The Surprise Visitors

Last Tuesday, we had a nice surprise visit from my brother Benjamin and his wife Kay and their kids Daxton and Hope. Mom and Dad called up my sister's family and ourselves to come over for a family BBQ. We had so much fun visiting and eating delicious food. The kids enjoyed riding bikes up and down the driveway, including my little Samuel. Did you know, this little cute fella is WALKING now? Yeah, and he's a good little walker too. But, he hasn't quite figured out how to ride a bike yet.

 

This is Lili. And bellow his her little sister Lucy. They are both soooo cute. I love hanging with them! Lucy was helping Samuel learn how to ride a bike. What a cutie she is.

 Say hello to my sister Kimberlee! I kept trying to get a good picture of her but she was riding too fast for me to get a clear shot. Sorry Bugs but this is all I got. :)

Samuel is having fun sitting on the bike. He figured out that the only way he could move the bike was by scoot backwards. Hmmm....Sorry Samuel but you won't get far if you can't see where you're going. 

 This is my dear sister Belinda. She is due to have a little baby boy within the next three weeks. We are so excited for Peter to come!

 Now for the surprise visitors. It was definitely a wonderful surprise! I loved visiting with them and enjoyed holding and seeing baby Hope for the first time. She is a B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L baby.

Dad is working his magic on the grill. And, David (Matt B.'s brother) is learning the trade. Can't be a real man without knowing how to grill....right? :)

David and Alex LOVE the toy room. I mean, just look at it. It is full of toys and legos and tons of other toys I'm not going to list. Samuel really liked playing with them. But, like any 16 month old would do, he successfully took anything apart that the boys built. Um, sorry?

We went to Costco earlier in the day and Kay and I bought Samuel and Daxton matching pajamas. Once again, my camera died on me before I could get a nice clear shot of them. They were sooo cute with their blonde curly hair and matching pajamas. 

Somewhere, somehow, someone put something in the food and water because that evening both baby Hope and Daxton grew some facial hair. Oh dear, I hope it's not permanent.....

And to top it all off, I have a family video for you. Oh yes, if you were ever wondering what our family is like, well, this will sum it up for you. (This movie is dedicated to our brother Andrew. He is on a mission in Brazil and we wanted to say hi and send our love. We miss you Elder Sypher!)

DIY Living Room Projects

I LOVE designing a room with LOTS of time, allowing the room to evolve and become something wonderful over a period of time. Often, when I try to rush and complete something or choose the easy route, it never quite looks or feels right. So, that being said, I have been working on my living room for the past several months. I have collected some wonderful pieces of furniture and still have many projects and accessorizing to make my room complete. 

Here are a few of the pieces of furniture we have collected over the past few months:

Antique Stereo Cabinet: This is a beautiful 1920's stereo cabinet that we found at a garage sale. I fell in love with the ornate detailing. It needs a little touching up to make it look fresh and knew again. We plan to use it as our own stereo cabinet. 

Mid-Century Style Sofa: I fell in love with this sofa when I saw it. I love the tall wood legs, slender arms, and the tufted back. We found this sofa at Macy's and waited for it to go on sale. Love, love, love it!

Reclaimed Wood Coffee Table: We were shopping around the Kasala Outlet several months ago and came across this table. Unfortunately, you can't see the detailing of the reclaimed wood but it is B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L. There is so much character in the wood. I love that it brings it own story to the table. 

Diamond in the Rough Chair: I posted on this chair awhile back. I found this chair at goodwill. It was covered in this ugly pink velvet fabric. It was a total granny chair. But, I saw it's potential. I took the project of reupholstering the chair. Mind you, this was my first real experience reupholstering a chair. Wow, it was hard but way worth it. I found the awesome fabric at Ikea Doesn't it look fantastic!

Wall Art Piece: I painted this piece to go over the fireplace. I like it but I think it's still evolving...

Wing Back Chair: Kyan and I were helping a neighbor move out and they were giving this chair away. (This picture makes the chair look really bright blue. Its a bit exaggerated then in real life.) It is in fabulous condition. I'm planning on dressing it up with some rivets along the seems and a fun pillow and throw. 

Now, as for the other stuff....

I came across this awesome blog: http://vintagerevivals.blogspot.com/

This woman is inspirational. She has opened my eyes to a whole new DIY world. She inspired me to stencil my living room wall. Have I done it before? No. So, why not give it a try! I figured if it looked horrible the worst thing I would1 have to do is paint over it. I found a stencil I liked, bought it, read up on how to stencil and got to work.

My finished product turned out AWESOME! I love it!

Over Labor Day weekend, Kyan and I were at his parents. We took on a project that I had taped out on our wall at home. 

