Girls Night Out

So one of my very best friends is moving to California. I'm not happy about this. Not one bit. We have little girls the exact same age and they absolutely love eachother. Many times, Jamie has been my outlet, my friend, my shoulder to cry on, my friend I can be completely goofy and honest with and I never have to sensor my honesty.. yet, she still loves me.. I think! :-) Her husband Ben is a pretty cool guy... but I'm not very happy with him for taking her away! :-) Just kidding Ben.. you know I love you! All jokes aside, i'm really sad about it. I've been trying not to think about it, but it's here and she's leaving.. what can I do?!

So, last night, we went out. Just the two of us. And it was the most fun I have had in a long time. We went to a place called 'Color Me Mine' and painted ceramics, laughed, made fun of eachother and talked FOREVER! It was great. Then we went to dinner at Macaroni Grill and ate till our hearts content. Here's some highlights.












Mmmmm... dessert! Nothin like it. Painting ceramics was so fun. I'll post pictures of the finished product when we pick them up on Friday. We had a really great time. Thanks Jamie!

I hate change...

Lately, a lot of things have been changing for me. Way too much to even TRY and blog about. But here's one thing:

This is what Addy looked like a week ago:


and this is what Addy looks like now!


Can anyone see the difference besides me????????
She decided to grow up over night. I specifically remember when this happened and could not believe that morning when I went to get her out of her crib and realize I had to lift higher just to get her out! Crazy girl.. she will NOT stop eating and keeps getting more and more thin. I hate this kind of change because it makes you realize how fast they grow.

Canada!!

We just got home last night from a week long trip in Canada. I admit, I was REALLY not looking forward to the trip for the main reason that I knew the girls would HATE the drive. They did, but the time we spent in Canada was amazing. We had so much fun with everyone. We saw a lot of people we haven't seen in so long, we ate lots of good food, played games, swam, laughed, etc. It was a blast. Here are some highlights from the trip:

1. The girls and I got to spend A LOT of time with Nate.. away from work and his calling and sports.

2. Seeing all the cousins, aunts and uncles, Grandma's and Grandpa's... etc was GREAT! It was really great to get to know everyone a little better.

3. Going down the crazy huge waterslide at the hotel was a blast for Nate and I.

4. The first day we were there, we had nowhere to go and Addy was really tired and would not sleep in the car, so we found a parking lot, took everything out of the back, set up Addy's pack n play and noise maker in the back and gave her a nap, meanwhile, we sat outside the car and threw rocks with Hailey while she slept.

5. We said goodbye to everyone and headed for home when I looked at Nate and said, "you want to go to Banff?" and he said "No, it wouldn't be any fun for the girls to drive more" and I replied "I don't want you to miss anything that you really want to do, so let's go". So, we turned the car around and went to Banff and we are so glad we did. it was so fun.

6. Poor Addy slept in hotel bathrooms half the trip so we wouldn't bother her.

7. Going to Elbow Falls was really neat.. even with the rain, it was really pretty.

8. Eating dinners and lunches with tons of family was a blast!!!

9. Getting rained out at the lake and ending up in the gym of the church was an adventure but we all had so much fun.

10. A bonfire with lots of fun stories.

11. the one thing that stood out to me the most and only because i'm his wife: while listening to the stories Valerie was telling about Nate's Grandpa, I was running around like crazy trying to keep the girls contained and out of the dirt and I was really getting irritated that nate wasn't helping and just sitting there, then I realized something... he is where he needs to be at this time. I finally caught a glimps of him and saw that he was crying. (don't ever tell him that i'm writing this) For those of you who know Nate, it's a rare thing. I have only seen him cry maybe 4 times in the 9 1/2 years that I have been with him and I realized how much he needed to hear what his mom had to say. It was a tender moment for him and i'm so glad he got to be a part of that. Thanks Valerie.

All in all, it was a great trip.. and thanks to all those who put so much effort into everything and so much time and patience in making it such a great reunion for all of us. Although, I was really stressed about it and not looking forward to the HOURS and DAYS in the car, it was worth it in the end.

so, thanks to Canada and all our family for spending some well treasured times with us. We hope to see you all again soon.

You can see lots more pictures here.

Our Basement Project

Those of you who have been in the basement, know that it's pretty much just a dungeon. While I was pregnant with Hailey, we spent most of our time down there since it was the middle of the summer and the coolest place in our house. I never really felt like I was 'home' while hanging out down there.. just something about how dark it was or something. Anyways, a while ago, we decided there needed to be some things done in the basement, new shower, new cabinets in the kitchen, etc. So, to give you an idea of WHY these things needed to be done, there was no door seperating the shower area from the rest of the basement, so it wasn't very private. Also, there wasn't much cabinet space in the kitchen. The shower fell apart, and therefor, it was in diar need of being replaced. So, here are some before and after pictures for ya.







Nate and I both were hard at work during nap times and after the girls went to bed trying to tear out all the stuff in the basement. We did it all ourselves to save a little money and it was horrible. The bathroom floor by far was the worst part and Nate and I were both SO sore after all that. But it was well worth it as you can see:







As you can see, it is much more 'homey' looking and we love how it turned out. It doesn't seem like a basement at all. Our very talented brother in law, Justin did the cabinets, to which there are a few more to add, we hired out for the shower, door way to the shower and bathroom, carpet, wood and tile flooring, the plumbing for the shower needed some serious work, and Nate put in all new lighting to brighten it up. It was quite the project, but we're happy with it and glad it's over.