Finally!

22 December 2014

Since a picture is worth 1,000 words....

We are now home owners!

 

 

Since some of you have asked for updated pictures, here they are. 

 

 

 

The master bath has a new vanity, including sink, and a new floor.

 

The master bedroom has a new paint job.

 

 

 

 

 

The converted garage.

 

As you can see, there is still a lot to be done but we'll get it done and send more pictures as we do!



Surgery

3 Dec 2014

Well the surgery went well.  It took about 90 minutes but Dr. Connelly said that things went smoothly. I was in the hospital less than 2 hours after surgery so I am home and recuperating fine.   I'm sore but Scott is taking really good care of me and I know that I'll be up and around soon (but not too soon, I promise.)
Just wanted to give everyone the update.  Love you all.  Thanks for your thoughts and prayers. I know that they worked, as did the blessing that Scott gave me last night.  Isn't it wonderful to have the priesthood in our lives?  Don't ever forget how great a blessing that truly is.

As promised

31 October 2014

 

 

 

 

 

After the Belliston Chicas

 

 

 

26 November 2014

Exhausted

24 November 2014 - Have you ever used a cement grinder?  I don't recommend it!  On Friday we used a rented cement grinder to level the cracks in the floor of the house.  It was a long, cold, brutal process.  The grinder is hooked to the garden hose so water sprays out to cool the grinding blade. Scott would grind for 10-15 seconds while I sucked up as much water as possible with the shop vac (Highly recommended product for any type of remodel!).  Then we would empty the shop vac and mop up the excess water with towels.  Then the whole process would be repeated...for 6 hours.  Like I said, brutal.  But we took it kind of easy the next day and the floor is nice and level now.   Pictures will be coming soon.

No cause for alarm

13 Nov 2014

House: The Belliston Chicas struck and the result was amazing.  The house was completely prepped for painting by the time they left.  All walls were wiped down (thanks to Mom for helping us get started on that).  The first coat of paint will be finished tonight (we are averaging one room per night which will keep us right on schedule).  The carpet guys came and measured so they should let us know in the next few days what the $$ damage will be.  Final decisions are being made on the master bathroom vanity.  I'll upload some pictures as soon as I remember to download them on to my computer!!!

Health: I visited the OB/GYN office on Monday and was able to talk with the gentleman that will be doing the surgery for me.  After coordinating schedules, Dec. 3rd was selected as the surgery date.  I feel very confident in the doctor and know that everything will be fine (thanks in large part to everyone attending the temple for me).  Scott will take some time off so he will be playing doctor and I have gotten permission to work from home for a week or so after the surgery.  It will be fun to spend time with him NOT working on the house!  We haven't had a lot of that in the past couple of months! 

Garden: The garden is officially done (except for onions and leeks - they are tough buggers!) We are hoping to get some things planted in the greenhouse in the next couple of weeks so we can have fresh produce all winter!  If anyone has requests, just let us know and we can bring little green plants to you at Christmas!

Love you all!!!

It has potential...

2 Nov 2014 - So, as most, if not all, of you know, we are in the process of purchasing an investment property.  It passed appraisal with a few conditions so we are working on trying to meet those conditions in the next month.  We have been scraping popcorn ceiling off (don't ever buy a house with popcorn ceiling!) and fixing plumbing issues.  I just keep telling myself that it has potential.

Woodpeckers

26 Oct 2014 - We have woodpeckers.  For those of you that have been to our house, you might remember that our back porch wall is wooden.  They like to perch on that wall and grab a meal...strange to be on the inside of that!  And they are brave too!  They only leave when we make threatening moves.  Then they just sit on the fence or apple tree branch and wait for us to go back inside so they can return and finish their meal!

A bunch of crazy, wonderful people

16 Oct 2014 -  I've been having a few "missing my family" days lately so I decided to look through our family pictures.  Sure love you guys.

 

 

 

Interesting Thoughts

14 Oct 2014 - Thoughts?

Inspirational!

13 Oct. 2014 - I just found this on YouTube and wanted to share it with all of you! 

We're leaving on a jet plane...

29 Sept 2014 - Scott found out about a month ago that he is going on a business trip to Florida next week and he can bring a date!  So we are taking a trip to Florida and we are both pretty excited!  I'll be taking some work with me but it will be nice to be reading policy by the pool instead of in an office!   So if you see pictures of sun and palm trees, don't be alarmed!  We haven't moved again!

Not Much...

25 Sept 2014 - It has been a while since my last post.  Life has, for the most part, returned to normal.  We get up and go to work every morning.  I played a solo in church on Sunday.  Less than a page into the song, babies started crying...hysterically.  Not quite sure how to take that. 

We still have tomatoes, although they are starting to diminish.  We pulled out another huge carrot the other day.  I would say the main carrot was at least 1 pound.  All othe "appendages" were another 1/4 - 1/2 pound!

The weather is getting chilly and it is dark in the mornings.  Fall is in the air!  The leaves are starting to turn which is fun.  I will miss the canyon drives to see the leaves.  We don't really have much in the way of picturesque canyons to drive up.   So...drive up the canyon for us and send us pictures!!!!

