The BIG Reveal!

MOVE THAT BUS!!!

Just like the Extreme Home Makeover, I've waited to post a picture until it was done.

But here it is! Our Craftsman Cottage!

I am really excited how it turned out. It was nerve racking when we started demo-ing the house. Pete was VERY tense when we didn't have a roof in our living room. It turned out better than I had thought it would.

Below is a before picture of the house. I kept getting nervous because it did look good before .. but I LOVE how it looks now.

Here are the kids enjoying the new walkway. Pete got me the rocking chairs and porch swing for Easter and Mother's day. I think he realizes they are VERY expensive because it made me want to do this project even MORE.

Here is our living room with the barrel vault ceiling. I LOVE it. It is so peaceful to sit in the living room and look out the window. Pete loves how our living rooms stays fairly clean. Despite what is going on in the rest of the house .... there is at least ONE room of order. And yes, I was mostly excited to put a 12 foot christmas tree in this room come Christmas time.

This is the first time that we had a contractor. It was actually nice this time since this was a tricky project with city codes, structural changes, etc. They did a great job!

Happy 4th of July

Another 4th of July weekend as come and gone. I really enjoyed this weekend because I got to do all of my favorite activities and they were spaced over a few days.

Friday: Centerville Bike Parade

Even though it can get a little hot, the kids LOVE to be part of the kids bike parade in Centerville. They have a fair with bounce machines, food stands at the park afterwards and fireworks. It usually is a late night for the kids but the fireworks make it worth the wait! Most of the night is spent lounging in camp chairs or laying on a blanket hanging out with family. Here is a great 'Blarbing' picture:

Above: Lily's First year riding a bike on her own. She went the whole way! YAY!

Below: Amelia is Queen of Sheba in the wagon that Pete pulled.

Neighborhood Breakfast - Monday Morning

This breakfast is an act of love for any of those who are in charge of food prep. Pete's parents were at the church at 5:30 AM to start cooking the eggs and sausage. I was glad that this weekend we had a good two day breather to just stay home and do projects.

Neighborhood parties

We had two parties this weekend with good food, friends and lots of fun for the kids. I wanted to make cupcakes. Thanks to Pete, he made the cupcakes Sunday night when I was too tired. It's not a holiday without some cute cupcakes!

Tonight we are lighting off fireworks at a neighbors house. I bought the newly legal aerial fireworks and Pete doesn't want to shoot them off by our house since we are almost done with our remodel. I'll upload some pictures of our house when it is ALL DONE. I was tempted to post a quick picture .. but I will wait for the BIG REVEAL! ;-)

I'm grateful for the freedoms that we enjoy to live in such a great country. GOD BLESS AMERICA!

Nesting!

Doesn't our living room look really nice with a view of the sky?!! I had to post a picture of our living room today as we are in the middle of another renovation.

My other announcement is that I am 15 weeks pregnant! wahooooo!! I will be due December 20th. I'll find out what I am having in about 5 weeks.

Pete's parents commented that we are usually in the middle of a big remodel while I'm pregnant (lily - Kitchen, family room; Amelia - Basement). Now with baby #4 we are modifying the look of our exterior and vaulting our living room ceiling. My kind of nesting! Below is a picture of the plans.

Today they pulled off the roof to get it ready for the eyebrow window and barrel-vault ceiling. Pete is freaking out and I am really excited!

Here's another cute picture of the kids. We had a huge downpour on the way to church. Phillip and Lily looked so cute walking into church with their rain gear. Phillip picked out his bow tie and wanted to wear a pencil behind his ear to complete the look. Pretty funny kid!

In process of submitting to AFV

This is a really funny video I took last February of Lily dancing at DI. She had taken her skirt off and found some bright red shoes. I think the soggy diaper completes the look. By popular demand .. I am in the process of submitting this to America's Funniest Home Videos (AFV). HA!!! enjoy!

Hill Air force Base Museum

We decided to take the kids to the Air Force museum today. It was a lot of fun! Phillip kept asking the veteran volunteers lots of questions. We got to sit in a helicopter. Amelia looked pretty cute next to one of the big planes outside. It's sad that we've lived here 4 years and this was our first visit. Definitely worth it!

Re-cap on the kids:

Phillip: He is enjoying more time at home playing and making up games. He finished up another season of T-ball. This year he chased the ball and got a few good hits right and left handed. He watched an episode about lice on Nova Science. He is obsessed with lice and now when he draws bad guys they usually have lice in their hair.

Lily: Lily is still as girly as ever. I loaded up on skirts and t-shirts for her this summer. I won't even try to put shorts on her. She has been walking around with a yellow and purple gift bag which was her purse. It was full of her treasures .. hair clipper guard to brush her dolly's hair, hello kitty tooth holder, and random dollies. She also LOVES to get into my make-up. The Stila under-eye all over her arms legs and face just doesn't look right, but to her she gets more and more beautiful the more she puts on!

Lily keeps saying, "This is the BEST DAY EVER!" She said this first when Pete let them sleep outside in a tent.

