Project Kitchen Gut

I hope only friends and family read this, because I'm about to reveal some embarrassing pictures.

Landon went out of town for a few days last week and I decided to tackle a project that I've been wanting to do for months.  Really, I should have done this years ago.

I totally reorganized my kitchen.  I planned for it to take me a few days knowing I didn't have huge blocks of uninterrupted time (who does?).  I also knew I would not be cooking dinner for the few days of "Project Kitchen Gut", hence the decision to do it while Landon was gone.

Here are some lame attempts at photo-documenting the process.

Before.  Can you see the ugly storage above the cabinets? (Never mind that the cabinets themselves are ugly. That's another project for another time.  And perhaps another wallet.)

During.  My kids kept asking, "Where are we going to do our homework?  Where are we going to eat our Subway sandwiches?"  The answer to both: on the floor.

I emptied every cabinet and drawer and covered my dining room and living room.  It always gets worse before it gets better, right?

Alphabetized my spices. Love.  Only 2 or 3 of those are duplicates, by the way.  I've had a few visitors who say I have an inordinately large amount of spices.

Back of my car loaded with stuff for the D.I.

Is there a better high than this?

Look at that roomy, organized drawer!

Look at my baking cupboard! I can pull out cookie sheets without moving small appliances and swearing!

Moved to a lower shelf so I don't have to get a stool every time I need the baking powder!

Now look at the top of the cabinets!  Cute baskets and boxes holding my platters and ice cream maker and fondue pot and cake tips and other such seldom-used items.  Yea!

You know you're old when organizing a kitchen is a happy way to spend a day.  I wish my 16-year-old self could hear me say that.

Please stop by and open my cupboards.

Touche'

I've told my kids before that after 8:30pm, I am no longer "Mom"; I become "Amy" and Amy is NOT nice.

I have a hard time being patient and kind around bedtime.  I made the decision before my kids were born that they would go to bed early because I so want my downtime.  I'm selfish that way.

Last week Landon was out of town and I was putting the boys to bed by myself for the third night (I know there are those of you whose husbands are gone way more than mine, so I apologize for whinging after only 3 nights).  I was grouchy and testy and tired.  I found myself snapping at the boys to "hurry up so we can say prayers already!" in a really mean voice.  (I'm more than aware of the irony in that command.)

Finally....the boys were in bed and I kissed them goodnight and as I turned the light off, Ethan said from the top bunk,  "Goodnight, Amy."

I burst out laughing and so did Ethan and Henry and I tried to redeem myself by apologizing and giving them some loves.

Touche'.

Summer Camp 2012!

(Full disclosure: this post has a floppity-jillion pictures.  You might get sick after a while.)

At the end of August, we spent our 4th year at Family Camp in Maine.

There has never been a better vacation for either parent or child.

I talk about it far too much; I'll let the photos do the talking:

A stop at Fenway Park for a Red Sox game the night before we reported to camp.

Mac and Henry thought it was hysterical that they were dressed in red, white, and blue.

I did this a bit.

Landon did this a bit.

Ethan did this A LOT.

Ethan's in the middle in the black rashguard. He was not a fan of the banana.

Face painting day: Henry asked for a beard.

Ethan and Ian making duct tape wallets.

Henry trying a little slack-lining. (Is that what this is called?)

Happy hour sans kids on the beach.

Yummiest profiteroles for dessert.

Casino night included Full Monte for kids.

Henry embroiled in a tense bingo game.

Ethan and I paddle-boarded for the first time.

early morning ping pong

Could you eat every meal right here? Yes. Yes, you could.

Giant Connect 4.

Friends doing pottery.

Ethan doing pottery.

Henry's counselor and a bubble.

Our friend, Ray on the rope swing.

Ethan going mountain biking with his group.

One tired kid.

My husband is practically Robin Hood.

I want to live at Kingsley Pines.

We've already booked 2013.

Wellsville Waterslide 2012

For 3 years now my family has camped at a homemade slip-n-slide near Logan.  The family we rent it from has a sod farm and they made a 400-foot waterslide out of roofing material.  You turn a hose on it and it's 2 days of the cheapest fun ever!
In the video you can see me and my boys going down and my nephew Jeremy is riding backward and filming us on an iPhone (I gotta get that footage from my sister-in-law).
You can also see my older sister Annette (who is in a wheelchair) going down with my little brother Jeff sitting behind her.  Greatest joy of her life.  Brings tears to my eyes watching her face.  I think it brought tears to Jeff and Reed's faces hauling her wheelchair up the dirt hill! They're only good for one ride; it's a lot of work.

Ethan with goggles; he takes it very seriously.

Here's Henry going down backwards.

Here's me; sorry for the cleavage shot.

This is a great little vacation because my kids require no supervision whatsoever.  There's miles of grass and they ride the slide non-stop with their cousins.  Plus it's close and cheap.  Can't ask for more than that.

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
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The End of Summer 2012

I have no big events to talk about, so here's a quick photo re-cap of what the end of summer looks like for the Farmers:

Using up some leftover sparklers in the backyard.  I'm not sure if you can see the actual sparklers in the daylight.  We're nothing if not party animals at the Farmer house.  It gets dark too late to wait for.

A day of science experiments turned out to be pretty fun.  We made our own super balls, inflated a balloon with baking soda and vinegar, had a Diet Coke geyser, and made our own lava lamp in the photo above.

Landon's sister Gretchen came to visit from North Carolina. 

This is Landon, Gretchen and their brother Dana in Logan at their parents' house.

An impromptu visit to visit the Davenports for lunch in Midway.  This is the only photo I took, but the kids and I had a great day with Molly and her kids.

Road trip to Rexburg, Idaho for a Farmer family reunion.

Playing at the park in Rexburg.

A visit to Bear World near Rexburg.

It was cooler than I thought it would be.

This is my dignified mother-in-law playing a Minute-to-Win-It game.  

She's trying to knock over water bottles with the tennis ball in the toe of a nylon.

It nearly made me pee my pants.  Love her for being such a good sport.

A concert at Deer Valley where my friend showed up with two different shoes on.

May have been the highlight of the night for me.  Ah, the life of a mother.  A kid distracted her when she was trying to decide which shoe to wear.

This guy is a rabid fan of Earth Wind and Fire. 

As if it wasn't obvious.

Gorgeous night for a concert.

I finally finished these two quilts I've been piecing for 2 years!

The wedding of a friend's son where the only picture I took was this one of the flowers on the table.

Far too many nights of pancakes for dinner.

Discovering this yummy spread.  We've had it on pretzels, apples, and s'mores.

Delish.  No nutritional value whatsoever.

Taking swimming lessons and learning to dive!!

We also learned freestyle breathing, breast stroke, back stroke, treading water.

I'm no expert but I loved every minute of it.

Visiting Brighton Girls camp while our stake girls were there.

And last weekend we did a one-night camping trip to this 400-foot slip-n-slide with my siblings and parents.  Sorry for the serious cleavage shot.  It's an action photo!  Another post to follow when I can figure out posting a video.

It's awesome.