Coloring

The kids were coloring at the table, usually I just have to make sure Elsie doesn't get down and color on the walls and the floor. I was on the computer and all three were coloring and when Matt came in the the room Elsie said Uh Oh, and then Matt had her come show me her picture.

oh and I forgot to make sure and by washable markers this time . . . they are not washable.

Mississippi River

After Oklahoma we went to Memphis. Graceland was too expensive so we visited the mud island museum on the Mississippi river instead. We took the Monorail out the the island and skimmed through the museum with the kids and played in the river walk. They have a small replica of the mississippi river that you can play in, they were cleaning it so it was mostly empty but that was perfect for our little kids. They loved running in the water and seeing the boats at the museum.

Grand Canyon

We packed up the house and left Friday August 3rd for Georgia. We drove to Kingman AR and then Saturday we went to the Grand Canyon. We didn't stay long, but it was fun. Sarah complained that she was tired the whole time and Benson just wanted to climb all the rocks, Elsie always had me worried she was going to slip through the guard rail. It was a fun vacation stop! We continued to Alberquerque and then Oklahoma City.

Too much to do

After ten minutes or so of hearing Elsie in her room saying mom mom mom mom whining but very nicely, and I kept telling her to come to me in the kitchen I went to find her. I found her laying nicely on the changing table. She smiled at me and I helped her down. After deciding that she couldn't have climbed it on her own I found Matt outside working on painting the gate. Our to do list is so long that he had somehow gotten distracted
Mid changing the baby, went to get a diaper and got a paint brush instead! We have too much going on, we are hoping this is the last of it this weekend though. Here is to hoping! And here is cute patient Elsie!

Kitchen redo

Alright so here is what I did in April! Refinished the cabinets, new counters and backsplash, and paint and new sink. It is pretty awesome. Now hopefully we can sell it and move. I'll be sad to leave but Georgia will be a fun adventure.

Where March went

I pulled up the blog this morning trying to remember what the last thing I posted was. I couldn't remember and was surprised to see that I had missed March entirely. I tried to figure out where March went, and I realized I spent spent most of it on my bathroom. Here are some pictures. I did not help much with the counter but I laid the tile in the shower and refinished the cabinet. And now for April I'm refinishing the kitchen cabinets, I should be done next week!

Wontons

Check it out I'm a food blogger. Sarah and I made these Raspberry Cream Cheese Wontons during nap time today. Sarah wants to wait till after dinner to eat them, I'm not sure I can wait that long.

Snow!

We love the snow! In small doses that is. We made a snow man, had a snowball fight, made snow angels, and then Benson's fingers were so cold I had to bring him inside for hot chocolate! He was crying cause he was cold and cause he didn't want to go inside. I had to promise we could go out again which he wanted to do after about 10 minutes.

Movie!

Sarah loves movies and since she stopped taking naps a couple months ago she wanted to watch a movie everyday during nap time. A week or so ago, halfway through the movie she turned it off and said she wanted to watch the rest with Benson. She has done that everyday since. Lately she can only get through about 15 minutes without Benson. You can tell it is hard for her to wait too because sometimes she will ask to start it again and watch a little more before he wakes up.

New skirts for Sarah

Sarah will only where skirts . . . And in her hand me down clothes there were only pants. I was about to break down and buy her some new skirts that fit when I finally realized we could make the pants into skirts. And she loves them! She was excited to where them for all her friends to see, she kept asking if I thought her friends would like her new skirt.

Happy birthday Elsie

Oops in true Ballard tradition we were busy on Elsie's birthday with all the Davenport's and so we celebrated the next day. She got a butterfly cake and combined Christmas and birthday presents from Grandma. We had fun seeing everyone on Fresno. We ate and enjoyed rides at John's Incredible Pizza, opened belated Christmas presents, and took family pictures. John and Natalia blessed Keira Miley on Sunday at church.

Do not take my toys!

Benson and Sarah were playing together this afternoon, when Elsie came in and wanted to share toys with them they both immediately laid down on all their toys so she couldn't get any. Than Sarah left to play something different and asked Benson to lay on her toys so Elsie wouldn't get them after she left.

Benson chipmunk cheeks

Benson had his laser treatment done yesterday for the port wine stain birthmark on his cheeks. I think it went fairly well. He had a rough time waiting for the anesthesia to wear off and he looks like he was hit by a bus, but he is doing well now. Other then being a little timid about the bruising he seems to be the same Benson, just with puffy bruised cheeks.