Bedroom completed

Here are the pictures from my bedroom. I was so excited that we were able to get this at such a great deal! I have been looking for about 7 years, and finally we found one that we both like. I think it looks nice with the floor and the decor. There are two thinks I want to recommend. One, my swiffer. It gets all the dust that settles in my room and under the bed. I love it. The other, Martha Stewart closet organizers found at Home Depot. I loved this and, thanks Dad, it went up very smoothly. I really love this, too! I was able to customize our closet space and I can adjust and rearrange it to my needs. There is one thing I would like to add and that is some vinyl lettering above my bed. I am not sure what saying to put up there. I have seen Always Kiss Me Goodnight and All Because Two People Fell in Love, but I am nit sure what I want to put up there. I will have to look around. I also need to get a family picture for the frame, that is still the one from the store!!! Oh, and closet doors. We haven't gotten around to that yet.

We are back!

Gram Tom, Daeson, Tevan, and I just got back last night about 10 p.m. from a trip to Grangeville! We arrived in G-ville last Tuesday. It was a great visit and we had a fun time. My dad taught Daeson how to ride a horse and he is now thinking he is a true equestrian! He did really well. I even got up on the horse and took her for a little ride. Tevan thought it was fun when we trotted, but thought it to be rather boring just walking. We went to a concert in the park, we went fishing (mom caught two blue gill), met some friends in the park, and we cooked dutch oven and roasted marshmallows. It was really warm up there, so the afternoons were really lazy. I caught up on Cake Boss and I could not believe there is a show where women have no idea they were pregnant! *We do not have television, so I am way behind!!!* Little chocolatiers was a fun watch and I am going to go to that shop next time I am in SLC, UT, even though chocolate is a no-no for me, it is still fun to go! I know we were a lot of work for my mom...and I wasn't much help! Our drive there took 13 long hours, and it took me a couple of days to catch up. The drive back was about 8ish and went so much better!!!

We had to take my gram's car because our was in the shop with a back ordered part. Troy took us to Pocatello to meet Gram and his truck broke down! So in the last month, we have put 4 new tires on the car, replace the oil cooler in the car, and replaced the water pump in Troy's truck! Whew! I was glad Gram's car fit everything in it! I stopped at Osh-Kosh and bought the kids' school clothes, or most of them. I was glad I took a cooler up full and brought it back empty so that we didn't have to strap the kids to the roof!!! :)

Today my sis in law brought over my two nieces for an 8 day visit! Her and her husband are going with her parents on an Alaskan cruise. So, for the next 8 days I have twp five year-olds, a four year-old, and a three year-old. Tonight we braved Sam's Club and we did okay. I do not, however, think it will be a daily outing! The kids are all tucked away in bed, Troy is running and I am trying to get caught up on everything! I am property managing a rental and I have spent a lot of time on that this morning. I got my house cleaned and my menu done for the week. I went to the grocery store, unpacked, and rearranged my bedroom and the kids room. Why would I rearrange a room that I just put together, you ask. Because Troy surprised me with our bedroom set! I am thrilled and I cannot wait to sleep in my new, beautiful bed. It looks so great. We were buying it piece by piece, but Troy went in to check on our night stand we ordered months ago. He told us the set had been discontinued and we cannot get anymore pieces in. So, we bought the entire thing at a close-out price. I was thrilled! I just need to get one more box of shelves for my closet, and get some closet doors and we are done! Whew! It looks great and you will be able to see it as soon as I find my camera! I know I brought it from my mom's, I am just not sure where I put it.

So, in a nut shell, life is not going to slow down this week. I am going to be running a million miles an hour starting tomorrow with preschool registration and a wedding reception. Monday we are having Troy's wonderful cousin's over for dinner and Tuesday we are headed to the movies. Wednesday will keep us busy while we are at the zoo. I am not sure what we are going to do Thursday or Friday. I am not too worried though, I am sure we can find something to do.

