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Yippee!!

The washer is hooked up!!!

...the dryer is not.

When we moved in, the laundry room (or what we were planning on using as the laundry room) was a kitchen, with no laundry hookups. We tore out the kitchen right away, but didn't get to hooking things up until later on. Will was able to turn the old sink connection into a washer connection. It took him a while and two trips to Lowe's because nothing would fit right, but he got it and it's great! There were washer and dryer hookups outside in a little addition on the side of the house. (They sure did a lot of weird things with this house.) The addition is right in front of the kitchen window, so we're going to tear that out as well, as soon as we get to it. Problem is, when they put the hookups out there, they also tore a big old hole in the brick wall. So not only do we have to get all the electrical lines back down to the basement, but we also have to patch the brick, which hopefully won't be too hard, but who knows.

Sneak peak:

This is the wainscoting that we're putting in our kitchen. I LOVE it! It's going to be so pretty when it's done.

The house: Before

Will and I are officially homeowners as of three weeks ago. We bought a fixer-upper in the South-West Salt Lake area. I am SO excited about it! Sorry for taking so long to put pictures up - I just haven't been able to until today. Honestly, I have always wanted a fixer-upper. I love home projects, and turning something old and ugly into something beautiful. If you've ever seen any shows like "Flip that House", that is my favorite type of TV show. Our house is around 2200 square feet, with 6 bedrooms. (Yes, that is a ton of bedrooms for 3 people. BUT...there will be more people eventually, and I've always wanted a place for sewing!) Unfortunately there are a few things that have to wait to be fixed (such as the flooring) because we have a limited budget. Here are some pictures of the house:

This is the front of the house. I couldn't get Will out of the way so there he is! Notice the 7 or 8-foot-tall rosebush.

 Here is the backyard. Nothing too special. Of course it needs work, just like everything else. There is, however, an apple tree that I am very excited about! I hope the apples are good for some pie making this fall.

This is *going* to be the master bedroom. They obviously didn't use it as one, but we've got some big plans for it!! (Tractors not included)

This is the bedroom right across from the master, and it will be Kaylee's room.

This is the living room. Lovely black marble flooring...in the living room, dining room, kitchen, hallway and bathroom. What were they thinking?!?

The kitchen left a little bit LOT to be desired. Greasy DISASTER. I don't know what these people did, but it was a mess. Everything was covered in grease. The countertops were falling off from rotting wood underneath.

Water damage? That's what I thought it was at first. Nope...grease stains.

This is...a chili pepper. Stuck to the ceiling.

The kitchen window - half broken out, covered with a piece of drywall, the other half covered in cardboard and spray paint.

This is the cupboard underneath the sink. There was a drip, and it certainly caused a little problem down there - tons of rotten wood, mold and mildew, and cockroaches. Gross!

The dining room. Should I keep that chandelier? The walls in the kitchen and dining room are all a lovely green stucco. Don't know why they wanted stucco inside their house, but whatever.

You know those little buckets of spackle? This was one BIG bucket of spackle - or at least what we used AS spackle, sort of. We used two of these buckets (5 gallon buckets) plus a box of top coat to fill in the stucco kitchen and dining room walls. That was a lot of work.

The ceiling in the living room was like a cave. Not because it was dark, but because it had hundreds and hundreds of stalactites.

 Here I am sanding them down!!

Will and me after an exhausting 3 hours of scraping and sanding.

This is a stain on the wall after 2 coats of primer and 1 coat of paint. It was fascinating - I would paint over it, and it would be gone. Then it would slowly reappear right before my eyes. Finally a coat of oil-based primer did the trick!

And of course..can't forget my little helper here. She watched me scrub the floors and then she decided to take a shot at it.

These last three weeks have been great! We have gotten so much done. No more pictures for now though, you will have to be patient to see the "one-month" pictures, then in a few months (maybe years...) the "after" pictures.

We love the neighborhood here. People are so friendly and nice. We're the worst house on the block and everyone is so excited to have us move in and start fixing it up. The ward on Sunday was especially welcoming - I have literally never felt so "wanted" before in my life! It's kind of an older community, but plenty of babies and kids as well. I think it's a good mixture. I really think this will be a great place for us to live! Stay tuned for more updates...

