Painting the Hideous Barn

The "barn" in back of our house is really ugly. There is no other way to say it nicely. Luckily, there is a large tree that grows uncontrollably directly in front of it, hiding the majority of it from view. A couple of years ago we bought a 5-gallon of decent colored mistinted paint on clearance at a drastically reduced price. We've talked about painting the barn for 4 years now. Last year, we even primed part of the back of the barn, but never painted it. Chris finally found a good spray painter (I'm not sure what you call it) and some long ladders. This was the year to paint the front of it.

The first step was to trim the overgrown tree branches that were touching or too close tothe roof and painting surface. Chris trimmed a lot of branches.
Cooper, Cadence and I dragged the branches from the base of the barn to the large compost/pile of green waste at the back of the yard. We are quite a team!


Chris covered the windows with newspaper. This is a "before" picture. Then he primed the wood since it has nothing on it. While I like to paint, I was thrilled that Chris wanted to climb the tall ladder and risk his life instead of me!


He painted the front of the barn. We still need to buy some exterior white paint to finish the trim around the windows and doors. I think it looks much better! It is still hard to believe that we called the barn "home" for the first two years of our marriage. What memories the barn brings! We are grateful to have this edifice on our property!!!

Can She Build It? Yes, She Can!!!

As parents, we want our kids to be creative, hard working, intelligent and love to learn (and a whole bunch of other things). We expose them to as many activities as we can to assist them with our goals. Though Cadence is young, she is very capable. Chris took her to Home Depot last Saturday to their monthly free kid building/craft day. We will also take her to Lowe's for their kids day.
They gave her a cool apron and with Dad's assistance, she made a goal post. She was very proud of it!!!

When she brought it home, she wanted desperately to paint it. She LOVES to paint!!!

Tightrope Walking

Last Saturday, we went to a church dinner at the park. While we were there, our friends, Brody and Kylee, set up a "tight rope" on which we attempted to walk. All four of us had a turn. Let's just say that we were not meant to be in the circus. Our lives would end very quickly.

Cooper and I had extra support to make sure we wouldn't get hurt by falling off!
Chris acted a little tipsy even with a little extra help from Brody. Kylee likes to hang out in trees often!
Cadence enjoyed jumping on the rope and bouncing up and down.

My Man Tag

I have been tagged... so here it goes ... :)
My Man
1.What is his name? Randol Christopher Johnnie
2.Who eats more? That is hard to say. I binge when I want to, but Chris probably eats a little more at meals. He eats more often and is a healthier eater than me!
3.Who said I love you first? Probably me! I used to say to many people, "I love you. You're so cool." Or something like that. It definitely would have been a cheesy "I love you."
4.Who is taller? Chris, by about 5 or 6 inches
5.Who is smarter? I am more book smart.
6.Who is more sensitive? I cry almost everyday!
7.Who does the laundry? I do most of the time, but Chris is really good about assisting whenever he needs to or wants to.
8. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? We sleep in different beds. I sleep upstairs with the kids. He sleeps downstairs.
9.Who pays the bills? I open the bills and He pays on billpay.
10.Who cooks more? I do, but Chris cooks often.
11.Who is more stubborn? I am by far.
12. Who is the first to admit they are wrong? We are never wrong - even when we disagree!!!
13.Who has more siblings? Me! I have 2 brothers and 2 sisters. He has 2 brothers.
14.What do you like to do together? Play with the kids, go on walks, eat, work.
15.Who eats more sweets? Definitely me! I love sugar.
16.Guilty pleasures? Movies,Spending money on unnecessary things.
17.How did you meet? Institute - Free Thanksgiving dinner!
18.Who asked who out first? He did. I freaked out and basically told him no. He asked me again (later) and I agreedd.
19.Who kissed who first? Chris kissed me on New Years Eve at midnight.
20.Who proposed? Chris proposed at Memory Grove in SLC.
21.His best features? His arms and dark skin.
22.What is his greatest quality? Almost everything about his characteristics are amazing!!! He is a very good person and man!

I definitely got the better end of the deal when we got married!!!


