Beautiful...

 What? You don't think so? Well, I agree that the mess on the table is not attractive, and the chandelier really can't be passed off as pretty. But, the only way you could not think this is a beautiful sight would be if you hadn't been staring at this for the last five months:

I just can't believe that even twenty years ago large orange pears and blue cherries were ever attractive. I finally got this wallpaper off today. Wallpaper is no joke. I've never removed wallpaper before. I don't really know what the walls should look like when you're done stripping the wallpaper off, but my guess is that you would hope for a better outcome than I got. I don't know that I could have done a better job, though. I was trying not to peel all the way down to the drywall, but oh well. It felt so good to get that done! Thank goodness there are only two more small bathrooms with wallpaper in this house.

Happy birthday, Nate!!

We celebrated Nate's birthday last night because we will all be in different places tonight. I think he was surprised that I actually put all 33 candles on. :)

 Ryan wanted to put the candles back on when he got his piece of cake.

 

I had to include this picture just because it is so funny, and we have Nikki to thank for it. She changed Ryan's diaper but forgot to snap his shirt back together before she put his shorts back on. And the messy doughnut face comes from her too -- that was Nikki's birthday present to Nate. She led him on a treasure hunt with clues all over the house to find them. Of course, I don't think she really expected to let him keep all of the doughnuts himself. :)


I think video is so funny. He is honestly making a wish, and after 33 years he is still so excited to get all those candles out. Happy birthday, Nate! We love you!

Flubber and Playdough

Lydia and Eliza spent a couple of days with us last week. The kids love it when we make flubber, and Lydia and Hannah have become pros at blowing big bubbles with it. It really is fun stuff.

I also wanted to try a playdough experiment. I wanted to make a few different recipes and see if there actually is a good recipe for making playdough at home. Of course, the kids were very willing to test them all out for me. I tried four different recipes, and this (click here for the website) is the best. It wasn't too sticky or too hard, it didn't make a big mess, and it is still a nice consistency even after a couple of days.

Silly Baby

Poor kid with two older sisters who make lipstick and pink umbrellas look like so much fun.

Fresh Corn!

I took the kids to Farmer's Market a bit ago, and it was so fun. There are local farmers from all over that come and sell their produce, and it is just neat to walk around and see. The free samples aren't bad either. But I stopped to buy some watermelon at one booth, and I read all on the top row of their sign, "12 ears of corn....$5 Big Bag." So, I told the girl I wanted the big bag of corn. I didn't even look at my receipt as I signed it. Then I got to looking at the sign again and realized it was split into two columns. So, it really said,
"Big Bag, 65 ears, $20." Oh. Whoops. Good thing we like corn around here because we got the BIG BAG. The girls were great workers and shucked the whole bag! They even had fun doing it.

Family night activity

I thought as a horse gets older, his work load is supposed to get lighter. Not so with this horsey. :)