Christmas Part 3

I can't believe I forgot to take a before picture, but I totally did.  So just imagine it is like the picture below but subtract all of the white wood.  Basically it looked like a plain fireplace with no mantel.  For our present to my parents Bob volunteered to help them build a fireplace mantel.  It worked out well because Bob built ours last year and he loves to build stuff.  It also gave him something to do while we were at my moms house besides play card games (I know he gets tired of them). 
The picture below is like an in progress picture.

After lots of measuring and cutting and re-cutting here is the final project.  Ok, well semi-final. My mom still needs to add trim and other embellishments on the wood, it also needs to be painted but she wanted to do that part by herself so it is not completely done yet.  It looks really nice though.  It is a relatively easy and cheap way to improve your house.  The hardest part was cutting the corners for the trim, you would think it should be a simple 45 degree cut but trust me, it isn't.  Buying an already made mantel cost much more than this.  To think my mom has wanted one for the whole 20+ years they have lived there and it only took $100 (Bob and I didn't pay for it) and a loving son-in-law.

Meanwhile, Penelope made a new best friend.

 

It was Molly!  Or should I say Mah-ee.  Penelope just loved Molly.  Somehow she always messes up saying mamma and dadda and she can't get Tucker but she can now say Molly without us even trying to teach her.  Every time the dog walked into the room Penelope would say Mah-ee and point.  It lasted the whole time we were at my parents house.  The funny thing was that they were both kind of scared of each other.  Molly is scared that little kids or babies are going to hurt her so she stays away from them.  and although Penelope would cry when Molly left she also cried if Molly got too close.  Penelope just liked to watch Molly.  The few times Molly tried to sniff her, Penelope got scared.  Penelope was even calling her little pony Molly.  I know my kids would love it if we got a dog, but I just don't want the extra responsibility and work.