Take Me Out To The BallGame (unless it's cold)

Yes, it's that time of year again......the flowers are blooming, the grass is growing the sun is shinning, so why are we freezing our behinds off? One of natures cruel jokes! Warm temperatures all week and then freezing temps on the weekend. Don't let the sunny picture fool you. It was so cold, that Hailey and I ended up watching his game from the inside of our car. (Mike and Grandpa Dave braved it out in the cold. But Dave did break down and put on a jacket. Which he never does!) Braxton's team did great though. They ended up winning both games they played on Saturday. Braxton struggled a little bit the first couple of practices, but has really started to pick it up again. This year his team is the Atlanta Braves, which he is very excited about. Not because of the team, but because he was able to get red cleets to match his uniform.

Our Little Easter Bunny

No, the Easter Bunny hasn't arrived early this year, it's just our little Hailey. Mike went to Target to get some supplies for Braxton's school project and came home with these for Hailey. The funny thing is, she loves to wear them. She'll put on her high heeled "princess" shoes, a tutu and the bunny ears, and push her "baby" in the stroller around the house. Yes, it is quite a fashion statement.

Leprechaun Trap!

Braxton was given the assignment to make a "Leprechaun trap". He had to come up with an idea, draw out a plan and then construct it. So we did the old, box trap. We put a box full of "gold" under a bigger box that is conspicuously held up by a stick that is attached to the box of "gold" by a rope. So, when the little Leprechaun tries to take the gold, BAM! We got him! It's an oldie, I know, but works everytime. Braxton was quite excited about it. (That white strip of paper that is on the front of the box says, "Please don't take!" A little reverse psychology.)

New house

View of the kitchen from the garage door. View of the kitchen from the "keeping room"

An ordinary cupboard

door? Nope, it opens up to a large pantry. This is the coolest part of the house. (Braxton is standing inside the pantry)

Looking at the family room from the

breakfast area in the kitchen.

Another view of the keeping room. This is the entry way, looking straight ahead at

family room, the dinning room is off to your

right, the office off to the left and the guest

bedroom and bathroom is in the back left

corner.

The Basement

Ok, here are some pictures of the work that Mike did the week I was in Utah. Yes, he was a busy boy. Our friend from Utah flew out to help him and they got quite a bit done....

Here is the "wetbar" which opens up to the "gym".

Here is the bathroom. It has a deep, jetted tub. If you want to see pictures of the theater room and the extra bedroom, there are some in the archives.....

Hanging out with Grandma

Braxton has found his new "gameing" partner. He and his Grandma Hanson spent 5 hours one day while we were out in Utah, playing board games. Grandma definately has more patience than I do.

It took Hailey pretty much the entire trip to warm up to Grandma and Grandpa. She's not as "forthcoming" with her trust as Braxton has been. But by the end of the trip she even layed on Grandma to watch a movie.

Snow, snow, more snow.....enough snow already!

Well, we got our fix of snow for the year. When we first arrived in Salt Lake it was sunny, warm (60ish) and there was absolutely NO SNOW on the ground. Which is a little unusal for Utah this time year. I can still hear my dad say to me, when we first arrived out there, "Spring has officially arrived." Boy, did he eat his words. The second day we were there Salt Lake got dumped on! Braxton loved it though. He was able to do some sledding with his cousins. Hailey, not to sure about this cold white stuff.

The drive from....you know where!

Well, I finally did it. I made the BIG trek out to Utah, without Mike. Why is that such a big deal? I DROVE! And we didn't get lost. A friend of mine, along with her 4 kids, my two kids and I decided to go out to Utah and visit family. What was supposed to be a "two day" drive out there, turned out to be a three day drive, when windy weather forced Highway patrol to shut down I-80 in Wyoming. So, we were stuck in Sydney, Nebraska for a day. Well, needless to say, there's not much to do in Syndey. But, lucky us, it turns out that Sydney is the birthplace of Cabela's. So we spent a few hours playing in the local Cabela's.

Our trip home, wasn't very eventful, after we made the decision to delay a day, and go the longest route to avoid bad weather. This experience, however, has reconfirmed, to me, the power of prayer!