Concrete or bust

Joe and I poured our concrete counter for the island this week. It turned out that the only day he could get that done with the guys from work was the only day I had available to make my years' supply of jam. So we just worked around each other!! But man, it was a mess (and still is in places).



The deal with concrete counters is that (1)It takes a lot of either research and/or know-how to do them. (2) It is very labor and time intensive. But (3) The materials are ridiculously cheap. I think we're in less than $100 total, where it would have cost us more like $400-500 to do granite or something else on our island. The concrete has to cure for 7-10 days before we can polish, acid stain, polish again, and seal it. Oh, and you can't set anything on it or use it at all before it's sealed. I hope it looks good when we're done!


My sister-in-law told me about a place that sells strawberries for $1 a pound if you come and pick them. So I took the kids with me and we picked 15 pounds of strawberries! Liz came over with a bunch of blackberries Nathan picked last time he was camping. We used my kitchenaid to get the seeds out of the blackberries. Then, I canned a batch of blackberry jam, two batches of strawberry jam, and two batches of mixed berry. It was a lot of work, but I'm really pleased with the results. Jam is not cheap, and we go through a lot. Plus, homemade jam is so much tastier than store jam packed with high fructose corn syrup.


Yesterday, we took a little trip to Spokane. AJ's birthday is on Friday, and we decided it would be cool to celebrate a little early and take him to the new Transformers movie in IMAX. He is still raving about it, even though we had to walk 1.5 miles to the theater because downtown was closed off for Hoopfest. We're busily putting off getting ready for his birthday party on Friday!

Happy Fathers' Day!!!

I just wanted to say a quick thank you to all the fathers out there on their special day. I appreciate everything you do! I firmly believe that our world and its prosperity is directly linked to the work you do within your home and the good example you set for your wives and children. My own father is an incredible man who I respect and love more than I can say. I look back and realize that every choice he made was done with love and with the best interests of his children at the heart of it. I would not be who I am nor have my faith in God except for his example to me, so THANK YOU!!


And I want to say a special thank you to my poor abused and neglected husband (he informs me that this is not usually the case, but you can refer to the previous entry for your own judgment)!! Joe is one of the best people I have ever known. He is absolutely my best friend in the whole world. He loves his children dearly and desires more than anything their happiness in life. His family is the most important thing in his life, and I couldn't have picked a better man to spend eternity with!

This week's adventures

With the warmer weather, we've managed to make it to the pool several times already, taking advantage of our season passes. The water is still a little cold, but it feels good when it's over 90 degrees. Even Brooklin has seemed to enjoy splashing around in her floatie. I need to get pictures next time we go. The kids are taking swimming lessons from their cousin, Zachary. AJ can tread water, reducing my "I hope my kids don't drown" anxiety a smidgeon. They both have water-in-the-ears fear, so that's the next hurdle to tackle.

Saturday, we celebrated my niece, Arri's, third birthday at a party at her house in Tri-Cities. She's adorable, and her mother, Dyana, threw a very enjoyable party for both kids and adults. Even Becky and Toni were able to make it on their way to visit Becky's parents in New Mexico.

After the party, we had a bit of time to do some summer clothes shopping for Natalie before we headed home. Natalie loves to play "fashion show" with her new clothes, so I took some pictures. Here she is in one of her favorite new outfits.

I have to confess that I'm a horrible wife. We played with friends late Saturday night after we got home, and I completely forgot it was Fathers' Day on Sunday morning. Joe, very politely, asked me if I would make him pancakes for breakfast, and I told him no because we didn't have time before church!! I didn't even realize
it until we got in the car to go to church. So I made Joe a big dinner with pie and ice cream for dessert to try and make up for it, but I still feel miserable about his being abused and neglected. We also had Joe's dad and Liz's family over for dessert. Check out the strawberry pie that Nathan made...it was at least as good as it looks!

Ballet Recital

Andrea and Scott came down to support Natalie at her second ballet recital. Grandma and Grandpa Johnson made it as well. Nat got to wear a new costume and makeup; it was so exciting. The theme was Stars and Stripes Forever. The Pre-Ballet danced to the William Tell Overture. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!

June 6, 2009

I stink at journaling, I know. We’ve had a busy month. Joe’s work had the opportunity to go whitewater rafting by Leavenworth. Joe was the only one smart enough to bring sunscreen. Some of his coworkers still refused to use it, saying that they would “burn once, and then tan the rest of the summer.” They all got horrible sunburns. His boss had the equivalent of second degree burns that he had to get prescription ointment from the doctor to treat. Dad’s words of wisdom keep ringing in my head, “Life is hard – but life is harder when you’re dumb.”

Joe and I went to Packwood, WA, again for Memorial Day weekend. We forgot our camera, so we only got one picture with Joe’s iPhone. This year’s purchases include a dresser for the baby and a glass cake display/punch bowl. This year was not nearly as exciting as our Labor Day adventure because we knew where to find Joe’s parents’ camper, and the weather was perfect! We were also much better prepared with strollers for the kids.


Joe and I had our first totally successful project!! I say that meaning that we didn’t encounter unexpected difficulties, and we only had to go to Lowe’s once to finish it. And it’s completely done and functional! We installed pendant lights above our island. We also moved on and installed under-cabinet lighting. That project can’t be quite finished until we’re done painting though. Joe got all excited about painting the cabinets and removed all the doors from my uppers. I REALLY wish he would have held off until we were actually ready to paint. I don’t think my cabinet organization is that horrible, but it was never meant to be showcased!


My baby is 4 months old. She’s such a sweetie. She can roll over both ways with ease to my dismay. I like it when I put babies down, and they stay put! She’s trying really hard to sit up on her own as well. After her doctor’s appointment got rescheduled a few times due to an emergency at the hospital (which, by the way resulted in me getting only 3 hours of sleep before I had to go back to work that night), the baby finally got another clean bill of health. Brooklin is 12#4.8oz. and 23” tall. When the doctor told me, I said something about how chunky she is. She just looked at me, laughed, and said, “LeiAnn, she’s in the 25%.” I’m just excited she’s on the chart.





This is a picture of Joe practicing our paint spraying skills on our headboard. We needed a test project before we tackle the cabinets.