B-I-N-G-O!!

Okay, it's time for BINGO!! Friday, May 15, 2009 at 7 p.m. Come on over and join the fun! Bring a prize and a snack to share and you're in! Come and check out the new kitchen, etc.
Here are some examples of past prizes: (Yes, that is a block of pepper jack cheese on the blue ice) Gift cards, movies, etc. are always fun - use your imagination!

RSVP in the comments section, so I can know how many to set up for. Grown ups Only Please.

Old and Out of Shape...

I went a played Racquetball this morning with Stacy, our son-in-law, Ben and his friend Shaun. I am quite the huffer and puffer - out of shape! It was really fun and we did squeak by with a win (2 out of 3), it pays to be old and treacherous - we've been playing longer than they've been alive, how's that for old!!!!

Finishing Touches...

We are nearly complete with our final touches. The cabinet guys built these cool bookshelves and Stacy painted them white. We used to have little wooden walls with posts, but they weren't very useful. We are very happy with our new little bookshelves.

Before:

After:

I've finished the curtains (a plethora of polka dots), and now we just need to paint the walls and ceiling, then it's off to yardwork!

Look what the Easter Bunny Brought...

Okay, not really, two sweaty guys with tattoos delivered it. I don't know who is more excited, Stacy (who is supposed to be at work in this picture) or Austin, who is such a little fish. Stacy must have come home 7 times during the day to check the temperature, at one point,he texted me "We're at 70 degrees now" while I was at quilting today. He was thrilled when it was in the 90's and hopped right in. Babygirl had to go home in a diaper since she went in twice and soaked both pairs of panties that we had around here. Incidentally, this is what we woke up to this morning...Some people are crying about the Winter lasting forever, but I know this will be gone in a day or two. Spring comes every year without fail, and the snow with blue skies is beautiful too!

Ta Da!!!

Can you believe it? We took out this wall...

To reveal this...(eventually)

Sink Area - the old "appliance garage" was always wet from being so close to the sink, now Stacy has a place for his fabulous blender...

The stove was so cramped with hardly any counter space on each side, now, I have miles of counter space!!

The old pantry was too deep and small, now I have a fabulous new, giant fridge (12 months, no interest!), and a fabulous pantry - a "step in", not really a "walk in" pantry - and the light turns on when you open the door!This used to be pretty much wasted space...

Now, it's totally useful, usable kitchen!

Here is the old "puppet show theater"

We painted the stair rail, moved the carport door from the kitchen to the dining room, (better traffic flow in the kitchen) and put a great, real, door on the closet:
The beautiful back splash is Stacy's masterpiece and a big thank you to Amanda for driving to the American Fork Target to get more curtain rings for my new curtains (yes, I made them). Many thanks go to my brother-in-law, Danny Sommers for his beautiful work... Stay tuned for the inaugural BINGO party...

Sneak Peek...

Here is a sneak peek at my new front door...

Before and After. Wow, I've waited over 5 years to have a light entryway - yippee!

Family Reunion Fun...

I'm back from a fun, family reunion trip in Arizona. No, I'm not from Arizona and neither is any part of my family; that said; two of my cousins have relocated there, plus, my Aunt Linda is buying a house there and is busy getting all of her grandchildren located there. Brooke and I went with the babies (we are the only ones without jobs) and had a fabulous time! It did take 12 and half hours to get there, but it was worth it.

Here are: My sister Debi, Aunt Dottie, Sister Heidi, Aunt Linda and Me:

Here are some of my cute cousins (they are all way younger than me): I hadn't seen some of them for over 5 years, which may not seem like a really long time, but it is. These are the cousins that lived near us in CA, we spent most of our holidays with them, since my mom and Aunt Linda were the only ones on the west coast. I have missed them so much since moving to Utah.

Here are Shaun and Austin, having a great time with their cousins, Kylee and Ryan. (Stacy says the look on Austin's face is a "Brooke face")Here is my mom, holding Shaun, with me, holding Austin, Brooke and my grandmother - 5 generations! I was really glad to see my Mamal (that's a grandmother, in the south), every time I see her, I'm afraid it's for the last time - she's 87 and lives in North Carolina. I think it's cool that Austin and Shaun have a Great-Great Grandmother who is still around!We had a wonderful time, visiting cousins, aunts, etc., the weather was great, the little kids had so much fun, playing outside every day and going swimming in the hotel pool. We had superb food, I'm waiting for some recipes, so I can make some more! We really missed the cousins and Uncle Richard, who couldn't make it - hopefully next time!

Little Somethings...

I've been working on these while my kitchen has been under construction:

This is my "breast cancer" block. Our guild sells pink fat quarters ($5 donation), then collects blocks to make into quilts to be auctioned off for the Susan G. Komen foundation.

This is the block I passed on in the "Round Robin" that our bee is doing:
I added the thin pink folded border and set it on point with the Burgundy fabric, the block is Shirley's.

And here is the darling baby quilt top I pieced at our retreat last week:

I got the (free) pattern off of the "Moda Bake Shop" website (listed on the left). I did make it wider, so it is square and larger. I love the prairie points, they are so darling!!! I ironed them all while watching American Idol last week, perfect! (By the way, you can sew pinwheels backwards, as I discovered, so pay attention if you make this!)

Kitchen Update...

Things are moving along nicely in the new kitchen. It is actually a "functioning" kitchen now - Yippee!! We are still waiting for the tile for the backsplash. The cabinet guys need to rework a couple of drawers, and a cupboard, plus put on handles and pulls. However - I served a wonderful "conference buffet" yesterday - all of the kids came over. I made cookies with my new Kitchen Aid mixer that I got for Christmas. I used both of my ovens and the dishwasher has been used multiple times! I actually ate cereal in a glass bowl this morning, instead of paper! (It's been 3 months!)
The babies found this empty/door-less cupboard and made a little hideout with it, they kept running around and diving into it, with a flashlight, pretending to sleep and just generally having a great time.I'm off to Arizona tomorrow for a fun, family reunion with my cousins and sisters, etc.!