More Painting

Now that things are wrapping up in the basement it was time to move on to the girls room. Afton has been so excited to paint her walls. She wanted one wall pink and the other one purple. I, being the painting phobic that I am, was hesitant to do anything with colors at all. I'm afraid that I won't like it once it's up and that will be that. Well after staring at paint cards for over a week I finially took the girls with me to Stringham's and mixed up the pink and purple paint. By the way they were soooo nice to the girls while we were there. Lauren, I think was his name, gave the girls popcorn and even bought them gummy worms and chocolate. When we got it home I opened the cans and about died. I thought it was going to be way too bright, but when we got it on the walls it turned out to be just right. We got right to work and now I'm so glad that we did it. It looks like such a fun room! Now we get to decorate it with big funky flowers and stuff. I repainted Afton's bed and then she moved right in. Now it's on to my school room!!!

Book Review

The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
I wasn't familiar with the Grimm tale of "The Goose Girl" when I read this book, but the storyline is the same and one that is pretty common throughout most fairy tales genre. It is one of a princess who is betrothed to an unknown prince in a far off kingdom. She is turned "goose girl" by plotting and schemes involving her lady-in-waiting who wants only to steal her crown. It's in this setting of being one of the lesser Forest Folk of the kingdom, that Ani, the true crown princess, finds her voice. The title of "fantasy" is used pretty lightly here since there are not fairies or Ogres or giants in the book, though it does have a type of magic that is easy to believe really exists. It contains key elements of a great fairy tale: a prince, a princess, betrayals, sword fights, friendship, magic, loyalty, courage, danger, and a happy ending!


I love being in the middle of a good book and the middle of this book started fairly early on for me. I loved the setting and the description of the landscape. It was very easy to be drawn into the book, and only took a couple days to finish it. Accents are always pretty hard for me to read but the authors writing was very helpful in this regard. This is a book I would happily add to my own library. I am definitely looking forward to reading more Shannon Hale books!


This book prompts great questions, and reflecting opportunities, perfect for a book group type setting. (Any takers?? Email me!!)


A couple of my favorite words: abeyance and resplendent.


I just loved this line - "I've no more good skin to give over to another bruise." - the goose girl


And then here is my favorite line, one that made me cry because it holds the essence of true friendship or love - "And when you get tired of worrying and mourning your horse and trying not to be afraid, tell me and I'll do it for you a while so you can shut your eyes and sleep peaceful." - Enna


View all my reviews.

A Steal of a Deal!!

Now that we have our basement all but finished we've been moving in. The hard part about finishing something like this is that you naturally want new things to go in it right? Well I thought that our little night stand that we've had our TV on looked so sad in that nice pretty room so I started looking for something nicer. Of course my aim was pretty high, but I figured we'll just save for it and then I can have what I want right? Well, a week ago Dennis found this entertainment center on KSL for a price even we could afford. What a deal!! We called right on it and even arranged for my in-laws to pick it up for us. They were coming down to visit anyway so it worked out so well. The gentleman we bought it from was storing it in his garage next to his boat. It was in wonderful condition! When they were unloading it, it was in 5 pieces, our neighbor was driving by and he and his 3 other friends stopped and helped bring it all in and down stairs. When we got it set up it ended up being a perfect fit. So fun!!
This is the picture from the ad.

A Day for Jacob

Today is Jacob's birthday. He is now 9 years old. The past week I have been remembering the day he was born and the circumstances surrounding it. Dennis' granddad Ralph Moyle Cluff died just shortly before Jacob was born and his funeral was the day I was scheduled to go into the hospital. Having Jacob was a very long wearing experience proving that he was not ready to be born yet, but my doctor suggested the induction due to a high blood pressure issue. But he came and we were so happy to have him here. Jacob had jondous bad enough that he had to stay an extra day in the hospital. It was so hard not to be able to hold him all the time like I wanted to. When we finally brought him home it was to put him in the bili-rhuben lights for another few days which was also torture! I remember the relief I felt when I could finally take him out turn the machine off and just cuddle him all I wanted.
Jacob still likes to snuggle up close. He occationally holds my hair and rubs it between his fingers like he would when he was young. Jacob has always been a more sober child and often times very reflective. He is very obedient and wants to do what's right. Jacob has a talent for the piano which he loves to play and needs little prompting to practice. He is very coordinated and loves sports. He is currently on a Jr. Jazz team. Jacob is very goal driven and has found a lot of satisfaction in the scouting program. Jacob loves playing games both board and video and tends to get really wrapped up in them. He also has a lot of fun reading books and loves to have us read them to him as well. We are currently reading Percy Jackson and the Olympians series together.

Happy Birthday Jacob!!! We love you sooo much!

Moving In

Well we've begun the work of moving our things back into the basement. We have the boys mattresses down there and a few toys. We bought a couple more book shelves and I put them together today(hooray for me and my power drill) and put those up. Now comes the work of setting things up the way I want them. It's like getting a new house! We are really enjoying it! The bathroom isn't 100% complete and the doors aren't finished yet, but it's getting there.

Carpet's In!!

Yea! We got our carpet installed on Tuesday! It's so nice to have it in. The kids have been running around down there all week. The only really major project we have left now is to finish the bathroom. There are lots of little details still waiting, like touching up a few paint spots, painting the doors, adding door knobs, and shelving in the laundry, but for all intents it should be livable before Jacob's birthday. I told the boys they could move in on Jacob's birthday and it looks like it's about right on schedule. We are loving it! I think we're going to have to plan a game party when it's done.

Happy Birthday Isaac

Even though its more than a week past Isaac's birthday this tends to be the typical trend of most his birthdays since it falls between Christmas and New Years. His birthday usually comes and goes without too much fan fare since we're still coming down off the Christmas high and New Years is right around the corner. Most years we are usually still visiting in Fayette but this year we were actually at our own house, however it was Sunday so any kind of fishing, sledding activity that is a typical request for him had to get put off again.

Isaac is a very active kid and has a quick mind. He will go go go all day, but then is the first one asleep at night. He is a leader and is usually the one who takes charge and guides the play at our house. He loves to call the shots! His loves are fishing, hunting and dinosaurs. His favorite places to be are Cabellas, the mountains, the Dinosaur museum, and Grandma Sorensens' house, where he is among others of his kind (meaning those who love hunting and fishing as much as he does).

Isaac is very excited about reading! He is becoming a good writer as well and loves to draw pictures of. . . yup, hunting and dinosaurs. Isaac also enjoys taking my digital camara out and taking pictures and fills the memory card in no time! Isaac's favorite sport to play is soccer which he really has a talent for. If he gets out front he can't be stopped! He has a very special relationship with his baby sister Khora, who is the only exception to the no girls allowed rule.

Isaac got my smiley eyes and curly hair which he likes to stick up. He is the one who makes me cry the most but also laugh the most! He definitely holds a special place in my heart!