Bathroom Renovation...

I'm a bit embarassed about this post... I first chose the items to adorn our bathroom 10 years ago when Chris and I were just starting out in our marriage and I had no sense of style. We hadn't changed a bit of it in 10 YEARS! As we get closer to leaving our small starter home, we're updating things to make our home more marketable. I still feel rather inept at decorating but I'm trying! Anyway, I'm going to take the plunge and post before and after pics because I don't think you'll have a clear idea of the depths of my excitement until you see the bathroom we've lived with for so long!

Our old shower curtain and wood towel rings

Our old vanity, pretty banged up and blah huh?
Our old wall cabinet - overflowing with "stuff"
Tada!! Our vanity after a couple of coats of paint, new hinges and hardware. Looks like new doesn't it?? I'm especially proud of this because I spent an entire day applying kilz and paint and I think it turned out gorgeous!
We updated the wall cabinet, chose brown and orange for the towels and bought a really pretty new shower curtain. The wall color you can see in the reflection of the mirror is the truest color of the walls - the flash washed out the color in every shot.
Chris installed a new light fixture and faucet and he framed our mirror for us!
A closer shot of our mirror, which formerly was just a big slab of glass
Our bathroom is now our favorite room!

Next projects: Front garden and kitchen

Silly pics with my girls...

The pics with madeline were taken in my car while we were waiting to meet some friends at the Mall and Hannah was snoozing. The ones with the goofy pink cap were very fun. At the end I'm going to add just a few more cute pics of the girls. Enjoy!

SURPRISED

SAD

SCRUNCHY (we look a lot alike here huh?)

I found the girls watching Little Einsteins this way - so cute!! Hannah wasn't sleeping but if she were it would be even sweeter.

Boating and Fishing with Papa

On Labor Day weekend, Chrissy met Chris, Madeline, Hannah and I at my dad's for a fun time. We took the girls out on the lake and we were a little leary about how Hannah would do with her first boat ride. But the girls loved it! It was a beautiful day. We rode around for a while, found a cove and all swam and snacked for a while, and then took a nice long ride back. I think we were on the lake from 3 pm to 9 pm. It was an amazing day. The next morning, we took Madeline fishing at one of my dad's ponds. She caught 4 fish and had a blast.

Hannah zonked out on the boat ride so we got to share some sweet cuddle time
Our captain - I love this man

Madeline's first catch

Kiddie Park

There is an amusement park for kids (probably age 7 and under) in Bartlesville OK. It's a 1 hour drive from Tulsa. Last weekend, we went with our friends the Neals and the Hitchcocks for a wild night at the Kiddie Park. The kids had a blast and we got a kick out of watching them. Madeline and her "boyfriend" Vadin held hands the entire night. They have been friends since birth (Vadin is about 4 weeks younger than Madeline, believe it or not) and they've insisted on calling each other boyfriend and girlfriend - I think their sitters have had something to do with perpetuating the budding romance! Hannah was itching to ride everything in site - she's a little dare devil. We did let her ride one ride alone that seemed to have a good seat belt - we wouldn't put it past her to bail out of a moving vehicle! Here are some pictures of our fun time...

Train ride: Me and Hannah, and that's Vadin peeking around from behind

Madeline on the car ride
Madeline and Vadin flying high
Hannah: our little race car driver
Madeline and Vadin raising their arms on the roller coaster
Spinning fast
Young love
Sweet kids
Vadin, his dad Preston and Madeline
Hannah and I - she had to be turned backwards to see her sis

Vadin's little bro Tolbyn
Our dear friends, Megan and Preson (Kathy, sorry I didn't get any shots of you!!)
Madeline, Gunner and Vadin
Gunner

Girl's Retreat

I got to go to a youth girls' retreat in Oklahoma City this past weekend and it was such a blast. My dear friend Courtney hosted the retreat through her ministry (ID ministries). Here are some pics of my friends ~ the sponsors and my D group girls.

BubbleShare: Share photos - Play some Online Games.

The girls' fun weekend at Nana's House

Madeline and Hannah went to stay with Nana, Manda, Becca and Cody this past weekend. They had a wonderful time and I got my hands on some adorable pictures that they took of Hannah. Here are a few of my favorites:

Swinging in the backyard

Aunt Manda and Hannah

One of my favorite pics of Hannah, ever!

Hannah with almost-Uncle Cody

And here are some other recent pics of our family that I thought were blog worthy:




This one is kind of hard to see, but Hannah is pushing Madeline on their Nemo car

A couple of yummy summer treats...

I've been on the hunt for some healthy summer treats for the kids and we've found a couple of favorites I thought I'd share ...

1) Frozen chocolate peanut covered bananas (madeline loves to help make these)
Use very ripe bananas and cut them into slices
Dip them into a mug of chocolate syrup for a thin chocolate coating
Dip them into finely chopped peanuts
Freeze and enjoy

2) Fruit Juice Popsicles
We buy 100% fruit juice (our favorite is Treetop Apple Grape juice)
Pour it into some popsicle molds (we found some great ones for $3 at Bed Bath and Beyond)
Freeze and enjoy

3) Frozen grapes or any other fruit (freezing them makes them into a much desired treat in our house! Yesterday Madeline enjoyed eating frozen blackberries)

4) Fruit Dip
1 large tub of strawberry yogurt
1 large tub of cool whip
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
Mix together and set in the fridge overnight. The mixture gets fluffy and so tasty