Only When You're In A Hurry...

**Update**
Dan had the water flowing by Saturday afternoon! No plumber needed!

We were getting ready to head out and meet up with some friends for dinner, but we had a few minutes. So Dan decided to take Amya out to the swing for a couple pushes. Shortly after walking out the door, it opened again. Dan said, "Ahh, Carol. We have a situation. I can't come in because I've stepped in mud, but Amya needs her hands washed. She just touched a dead mouse (Lewis' favorite thing to do)."
I turned the sink on to get it nice and hot, but nothing came out. "Oh, yeah," said Dan. "That was the other part of the situation."
Apparently, in the 30 seconds they were outside, Dan turned an outdoor faucet, which snapped, stepped in a pile of mud and looked over to find Amya playing with a rodent carcass! Now we get to find out how long it takes to get a plumber to come to your house! Ahhhh .... the joys of home owning!

We're Off...

...the floor and on to the new bed Dan built! We are going to wait until spring to stain and varnish it. Wood still needs to dry out a bit and we can't decide what to do with it. Any ideas?

This is the only furniture in the room....so I guess next we need to make some night stands! How 'bout it Dan?

Brownie Babie

This is a picture Michael sent me of Amya at a birthday party yesterday. This photo was taken moments before the brownies were served. Amya engulfed three before she snuck over to Michael's daughter, Kailey, and swiped hers, too! We've got a chocoholic on our hands!

This is a picture of her after she finished her four brownies (pretty proud of herself) and wet her entire outfit (I didn't know girls could pee UP!)!

Watercolors...

...take #187 (looks much the same as take 1!)

Kitty Cat Amya

Amya likes to pretend she is a cat, so Dan paints whiskers on her every now and then. When Amya is in her alternate identity, she likes to lie down next to the cat and pretend to purr.

You're Only As Efficient As Your Weekest Link!

We are so close to finishing the bed! I can't help but think we might be done, had we not hired that last worker. She seems to have her own agenda!

Happy Birthday Lisa!

Since I haven't seen you in a billion years, I have only old (about two billion years old) pictures of you! I'm sure you look exactly the same! I mean, the rest of us do!! ;)

Hope you have a great day!

The Storyteller

Gotta Stay Warm

...and this is how we do it! Dan and Michael went out lumberjacking today (insert grunts here).

I Heart Power Tools

We christened the table saw and miter saw today! The project was small, but very fulfilling. We made a picture frame...

...from left over lumber we found in the barn.

I had totally forgotten about this picture that I took last summer up in Mackinaw. Then a friend of mine commented on it on my facebook account, and it reminded me how much I love it. I hid in the marshy grasses on the beachfront at Burt and Chris's until Dan, Taylor and Walker paddled by. I've often wondered why Dan is in the boat and Taylor and Walker are in the water. Never-the-less, I digress. It reminds me of a scene in The Last Of The Mohewkens. Any-who, now it's up on the wall in the dinning room, so I'm happy!

...tomorrow we start on the bed!...

The Inauguration Through The Eyes Of A Two Year Old...

"Come Molly (the cat)! Barak Omamma on t.b.! Come watch!"

Here's To The Hubby!

Reason # 837, Why I Love My Husband:

The other night as we were settling down for the evening, Dan asked, "Hey babe, can I get you anything?". Instead of my usual response of, "Nope, I'm good." or "Yeah, can you pass the remote?", I thought about if there WAS anything that I really wanted. Only one thing came to mind.....an ice cream sundae of course! So, I described the perfect one, down to the smallest detail.

Would you believe that a half an hour later, I was eating one?!...and we didn't have any of the ingredients in our house before I mentioned it! Yes, it's true. (and I'm not even pregnant!)

I love this man

Evening Entertainment

Dan and I finished dinner and came into the living room to find Amya sitting in her rocker, on her fourth book! She mumbles as she "reads" and every now and then says, "Oh, yeah! Uh-huh!" Nearby was a basket of clean laundry and yes, those are undergarments around her neck!

Amya's Room...

...is almost done! I still need to do a few things, but at least it has some furniture! :)

Mt.Adams

Now that we've crossed the river to Washington, we figured we'd better start exploring the "other" mountain, Mt. Adams. So, we strapped on our snow shoes and trekked around a snow-park at the base.

Dan took a spill with Amya sleeping on his back. No harm done. But Amya did scold him in only a way a sleepy toddler can....lots of grunts sighs...

These needles looked like confetti on the snow

re-hydrating!

Get-Together

Like the new (to us) washer and dryer? Dan, Michael and Greg picked it up with Greg's trailer last night. Now the Shaws don't have to re-use socks anymore!

Kristen reading a story to the little girls (btw...they found out a few hours earlier that they are going to be adding a boy to this group in a few months...CONGRATULATIONS KRISTEN, GREG AND SADIE!)

Pizza with friends(before Amya spilled her water on Sadie's pants)...telling pre-spouse dating horror stories!...

Sadie brought this "cabin" over for her friends to play in. The girls loved it!

Copy Cat!

Hey! When I see an idea I like, I'm not ashamed to copy it! Thanks Kara and Cassandra, for the great idea! This banner and a mattress are the only things in Amya's room. She thanks you as well :)

One Room "Done"!

...and that is in the loose sense of the term! But it is the only room in the house with something on the wall. Dan and I have never had a dinning room table, so it was a little unfamiliar to eat at one, in our own house; but nice.

...Amya's dinning room table (which is used for painting, coloring, and playdough way more than for eating)...

The only way my non-mathematical and very spacial brain could hang pictures on the wall was to make paper copies and tape them up, stand back and eye ball it! But hey, it worked! (the second time)

We're Gunna Party Like It's 1999!

...and in 1999 we were on EST! So, around 9pm local time...

This is CJ and Erica's house. CJ is an artist and Erica is an art teacher! Their home is very inspiring!




...three of the four little girls...


I was way too tired to party! (even at 9pm...help!)