Introducing Mr. and Mrs. Gutierrez

So we decided at the wedding since there were so many of us taking pictures besides the main photographer that we would have a contest for the best and worst pictures of the day.   Actually Noah and I may have been the only ones that decided on this contest but all of you feel free.  I am just going to get down to it.

This was one of my favorites so of course it makes my best list.

Jonas and Gabe begged me to take them to the big hill to roll down.  It reminded me of when Ben and Noah did the same thing at A. A and Maurie's wedding.  Except there were no issues with pants falling down like Noah's did that day.  This was my best action shot of the day.

The weather was so beautiful.  Look at that blue sky.  For the colors this makes my best list.

I like this one because I acutally was able to catch both of the girlies faces.  I seem to have taken a lot of pictures of the kids.  They all looked so sweet.

There is nothing like some Apple Jacks for a little pre-wedding snack.

This one makes the list because she is such a cute sister of the bride.

This one made the best list but I do see a hint of Oreo residue in her teeth. 

I have decided I will not have a worst category but just not my best category.  Looks like she was having some veil issues.  Not my best picture of the day.  I left it up to Morgan to get the professional shots.

Note to self,  don't take pictures of little girls eating Oreos.

My timing was all off on this one.  Actually I was trying to get a picture of her funny hair. 

I think Hannah actually took this picture so I can't take credit for this one.

Lily is making a scary face.  Essie looks like she's eating something disgusting.  Of course it is the Oreos again. 

It was such a fun day and went so smoothly at least I thought so.  I am so happy for Miranda and Aldo.  They are both amazing people and I am so glad they found each other and that I got to see them married in the temple today with family all around. 

what a cute couple. 

Getting There

I am sitting here on my couch completely exhausted from putting in 7 hours of manual labor,  but I am going to gird up my loins and do a posting because there has been progress on the kitchen.  On Thurs. Whit and I went to Home Depot (my home away from home these past few days) and got some paint swatches.  I decided on Aqua Pura because I was going for a robin egg blue to compliment the white cabinets. On Friday we went back and got the blue and white paint.  The cashier recognized us from the previous night.  Good Memory.  On Thursday we had puttied and sanded and were all set to go on Friday when we got home with the paint.  Whitney has been so good to help me and I really appreciate all that she has done.  Josh, Hannah and Jonas have also been part of the painting crew.  Becky and Noah even came by on Friday night to see and Noah helped out with some difficult high and hard to reach places.  Anyway I am definitely getting near the end of the big projects.

This is the new stainless steel sink.  I went with just single sink because I rarely do dishes by hand because I have an amazing dishwasher.  

 I had to scrub all of the appliances because they were covered with dust and grime.  I am considering a back splash of sorts.  I am not sure yet if I will.  I guess it depends upon how greasy it gets behind the stove when I am occasionally  fryin up chow.  

I had the dishwasher switched so it is more ergonomic and easier to put away dishes.  

Now I just have to get my  lighting done and switch out my outlets to white.  Then it will be time to have the blinds measured and put in.   Oh there is still some painting to do in the dining area.  I am going to switch things up with a light brown beige sort of color.

 The blue of the paint is reflecting on the peninsula cupboard and makes it look blue but it is still really white.  I am learning lessons in patience with this project but in the end it will be very worth it.  Heck! it's worth it now.  I have a functioning kitchen and can actually start cooking again.  YEAH!!!!!!   And I love the choices that I made.  Oh and I am going to do some decorating in the kitchen to tie in a few other colors to warm it up a bit.  

Just a Reminder of The Before
And

After
Such a difference.

A Few Updates

We had a great time in Phoenix.  It was perfect timing to go on vacation since my kitchen was still unusable. 

Saguaro cactuses pervade the Phoenix area.  I was surprised by how many there are.  This one is behind the house. 

 We had some fun in the pool.  It was a little chilly because the heater is not working but we got used to the cool water. 

Tenny doing her Little Mermaid impression.

I wish this pool was in my backyard.

There is a wall to the North of their house and this lizard kept running back and forth on it and then would do some type of push up motion.  It was funny to watch him. 

Shelley and I went to the Mesa Temple last Wednesday.  We went in the temple and it was sunny.  We came out in the middle of a rainstorm. 

It was nice to see all of the palm trees. 

We also visited Carefree.  It is this fun little town with an old West section and a fun shopping area which we hung out in.  Had lunch at a great little grill al fresco. 

Lots of cool cacti in Carefree.

I had a great time in Phoenix.  It was such a nice relaxing vacation.  It was fun to stay in a house but still feel like you are somewhere new and exciting and on vacation and  with such great weather. 

