August 2019

August is SO HOT....  That is really the main topic of the month every year.  This August was no different...  the only reason we survived was we were sufficiently distracted.

We had to re-hang the barn door because two tries weren't enough.  Finally, we got it.  And I LOVE IT.  It looks amazing and works so well.

 The next project was framing the bathroom mirrors.  This was super easy and had a better than expected result.  It is amazing how the most simple of additions can show 1000% improvement.

The next project was the guest bathroom.  This was literally THE ONLY project that Raleigh and I did not agree on.  I don't know his reasons for not agreeing with me.  He tried to say that it was just too soon to paint walls, but that was a very silly reason.  Given that we are totally transforming every single room in the entire house...  why would painting the guest bathroom have to be put on hold?  It shouldn't have to be.

Nevertheless,  I wanted to do it and he didn't.  And his reason for not wanting to do it wasn't a good enough reason to not move forward.  So I went to Home Depot.  I bought the paint and the rollers and blue tape and a towel bar etc.  And came home with all of it.  And he said "I don't want to do it, but I for sure don't want YOU to do it.  Especially with ROLLERS".

Next thing I knew, he was all suited up and the Graco Sprayer was all tuned up and ready to knock this baby out.

It literally took him 25 minutes to have the room completely sprayed....  as opposed to me rolling it, which would have taken days and would have looked horrible by comparison.

I mean....  really?  Are you kidding me?

This looks like all of the other Pinterest bathrooms.

It cost $30 for paint and $14 for a towel bar...

And just look at that room.

I die every time I go in there.  It is so much cuter in person too.

I am in search of an 8X8 white framed picture of lavender to 

go above the little white shelf to complete the look.  I may have to make my own.

Peyton is 10.

Her birthday was Monday August 12th otherwise known as the first day of school.  Huge bummer.

So we celebrated the Saturday before.  

She planned out the entire day on a piece of paper.

1. Breakfast at Black Bear Diner

2.  Shopping with Mom and Dad at Walmart to get a new mountain bike

3. Sweet Rolled Tacos for ice cream (just me, no other kids)

4.  Open presents from Papa and Nana

5.  Fishing and tubing on Russ' Boat

SUCCESS!! 

We were victorious.

I think she had a great day even though her bike is a little too big and scares the bezeesus out of her when she rides it.  She is such a fabulous girl.  So smart and responsible.  So polite and respectful.  Not to mention headstrong and stubborn. 

Uncle Craig and Aunt Tiffanie came to visit us twice this month.
They took us to dinner and brought gifts and treats for the kids.
They watched the BYU/Utah game with us and Tiffanie sat
on the floor with the kids and told them stories about her grandparents.
We love them.

The first day of school went off without a hitch.

New school.

New friends.

New teachers.

But, we did a great job jumping back into our routine. 

In large part because these three kids are nothing short of amazing.

I don't know how in the world we got so lucky to have three of the greatest kids on the earth come to live in our house. 

Honestly, they are truly the best. 

They take care of each other, watch out for each other.

They get to the bus stop without any help.

They do homework without being asked.

Birthday Photo

Allie is a senior this year. 

She let me take her picture.

She is going to high school half day and Dixie State half day.

She will be more than half way through her Freshman year of college at the end of her senior year in high school.  Whatta Girl.  I really love her!!

 This Saturday project was the one that we were avoiding.

We were seriously so not wanting to do it.

But the shutters were just leaning up against the wall in the dining room begging to be hung up.

 This time we measured twice and drilled only once.

What a concept.

 The 12 foot board was so long, we had to have Allie and her big muscles help us.

I love how they are just staring at the level....  waiting and hoping for the bubble to move.

I have to say that I was pretty helpful this time.  

I actually offered some good hearty knowledge

I cannot believe we did it.

I cannot believe how freaking amazing they look.

This room is to die for. 

I LOVE it with all my heart.

I LOVE my husband with all my heart. 

How is he this good?

 The next project was the shelves in the kitchen.

We opted to have shelves in this tiny space instead of another little cupboard.

Raleigh INSISTED that we get piping hardware.

You have to order it and it isn't cheap.

I just wanted the usual ole shelving hardware that you get at home depot, mostly because I didn't want pay triple for something, not that important and I also didn't want to have to wait for the other stuff to be ordered and delivered.

Patience is NOT my strong suit, I am the first to admit.  (Also I am not good at spending money.)

And as always, he was right.

It looks at least 1000% times better than the usual ole hardware.

Such a cute little nook.

Peyton and Ryker are playing football.

They are so good.  Both of them have scored in every game.

Peyton had a pick 6 in her first game.  The best part is she is the ONLY girl on the team.  And at first the boys were like....  a girl?

But,  she let them know immediately that she is no ordinary girl and that she is sadly better than most of them.   It's sad really.  She is the secret weapon and the coach LOVES her.  

I love the look on Raleigh's face.  This is where he is realizing that his kids

know what they are doing and are doing it really well

The next project was painting the garage doors and the front door. 

Ral and I prepped for 3 hours on Saturday night and then woke up at 7:00 on Saturday and

painted.  Paint took 20 minutes.  And they look amazing!!  I have no words.

