I Need Your Input

I have two questions for you all:

1- Is my picture slideshow working for you? If it looks like a black screen that says something like, Create Your Own Slideshow, click the play button on it. Now is it working?

2- I need decorating tips. Blake and I are closing on a house on Monday!!! Fun!!! It is an old ranch-style home, one story. We are very excited. But, we do not want to CLUTTER it up and we do not want to just THROW furniture/decorations in there. So, I am going to post a picture of our family room and kitchen first. Blake thinks we should do a "cabin" theme for the family room. The fireplace will be covered in a faux-stone layer so it wont be BRIGHT red anymore soon. The question is - where should I put things, and how should I decorate the walls and fireplace?

This picture is our family room. The entryway from the front door is the far right opening in the wall. The far left opening is to the bedrooms. They staged this room as a weird kitchen, but we are going to put a big rug down and make it the family room... if you aprove! When we move in, there will be no china cabinet on that far wall, and no paintings on the side wall.

Okay, this is a view of the family room from the entryway. Remember, there will be stone on the fireplace, no table, no plant, no nothin. I need your suggestions.

And this is a view from the far end of the kitchen into the family room. I am thinking of putting the kitchen table right here to the left.

And here is the kitchen. That ugly little table wont be there anymore, and the decoration above the sink is part of the backsplash.

Items to place: KITCHEN TABLE/4 CHAIRS, SOFA, LOVESEAT, 2 END TABLES, COFFEE TABLE, OLD BIG SCREEN TV (hand-me-down), AND WALL HANGINGS (options - large family picture, 2 large temple pictures, and a large collage of Jesus Christ). Also, I have a bunch of little willow statues. Okay, so where should I put it all, according to your opinion?

Cute Pics Slideshow!

We won our Family Relay triathlon!

Team name: Team Caleb

Finish Time: 1 hour 22 minutes

Swim: Dad, 300 meter, 5 minutes 20 seconds

Bike: Blake, 16.5 miles, 48 minutes, 20.4 miles per hour

Run: Dani, 3 miles, 26 minutes 25 seconds

MIP of the Day: My mom. She stayed at our condo with Caleb, who is sick with a bad cold. Pray for him. And for her - she is an angel. Thank you mom.

Dad ran along side me for a little bit to tell me I was doing well. He is such a support. (My dad is below, not above. LOL!)

Port-a-Potties make me gag. If I even take a whif, or think about what is in there, I gag to the point of almost puking. It can't be sanitary.

Blake KILLED the bike. He came in 13th OVERALL out of all 300+ people. He is seriously so so talented. I am very proud of him.

I love videos of Caleb

Okay so Caleb loves to have a water fight in the bath tub. He goes crazy! It is sooo fun. I hope you enjoy my laugh too. I couldn't help it!

Caleb is getting closer and closer to crawling. He reaches and gets his knee under him and rolls and scoots with his head when he's on his side. It's so cute.

Sad but Inspirational

A friend who I worked with at the EFY office, Craig Decker, seen above in green, passed away recently. He was one of the nicest people, and such a leader. You can read about his funeral here, it is so inspiring.

Three Favorites in One Beautiful Dance!

Okay, Katee is my favorite, Will is my favorite guy, and David Archuleta is my favorite from American Idol. Dude. It doesn't get much better. This dance from "So You Think You Can Dance" is incredible. There is one mess-up but it's all good, the rest is spectacular!!!

Baby Head

Caleb and I were playing, having a great time. We were giggling and babbling and I lifted him high above my head to bring him down for kisses when he opened his mouth and SPLAT!!!...He's so good at sitting up!
Cute Cozmo. We love our pug.
Yo yo home-G.
I have been asked by several people what percentile Caleb's head is - it is 70th Percentile. So he is cutely proportioned, at 90th percentile height, 50th weight, and 70th head size. :) Love it.

Double His Birth Weight!

Little C-Man had his 6 month Doctor's appointment! He has grown so much!

Weight: 16 pounds 10.5 ounces (50th Percentile)

Height: 27 3/8 inches (90th Percentile)

Big boy, still tall and skinny! He's so healthy and strong. I am so grateful. His hair has grown a ton too! Here are some awesome videos. At least, we love them. Enjoy!

These videos were a must. I laugh every time I watch them. He makes the most hilarious face and noises when he's creating a "special surprise" in his diaper!

Caleb is Six Months Old!

A LOT has been going on with little man Caleb Blake! He is having a blast in life now because he can sit up as long as he likes, roll over like a pro, has teeth, and he's been sleeping a lot better!

Caleb is now sitting up on his own very well! He has a nice straight back and is very sturdy for as long as he likes to be. This has made bathtime in the sink pretty messy with all the splashing!

So now he is in the tub!! Dave and Trish Nabrotzky gave him this awesome little seat for the tub and he just loves every second of bath time. He splashes and grabs toys and sucks on his wash cloth.
Love the hair.
We all went to the lake for the Fourth of July
I pretty much think that's the cutest smile EVER.

He loves when people wear hats. It's another toy!
Another milestone of his, he has cut his second tooth! His first one (on the right in the pic) came in when he was 5 months & 1 week old. The second (smaller, on the left) came in a week before he was 6 months old!
We are so blessed to be the parents of this adorable little guy. Happy 1/2 Birthday Caleb! We love you!

By the way, THANK YOU Launi and Summer for recommending this book!!! Oh my gosh. I never thought I'd agree with anything but "no crying sleeping solutions," but I have to tell you this book helped me understand so much! Caleb was still sleeping like a nightmare at 5 1/2 months old, making that about 3 solid months of choppy, horrible sleep for Caleb and parents, if you don't count the first 2 1/2 months when he only slept 8 hours a night (4 hours off of average!). "Like a nightmare," meaning he woke up crying 10 to 15 times a night, wanting his paci or a diaper change or to eat. I was there every time he made a peep (while losing my mind). Well, after reading this book and applying the theory, he sleeps AMAZING! It has been 11 days and he is sleeping 12 hours a night with 1 feeding around 5 a.m., and 3 naps of 45 mins a day!!! WOO! I am so proud of him. THANK YOU AGAIN LAUNI AND SUMMER!

SYTYCD - Katee and Josh ~ Hometown Glory

I love this dance, contemporary is so awesome. Try watching it with the sound off after watching it with the sound on. It's awesome. Katee and Joshua rock.