Mini-Update...

Things you don't want to hear while redoing a house:

"Where's Kaylee?"

Employee at Lowes:
"Back for more?"
Our answer "Always"

Another employee at Lowes:
"You guys almost done?"
Our answer "Just getting started!"

"Ohh, THAT'S what that was hiding..."

*groan* "You guys have a LOT of problems. There is no WAY this is going to fit. Ahhhhh..." *groan* (For the record, with a bit of wood and creativity, it fit)

"Kaylee, NO! Don't eat that! Yucky!!!" (this is the most common one)

"Oh man, we're out of that again??"

"There's a huge hole in the brick..."

"Is that a cockroach or just dirt?"

(Note: I have heard all of these the last two weeks)

4th of July...a little late

I've been meaning to post this for a few days now, but 1. I have been so busy this week and 2. it's really not that exciting, so...I took forever. But we had a fun 4th of July! It was a little spread out, though. On July 2nd, we watched fireworks from up high behind Will's parents' house and saw basically all the fireworks in the area at the same time (in Provo, a lot of the fireworks were on the 2nd because that's when they did the "Stadium of Fire" show). On the 4th, we went to see the Provo parade. Kaylee loved it. After that we went to a little barbecue, also at Will's parents' house. Then that night, Will and I watched part of the last Lord of the Rings movie (it was too long to watch the whole thing at once, because I'm a wimp and can't handle more than a couple of hours). Anyway, that was our Fourth of July.

Here is Kaylee in her dress that I made for her! She had a matching bow as well, but a little boy ripped it out of her hair at church and it got lost. She has a pretty funny expression, but it's the best one I have. I sure have a hard time getting smiles out of her for the camera. She sees it and immediately gets serious.

Waterpark!!

Kaylee and I went to Seven Peaks waterpark today. We have season passes so we'll probably be there a lot this summer! Kaylee absolutely loved it. She got so excited when the "ocean" waves came in the wave pool, even though one went over her head. She didn't seem to care one bit. She got a little bit adventurous and tried to crawl into deeper water, but I wouldn't let her - so she tried to stand up and walk into it, but that didn't work out so well. She did, however, stand up without holding onto anything today. I think that's the first time she's ever done that. I guess there's nothing like a big pool full of kids for an incentive! She is probably the friendliest baby I know. She LOVES playing with other kids and babies.

Here we are! Kaylee doesn't look too happy for this picture. She was about ready to go home.

And...the end has come

My original pumping goal was one year. I toyed with the idea of trying to go longer, but the thought of that usually didn't last too long because I DESPISE pumping. I mean really, really despise it. At first I didn't mind it because it was so much better than what we were doing before, but after a few months I slowly starting hating it more and more each day, till about a month ago I honestly could not stand it anymore. Neither could Kaylee. She knew what it meant when I got hooked up to the pump and would start crying and trying to climb on me every time. Part of it, I'm sure, was she could sense how much I disliked it, but I also know it was hard for her because the more mobile she gets, the more she wants to play. It's hard to find enough time for my baby when I have to spend 2+ hours pumping every day, plus cooking and cleaning, and taking care of Kaylee in general. That leaves...well, no time at all for me, which didn't help either.

It got more and more stressful because my milk supply was slowly but surely dropping - even with 7 pumps a day, and often one in the middle of the night, I could barely keep up with Kaylee's eating. I'm sure my family noticed at Christmas time (and my husband's family the past few months) how cranky I was. Now, my family might not think that's anything new (I've always been the cranky one), but pumping made me a MEAN person, and I just kept getting meaner!! I was starting to be really shocked with myself. I didn't want to be so horrible and mean, but I felt like I couldn't control it. Mainly taking it out on Will, which of course is not fair at all. He is amazing for putting up with it.

So, I am quitting. 9 1/2 moths - it KILLS me that I couldn't make it to my goal. I remember crying when I started pumping, and now here I am crying that I'm not anymore. But I know for a fact that this is the best thing I can do for my family at this time. Just like I knew that pumping was the best thing I could do for Kaylee, now NOT pumping is the best thing I can do. I need to get my life back, and be able to be the mom that I want to be. Breast milk is irreplaceable, but so is this time with my baby, and I need to focus on that instead of pumping. I want to thank everyone who has supported me in this and especially thanks to Will, because he had to deal with everything first hand, and he was amazing. I pray that the next baby will nurse like a pro, and I will never, ever have to deal with anything like this again!

