Mystery Man

I found this drawing in Princess' room and I can't quite decide who it is. I've narrowed it down to:

A) Barack Obama
B) Martin Luther King
or
C) Will Smith

What's your vote?

Scout Camp

Coolister just got back from a week of scout camp. I had agreed to drive up to Scofield and help shuttle the boys back home this morning, and it was totally worth it - for 2 reasons.

First, the story of the Canoe Swamping Contest. In short, Coolister's team was doomed. But just before the main contenders were able to swamp Coolister's canoe, the struggle to swamp each other was brought to a halt. The scoutmaster watched from the shore and realized that Coolister had pulled out his negotiating skills to avoid defeat - and the other team was going for it. Coolister was telling them, "Look, guys - it's obvious we're the two best groups out here. So why don't we work together to eliminate all of the other teams and then battle it out at the end?" And it worked. They backed off, both teams swamped every other canoe, and in the end Coolister's team emerged triumphant.

I love that kid. He can talk his way out of anything. (Which is not always a good thing.)

Second, there is nothing in this world that can match the irony of a suburban full of smelly boys riding home from a week of camping as they sing along to Taylor Swift's song, Love Story. (Which THEY chose to listen to, by the way.) Seriously "....you be the prince and I'll be the princess..." they sang every. single. word. Loudly. It was awesome.

Play Clue With Me...

Someone's been hiding their talents...

Who could have done it? And how? And where?

Last Friday there were seven possible suspects, numerous hidden talents and at least eight rooms in the house... so the possibilities are endless.

But I'm pretty sure it was Jason.

In the living room.

With the butcher knife(s).

What do you think?

(You can read more about his amazing feats of skill here!)

Three for Thursday

My husband is a man of many talents, a jack-of-all-trades you could say. He is humble about it though, and wouldn't admit half of them if asked. (And because I don't want to completely embarrass him, I will keep them to myself, too. For now.) I do want to share a little, though. I mean, can't I brag? I decided that all would be well and good if I just shared 3 things. And these are 3 things he has created using the same talent: woodworking. The most amazing thing about his skill with wood is that the blueprints are all in his head. Here are 3 of his most recent creations:

First, this cute toddler bed, complete with removable rails. Doesn't little Curly-head look perfectly content?

Next, this beautiful room. Our 2 oldest girls got their own room as a Christmas gift a couple years ago. He built them matching dressers, framed the window and refinished the bed all in the same color. He designed and built the wainscot, some shelves above the closet and door, and came up with the idea of the wood ceiling. Awesome.

And now, a work in progress, our front room. It was one of those unused-to-its-full-potential rooms, the kind we only sat in when someone came to visit. So we decided to turn it into a library and study. It has been a work in progress for quite some time, but the wait will be well worth it. The ceiling is almost completely finished:

And this is the bay window:

I can't wait to show off the finished product!

P.S. Someday, when he is retired and has his own woodworking business for fun, he can build stuff for you, too.