My project

After:


Before:

So this week while my brother painted the house I worked on this horrible gate. It was all dried and filthy. Matthew power washed it for me and took all of the slats out. I stained all the wood slats. I also re-painted the metal part with this amazing paint. Its a hammered paint. You paint it on and it instantly looks like it was hammered. Cool stuff!

Then I was covered in stain and paint and my brother who paints for a living couldn't believe I could possibly be so messy.

Seth helped in this project too (I guess it wasn't "MY" project) Seth helped put the slats back in place.

I think the look is so great! New and fresh looking!

Total home make over

From This:


To This:

So what do you think about the paint? The old stuff was wearing off and aged so we updated.

Look at the yard too, its not all dead and over grown with weeds anymore. Oh what a month will do!

Lunch

You've heard people ask "If you could choose anyone to have lunch with anyone who would it be?"

I was excited when I was sitting at this table at a great little Mexican restaurant with all of the best girls in my life.

to my right:

Angela Jones Cowden and I write her maiden name because Ive known her that long. She has been my biggest fan and little sister longer than I actually had a little sister. She is the one who always has something cheerful and pro- Arlena to say. I wish I could shrink her and carry her every where I go!

to Angela's right is Kasey Caruthers,

Kasey is the friendship that started with hating each other at work and brought together by a really obnoxious boss. Thick as thieves just that fast! I love Kasey, she loves my kids and is the one who tells me how it is weather I'm right or not and she never sugar coats it.

next to Kasey and defiantly not last....

My true one and only sister. Katie, shes the best sister a person could have. Shes the only one who knows just what its like being a female Rodgerson (there aren't many of us) She has a strong spiritual side that I look to for advise and for grounding in truth and reality.

I can't believe I am lucky enough to have these ladies in my life and to be sitting here at a table with all of them was amazing!

If I could do this everyday and chat through my day....Oh I would have such well rounded life!

Love you girls!

Kasey's Visit

Great Balls of Fire!!!

Did we ever have fun. Hanging out, getting our toes done, taking the kids out, doing crafts, taking pictures, and more!

It was so great to finaly meet Henry and get to hang out with my ol' friend!

Great week!
Thanks for visiting Kasey!

The Children's Museum

Luci and I took Kasey and Henry on a double date to the Childrens museum. It was a great day with lots of little kid fun. Its been a long time since Ive done dirty diapers and running each way!

It was fun. I hope to get together with Luci for regular dates. She's gona run me ragged!

Lexi's blessing

We enjoyed being around the family this weekend to celebrate

the blessing of our little Lexi.

Sweet baby!

BFF's

Another great reason we moved to Arizona is my all time BFF. Its been so great this last few months enjoying time together without feeling like I have to go soon. What has been even better is seeing our kids develop such great relationships with eachother!

This is what I whitnessed one morning after Brooke slept over. "Bathing Beauties" with Toris Ipod (SHhh dont tell her) dancing on top of the counter!

OHHH! WHat fun!

Baby Lexi

We showed up just as Lexi was turning 2 weeks old and have enjoyed watching her grow and become more aware and tonight Paige and I invited her to spend the night. GIRLS NIGHT!!

Lexi doesnt seem to get the fun part of the slumber party. She has the sleeping down. You can tell by Paiges face that she doesnt mind eating Lexis share of the ice cream!

The first finished room

Paige had been keeping your room so neat,

with her suitcase and lack of toys when we first moved in that it made it easier to paint so Dan and I started there. She also was the only one who had picked out a "do-able" color sceam. She picked out this super cute set from target with owels and hedge hogs.

It took a while to get this room "finished" because we couldnt find the bed parts any where. It took all the way to the last box in the garage to be put away before they were un-covered.

Atlast! All the boxes are un-packed and the decorating and final touches are ready to comence!

Paige likes her new room alot and nearly hyperventalated when she first saw it finished.

Activities

We are trying new activities, the kids are going to choose something they might like to do so first on the list is

Ice skating - for Paige and Ice hockey -for Seth

Verdict...lots of fun, some blisters and cold bums!

Tricky

My new trick is to have a little something sitting around that needs to be done. Then an unexpecting fellow comes along with his wife (who is most likely my friend or sister) and we get to chatting and the poor guy who wonders why Dan isnt around to talk with and "Boom" thats when it happens...."Arlena, you got anything you need me to do" and just like that I get a light fixture installed, or a new toilet seat, a shower head and so on!
Here we see another trapped man at work.
Thanks Bryan (and Tori who some how got roped into the trap)
Dan hated that old light fixture and walked into it many times!

Security gates

One of the top prioritys we established was putting up a good security fence around our pool. Arizona has laws to keep your pool safe as well as we have little nieces and friends we would like to keep safe. We hired a company to come and put in a strong fence and a new screen/security door. These are the transformation pictures and I think it looks great. I can also tell you the gates are heavy and secure!

Family Pictures 2010

We definatly didnt get any pictures taken while we were in Spain (profesional any way) and with Dan hopping all over different countries in the next few years we needed to take the oportunity when it arose.

We went out to a park near by that has some historic buildings and took some great pictures. There are soooo many to choose from it will take a while for us to decide just which one will show up on our anual Christmas card this year!

(Its always fun trying to get Paige to cooperate by she didnt do too bad!)