every day's a good day when you paint

My sister, Sarah, has been with us for the past 10 days.


According to Kent, when Sarah leaves, we're going to cry.


And yeah, I think he's right.  I'm taking her back home tomorrow and oh how we're going to miss having her around!


For example, a few days ago I needed to go meet my dad near Salt Lake to pick up some paint.
Nicholas was being super whiney and tired.  
I took Ellie with me, left the two-year-old with Sarah, 
and asked her to clean up a bit.


When I got back, Nicholas was quietly watching a movie (something he rarely wants to do anymore).  The dishes were done, the floor swept, toys put away, countertop sparkling...
and I hadn't done any of that work!  So awesome.


I've put her to work (that's why she came--to earn some money for school).  She's washed windows, cleaned out windowells in the basement, done laundry, made pipe-cleaner badges and crowns, weeded tons, painted my master bedroom, vacuumed and mopped and done dishes over and over again, watched the kids while I organized closets and cleaned rooms, helped with bedtimes and bathtimes, and babysat nearly every night while Kent and I went on dates.  Yesterday we got to go to the temple together for the first time since December because we had Sarah here to watch the kids.


On Saturday, Kent and I managed to clean out the garage,  wash both cars, went shopping--groceries, costco, and home depot--got an oil change, cleaned the house and hosted a barbecue with our friends, all with no stress, thanks to Sarah helping wrangle the kids.


We've also done a bit of playing--between the "Joy of Painting" remix video, numerous "parades" in the house, frozen yogurt and shave ice trips, and working on a recipe book for Sarah to take to college, well we've certainly had a lot of fun.  


 We might have watched that Joy of Painting video more than a few times yesterday while we were painting my bedroom...
Because as Bob Ross says, "Every day's a good day when you paint."