Blue....blue....and more blue....

Being the creative decorators that we are.........if we paint a bedroom in our house...........it is either blue......or another shade of blue.......or a different shade of blue! We finally painted the master bedroom this last weekend. It was a pretty awful light lime/sage green color with a black chair rail. We now have an ocean blue (looks lighter in the pictures) above the now white chair rail and sand color below. Yes - we went with an ocean theme. Don't know that it really looks like the ocean - but it does have a nautical feel.

Here is a "before" picture of the attractive green tone -

And another "before" pic looking towards the master bath.

Some more "after" shots. We are pretty happy with the way it turned out - although it was a lot of work. Several hours of taping and prep work before I even opened the paint can!

Here is the view toward the bath.

I have had a request for other pics of the house after we moved in. Finally got around to posting some. Here are some before and after shots of Levi's room. Here is the "princess" room before we got it "boy" ready. It was lavendar and green with flowers and butterflies.

Here is Levi's room now. We decorated with the theme that was previously Jacob's - since Levi is much more into cars and trucks than Jacob ever was. We have a twin bed ready for him when he is ready for his "big boy" bed - although we are perfectly content for him to be in his crib for a year or more :)

Currently, his bookcase is in his closet since we have a bit less wall space with 2 beds in his room.

He has a great angled wall as you walk in - that fit his name perfectly. It is all boy!

Jacob's room was the original white when we moved in - pretty boring.

So - we painted it.....too.......blue of course............what else would we choose!

We originally had his name a different direction - but the door usually cut it off - so it is vertical now. Also - it is a bit harder to find transformer room pics and other decorations - so his isn't quite as filled with the theme. But - that is OK - he will probably change what he likes soon :)

Here is the dining/living room combo. It doesn't get much use - Jacob sometimes hangs out in the living room during rest time.

This is the family room. It fit our oversized couches well - that was nice. It is filled with lots of colorful toys most of the time - scattered about.

This is looking towards the dining/living room and front door from the family room.

View of the kitchen and nook.

Here is the kitchen nook. We are trying to figure out how to cut out the echo/way the noise carries. With two boys that have one volume (loud) - it makes meal time a bit loud at times. Not sure if a rug - or curtains would help absorb some of the sound.

Spare bath downstairs - just went with the red and made it a patriotic theme. Jacob likes to give tours of the house - and let everyone know there are cobwebs in that shower. Needless to say - we don't use it too often. What other secrets is he revealing!?!

Spare room - with the patriotic theme continued. We want to paint the room - it is a stark white. But - what color should we choose? Not sure we could ever choose anything besides blue..............hmmmm............a nice shade of blue might look good......................;D

We have also been making some changes to the backyard. I will work on getting some pictures of it posted too. We love our home - and feel very fortunate that God blessed us with it :)

Lake Tahoe - July 2009

Our family went to Lake Tahoe again this year - North Shore - for the last week of July. The weather was perfect - nice - not too warm or cold. This is our family photo - Guy had shirts made for us - Jackie was overjoyed to wear hers :)

This is the house we stayed at for the week - a 6 bedroom, 4 bathroom, 2 story, with a super large deck and 2 master bedrooms. It was a nice home - and fit all 13 of us well.

Mom and Dad - and Guy and Jackie - had to get another picture of her with her "cool" shirt on - as she tries to hide it with her arm!

The kids playing with the fishing game - Jacob with his cousins Salma and Antonio.

Chillin on the deck - this was a very small part of the huge deck. It was all shaded - most of the time - very nice.

The kids with one of the many toys Nana and Poppop brought - the bubble guns. You can see more of the expansive deck.

We all went miniature golfing one day. It was warm in the sun - but the kids had fun. It was Jacob's first experience - Antonio was a pro. Levi and Salma tried it out a little too.

Jacob - learning to hold his club correctly - he did better as the day went on - and daddy helped him with his grip.

Antonio - he is a cool cat - effortlessly plays great.

Salma - she is a cutie!

Cheesers hangin out as a fam - enjoying the competition and fun.

Hanging out on the couch together.