Keep an Eye Out

15 Sept 2014 - I don't know how many of you are keeping up on the news but there is a virus that is sweeping the country called Enterovirus.  It only seems to be affecting children but it has hospitalized a lot of them.   It is a respiratory virus.  The initial symptoms look a lot like a common cold but quickly progress.  I am sure that most kids are contracting it at school but they all go to primary too so just keep an eye on those cute kiddos! 

Only in Arizona!

 

This was posted in the window of a restaurant! 

 

Funny story

8 September 2014 - Some of you have already heard this story but I'll tell it anyway.  We arrived back in Snowflake around 7:00PM on Friday night.  There was just enough light for us to do a quick inspection of our garden.  We noticed that there were not as many ripe tomatoes as we had anticipated there would be.  (We still picked 20+ pounds the next morning).  Prior to leaving we had told a few people that they were welcome to pick some tomatoes while we were gone but let's be honest, how often does that happen? 

At church on Sunday one of Scott's co-workers thanked him for the 4 bags of tomatoes that she picked from our garden!  A little while later Scott's dad mentioned that he had picked a bag full of tomatoes.  As we were leaving church Aunt Karen stopped us and thanked us for the 2 bags of tomatoes that they had picked while her daughter was visiting.

I guess our little tomato plants are doing better than we had thought! 50 pounds on the Thursday that we left,  7 bags full in the week that we were gone, and 20+ pounds the day after we got back!

We are feeling very blessed that our garden is doing so well.  Oh yeah, we got another 1 lb carrot yesterday and Scott told me it is the small one compared to the one that was growing next to it... 

Great Gathering

7 Sept 2014 - We loved the family gathering this year.  It was so fun for us to do the Tour du Family for the last couple of days.  Thanks to everyone for their hospitality.   Just wanted to share a couple of our favorite pics from the gathering.  A complete set of the pictures will be shared with all of you in Dropbox! 

Baby!

 

For those of you who didn't hear the story, these two little birds flew into the window and Dad revived them!

At Mesa Falls

 

Can't wait to see everyone again at Christmas time!

Is that bad?

Is it bad that I know how many hours of work we have left before we get to head to Utah?  10 for me and 14 for Scott!!!!  Can't wait to see everyone!

Farewell to Summer

Canning.  You know you are nearing the end of summer when canning season arrives.  Green beans and spaghetti sauce have been on my agenda lately but it is wonderful!  I don't know who made us all worried about this global warming thing, but this has been the coolest August that I can remember.  The past two weeks have been in the 70's and we've had so much rain!  Our grass has never looked happier!  It is hard to believe that summer is already ending.  We celebrated two birthdays, Addy and Emerson's (we'll try to post pictures later).  I took a foot renewing class and I am now a certified renewist.  It may sound strange but it works wonders!  We didn't go on any family vacations because Garrett was gone to a lot of scout and youth camps.  We plan on going to St. George the last week in September and that should be a lot of fun.  We have now started school again.  I am so grateful that I'm able to keep my kids at home and that we're able to learn together.  It is fun for the most part, although there are those days...

One last thing, we are on the lookout for purchasing a bigger vehicle so if you want to keep your eye out for us, that would be fantastic.  Vans are the most common but we really like the Pilots and Suburban type.  Under 100,000 miles and under $10,000.  We are going to need it by the end of February because our family is going to have expanded by then!  Love you all and look forward to seeing you at the gathering!

You say tomato...

In the past 2 days we picked 30 + pounds of tomatoes from our garden.  Hence, we spent this morning canning tomatoes. I am planning to do another batch on Thursday before we head up to Utah!  If anyone wants tomatoes, just let us know and we'll bring you some.  All 40+ plants are Roma's except for one!

Downpour

3 August 2014 - We had a wonderful rain storm last night!  It even took out the power on one side of town for several hours!!! We didn't get any pictures but there was quite a puddle in our driveway!!!

Great Reading

19 July 2014 - I was at the library the other day and stumbled across this book.  If anyone is interested it would make for a great discussion at the family gathering. Or it could just make for a great read.
It is called "Your Life Calling" and it is by Jane Pauley.

Good day

11 July 2014 - It has been a good day here in Snowflake.  It rained this afternoon which was much needed and now it smells so good.  Our neighbor's granddaughter Ali stopped by this afternoon.  She is the one I have written about before.  She walked right in and said "Where's Scott?" When I explained that he was still at work she frowned and replied, "Can I come back later?"  Obviously she doesn't come to see me!
For those of you who are wondering, the local fire restrictions have been lifted because the monsoon season is starting.  My attentions have been directed elsewhere.  Yesterday's subject was HazMat response.  The learning curve is really steep but so far I am enjoying the new job.

So Funny

5 July 2014 - I woke up yesterday and wished Scott a happy 4th of July. Without skipping a beat he replied, "Down with the British." It is always good to start the day off with a laugh.

This is from our brief trip to Yellowstone in the last week of May.  Lots of delightful sights and it was relatively good weather all the time.

Cute twins have arrived

June 25th was the big day! Baby Joy first - 5 pounds 11 ounces  Love that dimple!!

Then baby Jacob Thomas - 5 pounds 8.5 ounces

Both are home with their sweet family now and doing very well. They just need to get their days and nights figured out!

Emma is going to Springville to stay for a few days and entertain Grace and Grant! Dad and Mom (Grandma and Grandpa) went last week to help install a sprinkler system, but that was just an excuse to hold babies :)