Our Latest Project!!

So we have been working on a home improvement project and we think we are finally finished. When we bought our house, it came with a lovely black/DARK brown lava rock fireplace. Well, we knew we didn't like how dark it was and discussed changing it. We did like the blue tile hearth but what should we do with the rest??? We tried to find ideas on the internet, but only found ideas on tearing out your old fireplace and completely redoing it. Not really what we wanted to do. So we heard of a family who painted their rock fireplace we went and took a look and decided we were absolutely 100% sure that is what we wanted to do to ours. So the next time we were at the house we mixed together some cheap leftover paint (it turned out kind of blue) and we started slapping paint on that big black sore in our front room. WE figured it would soak up a lot of paint but it wasn't until we actually started painting that we realized that we were going to be there a long time because that lava rock was soaking up sooooo much paint in every little hole and just not working like we wanted. So brilliant Sam took the Spackling Paste and started filling in holes and before we knew it we were on to a great plan. We started by filling in those little holes using spackling and lots of water to thin it down. Needless to say we didn't finish before moving in because by then we were sick of painting and the lava rock was beastly to our little hands that were trying to fill in little holes.......................So the project has been patiently waiting for us for six months. Looking like our little collection of fluffy white clouds.

Then just two weeks ago, Arlene came to our rescue and we once again began the process to finish the black beast. That first day we finished spackling......it ONLY took 5 1/2 quarts of spackling to cover that beast. Here it is all white with splackling. Wow isn't that even a great improvement. Way better than black but we didn't really want it just white. So a couple of days later we began to add the colors we wanted. We picked a grout color and a bass color that would go together with our walls and all the colors and each other. Then we painted all the grout lines first. Then we started painting on each rock with the bass color and then we sponged in some other colors to add a more natural look to the rocks. (blues, reds, brown, golds, and grays) We finished it about half way and had to take one more day to finish the not-so-black-any-more beast. We finished last Friday and we have just been observing our new neutral fireplace in all the different possibilities of light and looking for anything we don't like and I think that we have got a new fireplace that we can enjoy for years to come. Thank you to the amazing ARLENE who has such artisic capabilities and truly knew how to bring out the beauty in each rock. Thank you for teaching me and helping me be brave. Now we need a nice mantle like Arlene, don't we?? We love our new fireplace and the kids love that they now have a stage. Let us know what you think of our BEFORE and AFTER!!! Success or not so success???

Nacho Libre

The reasons Jack Black in Nacho Libre sent me gasping for air as I was laughing so hard:

1- It is set in Oaxaca Mexico. Many of the little amusing things about Mexican culture (that I grew to love) were captured and used correctly to make this screaming funny.

2- It knows it is pure silliness, and stays on that road the whole movie. It doesn't try to make some ethical point, or pull some moral out of the story.

3- The butchered Mexican accents used by many of the main cast.

This movie didn't just hit my funny bone, it struck it with such amazing force, I literally had to pause it in order for my wife to be able to hear it, as I was laughing so loud. My sides hurt.

Some of the best quotes/moments:

"Be grateful Juan Pablo, today is especially delicious."

"Are you aware that I have had diarrhea since Easters?"

“So anyways, let’s get down to the nitty gritty.”

No swear words, no sexual content, just good, clean, 13 year old fun.

I loved it.

Our little miss smarty pants

Tonight while we were reading scriptures, we were talking about Jesus visiting America, as well as living in the middle east. "A" promplty replied, "And He is going to come visit us too." And we told her that He will, we don't know when, but He will. Then she asked, "How will He get here if He doesn't have a car?" We said, "He knows how to get here, and He will get here." She said, "Like will He walk on the side walk?" "Ya, maybe He will walk on the side walk dear."

She was then asking why people were mean to Him and cut him(we were talking about His hands and feet). We explained that some people didn't love Jesus and weren't nice to Him. She then said, "Well, I love Jesus, and He loves me. He loves all the children, He loves everyone. You, and you, and you, and me." "Yes dear, He loves everyone."

Where does she get all this? Well, we know, but it is so amazing that it is all in there and she just spurts it out some times.

She is so precious we just love her to peices. We talk after we have little moments like that with her and just think, she is so smart, she is going to pass us by here pretty quick, and she is only 3. We are so lucky to have such chosen little spritis come into our homes and bless us and teach us. Yes, it is discouraging at times, as she can be very determined with a lot of things, but we try to love her and guide her to choose the right. We just love her.

She lives with us, and nobody else, so neener neener!

Halloween!

