Photos!

My goal was to get the laundry room completed before our vacation to Hawaii. What started as a desire to add shelves for storage, turned into a whole re-decorating job. Brian always says, "If you're going to do something, do something right." I found an armoire on KSL that needed a little fixing up, and I didn't feel like I had the energy to "fix" it just yet.  So I planned to just use the armoire as it was until I had time to do something about it. The only problem was that the armoire was siting in the garage and I needed Brian's help to get it upstairs and in the laundry room. But he wasn't about to bring the armoire inside without it looking nice first. SO...it forced me into fixing it up so that I could use it.

That made me think about the ceiling that needed repainted in the laundry room, and then the walls needed a new color, and then of course the ideas kept spinning off from there. I wish I had pictures of the "before" project but basically it was a big room with no color and no storage. Here is our "after" product:

This is the armoire that got the whole thing started. I repainted, distressed and glazed it and put new hardware on it. It's a fantastic turquoise color- I absolutely love it! The picture doesn't do it justice though because there is a yellow tint to it for some reason. You have to see it in person though. This now holds all of my laundry detergents,  cleaning rags, iron and things that use to sit on top of my washer and dryer.

New shelves and labeled baskets! I love these! I love having the room organized. I use to have random piles all over my house of mis-matched socks, dry-cleaning, or ironing piles. Now they are all in one place and labeled! And I love the bar underneath the shelf that can hold hangers and clothes after they are ironed or need air drying.

 This is the overall room...the walls are a pretty blue color. Like I said, all these photos have a yellow tint to them (making it look greener than it is), so it's much better in person.  All accents are in black and white and the armoire is the one piece in turquoise.

Our wash sink. This also use to be cluttered with junk, now it's just a pretty place to wash stains out! 

 I love our new laundry room. Brian was quite pleased with the end results too! Although he supported my desire he didn't want anything to do with the job... which was fine by me. It was a fun project for me to do anyway. So, until I needed help with hanging shelves, he stayed out of the way and let me do my thing. He was very impressed in the end! I love how a little color can make a room so much more cheery.

Aloha!

Our camera has been broken since Christmas and we are still waiting to get it back from the shop...so I won't have pictures to share of my new laundry room (which I'm so excited about), OR the pictures of our Hawaii countdown chain taped to our wall OR pictures of the kids' luggage already packed with swim suites and flip flops! But I found this image of how we all feel about the recent trip we planned:

We are SO excited for this winter getaway! We knew we wanted to do something, but didn't know what. We knew we wanted to do it before the new baby came, but not sure when it would fit. Our kids are all at a good age where we can do something a little more fun and not worry about nursing infants or nap schedules. Who knows when the next opportunity will come?!?

Just so happens, Brian's work schedule had a short window open up and we took it! We decided to go all out, and so we are leaving on February 9th to Oahu for 5 days (Ko Olina area) and then flying over to visit the little Island of Molokai for 5 days. The flight for the whole family (5 seats) costs us a whopping...da da da...$10 (Thanks to all of Brian's work travel-- we finally get a little 'payback' for having him gone so much)! He has worked so hard for so long, he could really use this vacation. He'll be doing a little open ocean fly fishing on the side- who knew? He found a captain who can do it and so he's going to try it! I'm excited for him...can you catch mahi on a fly?

Here are some pictures of the place on Ko Olina we've decided to stay for the first half of the trip (try not to drool :)

The place we found on Molokai is super awesome! I don't have pictures, but we'll take some while we are there! We get a private beach right outside the home...literally. The backyard is the beach. Awesome!

Our winter hasn't been too bad this year, but being somewhere tropical for 10 days sounds sooooo nice to me right now! Jackson and Zoey asked me to print pictures of Hawaii for them to hang in their rooms..and they literally already have their bags packed!  We are just counting down the days! Can't wait! Can't wait!!

"The Organized Home"

This past month, after cleaning up from Christmas and getting over the flu, I've had the bug to organize every nook and cranny of our home. I'd attribute it to the unusually warm winter we are having and say it's the "spring cleaning fever" but Brian would attribute it to nesting and getting ready for the new baby.

I've found the energy and time to clean out and organize every room and closet, sift through and sort cabinets and drawers, wash walls and baseboards, compile a new cleaning schedule, organize the toy room and make new list of "house rules," come up with better solutions and systems, finish projects that were started 3 years ago and never finished...and it feels really good! It's like the new year has given me the excitement of having a fresh new start and I'm taking it and running with it!

My next project is making a functional and beautiful laundry room....I found an awesome armoire on ksl classifieds for $100 that I want to refinish to use as extra shelving in our laundry room. I also found these great ideas below from tip junkie: make-your-own drying rack, re-purposed candy jar for laundry detergent, check your pockets sign...great ideas! 

I also have plans for the kids' bedrooms since we'll be doing a little switcher-roo with everybody as we make room for the new baby. 18 weeks left! Let's see what can be accomplished!

The North Pole Express

The Christmas Gift from Grandma and Grandpa Beutler was paying for our choosing of a family event. It was the greatest idea ever! We chose to take the kids on the North Pole Express in Heber (patterned after the famous Christmas Story of "Polar Express).  We had such a magical time. It did not disappoint at all! Jackson and Zoey were giddy with excitement from all the details of the decorated train, their personal tickets, a conductor and engineer, cookies and hot cocoa, a personal visit from Santa, and a token bell from his sleigh! It lived up to all their dreams and expectations and made our hearts swell to see them so excited and happy. It truly was an amazing time. We'd do it again in a heartbeat. 