So, the thing about going bold with the exterior of your home is there is a little part of me that feels like I should have to ask my neighbors if it is okay if I paint my house a bold (SUPER DARK....  ALMOST MACABRE) color.   At first, I selfishly gave it no thought....  "it's my house,  I do what I want"...  Then we did it and it is BOLD.  And I suddenly felt all apologetic.  Like I am so sorry if you don't like the color of my house and think it is too dark for our street.  And sorry you have to look at it all day when you look out your windows.

And then we had a meet and greet for our ward and people would ask us where we live and when we would tell them, they would say "oh my gosh, we saw you painting your garage doors and we are SO jealous and the girl who lives across the street said...  "I told my husband to paint our doors the same as yours and he said...  well I can't now, or they'll think we are copying them."

Nevertheless,  I still feel a twinge of something.  It's like naming your child.  You have all the power.  You can name that little person anything you want to.  Who's going to stop you?  And then all of the sudden, after it's too late, you kind of want to say "sorry I named my child "Persnickety"...  it seemed like a good idea at the time.

Thank Heaven we don't live in an HOA.  They would have Shut. Us. Down. Immediately.

But.... Excuse Me.   A Black Door Inside....

Is Simply PERFECTION!!

It's 115 outside and this is what it looks like on our street all day on Saturday.

I cannot imagine what it will be like when the temperatures aren't causing second degree burns
and all of the kids come out and really start playing.  There is wilderness to explore right across the street

I love it every single time Papa and Nana drop by.

They say they are only going to stay for a second, but end up chatting for at least an hour.

This night,  Ryker read his favorite book to them. 

He is a good reader.

Speaking of Papa.  He woke up in the middle of the night with a brilliant idea for hanging the second story shutters.  He bought a pulley system and attached it to the rain gutter and they pulled the shutters up there.  Papa securely held the weight while Raleigh went up really high and drove the screws.  It worked perfectly and it looked like it was so easy only I was on the ground watching the whole thing and I knew it wasn't.  I am SO beyond grateful that we didn't have any accidents.

 I died when he grabbed the house.

It totally freaked me out.

I also love how my dad is holding onto his ankle just in case he falls off the roof.
Those two are good buddies

We finally found the Harvest Decor and I managed to put some of it out.

I have decided that we are due for some upgrades.  It's been 13 years since I have added to my collection.  I will wait until it all goes on sale and if there is anything cute left, I will buy some of it for next year.  It looked so cute in our other house.  And it for some reason doesn't look as cute in this one.  I will justify myself into some purchases with the argument that if I spend $100, but use the stuff for 10 years, it's like I only spent $10.  

I had a toothache.  I knew it was going to be a bad one to fix.  I was certain I needed a root canal.  Because I had a cavity from 3 years ago that I had never taken care of and as cavities do, it most likely had progressed from just a little repair to a big one.  There are at least one million things I would rather spend $1500 on than a toothache.  I was really sad and quite frankly scared to go to the dentist.  But, I was in quite a bit of pain.  I finally got the courage to go, but not before I prayed for a couple of days.... prayers that went something like this...  I know that I have probably neglected my dentistry for way too long and I have created an expense that once would have been affordable but now is WAY more complicated than I have money to pay for...  but if I have any blessings left, would it be too much to ask if my tooth that probably needs a root canal... could possibly only need JUST A FILLING???????

And as I live and breathe....  I don't know how I continue to be so blessed, but the pain I was feeling was an inflamed nerve in one of my teeth brought on by excessive teeth clenching brought on by stress.  The cavity that I had three years ago was.....  GONE.  Not there.  Healed.  I took Motrin for a week to get the swelling down and I have been working on being cognizant of not tightening my jaw and clenching my teeth.  I am trying to re-train myself to relax my face muscles, especially when I am stressed.   I have never heard of a tooth repairing itself.  Well, unless you for some unknown reason have angels watching over you.  Healing you.  Guiding you.  Blessing you.  I need them in my life.  I am so blessed to have them.  I love them.   They must really love me.

Well....  that's August.  We did a TON of upgrades.  And I LOVE every single square inch of all of them.  This was a very rewarding month for us.  Our ward split.  And a new ward was created.  Our new bishopric was called and they had to call people to every calling there is in a ward.  Raleigh is the second counselor in the YM presidency.  Exactly where he should be.  He will continue to be such a good leader and example for the boys.  Our kids have done spectacularly well with the transition to a new school.  They ride the bus like champs.  They have a million new friends.  They come home happy.  That makes parents so thrilled.

We are excited for the weather to cool down a bit and for the wind to stop blowing.  I have to clean my porch off every night thanks to the stupid wind blowing red dirt from the wilderness across the street.  I don't want homes to be built over there, but it will help tremendously with the blowing dirt.

I love my family.  I am so blessed to get to be with them in this life.  My husband is my very best friend.  I love doing things with him.  He is willing to do almost everything I ask him to do.  We have the best time together.  This whole home thing has been SO fun, I can't even adequately express.
Life is really good.