What we've been up to...

We didn't post much in September or October, but that's mostly because we were super busy working on our bathroom renovation and finishing up other projects. We bought our 1970's ranch house about 2 1/2 years ago and slowly but surely, have been renovating and updating it room by room. This week, because of requests from my family, we're going to post the progress we've made so far -- starting with the bathroom. So, if you aren't interested in house pics, just skip the next few posts...

The hall bathroom we affectionately dubbed "the blue bathroom", and it's pretty obvious why:





My handy hubby and I started to tear out most of that blue. We took off the wall tile, tore out the blue toilet, countertop and ripped up the floor.





In the middle of a renovation, we always have to take a deep breath and remind ourselves that it gets worse before it gets better.

And finally done! After all the messy demolition, it was time to put it all back together. The walls were pretty damaged after removing the wall tile, so we decided to install beadboard wainscotting.

One of the things we've done as we've renovated our entire house is to be discriminating about what to tear out and what to keep. Not everything has to be new. We both really liked this blue, sort of retro tile on the back wall, so we decided to keep it. Also, the vanity was in pretty good shape, so I just gave it a light sand and re-stained the doors to give it a brand new look. New sleek hardware also helps. We also continued the beadboard panel across the side of the tub to give it a built-in look.

We went with a large format tile - 12" x 24" - and we both really like it. (It was also quicker to install and has fewer grout lines to clean!)

I chose to go with hooks in this bathroom instead of the traditional towel bar because you always need somewhere to hang wet towels -- not dry ones.

We added a shelf above the toilet for the fresh towels and a few bathroom necessities.



Luke and I took some photographs while in Chicago and I just had them printed in black and white and used simple white frames.

Overall, we are pleased with how this low budget renovation turned out. It was a lot of work, but there is something so rewarding about having a vision and seeing it through to the end. We scored the granite countertop, lighting, faucet and a few other things over a year ago because they were on uber clearance -- so we've had the vision for a while. It's nice to finally have it come to fruition.

Happy Halloween

Hope everyone had a SUPER Halloween!

All ready for church --- what a cutie.

Seth's Party

For Seth's 1st birthday party, I decided to do a "You are my Sunshine" theme, because it's one of my favorite songs to sing to him, and it just seems to fit our happy little guy.







I made the traditional "smash cake" and we stripped him down and let him dig in. Once I put the cake on his tray, he was pretty interested, but he got a little overwhelmed with everyone looking at him and the kids standing right next to him trying to "help". :) Seth definitely has "personal space" issues...



After we got the kids backed up and Luke and I both took a turn taking a little piece off the cake and eating it, he decided it was fun again.









And tasty!



It was such a fun day and we had a really good time enjoying our friends and celebrating this year we've had as parents.

Loving the swing he got for his birthday...

Our Special Day

Yesterday was Luke and I's Sixth Anniversary. I know, six years already? I guess time flies when you're having fun. :)

Due to my loss earlier last month playing Wii Olympics (10 events on the Wii), Luke got to choose what we did for our anniversary this year. He's always wanted to see the Blue Man Group, so he surprised me with a babysitter and tickets and we headed into the city.
We had dinner at a nice restaurant just off of Lakeshore Drive, within walking distance of the theater. It was a good meal, finished off with some pretty awesome creme brulee. (I've got to invest in a kitchen torch so I can make my own!)

The show was pretty cool! It was different than I was expecting, but it was very entertaining, and we had some good laughs. There was some audience participation (randomly picked people dragged up on stage) and I was glad I wasn't sitting in an aisle seat!

After the show, we both got pictures with one of the group members:




It was super fun and on the way home, we vowed to make date night more regular! I love our little Seth to pieces, but it sure was nice to spend a night with my handsome guy! ;)

Another Birthday Boy!

Luke, you are amazing!!! I love you so very much. Happy Birthday, babe!

Birthday Boy

Today is Seth's 1st Birthday. What a year it has been! Luke and I are so blessed to have this little ray of sunshine in our home.

Some things I love about our little guy:
- Of course, his giggle. It is so, so darling -- it cracks me up every time.
- The look on his face when he gets excited. He looks straight forward with his eyebrows raised, eyes wide, arms out and he breaths so fast I sometimes think he's going to hyperventilate. I guess you have to see it -- it's hard to describe. It typically happens when Luke comes home from work. ;)
- His little micro-cuddles. He's not especially cuddly, so the brief moments he'll lay his head on my shoulder I treasure.
- When he's playing on the floor with his toys and he looks up to see what I'm doing, he'll catch my eye, cock his head to the side and just smile. So cute.
- His random babbling. He gets going pretty good sometimes and I can't help but wonder what he telling me all about. It sounds pretty exciting.
- How he loves water. In his bath he splashes so exuberantly that we have to wonder if they'll be any water left in there. He'll splash for several minutes then look over with water dripping off his face and give a big cheeser.
- His love for music. If there is a song playing that he likes he starts bobbing his head and "dancing."
- How much he loves his jumper. When we first put him in there, it took him a while to really get into it, but now he just goes wild. He jumps so high he actually gets air off the seat!
- His big cheeks and gorgeous blue eyes.

Ball Fun

Seth has started to show some interest in throwing stuff. In general, this is a precarious development, but we all had a good time when he discovered that throwing a racquet ball was funny. It was pretty hilarious to see him wind up and hurl the ball. He froze up a little bit when the camera came out, but we still caught a few good belly laughs.