Christmas Traditions

We have some great Christmas Traditions at our house. About 3 years ago, I started the tradition of writing in a Christmas journal each day to record the things we do throughout the month of December. I don't really have to plan anything extraordinary, but each day little wonderful "Christmas Nugget" happens and I have the joy of recording it so that we can remember these times for many Christmases ahead.

 Here is Eli getting into the Christmas ornaments...the bottom half of the tree is pretty sparse because of the kids...but we still enjoy it!

 Enjoying a hot cup of cocoa! The kids' favorite treat!

 Seeing the lights at temple square! so much fun! We ate at the garden restaurant and the view we had was the best in the house! We could see all the lights below!

 It seems to all pass by so fast, the joys of childhood and the special magic that surrounds this time of year. I wish I could stop it in time, but my little journal is what will help me do that. I was reflecting on the week that just passed and how great it was, and then started thinking about the week ahead and how excited I was for each day (we have something fun going on every night this week)! I just really really enjoy soaking up this fun time of year and the closeness I feel with my family.

"Mater Christmas!"

We went shopping for Christmas trees the other weekend. It seems each lot has a big Christmas Display to lure shoppers in...this one had "Mater" and did the trick for us! It was the coolest thing and Jackson was completely amazed by it! Every detail was covered. Mater is even towing a tiny Christmas Tree in the back....

I do have to say, however, we ended up buying our tree from another lot : ( We like the rustic mountain pine trees and they didn't have a great selection of those, but their other trees looked nice!

I'm so happy that December is finally here! There are so many fun Christmas Traditions I always look forward to doing with the kiddos. We wrote letters to Santa (which the elves delivered). We watched the first presidency devotional, sent out Christmas Cards, and began the yearly tradition of the "Elf on the shelf."

In our home, the Elf watches over the kids to see if they are naughty or nice and then reports each night to Santa while the kids are sleeping. The Elves "appear" in a new spot each morning, and the kids enjoy trying to find their Elf. It's a great thing! 

Jackson has grown so fond of his Elf, that we had to get another Elf for Zoey, so they each have their own Elf. 

Last night, Jackson tried a little experiment... He snuck his Elf into his room, shut his door, and went to sleep with him. I think he wanted to see if his El really did leave each night to report to Santa. This morning, when I woke up, I saw his bedroom light on. So I went in to check on him and he was standing over his bed (which was torn apart, sheets thrown everywhere), with this completely dumbfounded look on his face! "Mom, I went to sleep with my Elf last night, and now he's gone!"

 Hmm.... I told him to go look downstairs, and his face lit up with magic! I love this age!  

Here he is, happy to have found his Elf!

Sweet Zoey, giving her Elf a morning hug! Who could really give these kids a lump of coal? I hope those Elves are giving good reports to Santa!

Wedding Bells

This is a little over due, but better late than never!

My youngest sister, Whitney, got married in November (the popular date of the decade 11-11-11). She was a beautiful bride! They were married in the Salt Lake Temple, and it was so crazy crowded! I couldn't believe how many brides had chosen that day to get married!

All of my siblings are now married (two in the Timpanogos, one in Salt Lake, and one in Logan temples) except my youngest brother who graduates this year and plans to serve a mission soon after! Our family is just moving right along...I give a huge pat on the back to my parents for getting us a great start in life and teaching us well! As a parent, I understand how hard that challenge is. I hope I do a good job in raising my children (and can one day look back and have a chance to feel as proud about my children's choices as my parents feel towards us).  

I forgot my camera, so I had my sis-in-law Taraleigh send me some photos she took (she'd talented in that department too).

Santa's Big Event

On the Friday after Thanksgiving, while most people were black Friday shopping, we took the kids to go see Santa. I am not one who will stand in line at a mall for hours to let my kids cry on Santa's lap...but...I did see an ad in the Utah Valley Magazine announcing KSL 5 flying Santa in to university mall by helicopter! Now THIS was the way to see Santa!

We got there at 9:30 and the helicopter arrived about 10:00-10:15. It was such an exciting event for the kids, I'm so glad we went! 

 

 Can you see all their excitement!! OK, maybe I was more excited for them to see Santa than they were...

  a little cocoa to keep the kids warm....

The copter coming in for a landing....

Getting wind blown by the chopper blades....now the kids are starting to get excited!

Santa, Mrs. Clause and the elves did the rounds around the square and chatted with everybody...the kids couldn't believe it! Jackson got to shake Santa's hand! It was quite unbelievable! We all enjoyed it.

My opinion, the best way to see Santa!

Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. We spent the morning finishing up our pie baking. We had started the night before and didn't get it all done. We made two pumpkin pies, two apple pies, and one pecan pie. They were delicious. Both beautiful to look at and tasty! 

Later that morning I was fortunate to go for a run (I wasn't feeling sick! Yeah!!), and Brian got to play some Turkey-ball. At noon, we headed over to the Bell's and spent the day with Brian's family. It was mostly a relaxed, casual day spent hanging out with each other and eating lots of good food! It was perfect. That night we all slept really well... it must have been the turkey! 

Christina and I made these place setting for the table. I think they added just the right touch! 

We have so much to be grateful for. It was a great day to be reminded of all our blessings. I love the symbolism of the huge turkey feast, with tons of food (way more than we could possibly all eat in one meal) compared to the abundant blessings in our lives. We have more than we can our cups can hold!