I am still not myself lately. I still feel so spiritually drained from camp. I saw one of the moms who then stared me down and I saw one of the girls today who didn't quite know how to avoid running into me. Sigh. I know I need to just move on, but my heart is so full of sorrow for the girls and the situation. I don't think those girls realize just how much we love them. I wish I could have been in my ward for testimony meeting. I would have loved to have gotten up and born the testimony that I couldn't bare at camp. I wanted some kind of peace that would have come from that. I guess that is what next month is for. Maybe by then I will be 100% and I will be able to truly speak with a healed heart and express my love and gratefulness for those girls, each one of them!!

Camp

I am back, thank goodness! I did not take any pictures of camp so I will have to get some from Rachel. Girls camp was horrible. I should stop right there, but I am not going to. Every year I went to camp, I loved it. I absolutely loved it. Last year was great. We had a blast. This year, we had attitude, lying, stealing and empty threats. We had five great girls, two that struggled, and three that should have been sent home. If it were up to me, they would have gone home day 1. Unfortunately, they stayed and there was a HUGE lack of spirit in our camp. For those of you that know me well, you know that I do not have a problem baring my testimony. You know that there is very few times that I lack things to say. The last night up at camp we have testimony night. The girls were told that they would bare their testimonies, even if it was a testimony of being thankful for family and friends. I was the last. I stood up and said, "They say that the best is saved for last. Unfortunately this is not the case. We could have ended with any of the testimonies that have been born, because to be honest, I have no idea what to say to you girls right now. " I bore a very short, cold testimony. I told them that I knew that attitude has everything to do with the way camp turned out. I apologized to the girls that I had a horrible attitude about the way things had turned out. I know that some of you are thinking that it "couldn't have been that bad." It was. It was that bad. We had inappropriate conversations. I heard things that I would have died saying at 14. The girls that were there to feel the spirit broke down and almost went home. They were miserable! I am so sorry for the way that things turned out. I felt such persecution today at church when some of the moms glared, stared and, as Troy called it, gave me the stink eye. I have yet to break down and cry. I have tried my hardest to hold it all together. I have to meet with the Bishop at 3 this after noon and I am afraid I will break. I have struggled with my self since Tuesday. I have been absolutely miserable. Even at church today there were talks given that normally would have had me sobbing. I did not feel a thing. I feel empty inside. To top it all off, I subbed in Primary today because after asking 5 people to cover and being rejected, there was no one left to ask. Troy and I had only four in there, but it felt like the whole classroom was full. It was a monstrous mess. Thank goodness for beautiful weather and gummy butterflies! This is my last year as camp director and I knew that going into it. I have been to camp three times in the last four years. I am okay that my time as camp director is over for the time being. I am not okay with the way things were ended and I am not okay with the challenges the next camp director has to face. This was a learning experience for all of those who were willing to learn. I hope that the girls do not just remember the bad, but I hope they remember the little bit of good. We had a great hike. We hiked up to Saddlepack lake. It was beautiful and the swing was great. We had one night of singing and fun. The marshmallows were huge and fun to roast. There were some great devotionals given. The slide and teeter totters were super fun and the weather, all but one day, was great. The food was delicious and the couple of close times we had will be cherished. If they can take that into their hearts, camp will have been worth the countless hours spent on it. If they learned nothing, it was all in vain and I am sorry for those girls. It hurts my heart that these beautiful young daughters of our Heavenly Father do not realize their potential. They have no idea who or what they can become. That is truly sad.

Happy Anniversary, Troy!

Troy and I have been married for ten years today. He is my world. We have been through a lot together but we have pulled through. Because it is number ten, here are the reasons, or ten of them, that I love him.

1. He is a wonderful dad to our two boys. He loves them so much.

2. He is a great provider. He will not hear of me going back to work.

3. He supports me in all I do. He is not discouraging.

4. He says nice things to others. He does not talk ill of anyone!

5. He laughs.

6. He lets me warm my cold feet on him when I get into bed.

7. He does things himself to prove it to himself that he can...even when it doesn't turn out, he tries until it does.

8. He lets me take naps. He doesn't get naps very often, but he can tell when I need one and he lets me!

9. He likes to be outdoors. We hike as a family and visit new places.

10. Even though he might not attend church as often as I think he should, or as often as I wished he would, he honors the priesthood that he has. He does not do anything that compromises his beliefs or the ability to have the priesthood. He is a good and honest man and I am proud of him.

