Our New Home

Here are some photos of our new home in Kaysville. Since I made my blog public again, I won't show the front of the house, but here's a glance at the inside of the house. It's a split level house with a floor plan similar to my Aunt Anne's for any of you that have been in her house except 10 years ago, the owners knocked down the kitchen wall to open it up more. After you walk in the front door and go up 8 steps, here's the great room. We love the open space! It's been perfect for our Love and Logic Parenting classes as well as parties with friends and family.

Kitchen...with my own pantry at last!
I've been dying for a pantry, and apparently so have my kids because they're always getting snacks out of it. ;)

Dining Area

 

Living Room

Music Area

Master Bedroom

Wade and I made a tufted head board for our Master Bed that I'll post some pics of later. I'll also post the pics of the other bedrooms once we get new paint up in the next month.

Upstairs Bathroom

Family Room

The kids are loving our new 8 foot monster sack! They run, run, run, and then jump onto it every chance they get. Then we roll it in the middle of the room so we can all sit on it together (yes, all 6 of us fit on it) to watch movies on the projector screen.

Back patio

This picture makes me so happy especially since right now, our backyard has 2-3 feet of snow. Our home and neighborhood is everything we were hoping to find. We may never move. :)

Hello 2013...nice to meet you!

We're back! After a whole year of daily gratitude posts on dailysunshineforyou.blogspot.com, we moved into our first home, welcomed baby Matthew into our family, and took 7 months off from blogging. It will take several posts to catch up so I may just post Christmas, go forward from there, and finish catching up later. After feeling my time sucked away from facebook, I deleted my account 2 weeks ago (for a few months or forever...who knows? I'm genuinely enjoying the break from it right now.) When I do have some down time, I've read a few of your blogs and have been reminded how much more I enjoy it than facebook.  This blog is my family journal, which I print into a book for us to enjoy for years to come.  So I'm stoked to be back and blogging!

just keep swimming, just keep swimming...

What's better than going swimming in the winter? Okay, maybe swimming in the summer, but we sure love the indoor Holladay Lions Pool anytime of the year! We met up with friends and went swimming there a few times this winter. Since we're hoping to move to the Holladay area soon, we especially enjoy driving through that beautiful little town on our way to the pool.

Field Trip to Hogle Zoo

our fabulous preschool group!

Ollie, Vivian, Sofia, Avery, Emily, Jonny, Etta and friend, James, and Grant
Owen came, too, but we weren't able to stay as a group the whole time so I don't have any pictures of him, and this is the only one I have with the twins.

Ollie and Vivian
Sofia, Emily, Avery, Jonny, and Vivian

Emily and Avery

Jonny and Emily

Jonny and Miss Catherine

Emily and Avery

Valentine's Day Program

Here's Jon, Ollie, Taylor, Vivian, Avery, James, Emily, and Grant singing,
"I'm a little valentine made for you of paper, lace, and a dab of glue..."

singing "Happy Family"

singing and danging to "Somebody Loves Me" from everyone's favorite movie, Toy Story :)

"You've Got a Friend in Me" was probably my favorite because they were all so cute holding hands and dancing in circles with their buddy.

best pals, Jonny and Ollie

Owen usually joins them, too, but he was sick. We missed you buddy!

shaking our tambourines to "You'll Be in My Heart"

exchanging valentines!

January

This little button is now scooting all around the house! But in January, she would quietly lay on her pretty quilt which my friend, Katie, made her, and just reach for her toys.
She also seemed happy in her exersaucer while I was cooking dinner or doing laundry.

Like most of Sarah's clothes, this dress is a hand-me-down from her big sister, Emily, and it's one of my favorites! Gosh, this baby's big smile melts my heart.

At the beginning of the year, we started having family fun nights on Fridays. We love it! We just play games (Life and Go Fish are our top picks), talk about the highlights of our week, and laugh.

I used my birthday and Christmas money to buy new bedding. Yea! I don't always have an immaculate house (alright, let's be honest, I RARELY have an immaculate house with 3 kiddos around) but I do make my bed everyday thanks to my mom making it a priority in our home growing up. And while I've enjoyed making our bed with our different wedding quilts for the last 7 1/2 years of our marriage, I was thrilled to finally buy this beautiful set from JC Penney. You'll also find our cute little model posing on the bed in her teddybear cozy from my friend, Michelle. Sarah wore it for many cold winter walks around the neighborhood.

Sarah's first taste of cereal

Free Day at Hogle Zoo with my friend, Traci, and cousin, Britni...good times!

Here's Gibby, Jon, Emily, Etta, and Kyle. monkeying around

Heck, they didn't even mind the snow.

snowy afternoon in Salt Lake = cuddled up in cozies reading books or watching PBS kid reruns

I got this idea from my friend, Jodi. We made Octopus hotdogs on sea weed noodles for a snack in preschool when I taught my ocean unit. It was a hit!

We invited Kiana over for an afternoon to keep us company when Wade was gone all weekend at a Financial Enlightenment Event with his company. I'm joining him for the one they put on in May for their clients. Besides Garret Gunderson, Wade's boss, we'll also hear from Kirk Duncan and Leslie Householder. I'm so excited!

I made my specialty for everyone: Turkey & Veggie Sandwich on whole wheat bread with a spinach salad. It's what I make myself everyday for lunch. Delicious and healthful. I love it.

an original

My friend, Kate, shared these thoughts on her blog, and it got me thinking. I just want to live in a way that is in harmony with my beliefs, my integrity, and my unique personality. I just want to be me. I STILL don't own a pair of skinny jeans because I don't think they look good on me, plus everyone else seems to be wearing them. And I'm not going to do something that makes me uncomfortable in order to please the masses.

I've always felt different whether it was my red hair and freckles, my honest and open approach that intimidates some, the fact that I actually liked school and connected with my teachers, or my happy and positive manner. There were girls in middle school who hated me because they told me I was too fake and happy. Sorry, ladies, I've always been that way. It's just how I am. No pretending here. Are all teenagers supposed to be angry and depressed or something? Give me a break!

Although I have felt different, when I read blogs, I see a world of similarities whether it's a young mom struggling to figure out her 4 year-old, a friend who is homesick and misses her family so much she could cry, or someone who has just lost a loved one, physically or spiritually. I have experienced ALL those things...like many of you. And then all at once, I feel like I'm not alone because there are others like me who understand. More than anything, I blog so I can find those similarities and make connections, while still appreciating the unique qualities each of my friends and family possess.