We're making progress....

Here are some of the before and after pictures of our house. This first one isn't quite the entire before. The kitchen was all blue with a green and blue boarder. By the time I took this picture, Bryce had already done 2 coats of primer.

Before:


After:
Before: yes, they really did paint those colors - and find a wallpaper boarder to match, and curtains!

Bye bye green and blue! This was the last to be painted, so I thought I would take one last picture...


After:

I couldn't get the before picture to upload. We painted, put in the new wood floors, and carpet down in the living room area.

That's it for now, we are working on the upstairs. I will post updates as we get more done.

What to do on a 90 degree day in April....

We spent about 3 1/2 hours outside while the kids swam, played on the swing set and in the sandbox. It was so hot here yesterday, and we were all loving it!

Haylee in her mermaid pose on the waterfall.

The water was cold, so Cade decided to just go for it!

The kids made up game after game while they were in the pool. They just had such a fun day together.

Evan kept throwing his ball into the pool for Cade to jump in and get. I was actually able to keep him out of the pool - which is good, because the water is way too cold for me!

Kendal just hung out with me in the shade for the afternoon. Haylee saw this picture and started laughing saying "Look at Kendal's fat head mom!" Ok, so this picture may make her look like she has a fat head (at least according to a 4 year old), but who could resist this smile??

Goodbye Smokie

On Saturday, we said goodbye to our Smokie. We have had her since a few weeks after we were married, 10 years ago. She was diagnosed with cancer several years ago, which she had surgery for, but it couldn't be completely cleared from her body. She had done well, until the last few months. She tore a ligament in her knee, and had some thyroid problems. She has just been getting worse, and last week, she was just miserable.
We realized it was time. Bryce's dad flew in from Utah to be with us, he loved Smokie as much as we did. We called her vet, and he agreed to come to our house to do it. He came, and shared some tears with us, and then peacefully put her to sleep. It was an incredible experience to be able to have all of us laying with her on her bed when she passed.
We took her to the new house, and buried her there. The kids drew pictures for her, and put them with her. We then planted a plant near her. It is in the last picture with Bryce and I, but it's kind of hard to see near our feet (I am in my scrubs because I went to work that night). It is now known as Smokie's plant, and the kids think it's fun that they still get to give Smokie water.
We all miss her very much, but she is much happier now that she is free from her old crippled body.

Our new backyard

Alright, everyone keeps asking for pictures of the new house, so here is the first set. This is our backyard. We pulled out a ton of dead trees and bushes (the house was vacant for quite awhile, so a lot of the landscaping was dead). This is the (almost) finished product. We took out the dead grass, and put seed down. Hopefully I will have some new pictures in about a month with some grass. Other than that, the yard is pretty much done.