Project: Kitchen

Kreg spent all of last week up in the mountains bow hunting... those of you who know me know I am pretty attached to my hubby!  I can handle a day or two of him camping or fishing or hunting or gone on business or gone on pleasure... but, once I hit that two or three day mark, I start to fall apart.  And this time, Westin started falling apart even before I did.  He is VERY attached to his daddy! 

Well, when I find myself in a "mini-crisis" of any sort, my solution is generally to find a project.  I am very good at losing myself in a project.  I decided to tackle the kitchen last week.  It needed what I have been calling a "grown-up" look.  Here is the progression my kitchen has made since I have known it:

This is what it looked like when we first bought it.  I'm not a white-wall person :)

So, this was the solution :) As much as I love orange, this was not the orange I was hoping for, and it was just a little too much!

Here's what it looks like now: I think I'm finally pleased!

 

Whew! Let me tell you... had I any clue what I was getting myself into re-finishing cabinets, I probably would have chosen a different project :).  But, I am so very pleased with the results!  This is a very good thing because I do not intend to tackle cabinets again any time in the near future.  Kreg got home and was very impressed! 

I also got out my fall decor-- which seemed a little odd because it is still nearly 90 here in Colorado Springs almost every day.  I don't ever remember having such a hot fall here!  Knowing Colorado, we will probably go straight from summer to winter once October hits.  Time will tell.  Anyway, I have been wanting a fall wreath for my door.  I went out looking, hoping to spend about $20.  HA! The cheapest (nice looking) wreaths I was finding were on sale for $50.  Sooo, $16.00 later, I came out of Hobby Lobby with the supplies for this: 

and I had so much fun!  I really am loving having some extra time on my hands to be creative.  Over the past 5 or 6 years I nearly forgot about my creative side!  Thank you again, Kreg, for working hard for our family so I can be a housewife! I love you so very much and am thankful for the past week that we spent apart.  It reminded me of how very blessed Westin & I are to have what we have in you.  We are blessed beyond measure!

Balloons, Snacks, and Rashes-- Oh, My!

I love being a mom!  Have I mentioned that lately? Because I really do. Nothing has ever been more challenging or more rewarding, and I have a pretty good feeling nothing else ever will be.  So, I am enjoying the day-to-day.  Which is never, ever boring! Kreg and my Dad spent labor day weekend in the mountains bow hunting... we're hoping to get some good meat in the freezer this year!  While they were gone, Westin & I spent most of the weekend with my mom.  We took Westin to the Colorado Balloon Classic, which I haven't been to in years.  It's a HUGE hot air balloon festival.  We got up early Monday morning and drove down to Memorial Park to watch all the balloons lift off.  When we got down there, however, we found out that even though it was a beautiful, clear morning, they expected the wind to pick up and hinder the balloons from landing, so they did not even lift off.  They just blew them up so we could look.  I was disappointed at first, but Westin wasn't.  He loved it, so I did too. Unfortunately, the best picture I got of him that day was this one:

On a side note, Westin's appetite has like... quadrupled in the past month.  He is constantly grabbing my hand and taking me to the fridge saying "nack, nack!" I want to feed him healthy snacks, but buying healthy food is so expensive! So, my solution has been to buy healthy fruits and basic ingredients and do lots of cooking!  I have really enjoyed making yummy, healthy snacks... the biggest hits so far have been granola bars and pretzels.  

Also new this month-- a lovely rash that has appeared around Westin's mouth that doesn't seem to want to go away.  I have scrolled through just about every nasty child rash picture on the internet and in my baby books (not recommended for those with weak stomachs) and tried every basic, natural solution I can think of for the poor guy. Some days it looks better than others, but I can't pin-point anything we're doing differently to make it better. It doesn't seem to bother him and he has no other symptoms so I suppose it will be fine until his check up next month.  I'm posting a picture (look out!) in case any of you wonderful mom's/grandma's/great-grandma's recognize this lovely outbreak.  As always, I am open to suggestions! (as you can see, it hasn't affected his infectious smile!) 

And, on that note, I think you're caught up-to-speed with the Kell household!

Wordless: Sunshine

Today's Harvest

It absolutely amazes me how I am constantly learning new things about myself!  I have discovered this summer that I love gardening.  I get such a wonderful sense of satisfaction watching things grow! Maybe that's why I love being a mom so much :)

Today I picked these from my herb & veggie garden.  

And I marveled at my pretty columbine & mini roses.

And I thanked God for the rain that fell this afternoon. He is so mighty.

This past weekend, Kreg & Westin & I took a little two hour drive up to Breckenridge to see Kreg's aunt Karla & her husband Randy and daughter Alissa who were up here vacationing.  We had such a great time! It was great to see them and to spend a little time in Breck... 