Halloween this year was very fun........we had some fun halloween tights from grandma that we had to use on sunday.....this was our sunday before Halloween attire....cute tights huh?? (Ashtyn's has black cats)........Then we also had soem fun halloween outfits to wear this time of year near halloween.....look at little Ashtyn strut her stuff....Pretty cute.....and for halloween we had a kitty cat(including a tail to match the ears that you cannot see) and a ladybug at our house. Aren't they adorable.......I can't help how cute I think they are. The girls loved their costumes and we really had fun watching them have so much excitiment to get dressed up and enjoy being dressed up. We had a fun family party at our house on Monday night. We had fhe and then we played a few games and ate good chips and dip and decorated cupcakes.....that was our mummy game we played (Ashtyn is on the left and Owen on the right along with their wrappers)it was great!! It was really cold last night so we just took the girls to the mall and did trick or treating there. Most of the business were handing out candy...it was fun but a little busier than we would have liked. The girls went right along though....they kept getting candy every couple of steps and Ashtyn was like dazed and kept running into things and Hailey was just like wow all I have to do is hold up this bucket and I keep getting treats. Then we stopped by both the grandmas to trick or treat. Of course that was the girls fav.......not because they got the most candy there but because they love their grandparents!!! he he

Catching up!!

Ok, so I have been down and out for almost a week with a cold/flu. I feel like I am totally out of the loop and am now going to spend the next week catching up. We are doing great now but there are some things that I missed sharing. First of all Ashtyn got to go on her first field trip with her preschool. Her preschool is going great by the way. She loves it and loves the kids. It is working out really well to trade off weeks. I finally had my turn to teach last week. I was the last of six to teach. It was great. I did the lesson on the five senses and we had a little thing that we did with each sense and then we also learned about the letter F. We did a fun textured craft and the kids got to show off their show and tell. The kids are really good together, they do like to copy obnoxious behavior I noticed. If one kids starts something and another likes it, they are all doing it within seconds. Pretty funny!

Anyways, back to the field trip. They took their trip out to an Apple farm in Greenbluff, just twenty minutes north of Spokane. First they were taught about the trees and how they grow and that they need bees and blossums and then the apples comes. They let them try applebutter, and an apple slice. Then we got on a trailer with benches and rode out to the orchard. Then we were taught about golden and red delicious apples and then we got to pick our very own apple. Then we went to the cider house and they told them how they make the apples into cider and then they got to try some cider. And at the very end they got to pick a pumpkin out of the pumpkin patch. Ashtyn loved it as well as all the other kids and the adults too. They even had a few bonus things that you could do afterwards, feed the two goats a handfull of food and they had a little play area blocked off and their gravel/bark was dried peas instead. They had all of these digging toys and they just climbed in and played for a while. It was the perfect fieldtrip.

The next day, we headed back up to Greenbluff with Grandma and Grandpa McComas and Carson and Jess and fam. We first went to a cute little store that also sold some lunch food. We bought some hot dogs and the best slice of apple pie ala mode we have had in a while. Then we headed to the Knapp farm where we each picked out the perfect pumpkin and then we headed over to watch the pumpkin cannon. The pumpkin cannon is a huge pipe that launches a pumpkin out and up into the sky and sends it hurling towards another field with a target about 1/2 a mile away. They also had a huge stack of hay that you could watch the pumkin being launched from and then turn around and jump off the back into a big soft pile of hay. And they also had a little stray maze that you could walk through. The kids loved it. To top it off the kids got to pet a pony and we looked at all the different kinds of squash. It was another great trip to Greenbluff.

We have also been busy bees around the house. Sam has been putting plastic on the windows to keep us warmer. And making holes in the walls for me so I could hang up a few things(it has only taken us six months to do that). Plus Sam raked leaves and we had our first fire upstairs last night. I have been slow to comply but Sam has finally reassured me and made promises a million times that I finally gave in and told him to start a fire. It was really nice. I am just a poop I guess. I really love doing the fire thing outside but something about having it inside my house just made me really scared. It must be a first home owner thing!! We have also been getting to know people better in our ward this month. We have so far had a New Comers Social, an Elders Quorum activity, a stake dance, a Pack Meeting/Scout of Honor and a ward activity. Whoosh! WE loved it all. We got to know people better, carve a pumpkin, dance away the night together, eat dirt and worms(gummies and mashed oreos) and have fun seeing all the kids in cute costumes for Halloween. We are doing Great and are having fun while we are at it!!

Makes me laugh still...

Best quote from The Office thus far this season:

"His cap was de-tated, c'mon people!"

3 yr old!!

A. and I spent 1 hour last night, from about 830 to 930 simply getting her ready for bed, including only the simple tasks of brushing her teeth, and going potty. She was battling with me about every little thing. She wouldn't open her mouth for the toothbrush, she wouldn't pull down her pants so she could sit on the potty, she wouldn't wash her hands, she wouldn't put her pants back on after going potty. She wanted to prove to me that she didn't have to do it. YET, she did have to. I am in charge here, aren't I? Between time outs, screaming fits, and crying, we had a great little hour before bed. As soon as we finally got done, she wanted to read books and go right to bed, all smiles.

