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.

Quick Update

I thought I would post a quick update. I haven't even thought of blogging since we moved, but I'm sure everyone is sick of Brandon's mangled finger on the top of the page.

First, Dallin had his 12th birthday. He invited a few friends to go to the Adventuredome and then sleep over. We bought him a sharp suit for his priesthood ordination. We are so proud of him.

My 93 year old Grandma has always thought Dallin was a little bit more special than her other great grandchildren (she told me not to tell anyone....but I'm sure she doesn't blog..so I'm safe). She is very frail and doesn't get around much, but she insisted that she come visit Dallin on his birthday. Her caretaker brought her over and she brought Dallin this music stand. I can't believe how thoughtful she was to do that. He practices his French Horn at home and could really use the music stand. I know she doesn't have much money, but this was a very special gift.The Move...We finally moved into our new home on the 14th. It's 95% complete. We have a few minor things to finish still, but I'm glad we are all living under the same roof now. (Brandon spent so much time at the new house, it felt like he lived there.) I plan to post "before and after pictures" as soon as I get the house organized and unpacked enough to take "after" pictures.

So....the picture above, is move-out day. We had so many ward members help us, it was amazing. We even had about 10 people from our new ward waiting for us at the new house to unload. Thank you to everyone!!!!

Don't Look If You Have a Weak Stomach

Brandon had a bit of an accident working on the house on Saturday. The table saw must have been getting tired of him, so it fought back. We spent 4 hours in 2 different Emergency Rooms and he'll still need to see a hand doctor this week. We were so close to finishing the house!!! So, we may not be moving in this weekend. Maybe I can learn carpentry , plumbing, and electrical work this week. (Why is this text a link to the picture???)Our good friends, the Callisters, brought Brandon some cupcakes with cut-up fingers on them last night. Ha Ha Ha
Brandon, cupcakes, and his large splint.
Get well soon, honey!!!!!!