Cabinets

These entries are hard to write because I am writing them a month or two after they happened. I am trying hard to remember how I felt when all of this was going on.

The cabinets arrived August 16th... They were two weeks late.  I was so excited to get them and wanted to start putting them up right away. Ralph and I opened all of the boxes and looked to make sure everything was in good condition. I wish I could say that we were able to get the cabinets up in one day but it took a couple of weeks, they were up on August 30th.

We still need to put up the molding around the top, the kick plate, the handles, and other misc things but they are up enough to put all our stuff in and I think they look great! I fear that the parts that are not done yet will still not be done a year from now but we will see. :o)

There is something to be said about doing the work yourself; while stressful at the time I am so proud of all I/we have learned how to do.

Swim Club

Dave's parents belong to a swim club.  The pool is super close to their house and has a great toddler pool.  We have been meaning to go all summer long.  Wouldn't you know that this was the one and only time we have been.

It took Payton a little time to get used to it but in the end both Payton and Lincoln and had a blast. 

I had so much fun playing with Miss Payton in the water.  We played ring around the rosies, blew bubbles, and walked all the way around the toddler pool.  She even put her nose in the water all by herself.  Yay! 

Granite Template

This is a picture of the granite template.  They simply take thin strips of wood and staple them to the shape of you countertop.  



Gilroy Gardens

We went with Grandma and Grandpa to Gilroy Gardens for Grandparent's Day.

We were able to meet up with our friends Cassy, Rayne, and Dylan.  I am so glad they were able to meet us there, not only because it was so nice to see them but because I think Payton and Caeden had so much more fun with Rayne there.  They went on so many rides that I do not think they would even have dared to try.  It was so fun to see the smiles on their faces. 

Poor Caeden takes after her mommy and is a little accident prone.  She ended up tripping in line and face planting on the cement.  Ouch!

The whole day was a blast with exception of the short few minutes when Payton disappeared.  It happened so fast.  She was standing right in front of both my mom and I.  It was lunch time and my mom handed me a paper that showed all the restaraunts in the park and what they served.  I looked down at the paper for a minute and when I looked up she was gone.  I asked my mom where she was and my mom looked around with a panicked look on her face.  I just kept telling myself to stay calm because everytime I saw the look on my mom's face I wanted to burst into tears.  We were all walking around calling her name, it seemed like every little girl there was in pig tails and a bright pink shirt.  Just as I was on the verge on losing it I looked up and saw my brother-in-law, Anthony, walking toward me following Payton.  He had seen her wonder off and followed her.  He said, "I thought I should have told someone I was following her..."  Thank goodness he saw her.

Painter Problems...

So if you are ever looking for a good painter we know the one you should stay away from...It always seems too good to be true and in hind sight it always is. 

We hired the same painter that painted my parent's house.  He did a great job for them and figured he would do the same for us.  I really really wish he would have.  Instead we paid him just over $4000 and ended up having to do it all ourselves.  Needless to say I am really not the biggest fan of painting or our painter.

I wish I would have been smarter about how much money we paid him and when we paid it to him.

After weeks of painting, the interior of our home is pretty much complete with the exception of a few touch ups.  The exterior is a different story, still unpainted.

What did our painter do?  He painted the ceilings, a majority of the walls, and the baseboards in the bedrooms.  Wait!  It sounds like he did a lot of painting doesn't it.  Maybe I should mention that when I say he painted the walls he painted all but the parts he had to cut in and that when he did start to cut in he had run out of paint and didn't match the paint.  Also that when he painted the walls he slopped...no...dripped wall paint all over the brand new door trim.  Exhibit A...

During the time he was doing the painting there were several times he disappeared.  No call and no show for days or even a week at a time.  When he came back he was always very apologetic.



I wish I would have listened to my mother-in-law, Michelle, when she told me to cut my losses and not let him back in the house.  I just wanted to try and get the most work out of him that I could.  Had I known that I would have to fix and then redo everything he did I would have.

On a positive note, I have aquired a bunch of skills.  I am decent at cutting in, using a sprayer, and getting the job done.  :o)

I couldn't have finished the painting without the help of my mom and dad, Michelle, Ashley, and Steven Ahlgren and the Burdette family.  Connie Burdette even brought over homemade enchiladas, salad, and the best brownies I have ever tasted.

Stay tuned for before and after pictures!

Stucco Work

I love our stucco guys!  They have done such a great job and have really transformed our house.  If anyone is looking for a good stucco guy talk to Kieth Spencer with Doin' It Right.  He has been one of the only people we have worked with that has not given us the run around and has actually done what he said he was going to do when he was going to.  Refreshing!