Ashtyn's new bed!

There is always a long to do list at the McComas house. Especially since buying our home. Well, one of the things we can finally cross off the list. We acquired a bed for Ashtyn when we moved and so far she has just been sleeping on the frame and mattresses. But we finally got her bed painted and put together and she was pretty excited. It fits in perfect with her bedroom and she loves it. She was so excited she just kept hugging Sam and I and saying Thank you over and over again. It was pretty fun to make her day!!

Our Cutie Pies!

This is simply an entry to show off some or our most recent pictures that we think are pretty cute. Sisters-they sure are cute together. We are so glad that they have each other. They love playing together and I am so glad that they love each other so much. The other day I was driving to run an errand and all the sudden both of the girls just started laughing. I still don't know what it was that gave them the giggles but I loved it. I loved that they were making each other laugh and be so happy. These are some more of Hailey's cute faces. One night she just kept making funny face after funny face and it so happened Sam had the camera and he caught a bunch of them. We were all laughing so hard, because she just kept making silly faces. We have about ten different pictures each with her making a different face. This is our fav, she wasn't really making a face but it was all in sequence with the other funny ones. All we can say is we love our little Hailey May. This dress up picture was fun. Ashtyn was getting all dressed up in a leotard and princess shoes and gathering her purse, well Hailey didn't want to be left out so she came toddling out to me with this pink dress that's super long and notice the cute cinderella slippers on her feet she requested those too. We love it when they dress up. Isn't that the cutest hat you've ever seen. Some of you might remember a similar picture taken about twenty five years ago. The picture was of a cute little boy with a box on his head. My little Ashtyn is so creative and loves to be silly. She requested I take a picture of her, and as soon as I saw her I knew I had too. Especially since someday we can show the two pictures side by side and get a great laugh. In this one, I could hear them laughing and when I got in there they were both in this tupperware box pretending to drive a car. What big eyes and pinchable cheeks you have my dear!! We sure do love Our Cutie Pies, Ashtyn Marie and Hailey May!!

Our Special Picnic!

So the other day I was taking Ashtyn to preschool and we were driving on the same road that we take to go to the temple. Ashtyn realized this and said, "Mom, I want to go to the temple, can we go to the temple?" I told her she needed to go to school first but when I picked her up from school that we would go. So a couple of hours later, I picked her up and we went and drove past the temple. She then said, "Mom I want to go in the temple." So I explained to her that someday soon she would be able to go, but for now that we just needed to enjoy being by it. I told her we could walk around it and maybe on a nice day we could go and have a picnic by the temple. Then she said, "Mom I want to have a picnic by the temple right now." Well, we weren't ready that day and had to head home, but I was so impressed by her desire to be by the temple that the next day I planned a picnic by the temple. I packed our lunch and we headed to the temple. It was wonderful to sit there on our blanket looking at the temple and being together. We did encounter the sprinklers, which tried to ruin our picnic but instead just made it funny. It was just a neat day for us to enjoy each other and the wonderous blessings of being so close to a temple.

I love to see the temple.
I'm going there someday,
To feel the Holy Spirit,
To listen and to pray.

For the temple
Is a House of God.
A place of love and beauty.
I'll prepare myself while I am young.
This is my sacred duty.

I love to see the temple.
I'll go inside someday.
I'll covenant with my father.
I'll promise to obey.

For the temple
Is a holy place,
Where we are sealed together.
As a child of God I've learned this truth,
A FAMILY IS FOREVER!

My Birthday!

My birthday was fabulous! First of all we always have the birthday persons favorite dinner for dinner. Well, I heard that Red Lobster was having their all you can eat shrimpfest going on and so I decided that was going to be my dinner this year. We went out about a week before my birthday because of Sam's work and our busy weekend before my birthday. It was SOOOOO good. We loved every delicious bite and so did the girls. I even got a little ice cream chocolate sundae with a candle. It was great. Then the saturday before my birthday my mom and brother came over and celebrated with me around our firepit in the backyard. We ended with enjoying some ice cream cake in the house. Then on my actual birthday my family treated me like royalty. First, I was sang to at 6:30 in the morning before Sam took off to work. Then after I got up I found a little bit of one gift in the bathroom and another little bit of the same gift in the kitchen. Sam got me the neatest little stones. They are called Compliment Stones, and each little stone says something positive. They came in a box and the box says, "Here's a prescription for a good day-take one of these, or maybe even two, every morning. This bag of upbeat affirmations was sent to you to let you know how wonderful you are. So go ahead and set the world on fire, because you look fabulous!" Isn't that great. It really made me feel good. I know sometimes I am hard on myself so that really gave me an upbeat feeling. So far I have received three stones and I know there are more to come. I love them, they say neat things and they feel good to hold and rub in my hands. They also come in a cozy pefect little bag. Just a very neat gift. Also, my family tradition growing up was to go in just before or just after the birthday person was awake and sing Happy Birthday. So I had early morning calls from both my sister and mom. Then the girls and I went to the library for toddler reading time and after that we went to the park. When Sam got home we ate dinner, opened presents (another one of my bestest gifts was getting an internal home vacuum system, thanks honey) and once again indulged ourselves with the ice cream blizzard cake. Yummo!! Then Sams parents came over and we had a good visit. I had a super duper birthday! Thank you family!

