Summertime...

Summer is the best!  We absolutely love being outdoors, having a bit more of a relaxed schedule, and playing as much as possible.  It's major outside project time, camping time, water park and swimming time.  And it flies by SO. FAST.  Can't believe August starts tomorrow and we only have a few more weeks before we start back into school full time.  Sigh....  but meanwhile we'll enjoy every minute we can.

The kids made their own shirts for the 4th of July.  They turned out unique and cute I think.

We all love paddleboarding, but I think EmmaRay loves it most of all.  She is always happy to take it out and give rides to Adelynn or take Cade along fishing.  This picture is from Marsh Lake Utah.

 Fishing and playing on the dock at Marsh Lake.

So far this summer we have camped in Moab and hiked in Arches and Canyonlands, camped and fished at Payson Lakes, camped and fished in Sublett Idaho, camped at Marsh Lake, visited Tibble Fork Reservoir, hiked to Ghost Falls.... where to go next?  

Kitchen Makeover

Two and a half years ago before we moved into the house we took this picture of the kitchen--gorgeous, no?

We had the floors refinished before moving in, and painted the walls within a few weeks.  Michael never really liked the blue we painted because it clashed with the oak cabinets... but I had plans.

Here's a close up before pic of the oak cabinets-- I had some people ask me why I would cover up the "beautiful" oak.... this is why.  So worn out and aged.  And there's already a wood floor, so I definitely wanted contrast.  And I definitely wanted to add hardware.  Michael was awesome at measuring and drilling all the cabinets and drawers for me!

 March 9th I started this major project.  I figured I would do one section of cabinets or drawers at a time and work my way around the kitchen.  With tons of help from Michael and a whole lot of encouragement, we were able to do it a lot faster than I thought was possible.  (It helped that the kids were awesome workers and did their schoolwork and chores without much need of help from me.)

 Works in progress...

Yes, the work area is the dining room.  It made no sense to carry everything anywhere else, plus I could work in the same room as the kids and get a lot done during the day.

We were debating what to do with the island.... then I saw a shiplap island on Pinterest, showed it to Michael and he loved it.  I was so surprised.  I went to Home Depot and bought the supplies, and Michael built it and painted it for me one Saturday.  It is my favorite!!  A few days after these pictures he decided to add some trim to the sides and it looks even more amazing.

 Despite being sick with a crazy respiratory virus for most of April, babysitting 3 adorable nieces for 12 days, having to do some emergency work on the outside of the house (different story for another day), and going to Maui for 2 weeks, we made great progress and I can happily say that.....

 TODAY I FINISHED THE KITCHEN!!!!!!  And it is clean and no longer a construction zone!  And I love love love it!!  Thank you Michael for putting up with my crazy ideas and projects! (And he loves the blue now by the way.  I told you, I had plans.)

 
And just so you can appreciate the before and after pictures side by side.....



P.S. During this project the rest of the house may have been a shambles at times, but we ate a home-cooked meal every night.  Still not sure how we managed that...  pizza would have been easier.

Banister is Done!!

This project took me two January's and part of a February to complete, but I just finished it!  And I love it.  And all the hours were worth it.

First, enjoy the before pictures...  these were taken before we moved in to the house in August 2014.

Approximately 7-10 days were spent staining the woodwork-- cleaning and sanding, three coats of gel stain, touchups, 3 coats of topcoat.  Then came the spindles.  Michael said I should just stain it all, and he was right, it would have saved a lot of time and trouble.... but I really had my heart set on white spindles.  138 oak spindles, about 10 minutes of painting per spindle per coat times 3 coats....  30 minutes X 138 spindles = 69 hours of painting white!!! 

But the AFTER pictures make it totally worth it (notice also the wall color changes-- everything you see in these pictures has been painted in the last 2 years.)

Isn't it beautiful?  I love it!  And I love it even more that it's finally DONE!!!!

Happy 2nd Birthday Josiah!

Our sweet and adorable little Joey turned 2 yesterday! He knew it was a special day from the moment he got up in the morning and saw presents!  What we loved is that every time we said "Happy Birthday" to him, he would respond with a cute smile and bright eyes "Thank you!"  So cute!

 Here he is looking at the little Monster on the front door-- he had to lead everyone to the door and show them. 

 Joey loves to look for Monsters in the house-- he grabs a flashlight, grabs your hand, and leads you into a dark room or closet and says "Monsters, in there. Spooky."  Sometimes he acts really scared, so we decided to make Monsters cute and fun for his birthday.  He loved them!

 Especially loved the cake.... it was really hard to wait to eat it, but he made it!

 I found this little monster shirt for him that says "Here Comes Trouble."

 This is the bear he got as a newborn.  It used to be a lot bigger than he is. 

 Some of his favorite things and cute words that he says written on the chalkboard sign-- he is so smart and talkative.

Here's a closeup of his welcome sign. 

 Funny little tissue-paper monsters.  The girls had fun helping to make them for Joey.

 Monster party hats!  This was a lucky find-- blank party hats with monster face stickers to decorate them with.  The kids had fun making silly faces.

Party kids-- Cousins Ava & Evan, and friends Byrdie & Baby Bear.  Cousin Eli came too, but not in picture.

Pin the Eye on the Monster.  Joey loved it!

We also fed a monster (cornhole beanbag toss). 

And when all else fails.....

Just put it in! 

It's time for presents!

He got a fun water-coloring book from Evan, an awesome stacking toy and book from Eli, an adorable fish book from Byrdie, a cool ball hammering toy from Grandma & Grandpa Rigby, a hidden-picture puzzle from Grandma Thornbrue, a cool helicopter from Aunt Lisa, and an airplane, drum set, and dump truck from us.  Joey loved opening them all and playing with everything!  Thanks everyone!

And now it's time for cake! 

Blowing out the candles (take two... I video'd the first time and made Papa re-light the candle so I could take a picture!)

Monster... yummy!

Playing with the drum set- adorable!

We sure love this little boy-- he is so sweet, funny, playful, loveable and happy! And I can't believe he's two years old already!  Joey learned this week to say his full name "-Siah Dale Ribby." When I first asked him his age he said "Five" but with coaching for a few days he says "Two" and holds up both hands, trying to do 2 fingers on each but does five instead.