Karla & Randy had a great condo just off of downtown and backing up to a ski lift.  Pretty ideal! We met them there and then walked into town for lunch at a great grill that had a patio overlooking the river.  The weather was perfect! I think it was just about 68 degrees, which was awesome.  

After lunch, we rode the gondola to take us up to one of the ski villages... I can't remember exactly where we ended up but we rode a ski left up to the very top of the mountain which was TERRIFYING.  Not that I'm afraid of heights... but we had our 14-month-old son on our lap (who loved every moment, of course) and I KNOW his tendency to wiggle and squirm.  Thankfully, we made it up and down with no children falling off the lift.  And it was beautiful :)

We also got to walk the shops and eat some homemade ice cream.  It was a great day!
We are constantly reminded of how blessed we are to live in such a beautiful part of this country! We get so caught up in our day-to-day routine that we forget we're only a short drive from places people travel miles and days to see. We are determined to take better advantage of our location! 

On a side note, my friend Valerie, has asked me to write for her site The Village of Moms. If you haven't checked it out moms, you really must! She has great reviews and giveaways, as well as great articles from various moms on various topics.  I'm so honored to be asked to write... I'm feeling very inadequate because I don't feel I have much to offer in the way of advice!  She's been great, though, and told me to start off writing about something I feel very comfortable with-- photography. SO-- look for my posts on the third Monday of each month if you're interested! I'm praying that I will have positive things to say that will be encouraging and uplifting to the moms who visit Valerie's site. 

All in One Piece

I made it! All the dogs, all the houses, the business, and the children stayed in one piece while my parents were gone.  I'm counting that a success! We even snuck some fun in! We saw the Sorcerer's Apprentice, which I really enjoyed! My brother had been wanting to see it so he and Kreg and Westin & I all saw it Sunday afternoon-- I was so impressed that we didn't have to take Westin out once through the whole show.  I was prepared to miss half of it, but he did great! We also made a trip to Chuck-E-Cheese, had a Pizza Picnic Pepsi Party at the Park (a family tradition!), took Drake out to Panda Express (his favorite) for his birthday and had a little birthday party later that evening. 

One of my new favorite things is marshmallow rolled fondant.  I've discovered this year that it is so easy to make, so easy to use, and makes really fun-looking cakes! I've had a few opportunities to try it out these past few months and I'm just having too much fun.  I have a lot to learn but I think I'm getting the hang of it :) Here's the funky tower I made for Drake this week:

In case you would like to try it out, here's the way-to-easy recipe:

16 ounces white mini-marshmallows

2 to 5 tablespoons water
2 pounds powdered sugar

1/2 cup shortening

Melt marshmallows and 2 tablespoons of water in the microwave: Put the bowl in the microwave for 30 seconds, open microwave and stir, back in microwave for 30 seconds more, open microwave and stir again, and continue doing this until melted. It usually takes about 2 1/2 minutes total. Place 3/4 of the powdered sugar on the top of the melted marshmallow mix. Now grease your hands GENEROUSLY, then heavily grease the counter you will be using and dump the bowl of marshmallow/sugar mixture in the middle. Start kneading like you would bread dough. You will immediately see why you have greased your hands.  Keep kneading, this stuff is sticky! Add the rest of the powdered sugar and knead some more. Re-grease your hands and counter when the fondant starts sticking. If the mix is tearing easily, it is to dry, so add water (about 1/2 tablespoon at a time and then knead it in). 

Speaking of recipes, I HAVE to note that Mamaw's cook book, "Recipes: for body and Soul" has been published and you can now purchase it!  Obviously, it's a must-have :) Here's a link to purchase it off of Amazon Recipes: for body and soul. We are SO proud of you, Mamaw!

Summer Fun

Summer is getting away from me! Which part of me feels is fine, due to the lack of air conditioning in my house... but part of me wants to do so much more summer stuff with Westin before Colorado gets cold again! The past few weeks have been so busy... I won't bore you with THOSE details, but we have managed to squeeze some fun in. 

Westin attended his first birthday party this month! Happy Birthday to Jameson & Channing! I got this adorable shot:

We also made it to Water World-- Westin LOVED the water slides! I figured he would enjoy the kiddie pools the best, but no, no... he wanted to get the big inner-tubes and go 

down all the big, scary rides! We had a great time-- we were able to go with my sisters, my mom, my brother, and my aunt & uncle and their four kids.  

I was sad that Kreg couldn't join us for water world, so the next weekend we made a family trip to Wilson Ranch pool-- there are not many public pools in Colorado Springs, so it was very busy! Westin again, had fun though and got to try out his new floatie! 

My parents and my sisters are headed to Vienna, Austria next week! I'm so excited for them and can't help but be a little jealous!  I will stay extra busy, however, because I will be in charge of three houses, nine dogs, and two little boys (one of which is about to turn 14 and not that "little"...) it will be an adventure!