kerry's 25th birthday!!

beautiful!

i wanted to interrupt this trip post to celebrate kerry's 25th birthday!!! woo hoo!!! i can't believe my baby is 25!  a quarter of a century!  where has the time gone?  i feel like it's flown by...i also feel like kerry should still be living with me...but, instead she lives with austin and cedar!!
kerry....you are a fantastic person....one that i'm so proud of...you have accomplished so much in your life...you're so beautiful...talented. you seem to pick up to talents all the time...art, candle making, flower arranging, painting, rock climbing etc...you're never afraid to try something new!

                                                                going place places...like spain

                                                                          loves to hang out

                                                                           smart mouse

                                                                           cute mom
..you're artistic, smart, creative, fun, a great wife, a wonderful mom, and a fantastic daughter....i'm so grateful to have you in my life...that i can learn from you....it's fun to watch you and austin with cedar...he's a lucky little boy to have you as his mom....keep up the great work...don't ever stop creating, learning, doing fun new things...you are always striving to do something new...i love it!!! and i love you!! i'm a lucky mom.....thanks for being my friend always....love you!!!

costa rica!

i'm in beautiful costa rica! russell, kristen, baby russ, kerry, austin, cedar and i are in costa rica for the week....we arrived on friday night....long flight made longer by a delayed plane....we arrived at the four seasons at about 10 pm...and went right to bed!
saturday morning we had a delicious breakfast...i went to the pool while the babies had their naps....afterwards they all joined me at the pool...it was a very relaxing day....not having to move much, unless in the warm water of the pool

....the kids took the babies on a walk around the resort....had a nice dinner...after dinner we went down to the beach where we lit floating lanterns and let them go into the sky...that was fun!

  afterwards, we looked for a movie to watch...no bueno....so kerry, austin and russell played an artist game of who could draw the best picture in a minute...silly and fun....

this morning we had breakfast and went to the beach...our hotel is on a peninsula and because of that we have a bay on one side and the pacific on the other....very cool...the water is warm like bath water...no problems walking into that!

we played at the beach...the boys went snorkeling...took the babies in the water....in the afternoon we drove to the golf course and took a 'trail of the giants' tour....

we drove golf carts around the golf course and saw the animals that are in the jungle there...birds, monkeys, an animal called a cortis...it was fun to do and see.....it started raining as we finished....later, i went and had a much needed, fantastic massage! kristen and kerry had treatments also...then, had a fun dinner at the bar...delcious food!  adios for now!

dearest tom

july 4th, 5th and 6th are always a little hard for me.....this is the weekend of Tom.....
the 4th of july was his favorite holiday...right after christmas! he loved the simplicity of it....just having fun, barbecuing, watching the fireworks and being with friends and family.....we had a fun day and night yesterday..had family to swim....had a great bbq and watched some great fireworks.....the 5th is always so hard because that day, 15 years ago...tom passed away....i think of him everyday...i miss him always...it's always been so hard, as the kids have graduated, gotten married, had babies...to not have him around....i truly believe that he is watching over us...but, it is hard....even 15 years later....and then, of course, july 6th is tom's birthday!  so, we try to celebrate every year...tonight i was telling gavin stories of his grandpa....tom was a fantastic man...he had a great work ethic...he was going to be the best at whatever he did.....he was funny....people loved him....he could say and do things that would get everyone else in trouble...but, he got away with it....he was so generous...loving and giving to others....it's always fun to hear of the guys he worked with, that still tell his stories....i was truly blessed to have him in my life....he was a wonderful man...a great husband....not quite a saint! but, maybe he's on his way.....you're always in my thoughts.....have i told you lately that i love you?

cedar's 1st birthday!

after colorado, i flew for a quick trip to utah....to celebrate cedar's first birthday!  it was a fun quick stop....we went to the concert on tuesday night...then, spent wednesday getting ready for the party.....kerry and austin had it all planned out...we had a fun bbq with a lot of friends and family....it was a beautiful summer night....cedar was really into his cake.....he slowly started eating it...then, just kept at it....he took a few bigger handfuls....but, slowly, slowly he ate the whole thing....it was pretty big also!  he is growing into such a fun little boy....his hair is still red but i'm scared that it will soon turn blond...his roots are blond...he has such blue, blue eyes....he's started walking...has to think about it a bit....he is very, very busy...never stops it seems....starting to say a few words....it is so fun to watch him grow!!

Emmy Lou

                     

                                 

A few weeks ago kerry mentioned that Emmy Lou Harris was going to be in town while I was there for cedars b-day bash. So we got tickets. It was up at red butte gardens amphitheater. A gorgeous site right by the mountains. polly and jim, kerry and austin  came with me We brought a picnic for dinner and our chairs. Only thing we didn't think of was that as soon as the sun went down it turned cold! It a few sweatshirts saved us!! A fun evening. Fun kickoff to summer!

