Ode to our tire swing

Ode to our tire swing all tied up and red,
We love to sit on you all day and before bed.

Although we prefer to be on it without each other,
We will tolerate it with help from our mother.

So dear tire swing, please don't let us fall
It is not something we can replace at the mall!

Ode to our tire swing that keeps mommy sane,
We will play with you always as long as it doesn't rain!

Written by Dallin and Clara

House update part 6

Backyard BEFORE:


Backyard AFTER:
I wasn't going to post the backyard pictures, but I have been working SO hard on it that I needed some words of affirmation! If you notice in the back part of the yard, the tire swing that our Uncle Justy made for the babies is installed. The babies love it and Justin is convinced that it will sell our house!




Living room BEFORE:

Living room AFTER:
This makeover includes the ceiling and walls being retextured and painted by Mason and Justin. This room took 4 months to finish! The white molding helps with the finish touches!



Hallway BEFORE:

Hallway AFTER:
Amazing what a little white paint can do to a dark hallway!

Playing in tall grass is fun to do...

I had cropped the pictures at first so you could see how short my kids are and how tall the grass is at Justin and Michelle's, but the effect wasn't as good.


Playing with dad is fun to do...especially if it involves a giant workout ball!

New hats!

Dallin and Clara have been in need of new sun hats. Being in Carlsbad, the shopping is limited so my dear neighbor bought them for me in Roswell today at Target. They turned out really cute and the babes walked around putting them on and off for about 30 minutes! I plan on putting a really big flower on Clara's as soon as I get to the store. By the way, this is Clara's "surprise" face that we have been working on everyday!

Silly babies!

Dallin and Clara have been developing their very unique personalities. They are so silly and do a lot of funny things throughout the day. We are never bored in the Mitchell household!

Creative abilities?

I have been testing the waters on my "creative" abilities. Uncle Justy is back in town and we tackled yet another tile job...the front porch. I don't know if you remember it before, but it had orange and blue Mexican tile on it. Don't get me wrong, I like Mexican tile done right, but this was not done right. It was really slick when it was wet and didn't cover the whole porch. So, here is the finished product, done in slate tiles. We were exhausted but happy with our work!


Another attempt was at a diaper cake for a girl in our ward. She had her baby 4 months ago, but she has all boys and it was decided she needed to have an ultra girly party.

Reason #235 why I should not attempt baking/cooking

There are many reasons why I do not like/enjoy cooking in any form...I take that back, there is one item I do not mind cooking, NO BAKE cookies. The reason I do not mind cooking them is because you don't actually cook them! Anyway, I do not like cooking. I would rather pull weeds, listen to a group of elementary kids play their violins, scrap my nails on a chaulk board, etc. You get the idea. To add to my reasons I have posted the following picture of Mason's birthday cake gone terribly wrong.



I added the blueberries to cover the bottom part and on the top because I thought it might divert the eye from the horrible crockedness and lopsidedness (if these are words) of the chocolate mess, I mean cake. I also have no idea if it tastes good, because I never taste my food while I am cooking. Mason thinks this is ludicrous, but I just follow the directions and pray for the best. Besides, how would I know if and what it needed if it didn't taste right to me? My mom's answer would be "salt" and Mason's answer would be "pepper". As for Alisa, the answer would be "sugar", but me...I am a blank slate in the kitchen.
So, enjoy a laugh at my expense. I didn't even cry when the cake layers fell apart and I "glued" them back together with extra frosting. I wanted to laugh as I was shoving cake parts onto the sides to try to get some symmetry, but alas, it was 1am when I finished and my children and husband are fast asleep and I didn't want to wake them.
Sidenote, why am I up typing this at 2am you ask? Because my dear 31 year old husband rented the movie "AVATAR" (which he had seen) and promptly fell asleep on the couch (where he will stay for the night I am sure) and left me not realizing that it was almost 3 HOURS LONG! Oh well, good flick, but very bad cake making skills. I am sure Mason will get a kick out of it tomorrow. I have decided to leave the cake making to the professionals namely Albertsons, in my case, as Alisa and Sarah live in different states!
Although I may be terrible at making cakes, I am a pretty good food photographer. Maybe a new profession?
PS The greenery on the cake is a basil leaf that Clara "picked" for me along with the rest of the leavs on that particular plant. I am pretty sure you shouldn't put basil on a chocoloate cake, but what do I know, I don't taste things and besides, green makes everything look that much better and I have been told that a meal isn't a meal without something green to eat!

House update part 5

TV room BEFORE:
This room gave us the biggest headache (refer to post on March 22, 2010). It has also turned out to be the nicest room with new walls (literally), new paint and new carpet.
PS I think seeing how big the babies have gotten from the before and after pics is the cutest part of the pic, but I could be biased.

TV room AFTER:



Master Bath BEFORE:

Master Bath AFTER:




Dining room BEFORE:


Dining room AFTER:
This room is the first room we fixed. It is Mason's pride and joy..."I can't believe how good my texture job turned out...it looks professional!"

New facial cream for babies...

proven to be very cost effective and useful in application as you can see exactly where you rub it in.
Downside, tends to be very messy and when applied to the hair, the end results could be sticky and possibly change the color of the hair.
Overall, very good product and would recommend to all mothers!

House update Part 4

Spare room BEFORE:

Spare room AFTER:



Spare bath BEFORE:

Spare bath AFTER:

House update Part 3

TaDa! Here is the Kitchen in all it's terrible glory of orange walls and tin backsplash BEFORE:



And AFTER:
We added a granite island, new countertops, and thanks to Uncle Justy and I, slate tile backsplash. Who new on my first try I could make the tile look so d#@& good?!

Granee in town fun!

Baby overload. We had a visit from our Granee this past week and had a lot of fun. Her visits always end up in tears, because she leaves and the babies miss their undivided attention she gives them and I cry because the babies become intolerable and think screaming in sync will bring their Granee back. We are all fine now (it has been over 24 hours) and are back to our old routine of fixing the house (me) and tearing the house apart (babies).

Dallin busy with his thermometer, necklace, holster for thermometer and medal from mommy's race in Utah.

Clara happy with brother's thermometer.

Clara not happy because mommy took the thermometer away and gave it back to brother.

Granee put us on the floor in the kitchen and covered us up to take a nap! Do you think it worked?!

There are too many kids in this little wagon!