The only thing that was a little disappointing was a little misunderstanding we had about which windows and doors I wanted foam trim around.  He didn't remember that I wanted the trim around everything and thought I only wanted it around the windows and doors that were visible from the street.  Thus I had already gave the go ahead for the job before I looked at the proposal and realized the misunderstanding.  Fortunately, we were able to come to an agreement that we were both OK with.

Still with that, they did a great job and I love everything they did.  Here are some before and afters.

Payton takes a bath with Belle...

Ummm, not sure where to start...I was talking to my mother-in-law, Michelle, and turned around to see this.  "Mommy I am taking a bath with Belle"

Dare I admit that she refused to put her clothes back on.  That she had a melt down and I put her to bed with no clothes on.  That Dave walked in from work just as she woke up and I asked him to go up and get her without any warning and then hovered over the monitor with my sister-in-law Ashley to hear his reaction. ***snicker, snicker***

"Hey bug, did your clothes fall off?"

Fun times!

Lincoln Claps His Hands

I am lame and do not have a picture of this...

Pedicures

Us girls decided to go and get pedicures today.  I thought it would be fun to take Payton along.  I really didn’t know if she would even let them touch her feet.  Boy, was I worried for nothing.  It was almost like she got pedicures every week.  Picked out her own color, told the lady exactly what she wanted and talked the whole time she was getting her manicure and pedicure.  It was so cute!  I loved watching her.

San Clemente

Every year we go down to San Clemente with Dave's family.  This little vacation couldn't have come at a better time, with all the house renovating going on we haven't had a chance to relax in quite a while.

Dave, the kids, and I were able to go down a little early and have a few days of quality family time.  I have realized that when living with family you have to make an extra effort to continually build your relationship with your spouse and kids.  Because there are so many people around it is easy to find yourself climbing into bed at night having only spoken two words to your spouse all day.  OK maybe that is an exajeration, but I find that Dave and I don't talk as much as we did when living on our own.  Needless to say this family time was great and the kids really enjoyed all the time with their daddy.

The other thing that was awesome about the vacation is that we were able to see all of Dave's brothers and sisters.  Everyone came.  The family is getting so big with all the spouses and kids, we don't all fit in the condo anymore.  I also had fun watching Payton and Lincoln getting to interact with their auties and uncles and cousins.

During the trip we spent a lot of days at the beach, in the pool, and just hanging out.  These pictures are of when Dave and I tooks the kids down to the pier.  Lincoln was so cute he totally fell asleep in the stroller holding his toy out in front of him.

I have more pictures coming of our trip.  Stay tunned...

Lincoln's First Trip to the Beach

Lincoln love’s the beach! He seemed content just sitting under the umbrella sucking on a toy. He did have a little mishap, lost his balance, and ended up doing a face plant in the sand. Poor guy.

Payton seemed to like the beach better than the last time she was there. She still doesn’t like to be dirty but all we had to do is get a bucket of water for her to rinse her hands in. Dave and she had fun making sandcastles and collecting rocks and sea shells. However, she does not like the ocean. She does not want to have anything to do with the water. She even cried out in the middle of the night something about the ocean, she definitely wasn’t having a good dream. Too bad.

Swimming

Today was Lincoln’s first day swimming!

When Payton was little I remember seeing parent’s blow into their children’s face and then dunk them under the water. I didn’t know what I thought about that…like it or nope. Well I talked to my mom, who used to teach a baby and me swimming class, she said that that is what they used to have the parents do in the class. Well, I didn’t have the guts to do it with Payton but I decided what the heck, let’s see what he does. He did great! I wouldn’t say he loved it but he didn’t cry. I decided to do it at least once each time we went swimming just to get him used to getting his face wet. We will see if he ends up having nightmares about his mom trying to drown him.

It seems he is comfortable in the water; he took several really good naps while in the pool.

Today was the first day Payton attempted…was encouraged to swim by herself. She did great! There was no doubt that she was REALLY nervous. But I am glad that she had such a good experience, I am hoping that she remembers so she will be excited to try next year.

Lincoln has another tooth!

Lincoln just got his 5th tooth!



Lincoln's on the move!

It seems like Lincoln is growing up so fast.  With Payton I remember not being able to wait for her to do things and with Lincoln it is like "Wait, when did you start doing that?"

Our little...or should I say big man is on the move.  I wouldn't say that he is crawling but he is definately moving.  If I set him on the floor and walk out of the room for a minute or even just turn my back for a second he is never where I left him.

I just love this little guy.

Tea Party

The picture says it all.