Anyone who wants to do this tag can do it!!!

Amazing Entreprenuerial Friends

I have some very amazing high school friends. I had two main groups with whom I "hung out." There was a group of very crazy guys and a group of talented, smart, creative, beautiful ladies. The guys are married with children working in careers like being a pharmacist, pilot, painter, computer programmer, and who knows what else. My lady friends, on the other hand, are more amazing!!! They are wives, mothers and entreprenuers. My friend, Mandy, has started the most amazing craft/recipe/fun blog there is. I check it everyday and I am going to bust out my sewing machine because of the inspiration I've received from her posts. They have free give aways often, (ONE THIS WEEK). Go to: Little Birdie Secrets
to see more. My other friend, Debbie, has started her own business of making and selling baby (and mommy) jewelry, but more specifically, Cambodian jewelry. She has made it "big time" and has the movie stars knocking down her door for her product. To see more go to:
Baby Emi Jewelry
While I am promoting them, my friend from Oakcrest, Jen started a baby bow and clothing business. Her website is: Baby Blvd./
Lastly, a crafty girl I met through Chris, Heidi, has a blog about infertility. If this subject interests you, you can visit her website at: Hope For Motherhood/.
She also sells crafts at: Lemon Drop Crafts.
I also have friends who do Stampin' Up (KimberLeigh), MaryKay (Heidi) and photography (Tina) if any of you are interested in those things. Did I leave anyone out?
I love seeing women and mommy entreprenuers. I want to be one, but I lack the guts and confidence. I, however, do have an idea that I am pursuing. We will see if this is my million dollar idea of which I am always searching. Now that I am a stay-at-home mom, I still feel restless to do something - to contribute, to do more. We will see what happens.

Thanks Tina for showing me how to link these to the other webpages!!!

Cadence's First Day of "School"

Because Cadence is such a good talker and is so outgoing, she has many older friends. Some are in pre-school, Kindergarten, elementary and some in college (like many of our neighbors.) She often asks, "Where's (insert a name)?" I will often tell her, "At school."

Knowing that I will need to get out of the house in the winter, but not being able to go on walks very easily due to the snow, I've been looking around for fun things to do indoors. I checked up on "storytime" at the Family Information and Resource Center about a half mile from our house and they told me about a new program they are starting called Ready! Set! School! for kids younger than kindergarten age. I signed her up for school!!! It is one hour a week and FREE! They gave her a school bag with crayons, scissors (yikes), a pencil and a few other things. She was very excited!!!

Last Wednesday, we walked to school in the stroller. Half way there, Cadence HAD to walk by herself holding her schoolbag. She holds her arm up high so her bag won't touch the ground.

She likes her "school" (a portable) in back of "Mom's school" (where I taught my first three years) and likes to play on the playground.

She has two friends in her class, Bridget and Jack. I told many people with kids about it!!! This is Bridget and her mom, Tina!
For their first lesson, they learned about clean and dirty hands, handwashing and germs. Cadence also used scissors for the first time. (I'm nervous about the scissors. The last thing I want is for Cadence to cut her hair!!!) We are excited for the next 20 lessons!!! Cadence is such a big girl!
WE LOVE SCHOOL!

Dump and Stir

At this point in Cadence's life, she loves to assist me with the cooking. Her two favorite activities to do in the kitchen are to dump and to stir. Last week we made yummy, yummy Earth Bread. It has zuchinni, banana, carrot, cinnamon and pumpkin spice. Talk about a good recipe!!! My friend, Tina, posted the recipe on her blog at http://blog.ernstrom.net/?p=259. I recommend making this bread if you have some zuchinni or just want to eat a tasty quick bread.
Cadence thoroughly enjoyed dumping and stirring!!!

I also made the most amazing hamburger a few weeks ago. If you like blue cheese, you will ABSOLUTELY love this Bleu Cheese Burger recipe from my other friend's blog. This is the address: http://littlebirdiesecrets.blogspot.com/2008/08/bleu-cheese-burgers-holy-cow.html
HAPPY COOKING!!!