The Family that Paints together....(faints together?)

Well, obviously I didn't get my weekly post written on Monday morning like I usually do, so just catching up on Tuesday night.  Last week, we had Gabi's and Corbin's kindergarten and preschool  graduations on Wednesday and Thursday.  Sadly I couldn't attend Corbin's, but did sneak away from work to attend the Christa McCauliffe program.  Brad and I really enjoyed the kindergartners rendition of "Silver Falcons", our third time including Rory's and Sophie's.  Gabi was very enthusiastic!

 Friday, all five kids came to the house while Amie was at physical therapy and Carrie working,and their Dad's were out looking for bargains.  They had a great time playing with our next door neighbors, who were having a garage sale. Brad had his therapy session that afternoon, where he remarked several times that "he just couldn't believe that he didn't know the answers to the easiest question".  Jill, his therapist, reminded him that he may have know the answers to various questions BEFORE  he had 25% of his brain removed!  That put things in perspective!  That evening we took the kids to see "Epic", an animated movie about little leaf people.  It was last minute as the Frosts were having their house appraised.  Gabi must've been impressed....we were at Gramma's house on Sunday, where she wanted me to see her creation.

We spent the weekend working at Gramma's house, finishing painting the cabinets in the kitchen, glazing them, tearing out the appliances, grouting the bathroom tiles, and tearing out counter tops and replacing them.  Wow!  Lots of work!  Gramma asked at the end of the day on Saturday if the basement carpet was in. OMG! Little does she realize just how much work goes into renovating.  Curt and Spencer worked so hard (as did Brad, Carrie and I) and the kitchen is really shaping up.

Cabinets after glazing

new sink and counter tops

 The weekend was very warm and Amie took the kids to the opening weekend at the pool.  She reported that Grayson had absolutely no fear of the water (yikes) and jumped fearlessly into the 3' end of the pool.  Thinking back, I don't remember any of the previous six being that brave!

Just an update on my Mom....the movers loaded up her things in Arkansas yesterday, she flew into Denver today, staying with Don and Vicki, then will be at home in her new place Thursday.

We topped off the Memorial weekend making brisket, a new salad, chip and dip and dessert by Amie,  missing the Taylor's.  Elijah was camping with some new friends and then (according to Meredith) went roller skating in Grant and hit on some hot 13 year old! 

Rory left this morning for his school trip to Washington, D.C. ( a 6 day whirlwind of activities) and landed safely around noon.  We look forward to hearing about his adventures.

So, any idea to complete the phrase about the family that paints together?

Just hair for the weekend

 

The weekend has blown by once again, and neither Brad nor I felt like we had one, and  I'm pretty sure the rest of the family feels the same way.  Meredith and the kids arrived from Ogallala Friday night and stayed at Carrie and Spencer's house for the weekend, along with Sarah and the kids, who arrived Saturday night.  That was a house full!  Luckily, their house sold within 6 days of being on the market, so they didn't have the stress of keeping it in "ready to show" condition.  On the other hand, they will need to be out of the house by June 21, and into Gramma's house, which is not exactly in "move in" condition!  Saturday morning, Spencer, Brad and I went to Home Depot to order/select/buy some materials for the renovation project.  With a truck loaded with our purchases, it was time for DIY projects to begin.  The kitchen, (which btw, had not been touched in at least 35 years) will be the first room to be worked on. 

Gotta have some before and after pictures...the after
ones will come later.....
I felt like all of those hours of watching HGTV finally paid off!  Carrie, Meredith and I removed all of the ceramic tiles from the back splash- a job the three of us had always wanted to try!  The stove has been removed, the doors all taken off of the cupboards, degreased and at least one coat of paint has been applied to all of the cabinets.  Spencer
removed the countertop next to the stove (the one with the orange bucket on it) and it didn't exactly pop right off, so it will be interesting to see how difficult it is to remove the longer counter tops.  We purchased some prefab tops to replace them, as well as new floor covering to replace the turquoise "kitchen carpet" which as been there for decades. Eeeewww!  We were all exhausted at the end of the day, but got a laugh at the girls driving Brad's big black van home, wearing their matching yellow shirts, calling their new "company", "Sister Flip S*** Inc."

Sunday morning began with Sarah cutting and coloring (much needed!) my hair as well as cutting Brads.  And by the way, guess who's hair is growing back?  It just started coming in this week!  As the cutting progressed with the rest of the family, Brad and I began cooking for Sunday dinner.  Rory had requested French Dips, so off we went to the store and bought 12 lbs. of roast.  (We did have enough left over for an additional dinner for 2 this week!)  I made crockpot mac-n-cheese and green beans and Meredith made some cookies, but as usual with the Simmons planning, the decision was made to have the meal at Amie and Curt's house, so we boxed it up and hauled it over there while Sarah continued cutting, coloring, foiling etc.  Did I mention how grateful we all are that she is willing to fly out every few weeks?

Love you, Sarah!
 

One of the best things about her visit is the time the cousins have together and it adds two more "grandkids" to the mix!

Great Gramma is amazed at Emi and her I Pad knowledge!

Brothers

Corbin and Trent

Aunt Heather and Grayson

Sophie and Gabi on the I pads



Odin (I feel the same way!)

I am disappointed not to have any pictures of Emma and Elijah, but Emma was sick all weekend and they had to leave Greeley Sunday at 3:00 to get back home.  The did miss out on a huge thunderstorm Satuday night, with cellphone updates from Steven.  I think they were glad to have missed it and happy for the modern technology to know their  Nebraska home was still intact!

