It's a dirty job BUT somebodies got to do it!

We are working on the finishing touches of getting our yard ready for sod this weekend....it has been a long, tough, LLLLOOONNNGGG road.  Morgan volunteered to ride behind the Rino (thanks Tom).  I think she's a little crazy, but she has fun!

Summertime fun...NOT!

This summer we have spent most of our time getting our yard done.  We have tilled, graded, smoothed, raked, and poured curbing till our fingers bled... literally.  

This day we got two big loads of already mixed cement to pour the cement pad for what will be our barn/shed.

It did go faster than doing the curbing... but of course it is one of the hottest days.  Meg became our expert edge finisher.

Brayden some of the muscle... I got to leave my comfort zone completely and drove the truck with 2 &1/2 yards of cement in the little trailer!

Zack helped to finish off the big stuff and was our muscle!

Tie Please!

Brayden has been very adamant that he always wear a zipper tie (one he doesn't have to tie himself... it just zips up).  Zipper ties are great when kids are young and have a hard time tying their ties themselves... but Brayden needed to enter the world of big boy ties!  Both of our boys brought so many ties home from their missions that we have an endless selection of ties at our house.. Sometimes Russ even borrows one!  A couple of months ago it was time for Brayden to really learn how to tie his own tie (what can I say... I'm a slacker!).  It took a couple of tries at the bathroom mirror with dad... but he got it down!

 

Moon Lake 2014

 We got to spend the first week of June at Moon Lake!  It is such a pretty place and the campground has been under construction...so we hadn't been in a few years, but being there brought back to mind the reasons that we try to go there each year!

The cousins got to play lots of card games!

Hiking to the inlet is always a must!

This year hand fishing was an added bonus!

Two for the price of one!

We celebrated two birthdays at the end of May... Brayden turned manly (what do you say for boy's instead of "sweet") SIXTEEN!  We went camping so he was not able to get his license until a week after his birthday!  Catie also had a birthday the first part of June.  What a great addition to our family!

Fence

One of the less attractive aspects of building a new home is the fact that after you finish your new home... and finally get everything put away to the point that you can function again... you GET to start on the yard!

We are currently working on the mow strip. (the 8" strip of cement that keeps the weeds out of the fence)  It has been nice to have Zack home to help.

Frisbee Golf

A couple of months ago when we had a nice break in the weather... we all went on base and tried Russ' new craze... Frisbee Golf. 

We had fun and we really enjoyed the sunshine!

The blurr that was January!

January was filled with lots of trips to the dentist.  Our family is big enough that they won't let us come all at once!  Sooo between check-ups and fillings and cracked teeth and all that 2 crowns entail...we made 5 or 6 trip to the dentist in January!  Good thing they had headphones and a ceiling mounted T.V.  

Russ and Megan had some hunting tags to fill and it started out fairly well.... they did tons of hiking... but with the sickness' that visited our home towards the end of Jan... they didn't fill their tags.  I was trying to take a before and after picture... each time they came home they looked so tired and worn out and sunburned, but I didn't get the after photo taken.

February started out great!  We finally decided on a car and got a new one (after 4 years of looking and waiting till we didn't have a missionary out)  We also went to the Logan temple to do temple work with Meg, Brayden, Morgan and Zack.  We spent a great day in Logan and even had the sister missionaries eat lunch with us!

Gingerbread House 2013

Each year while we were growing up we got to go to Grandma Thomson's house and decorate gingerbread houses.  It was a fun tradition and one I remember fondly.  Well this year our kids decorated one gingerbread house... Grandma used to have one for each of us!  I think they did a great job.

UPDATE>>>THIS is a Pampered Chef gingerbread mold!  I have the train one too!

Christmas 2013

Christmas this year was a great one!  Everyone was happy and healthy... and we had a great time with Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Sandy!

This picture is too funny... but all too true!  It has been over two years since Zack has been home with his serving a LDS mission for our church and then going right up to school.  We have seen him for a weekend here and there, but nothing like these three weeks!  It has been great to have him home!  Brayden has been joined at the hip with him (thus the appropriate picture).  They have played games, built models and watched movies to their hearts content!  I'm afraid that Brayden will be a little lost puppy when Zack heads back to school next week!  

Here is the kids with G & G Steeneck and Aunt Sandy!

What a great Christmas... was are so thankful for so many this this past year!  A healthy family, a new home, a returned missionary, a new daughter in law!  Wow!  WE are truly blessed!

T'was the night before Christmas...

Twas the night before Christmas and everyone was stirring in their new footie PJ's!

Kitchen

Here are a few more picts of the kitchen... I need to take a close up of the backsplash...it's my favorite part!  We used a lantern tile from Homedepot.com and it is one of the first things that I bought for the house!  It wasn't fun to install... but I have access to  a fabulous handyman that comes dirt cheap!  :)

I do need to add more color to the upper cabinets... but I figure that will be a work in progress!

Office & Entry

Here are the Pictures of our office and entry way.  I still love my gray desk... maybe sometime down the road I will paint it another color.  For now though gray it stays.

Side wall in office.

Entry wall... do you think it needs to have the

"...is where our story begins."

below the HOME sign?  That is what I had at the old house... now I don't know...

Entry way picture.

A sneak peak at the office shelves...

Things are starting to come together...

I have been unloading boxes...

  

Morgan has wanted to get out all of the decorations...

  

So we started with the office shelves...

Russ was wonderful and made my vision of a wall full of shelving happen...

It turned out great... hopefully soon I will have things cleaned and everything finished so I can take pictures of the final products!

Halloween 2013

So far this is the only costume picture that I have today...  I thought her costume turned out pretty good.