Projects

First of all, I should follow up on the windows.  They came back last Saturday, as promised, and everything looks great now!  Not only did the three guys from earlier that week come, but the manager and one more worker as well.  So they fixed all the ones they had done the last time they were here, and got all the rest in.  Fourteen windows in total, in one day.  Whew!  Now Christopher just has to put in a new window sill, since we had to take out the tile for them to get the new windows in properly. 

In the meantime, I have been rather busy lately!  I have a few large projects on the horizon, so the first one I wanted to knock out was our Christmas card.  For the sole reason that I could.  Once I had the family picture - which is usually the hardest part - I could just get that done and out of the way.  I haven't gotten them sent off yet, but they are printed and ready to go! (This is the front cover, then inside, then back cover, in case you get lost.)

So, what are the big projects?  Well, this is one of them.  We are going to Disneyland with Christopher's work group again this holiday season, and since I helped out with a sewing project last year they asked if I could help out again.  Last year was 5 bibs for the new babies.  This year it is 25 bags!  I tell you what, though, once I got my supplies cut out, I found a method that takes me only 15 minute a bag. SUPER easy, and I think they look great.  They are even reversible!  I was impressed that Jo-Anns had not one, but two Mickey and friends Christmas fabrics.  Awesome.  The company logo will go on the outside later.

But you can only do so many of those in a row.  So I decided to make myself a bag.  At one point I was entertaining the idea of making this bag for everyone.  I'm glad I didn't, because they take an hour or so instead of 15 minutes.  But I still wanted one for myself!  And by golly, the bag is just as easy and great as they looked in the pictures.

Besides the awesome fabric, what I love the most about this bag is the number of pockets I put on the inside.  Now there is a seperate pocket for everything - hooray!  That was what I changed from her pattern.  I did the pockets on the outside like normal, but then on the inside there is just a large strip that goes along the entire bag, with vertical separations where I needed them.  Well, that, and I put a leather strip on the bottom to prevent wear and tear.  Because I still own way too much leather for anyone's good.

This bag makes me very happy!



Windows

So, ever since we bought our house five years ago, we have known that someday we would have to replace the windows.  They are double paned, but the seals are almost all broken.  That means that water vapor can seep in between the panes, and can't escape again.  So we are left with a hazy view.  Not to mention that all of our screens are either broken, missing, or being used for bird nesting.  This is the window where I actually saw a bird taking the screen apart for its nest.  Nice view, eh? The right side is just window, with a broken seal.  And the left side is the side with the screen on it.

In addition to the aluminum double pane windows, we have these storm windows as well.  They are plasticy sheets of sorts that attach to a frame with magnets, so we can take them off to open the window if we want to.  Or open the door - yes, they block the sliding glass doors as well.

We have finally broken down and bought new windows!  We'll do two sides of the house this year, and then the rest next year.  And for once, Christopher decided to let the company install them, instead of spending a year trying to install them himself after work each day.  I just wish that, for once, he was happy with the job that the professionals do.  Three guys came yesterday and replaced about 1/4 of the windows in our house.  Unfortunately, the first problem we ran into is that the window sill is ruined where the storm window used to be.

This is a new window.  You can see the ugly brown line where the old storm window was.  We can fix the drywall okay, but the tile is another matter.  That is going to have to go.

The other problem is that the new windows are thicker than the old windows.  That makes sense - they are nice and thick vinyl windows so we get the tax credit for them.  But the problem is that the guys explained to Christopher that they don't cut into window sills, generally, and it would be a big mess with the tile.  So they would stick out "a bit".

Now, one of the trim peices is missing here, but you can see what they meant by "a bit".

And here is another window with the outside trim already on.

So our choices were to re-tile the window sills eventually anyway (to get rid of the ugly line ) and replace all the trim in the house (to make it thicker to cover the windows), or just take out the window sills before the guys come back on Saturday to finish more windows and make them do these ones over again.  We will also have to take the trim off (we can just put it back on later, without replacing it) so that they can get in there with the caulking.

Thankfully, when Christopher talked to the manager and showed him pictures, he was okay with making the guys do it all over again.  I feel kinda bad making them take them out all over again, but . . . we are paying a lot of money to have the windows put in, and we do need them put in well.  And if the sills look bad anyway, there's no use trying to protect them.

But, boy, is it going to be a lot of work this week.  And really messy - taking out tile is never fun.  Poor Christopher.

Family Pictures

Family pictures are tough.

Here is a list of my problems:

1.  The more I learn about photography, the pickier I get.  That means that a lot of the cheaper photographers are out, because I look at their work and cringe.  I'm not saying my work is perfect - some of my work makes me cringe.  But . . . still.  If I'm going to pay you, you should be really good.  And you should match my style - a lot of people are really into sunbursts and tilts and everything, and I'm not.

2.  I have invested a sizeable chunk of money into my photography equipment.  That means that I get really cheap when it comes to paying for a photographer to take pictures of my family.  I've tried, but I just have a hard time paying someone to do something I have the equipment and the knowledge to do myself.

3.  Tyler doesn't look at a camera on a timer.  In fact, it is really hard to get Tyler to look at a camera with a person behind it.  Tyler is doing better and better with engaging with the people around him, but it still isn't all that perfect.  So if I'm in the shot, Tyler's not looking.  I mean, let's think about this from a kid perspective.  Why on earth should he smile at an inanimate object?  Especially the 14th time someone has asked him to do it in the last hour?

4.  I finally did break down over the summer and hire a friend to take pictures of my family.  We scheduled - her brother-in-law died in a car accident and the funeral was that day.  We rescheduled - it rained.  We rescheduled - it forecasted rain.  I finally told her to just forget about it.  I felt squeemish enough paying someone, so at that point I gave up.

