Josh's Prom Picture

T-Ball

Brycen has started to play T-Ball.  It is so funny to watch the games.  The kids on the team are 3 & 4 years old and don't have a clue what they are doing even though they practice every week.  When they hit the ball they never run to the right base and when a ball is hit into the field all the kids dive into a pile and fight over who gets the ball and by the end of the game usually half of the kids are laying in the field because they are tired and hot.  It's some good Saturday morning entertainment. :-)

Yep, that's my kid in the center laying on the field while the coach tries to coax him up.

So tired.

It's about time!

McKinley is finally starting to walk.  She'll be 14 months old next week.

It's Finished!!

Our home remodel is done.  It was a long 2 1/2 weeks with a lot of stress and mess but I am so happy with the way it turned out.  It is even better than I could have hoped for.  It was definitely worth it!

Before

After

Leah is 3!!

Leah turned 3 on March 25.  We had a small party at home on her birthday then the next day we had a big family party at the park since our house is in chaos right now.

Eating her special birthday breakfast

Days 3-14: Tile, Electrical, Plumbing & Drywall

They are still plugging along on our house remodel.  A little word of advice:  home remodeling with three young children is not for the faint of heart.  I am DONE! :-)

They finished the tile and electrical and then moved on to the plumbing.  This is where we hit a snag.  We needed to move the huge black pipe out of the middle of the family room and relocate it to the bathroom.  At first, they thought the pipe in the bathroom that they needed was above ground but when they opened the wall they discovered that it was nine inches underground.  That was a big problem.  This involved bringing in a guy who used a high tech machine to x-ray the floors and tell us exactly where the pipes and post tenstion bars were underground (meaning lots of extra money) and cutting a hole in the exterior wall of our house and then digging underneath the foundation until they could locate the needed pipe.  It was a huge, messy and long ordeal but it is now done.

Yesterday they started the drywall and patching all of the holes they cut to do the plumbing and electrical work.  They were going to finish today, but the drywall mud wasn't dry yet so they will finish that tomorrow.  Then all they will have left is to reattach the carpet.  I was really hoping they would be done by this weekend so we could relax and watch conference in our new family room but that's probably not going to happen.  But at least there is an end in sight. :-)

Day 2: Tile & Electrical

It never rains in Arizona, yet it had to rain yesterday.  Since they were laying tile I didn't have access to my kitchen unless I went out the front door, around to the gate, through the backyard and in through the back door.  That was delightful to do about a thousand times in the rain.  Thankfully we can walk on the tile this morning but of course it's bright and sunny now. :-)

Sorry the picture is so dark.  We don't have electricity in these rooms right now and since it was raining I had trouble getting enough light for a picture.

Day 1: Demo

Remodeling!

When we moved into this house almost a year ago, we didn't realize how small the dining area in the kitchen was.  It was very deceiving (it looked much bigger then it actually is) and our kitchen table wouldn't fit.  We had to find a small table that would fit but it was still a tight squeeze and it blocked the entrance to our kitchen.  I always have bruises on my knees from bumping into the chairs.

Shortly after we moved in, the builder realized what a poor design it was and they redid the floor plan and rebuilt the model home.  It was much better and we really liked it so we decided we wanted to do the same thing to our house.  We have been saving for almost and year and they are finally starting the remodel today.  I am so excited for it to be done!

Downstairs we have the kitchen, family room and den.  They are going to remove the wall between the den and the family room and make it one big open room.  The den will become our family room and the family room will become our dining room and the entrance to the kitchen will no longer be blocked by the table.  It will take them about two weeks to finish it all so for the time being we get to live upstairs.  I will try to keep updating with pictures of the progress.

Before picture:

Excuse the half painted walls.  We are waiting until they are done with the remodel to finish painting :-)

12 Months Old!!

Happy 1st Birthday McKinley Brooke!

About McKinley:

She isn't walking yet.  She isn't even pulling up.  She is just content to crawl around and let her servants (AKA Brycen & Leah) get her what she wants.  I can't say that I mind.  It's much easier to keep tabs on a crawling baby than a walking one. :-)

She only has two teeth

Says: no no, uh oh, bye bye, night night, momma, dadda, hi and shakes her head yes

Her favorite foods are yogurt, pretzels and puffs

She always carries a kleenex or baby wipe wadded in a ball in her hand.  She even sleeps with it.  It's her mini security blanket.

She is a screamer, especially when food is involved.  If we aren't feeding her fast enough, she screams.  If we take something away from her, she screams.  If she's happy, she screams.  If she wants us to pay attention to her, she screams.  We've never had a screamer before and it can get interesting especially at church.  I think my ears are permanently damaged from her deafening scream.

She is very good at imitating us.  She can mimic almost everything we do especially facial expressions.  Her favorite thing to do right now is fold her arms and bow her head when we say a prayer.  It is so adorable and she thinks she is so funny.

She still goes to physical therapy for her torticollis.  Her head looks awesome and you can hardly tell she had a flat spot.  Her torticollis is nearly gone too.  They just want her to walk before we can be discharged.

She loves her brother and sister so much.  They are her favorite people and can always make her smile.

She is the sweetest most easy going baby and we love her so much!

11 Months Old!