Pre-Easter Hunt

The weekend before Easter, I took the kids to a very snowy egg hunt/pancake breakfast hosted by our old real estate agent, Kenny Parcell. Despite the weather, they had a great time and even saw some friends there. It was cold but we dressed warmly and the hot chocolate warmed our toes.

Master bedroom and bath remodel

Ever since we moved into our house, we've been dreaming of redoing our bedroom and master bath and actually buying a bedroom furniture set (I was tired of using crates as bedside tables after 12 years of marriage). We had pretty grand dreams. But a bit of practicality creeped in and we considered our options. We decided to get the most bang for our buck. So, after 3 years of dreaming, scheming and a bit of saving (money is always an issue of course), we began to remodel. Here's what we are doing...

Here are some pictures of what it's looking like so far...just baseboards and furniture (and of course decorative touches) left.

-Bathroom counter, lighting and knobs (we would've loved to have bought a whole new vanity cabinet, had the faucet come out of the wall, put in a grand bathtub and a separate glass tile shower...but...)




-Bedroom floors, Bamboo Flooring (we got what we wanted there, lumberliquidators for $3 per sq. ft and installed ourselves) and a rug (someday)



-Paint (Rhett wanted lighter than this, I wanted a shade darker in the bedroom...we stuck to the middle road there)
-Furniture (not pictured but on it's way...will post when it comes)

Ready for Mother's Day?

I just thought I'd let everyone know, I'll be signing my latest book (that I illustrated) "The Happiest Mommy Ever!" (written by Alice Furniss and published by Deseret Book) at many locations in the next month before Mother's Day. It's the perfect gift for any mom out there...young or old. I had so much fun illustrating it and was able to put in a lot of personal things...I used my daughter as a model, a few scrapbook photos of my own were referenced from when I had my first baby and when he graduated preschool, my wedding photo, and there is even one of my little kids' baby footprints in the book. It's a sweet story about finding out what makes mom the happiest mommy ever. I couldn't be happier with the way the art and design turned out.

Here's the schedule of signings...

Saturday, March 28th 12noon-2pm : Seagull Book in Spanish Fork, UT (on Main street)
Saturday, April 4th 6-8 pm; Ladies Night at the Deseret Book at University Mall in Orem, UT
Saturday, April 18th 10 am; Juab County Library
Saturday, May 2nd 2pm: at the Purple Cow bookstore in Toole, UT

Happy Mother's Day!!!!

Or if you can't make it, go purchase it online here...

Literacy Day

Just so you all know, I'll be presenting (about illustrating children's books) at the Spanish Fork City Library's Literacy Day on Saturday, February 28th from 2-4pm. It's on Spanish Fork Main Street and Center. Come on by!

Valentine's Day Adventure

At dinner last night, I asked the kids if they wanted to go climbing. They were a little apprehensive at first, but all finally relented. I got Julie and A to come along as well and we made it a family adventure. The boys didn't quite trust the equipment at first, but by the time we left J was able to get to the top with no fear. S did well; I look forward to taking him more in the future. His light frame will be great for climbing. Julie climbed a few walls and even A did a little bouldering. And yes, even fatty got in on the action thanks to an auto belay device. I've included a few pictures. If you want to see them all go here and use the password "OlsonFamily".

Belt Graduation

Our oldest son graduated up another level in his Martial Arts training (Kyukido- combination of Taekwondo, Judo, and JiuJitsu). Here he is receiving the new belt. Next up, Green belt, in just a few months.

A LIttle Press for my first book

If iyou already read this on my professional blog, sorry. But read on if you didn't see this there.

So, after nearly 8 years on the market, the first picture book I illustrated got some major TV publicity just last week. Our local morning TV talkshow featured it for a few seconds. If you skip ahead to the 3 minute 11 second mark, you can see the little blurb. I didn't see the show that day, but plenty of friend have told me about it. So I had to share! (too bad they don't mention the illustrator...oh well, this will sell books anyway). You have to wait through the short commercial first though.

Or you can go here to see and read about it...

VIDEO PRESS