5.  I need this picture to go on my Christmas card.  That means I need the actual image.  That means I can't use a photographer that only sells prints.  I know why they don't want to hand out DVDs with images.  It is their art, and they don't want people to mess with it.  But . . . I need the image.

With all that in mind, here is what I got this morning.

Basically, I had to take many of each shot.  I would take some on the timer, so I was in it, and then some with me behind the camera and making Tyler and Kaitlyn smile.  Then I photoshopped them together so everyone was smiling.  They aren't perfect - some people are more out of focus than others, and the highlights and shadows kinda bug me on the last one.  But I'm pretty happy with them!  I'm just glad my hubby put up with me trying to cram this in before we rushed down to the BYU game.  I just knew that another 60 degree and cloudy Saturday morning wasn't going to come around again before Christmas card time, so it was now or never!

How it Went

Well, this is how we started out Trick or Treating:

Yup.  It hadn't rained in week, and won't again for a long time, but the universe decided to rain just in time for Trick or Treating.  I guess that is the "Trick".  I was just glad that A) it wasn't snowing and B) it stopped when we were halfway done.

The kids had a lot of fun!  Tyler actually picked up on it better than Kaitlyn did, which was impressive.  She was a bit shy about saying "Trick or Treat!" and "thank you!" but Tyler got the hang of things pretty fast.  He also figured out that if you reached in and grabbed two, nobody makes you put the extra one back (even while Mom is apologizing).

And then, on Sunday, Tyler got to be in his first Primary Program.  Once every year, the regular adult version of church is replaced by handing over the microphone to the kids aged 4-11.  And it is always fun to see.  Some types of performances become regular:  there is the kid that gets too nervous and cries about not wanting to say anything (which, this year, was actually an older girl), the kid swings side to side as she talks (which was adorable!), the older kid that is supposed to write his own heartfelt message but ended up telling a random story with no point, and so on.  Which one was Tyler?

Why, this year, Tyler was the kid that bolted towards the microphone as soon as it was his turn (and a couple of times when it wasn't), grabbed the microphone, put is right up against his mouth and shouted as loud as he could.

His part was "God speaks through prophets", but upon grabbing the mic he started out with "JESUS SAYS -" before the little helper quickly whispered in his ear "God speaks -" "GOD  - SPEAKS  - THROUGH  - PROPHETS!"

Christopher and I were laughing so hard, my eyes were watering.

I mean, just watching him on stage the whole time had been a hoot.  He's pretty easy going about things, but he was sure fidgety.  We laughed as leaned to one side and another, tried to move the chair in front of him whenever the occupant stood up, or even tried to find out what was under his chair while sitting perched on top of it, bum sticking up in the air.  So by the time he actually ran for his moment of glory, we were in hysterics.

Ah, the joys of parenting!

Scallywag Soiree!

Halloween is so much fun!  Especially with Christopher's boss.  Ken has put together some amazing things in his yard for Halloween each year, and this year was no exception.  There was this sunken ship, animatronics that spoke to you, skeletons in cages, and the list goes on and on!  This is the second year he has hosted a pirate themed party for all of his friends.

He even let Christopher borrow this costume!  It was a few sizes too big, but it was amazingly intricate. 

Ken is the one second from the left.  I don't know how there were any pirate costumes left in the county, because there were probably 300 people there and most of them were in amazing pirate gear.

I love that shot. (Pun intended!)

And we love hanging out with our friends from DigiCert!

As soon as we saw a friend dressed as Smee, we realized that Christopher's costume was a dead ringer for Captain Hook!

Meanwhile, I had a lot of fun taking pictures of the details of the party.  This skeleton was playing the piano and singing in the front foyer.

Every table had "jewels" spilling out of treasure chests.

And this witch was casting her spell, while the glowing head in the ball told an eerie tale.

We had such a blast!

At the end, one of Christopher's co-workers asked if I could take some pictures of her daughter for her.  It was my first time attempting anything that resembled a portrait shoot.  I'm not good at that sort of thing, generally, but I loved the shots we got!  I had fun editing them to be dark and eerie.  And her airbrushed makeup was amazing! 



Odds and Ends

Well, there are a few things that won't fit under other categories, so . . . here you go.

We had a great week visiting with Grandma.  We went to our favorite restaurants, had some fun shopping time, and my kids loved the presents she brought them.  But mostly, they just loved having her to play with and read books with.

Tyler didn't have school the last two days of this week, so we went to the cabin.  The snow was trying to melt outside, so it was rather muddy, but the kids wanted to go out anyway.  Kaitlyn kept telling us she wanted to make a snowman.  Little did we know she planned to make it herself!  She loved showing it off, even if it kept falling over.

And this was my big project the week before.  It was my present to my Grandfather- which, of course, I forgot at home and didn't get to give to him.  I saw the idea online, and it was a rather easy task!  Minus, of course, getting the accurate spelling of everyone's full name, which is a lot trickier than it should be.

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

This post is a bit late - but this week has been busy!  Last Sunday we had a surprise birthday party for my Grandfather.  He turned 97 on Monday!  All of the family in the area came to celebrate - and my mom flew in from Ohio to surprise him as well.

He was certainly surprised!

My kids were very happy to see Grandma as well.

What a great guy.  I have loved getting to know my Grandfather a lot better ever since I moved to Utah.

Tyler had his own method for eating the cake.  Notice the fork sitting on the table - which is apparently unnessesary.

My mom got some balloons and little weights as part of the decorations, and that was the hit of the night.  The toddlers went crazy, running in circles and tossing the balloons around.

While the adults simply ate and talked.

What a great evening!