Eric Making Bunk Beds

Eric has really found an interest in woodworking in recent months and so it wasn't surprising that he recently made the kids a beautiful bunk bed set. The project really didn't take very long even though Eric felt like it dragged on. The kids had a blast with him out in the garage attempting to "help." The night we were finishing, Eric was screwing the ladder to the side of the top bed, which was the final step, and...bzzzzz! His drill slipped off his screw and onto his thumb, making a nice hole in the base of his fingernail. Owwwww! Eric was pretty darn professional about it in my opinion and refrained from punching anyone or using choice language. Luckily, the thumb was not broken, just super bruised and sore and bleeding like a bugger. I'm happy to report that as of now, it is healing quite nicely. Anyway, needless to say, the kids had to spend one more night in their old beds. Since the final, final completion and assembly of the beds, the kids have been playing on them non stop. Libby and Ollie have spent hours playing pretend up there. It's great.
Eric does not cease to impress me with his talents. Nice work, honey!

Interview With the Kids

I like interviewing my kids every once and awhile for the blog so I can reread all about how they were acting at a certain age. Its amazing how time just keeps flying.

Ethan
How old are you? 7
What grade are you in? First
What is your favorite book? The Big Book of Helicopters
What is your favorite movie? Scooby Doo Monster Matinee
What would you do with a million dollars? I would use it to buy all the stuff I want like the lego city set police patrol.
Where would you like to go on a vacation? I would want to go to North America Hudson Bay
Why? Because I can rent my own boat and drive it over the water
What is your favorite food? I'll stick to corn dogs
What do you eat for lunch everyday? Usually I get a sandwich, carrots, crackers or pretzels or animal crackers and sometimes a treat like pudding or brownies
Who is the smartest person in the world? George Washington
Where do you live? 34** Willowcreek Dr TX
Who is the meanest person in the world? I don't want to say anyone's mean
What is the zombie apocalypse? Its a dead person that is still alive and he's all slimy and green
What the best thing that happened to you last year? I had my birthday and turned 7

Libby
How old are you? 5
Where do you go to preschool? I don't know
What is your favorite movie? *shrug
Who is your favorite princess? Sleeping Beauty. And I even have the costume too!
What is your favorite toy? horseys
What is your favorite food? Mac
What is your favorite ice cream? Strawberry
What would you do if you had tons of money? Buy a toy that's really expensive
Where would you like to go on vacation? North Carolina...that's where I was born!
Who is the smartest person you know? Mommy
If an alien walked in our door what would you do? Scream
If you could choose one food you never had to eat again, what would it be? Well I don't like hot carrots
What is a zombie? Maybe zombies are like werewolf's or mummys

Ollie (2)
What is your favorite food? I don't know
Who is your favorite car? Lightning!
Do you like nursery? Yeah
How old are you? Good
Do you love mommy? *Nod
What is your favorite bedtime book? I like Lightning story!

Last Half Of the Year

...was a bit crazy, that was why I was horrible at blogging. But it was a fantastic close to a year, so I want to document it.
We actually got to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas with our families this year, thanks to Eric's siblings getting married. The day after Thanksgiving, Eric's brother Brandon married Alisa Jarvis in the Boise Temple. Gorgeous temple, nice looking bride and groom, cold day! We drove up to Utah from Dallas a few days before the wedding and then drove from Henefer to Boise after Thanksgiving Dinner. Had a blast seeing family during the weekend. The drive home from Boise to Dallas was a beastie though. Three kids in a Volkswagon Golf.

At Christmastime, Eric's Sister Jessica got married in the Manti Temple. C'mon kids, let's get in the Golf again. We had a bit more trouble with weather on the way up this time, but ultimately, we did arrive safe and sound.

At the reception.
More photos of Christmas with our two families...

We are blessed to be part of wonderful families. Happy New Year!

Dressed Up At Halloween

Our Monster: Ethan

(thank you Gramma Washington)

Tigger: Ollie

(yes, its a repeat costume from last year. Its very difficult to get Ollie into an actual costume...)

Sleeping Beauty: Liberty 

(thank you for the adorable costume mom)

Ethan and Ollie handing out candy at the door. It was adorable. I'm glad they didn't get stolen by a bad man.

My Etsy Shop is open!

BeatToPieces, my etsy shop, is now open. Here is a preview of the items I have been whipping up in my garage. Everything is made from old fence wood.
Find me at: https://www.etsy.com/shop/BeatToPieces

Just a small sampling on the things I have in the shop and more to come. Do me a favor and buy some of this stuff. I think these bookends would make a great wedding or birthday gift. Lotsa character.
Thank you to my friend Emily Sanchez for taking these stellar photographs. They really make the merchandise look great!

Ethan Pelfrey, WWII Aircraft Enthusiast

I don't think I would be overstepping any bounds in saying that my little Ethan has become full blown obsessed with WWII aircraft. Let's see, how did it all start...? Eric, who is very interested in WWII history himself, had been reading these WWII encyclopedias that came with these color photographs and spec sheets of WWII planes. Ethan somehow found them and became interested in their designs. (For lego model purposes mostly, I think) But then he realized how much information about fuel tanks, engine size, gunners, wingspan (and I don't know what all) was also on these pages. Well, so then he wanted to know more about certain planes: the Mustang, the Hellcat, the Messerschmitt, the Zero, etc. Well, then we found this show on YouTube called Dogfights about WWII airplane dogfights between Americans and different Axis foes. Ethan was in heaven. He would watch these things all day every day if he could. Unfortunately for him, he can only watch on Friday night and Sat morning. Anyway, at this point, he is reading any library book he can get his hands on that has info on military aircraft and him and dad have special times to conference about...airplane stuff.
BUT, the thing that really gets him going is building these planes (to the best of his ability) out of legos and flying them around the house talking a mile a minute about all the technicalities and what not of the planes. It is out of control. I exaggerate not when I say he talks CONSTANTLY about these planes. One time I found Ethan standing next to my bed at 6 am. Instead of a "good morning" he just started spouting off about Japanese Zero fuel tanks! Wanna talk to Ethan on the phone? Better bone up on Mustang fuel tank capacity! My mother in law arrived 1 day ago and has already been forced through 2 Dogfights episodes and has had her brain stuffed with more than Superfortress specifications than most people care to know. Here are some quotes to back me up:
Natalie (self): "Ethan has forgotten more about WWII aircraft than most tenured history professors ever knew! If I listened to him half the time he was spouting off about this stuff I'd probably be eligible to teach a class on military air tactics."
Eric: "His knowledge is amazing...in both breadth and depth."

Interview with Ethan

Ethan, how do you feel about WWII planes? I feel pretty good. Its probably a little bit more famous because they didn't have as much electricity because WWII was in the 1940s.
What is your favorite WWII plane? Wildcat
What is your favorite enemy plane? The Japanese Oscar. It was a two gun single engine fighter.
If you could name a WWII aircraft what would it be? F18 Pidgeon

Job Chart Follow Up

So I posted a mommy job chart recently and mentioned that I would follow up on it and let you know if it worked. Well, I am here to tell you all that it was a...success!
The first week or so didn't really work and I thought it was a failure because I wasn't following it and I couldn't get caught up. But after that I started getting in the rhythm of it, it made a huge difference. Instead of everyday being chaos of trying to clean everything or not knowing what to do, I have a goal of what needs to be accomplished. It makes it so much easier to keep things straight. It has relieved my stress quite a bit because I have freedom after I do my mommy job. I really am glad I saw this on someone's blog and tried it out.
I can really recommend this method.