Downstairs Bathroom Remodel

Before

 Keith's been busy working on updating our downstairs bathroom.  Here are a couple of pictures before he got started. 

The outlet is hidden behind the towel

Now the mirror is gone

 When he pulled the mirror off the wall there was some weird glue they had used to hang it, and he had to use mud and sand it a bunch of times to get it nice and smooth.  He changed out doorknobs from the shiny brass to oil rubbed bronze. 

Notice the outlet is now closer to where the mirror will be

 We didn't like having the outlet right under the towel, so he moved it to the right so it is now more out of the way.  We got a granite countertop with an undermount sink.  We added an oil rubbed bronze faucet and soap dispenser.  We got a different toilet paper that is recessed in the wall, instead of the one on the side of the cabinet.  The light fixture was one of the first things we changed out, but I didn't get a great photo of it. 

After (can you believe it's the same bathroom)

 I had bought a gallon of paint years ago that I thought was a sage green.  He painted just a little bit, and we realized it was baby blue. This color is Softened Green (by Sherwin Williams), and I absolutely love it!  I knew he loved me as I sat watching him paint the white walls green, since he thinks all walls should be white.   I was going to take a picture of him painting, but he just wanted pictures of the end result. 

Our newest art

 We found this picture with a gold frame, but we wanted it oil rubbed bronze, so Keith worked his magic to make it match our other decor.  I found the new mirror at Taipan Trading. 

This shows the new towel holder

He's almost done working on this bathroom.  We're waiting on a new toilet that is on back order.  It will actually sit against the wall, instead of being several inches away from the wall.  Thanks Keith for a wonderful bathroom remodel! 

May Highlights

Parker on the climbing wall

Caleb made it pretty far up

Cooking in the backyard with Dad

May Birthdays

Parker wanted donuts instead of cake for his birthday

 Parker was too full at his party to eat his donut, so he ate it later in the day. 

I had homemade chocolate chip cookies

 A friend was selling cookies, so we bought some for my birthday.  They were so good.  They also sold us some mint chocolate chip cookies that were delicious. 

Keith requested fresh fruit

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 We had a delicious tray with strawberries, pineapple, raspberries, and fruit dip.  

We were able to see my cousins, sister, and my uncle for a birthday party.  We had a great time, and were grateful to the kind neighbors who let us jump on their trampoline and play on their swing set. 



We also had one more birthday get-together this month, but forgot to take pictures of it. 

Family photos

 I wanted to take some new family pictures, as well as some individual photos of the kids.  I let Keith know, and he suggested we just take some at home.  He set up a sheet against our large toy shelf, and we had a great photo shoot. Here are a few of my favorite pictures.  Feel free to skip this post if you do not want to see tons of photos.  I think we took about 250 photos, and it was hard to narrow them down.  I was so happy with how they turned out.  These were taken in November 2012. 

Father's Day

 Keith is a wonderful father to our children. At night when we are reading scriptures the oldest 3 kids all crowd around him.  When he was helping Caleb with his Pinewood Derby, Parker and Alyssa were often with them, too.  He works hard to support our family, but always takes time to spend with our kids.  Parker and Caleb love playing soccer with him in the backyard.  We are grateful he is the father in our home! 

This year for Father's Day I decided to make an ice cream cake for Keith.  I used 9 inch rounds to bake the strawberry cake.  Then I lined one of the clean pans with Stretch Tite (plastic wrap) and filled it with softened strawberry ice cream, covered it with more Stretch Tite, and put the ice cream in the freezer to harden.  Later I layered the cake and ice cream, and frosted with Cool Whip.  It looked plain, so I used grated a Hershey's chocolate bar over the top.  It took about an hour for it to soften, after we took it out of the freezer, enough that we were able to cut it into slices to eat.  So we sliced it all before we put the leftovers back into the freezer.

Pinewood Derby

Caleb has been involved in Cub Scouts since March, and is really enjoying all of the activities.  He was especially excited to participate in his first Pinewood Derby.  He decided that he wanted to make a pickup truck.  Keith helped Caleb build his car.  They did a great job because Caleb won the Pinewood Derby!  Caleb does not like to lose, so I was trying to prepare him before that his truck might not be the fastest vehicle.  He was so excited watching his truck race down the track, and realize that it was faster than all the cars.  He loved spending time with Keith learning how to use some of the tools in the garage.

Caleb is 8!

Caleb had a Year of the Snakes, Lego Ninjago party this year.  The kids started off watching an episode of Ninjago on TV.  They also played a sword game, with a foam sword of course, where you try and catch the sword by the handle.  If you catch the blade or drop it you lose a limb.  So the winner is the last person with any limbs left.  They threw throwing stars into a cardboard box target, and had a scavenger hunt around the house for a snake.  Then we went outside to play snake, snake over my head with a jump rope.  We came back inside for an ice cream bar and Caleb opened his presents.  He had a good time with his friends.

This is also a significant year because Caleb is now old enough to be baptized.  He was baptized over the weekend, with many extra family members who came to support him.  Keith baptized and confirmed him. 

 

The cousins

 

All the family that was able to come

What we remember

Today Keith and I were talking about memories from Thanksgiving as a child. He remembers going to visit his grandparents in Nevada or southern Utah. They would set up tables all over the house, and when they ran out of room in the house they would use various things as tables outside, such as big sheets of plywood resting on chairs or giant spools turned on their side.

I can't imagine eating outside because it was too cold. I remember we would store food out in the garage when we ran out of room in the refrigerator, because we knew the garage would be cold enough to keep the food at a safe temperature.

Day out with Dad - Lego Car Racing

Keith took the boys to a Lego Car Racing Night in September. It was in the community education catalog which gets sent to our house. Caleb was reading through it, and wanted to go.

The legos were provided for the kids to build their own cars. The legos were just to use, not to keep.

Then they raced them down this track. I think they had a fun time.

Our backyard

Side of house

We can go out back with bare feet! It is great.

Junipers under the window and hose holder

Honeycrisp apple tree and green grass

Keith has been working on our backyard this summer. He put railroad ties around the outer edges, moved 45 yards of dirt in, installed the sprinkler system, built an area for some bushes and a hose holder, planted bushes and a tree, and laid the new sod. Here is the new view! I am thrilled! When we did the front yard, we planted seed, which took quite a while to get looking nice. It is amazing how fast sod changes the look of the yard. We just hope it establishes healthy, deep roots to stay as nice as it is now!

Daddy's girl

Alyssa has become quite the daddy's girl lately. She loves to snuggle with him on the beanbag. She also cries for him when I do something she finds objectionable, like change her diaper or comb her hair.
She has also been acting like a dog or cat. She carries things in her mouth like a dog, but she meows rather than barks. She has been crawling around the house, and crawls up to us when she wants something to eat. She stood still and let me put her hair in ponytails when I told her that we were going to give her puppy ears.