blue first

We had belt testing last week. The kids are now blue first belt!
(Although these photos are from testing night so they do not have their new belts on).

weekend update

This weekend the Beachy family came into town. Sunday morning everyone rolled in and we headed to a late breakfast at Ihop. After we ate our fill we headed to the Cards game. It was cloudy but not hot. It was the perfect day for a game- even though they went into extra innings and the Cards lost. After the game the kids ran the bases. They really enjoyed being on the field!

After the game we went to the hotel. 17 Beachys cannot sleep in our house so we all stayed downtown. We ate pizza, swam in the pool, and went to the City Garden. The big kids had fun climbing on the sculptures, planking and generally being silly. That night the ladies played cards before heading to bed.

My kids do not sleep in so first thing in the morning (7:00) as everyone else was sleeping I took them to the pool to swim. We met everyone for brunch later that morning. After we checked out we headed back to our house to hang out and then grill a delicious lunch. It was a great way to spend Labor Day!

old vs new

I am in desperate need of a new range. My current oven works it just has a few little quirks: the temperature is not accurate, it take 20 minutes to preheat, it does not cook evenly etc... For 2 years I have been debating what to get (still have not decided). I cook everyday and would love to bake more often. Clearly the best choice is a duel fuel range. My dilemma is: do I get a really great one that I know will last forever (like a Wolf) or do I go middle of the road (like JennAir)?

Regardless which road I take I was in need of a range hood. My kitchen is very small and heats up quickly and if I throw in one of those power burners I would be in a sauna. So, this month Dale took on the first step- installing a hood. Unfortunately for Dale nothing we seem to do is a "simple project." The range is on an inside wall so we had to vent it across the kitchen. Instead of ripping into the ceiling we decided to go old school and put an exposed pipe across the ceiling. We also took out most of our upper cabinets and put in custom open shelving. All of that added up to a paint job too (which I have been wanting to do forever)! Dale also did some work on our windows. It is not exactly finished but close enough to post pictures....

the old kitchen- what you see is what you get. I told you it is small.

this makes me laugh. couldn't resist posting it....
new color. new hood.
the pipe. (I clearly need a new range!)



Dale custom built the shelves. They match the cabinets perfectly- right down to the antiquing!

The decorating is a work in progress. More to come....

road trip

Yesterday, after my kids were packed up and shipped off to school, my mom and I got in the car and headed west. We drove down hwy 70 until we came upon an antique store. We ventured in, looked around, made purchases and headed out. We drove along the highway repeating this every time we found another store. Finally after several stores AND the passing of Jefferson City we turned around and headed home. We were gone until 6 pm. It was so much fun. We talked, laughed and bought antiques at our leisure. Just what I needed...

girl time

Sunday Reagan and I had a little girl time. She chose to get a mani/pedi. She has never done this before but has been intrigued for years. It took her a few minutes to get over the shock of someone else handling her hands and feet.

Then she proceeded to talk and talk and talk. The ladies kept asking her questions. Reagan would look at me for a translation (their accent is thick). I would re-ask the question and she would answer.

Finally she said, "Mom, I don't understand her. Is she speaking french or something." I politely replied no. I said that they were Asian and could speak 2 languages. Then to show her that she could relate a bit I said, "They are Asian like Mr. Walseth." She replied with wide eyes, "MR. WALSETH?! He's Asian? Is he adopted?!" The ladies shared a quiet laugh. Hopefully because Reagan is only 6 and has no shame or a quiet voice. I explained that Mr. Walseth is not, in fact, adopted. His mother is Korean. She smiled liked she understood but I held my breath a bit- not sure what would happen next.

Reagan just sat back and shuffled through a magazine while we finished up.

Thank goodness...

Afterward we went to Ihop for a chocolate chip pancake. It was a great afternoon.





the photos are courtesy of my iphone. :(

first game of the season

On August 13th we went to our very first baseball game of the season. It was Christian Day at the ballpark and we got tickets through our church for very cheap. It was a 6pm game and we even managed to stay til the very last out (a first for the Beachy kids). The game was terrible (the Cards lost) but we ate a lot and had fun with our friends!!