Front entryway

I have been a stressed out basket-case for a while now. Like I've had melt downs, I can't sleep at night, anxiety, etc etc. There are several factors to me being a crazy-person lately. But a major one has been our construction project. We started last April. The first picture below is a "before" picture. . . well not quite before, because there is already a pile of dirt, but as close as I got to taking a "before" picture of our front. NOTHING has been completed on time, We are still trying to get closed on our final loan, budget has been over, money is tight. . . etc etc. Just a few factors to my stress. Why am I sharing this?? Not sure. I guess I have to get a little off my chest. When we started making plans to add on to our house about a year ago, we decided to also re-do our entryway. I am soooo glad so did!

This is the outside to our new entryway. We added the gable, put in a new solid wood front door, and opened up the entry way. I have alway hated how when you open the door, there is no room to come in, and the stairs to downstairs are right there! Well, no more. . .

Here is new light in the entryway that David just put up last week.

I don't have a "before" picture of the inside. I wish I did. But basically where the dark wood flooring starts is the area that we added. Before our front door was right where the tile starts in the photo with the step down stairs right there. We almost had a couple people take a tumble down the stairs. . . that won't happen now!! I love our new entryway. We have the wood floor that will eventually replace all the tile. . . but we haven't started removing the tile yet. That will be another project this winter. Yes, something more for me to stress about!! I love the window over the door, I love having a real entryway now, I love the wood floor, I love the gable in the front and the pole. So I am really happy with our new entryway. Am I still stressed? YES. But things are winding down a little. .. . .more to come later :)

a slacker mom....

so luke mentioned the other day that I had done a blog post for everyone's birthday but his so I am feeling a bit guilty today.... granted, I don't think I blogged all summer....but still Luke deserves to be celebrated!

He turned 14 on July 3 this last summer. Luke is a pleasure to have as a son. He started 9th grade this fall. I can't believe I have an official highschooler!

Luke keeps busy with his athletics (he chose to play baseball over footballthis fall, and he's been doing great) and he is so smart he'll knock your socks off!

We love you Luke :)

Here are some of Luke's Favorites right now (in his own words):

• Food: Teriyaki Chicken with ranch
• Colors: Maroon and Gold
• Things to do: Any sports, hang out with friends, watching Sports Center
• Vacation Spot: Seattle (Especially Safeco field)
• Movie: Glory Road or Remember the Titans
• Book: Percy Jackson series
• Song: Party Rock Anthem
• Place to eat: Just about anywhere, but Cafe Rio is the best!

happy 9th to elizabeth!

Elizabeth is celebrating her 9th birthday today! I remember David flying in to Seattle on September 11, 2002 from West Virginia to be there for her birth. . . the one year anniversary of 9/11. Luckily the flights were safe that day, and Elizabeth arrived safely on the 12th! All 9 pound of her :)

Here are some of Elizabeth's favorites right now:

• Favorite Food: Apples
• Favorite Colors: Purple, Blue, and Green
• Favorite thing to do: Play soccer and Dance (she is playing on a club soccer team this year. . . her goal tally so far is 4! )
• Favorite Vacation Spot: St. George
• Favorite Movie: Soul Surfer
• Favorite Book: Two times the Fun
• Favorite Game: Littlest Pet Shop
• Favorite singer: Justin Bieber ( I finally caved and got her a JB T-shirt for her birthday! She has been wanting one for quite some time now)

Elizabeth is a joy to have at home! She is looking forward to getting her own room when our addition is completed ! (More Peeks to come soon). She is a hard worker and generally a happy, friendly girl. We love you, Elizabeth! Have a great Day!!

peek1

You may or may not remember that we have a bit of a project going on here this summer! I thought I would start to give a few little "peeks" into what we have been doing and where are progress it at! This picture is the outside of our house. You can see the scafolding is up because they are working on putting up the stucco for the outside. I am just giving an overall view today. I will continue to give "peeks" and focus on different areas of our house! YOu can see our new garage door is in. . . .and also get a bit of a peek at our new entryway. We have been working so hard this summer. David has done some of the work himself inorder to save a few $$. Do these pictures make you nervous at all? I don't know if you can see how dangerous it is up there! He has a ladder on top of the scafolding putting a few shingles up. I had to go up for just a few minutes to help ( and I was only standing on the scafolding. . . ) and I was scared to death! Granted, I REALLY don't like heights! Well, untill the next peek!! . . . .

happy birthday, mia!

Mia is turning 6 today!

We love having Mia in our family. She is full of life and so fun to have around. Here are some of her favorites right now. . . .

• Favorite icecream: rainbow sherbet (ok, so it isn't icecream, but that is what she said )
• Favorite food: Strawberries ( she asked for strawberry cake today. . . it has cut up strawberries on it. .. yummy!)
• Favorite things to do: Dance, Dance, Dance! She also likes to play with her friends, and jump on the trampoline
• Favorite sport: first she asked is dance was a sport. . . well I guess it kinda is, but she chose soccer. . . although she has never played (she gets to watch her sisters play!)
• Favorite color: pink and blue (she is a BYU fan through and through, so blue is definitely a favorite!)
• Favorite Book: Bisquit or Fancy Nancy
• Favorite place to eat: Pizza Pie Cafe ( we are headed there for her birthday dinner tonight! Her close seconds are Mc Donalds or Wendys. . . she's not very picky!) and the funny thing is, that she doesn't even eat the pizza. She like the pasta bar and salad bar!(where she loads up on cottage cheese, goldfish crackers, mandarin oranges and cheddar cheese :)
• Favorite Song: Baby (by Justin Beiber. . . ) but her real favorite is "I am a Child of God"

When asked what she wanted for her birthday ( and I asked her numerous times. . . ) she continued to respond " I don't care. .. surprise me!"

So let's hope she enjoys her gifts today :) cuz she didn't give me a single idea to work with !

Happy birthday, Mia! We love you SOOOO much!

and they're off!

school started yesterday! this will be the last year all three girls are at the same school. kennedy is in 6th, elizabeth is in 3rd, and Mia had her first day of all day school in 1st grade.....all mykids are in school all day now. i miss having mia around to keep me company. I remember a time when I would dream of having all the kids in school....now it is here. time goes by.the house is really quiet.

"Extreme Room Makeover"

Today is Kennedy's birthday. . . she is 11! She has said that all she wanted for her birthday was to have her room decorated and redone. (Well, maybe she had a couple other things on her list. . . but she has been drawing room designs for months now!)So We decided to fulfill her wishes, because she is such a good, sweet, girl, and we both felt that she needed something big like this. Lucky for us, she left for a three day, two night camp on Thursday. She gets back in about an hour now. . . .So we have worked a little magic while she has been gone! I am giddy with excitement, because I know she will be thrilled. .,. .and sooo surprised as well!

Unfortunately I didn't take any before photos. So imagine blank walls, furniture that doesn't match, that's old. .. etc. We found this beautiful bedroom set off of KSL and picked it up yesturday. Dresser, desk, poster bed. etc.

David did almost all of the painting. We just painted three of the walls, but the colors are really vibrant and I really love the contrast.

I love the circles I placed in two separate walls!

This wall is basic and lovely. I also made her a magnet board that will also go on this wall. We haven't hung it up yet. . . but it's cute :)

My neighbor has a vinyl lettering maker, and helped me cut out a lot of the wall decor. What a fun gadget to have, right?? Well, I'm off to pick her up and then bring her home for her surprise! I think I'm more excited than she is!