First Day Back to School

 March 11, 2013 

The boys on their first day back to school in Oregon.

For Kaden, it was a fun reunion with old friends.

As soon as we stepped out onto the sidewalk, from across the fence, you could hear kids yelling "Kaden!  Hey look it's Kaden!"  And when we went inside the school for their "Welcome Tour", staff and students were constantly giving him high fives and saying "Welcome Back".  He was all smiles.

But for Versii, who is our timid one, he wasn't quite as excited.  I had to stay with him in his classroom for a little while.  It's a bit of an adjustment, because their school here has full day kindergarten, while Utah was just half day.  We found out that they have breakfast in the classroom every morning.  He thought that was fun, but he was so reserved that it took him about 10 minutes to even start eating.  I was able to leave about 20 minutes later.

And he survived the day just fine.

A funny note: I packed lunches for both boys. Then when Versii got home from school he said, "Mom! Did you know that they have this place in school, where if you forgot your lunch or you just want to eat there, they give you food!?" Clearly, the cafeteria is a new experience for Versii.  

Goodbye Utah

February 28, 2013 

After 9 months in Utah, we decided it was time to pack up and move back to Oregon.  We enjoyed our short stay there and were sad to say goodbye to our friends and neighbors.

Above: The boys with their friends (our neighbors) Gavin and Sky.  

(Just a little side note: The boys love Sky. Versii and Paxton both wanted to marry Sky, but Versii said "She said something about me...so Paxton, you have to marry someone else.")

Josh and I with our neighbor, Sharon.  

He helped us out countless times.

We love you Sharon!  Thank you so much!

Our good friends, the Wescotts!

(Who graciously agreed to rent our beautifully remodeled house. Enjoy it!  I will miss it.)  

We will miss you! But Sam, I will miss you most of all!

You are an amazing friend!  I can't even tell you how much you mean to me!  I love you!

Thanks for everything you've done for us!

Top Left: Sam and I with baby Whitney

Top Right: Josh and Kyle

Josh's Mom's Visit

 January 31, 2012 - Josh's Mom, Jeanne, came out to visit and help us with our fireplace and sheet rocking.  

She also brought her granddaughter, Aolonie, AO for short.

AO is a super cute, but she is only a year old, so she added an extra project all on her own...taking care of her. :)

 We completed the top of the fireplace with old wood from the pallets that were used to deliver our doors and windows.  We're really happy with how it turned out!  We layered cement on top of the old brick, but we weren't able to get the smooth finish we were hoping for, so we will most likely cover it with stone, at some point in the near future.

 Our baby sitter, Paxton.  

He spent a lot of his time entertaining AO in the port-a-crib.  

They had so much fun playing together.

 Jeanne also helped us finish sheet rock and texturing projects in the kitchen, bathroom, hallway, and living room.

We now know that sheet rock and texturing come before any other remodeling projects.  As doing it after the fact, is so much more work.

Above: Our kitchen during the project.

 AO's mom, Josh's sister, Amanda, wanted me to take some pictures of her while she was here.  These are my favorites!

 AO did not like snow!

 AO with Josh's Mom, Jeanne.

Our kitchen after painting.

 Our almost completed living room. 

All that's left is finishing up the fireplace.

The before/after shots of our bathroom.

Most of the before pictures are from the previous home owner's realty pictures.

Our completed bathroom.  

A big thank you to Jeanne for coming out and helping us finally complete these projects! 

Working with Grandpa

 January 23, 2012 - Mom and Dad drove down to Utah to help out with the house.  We got to visit with Mom for a day and then she went out to Grandma's while Dad stayed here and helped us complete some projects.

Paxton is our big helper.  And there's nothing he loves more than working with Grandpa!

 Dad installing new windows in the rest of our main floor.  6 in all.  And together, Josh, Dad and our neighbor Kyle installed our big front window. 

Delivered on the worst day possible...during a freezing rain storm that started just a few hours before the truck showed up to drop it off.

Everything was shear ice.  

 They ended up having to break out the glass to take out the old window.

Our new front window, all installed.

 Paxton was a big help when it came to the floor.  :)

Always on hand with his tools.

 The boys working on our new wood floor.

Thanks to our friend Kyle for helping install that too!

 The before/after pictures of our new floor.

I love our smooth new finished wood floor!

 Also, Dad helped us install our new front door.

Of course we waited until winter for this project...it sure was cold waiting for that project to be finished.

 They let Paxton pound in the pin in the last hinge.

The before/afters of our new front door. 

Also, we added the new porch light and a new mailbox. 

I can't believe the difference a new front door can make in the appearance of your home.  I love the transformation!

Paxton helping Grandpa with the "mud."

He just kept saying, "Grandpa I need more mud.  I am a good mudder!"

A big thank you to Dad for all his help in the few days he was here!

Winter Wonderland

 January 12, 2013 

The boys just had to get out and play in the mountains of snow!

Revamping the Fireplace

 January 12, 2013

The above picture is from July, but is the best reference of what the original fireplace looked like.  

 We decided that it would look nice to equal out the space of wall on either side of the fireplace and add built in book cases on both sides.

It was a team effort.  Josh broke out the brick on the side of the fireplace and removed the entire hearth, while the boys and I moved the old bricks out to a pile in the back yard.

 Just prior to clean-up.

 Here is what's left and we cleared everything out.

We had thought that we would put new brick veneers over the front of the existing brick, but then we decided to just re-grout the old brick.  Next, we'll likely frame it out in wood and add a flat cement hearth.

I'll post more on the fireplace wall as it progresses.  But I am excited to see it finished.

Snow Days Do Exist!

January 12, 2013

There has been accumulated snow on the ground here in Utah since a few days before Christmas.  This day, they cancelled school for the first time.  I was told that they almost never cancel school here.  But we had received over a foot and a half overnight and the kids were scheduled to have a half day.  So I think that may have played a part in the decision to close.

Unfortunately, the kids didn't really go out to enjoy it, since they were sick and I didn't want them to get worse.  

Also, I'd like to note, that shoveling that much snow is quite the workout. And I do not much enjoy the incline of our driveway...slipped and fell twice while I was trying to shovel it.  ;)