I finished a big project and had to tell someone. About 15 years ago Anette and I bought an unfinished wood kitchen table, eight chairs and four barstools. We finished the top of the table and and the seats of the chairs in a cherry stain and painted the legs and backs blue. After the blue, at one point the table and chairs were partially repainted with cream-colored legs and backs. After raising four children and starting on some grandchildren, the old set needed a new look. Jenine had done some stuff Anette really liked, so we decided to copy some of her style. She uses lots of French words on her stuff. So we decided to use Icelandic instead, because it is unique. We had to remove most of the old finish, which was a major undertaking–especially on the chairs because of all the spindles and round areas. We literally worked on it all of last summer with Anette doing the majority of the sanding. We had a goal to finish the project before Creed got home from his mission in November and before the holidays. We made it, but just barely. Literally within a week after finishing, I was at DI and found another table with the exact same style. Since we are always short of table space at big family gatherings like Thanksgiving, I called Anette and asked me if she wanted me to get it. She said to go for it. At the time, I could not bear the thought of another refinishing project so soon. So the table sat on my deck until a couple weeks ago. Yesterday I finished the last coat of polyurethane so the project is officially complete. The original table has two leaves that extend it so it can actually seat 12 people. The second table does not have any leaves. I also added two high-backed stools in the process because we needed more seating for younger children. I didn’t take any before pictures, but I got a shot of Jed helping me sand the table top.

We just got back from Memorial Day weekend in Wyoming. We had a great time, even though things did not go as planned. We arrived in Cody Friday night in a snowstorm. We woke up Saturday to three inches of snow on the ground. The snow only lasted a day, but the rain and cold never really left. Las Vegas Laila got to make her first snowman. Jenine and Laila came with us because they had never been to visit Jake and Lindsay at their home. We wanted to visit Yellowstone, but the snowstorm closed the park. Jake arranged for extra horses so we could all go riding in the mountains, but that did not materialize because of the crappy weather. We mostly stayed indoors and played with the children. We celebrated Katie's 7th birthday and Brystol's 1st. We did manage a short, rainy, but successful fishing trip, a ride to see some wild horses and some horse riding around the house during the non-rainy periods. Anette tried to get her picture with all of the kids. She was kind of successful.

Lindsay did a wonderful job of keeping us all fed and warm. It's too bad it is such a long drive, because we would sure love to visit there more often. I should mention that during the drive, someone was telling Laila the story of the three little pigs. When it got to the part where the wolf was knocking at the door, Laila said: "Is it a ghost pirate?"

Seattle Trip

I just got back from a business trip to Seattle.  I visited with Carolyn's brother David and his wife for the weekend, then had some meetings with Boeing.  Seattle is a beautiful city, but very crowded and busy.  We rode a ferry across the sound and the scenery was beautiful.

Here are some pictures from Carolyn's time out west for her Dad's funeral.

Downtown Springfield

Here are a couple of pictures from downtown Springfield.  The statue is of the man who was the Wright Brother's patent attorney, who was a prominent Springfield citizen.  The weather is more like May or June than March right now, with temperatures in the 70's for several days.  There have been more people looking at our house in Madison, but still no offers.

Brithday, grandkids and grandparents

We had a house full this weekend. Jake and Lindsay came down from Wyoming. It was amazing to see how much Brystol has grown. She can stand up on her own and walk along holding onto things. I would guess she will be walking on her own in a couple of weeks.

We celebrated Grey's birthday on Saturday and Mom and Dad came down from Smithfield. We also have Anette's parents renting the house next door right now. Her dad fell a few weeks ago and needed to be closer to someone for recuperation.

Our new (Temporary) home

Here is the front of our apartment.  We are on the left.  It is small, but should work for our needs for a time.  We are unpacked now, except for all the stuff in the garage, which will stay there until we move again.  We've already noticed several things that are buried in the garage, so we will probably have to unpack it and find some things at a future time-- but right now it is very cold and snowy, so it won't be for a while.  Mariana is getting caught up pretty quickly in her new school.  She is happy to have two choir classes and an art class.