Map!

We have a super ugly hole above our fireplace. It is meant for a TV, back in the day when a TV needed a big, huge, ugly cut out above a fireplace to fit into (oh, a TV never needed that? Well, the 90s would disagree).

I saw on Etsy a great way to cover the ugly hole up while still allowing for the nice storage capacity for non-TV related items: A pull down map!

The problem: It cost about $400, and in looking at it I realized that I should be able to make it for much less.

I decided to experiment and have fun trying to figure it out.

I found a map I LOVED on Etsy and for $!0 bought the printing rights. I had it printed to the size we needed, then the girls helped me glue it to a pull down shade, stain the wood it would hang from, and then Ben and I hung it up.

It didn't turn out perfect- it doesn't roll up as nicely as I would like,

But, it cost about $120, so it saved us quite a bit- enough to be OK with the inconvenience of not rolling up as well as I would like.

The finished project- I LOVE it!!!

Ella In Town!

Last year Audra's absolutely favorite and best friend moved to Texas. It was a horrible, terrible day! Her mom had surgery in Denver, so she came up and stayed with us. It worked out well because they had to quarantine for 3 weeks because of the surgery so I wasn't worried about her exposing us. We went to Chatfield, played at DeKoevend river, hiked St. Mary's...it was a great week!

Oh, and we went to Little Man's ice-cream! So yummy!

And, Ella brought face masks for all the girls- it was really fun!

St. Mary's Glacier

We have hiked this probably 4 times before, and I am pleased to say that this time it was actually really easy! Who would have thought I'd get more in shape with age?

We were very happy to have Ella with us today. It was 100 degrees in Denver, so getting up into the mountains to enjoy the cool air was WONDERFUL!!!!

Camille insisted on being Simba:

Claire's Birthday

It is our 4th Birthday under the pandemic, and we made it!

I made Claire crepes for breakfast- her request.

Claire really wanted another escape room. We ended up going with a different company, and we were happy with it. It was a lot of fun!

Then we met with Ben's family at a park. We ordered pizza, had cake, a slack line, ping pong, and fun. It ended up being perfect!

Audra and Camille insisted that Claire had asked for a red wig, so they picked this one out and Claire LOVES it! It is so incredibly random and fun, and she is so happy with her entirely new character she has created with this wig.

Here is Claire at ELEVEN:

-Her favorite color is still pink
-She still loves pigs
-She is so witty. Honest, she is hilarious in the best possible way because she can use her wit to tell the best one liners
-She pays incredible attention to detail and has an impeccable memory. She would make an incredible detective.
-She hates rice. She is a picky eater, but she will generally eat most things except rice. She never eats rice. I think it is a texture thing.
-Which brings us to texture. Texture is still an issue for things like clothes and such. She will never, ever wear a pair of jeans! That's been the case since she was 18 months old. I vividly remember changing out her clothes in her drawers when she was 18 months old and her taking every pair of jeans and throwing them down the stairs.
-She thrives on routine, but is getting better at being flexible. But, she definitely has her VERY strong opinions! She HATES it when things are done differently than what she is expecting. Everything is a "tradition" so if we have the wrong syrup when maple was what we have always had before, it usually does not end well
-She still is excellent at puzzles
-Her art skills are top notch. She truly is talented.
-She is feisty and fierce. I still predict she will be the CEO of a Fortune 500 company someday. She has a fire in her that will really take her places, and I love her spirit- even if sometimes it is rough to parent.

4th of July

As of Thursday, the big fireworks shows were still on. We were asked to stay in our cars and park on the streets, but they were still on.

But, then more and more brush fires kept happening. It's been very hot and dry here!

After kayaking, we decided to go buy some fireworks- just some sparklers and fountains and small items.

30 minutes after we bought them, it was announced that all fireworks were cancelled and illegal due to fires.

In the morning we met with some friends from church to do a little parade- just having the kids ride around the park with decorated bikes.

In the afternoon we went to the swimming pool.

And, at night we watched Hamilton (oh my goodness I LOVE Lin-Manuel Miranda) and then went outside and shot of our fireworks. It was pretty cool because a lot of the neighbors had done the same thing we had- bought very not dangerous but still fun fireworks. So several of our neighbors organically ended up outside taking turns lighting fireworks. There were also a million very illegal fireworks from Wyoming being shot off- we didn't need a big fireworks show, the neighborhood provided it for us.

It reminded me of what I was little. Every 4th we all came out to the cul-de-sac and shot off tons of fireworks. Those are some wonderful memories! Back before Federal Way did their own big huge show- just sitting out with the neighbors celebrating our country.

The girls loved it- even if by 9:30 Camille was falling asleep on the lawn.

Fireworks blasted all night long, but by 11 I was still able to fall asleep, surrounded by the sound of fireworks going off everywhere.