Check it off baby!

This table was given to us by our neighbors, once again I don't have a before picture, but we refinished it and put new legs on it and now it's done! I'm checking it off the list! As a resolution I want to finish all the projects I had started so they don't have to be around to drive me crazy once the baby is born. It feels so good!

Just another week.

It seems like whenever we get up early to study scriptures or do whatever, the girls somehow sense it and wake up too. No matter how early. So this is Klave doing his scripture study. It's hard to make a habit of getting up early when you don't get any more done than if you woke up late. We'll have to find a way around this.
It has been so cold here that we've mostly just stayed inside. I had to make it a point to get out this last week, some fresh air is always good. Also it has been so cute watching Nadine because she is so helpful and sympathetic to Nora since she fractured her arm. She'll help her up onto chairs and when they went outside she helped Nora down the step. She is so sweet.
Blackeyed Nora (it seems like it keeps getting worse)
So something that is funny that I'm figuring out is how to get Nadine and Naomi to work. They are pretty much obsessed with princesses. The other day I was doing the dishes or something and they mentioned how I was like Cinderella the way I was sweeping or something. So I'm like, "Yeah I'm like Cinderella so I do all the work." Next thing I know they are jumping to do every job because they want to be Cinderella and if they get all their work done they get to go to the ball.(Only that part never really happens) It's alot of fun. Sometimes though they start pretending to be the stepsisters and rip at my clothes and stuff.

Crash and Burn

I guess Nora just doesn't get enough attention as it is, she keeps on having these serious injuries. This summer she almost severed her big toe completely when she pulled the glass, blender pitcher out of the cupboard onto her foot. Then the whole rash episode, then yesterday she was just sitting on the girls' bed bouncing on her rear when she fell forward onto the trundle bed and fractured her arm! Poor girl! She kept trying to crawl and would just fall on her face because her arm hurt too bad. The doctor ordered x-rays yesterday but we didn't find out till today that it was really fractured so this morning she was playing and fell again but couldn't catch herself with her hurt arm and hence the black eye!


She doesn't so much like having the splint on but seems happy to have a built in hammer.

Weekend warriors!

This last week we pretty much didn't sleep. We, ok I decided and Klave luckily went along with it, that it was time to retexture our walls so we could finally paint them. Something happened to our before pictures, which is too bad because you don't see wood textured walls very often. Here's what it looks like now.

We spent one full week with these two couches in our kitchen along with our washer and dryer and our desk. Yeah it was a bit cramped, but it just makes me appreciate the final product that much more. We retextured the ceiling and walls and repaired all the cracks and holes. It's so nice to have fresh walls. The only thing now is that I'm afraid to hang anything up!

Back from the dead

About mid-December we were in Boise so Klave could have shoulder surgery and get back on track with his basketball career. His shoulder kept popping out of place whenever he'd reach too far. The surgeon took pictures of what they saw when they opened him up and you could see how things were literally torn up inside his shoulder. This picture is right when he was waking up. He was pretty funny to be around because he was trying make all kinds of jokes but didn't make alot of sense, like asking the nurse for her number! He went to the physical therapist tonight and he was really impressed with all that he can do already but told him to take it easy and not lift anything for three months.

Ok, so this is back-tracking a long, long way but I wanted to include these events in our blog. This is Amanda's whole family, all together (woo hoo) for David's wedding in Ogden, UT. They got married on October 20th and it was a blast getting all together. There was a couples shower, a wedding dinner with stellar entertainment (all the siblings), some late nights laughing and visiting including the night before the wedding when David brought all the guys home early from playing basketball because he had sprained his ankle. (David is the groom) Poor guy. It was so fun to see everyone and get to know Melissa better, she is a great fit for our family.

For Thanksgiving this year we went to Bear Lake, UT for the Strength of a Bear Stevenson family reunion, all of Amanda's brothers and sisters. There were 29 people there. We rented out a cabin that was three levels and had an awesome view of the lake. I'm sure without 29 people in it, the cabin is pretty large, needless to say it was "cozy". Despite the lack of leg room, we totally partied for four days, hiking/walking, hot tubing, eating, playing football, and eating some more.

The kids made neckalaces and had a talent show and had the chance to earn an indian name. Here is a picture a Nadine in the process. How it works is the indian brave comes before Chief Sitting Bull (Grandpa) to recieve an indian name, so then they have to obey the code of silence and "spread their wings" while the chief lifts them with only a few, clawlike fingers under the armpits from off the ground onto a chair and then back to the ground. From personal experience I can tell you it is excruciatingly painful. I was amazed at how all the grandkids actually did it! I think the Chief is a lot softer than he used to be!

We had the Stevenson Family Olympics in the gym at the church. We competed in high and long jump, sit-ups, push-ups, sit and reach and an obstacle course. There was some serious competing going on and I know some people were sore for many a day. The best was the races to the end of the gym and back. I so wish I had a video of the 50+ race, my mom against my dad! It was sweet seeing them run their little hearts out.

For everyone I think the pinnacle of the reunion was the inaugural SF3, Stevenson Family Film Festival. Each family had to put together a film and present it. Of course there were awards, but I was totally blown away at how awesome they all turned out. Amanda's oldest brother Dan put together a clip of the highlights. Enjoy!

This is just a sample of them, I wish I could put them all on here for you to see. If you really want we can probably work out a way for you to see them. A high standard was set for the next SF3.