A visit from Grandma and Grandpa Torgersen

We had the best general conference weekend. Blake's parents came to visit! Friday we went down and met Blake for lunch overlooking the ocean by his work. Saturday and Sunday we watched conference by connecting our computer to our tv. It would freeze at times, and we'll have to read a lot of the talks again to catch what we missed, but that's probably a good thing. There were so many talks that I really enjoyed. As we listened, Grandma taught the kids how to crochet. Emily ended up making a scarf for Becky's doll, and Becky made a chain, and even Kaleb was able to do it once Grandma showed him how to do it without a hook.

We also had the best carmel popcorn. Blake used the "food" option on our camera when taking this picture. It makes me want to make some more!

We also enjoyed putting together puzzles, although all but one of the puzzles we did was missing pieces.

In between the sessions we went on walks. The weather was beautiful and it was nice to get out. We are so glad that Grandma and Grandpa Torgersen came to visit! We can't wait to see you again in July.

By the way, Kaleb took this picture with our old camera. I love it. The kids have been having fun taking lots of pictures, which I will get on flickr as soon as Blake reinstalls it for me.

Blood, Sweat, and Tears

I am not a very patient person. I really wish I were, and I get lots of opportunities to practice, so hopefully one of these days I'll get better. Blake is a very patient person. That's why I usually have him hang the pictures on our walls because I know he will do it right the first time, since he takes the time to measure. That's why we only have one picture up in our bedroom. I've been waiting for him to do it right since we moved in 10 months ago, and got tired of blank walls, so I hung up a picture of the temple which only took one nail and no anchors. Anyway, recently I decided to make a FHE board since I didn't want to pay $30 for one. A lady in my ward does vinyl lettering, so I got the lettering a couple of weeks ago and set it aside since I didn't have a board yet. Last week I went to Lowe's and got some boards while Kaleb was at preschool. I had it painted by the time I picked him and his friend up and brought them home. After it was dry I started putting on the vinyl lettering. I didn't mesure, just eyed it and called it good. It slants slightly upward, but not much. I added the magnet strips and the rocks with our names on them, which didn't turn out exactly as I had planned:

Kind of a big gap, but they serve their purpose. So when everything was on I nailed the mounts on the back so I could hang it up. Now, I tried to be patient and copy Blake's methods for hanging things up. I measured, twice, then put one screw in. As I was holding the board as it rested on the one screw so I could measure where to put the other screw, it slipped off, scraped the wall, and the corner landed right on Kaleb's foot, who had come to see what I was doing. Screaming, a little blood, and tears from him and me.

Once I got him (and myself) calmed down, I put a band-aid on, and he stayed a safer distance away as I put in the second screw. After all my careful measuring, I went to hang up the board, and it was off, barely. Another hole in the wall, I hang up the board, and it was very crooked and I have lost my patience and am ready to give up but I don't, so I added one more hole in the wall (luckily they're all behind the board) stepped back, and was happy with the result:

So blood, sweat, and tears went into making the board, but the kids looked forward to FHE all week, and they all knew what their jobs were so nobody argued about whose turn it was to lead the song, so besides Kaleb getting hurt, it was worth it. I'm glad I did it, and even more glad that it's done!

Daddy/Daughter Dates are Great!

The girls love spending time with their Dad. Last month the girl scouts had a princess daddy/daughter dance that the girls loved. They liked getting dressed up and being able to wear some make-up too. Blake was a good sport and wore his suit. They danced, ate, played games and Becky even won a stuffed animal.

The next weekend was a daddy/daughter hoe-down with the stake acitivity day girls. Bex got Blake all to herself, and loved it!

Pictures old and new

Since our computer crashed and Blake reinstalled our operating system, I don't know how to get our pictures onto flickr. So, I thought I'd put some here. Enjoy.

Kaleb and I had a fun day at the park a while ago. He was so excited that he was finally tall enough to reach the monkey bars!

Becky and Emily recently went ice skating with the Dixon girls. They had a great time, and can't wait to go again.

Funny Story

I went and got my toes done on Monday with my friend Kym, since she is left for Hawaii Wednesday. When we got back to her house there was a lazy boy chair down the road at the curb with a sign that said "free." I went to check it out, cause I can't pass up free. I sat in it first, and popped the leg thing out. Well, I couldn't get it back in, so Kym sat down. She leaned back and the chair leaned, and kept going and kept going until she was lying totally flat on the ground. I have not laughed that hard for I don't know how long. Tears streaming from my eyes, and sore belly from laughin. She got stuck that way, and started kicking her legs, and I had to catch my breath before I could put some weight on the front of it to get it up. It was hilarious!!! I took a couple of pictures with my cell phone and they turned out great! So funny!

Needless to say I put the "free" sign back on the chair and we walked away. Kym called me later and said the chair was gone. I really hope they tried it out first!