Chill February

And the last of the January doldrums.

One day the girls and I met Kendra ("Krenda") and William at the pool.  They loved it.  And I was glad for another set of eyes to keep an eye on them...

 I never remember pool toys, good thing they have some built in.

 Emmy and William... aww.

 Bob and I went to Rustin and Sharon's for a chuck-wagon themed potluck... smoked brisket with all the trimmings.  It was super yummy, probably rivaled all the chuck-wagon suppers Dad dragged us to out west.  It had kind of been a long time since we were with them all, so it was a good night.  And you won't believe what Greg said to me.......  just kidding Greg! 

We took the girls to Bass Pro Saturday evening just because.  They wanted to see the fish and the animals, but they spent the most time exploring the boats.  And the ATVs... 

 Emmy wanted to drive them all.

 We need one of these, right?

 My parents and Jake invited themselves over and brought pizza Sunday evening. 

We've been spending most of our time inside coloring, playing, fighting...

 Stepping on Bubble wrap...

 Putting stickers under our shirts...

 We made cornbread one night for supper.  I measure, they take turns dumping.  Then they both wanted to stir.  Somehow it all stayed in the bowl!  They like cooking a lot more than it looks like in this picture. 

 I've been cooking all sorts of things again!  Whole meals that don't come from a box or the Schwann's man!  It's amazing.  I even made a whole turkey that I bought on sale last thanksgiving.  It turned out great... nice and moist and delicious.  I even made gravy from the drippings!  And the carcass is in the freezer for making broth (once I get around to it or I'm tired of it taking up space in the freezer)!  Can't let Shelly be more domestic than me...  hehe. 

Mom needed a grandma day so she took the girls Thursday... I went shopping.  Anymore I much prefer online shopping... I'm getting old or something.  The girls had lots of fun at the farm with "Ga-maw" and "Ap-aw."

So I had great intentions of rehabbing this little table and chairs that were mine as a child in time to give it to the girls for Christmas... didn't happen.  I'm just finally getting started now.  Originally my plan was to paint/ stain them to match our kitchen table and chairs.... but.... all those spindles.  And the chairs are in decent shape.  After tightening screws and re-gluing spindles and armrests, I used Restor-a-finish on them.  It works really well- the chair on the left hasn't been done yet, the one on the right has.  They still don't look brand new, but the scratches are less obvious and the finish looks nice and shiny again. 

 Oh this poor table.  Apparently the four Wyss kids were hard on their toys.  Ha.  Tape, paint, scratches, missing edge banding... we did a number on it.  Although, I don't remember paint being allowed on it so that must be Michelle's fault.  Anyway, waffling about what to do with the top... it's thin veneer on plywood so it would be a waste of time to refinish it. My trip to Pekin Hardwood for a replacement was fruitless... so if Menards doesn't carry edge glued panels in the size I need I'm not sure what I will end up doing.  I'm painting the legs white so the table will at least sort of look like our table.

Anyway, it's been quiet, the girls are going a little stir crazy, but next week looks to be busier so they'll be happy.
Blessings.