Gardening...

Our second attempt. Last year, Will and I had a little garden in our front yard, as well as some herbs in a planter. It did not end well. For one thing, after we planted all our flowers, it snowed. A lot. (Refer to my post last May.) It didn't kill anything, but I don't think the flowers really appreciated it very much, and just never seemed to thrive at ALL. More just hang on for a while, and then look really unhappy for the rest of the summer. And our planter - well, we had a cat, and finding a place to put said planter was really hard, because the cat could get almost anywhere. We ended up putting it on top of our entertainment center, which unfortunately was also home to a bad draft. Some of the seeds germinated, but promptly died. I don't know if it was from the cold draft or the fact that they kept drying out. (Yes, yes, my fault...)

Anyway, we're trying again this year, but we're only planting some flower seeds. The good news is, they are all sprouting, and faster than the little packet said they would. The bad news is, I don't think they'll make it much farther than that. Not that anything is wrong with them, but...well, I just feel like I didn't get a green thumb, like my parents seem to have. I tend to kill everything green. *sigh*

But it's worth a try, right?

Hike

We went on our first real hike with Kaylee!! We hiked up Y mountain this morning with her baby backpack that my parents were so kind to send. She loved it! Will carried her the whole way, and...well, I bet the Y isn't so easy to hike with an extra ~23 pounds. He did great though. Isn't she SO adorable?

And here we are, exhausted! Not looking quite so good as Kaylee, but not too shabby.

Easter

We had a great Easter weekend! On Friday was Rachel's (my sister in law) prom, so I did her hair for that. 5 people in the family graduated from BYU on Friday as well. On Saturday we had an Easter egg hunt, which was fun with Kaylee. It was chilly and raining, but she still had fun picking up the eggs. We have pictures, but I have to get them from my sister-in-law. (Yes, I'm kind of an idiot and forgot my camera)
That evening we had a little pre-wedding reception for Will's cousin Kelsey. Kaylee had so much fun crawling around!! She does love her freedom, that is for sure. She no longer likes to be held all the time. Will and I got to dance, which was great - we don't get to very often. Sometimes we try to at home but there is just not much room for it.

On Sunday, our choir song at church went great. I was a little worried about it because there were a couple of parts that I for some reason kept messing up on, but it turned out very well. Our choir director is awesome and she makes the best of a very small and limited choir!! Kaylee was not so happy during church, but that's normal now because I can't get her to nap and she gets VERY cranky by the end of the first hour. I'm going to have to find some way to get her to nap at church...or maybe just wait it out. I'm sure she'll grow out of it in a few months.

After church, we went to Will's parents' house for dinner. There was a lot of family visiting for BYU graduation, and it was definitely what you would call a "full house". It was fun, though, and the Kaylee loved all the excitement. She's starting to stand up on things and let go now, it's getting scary. Not too much longer till she's walking, I think. Her little cousin Tychus (he is 6 months old) is just about to start crawling, too. These babies are growing up so fast!!

After dinner we went to see Andy, Steph and Paul and have some strawberry pie. It was delicious! Kaylee loved licking the whipping cream beaters (thanks to Paul for that one). I am in trouble. This little girl needs to stop getting sugar.

I made Kaylee an Easter dress this year. I didn't have a pattern or anything to go off of really, but I think it turned out alright. 

Paul's Birthday

Paul has had a hard semester (not because his classes are hard, but that he never sleeps, doesn't eat well and refuses to say no to anyone that asks for his help working on projects), so I made sure to do something good for his birthday. I made him ribs, mashed potatoes, onion rings, carrots and broccoli for dinner, and a "Creeper" birthday cake. If you don't know what a Creeper is, you have to play Minecraft and find out. Or you can just look at my cake and use your imagination.

He was making the Creeper face.

I do believe he enjoyed it!