Everyone went to the beach a couple of days - this day we went before lunch. Almost everyday we were there it rained a little after lunch - so we thought we would take it in before then. The water was COLD!!!! The kids enjoyed it - mostly just digging in the mud - and walking in the water some. They don't seem to notice the cold - as much as we do.

Jacob did not like getting his hands dirty. We found a toy shovel - and he liked digging with it. Not too fond of digging with anything else though.

More playing in the sand....cutie Salma again!

The three moms catching some rays......a few of us need to catch more than others!

Salma and Antonio playing at the park.

Overall - it was one of the best family vacations we have had. Most every year we rent a house somewhere together - many years we have been in Tahoe. We played poker 3 nites - and that was a lot of fun - at least for most of us. The kids did well sleeping - and playing together. We look forward to many more family adventures.

Sprinklers

Levi received a sprinkler for his birthday - and the boys had a blast playing outside in it. Levi is getting more brave - and Jacob still loves to touch everything and see how it all works.

We love our backyard - with the boys being able to have an area to play and have fun!

Independence Day 2009 - Jelly Belly Factory

We headed to the Jelly Belly Factory in the morning on July 4th - since we came home early from camping. From our house - took about an hour to get there (it's in Fairfield). They have tours for free - so it was the right price!

We got (had) to wear these cool (!) hats. The boys are pretty cute in them, though!

Jacob got to be the tour guide's "helper" by pushing the button for the tour videos at each stage along the tour. He thought he was pretty special! After about a half hour tour - we all got a free bag of jelly beans (and Jacob got 2 for being a helper). Then they got to ride in this cool Jelly Belly car.

It didn't go too far though!

After the tour and shopping a lil - we ended our adventure at Fresh Choice in Vacaville on the way home. The boys did great at both stops. They do well at buffets - plus the ice cream bar is always a hit. We look forward to many more day trips as a family.

Camping Adventure - July 2009

We did a "trial" camping trip set for July 2 - 4, 2009 at Shirttail Creek Campground about 2 hours from Sacramento (above Auburn - east of Foresthill) considered in Tahoe National Forest. Here are the boys posing by our tent (a hand-me-down from Uncle Guy).

Although it has been in the mid-90s in Sacramento - it actually cooled down there in the evening - we were at about 4,000 feet - and got a lil chilly in the night and morning. Levi is sporting his flashlight - and a whole lotta dirt on his face. He was digging it!

Jim was quick to get a fire started (who doesn't like to play with fire!). There were lots of lil twigs to start the fire - as you see it was blazing at bit til the kindling burned through.

See Levi in the AM keeping mostly warm in his sweatshirt and pants. His lips are still a bit blue! EEK! Mommy and Daddy failed to put socks on him that night - and they were brrrr chilly in the morning.

Our spot saved for us - for the two nights.

Jacob being Joe Fisherman. He has a Spongebob fishing pole that he has been working on his casting. He still has not actually ever set it in water. But - he was prepared with his life vest on.

Casting some more - look out fish! He is also sporting his flip flops. There is a LONG story about his shoe wear for the trip. He tends to be VERY particular about his socks - and shoes - and somehow we lost one of his acceptable tennies on the morning we were leaving. EEK! Our guess - Levi loves to wear shoes around - so where could it be? We still haven't found it.

Levi - sporting some more dirt and grunge on his face. His hands were so dirty - and he was constantly touching his face - as you can see :) The dirt didn't bother him at all.

Here is a picturesque spot on the road near our campsite - with the lake down below.

A view from the road on the way out as we were leaving.....

We didn't quite make it the entire time we had scheduled to be there. We arrived at about 6pm on Thursday night - and intended to stay til Saturday morning. Well - we ended up leaving at about 8:30am on Friday morning - about 14 hours after we arrived. Our evening had gone fairly well - everyone slept reasonably well (for being on airbeds and all) - but the morning was a struggle. So - for Mommy and Daddy to keep our sanity - we packed it all up and headed home. We had a good day at home Friday - recouping from lack of sleep - everyone napped - and look forward to trying out our camping gear again next year.