 The granite was installed this morning along with the hardware.  Josh and Stacy and family came over tonight to help me start putting things away.  I am rearranging some things.  It will take me awhile to remember where I put everything.  This picture does not really do this granite justice.  I love it and it is beautiful.  You know how sometimes when you choose things without really knowing how it is all going to look together.  Well that is what I did about a month and some ago.  I love how this all turned out.  The kitchen does indeed look bigger.  Now I just have to get the sink and dishwasher plumbed and then start on the lighting and painting and blinds.  I will get it done eventually.  I hope to have everything just the way I want it by July. 

The granite has a lot of movement which is what I picked it for.  I can't wait to have this all behind me soon.

Now I have to pick just the perfect shade of blue and beige for the walls.

The Remodel Has Begun

It is 9:30 Thursday night and the guys that came to tear out the kitchen are still here.  I thought I would post while they were fast at work.  It is taking them longer than expected.  Something about the tile being put in extremely well.  Who knew?  My house is going to be covered with dust because they are using power tools to pull it up.  I cannot hear myself think.

Whit and Les cleaned out my remaining cupboards on Wed. night  I came home from work and all the work was done.

Dang tile.  The guys told me this tile was put in and meant to last a lifetime.

The kids wanted to climb up to their favorite hiding spot one last time.  My new cupboards will not allow them to do this. 

I had to run to a stake leadership meeting tonight so I Josh came over to the house while they were tearing out.  They seem like a decent crew.  I probably trust them to be here without anyone else here.  My look at this ugly room.  You can hardly recognize it.

The appliances had to move to the dining area.

This is the tormenting tile.  I was talking to the guys and second guessing my decision to tear it out.  They told me that I did make the right decision and that maybe they made the wrong decision to be the ones to have to tear it out. 

My house may be in shambles but at least my yard looks pretty.  Well it needs to me mowed but there are at least pretty flowers in bloom.



It Wouldn't Be Easter Without an Egg Hunt.

So of course with Easter Weekend coming I wanted to do an Egg Hunt of sorts.  I wanted to be a little creative with the hunt this year.  I think for the older kids just finding candy on the lawn has lost its excitement.  I decided to spice it up this year with individual egg hunts for each child, treasure hunt style.  So yesterday I had to come up with 25 hiding places in and around my house. 

We started with the ceremonial picture of the line-up.

Then each child was given either a drawn hint or written hint as to where they need to go for the first Easter treat.  Maren had to start by going to my "treasure chest" aka my jewelry box that she had to unlock with the key.

Essie had to start at the "fridgerator" that she is holding upside down.

I wrote little riddles for the boys to figure out where their treats were hidden.  And Hannah got a mix of pictures and riddles.  So instead of tears and tantrums we had 5 kids running every which direction to find their treasure.

Hannah searching the rhubarb

Essie finding her stash behind the new yard ornament.

Trying out all the candy.

At one point Essie had all of her candy out of the basket and had to try at least a taste of everything.  She loves her sugar and chocolate.

Arden and Essie comparing tongues, not sure why but there you go.

Hope everyone has a wonderful and happy Easter.

Spring is Here, At Least in My Yard

My life is rarely blog worthy but I notice that I have not posted anything since December and I see that Lizzy has managed a blog update so it must be my turn to update too.  The weather has been so mild this month that Spring has come early.  I actually had my daffodil bulbs coming up in February.  Now my yard is definately in bloom. 

I have not used my camera for a few months.  I got out and did some yard work this morning and thought it might be nice to snap a few pictues. 

There is something about blue and yellow together.  One of my favorite color combos.  I should really be able to smell the hyacinths in a day or so.

I don't have a forsythia bush in my yard but thankfully my neighbor to the East does.  I love the look with the white fence. 

When I bought these daffodil bulbs it was under the impression that the centers would be pink.  It never happened.  My soil is probably not acidic enough or something crazy like that.  This year I can enjoy them instead of being annoyed with them. 

I was going to thin these lily's again but Hannah talked me out of it.  The foilage is a nice green.  It does look good in the bed, for now anyway.  They will soon take over.

I just ran across this picture in my computer.  My yard definately looks different from when I bought it.  It was not very inviting when it looked like that.

So back a few months ago when Jonas would call me on a nightly basis he would always ask when we were going to go on a trip.  He wanted to go with me and no one else and wanted to fly.  We had a few conversations and then I didn't think too much about it until I got this letter from him in the mail reminding me of his plans.  It's a keeper.  Although I am afraid he is going to be disappointed in me.  I am not taking any big trips this year because I am going to redo my kitchen instead.  I have my cupboards, countertops and flooring picked out.  Wish me luck.  It is going to be crazy around my place for a month or more while this all gets done.  I have not scheduled it to be started yet.  My guess is that I will get the cupboards ordered this week.  I hope to at least.  I can't wait.  I have this picture in my mind of what it is goint to look like.  I hope it will look even better.  Then I will definately have something to post about.