Happy anniversary, Troy! I love you so much and I am looking forward to spending the next ten years with you! You are my whole life and I love you!

Two days...

I have two, yes, two days until stake young women's camp...did you wonder why I fell of the face of the earth?

Optimism

The last post was very optimistic...today we had three poopy accidents and one pee accident. Before noon. Lovely.

This after noon he has done great, however. After I allowed him to have underwear on again (there was a short period of time when I made him wear a diaper). We even had a sitter tonight and he did great for her, too.

Oh, and Knight and Day is a great movie for all of those wondering if they should see it. Very funny. A lot of violence, no blood, but a lot of funny script. Jaimen and Kara liked it, too!

Three days and only two accidents!

So, yesterday Tevan walked up to me and said, "I poopy, Mom." Great. Those unders are now in the garbage. I can remember my mom swishing out my youngest brother's CLOTH diapers and I decided the memory is too vivid to do that with Tev's unders. He had done and, after the poopy accident, has done really well. Last night we had t-ball and Troy took Tev to the "corner" to pee. he couldn't, so we assumed he didn't have to. Our good friends, Kara and Jaimen, came to Daeson's game and after we went to eat at KFC. As we were trying to decide what to order, we looked over at Tevan standing in a puddle of pee and he had a scared/embarrassed look on his face. Luckily I packed the diaper bag with extra stuff, so I could take care of it. The boy at KFC wasn't too thrilled to clean up pee. I offered, but he insisted. He has been great today, we even had a shopping trip. I am so proud of him. He is doing great. Daeson is rather upset that Tev sleeps in unders and he has to sleep in a pull-up, but they have completely different body types. It will get better! Tevan told me he was peeing in the potty because he wants to go to preschool...lets hope September gets here soon enough to have a habit by then!!!

Isn't that AMAZING?

Yesterday Tevan announced that he wanted to wear underwear. So, I thought "Why not?". He did really well and slept all through the night without peeing, which he has woken (?) up every morning with a dry diaper for months now. This morning he did not want to sit on the potty the first thing, but we made him anyway. Then, a bout a half hour later, he sat on the potty again proclaiming that he didn't have to pee. After a second, he started peeing. He was watching and looked up and said, "Is that amazing!? It is magic!" So there you go, the miracle of peeing in the potty is amazing and magic! Good job Tevie...what a BIG boy!!!!!!

Help wanted...

If anyone knows someone living in our area that needs a job, we have a commission based job opening ASAP. Just post me a comment!! Hours are good and pay can be really great. We cannot offer insurance and they will be responsible for paying their own taxes. Let us know if you know anyone!

July 3rd!

Happy Fourth (third) of July!! This year I ran the boys to Troy's sis, Heidi, so they could see the parade and have fun. I picked up my bountiful basket and helped Troy work. We then gathered at the Grover's for a super fun picnic. The kids always have a blast playing with their cousins. We played bad mitten as usual, but it was mighty chilly! These cupcakes were super fun, but very time consuming. I need to figure out how to make my frosting more soft, it was kinda crunchy!

July 4th, 2010

This fourth of July, after church, we called Gram Tom and had her come up for a quick visit to Jackson Hole, WY. It was a beautiful drive and we really enjoyed the scenery. It was a very fast visit, we ate at Bon Appe Thai and got the kids ready for bed and came on home.

Relay for life

This week I was able to participate in a relay for life for the American Cancer Society. This was a great experience and I walked 9 miles. I did not walk as many as I had hoped for, but I had the kids while Troy walked, then he took them home and I stayed until 3ish the next morning. I got a bad stomach ache around midnight and I had to take a break. My goal was 13 miles, but did not make it. Next year! It was great. Troy's sis Heidi suffered from thyroid cancer when she was only 13. It was so hard to watch her go through everything...radiation, surgeries, and just not knowing what the outcome would be. She has been cancer free now for about five years and we are all so proud of her. I dedicated laps to her and to every other member of my family that had cancer. Together, we raised quite a lot of money. We were teamed up with Benchmark Potato and another company. We had a blast, and the kids were not happy when we made them leave at 11 p.m. Kayla and Kaden walked over 26 miles, Troy walked about nine and Daeson ran two whole miles! We were so proud of him! I am not sure how the others panned out, but we all did a great job! Kent made a giant chess set and that was one of the fund raisers. Benchmark also had a potato bar to raise money. Thanks for the opportunity to participate and we will see everyone next year!!!!