Amelia: Amelia and is talking and playing more and more everyday. I keep wondering what happened to my baby! Pete woke her up one day and said, "Amelia will you sing me a song?" She said, "DAddy Daddy ... PETE!! BUMBUM!!" It is not a family favorite. She also likes to do knock-knock jokes. This was my favorite, "Knock-knock" "who's there?" "Daddy" "Daddy Who?" "Daddy Daddy Bum-BUM!"

Phillip Graduates from Bountiful High! (pre-school)

I can't believe that Phillip has graduated from Bountiful High! Well, Bountiful High Pre-School. He'll wear the red gown again in what ... hmm... 13 years ... Class of 2024! I'm sure the time will continue to fly by. It seems like yesterday that he was just a little baby. Phillip has been going to the pre-school since I went back to work in 2007. Below is a picture that they took of him for a Mother's Day card. He's so little!

I can't say enough good things about the pre-school. The students and teachers go out of their way to make the little kids feel special and loved. The kids do a lot of fun crafts and activities .. I don't know how the teachers pull it off! The kids won't be going next year because I have cut back working to the point where it doesn't make sense to keep them enrolled. I will really miss everyone there!

Here is the recap of the end-of-year celebration!

Singing songs with Miss Jeri:

Amelia Joined in on the fun:

Spotlight on the graduating class from the pre-school. They each got to wear a gown, cap and got an engraved trophy.

Proud mom of her new graduate:

Bountiful High Triathlon: Each kid tossed a balloon to their parent (swimming) rode their bike around the track one lap, then ran one lap around the track. This has been a great tradition. Here is the triathlon with Amelia in my stomach, Lily in the stroller, and Phillip at 3 1/2 years old. Lily enjoyed doing it on her own this year. She was pretty good on the trike! Phillip completed the race after he "got his strength back."

Go Team!

Thank you Bountiful High for a great year!

Lay-over in Bountiful

Suz raiding Pete's Grocery store in our storage room. Pudding anyone?

Suz was in Utah this weekend for the Ogden marathon. YAY Suz! I got to hang out with her today prior to her flight back home to Phoenix. Luckily she came after I had a get-together featuring some fun 'mock-tails'. We made virgin lava flow drinks. It's basically a margarita and pina colada mixed together. Here's a recipe. I didn't put in any rum. It was a great blarbing Sunday.

Quote of the day. Phillip walked up to me with a very serious face and said, "I'm smarter than you." I said, "you probably are." He said, "Yeah, because I have a fat brain and you have a skinny brain, so I am smarter." Suz asked Phillip if she was smarter. He paused for a moment and said, "You brain is skinnier, so I'm smarter."

Spring Baseball

We had a great T-ball game today! It was 70 degrees, sunny, and breezy! Phillip has been having fun this second year of T-ball. He would get upset that some of the boys would field more balls. Phillip got a chance to play pitcher for an inning. He loved chasing for the ball ... even if one of his team members already got the ball. I'm a fair-weather-sport-watcher .. so it was nice to cheer on Phillip and enjoy the nice weather.

Phillip in ready position .. Coach Olsen in the background :-)

Phillip chasing the ball ...

Phillip grabing the ball ...

Phillip's Cheerleaders!

Easter Egg Hunts

We went to the annual easter egg hunt in Mapleton. It was fun watching the kids rush around the yard with their cousins rushing to get eggs. Phillip has gotten into the 'egg hoarding' stage where he is worried about how many eggs he will get. (notice I could not get a picture of his face .. he was VERY determined). We were pretty close to getting in trouble for leaving all of the kids candy in Mapleton. Lily 'collects' eggs. She runs to get eggs, but doesn't seem too concerned about what she gets. Amelia is in the 'grab it, shake it, open it, eat it' stage. It was a great function and we had a chance to eat some great home-made bagels, cookies and blarb.

The kids had a short nap on the drive home and we went to another easter dinner and easter egg hunt at Pete's parents house. We told them not to expect us, but we came and were the last to leave! It's great to see family around the holidays!

Now I'm glad that the Easter Bunny has all of the baskets and treats ready!

Trip to the Zoo!

It was April Fools and one of the first warm days this spring!

Here is a recap of our April Fools:

1st - Pete tipped over the table and set plates on an upside-down table. (this was my first clue that it was April Fools).

2nd - Pete went crazy with the Vaseline. I kept grabbing random handles all day long and getting caught with the nice feeling of sticky Vaseline. (side-note ... I did leave the Vaseline on the shower handle and Pete got stuck with it a day later! hahaha)

3rd - Pete told Phillip that he doesn't like BYU and only will route for Utah. Phillip was shocked!! April fools! Phillip reused this one a few times.

4th - I hid Pete's keys and phone in a crock pot and put ketchup packets in his coat. I wasn't very good at hiding my mischievousness!

5th - Pete wrote 'April Fool' on our bedroom mirror.

6th - Phillip played with my phone and happened to turn on the mute button. It wasn't intentional but it took me about a half hour to find my phone hidden in his bed covers!

