Hailey Turns 16 - Nashville Party Concert

 Kallie and Hailey both turned 16 this year.  Hailey's birthday fell on the day they were traveling for christmas - so Dan and Emily decided to surprise her in Nashville with a night out on the town with dinner, a concert, and nightlife.  They were sweet enough to invite Ben and Kallie to go with them - and Megan and Steve (who had surprised everyone by showing up in Nashville) joined them.  They had a great time and enjoyed being a part of this older group now.

  

Opryland Hotel

Well we made a big mistake.  We decided it would be a fun idea to go to Opryland the day after Thanksgiving.  It was so incredibly crowded and busy!  People everywhere - no masks - COVID still raging.  Even the parking and freeway heading there was insane.  In fact, when we left Opryland, the line for the freeway exit extended MILES in an absolute standstill.  It was nuts!

That being said, Opryland knows how to do Christmas!  It was beautiful and decorated everywhere.  We snuck in a few pictures (again, people and lines everywhere), lost a few kids, had a Xander meltdown then headed home.  All said and done - a swell adventure.

Nick LOVED this water fountain.  He loved it so much he started striping down to hop on in.  We had to convince him to put back on his clothes and shoes - and that we weren't going to go swimming.  Que another meltdown!  Two year olds are the best!

 

Our house is now happy

Ever since we moved into our house we've been making lists of projects we want to do.  On the top of the list was to paint the kitchen cabinets.  I honestly thought it wasn't going to happen, but Christopher and I had a conversation about it and the next thing i knew Ben had taken off all the cupboards...and so we started to prep!  We didn't have any paint or primer purchased yet, but we got the ball going!

Oil based paint is the absolute worst thing to work with - but the internet says it's the best - so we did it.  Two coats...and it was torture.  I hope it actually makes a difference.

You never realize how many door fronts you have until you have to clean, sand, prep and paint them

Finally primer was done and it got everyone so excited to finish it!  And a phone call from my mom saying she was coming to visit...in just a few days. 

Starting to look like a real kitchen again!

These two win the MVP awards.  They took all the faces off - labeled them - cleaned them - sanded them - cleaned again - reinstalled hardware - and put them back up.  I love having bigger kids!

It's still not done - there is a few details left to do - but we love it so much!  As Kallie says, "Our house is now happy".

 

We have a finger sucker!

And as a former finger sucker myself, I'm thrilled!

 

Visiting with Ahma and Joy

Before Ahma and Joy flew back home to Ca, they came down to our house to say goodbye.  It was fun to have some time with them one on one.  We were able to get some super cute pictures and prove a solid point to Christopher.....eating dessert with a fork out of the pan is 100% genetic!  It was so great to see them and get some extra cuddles!

 

Taking Care of Horses

Through our amazing neighbor, Karen, the kids have gotten a job that they LOVE!  We live in a neighborhood with lots of horses.  Horses have owners, and sometimes those owners travel and need someone to care for their animals.  For two weeks or so Ben and Andrew took care of three horses in our neighborhood.  Thanks to Aunt Jan and Nini, my kids are not scared of any animals....and I love that!