14 Days and Counting....

We officially have a closing date on our house! August 19th! I'm so excited! I'm amazed how much easier this whole process has been. From the day they dug the hole to our closing date it has been 92 days! There have been only two set-backs during this whole time--we added a window, and they added a wall (that they shouldn't have)--so really it has gone smoothly. These last two weeks will probably be the longest since the house is pretty much ready to move in and we are ready to stop living out of boxes/containers. Here are the pictures of the inside stuff.

Bed and Breakfast Tour

 

So, for our 10th anniversary, Nick and I had about 3 days we could plan a trip. We debated going a few places, but finally deciding it would be fun to try some local bed and breakfasts. So, we headed first to Salt Lake and the Castle Creek Inn. They had a nice secluded path that led to a swing where we relaxed as we switched from parent mode to couple mode. The room was cute, but their breakfast was amazing! It had fruit, Belgium waffles, hash browns, sausage and pumpkin chocolate chip bread! Yum! From there we saw a movie, had lunch and drove the the outlets in Park City. The next B&B we stayed in was Johnson's Mill in Midway. It was gorgeous and absolutely my favorite! It was an old home that actually worked as a flour mill in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Their property included 25 acres of beautiful waterfalls, ponds, walkways, and wildlife (we saw a deer out our balcony when we first got there). It was beautiful and the room was very nice. We also ate a fabulous dinner at Bear Dance cafe in Midway. It was the best dinner we have ever had!! Nick had sirloin steak and I had salmon and I can't even describe how mouth-watering it was! Their breakfast the next morning was served out on the deck that faced their pond. It was a ham/Swiss homemade omelet, fruit, and biscuits served with marionberry jam. It was very good and the whole peacefulness there was incredible. (I'm already trying to think of a reason to go back there!) From Johnson's Mill we drove the scenic way to Logan and stayed our last night in the Anniversary Inn. We had a special voucher here that got us any room at a discount price so we picked the room that was the most expensive! Nick picked the Jesse James Hideout because it had a pool table. That was a lot of fun. We went out to eat in Logan and watched movies we brought. The next morning we had breakfast delivered to our room. It was a warm cream-cheese pastry drizzled with jam and a yogurt parfait. On our way home we stopped to see a friend in Tremonten and then checked on our house. (It's getting close!)

All in all it was a wonderful trip. Sigh. It was so good to talk without being interrupted and to not worry about bedtimes/nap times. I think it is the longest we have been away from our kids together! We had so much fun and are lucky to have fun grandma's for the kids to stay with. Bring on the next 10 years!

Tin....I Mean....Tenth Anniversary

I've been reminiscing over the last few weeks over reaching our 10th Anniversary. That seems like a big milestone even though we will have many more years to come. I know that 50 years is Golden and 25 years is Silver so I'm thinking 10 years is at least Bronze, right? No, it's TIN!! Or in "modern" terms...Aluminium! Interesting! Who comes up with this stuff?
I've actually known Nick for over 14 years. We started working together at the movie theater when Nick was a senior. We became friends that year and I always liked working with him. When he left on his mission he asked for my address and we ended up writing to each other his entire mission. Nothing sappy or anything because we hadn't dated, but my letters filled him in on work and school and he filled me in on mission stories. I wanted to organize those letters so last week I got them out of a cardboard box and put them in sheet protectors so they would last longer. There were about 160+ letters! (I think I'm missing a few too!) I hope my kids will enjoy reading them later because Nick and I had a good time re-reading them.
Anyway, I'm so lucky to be married to such a wonderful guy. He's funny and has such a contagious laugh. He's good-looking, smart, and hard-working. He is an amazing dad and is always patient with our girls. He's very likable and he can get along with anyone. He also has a testimony in the gospel and honors his Priesthood. I can't believe it's been 10 years. Boy, how the time flies when you're having fun! Here's the breakdown of our past and present:

ONE.........new organ

TWO........children

THREE....jobs

FOUR......homes we've lived in (counting the one we're building)

FIVE.......Hospital stays (2 for me, 3 for Nick)

SIX..........pets (2 adopted horses, 4 dead fish)

SEVEN....cars (Prelude, Buick, Tercel, Gray Camry, Black Camry, Corolla, Odyssey)

EIGHT....callings (Nursery/Primary teachers, Ward Athletic director, Sunday School teachers, Primary pianist, finance clerk, YM 2nd counselor, Primary President/Presidency, 11-yr old scouts)

NINE.....vacations (Scottsdale AZ, Washington D.C./Virginia, Mexican cruise, Disneyland, Yuma AZ, Las Vegas/St George, Yellowstone, Lake Tahoe, Park City)

AND....

TEN YEARS OF MARRIAGE!

Piano Lessons

One of the great things about living with my mom this summer is that Emma has started taking piano lessons from her. She fought me at first and I'm not sure why, but she loves it now. It is cute to watch her little fingers try to do the finger exercises. I think the only way she misses practicing is if we've had a busy day. Anyway, last night she was so excited to learn some new notes that she brought Brielle in after her lesson and "taught" her middle C and had her play one song! It was adorable to watch Brielle learn and want to be like her big sister!

Our New House

So, it's been exactly a month since they started to "dig" on our house. It has been really fun to go and watch the progress each day (and I would check it every day during the school year!) Tomorrow, we have an inspection on it with the project manager to check plumbing, heating and electrical. From what we have seen everything is the way it should be. The shingles were almost done on Tuesday night when we were there and then work begins on the outside brick/stucco and the inside insulation and sheet rock. It's great that they can work simultaneously on the outside and inside now and we are still crossing our fingers to be in by the time school starts! We're grateful that the weather hasn't been too horrible for extended periods of time and it appears to be on schedule...but then what do I know? I'm just excited!

School Days

Whoa! The school is year is over! I can't believe how fast it went! After Christmas flew by especially quick!
Emma loved being in kindergarten this year. We loved her teacher, Mrs. Harris. She always had a lot of fun activities for their class. The last month of school they grew their own bean plant and kept track of it's growth in their plant journal. (The plant is now in our garden so we will see what happens!) I was so excited to be in their class this year to volunteer. It worked out perfect that my friend, Jeannie and I both had kids in Mrs. Harris' class so we could watch each other's younger kids while the other volunteered. Brielle and Logan got to be good friends, too.

The last month of school was crazy as usual! There was always something going on. Field trips, eating school lunch, Hawk walk, touring the 1st grade classes, field day, and the finale--Emma's Kindergarten program. They sang songs to highlight all they had done this year. It was adorable! They also had a group speaking part. Emma practiced her line "We looked all over and they couldn't be found" all week! I'm still in shock that she will be going to school all day next year. I don't know what I'm going to do with myself! But I'll cry about that after the summer!

Who Ya Gonna Call?

GHOSTBUSTERS! I love songs from the 80's....especially when my daughter gets to dance to them! (Emma's other song was "Holiday" by Madonna--only it wasn't her singing it). Another classic! In Ghostbusters, they plugged in the black lights so half of their dance was done in the dark with their arm fringe and socks glowing! It was so cool! Their Holiday dance was cute as well with big, pink, fluffy tutu's! Emma did great! She has enjoyed dance so much. I never have to drag her there. This year was extra special because Nick was able to come. And after both recital nights we went and got ice cream! YUM!