It was great to get to the zoo. Below are some pictures. It quickly became a very crowded day at the zoo. Highlights were: seeing a chicken get a male peacock riled to the point of showing all of his feathers, seeing the Tigers walking around and actually swimming! The very best was to enjoy some sunshine and seeing the kids faces. Amelia loved seeing the animals and kept calling them 'Goggies!" We spent some time by the Peacock and Amelia has another word in her vocabulary, "Geegock!"

The things you can get at Costco!

So it has been a year since I started tracking our spending at mint.com. I ran some quick queries to see where all of the money went. When I looked up the money that went to Costco ... it was EYE OPENING!!

I LOVE Costco. Where else can you walk out of the store with a king-sized mattress and a fountain diet coke? Where else can you buy a 3 year supply of ketchup and a wireless router? Needless to say, Costco has been my one-stop-shop. I would find any excuse to go to Costco ... um we are out of bread and I only like the Aspen-Mills brand .. got to go to Costco. I need cheese, I need paper towels ... the problem is that I ALWAYS leave with things that I don't need. Matching outfits for Lily & Amelia, large amounts of guacamole, quasi-healthy chips.

Well, I'm on a Costco diet right now. We are trying a milk delivery service. It's more expensive than the store, but I'm thinking I will end up saving money because it will keep me away from the store. So far I love it! I am also going to start getting the bountiful basket (www.bountifulbasket.org) every other week for produce.

It will be a good to send Pete for a few items and keep me away from that jungle gym set up high that is just taunting me!

Mommy Monster

Phillip came home with a 'Family Tree' journal from Joy School. I could not quit laughing! I asked, "Phillip is this a picture of me?" He said, "yeah" "Why am I so angry?" Phillip said, "oh yeah, that's a picture of a monster."

Whether he drew this as a picture of me or not, It's nice having a very honest insight from a 5-year-old.

First Yard Sale of the Season!

Pete and I had a great day in the Sun at Canyons! We came upon a run that was called 'Yard Sale'!' Notice Pete is pointing to 'experts only' sign. Yes, it was a double black run, but it could have another meaning as well ... 'expert Yard Salers' only!

Do's and Don't's if yard saling.


1. Don't leave items unattended ... Even if you have paid for them! If you have to get a bigger car, leave someone with the stuff. If you have a pile of stuff .. keep someone buy it. Other 'expert' garage salers have bought and taken from our pile of 'treasures' many times! ;-)
2. Do get out there early. Early bird gets the best deal!
3. Don't forget to check in! Always have your cell phone with you in case a friend or neighbor calls you about the item that you might want.
4. Do make a wish list! And this is where I get philosophical ... Make a list of things you would like to find or get ... If you want, tell your fellow yard saler friends. Like Oprah says, put it out in the Universe and you will find it ... ;-)

5. Don't overspend or waste TOO much time! Keep a budget of time and money. Cash in hand is what you have to spend. Don't shop past 9:00 AM. Breaking either rule should have a REALLY good reason ;-)

6. Don't buy junk! If you won't use it or don't need it, it's not a good deal. However, someone's trash is another persons treasure. I say this to myself because I treasure SO MANY things! I think Pete and I are collectors of odd items and we have to stay clear of 'hoarding' ;-) My favorite thing to do to stop myself from hoarding is to surprise friends and family with some treasures: 5 foot tall stuffed Bugs Bunny and Yosemiti Sam, Playbill from Sigfried and Roy, Porcelain cat dressed in Victorian Clothes ... Treasures for sure!

Well, we are inching to yard sale season! May this be a good year of thrifting to you all!

Happy Birthday Lily!

A little Belated, but I wanted to write a post about Lily's Birthday. Lily turned 3! I can't believe it! I bought Hello Kitty cupcakes for Amelia's 1-year-old birthday, and since October Lily wanted a Hello Kitty party for herself. I swear .. no persuasion by me .. well a little .. I LOVE Hello Kitty!

After the party Lily was playing with her dolly's and it was one of the dolls birthday and she said, "You need to get a big Heyo Kitty balloon." .. ok done. "then you have to get Hello Kitty cupcakes" .. ok. "then all the frwends sing happy birthday." It's great to see that she loved the party!

Lily has been our little princess since she was a baby. She always LOVES pretty sparkly things. She definitely has a sense of fashion that I will have to tread lightly as she gets older. I bought her some fleece outfits to wear this winter, but they haven't seen much action because she says, "NOT cozy clothes .. I want TIGHTS and a skirt!" They had pajama day at pre-school and the only way I got her to wear her pajamas was to do her hair, put on tights with a 'dress jammy.'

Lily loves to help me get ready and cook. It doesn't always turn out very good .. she rubbed my nice mascara all over her lips 5 minutes before church. She dumped a bunch a salt in a batch of pancakes. In the end, there's no harm done. My favorite is when she tries to pick out outfits for me. She hates my running shoes, "Not THOSE shoes mommy" then she'll get some ridiculous shoes that I still have that have a 5 inch heal "WEAR THESE!"

She has grown up so much! The night of her birthday she marched downstairs to her big-girl room and said she was going to sleep in her big-girl bed. She didn't stay there long, but I was amazed that in her head she thought, "I'm 3 now, I should sleep in my own room downstairs!"