Happy Father's Day! and Happy Birthday, Grandma

Today we celebrated Father's Day and my Grandma Lish's birthday. I was a neat day. My parents came to stay at our house. Daeson sang in Sacrament mtg and mom helped me get things ready for the BBQ. I had sharing time and it turned out pretty well. I gave Troy an impact driver and drill set. Thank you mom and dad for picking it up for me!!! He got some socks and a shirt and golf balls. It was a nice morning and after noon! We got ready to go south for a family bbq. My aunt Lindy, Uncle Ron, cousins Shane and Ally and kids, and Heidi and Tyler and Hudson were there. Justin, Hailey, Jaxon, Jess, Brooke, Carson and Carlie, Ron's mom and sister, and of course, Grandpa and Grandma Lish. It was great to spend time with all these great people. It is not enough that we see each other! We had a ton of food and luckily the missionaries stopped by for a bite to eat. I am grateful for my family. Daeson had a great time playing with his cousins and so did Tevan once he decided to wake up!

My Grandpa Smith who died 12 years ago was a man who would help anyone in need. My Grandpa Lish has taught me respect and hard work. My dad has taught me that patience is a necessary quality. He has also taught me that it is sometimes better not to say anything at all. Troy has taught me that love will conquer all. He is a great daddy and a wonderful husband. We have been through a lot and I am glad that we have gone through it together. He keeps me level headed and he encourages me. He makes me want to be a better person. I also have a wonderful father-in-law who is there for me when I need him. He would do anything for us and I really appreciate that! My brothers and brother-in-laws are also great people whom I have learned a lot from (good and bad :) ) It is amazing though to see my brothers grow into men and fathers. Who would have thought?

The finished product:

This is the semi-finished product. We still need our bedroom furniture, but that will come over the next few months. The other night stand has been back-ordered for months now. We have a poster bed and a lowboy with a mirror picked out, too. Like I said, that will take some time! I am so happy with the way it turned out. I made the pillows on the bed, with the exception of the brown, cream and green rectangle and I have one more that needs sewn. My dad built my closet for me and Troy finished all the trim except the bathroom. I think it turned out so well. I love it and I feel so at home in it. This is the first thing I have attempted to decorate. I quite liked doing so!

My baby is three!

Tevan is three today. He is such a fun and spontaneous boy. He is a joy and I just love him. I cannot believe he is already three. The past three years have flown by. For months now I have asked him what he wanted for his birthday and he kept saying, "Super Why party". When I asked him what he wanted to eat he told me he did NOT want hot-dogs and hamburgers! He wanted a spaghetti dinner. So, that is what we did. We had our family over for a spaghetti dinner. It turned out well...only four pounds of spaghetti burned ;) and the sauce turned out really nicely. We also had fruit salad and a veggie tray (thank you mom) and we had corn, garlic bread, and a big tossed salad. His cakes were chocolate and raspberry. He thought is was great to have two cakes. He has waited a LONG time for his birthday. It is hard to see everyone else having a party. He is such a stinker and I just love him! Happy birthday, Sugar Booger!!!! Those who came: Grandpa and grandma Blue, Heidi, Adam, Kayla, girls, Dee, Tucker, Mik, Gramma Tom, Papa Ty and Gramma Cindy, Justin, Hailey, and Jaxon. It was a lot of fun! Thank you everyone!!!!

Kelsey's wedding cake..finally done!

So, this is the cake I was worried about. The sheet cakes are not perfect, but they worked out and tasted good they said. They loved the wedding cake and I was so happy about that!! It makes me feel good when people like the cakes I make. I can breathe now and start Tevan's cake! The cake was raspberry cream with a raspberry filling. The frosting was buttercream.

T ball

Tonight was Daeson's first T-ball game. He had fun and I think it will be a great opportunity for him to meet some new friends this summer! Jaime is their coach and she does a great job. She coached his soccer, too.

