Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

A while back, I showed  you my painted cabinets in the laundry room.

I have been working on the rest of the room on and off since then. I painted some of the walls, but took a break before finishing the rest. In the meantime, I have  had ideas percolating in my head about how I wanted the room to look when I was done.

I spend a LOT of time in there, so I knew I wanted it to be pretty and also peaceful. I chose Sherwin Williams' "Watery" for the walls, which is the same color I have in my kitchen. It reminds me of the ocean, so that meets both requirements--pretty AND peaceful.

I finished it this morning and I love it!

 I found this cute sign at Kirkland's on clearance for $8.

The basket holds lonely socks looking for a mate. The little red tray holds my laundry supplies.
Both from Hobby Lobby. 50% off. :)

The bird painting was done by Marianthe Snyder. She does amazing paintings. I can give you her contact information if you want one like it. The little yellow vase on the shelf was a gift from my good friend, Michele. She got it at Soul Supply and Hardware in Leavenworth. The flour sifter was my grandmother's. The flowers in it came from Picket Fences and Petals in Leavenworth. The lantern in the corner was a gift from my mom and dad. It came from Hill Hardware in Columbia, MS. I think my mom gave me that little sign for Christmas. I don't know where she got it.

Curtain from Walmart. $7.
Flower from the PX on clearance.
Shelf from TJ Maxx. Cheap.

I may actually start to enjoy doing laundry. At least I will enjoy the room in which I do that chore. I think this room is a win-win.

I'm going to visit my parents next week. When I get back, kitchen re-do project begins. Yay!

Spring Canyon (Wednesday)

Wednesday is the "Family Day Away" from the camp. We decided first to venture to St. Elmo. It's an old mining town. There's not much to it, but there is a colony of chipmunks who will eat right out of your hand. There's some pretty good scenery, too!

Our first stop was at the outhouse.
This was the sign on the side of the building. Umm...

Colorado is so beautiful! Pictures do not do it justice.

 

There were so many hummingbirds. Look at the tiny birdie feet!

 

The chipmunks are SO cute!

Again, some Colorado loveliness.

We stopped by Cascade Falls on the way back to camp. Lots of fun and beauty all around.

 

Yeah...don't do that again.

 Eating lunch in the park in Buena Vista.

Orange juice, anyone?

No trip to Spring Canyon is complete without a trip to K's Ice Cream shop. We went there on Wednesday AND Friday!

We were missing Katee, so Logan gave her a call
while he ate his ice cream. :)

 There was a talent show that night. This was a whole choir of girls singing "Let It Go" from Frozen.

 Logan and Ben sang Beware the Homeschoolers. It was their public singing/guitar playing debut.

Spring Canyon (Saturday-Tuesday)

Spring Canyon is a very special place for our family. It's a family camp owned and operated by Officer's Christian Fellowship. The mission of Spring Canyon is to minister to military families. They call it a "Vacation with a Purpose." Being there gives us an opportunity to reconnect as a family, to her some good teaching, to fellowship with other families and to enjoy the beauty of the Rocky Mountains.

Here are some highlights from our week:

                   

We requested to stay in the Yale cabin. There are more modern accommodations, but we love this little space.








The view from the front of our cabin. This is Mount Princeton. We are going to climb it next year.

Nate was baptized on Monday. We are so thankful he has joined the family of God.
(That water is 48 degrees. He's a brave boy!)




We had a square dance on Tuesday night. It was SO. MUCH. FUN!



There's lots of time to chat with friends.

 

 





Mowing

We are still learning the best system for keeping the yard mowed. This is The Happy Farmer's latest technique. :)

Big News...We Think

The House on the Hilltop has many trees. Lots and lots of them have some sort of fruit that looks like this:

They are obviously not ripe yet and have some sort of pit. We think they are cherries. Can anyone verify this? If they are...MAN, are we going to have to learn to make jam! We will want to share and it looks like we might be able to share with the entire neighborhood.  

We let the chickens out today to enjoy some of the mulberries that had fallen to the ground. They weren't too excited to be out until they discovered all of the loveliness the yard had to offer. They liked the fruit and the bugs and the dirt. They were happy little nuggets!

The little ones in the back settled down into the dirt and took a nap.

These girls got tired of eating off the ground and started pulling mulberries right off the tree.

This is our little bantam rooster, "Cogburn."

This is Phylllis. Or Phil. We're not sure if she's a she or a he.

Phylllis ate so many mulberries, her beak is all purple.



We also discovered that our apple tree has some baby apples. Hannah discovered them. I had looked at the tree, but somehow missed the fruit.

Hannh said, "If that's an apple tree, then that's an apple!"
How. Did. I. Miss. That?

Golden Delicious?

Busy, productive day. The House on the Hilltop is a lot of work, but there's such potential for sharing what is produced here. We have no idea what we're doing, but learning sure is fun!

We are so thankful for the two families who lived here before us. They were intentional with every detail of this place. May we steward it well for as long as we live here.