Chair Makeover

One of the real bargain buys I feel like we got when Harrison was born was our glider. It was from WalMart, and for a measly $89 you got a padded glider-rocker and a glider ottoman. I was skeptical of the craftsmanship, but I really wanted a glider, and it was all we could afford. It turned out to be a very good buy - the glider still works great, smooth as ever. And the paint job on the wood exterior still looks great. While we had to say goodbye to the ottoman to save some space (598 square feet only go so far with people...), I was hoping that the rocker would be able to stick around for at least the rest of our time here in San Diego.
The fabric cover for the cushions where not looking so hot as of late - and most recently Noah left a marker sitting on the seat cushion leaving a a large yellow mark. In the top photo you can see the rocker as it was last week. The arm cushions were very faded, and the pockets on the side were ripping at the seams. So I decided I would give a go at re-covering it. I found some red canvas at WalMart - a big step up from the very thin denim-looking low-thread count material that preceded it. I only took to the task of covering the arms and the seat, since they looked the most worn, and I wasn't ready to tackle the rest. So after 2 hours of seam ripping, cutting and sewing, voila! A much newer looking rocking chair. And I think it goes nicely with the nautical theme on Noah's side of the room. Maybe someday I'll get around to the back cushion, but for now, I'm am loving the update!

Fun with Dad

On Thursday we made a special trip to pick up Sam from his office. He had a surprise for the boys that was too big to take home on his bike. His lab had recently received a shipment of computer hardware, and there was a lot of Styrofoam packaging that Sam rightly thought would make perfect construction materials for a fort.
The boys and Sam had a blast. First they built a fort in their room. Harrison already has somewhat of a fort in the under-bed area of his room, but with the Styrofoam and some strategically placed blankets it turned into a true cave. Harrison kept asking me to be a monster that they could be hiding from.
After the fun in the room was done, they broke it down and rebuilt a new one outside. I didn't get any pictures of this, but everyone had a ball to say the least. The Styrofoam is gone, but the memories will last for at least the next couple of weeks!

Singing

Here's a couple more videos of Noah's latest singing. It always helps me remember - there are some really cute fun parts about being almost 2!

Good-Night Song

Last night Sam and Harrison were out home teaching, so I got to put Noah down all by himself. He amazed me with his singing! Not that it was in perfect pitch, but he knew so many of the words. I video taped the 2nd round of "I Love to See the Temple" - it wasn't quite as good as the first time, and he was pretty distracted by the image of himself he was watching the whole time - but still so cute!

Bookworms

Lately the boys have really taken to reading books. Noah took the lead on this one. He just loves to sit and flip through pages in book after book after book. We reorganized the books so that they are all stored in baskets, because several times a day Noah will "read" every book on the shelf. He's much better at putting them away into baskets than he was to put them back on the shelf! Harrison has also decided that this is a fun activity, so now when I need to get something done, I declare it book time, and they happily race into their room and start reading. Harrison's under bed area has been turned into the reading corner - we store most of the books there, and there's a nice soft seat for them to share. I think they really started to get into this when it was light enough in the evenings, post bed-time, that they could see well enough to look through books before they went to bed. Now we have started to give them "light-time" after bed time, where we leave the light on so they can look through books before "lights out". I am loving the peaceful moments it's creating in our home! I can only hope it lasts.

First Day of School

Today was Harrison's first day of Preschool. Again. It seems like back when I was a kid, you just did this preschool thing once, but now-a-days...I digress.
He was really exicted today. He could hardly hold still for the camera!
And Noah could sense the excitment as well. He insisted on wearing his backpack around the house, and even wanted to pose in Harrison's picutres. He cried when we dropped Harrison off - I really think he thought he was going to preschool also... Harrison had a wonderful time. I am doing a co-op with some friends, so there are 6 fun little 3-year olds in his class. He came home with some art-work, a page of songs he's been singing, and a collection of leaves. This year his class meets twice a week, so he's very excited that he'll get to go again in a couple days.I was excited that I didn't have to teach the first week like I did last year - I am looking forward to my chance to teach, but I am also excited that I get to sit back and watch for a couple weeks this year. And Linn must have done a good job wearing them out, because he fell asleep on the floor shortly after we got home!

Summer's Over?

Maybe if you have kids in school.... I took advantage of the fact that Harrison's preschool doesn't start until next week and took the kids to some of our favorite touristy places in San Diego. I figured everyone would be busy getting back to school (school starts in San Diego the day after Labor Day) and places would be pretty deserted. I was right. On Tuesday I took the boys to the Fleet Science Center and the Museum on Natural History (or Dinosaur Museum as it is known by in our home). On Wednesday I was glad it cooled down enough to make a visit to Sea World comfortable. Thursday we took a break and I went to the Cannery with the ward. Friday we went to the beach, and Saturday we went to the beach again, this time Sam got to come. I was right. Places were deserted and it was great! There are some advantages to not having kids in school yet! Here's some pictures to document the fun!

Harrison and Noah Digging for Dinosaurs in the Fleet Science Center.


Perhaps the most enthralling thing for the boys at the museum - Harrison and Noah themselves!

Fun in Kid City - everything their size!

They both love jumping!

They also both really enjoy the beach now!

Gotta love beautiful San Diego!


The bird lurking in this picture actually snatched Harrison's sandwich right out of his hand!

Harrison spent the rest of lunch fighting off the hungry birds. Note rake in air, and bird flying away...