Kim and Jo

I didn't realize how much these two looked alike. I was looking through scrapbooks with Bridger a while ago and found the pics with Kim and my little Jo. B-man asked who the little girl with Jo was....yeah...They also both LOVE their nieces and nephews. Jo is probably Michael's favorite person. And I know Kim was (and is) at the top of Jo's list!! They are all so stinking cute together. These pictures just make me happy.

Breakfast Dates

Most mornings I have a breakfast date with this cute boy. He is the reason I get out of bed!! We eat breakfast and chat.

We talk about the day ahead and what we did the night before. He asks where Papa is. I ask him what he's eating. He will wrinkle his nose and sniff the air if his daddy is making eggs for him.

We laugh and play for a bit too. I love technology. I can't imagine living so far from this boy without it. He is the most amazing thing I have ever seen. I miss him. I miss all of them.

So Much Family Time

So many things to do with family close by!! Dad took me for a ride (a 4 hour ride...hello sun burn) in his favorite car. It is mine too, coincidentally. We drove the back way to Pocatello to watch Cooper and Cylie in their end of the year daycare program. Priceless.

I got to spend some time with this boy. He is a funny kid!! He reminds me SO much of Kevin at this age. The things they worry about, the speed at which they move, their tender hearts...they are brothers for sure!!

Who else could eat a corn dog bigger than your head!!

Then a couple days later I got to come back to Pocatello to see THIS GIRL!! She has a couple jobs for the summer and has been super busy. I have missed her. 

We celebrated this girls birthday. I can't believe Miss Cylie is 7 years old. Wasn't she born just last month??

Not even faking. She was awake one minute and telling me she was just going to close her eyes for a minute. Out cold!!

And of course our birthday celebration wouldn't be complete without a trip to Ross Park. The kids convinced Jim to get a slide pass and slide with them. 

Mr. Fearless here. He'll go anywhere!!

Miss Brook was all smiles coming down the slide.

I couldn't resist posting this pic of my Nellie dog. Usually if we point the camera or phone at her she shies away from it. Jim must have been really sneaky to get this shot. She's even smiling. She has become a pretty good dog. 

That is a quick recap of the last couple of weeks. I like having these kids so close. Now if only I could get mine here...life would be perfect!!

The Inside of the Front Door

This is the view from my desk. I sit  here to read my scriptures and to journal in the mornings. It's a nice view. A little bland, but nice.

Oh...that's better. I love this shade of pink. It's not quite bubble gum and it's not coral....It's a little in between (on my laptop it looks very bubble gum but it's so not!!). It is beautiful and it lifts my soul every time I look at it. 

I find myself looking over there a lot. When I walk by I pause just a second or two. Color is a wonderful thing.

A New, New Kitchen

Here is where we started (a pic we snapped on our second showing after our first two options had fallen through). A nice kitchen for sure. A lot of counter space...with lovely laminate counter tops. 

The ten year old vinyl floor was in OK shape. But Jim had a vision in his head of his dream house and this wasn't it. 

We had to buy a fridge and we were pretty sure we wanted black appliances. And we definitely wanted new flooring. 

We thought we wanted the tile that looked like wood. We found some we liked, but then I saw this wood sample. I fell in love with the warm tones and the feel of the wood over the tile. My feet have thanked me too. So  then this guy came over. After watching him work Jim was SO grateful that we had paid for the removal of the vinyl. I've never seen a guy work so hard.

Then the fun started. My house was in total chaos. If you know me at all, you know that I don't deal with that very well!!

 The floors were even better than we imagined.

I am so glad to be rid of the worn out carpet and the old vinyl floor. If you look closely you'll see the handles Jim and Doug installed. I LOVE them!!

One more project was the oven and dishwasher. New ones were ordered. It took a while to get the dishwasher figured out. The wiring was wrong, then the new one was defective. We washed dishes for 10 days!! It turned out fine, but it was a hassle for a minute. I still want the microwave over the stove. It would clear up some counter space for sure.

And finally here is the new (double) oven and dishwasher AND counter tops!! Quartz is our favorite counter top and we love this color. I love the under-mount sink especially. We bought the same faucet that we installed in our last house. This kitchen feels like me now. If I am honest, I'll tell you that painting the cupboards is in the back of my mind, but not right now.

The kitchen is big enough for multiple cooks and I now have seating for many guests....so come over for a visit. You know you want to!!!

Not a Birthday Post

Yesterday was my baby's birthday. I didn't do a birthday post. I started looking through pictures and it was too much. I bawled my eyes out. It was too much. So I called him and texted him and did an instagram post and sang to him on a snapchat. But going through pictures hurts my heart. So know that I love him and think he is the most amazing man ever. He is more than I ever hoped for.

So onto the real reason for this post. The other guest room. They all started the same...boring.

So I moved in the bed. Good first start. This was Jo's bed years ago. We moved it with us thinking we'd probably end up giving it to Good Will in a couple of weeks but I think it will stay. I used the same bedding as in the guest room in Nebraska.

And I hung the same pictures/frames on the wall. I love this wall. It makes me happy. I love the owls and the colors...and I really love the picture of Kevin and Jo hugging at Kevin's wedding. It squeezes my heart. I put my grandma's cedar chest in here too. She received it as a gift for her high school graduation. When she married my grandpa they used it in their house for storage but when their kids came along they used it to hide the Christmas gifts. My Mom loved this chest for that reason. She kept it in her room when it came to live in her house. I loved it. I would sit on it and look out my mom's window. We would talk about the things she kept in there. She would tell me stories of the people they belonged to, her grandparents, her parents...So when the chest came to live at my house I was thrilled.

See the purple tote? My first dress-up box for my grandkids! I have put all kinds of things in there. I am so excited for tons of grandbabies to come and find the treasures there.

All of the bedrooms in this house have walk-in closets. I am so glad because without a basement we have been lacking storage options. These closets are filled with all our "stuff". Why do we need so much stuff? Ugh. 

So there is another glimpse into my house. I get to fill my house with sisters and nieces and nephews this weekend. I am excited to share it with them. 

The Sentimental Room

This is how all of the rooms looked when we started. Beige and blah. 

But then this happens....The stuff gets unpacked. Things get hung on the wall. More de-junking takes place. 

Old things get found and reused. Some things get donated.  

 And things get prepped for visitors. Not that I am expecting a ton of guests. But a girl likes to be prepared. Did I mention I have THREE guest beds? Not to mention a ton of floor space for those under the age of 22!! Just sayin'...

 For obvious reasons, this is Jim's favorite guest room. He feels at home in here. Our room is woodsy too...but I put more of my stuff in there to balance it out. I have to live in there too you know.

 The things in here have great sentimental value. The yoke was my great-grandfather's.  My Mom made a giant macrame plant holder/room divider thing that hung off it. It was a thing to behold. I saved the yoke....not the rest of it. Kevin's first deer is represented here. My sister's mad art skills are too. Lots of photo albums and scrapbooks representing a million hours of my time are on the bookcase.  

So many old memories...just waiting to make some new ones. I'm sure we will have lovely memories made in this house. It is a good house.