I needed a change...

From the time that I turned 17, until Nate and I moved to Austin 7 years ago (that would be 11 years, I know...my brain had to work to do that math too -- it is very late) I, and then with Nate, moved 2 or three times a year. That makes 21 different addresses (about 2/3 of which involved changing states or countries) in 11 years. Since moving to Austin we have only had 3 addresses. We lived in Taylor the longest (4 years) before we moved to our current house. We have lived here nearly 3 years now. I've been complaining to Nate for the last few months that it is time to move again...I need a change. Nate volunteered to get me DirecTV. I needed a real change in my environment. Since moving doesn't fit our circumstances right now, I decided to do some changing to our current abode. The house didn't really feel like it belonged to me (and technically it still doesn't - the bank owns it). But since Nate was going to be out of town for 4 days, I decided to do a little painting project. I had originally planned to do twice as much (8 rooms), but of course my plans are always a little grandiose. But I did get quite a change going. So here we go!

The builder painted every wall and ceiling in the house the same light cocoa brown color. I personally hate the color. (Although, my neighbors all love it. They all have white walls, for which I would gladly trade any day.) So in order to paint the walls, I also had to paint the ceilings...which added a lot of work. But it was worth it. I think my house is more me and, since I used actual scrubbable paint (I hate that builders use that matte, flat, very unforgiving, unscrubbable paint), it is easier to keep clean!

Room #1: Master Bath

Before:

After:

I chose a dark charcoal gray for the bath and a medium gray for the commode.

Room #2 The hallway

Before:

After:

I love this color. I first saw it at Jake and Amy's house, so I had to use it in my house too. It is called Tide Pools by Behr paints.

Room #3 The downstairs bath

Before:

After:

This color was actually leftover from painting Hazel's room before she was born. I painted one wall of the room and then decided it was too light a color. But it is nice here.

Room #4 Isaac's Room

This room used to be Hazel's nursery, so it is kind of a baby turquoise blue. Isaac moved into it and so we painted it a more Isaac color of Orange (one of my favorite colors as well).

Before:

After:

I really like how everything turned out. So now the plan is to tackle a room a week until I've painted every room and closet in the house!! If nothing comes up, I should be done by the end of October! I just really needed a change.

Why did the turtle cross the street?

He never finished, the kids picked him up before he got to the other side. We don't usually see ones this big. Yertle, the turtle was a little shy so he stayed in his shell. Afterwards, he was returned to the pond behind our house.

Overheard at my house

Says Aspen, while surrounded by a pile of dishes, "When I grow up and move away from home and have my own apartment, I am going to do the dishes every day after every meal."

Here are some of my observations/reactions to her statement:

1. I am glad that she is planning to move away from home when she grows up. That is our goal here at the Brunner house -- to teach our children to be independent adults. We have a trianing program.
2. The were a lot of dishes. I have been working on a project that I needed to just work on until it was done. So I kind of let everything else slide for a couple days. The kids made their own meals and played video games all day. (It was raining so I couldn't make them go outside to play.) It is summer vacation, right?
3. While I was doing this project I paid Aspen to babysit Hazel. I offered to pay anyone to clean the kitchen and do the dishes, or to pick up the rest of the house while I was in project mode. No takers on the offer. They would rather play video games all day.
4. So instead of being paid to do the dishes when the pile was considerably smaller, my adults-in-training got to do it for free this afternoon. (I did help after the first hour).
5. To ensure that Aspen, and the other 3 minis will have a habit of doing their dishes every day and after every meal, she, and the other trainees, get to practice 3 times a day!! I want her wish to come true, after all.
6. Lastly, I don't usually let things get this bad. But I had to finish this project. I was under a deadline. (Stay tuned to see the finished results tomorrow!)

Happy, Happy Birthday Again!

Today is Isaac's eighth birthday. Isaac also wanted a beach themed day. So we made a sandcastle cake!

Isaac was very excited about blowing out his candles and eating whichever part of the cake he chose. It doesn't take much to make him happy!

Isaac has so much energy and enthusiasm for everything! Sometimes it is hard to keep up with him. But he is always happy and he is looking forward to being baptized on Saturday. He has a great testimony of the gospel and is an example to us all. We are so glad that he is part of our family!


Wow! Two special birthdays in one week. (Isaac will be baptized on Saturday and Toby will be ordained on Sunday!)

Happy, Happy Birthday

Toby had his 12th birthday!!! Oh my gosh! I can't believe it has been twelve years! Toby (just like many twelve year old boys, and boys of other ages too), loves to play with fire and wanted to light his own candles. So, since it was his birthday...

He wanted a beach party. Which worked out well since we were already at the beach:)
Toby had a great day. We love Toby and we are so glad that he is part of our family. He has so much imagination and keeps us entertained. He is talented and smart and, underneath all that hair, he is good looking too. (But he doesn't like it when we, and the girls at school and church tell him that.)