Bunk Beds Rock!

A few weeks ago, Jeff's step-dad called me and asked if we wanted to take an extra set of bunk beds off his hands. Umm, free bunk-beds, yes please! And the best part is that they are cute. Metal frame and fire engine red. At first my plan was to paint the frame black, but after much debate (just ask Jeff how much I went back and forth...) I finally decided to keep them red and do a red and gray mod theme in their room. At first Carson was disappointed we weren't going with an army theme, but all it took was me telling him that Great-Grandpa Carson's favorite color was red and he was on board.

Its hard to tell from the picture, but Friday night Jeff and I stayed up way too late painting their walls a soft gray. Gotta love gray! After seeing gray boy rooms on some of my most favorite sewing blogs, I was convinced. You can check them out here, here, and here (especially the last one! Love the giant red letters on the wall! And that monster on the bed...I gotta find one of those!).

It will still be a few more weeks before I get their room all decorated and I'll post pictures then. My camera is taking horrible, blurry pictures so maybe (hint, hint, Tiffany) I can get someone to come take a picture that looks half way decent. I am on the hunt for an SLR, so if you find a good deal anywhere PLEASE let me know. I just have to convince Jeff it is a wise way to use our tax return...

Baby Steps

Over the past week or so, Mason has finally decided to walk. He took his first steps back in November, but was still crawling everywhere until now.

Mason is acting more like a toddler. With his new ability to walk, he has started to climb up on everything. Also, he has learned how to hit his brothers if he isn't happy with them. He and Jonas are starting to fight more over toys. They are both struggling with the toddler property law of: "I see it, I want it, its mine."

We call Mason our "technology baby" because this kid LOVES anything that is technological. He thinks my ipod is his. His thinks my phone is his. He thinks the camera is his (that's why he's crying at the end of the video). If its a technological device and he sees it, he thinks it's his duty (and right) to play with it.

Wrestling

My cousin, Brad, is a wrestler for UVU and last night we went to one of his meets (is that what they call it in wrestling?). Anyways, he is super talented and was even an NCAA qualifier last year. It was so nice to see my Aunt, Uncle, and cousins as this is this first time I have seen them since Ben passed away. (There hasn't been a memorial service yet because his remains are still over seas.) I didn't get to talk to them much about Ben because, quite honestly, I can't talk about him without crying, and who wants to be all blubbery at a wrestling match?

To make a long story short, Carson is now obsessed with wrestling. He had Brad sign a poster for him and now wants me to hang it on his wall.
When Carson was about 2 or so, I had several people tell me he looked like Brad...what do you think?So this is a picture I stole from my Aunt's facebook page. This is my "little" (and gorgeous) cousin Carrie. I've got about six years on her, but she's got about six inches on me. Our nephew, Braydon, (far left in the pic) tagged along with us and he won a new t-shirt and $50 gift certificate! It was a great experience and we were so happy we went. In fact, Carson keeps asking me when we get to go watch him again...

Booster Bottom

The time has finally come when Mason has demanded that we put away the high chair and give him a place at the table. For the past few weeks he has been sitting in Jonas' booster chair and we've put Jonas in a normal chair. This situation has not worked so well with a busy two year old. So today we invested in a second booster seat. Jonas was so excited to try it out that he buckled himself to it and walked around with it attached to him for over a half hour. I hope he's that enthusiastic about it when I strap him down for dinner time.

A new fashion trend? I don't think so.
And of course, Mason just watched his brother with this "what are you doing now" look on his face.

Last Photo

My dear cousin Ben passed away Monday while on vacation in Amsterdam. As you may know from previous posts, I loved him dearly and thought of him as a brother. The news came as quite a shock and some mornings I wake up thinking it was all a bad dream. I am so very thankful that I was able to see him while we were in Idaho over Thanksgiving weekend. Over the years, its become a sort of tradition to take a picture whenever we were together. We were only a few months apart in age and I have photos of us together since we were babies. After our last visit, just as I was getting ready to leave, my Aunt stopped us and made us take one last photo. How thankful I am that she did! Another photo that will be treasured for years to come!

He was an amazing man and very accomplished. He graduated from Yale, spoke several foreign languages, and visited 29 different countries. To read more about his remarkable life, here is a link to his obituary.

I will forever miss you, Benjer! Thank you for inspiring me to reach higher and to follow my dreams.

Happy Ending

Today I delivered this quilt to my cute little sister in law and her hubby.It's officially done. And fixed. After my post about the horrible quilting job, my sweet friend Deanna, contacted me and offered to fix it. So Jeff, his two sisters, and I sat down and unpicked the whole thing. I then took the quilt up to Idaho (when we went for Christmas) and left it with my mother. She was so sweet to get it to Deanna for me. The quilt arrived on my doorstep Friday afternoon, and I was so pleased with it! It looks amazing...especially the back! Besides the fact that it isn't bubbly and puckered everywhere, the quality of the quilting is worlds better. Instead of a simple stipple, she did a loopy stipple and then did the borders in a leaf pattern and a large loop. It looks SO. MUCH. BETTER. Thank you so much Deanna! You are simply amazing!