House Renovation continued...

So in this last post about our renovations, we still had one project left--this wall:



which used to be this:


Well, Jared had a vision for this wall and did all the work himself. I wish I had taken pictures of each step to show how hard it was, but I wasn't there. Jared went to the lumberyard and picked out some walnut wood and then he cut it and shaped it and glued it with the help of our friend, David Morgan, who is an industrial design professor. He spent a lot of nights at the shop and then he came home and sanded the wood for several nights and then finished it and then ordered this bracketing system and then he put pretty things on the shelf and now it looks like this:







We also changed out the hallway and entry way lights:

Girls Trip to Vegas

A few weeks ago, we had our third annual John Hall girls trip in Vegas and it was a lot of fun. Here are some pictures:

We went to see Ka, one of the Cirque de Soleil shows:



Went dancing at Studio 54, which was really fun.


We had an awesome Spa day with our own private suite at the Cosmopolitan hotel:




Checked out the cosmopolitan and did some shopping:


When in Vegas, you go to the buffet. We went to the one at the Cosmopolitan and it was fantastic:












Amberli was our amazing host and made the whole thing possible. Derek, her husband was a champ--watching kids and sleeping when 10 loud girls were talking into the night for several nights. Thanks guys!

Blankie Tutelage

So Cyra has had a little red octopus basically since birth that she carries with her everywhere and sleeps with. It's been lost twice and replaced via Ebay.

Anyway, we couldn't find it tonight and Cyra was having a hard time falling asleep and I kept giving her different stuffed animals and she kept throwing them off the bed because they were "too hard." I finally gave her a little blanket and told her that Lulu always uses a blanket to sleep so she can just use a blanket. She said fine and I left.

Then I left and got to overhear this conversation from the hall:
Cyra: Lulu, how do you sleep with a blankie?
Lulu: You just put it like this...
Cyra: Oh, so first you put it on your pillow? Is that it?
Lulu: yeah, like this.
Cyra: So do you fold it first before you put it on the pillow?
Lulu: Uh huh...

Silence...

Cyra: Thanks for telling me that, Lulu.