't have one we would have to get a new one eventually.  Well, I was right.  It's just that I didn't realize it would take us so long!

Day 22: day of rest

Day 21: Holy Crystal! (literally)

We had the best day today. We cleaned the crystal in the temple. We can't take pictures inside,but it is so beautiful! There are several really gorgeous chandeliers and sconces. They are made up of these crystals in my hand. We took each one off and cleaned it and then put them back on. It took 18 people 6 hours to complete. When we were done they let us take home one of the chipped ones as a remeberance of the day. It was a really great experience. I would recommend it to anyone who gets the chance.
Here is our bishop and his wife followed by my friend Ann and her husband walking outside the temple.
The whole while Chickie and Bentley were having a blast at Derek and Christina's. We rated it the numero uno backyard. Thanks in large part to the ultra cool pirate ship that Derek dreamed up.

Today I'm greatful for the temple and the awesome spirit of peace that I feel there!

Day 20: Celebrate!

Greetings from Nashville! They look terrified, but they are actually having the best time ever! Hope everyone had a great Fourth of July!!

Day 19 baby!

Look really hard, can you see the bubbles?  

This post every day business is total insanity!  

 This week I have actually gotten done EVERY SINGLE THING on my list!  It truly is a miracle, as my lists are always overly ambitious.  But I'm completely exhausted!  Today I moved stuff, cleaned old house, moved more stuff.  etc, etc.  I hope everyone is gearing up for a fun weekend.  I know I am!  That's it for today...I have fabric to order and bleach to pour down drains.  

Day 18: I love lists

I'm rockin' my to-do list today!  11pm and still going strong!  Don't you just love a good list.  My mom is the master of the to-do list.  She makes little boxes and then checks them off.  Too cute!  Mine are a little more haphazard.  And I mark them off very passionately.  I realize that one of the items on my list says, "Do I hear frogs?"  And yes, it is checked off.  But I'm pretty sure I did actually hear a whole heck of a lot of frogs. Isn't it weird how when you move you are so aware of all the new sounds?

Day 17: still moving

At this point I'm still driving down the street and loading things into the car.  I thought this load was particularly pretty.
We hung a bunch of pictures today, too.   We made Bentley his own personal art gallery.  It looks pretty funny when I walk in normally, but if I walk in on my knees it looks perfect! 
Did I ever introduce you all to Bentley's new train table?  Chris made it for him on Memorial Day.  We were supposed to go to the lake.  But Chris felt he had to work on the house.  After working in the morning, he came home and spent the rest of the day making this.  It's as big as his bed.  Luckily he really likes cars.  

Today I'm thankful I got 7 things crossed off of my to do list! yay!