Getting better

Things around here are looking a bit better. Troy and Brett just installed the floor and it looks great. The walls look great after a bit of a husband malfunction. The ceiling fan is installed and it works well. Troy has changed out all the outlets and covered them with new covers. The new vanity light has been installed and we just need to tile the trim in the bathroom and replace the toilet and medicine cabinet. The trim in the bedroom needs painted and installed and I need to get a closet organizer found and purchased. I am trying to get everything put back into place before Tev's b-day on Saturday. My parents are coming!!! I am stoked. I have Tev's cake mostly figured out and I just need to decorate it. His party is ready...I just have to throw the food together on Sat. I got the four sheet cakes for the wedding done. I just have to bake six more cakes and decorate them. Laundry is finally caught up and I am ready to get it all put away. Things in the Grover house are looking much brighter. Tomorrow I will be decorating cakes all day so that Friday I can get things cleaned and in order. Whew. This week is almost done and I am nothing but pleased about that! It has been a trial. Wedding cakes definitely stress me out!!! I think I will hold off on major cakes until I get a little more time on my hands. And a bit more practice. Well, bed is calling me. I was going to stay up to bake, but I think I will get a good nights rest, get up early and bake away. I need to be all done by 5:00 tomorrow. Daeson starts Tball and has his first practice and game. I love peewee teams...so relaxed and there is no pressure! Good luck, Bug!

Progress

Here is a progress report on the bedroom. Troy and Brett worked really hard on the room! Thanks a million, boys!!! Notice the paint and the new ceiling fan.

Happy Birthday, Mom

Today, 29 years ago ;) , my mom was born. She plays a very important roll in our family. My boys love her and want to be with her all the time. She is a great mother and grandmother. She is the one who taught me how to: make lasagna, clean, iron, be creative, accept things the way they are. She showed me Primary really can be fun, Family Home Evening is important, rely on the Lord, and serve others. She also reminds me that being a mother is one of the best things we can do in life. She reminds me that it is a blessing to be a stay at home mom. She was there for us when we got home from school. She taught me that budgeting is essential. She used to let me write the check out at the grocery store and then she would show me how to balance a check book. She has taught me a lot. I have seen her struggle. I have seen her overcome problems. I have seen her discouraged and I have seen her filled with joy. She was with me when both of my children were born. She has been at every important event in my life. She is my mother. She is my friend. She is one who will always be there for me. Happy birthday, mom. I love you!!

A mile long...

I am feeling a bit overwhelmed right now. I tried to paint my room, but realized we have no regular rollers. I have the kind that fits onto our paint pump thing, but no regular rollers. I was hoping that I could get the primer on tonight so that I could paint tomorrow morning. No such luck I guess. Mondays are my clean-the-whole-house-and-do-all-the-laundry days. Tomorrow it is going to be the clean-the-whole-house-and-do-all-the-laundry-paint-the-bedroom-AND-decorate-four-cakes day. I thought I would get a head start on the laundry tonight. I know that it is not the most appropriate thing to do on Sunday, but I have to catch up somewhere. This is going to be a very busy week. I have eight cakes to do, four of them are baked and frozen and just need frosted. I have six more to bake and decorate for a double layer three tiered wedding cake, and I need to bake and decorate Tevan's and my Grandma's. The bedroom is all ready to prime and paint as well as the bathroom. I just need Troy to take the toilet out and remove the ceiling fan. It should only take me a day to get everything painted. Then we should be able to install the wood flooring and the trim. Then we can put the curtain rod up and I will be able to start moving things back in and start decorating. I am very excited for that.

Today I was able to make dinner for the fam. I made lasagna, salad, homemade crescent rolls, a lemon meringue pie and a butterscotch pie...both from scratch. Troy does not like lemon meringue but he decided I should have squeezed the lemons myself for the recipe. Yeah right. I thought I was pretty good not using a pudding mix let alone squeeze the stinking lemons!

Today Daeson rode his bike without training wheels. He has been doing this for about a week, however, tonight he really rode it. He was turning circles and riding really fast. He even learned how to stop well. Most of the time he was even able to stop without crashing. I am so proud of him.

He starts T-ball on Thursday. He is so excited about that. Grandpa and Grandma Lish gave him a T-ball mitt for his birthday. He is set and ready to go! He is playing with the kids he played soccer with. It will be fun to see them again.