Day 30 - A picture of someone you miss

Our Jazmine. :'( She was such a good kitty and we had to give her away when we moved. Actually, we got $20 for her, but "sold her" sounds bad. I can't wait till we are living in a place where we can have a cat again.

Day 29 - A picture that can always make you smile

 

Quiet, reserved, VERY bashful Will...he surprised me at our reception on our wedding day.

Day 28 - A picture of something you're afraid of

Natural disasters. So devastating, so unpredictable...

Day 27 - A picture of you and a family member

Me and my daddy!!

Day 26 - A picture of something that means a lot to you

Day 25 - A picture of your day

Kaylee stands on anything and everything!!

Day 25 - A picture of your day

Unfortunately...the picture is going to have to wait. I lost my camera.

Day 25 - A picture of your day

Day 24 - A picture of something you wish you could change

I wish I could change my outlook on life and never regret anything again. I am very good at looking back and thinking "what if".

Day 23 - A picture of your favorite book

I absolutely love this book!

Day 23 - A picture of a childhood vacation

Day 22 - A picture of somewhere you would like to live

When I typed "Minnesota" into Google images, this is one of the first results. I liked living there; I think this is quite an accurate depiction of the glittering fields and frost covered trees!! We did have a house, though.

Day 21 - A picture of something you wish you could forget

This one is a little tough. After all, if it's something I want to forget, I usually don't keep pictures of it lying around. That's not the best way to forget something...so I'll go with getting stranded for 6 hours in Baxter, ND on the way to Girl's Camp in 2007. It was not the most exciting place to be stranded for hours. We stopped to buy something, and the truck wouldn't start up again.

Day 20 - A picture of something you're good at

I would LIKE to say that I'm good at cooking. Not the best yet, but working on it...I'm always in the kitchen!! This picture was taken when we had a 'doughnut party', exactly one week before Kaylee was born.

Day 19 - A picture and a letter

Dear Kaylee,
You have completely turned my life upside down! Not in a bad way, of course. I am amazed every day at the new things you learn and do. It's incredible to see such a tiny human being turning into a beautiful little girl. I can't believe that in only 4 more months, you'll be a year old!!! Your dad and I both think that you'll be walking before then. You're going crazy climbing on everything all day long, every day - furniture, toys, walls, me, Daddy...basically anything that's higher than the floor, you're standing up on. Not to mention crawling EVERYWHERE! I can't keep my eyes off of you for a minute anymore without you getting into something. Your favorite toys lately are Daddy's laptop, my makeup, and anything shiny. Oh, and your tongue. The last two days you have had your tongue out constantly. You were definitely "blessed" with a very long tongue like both your mom and dad! It's pretty funny to watch you. We do wish you would laugh, though. The closest you come is a coughing noise, which is also pretty funny, but we'd like a sweet girly little giggle. I'm sure you'll figure it out sometime though. I love you so much, Kaylee! You bring so much joy to our home with cute smiles and happiness. I can barely remember life without you.
Love,
Mommy

Day 18 - A picture of something you want

I want a digital SLR so bad!! I love photography and I feel very limited with my point-and-shoot.

Day 17 - A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently

This game...is taking over my life. Ughhh.

Day 16 - A picture of someone who inspires you

Will inspires me to be who I want to be. He spent four years in college and graduated in a very difficult degree, but was unable to find a good job in it after wards, even though all along he was told it would be easy. Instead of settling for something else, he decided to go back for what he loved and do something completely different. I know he will always support me in doing what I really want to do, even if it doesn't necessarily make sense at the time or be will difficult.

Day 15 - A picture of something you want to do before you die

Fiji!!! Someday.

Day 14 - A picture of something you can't imagine your life without

Day 13 - A picture of your favorite band

This is one of my many favorite bands...I always end up going back to this one.

Day 12 - A picture of something you love

 This may sound silly, but I love being pregnant!! I wasn't a huge fan of the heartburn and restless legs, but I loved having a "baby belly".

Day 11 - A picture of something you hate

I hate this pump. Not because it's a bad pump, on the contrary, it's a very good pump. But boy do I despise using it!!!

Day 10 - A picture of the person you do the most random things with

This is me and my friend Kim, from cosmetology school. We did a lot of weird things together when we started school, such as walk to the grocery store with clown noses.