Another Daddy Wednesday + Updates

Caleb is home with Gallie this afternoon - he sent me this photo of her on her old rocking horse so this tells me they are digging into stuff in storage and I'll probably come home to a mess :)  Oh well, she looks like she's having fun!  I also heard they went to the library and she got to watch one of the movies she checked out - definitely getting spoiled today!

I have a couple updates - the house, and more importantly, the b-day party!

We are in full birthday party mode at our house!  The treat bags are packed, homemade decorations are made and hung, presents are wrapped, sprinkles for pancakes are in little dishes, milk jars are ready to be filled, and pajamas are picked out.  I'll post pictures of everything after the party on Saturday - we are very excited!  Actually, I'm a little nervous to have 11 four & five year olds to entertain for 2 hours...

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The house is coming along.  The foundation is done and they started framing last Monday.  Here are a few of the things we are excited about and a couple of the little things we are doing to make it our dream home :)

Apron (or farmhouse) Sink - I've always loved these sinks.

Open Shelving - we will have about 1/2 of our cupboards in open shelving.  I'm excited about this because I really love a lot of our dishes and now I can display them!  Plus easy access :)

Chevron Tile - we chose this for the mud room just because it will look cool and different.

Free Standing Soak Tub - an alternative to a swimming pool for Gallie :)

A Kitchen Aid Dishwasher - I will be so happy to not have to scrub the dishes sparkling clean before we put them in the dishwasher.

Sea Glass Pendants - for the kitchen.  I just think these are so cool and beachy!

Beach Rope - to hand the lights in the entry way and dining room.

Chalkboard Pantry Door - for grocery lists and cute Gallie drawings :)

Vintage Glass Doorknobs - just because I like them.

Happy Birthday Cody!!!

We celebrated Cody's birthday with dinner last night and he was asleep for most of it!  I guess that's how it is for new parents :)  He couldn't even keep his eyes open for a quick b-day photo - but at least Ayden did - he's way cuter anyway!!!

Fishtail Braid Tutorial

Many people have commented on my imperial braiding skills :)  I've especially been complemented on the fishtail braid and asked many times how to do it.  It really is just about as easy as a basic braid.  Here's what to do:

Divide the hair into 2 even sections.  I don't bother to part it exactly down the middle - just wing it.  This braid looks better if it's a little messy anyway!

Take a small section from the outside of the right side.

Pull that small section over to the left.

Now take a small section from the outside of the left side.  It takes a bit of hand maneuvering to keep all of the hair in place for the fist few strands, but you get the hang of it quickly.

Pull the small section over to the right.

Repeat these steps until you are at the bottom of the braid.

And that's all there is to it!  You have a less than 1 minute braid (I timed it!) that looks like you spent 20!

You can also pull it apart a bit to get that messy look that I hear is "in" right now :)

Thanks, Gallie, for being my hair model!!!

Daddy Wednesday

Caleb recently started watching Callie every Wednesday after school.  I think it's been nice for them to spend extra time together... and to do fun things like bike riding on a sunny day!

Over the weekend...

Gallie had quite an adventure this weekend!  Our friends from Seattle (the other Youngs!) came up and stayed with us Saturday night.  We had pizza and watched a movie with the kids - then they spent an hour in their sleeping bags giggling and playing and having a pretty cool sleepover :)  In the meantime us adults played a dice game they taught us and had a glass of wine - pretty wild!

Finally asleep!

On Sunday morning Lily joined the girls (that made 4 girls ages 3-5!!!) and we went on a mountain adventure!  We drove to Mt. Baker with the intentions of sledding only to find out it isn't allowed there anymore.  But the girls didn't care at all - they had a blast playing in the snow and didn't even mention the sleds.  We packed a lunch and ate in the lodge (part of the mountain adventure!) and then played for another hour or so.

I didn't pack my camera in the snow so I only have pictures of them sitting on the sleds by the car :)  But believe me, they had the best time!

Happy Valentines Day!!!

This morning we surprised Gallie with a homemade card and a cute little puppy (named Rue, after Molly's dog) - she loved it!  She surprised us with special cards she made - we loved them!

Pirate Valentines

Gallie and I made these cute little valentines for her class party tomorrow.  I got the template here.  I just printed them on some cardstock I had at work then wrote the "you're grrreat!" with a marker.  I cut out the felt heart patches from some scrap felt I saved and Molly kindly sewed them onto the cards for me.  Gallie signed the back of each one :)  I think they turned out pretty cute and she is super excited to pass them out to her friends!