Basement finished

When we were looking for our new house there were a lot of things we needed to accommodate everyone.  Mike likes to call our house the compromise.  He would love to live out were the nearest store is a 30 minutes drive.  That wouldn't work for the rest of us.  We picked this house knowing that we would have to work on the basement.  Since our other house had an offer the first day we had to find something quick.  We did get lucky that the people that bought our house let us rent it back for 3 weeks to give us a little more time to move with all the end of school celebrations. 

kitchen and family room before

 kitchen after

 dining room before

 

The dining room did not look like this when we found this house. It was vacant and the above picture showing the pastel pink wall.  Besides removing the living room and family room curtains the pink wall was one of the first things to go. 

 dining after

living room before and after

family room

 The basement was a lemon yellow and the only finished room had a half wall.  We had to do a lot of demolition.  We added two more bedrooms, a family room, bathroom and a storage room.  It took a lot of work.  The whole family (brother in laws included) helped a lot.  By the end of it we were so exhausted and just wanted to be done. Here are some of the pictures of the work on progress.

 

 David's room

 bathroom

 library area (before bookshelves & complete finish)

basement family room

 

The basement looks great!  Some other finishing touches have been done even though we haven't hung any pictures yet.  So although it is a little late to do the bbq that we planned for our friends to come see it.  Give us a call and come by to see the house.  We are very excited that we don't live in a construction zone anymore.  The one finish that we didn't picture is the loft that was turned into Laura's room.  So each child has their own room and we have room for visitors.  Let us know when you're coming!

Anniversary trip 2012

 

This year for our anniversary we had the opprutinity to go to California for a long weekend.

We flew in late Thursday night and because I'm a cheap date we had In and Out for dinner just before midnight and heading to our hotel.

 

The next day we decided that we would go to the LA Temple and act like tourist in the area.  We got so lucky and just as we were pulling into the parking lot the space shuttle Endeavor was flown by 3 times.  The first two times it was in front of us and in the distance but the last time as it was heading for the Hollywood sign it was right behind the temple.  It was so close it seemed like we could touch it.

I kept snapping pictures trying to get the space shuttle and look what I found! 

We decided to head up to the HOLLYWOOD sign because we had never been up there.  I figured you would be able to drive up to the parking lot right by the sign (like in the movies) but no such luck!  It was quite a hike on steep dry hills with rocks.  The road snaked around a lot and it was a good hike.  About a quarter of a mile up it was not something I wanted to do.  It was in the 90's and seemed very far.  We kept going after a few wrong turns that took us off the right road Mike was ready to quit.  We were about 3/4 of the way up and figured he got me that far we were going to do it.

As we were hiking the hill at one point we were looking down at a cemetery.  I said it looks like where Michael Jackson is buried.  So Mike googled our location and wouldn't you know it was Forest Lawn Memorial Park. 

 Once up to the top we were alone and there was a chain link fence and cameras blocking the way down to the sign.  It was still an amazing view and something we can check off our bucket list. 

 Driving back down to the freeway we remembered what traffic really is.  We did pass through Beverly HIlls and Hollywood Blvd.  Oh the different types of people you can see there!  The most amazing thing is that in the middle of Santa Monica Blvd is the LA Temple and even though it's in the middle of traffic and chaos it is so beautiful and peaceful.

 One of the reasons we chose Southern CA for our anniversary trip is to see Grandma and Carol.  Sept 24 is Carols birthday.  We drove up to San Luis Obispo and she was so happy to see Michael!

 

On the way back from San Luis Obispo we stopped at Solvang.  It is an amazing little Danish town close to Santa Barbara.  You would never believe that you weren't in Europe.  There were amazing bakery's and tourist from all over.  We will definitely need to bring the kids here.

 

I'm so glad that we were able to get away for a little bit.  Thank you to my parents for keeping an eye on the kids and making sure they didn't burn the house down!   Happy Anniversary Mikey love you!

First day of school

After a very active summer the girls are back in school.  They all started at their new schools and are just amazing on how adjusted they are to the new house, school and ward.  We have been blessed to move into a ward with so many other kids their age.  That has helped with the adjustment and feeling welcome! 

Krystal and Laura leave for Seminary at 6 am and they are doing great with getting out the door on time.  (It may have something to do with Krystal being able to drive)! 

Haley has a friend that is her same age that lives two doors down, they are in the same class at school and church.  It was easy for her to pick her locker buddy.  We are so excited for the new adventures they will have this year!

Krystal her first day of school for her Senior year

August 6

Laura first day of High School

August 3

Haley first day of Middle School

August 3

Graduation vacation 2012

 With all the graduations and the "fun" of the last year we decided to take the kids on a cruise.  I promised them a few years ago that the next time they would be able to go. 

Here we are waiting to board the ship



Walking the bridge to board

a week later disembarking (a little darker and very well fed)

Watching another ship leave while we were being tugged out to sea

 

The girls loved swimming on the ship. 

They swam every chance they could and loved watching movies while swimming too.

David hasn't had a great year with his ankles.  His senior year he sprained his ankle twice in football, once during wrestling.  He sprained his ankle the second day on the ship while playing basketball. This was a few days later after a lot of ice and ibuprofen.

1st port Cozumel Mexico (David, Krystal and Haley's favorite port)

 Belize we were able to go cave tubing and shopped a

 little before getting back on the ship.  This fun guy offered to take a picture for a tip.

Of course Mike gave him a "great" tip.  He didn't want to leave us alone after that.

The ship has buffet service and Guy Fieri has a hamburger stand on the ship. 

They were amazing and one of our favorite lunches. 

 Even using the stairs didn't help with calories on this one.



Roaton Island, Honduras (Mike and Laura's favorite port)

 Dancing with the waiters!

 Karaoke night was fun especially with Mike and his rendition of "Roxanne" he had compliments the rest of the cruise.

The girls were hilarious performing Ice Ice Baby!

(Colleen Krys said that was for you)

 Grand Cayman was our final port. 

It was my favorite port and we had a lot of fun snorkeling and shopping. 

This is the fountain that I've taken a picture in front of each time we've been able to visit Grand Cayman.  It was amazing to finally have the whole family together and it is not officially checked off on my bucket list.
 

 When we got back to Florida the boys had to have Rock n Roll Ribs owned by the Iron Maiden drummer.  They were the best ribs I've ever had but the music (ughhhh)

 When we returned to Florida we were greeted by Tropical Storm Debby.  There wasn't a lot of beach time but we had fun relaxing a little bit and visiting the shark exhibit in Ft. Lauderdale. 

Who knows when we'll ever be able to do a vacation like this all again. So it is something that we'll cherish for a lifetime.  I'm grateful Mikey finally gave in to my wish of the trip and that it all worked out.  It was amazing even though we realized how much we truly LOVE Colorado and were very ready to come home.  So kiddos in years from now when looking at this blog and our fun pictures...hope you remember the good things of the trip and the warm chocolate melting cake!