We were making shelves! Not just any shelves but custom design, perfect fit for our living room shelves. Since we have used our coat closet as a pantry, I thought up a design that would include a place to hang coats. It will look fantastic when it's all done. BIG THANKS to Galen and my husband for building them. 

We took these shelves home and I sanded them down to perfection. And, if you know me, they a were PERFECTLY smooth and ready to prime and paint. I'll be sure to show you the finished product. Once they are hung on the wall, I'll be replacing the console table with a bench. I'm excited. 

Now for the rug...

A rug like this can cost a lot of dollars. More dollars then I would like to spend. On the Vintage Revival blog, she showed how she had MADE her own rug. Yeah, um...cool? So, what do you think I'll be doing. uhmmm...yup. I'm going to make our living room rug. Don't fear, it would look cooler then any rug you can buy. I'm sure of it. :)

I have a few other smaller projects for the living room and a bit of accessorizing before it's done. But, in the end, it will be a work of art. I'm loving it already.

13.1

I never thought I could run much more then 5.5 miles. My knees would hurt or I got tired of running or whatever else my mind would convince me of believing. Recently, a friend mentioned that she was going to train for a half marathon in October. Really? Wow! I can't run a half....but good luck and have fun. And then, other friends (who have already run half and full marathons) were signing up too. Hmmmm....everyone is doing it, maybe I should at least try.

It is true. I was persuaded to follow the crowd. But, in this situation I suppose it was better then standing my ground. I looked up a ten week program and couldn't believe what was in store for me. I would be running miles that I have never run before.

Week	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun	Total
1	3	Rest	3	3	Rest	4	Rest	13
2	3	Rest	4	3	Rest	5	Rest	15
3	3	Rest	4	3	Rest	6	Rest	16
4	3	Rest	5	3	Rest	8	Rest	19
5	3	Rest	5	3	Rest	10	Rest	21
6	4	Rest	5	4	Rest	11	Rest	24
7	4	Rest	6	4	Rest	12	Rest	26
8	4	Rest	5	4	Rest	9	Rest	22
9	3	Rest	4	3	Rest	8	Rest	18
10	3	Rest	3	Walk 2	Rest	13.1	Rest	21.1

I started on week 3 in order to be on schedule. I can't believe how far I have come so far. I went from running 3 mile to running 10 miles within a short period of time. It's amazing what you can do when you set your mind to it. And, it sure helps to have friends to run with on those long, EARLY, Saturday morning runs.

Wish me luck. I only have 4 weeks to go before my race. 13.1 miles, HERE I COME! 

Oh, and did I mention the race will be in Leavenworth, Washington on October 15th....during Oktoberfest? I'm stoked!

Discovering Our Backyard Play House

When we moved into our house, the family before us left an older swing set and play house behind. Samuel is now at the age where he can crawl around the play house with supervision. He discovered his love for the slide. On this same day, Samuel realized he could go head first down the slide. Luckily, I got to him in time to slow him down....luckily, phew. We had a lot of fun! Samuel is growing up and becoming a BIG boy. It's so much fun to watch him play and talk and interact with Kyan and myself. 

Did Someone Say Canning....Again?

Mom and I got ambitious and decided to can tomatoes. We found canning tomatoes for $15.95 / 25lb box. This is an awesome price for tomatoes (if you found them cheaper you should let me know for the future) so we bought four boxes each and spent a day canning them up. I would have to say tomatoes are a lot easier then cherries and peaches. Of course, peaches would have been easier if they were ALL ripe. But, it wouldn't be canning if it was too easy. I had a wonderful time learning from my Mother. She is an amazing mom. If it weren't for her I wouldn't have been interested in learning this skill. Her example and hard work while growing up has been ingrained into my mind. She is someone I look up to! She continues to teach me so much. We canned a total of 82 (I think?) quart size jar. Yum!

Falling To Our (Near) Death

For Kyan's 31st birthday, I wanted to surprise him with a little adventure. I wanted to remind him that even though he was one year older it didn't mean he was OLD. So, I booked a weekend to go BUNGEE JUMPING! Unfortunately, the weekend I had originally booked, Kyan was sick. So, I booked it for a later date, September 3rd. And....that day finally came.

I thought I was BRAVE. ADVENTUROUS. FREE-SPIRITED. DARING. But, I have learned otherwise. Just watch the video. You'll know who the brave one really is in our marriage. And....Kyan happens to be a little more graceful in jumping off a bridge. Who knew, right?

Happy Belated Birthday Babe! I think if we were full of life before our adventure, it was sucked out of us afterwards. Ha, Ha, Ha. Wow, I'm not sure I could do this again. I was freaked out the entire time. Did you hear those screams? Those were REAL screams. Now, Kyan, on the other hand, thinks he could probably do it again......years down the road.....maybe. :)