Snake update

The snake emerged from the kitchen island. It is now at it's new home across the street. (Our neighbor, Tim, wanted a pet.)

Missing: Unwanted Pest

Ok....so we had the snake in the house in this container. The lid had a crack in it for air. I just looked in the box. IT'S GONE!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is in my house somewhere. Now is the only time I wish I didn't have such a big house.

What's good snake bait?

Unwanted pest

I drove up into my driveway this morning and got out of my car, and saw this. At first, I thought it was a piece of rope, then it moved. I really freaked out when it went in our garage. So..I ran across the street and got the neighbor to come catch it. He says it's not poisonous and its a Red Racer.

All we had at our other house was cockroaches and crickets. Now we have snakes, spiders, coyotes (and Sydney added horses). I hope I never see one of these again.

Happy Birthday Sydney

Sydney turned 4 on April 1st. She calls her birthday "April First's Day." She decided on a Tinkerbell party this year. We invited a few girlfriends, each had their picture taken with Sydney in front of the Tinkerbell poster, and we decorated cupcakes. We painted toenails, put on glitter make-up and made magic wands. I planned a few games, but they just wanted to play dress up instead. Girls are so fun!

Sydney's cousin, Decatur, was so cute. She just wanted cupcakes.

Happy Birthday Sydney!!!! You are getting so big, and are such a GIRL. It certainly is different raising a girl after 3 boys. Mommy and Daddy love you very much.

Welcome to Our Home

Finally I'm posting the "after" pictures of our new home. I love this house, I just wish it was in our old neighborhood. Just kidding, I'm sure I'll like the new neighborhood, soon :).

First, the front doors with a new coat of paint. I wished we could have bought new front doors, maybe later.

Second, the living room. I love this room. It's just for my piano and my two pretty chairs. I also love my secretary with my collection of old books.

Third, is the kitchen. Everything is so cool! The only thing missing is the walnut butcher-block counter top for the island. The first one came in cracked, the second one got dinged by the forklift, hopefully the third one will be nice. Below is the pantry. It is so big, it holds all our dry food and food storage. I painted the door with chalkboard paint. The kids love it.

This room, I call the Gathering Room. The sitting area has a sectional I found on craigslist. The small table is used for homework, maybe eating if we have family over. The kids love eating at the "bar". The game room is in the background with a huge lovesac, I also found on craigslist for $50. What a deal!!!
This is the laundry room/mud room that comes in off the garage. I have always wanted a mud room. Now, if I could only park in the garage, this would be our main entrance. Each of the kids has a a cubby for their shoes and backpacks. Hopefully, they will learn to put it all there.
The first picture is of the guest bath. I'm trying to keep my kids from using it. The next picture is Dallin's (or the back bath). It's off the the laundry room, and right next to his bedroom.

Here is the master bath. Maybe I should have cleaned off the counter before I took the picture. Oh well. I love the marble floors and countertop in here. The marble continues into the double walk in shower. There used to be a small shower and corner tub, but we tore it out for the big shower. It's also known as "the cave".

We are lucky enough to have a bonus room off the master bedroom. So...here sits our exercise room, just waiting for someone to exercise in it. :)
The slate tile on the back patio was just finished. I love it. I wanted slate in the house, but Brandon thought it would look better outside. It does.I don't know why the trampoline got top priority....but we had it dug in the ground last week. It will look nice with grass around it. Someday.
It's fun to scroll back through the "before" pictures. What a difference! Feel free to stop by for a tour, anytime.