School Days

I just wanted to share some pictures of Ashtyn's first days of school. She had her first day of school on Sept. 14. I am in a group with six moms and six kids. We have school every thursday from 9:15-11:15. And we rotate which house and who teaches every week. It is great. There are three boys and three girls.(First Day-just before we left to go to school) So it works out pretty good. And I love all of the moms in the group. We all go out once a month together and have a "Girls Nite Out" which usually consists of going out to dinner so we can all just sit there and talk. So one of the moms dedided she wanted to do it and so she started talking around and asking other moms that had three year old kids, that weren't already in a group, if they wanted to form a group. I was just going to work with Ashtyn on my own but she asked me if I wanted to do it so I said I would think about it and I decided why not. So it ended up that there were six moms in our group that weren't already in a group and so we now have a preschool group. Two of the kids are two but will be three shortly. Ashtyn has loved every second of it. I knew that she would. Before this she was already talking about when she would be big enough to go to school and ride the bus and all that fun stuff. The schedule is set up so that they have an hour of playing, twenty minutes of lesson time, fifteen minutes for a snack, fifteen minutes for a craft, and then whatever time is left we can do show and tell, singing time, and reading time. Then we made up a schedule so that they are learning a new letter or number each time and also another little subject: bugs, music, colors, shapes, birthdays, holidays, etc. We even have five field trips on the schedule: fire station, Krispy Kremes, Greenbluff, Bowling, and Manito Park. I think it will really be a great start for Ashtyn. There are going to be some really fun things that we are doing. And I am excited for her to be with good people too.

The Fair!

We went to the Spokane fair this year. It was lots of fun. We love to walk around and show the girls all the fun animals and tractors. They loved it, especially Hailey. Her little expressions everytime she saw a different animal she would just get so excited. We saw pigs, horses, cows, llamas, sheep, rabbits, ducks, geese, snakes, chickens, little baby chics (SO CUTE), bees, and goats. Of course almost all of those there were mamas and babies. Then we watched a lumberjack show which was fun to see. They had four men that competed against each other. Dressed to play the part, they chopped logs, sawed logs (with old two handed saw and electric chainsaw), they also log rolled for real in a big pool, they threw axes at targets, and climbed a tree and cut down a chunk off the top. We really all enjoyed watching it. They also had a little part where one of the men (just for fun) took a chainsaw and cut out of a big chunk of log a chair. He only used a chainsaw and he knew just where to cut to make four legs and then a tall back. It was cool. One of the best parts of a fair is the food. We had the best corndogs ever. Hot, crunchy, delicious. We were glad we could go and enjoy it this year!!

Sewer Fun!

All of the houses in our neighborhood are all currently on sceptic tank and now the city is busy putting in sewer lines that we will eventually have to pay to hook up to. Sounds like great fun right. Everybody loves unexpected money withdrawal, and it doesn't always go to what you would really like the most. Our road has been a dirt road for about a month now. And so far we are enjoying watching the tractors, especially the girls. First some big trucks came in and tore out the pavement. It is amazing how fast they can crunch it all up. Then they were in here measuring things and putting sticks in our yards to mark all the gas lines and such. Then they came in with humongous tractors and dug a big hole to put the pipes and concrete tubes down the center of the road. Then they covered that all up and then a couple of days later they came back and rolled up grass in a big square in our front yard and came and re-dug another big hole that went from the middle of our front yard to the pipe in the middle of the road. Then they covered that all up and rolled the grass back down. They have to do tests and make sure all the pipes are working correctly and that it all passes inspection. And now we are waiting for them to put a new concrete curb and fix up the rest of the edge of our lawn. Then they will pave our road and then in a little while we will have to pay to come have someone dig up our yard again and hook our house up to the sewer and get rid of the sceptic issue. Great fun!! It truly has been fun to watch the process even though it has also been a pain. The girls have been fascinated with each and everylittle truck. I think the most annoying was the roller that comes and flattens all the dirt back out. It vibrates and jiggles our house so much I tought I was going to loose my mind from trembling. I guess it will probably be a better system when we are all said and done, just need money right!!