Fun Home Improvements

After all the hard work we have done to fix up our house and yard, it was finally time for some home improvements we could really enjoy! We did some looking around and found a very reputable company that would build our deck in the winter, their slow season, for quite a discount. So we went ahead with it. It only took them a little over a week, with a few snow days in there.

We were so excited to be able to finally walk out of our sliding door we had installed last year. The kids thought it was really exciting and scary to walk out on the deck before the railing was put up.

(We have since stained the posts dark brown, so they match the deck.)

We wanted to have the deck completed before we would have the next big thing- the swim spa- delivered. We had to move the swingset over a few feet- with the help of our amazing neighbors the Forsyths. Then Dave and I built a little gravel pit to level the ground. We had someone come out and add in another breaker.

After all sorts of delays, the swim spa was finally delivered on February 28. It took a couple of days for the water to warm up. We couldn't wait to get in and swim! It took so long to warm up. We finally got in when it was 80 degrees. REALLY COLD! They didn't stay in for long.

Unplanned Home Improvements

The night we were having the cousin sleepover, we found a flood in our basement. Luckily we had been gone all evening, and the kids went to bed shortly after we got home (although they stayed up talking way too late:) Dave and I got to make calls to Dave K. and Dad and then the 24 hour sewer company and the ServPro flood guys. It was quite the adventure that lasted until about 2am. Luckily, the worst of it was taken care of by the time the kids got up in the morning. We should have taken pictures of the damage, but didn't think about it until after the worst of it was already taken care of.

Since we had to redo the carpeting downstairs, we figured we should paint while we were at it. Since we did a ton of the work ourselves, moving furniture, ripping out carpet, painting, etc., ServPro gave us a credit and with that we were able to put it towards carpeting the family room at the same time. It was a HUGE PAIN to move out the furniture (sectional, bookshelves, entertainment center), but so worth it to get new clean, soft, comfy carpet.

The kids were so excited to see the new carpet when they got home from school. They just layed on it and did cartwheels and summersaults. Kinda wish I didn't have to put the furniture back in.

Dave really wanted the carpet, and so I insisted that with new carpet the old gray linoleum would look really bad. So we picked out some new tile-looking linoleum (for the kitchenette) that matched the carpet. Ahh... so much better!

September Events

We had this really gorgeous rainbow by our house on Sept. 6.

Kimee and Audrey loving horse lessons. Maddi gets to go to the "brown park" with mom while they are at lessons, so she really looks forward to it too.

Sept. 14- Audrey absolutely loves her new bathrobe!

The girls absolutely love all the fruit from our yard.

On Saturday, Sept. 8, we had our Primary Program practice. My friend MaryJane is the pianist and I am the chorister. We just so happened to wear coordinating outfits. Unfortunately, they are moving to Texas so we won't be partners any more:(

Audrey has really gotten into making her bed perfectly, and gets really mad if you mess it up. She even put up a sign that says, "Audrey's Bed, Noone Allowed". We teased her about it, so she added, "Only Audrey".

On Saturday, Sept. 15, the girls had tons of fun washing the van with dad. They completely cleaned the inside because we were thinking about getting a new/different car. We went and test drove a used Pilot and decided our car was awesome and we would stick with it for a few more years.

In September, Kimee had her first piano recital. (Her previous teacher did not do recitals.) She performed on the piano and violin. Grandma and Grandpa K. & Jill and her kids were able to come to the recital. My sister Janna's daughter takes piano from the same teacher, so we had a lot of family there:) Kimee did a really great job!

That evening was the General Relief Society Meeting. Janna, Jill, Mom, and I were able to go watch it together at our Stake Center.

Dave and Grandpa watched the kids at home. They watched a movie and everything was going fine. When Maddi disappeared for just a minute. Jeremy came running in to say Maddi was in the paint. (We had left an old bucket of paint on the driveway out in hopes that it would dry out.

Right near the end of the meeting, Dave sent me a text with this picture. We were freaked out and decided to leave during the closing song. The part I thought was so funny, is my mom went in to get our brownies, she told the ladies getting refreshments set up that the dads were babysitting and one of the kids painted the car, so we had to get home. Thanks mom, for getting us all brownies:)

Maddi was having a grand ole time splashing in the paint. She got her punishment by being hosed down with the cold hose water.