A Memorable Mother's Day

Mother's Day.  You never know what the day will bring, especially with our family.  We are not big planners, as you will note after reading about the day.  Carrie made the biggest effort in coming up with a plan by reserving a table in Ft. Collins for a brunch and making appointments for mani/pedis....which, typical of the Simmons plan, the restaurant had no brunch, so we had lunch instead.  But, prior to the restaurant fiasco, I asked Gramma if she would rather go to brunch or have us drop her off for a visit with Doug- of course, the latter was her preference.  Doug (not this family's favorite) currently lives in a super small apartment in the northern part of Ft. Collins, which was accessible only by climbing some stairs to the second floor.  Gramma must have been motivated for that visit to be able to get up and down  the stairs and in and out of the car!  She truly enjoyed her visit, so it was worth the effort.  Carrie and I and Gabi and Sophie stopped at Charmin Charlies after lunch, where I had one of the best Mothers Day moments watching the girls flit around from display to display, trying on accessories.  Gabi announced (in her not so quiet little voice) that she wants to have a "fashion party for her 16th birthday and wear one of those tiaras". They picked out some "BFF" necklaces, reminding me of the years when Meredith and Carrie did the best friends jewelry.  We then headed back to Greeley for our nail appointments, surprising Gramma with her first ever pedicure!  I was a little scared about what was under those stockings, but it was fine and she loved the pedicure, admiring her toes for several hours after we got home.

 Afterwards, I realized we would still have to come up with a plan for Sunday dinner, so Brad and I scrambled in the kitchen while Spencer thawed some steaks and Amie made strawberry shortcake, and came up with a great meal, making a quinoa/veggie salad which (for my first attempt at quinoa) was a big hit.  Gabi came to "help" me with dinner, only to come up (as usual) with her own agenda- making cookies to sell.  She spent about an hour (speaking of motivated) making some peanut butter cookies and then going door-to-door selling them for a quarter apiece. "Cookies for sale, homemade by Gabi", rang through the neighborhood.  Hmmm, now where does she get that??? She had about $7.00 when she finished, giving Corbin and Sophie each $1 for their help.


 Meanwhile, in Nebraska, the Taylor's were taking
their first dip in Lake Mac, where the temperatures were into the 90's.  And, Meredith was enjoying being pampered by Emma with a spa "treatment" (substituting teabags for cucumbers!)

They sent me a great Mother's Day gift from THE store in Ogallala, which I loved! A necklace made from a domino (did she really pick that one on purpose with the 4/3 combo (for 7 grand kids) on the back?) and some camera earrings, as well as a Mother's sentiment necklace.  I tried taking a picture of myself wearing them to send to them...best I could do.

I feel so blessed to have the most amazing family and to have the opportunity to spend my time with them.  They all make me feel special!

Crazy, busy weekend

Wow!  Did we really HAVE a weekend?  It was so much fun, but I wonder why everything always falls at the same time? My guess is that our family just thrives on the stress of over scheduling!  Friday morning, Emma and Elijah arrived to spend the day with us while their Dad worked on their Greeley house (closing later this month).  They wanted to surprise their friends at school with a visit and it was fun to see the reactions of their classmates, crowding around them. They've been missed!

 We decided to have our usual Sunday dinner on Friday instead, so I found myself scrambling to get dinner ready and the house picked up a little.  Yeah, and throw in the fact that I had Corbin and Gabi as well.  The more, the merrier, huh? Anyway, we pulled together a great dinner of brisket (another recipe that we had saved before Brad's illness), some crock pot potatoes, fresh green beans and spicy coleslaw.  We had just enough left over to enjoy on Sunday evening.
Saturday was CRAZY!  We began with our trip to Denver to see Meredith get her Masters degree at Regis University.  It was a beautiful Spring day (having had another snowstorm earlier in the week) and we sat outside for the event.  Wish I'd have thought to put sunscreen on Brad's head....he got burned.....Can't put into words how proud we are of Meredith's accomplishment!

 

 

After the ceremony, we (with rumbling bellies) went to an Italian restaurant that Carrie knew about and feasted on lots of pasta.  Well, you know what pasta does...makes you sleepy.  So, when we got home, it was nap time.  Glad that we took advantage of that, as we needed it to be able to stay up late (11:00) that evening.  The graduates had planned a party at a local Mexican restaurant beginning at 7:00.  We arrived tastefully about a half hour late and the place was mobbed!  No way to get food, drinks or even a seat, so about a dozen of us left and went to the place next door, thinking that we would let the crowds die down, and then go back.  We had drinks and one-of-every-appetizer on the menu, had lots of laughs, then wandered back only to find it still crowded and the buffet line had disappeared.  Carrie said that the best part of the night was hearing Brad laugh!  We all had fun, but I agree, that was the best.

Sunday morning, we got back in the car and went to Ft. Collins to watch Amie complete her first marathon....26 grueling miles.  Ok, I don't get it, and I'm told anyone who isn't a runner feels the same way, but we were super proud of the fact that she finished in a great time.  Really, was it worth the loss of some toenails? 

It really was exciting to see her cross the finish line!



My favorite picture

 Afterwards, we picked up Gramma and met Meredith, Carrie and the kids for lunch before they left to go back to Ogallala.  By the way, although the kids had kind of a rough start at school, (especially Emma) things seem to be going better. We heard some stories of small town living while they were here and found them pretty entertaining.  It's not everywhere one can live and have the natives notice and comment on the amount of trash at your curb!

The Taylor's spent their weekend at Carrie's house, which officially goes on the housing market today!  They plan to move into Gramma's house while they await the construction of their new place.  I don't envy them having to keep their place tidy at all times.....Wishing them the best!