First day of school

James = 1st grade

Alma = 3rd grade

Joshua = 4th/5th grade

Utah

Alma, James, and I went to Sandy, Utah to visit Erica's family.  Alma and Eliana spent many hours in the backyard making potions and clay.  It was a delight to have time with them and learn about the animals who live in their backyard, including bees, goats, chickens, a rooster, and Honey (the cutest dog ever).  I wish we lived closer -- I value my relationship with Erica so much and loved getting to know her three girls a bit.   

Donating books

Here are some of the books we have loved.

Backpacking with David and Hayden

Visitors!

We were so happy to have the Fujimotos and Emily visit!  What fun!

House tour

Photos of the house on a random Saturday morning

PizzaMovieNight

PizzaMovieNight (all one word, based on how we pronounce it) is a Friday night staple in our house.  It consists of Joshua's wonderful homemade pizzas -- dough + mozzarella cheese, prepared by Alma for the kids; and amazing pizza made from leftovers from the week for Joshua and Laura, prepared by James and Joshua.  We each take turns choosing a movie which we download from Amazon or borrow from the Immaculata University library's collection.  Even though I rarely make it thought the entire movie (I either fall asleep or have too much energy to sit still for that long), I love this tradition. 

House Update

Since we purchased the house right before the school year, we had to wait to handle any cosmetic house projects, like the terrible wallpaper in the living room and dining room.  The room was so dark with the grey wallpaper and grey ceiling.  Yes, you read that correctly: the former owners had the ceiling painted grey in an already dark room.

This summer, Joshua and the kids tackled the wallpaper, we hired someone to patch the ceiling, and then Joshua and I painted it Swiss Coffee (a.k.a. WHITE!).  Ah, it is incredibly white and I love it!  Now we are doing some sprucing with a new rug, lamps, and simple artwork.  It is so refreshing to have a bright, clean space for our family.

This summer, we also had the windows in the children's rooms replaced and the outside faucets changed over to frost-free faucets.  Slowly, slowly we will work our way through this house.  Next summer's goal: The bedrooms!