Tevan's birthday is Saturday and I still have no idea what to do for it. I am very excited because my mom and dad will be here. I also get to see my dad on father's day this year. Daeson is excited to sing in Sacrament mtg to Troy and Papa Ty. He got to sing to me and Gramma Cindy on Mother's Day. It will be great to see them and by then my list of a million things will be done and I will be able to have some FUN. I am putting things on hold until after I get done with girls camp.

The buzzer on the dryer just beeped and I must go. I have some pics to post, but all of that might have to wait until I have five extra minutes. Most of what I am posting now is for my own benefit and is probably not that much fun to read. For now, good night.

Butterflies...

For Daeson's graduation, my mom and dad bought Daeson a butterfly hatching kit. It is from Insect Lore. It came with five little tiny caterpillars. They grew over a week or two and made cocoons. After a week or so we had five healthy and beautiful butterflies. It was the coolest thing and we loved watching them. Every time something changed, the boys would let me know with enthusiasm. What a neat learning opportunity!

Thirty...

Today I turned thirty.

I am not sure how I feel about this. I had a lot I wanted to do before the dreaded thirty, but the list remains unfinished. I am not sure how I feel about this, either.

Yesterday Troy had a surprise family party for me. There were a lot of people here and I am so glad I cleaned my house yesterday morning...especially the bathrooms. My Uncle Kip and his fam came, Aunt D and her fam, Nick and Jenny (cousins), my brothers Jess and Just and families, Gram Tom, Ma and Pa Grover :), Kaden, cousin Jaedyn, Grandma Grover, Aunt Lindy, Uncle Ron, cousin Heidi, and her baby, Hudson, Jaimen and Kara and girls, and last but not least, Adam, KLa and girls. I am really hoping I did not miss anyone. It is late and I am trying to concentrate. We had a nice BBQ and a fun time. Thanks, Troy, for giving me a 30 bash. I missed some of my family members, but I understand that we cannot be at everything all the time. I am grateful for those who came and brought food to share. I was impressed Troy assigned out all that he did. I had no idea he was the party animal he proved to be!

This morning I had a nice visit with Nick and Jenny. They spent the night with us and it was super fun to see them. They had a wedding to attend to at the IF Temple so it was great to have them over. After Troy got home, we headed to Bubba's BBQ for breakfast. It was really good. We came home to get some measurements and headed back out. This time we visited Lowe's and Home Depot. Yup...I finally get the bedroom I have wanted for 7 years. We tore in to it today and boy do I have a mess on my hands. Lets just say, we ate out EVERY meal today. I really would like to stay at home the rest of the week and eat cereal. No more restaurants, please. At least for a while. Troy had some errands to run, so I tore out the closet organizer, the outlet covers, the blinds, the bathroom door, (I even figured out how to remove a doorknob!), and some left over nails. Then I sanded all the yucky patch jobs from the previous owners. I tried wearing a mask, but the goggles kept fogging up, so now my lungs are filled with sheet rock dust. I cannot quit coughing. It may be that I am thirty now, this old age is kicking in! But, I would like to think it is from the dust. We tore out our carpet and pad. That was gross! I really think the people before us were not very clean. Yuck! And everything they "fixed" was done very half heartedly! And WRONG! I guess it just gives me something to look forward to with each room...a new surprise! But I am so very excited for the new bedroom. Stay tuned for some before and after pics. Our flooring should be in next week...I hope. We are ordering from a great floor place in Pocatello...RugRat Flooring. It is on Chubbuck Road. My Uncle Ron owns it :). I am very excited for the wood floors, pretty paint and beautiful bedspread, pillows and decor. This is the first room I have done completely and I cannot wait to finally make this house my OWN! We are also buying our first bedroom furniture set. I cannot to get it all here. Some of it is on back order and the other pieces we are buying one at a time.

However, now, I am going to bed. It is getting late and I have a big day ahead of me. Lots of sanding, painting, wall patching, and floor sweeping to do. Wish me luck. I am not as young as I used to be...hahaha.

Thanks again for a wonderful Bday, Troy, Daeson and Tevan. I love you all! Thanks again for a fabulous Bday celebration!!! I really appreciate everyone!