Tile Dilemma

If you have an opinion, please don't keep it to yourself.
We are, as you know, replacing the floor in one of our showers.
The problem arose when we went to buy new tile because they no longer make the tile that is original to our house.
Everything is stone tiles nowadays, or tile made to look like stone.
Call me crazy, but I actually prefer the "retro" 4 x 4 tiles, but they are hard to find.
In the IKEA catalog everything is tiled with colorful 4 x 4 glazed tiles, so where are they getting those? SWEDEN or something?!?!!

Here are some of our choices so far:


Here's my vote. Only problem is that they are really slippery. Not a good combo for a shower floor.
The ENTIRE shower is tile.
As well as the bathroom walls and floor.

So, what's your vote? We NEED opinions here. I don't ask for other peoples' opinions very often ( I have plenty of my own), so please participate.
Thank you in advance for your advice.


**uhoh, I went to lowes tonight to get some "supplies" and found a few more options. i'm still in favor of my original, but there are 3 more options now.I still prefer the "biscuit" on the far right, it's hiding. *


And here's a shot of Cate in her first bubble bath. Come on, you're jealous of the blue tub, don't try to hide it.

About Elizabeth

Let me explain....

Aiden has been telling us for a while now (like probably a year or so) that she wants to be called Elizabeth (her middle name). She says that she likes Aiden too, but just wants to be called by her middle name now. I think it might be because ever other Aiden we've met has been a boy. We haven't ever taken her seriously until the other day at the pool Lewis overheard her introducing herself as Elizabeth. So Elizabeth it is. If only we could remember to call her that in real life. It's taking us some time to get used to it, I wonder if it will stick or not.
Plus it's totally messing up our nice little A B C thing don't you think?

Gone Fishin'

Elizabeth and Brooks really wanted to go fly fishing while I was in Utah, but I was unsure about taking two kids out and letting them fling a dry fly back and forth, so I promised that we would go fishing at a lake after we got back to Alabama. One trip to Walmart later, we were the proud owners of a Lightning McQueen fishing pole and a Zebco special, complete with worthless lures. We went to Oak Mountain State Park on the north lake and went fishing. It was 8:30 by the time we got there and it was already about 90 degrees, not great weather for sitting and watching bobbers. But, the kids were both troopers and each landed one fish (bluegill I think--we looked online when we got home). Elizabeth retired shortly after her catch, but Brooks wanted a second fish (after multiple trips to the cooler for 7up and cookies/fruit snacks). Brooks also loved grabbing the worms (we used live bait), and I also used crickets. Elizabeth caught hers on a worm, while Brooks landed his on a cricket. They both loved it. It reminded me of the mastercard commercials: fishing gear $45, park entrance $7, bait $8, catching your first fish with your kids . . . priceless. Cheesy, but it was true. I probably had the most fun of any of us out there. (JJ and Cate suffered through the entire process in the nearby shade, which was probably 89 degrees instead of 90.)

Manifest Destiny

I feel like we have to move out West. It is our calling. OK, I don't really feel that strongly, but we certainly loved it out there while on vacation. We started off the trip by visiting Jackie, Brian, Tillie and the newly introduced to the world man Porter. He is a great baby and was adaptable to all the excursions we could handle for the two days we were there. Fort Thomas KY is such a cool place and we are glad Jackie and Brian were adventurous enough to move there and live there for a few years so we could visit. They really do live in the coolest little suburb of Cincinatti. Then we headed out WEST!!! The drive was not so bad other than the random dirt road out GPS sent us down in the middle of the night. We eventually made it to Utah. We all had a great time. I was able to go fly fishing in Yellowstone and in Flaming Gorge. I caught fish in Yellowstone and I think I caught a cold in Flaming Gorge. Seriously, we were hailed on multiple times in our thwarted efforts to land a single fish between Kurt, Matt and me. We still had a blast even though our cicada patterns sold to us by some girl at a gas station/fly shop in Dutch John who had obviously never been fly fishing in her life were worthless. No, really, it was obvious she had never been because she told us after we made the purchase. It is like Kurt said, the people selling the flies don't make them for the fish, they make them for the people stupid enough to pay for them (I paraphrased). We still had a great trip. While in Draper, we played at "the mansion" --everything from tennis and bocce ball to deer and bird hunting with our red rider BB guns (christmas presents from Kurt).
The kids had a great time with their cousins. They rode bikes nonstop on the tennis court and they loved the not-so-hot tub. The liked Yellowstone although their favorite parts were likely eating at McDonalds and the water slide at the, as Aiden put it, "fancy hotel" AKA Days Inn. We all had a blast for three weeks. It is coming to an end, and I am sad to say I have to go to the hospital on Monday. I love what I do, but I love hanging out with these guys even more. Thanks to all that made our great vacation possible. Especially Kurt and Deanne for all you do for us!


Tille and Aiden (now Elizabeth) and Brooks in the bat caves at the museum.

Kids Pajama Bocce Ball

Cousins hanging out at the house.

Rangers Fisher and Brooks, protectors of the wildlife!

Elizabeth and Brooks at Yellowstone Falls.

Waiting for the hail to clear.

Matt fishing the Green River.

Me fishing at Yellowstone.

Kurt fishing at Yellowstone with wildlife in the background. (It is the coolest place to fish.)

JJ is going to post more about our trip, but I wanted to get in my two cents.

One more batch of photo booth

and THEN I will get some vacation pictures posted. But I'm telling you, the photo booth alone makes the new computer worth it.

how old will I have to be

before people stop looking SHOCKED when they find out that I have 3 kids?

Fun with Photo Booth

I got a haircut (thanks Katie!!), and....





We got a new computer and so far our favorite part is the built in photo booth camera and effects. Which one is your favorite?

Oh, and I'm taking the lack of comments about the dog as a sign that no one is interested. Does this mean we are a "2 dog family" after all?!?!?!?!?!

Summer Solstice Honorees

(the special people of the day pictured together in the Old Faithful Hotel)

Today is a big day at our house. It is both Father's Day and Cate the Great's first birthday. We are so glad to have such a great father in our family. Lewis is a great dad and the kids absolutely adore him. They make sure that I know that he is the "BIG BOSS" while I am merely the "little boss". We are also grateful for our fathers and grandfathers who have made our lives so fun and wonderful.

(Cate Madison by the river for which she was named)

Cate is one today and I'm still not quite sure how that happened. She is the sweetest thing I have ever met. She is still quite tiny, but is starting to be more and more fun to have around.

We had a party for her while we were in Utah and she loved the cute little cake Tennille made for her. She especially loved when everyone was singing her song---"Cate the Great, we love you Cate the Great!!"

Home Sweet Home Plus One

We're home after a long and wonderful vacation. More details and pictures to come, but we logged over 5,000 miles on the way and drove through 17 states (not counting any little ones). Here's what our vegetable garden looks like today:And here's the flower garden:
And here's the dog we came home with:
She's cute, and we're looking for a good home for her. So, if you are in the area and you are interested, let us know. We found her abandoned at a rest area in the middle of nowhere in Wyoming. I guess we are certified crazy dog people now. So far she has been a really great puppy. She gets along great with us and with Georgia.