ONLINE HOUSEWARMING!!

Welcome to our online housewarming. Since many of you can't come in person, we are bringing it to you. The only thing that prolonged this as long as it has was my procrastination in downloading pictures. But come have a look around!

This is the patio that Brian and I put in - stone pavers - I love it!
This is the square foot garden - the bare one you see is the newest addition. The other ones were so easy to maintain I built another one. The netting backs it up. There are 80 squares.
Note the Zuchinni is growing vertically - this is about 1 1/2 months ago.
This is the kids bathroom - I have since added white candlesticks but you get the basic idea.
This is our bathroom/closet - I love having it - it makes me feel like I live in a hotel.
We decided to still have the computer in our room - every place we lived we have done it. I guess old habits die hard...that and it looked better in here.
A more long range view of the room.
This is the view from the kitchen into the living room. Its nice and open - the way I like living rooms.
This is the island/thing that looks into the kitchen, dining room, and entryway.
Here is our kitchen - I love the cherry cabinets. Its the favorite color of cabinets we have ever had. I have since added other decor on the bar part - but thats the basic.
So, since we don't have a dining room table and wouldn't use it that much if we HAD one, we did a music room/library in the dining room. It makes everything seem so much more open. I will be adding more ikea components to the bookshelf - and upper area...someday...
Here is the entryway - I love the ikea bench by the door that rolls open and can hold about 50 pairs of shoes - lOVE IT!
Here is a view by the piano facing the living room and kitchen.

The kids were asleep while I took these, so I didn't get their rooms, I will post them later. I LOVE the way the color of paint for Brooke and Kylie's room turned out. And I found some great sports decor for Ty's room at Hobby Lobby at 90% off - I LOVE those sales.

And that concludes the tour. To fully appreciate - think of everything being stark white. Thanks to Brian's dad for painting, and to Brian for the many house projects you have helped me do (and for everyone that helped me unpack)! Took awhile for me to post - but I hope you liked how it turned out.

POOR KYLIANNE!!!

Our cute Kylianne has been in a pickle lately. She has not been able to gain weight or really grow much. Now that she is walking people think she must be like 8 months…rather than the 14 months that she is.

So what to do? The pediatrician’s advice? Put OIL and BUTTER on everything. The other problem? Constant diarrhea. What was the pediatrician’s solution – the brat diet: banana, applesauce, toast, and…whatever the r is (brain freeze).

No improvement. The girl has been BELOW “THE CHART” , like -10 or so for awhile. Her height is a decent 20%.

So, luckily we have the BEST doctor ever – that is super knowledgable about nutrition, and does allergy/sensitivity testing and TREATMENT (NAET).

So we had her tested – I was the surrogate tester. (so far) She is allergic to Milk/Dairy, Wheat, Gluten, Yeast, Vinegar, Cold, Candida, and something called “Mylocin” or something like that. That one is the corker. The other ones – no PROBLEM, since I went through all that with tyler.

The Mylocin one means that she can’t have any RAW fruits or veggies (which she loves), nothing from a can, even if I canned it (tomato sauce, beans) and nothing that was frozen (veggies, fruits, meats). So FOR NOW, until we get her treated for that, Cooking is going to be CREATIVE. I will essentially have to cook things special for her (2 separate meals 3 times a day). I usually cook her veggies and then give her egg, at this point, and rice, rice cakes, and rice crackers.

Also, since she can’t have anything “cold” because of her allergy (which I just read about in the Chicago trib in January), she has to drink everything warm, and her food needs to be room temp or warm. She is also on lactobacillus (all strains) and bifodobacterium (all strains) probiotics.

The goal? Solid stools with less frequency (now they are 4 to 5 times/day – not at ALL solid)

So, while all that seems a little overwhelming for the time being, I am SOOOOO glad to know what is going one. And if she has results with NAET like her Brother TYLER (was on 7 meds for asthma, now needs NO MEDS and RARELY has any problems.)

I really really thank everyday that my cousin Angelle told me about NAET!!! Thanks Angelle!

JULY WAS BLISSFUL!!

The one really really great thing about having a husband who is a teacher is the month of JULY!!

Even though I hardly ever see him, it feels like during the school year because of
*doing a 2nd Master's degree
*Bowling Coach
*(now) Elder's Quorum Presidency (church thing for those who are wondering...)
*working 2nd Job at T.R.
*Never ending staff and coaching meetings
*Me working on his "off" nights

So this month I feel like the we, the fam, had him all to ourselves, for ONCE!! It was Lovely!
So how did we choose to take advantage of this rarity?

*We went frisbee disc golfing about 2 or 3 times every week during the evening
*We watched Harry Potter, twice
*We went to Chinatown, Greektown, and the Cheesecake Factory in Downtown Chicago on
National Cheesecake Day (all cheesecakes 1/2 off!)
*We hung out with Brian's siblings who came to Chicago to visit - Mike and Corin and fam, and
Beth and Shawn and family
*We went to Navy Pier
*We went blueberry picking at Michigan City, IN (30 lbs this year at $1.50 /lb)
*We went to the beach MANY times
*We had TWO of our traditional "TEXAS ROADHOUSE STYLE FAMILY BBQs" and made THE
recipe of TO DIE FOR ribs
*We went to Brian's Grandma's funeral (she was an impressive 96!)
*We went miniature golfing - which I unfortunately BOMBED
*We spend many late nights playing Carcassone (like settler's of Catan). We realized playing too
many nights in a row is bad for our marriage
*We checked out movies from the library - ( "Out of Africa "to me seemed like the better version of "Australia", and I can't believe how different Meryl Streep looked!)
*We went to the neighborhood pool several times with the kids
*We went to IKEA as a family (ya gotta have ONE of those a year, I tell you!)
*We welcomed my youngest sister Sarah to stay with us for a few weeks, home from BYU-I.

So, July is gone, but MAN did I enjoy it. It felt like a party everyday.

What will August bring? My younger sister SUSIE is coming home from her NY NY-SOUTH
mission. We are on pins and needles!! GO SUSIE!

Now I see all the back to school sales, and I have to adjust my mind BACK to reality!!!!