Idaho Trip

Last month, Seth and I made the trip home to visit family for a few weeks. After hours and hours of delays at the airport, we finally landed in Salt Lake City and it was such a relief to see Bethany waiting for us; ready to take us somewhere we could sleep! Seth did SO well, even though it took us almost 5 hours longer than planned. We were supposed to arrive around 9 p.m., but we didn't arrive until about 1:30 a.m.
The first weekend we stayed with Aaron and Melanie and we had such a good time. You guys know how to have some fun! :)

Seth trying out a swing for the first time at a park near their house. He thought it was pretty awesome:

I also had the opportunity to make the trip down to St. George to visit with my Grandparents. (My Grandfather has cancer and unfortunately, I knew this was probably going to be the last time I would be able to see him.) It was so much fun talking and laughing about old memories and all the crazy stuff we'd done as kids. As Grandpa put it, "I wasn't sure you kids were going to live to adulthood..." Well, we did, and it was fun to spend the day reminiscing about all the good times.

After getting back from southern Utah, my Mom met us halfway from Idaho and took Seth and I the rest of the way to Rexburg. Again, Seth was such a sport during all this driving.

The rest of the next couple weeks were kind of a whirlwind -- trying to spend time with all my siblings and planning a few hours here and there to see friends. No matter how long I stay, it seems like I never quite have enough time to spend with everyone.

Seth on the riding lawnmower with Grandpa Hoopes:



Loving the "Big Swing" at my parents' house:



There's a baby granny on my blanket!



Cutie pie:



For the last week, Luke was able to join us. Seth was so happy to see his daddy. It was cute. Those two together just melts me.

I've been dying to go over to Jackson Hole and spend some time in Grand Teton National Park, so Mom and Dad took us over a few days before we had to leave. My goodness, it was breathtaking! I've seen those mountains about a million times, but they still never cease to amaze. It was unseasonably cold for being almost June, so there was still a good amount of snow left. On Jenny's Lake, the ice was just beginning to break up and it was incredibly picturesque.

It was a fabulous trip. Thanks everyone for the beds, the food and all the fun! 'Til next time! :)

Out with the Old...In with the Cash!

We participated in our annual neighborhood garage sale this weekend. Our first ever. The verdict? Not as bad as I thought it would be.
I had a friend come over Friday to help me and we had a great time just chatting all day and taking turns caring for the babies. Seth did so awesome! He was pretty content just to sit on a blanket and play with his toys and stare at all the strangers that came wandering in the garage. (It was pouring rain for part of the day, so we literally had a 'garage sale'). He has quite the stare-down face when he first makes eye contact with a stranger. He did warm up to a few people and give them a smile, but mostly he played it cool.

His 'cheeser' for the camera:



The days went fast and we actually sold almost everything! Awesome!

****

In other news, we've been doing A LOT of work in the backyard. We thought it was going to be a pretty low-maintenance backyard when we first bought the house, but boy, were we wrong. I've been weeding for three weeks straight -- every nap and pretty much every free moment I've had. Granted, the reason there is so much to do this year is because we've never had it under control. The first year we bought the house it was pretty overgrown, but we were so overwhelmed with all the projects to do inside, that the outside got neglected. And last summer, I was in my third trimester of pregnancy, so bending over to weed just wasn't going to happen. (Oh, and I was on a pesky little thing called 'bedrest' for most of it). So, hence the three weeks of working our tails off.

We did build a DIY firepit in the back and we're really liking it.
(Can you spy Seth in the background?)



Oh, there he is:





Now, we can start enjoying the backyard and invite people over for some s'mores. :)

As soon as I get pictures rounded up from different cameras, I'll post about our trip to Idaho in May. It was so fun!

Omaha

At the beginning of April, Luke and I drove to Omaha to see his oldest brother's family and also his parents while they were in town for our niece's baptism. We could only get away for the weekend, so Thursday evening after Luke got off work, we packed everything in the car and made the 8 hour drive. We figured because Seth usually sleeps during most of that time anyway, it would be ideal. He wasn't too thrilled to sleep in his car seat for that long, but all in all he did really great. He was a bit confused when we woke him up at the hotel at 1 a.m., but he settled in pretty nicely after a while.

Friday we met up with his family and toured "Old Market" in downtown Omaha. It was a really fun place to walk around and they had some really interesting shops and restaurants.

Grandpa Werrett bought the kids some candy at little shop and they were pretty excited:



The whole crew (minus Luke, the photographer):



Seth has just started to like the baby bjorn -- Luke caught a rare moment of cuddling:



Feeding the ducks:



Saturday morning, Luke and I were able to sneak away early and attend a temple session (thanks Alan and Brenda!), and we also went to the visitor's center at Winter Quarters. Coincidentally, Luke's youngest brother is on a mission in Omaha and apparently there were several near-sightings of him throughout the weekend, but to Luke's disappointment, we didn't get to see him.



Our niece was so excited for her baptism! It really was one of the most special baptisms that I've been to.



I couldn't resist snapping a picture of Seth in his little tie:



With his cousins:





It was a great weekend, despite a nasty flu-bug that made the rounds...but we are so happy that we were able to see everyone! It was so fun.

Easter Weekend

Happy Easter! We had a great weekend that included friends, hints of sunshine and massive amounts of dark chocolate. Yum!

Light Easter Dessert

With all the great fruit (especially strawberries) just coming into season, I decided to publish an Easter dessert that features all that fruity goodness. It is a Strawberry & Melon Compote with an Almond Streusel. For the full recipe go HERE.