                             

colorado with the grands

                                    

                                      

                          

                                  

                                     
                                      
                                      

i'm in colorado springs with kelly and willies' kids for a few days....they have jetted off to paris! so i'm tending for half of the time....i decided it would be more fun for the kids and me to go to a hotel...we're staying at the broadmoor hotel and it's gorgeous....it's an old hotel in the hills of colorado springs...it was built in 1918 and is on a really beautiful property.....they have different wings that are situated around a small little lake.....there is a beautiful swimming pool....horses, golf, and many other  activities....we're lucky to be able to spend time here.....

We went to the Cheyenne zoo which is the only mountain zoo. It's a really nice zoo with the giraffe feeding, grizzly bears, a moose, snakes, hippos, etc. they have a chairlift that  you can ride up to the top to see the beautiful zoo. It was a fun activity. Then on Tuesday it was time to take them to grandma Connie's and I continued on to Slc for cedars first birthday!

what a dream!

from old.....to new!!!

last year i blogged a bit about my kitchen remodel....but, i never really went into full detail.....my old kitchen was great....very cozy...cute....comfortable....but too small...if there was too many people in it...we were all on top of each other.....

original kitchen......(click on pictures to make larger)

so, i talked to my fantastic contractor, mike meru....best contractor ever!!! and we came up with a new design..the kitchen designer, mark, and mike and i all got together and brainstormed.....it was fun, yet a little scary to plan...
in january 2013 i packed everything away...for the next 6 months...the kitchen was walled up...had plastic everywhere..i had a make shift kitchen in my family room...my microwave and a little cupboard...refrigerator in the garage....it was make do...but, it worked...the grandkids loved it...it was like playing house.....
the guys came in and ripped the kitchen to shreds....down to the studs....moved a couple of walls, raised the ceiling to the roofline....moved windows, doors, ripped everything away...and then they were off!  i had come up with the idea to flip flop my kitchen...because my old dining area was larger than my kitchen area....plus, by moving the living room wall (18") and the old kitchen wall (22"), it really added space...which you wouldn't ever think!!!
i love it when builders come and start ripping things apart! it's always so exciting...i love the whole process.....

ripping it out!

so, in the next couple of months i chose the appliances, the cabinets, the tile, the granite, the flooring, the finish on the walls...you name it...we chose lighting....and it's bright and i love it! i had help from all mike and all his subcontractors, they have a lot of experience and great taste! a lot of choices that make you wonder if it will all come together...one of the hardest things was getting the right finish on my cabinets....i don't like shiny!  on my granite (honed) or on the cabinets...it makes them look too new...we lucked out with our cabinet stainers....they came up with a beautiful finish...they have a shop, but, had to do most of it at my house...so about 4 pm for a couple of weeks, they would show up every night to work on the cabinets...it was a 14 step process....alot of work...they wore masks....had a huge fan so the fumes wouldn't get them!!!!

rebuilding

Finally, at the end of may it was all finished!!! woo hoo!  i was able to move back in and decorate...put my house back together....because of course it turned out to be more than a kitchen project...our house had oak paneling in the living room and down the halls and bathrooms....so when we put the new walls up, we took all the oak down...i'm going for a mediterranean look now...so, they plastered the walls a white, like the kitchen, stained all the doors dark ..had to rebuild a few bookcases, bathroom cabinets etc....it turned out gorgeous!!!! i love it!!!!

almost done

a bit of the rest

when i walk into my kitchen i just think how much i love it..it's so much fun to have people over now...there is so much more room, it's so beautiful...it's perfect!

                                       
                                                                              finished product
..the guys did such a fantastic job!  thanks, mike and crew!!!

happy happy birthday!

                                                            i still have my cheeks from when i was little.....

                                         beautiful flowers from marty and dee

                                  shopping fun

                                                 i was able to blow it out!

it was my birthday on thursday!! a fun day,made fun by all my friends and family....i had many, many calls, cards etc....kristen, baby russ and i went to lunch and did a bit of shopping...that evening big russ, kristen and i went to dinner and the movies...fun day and the start of a brand new year for me!!! thanks everyone for making it a special day......

it was quick!

last weekend i flew for a really quick trip to slc...kathy fryer's mom passed away so i flew up for the funeral...it was a super busy, fun weekend...over way too fast....started off with mitt and ann romney on my plane...yeah, i just fly with super stars!! haha...actually it was a small little plane out of burbank....got there in the later afternoon...danece and allison came to visit about 8 pm...we all went to dinner...sushi which was fantastic!  then we girls visited for a few more hours...i had to kick them out at 3 am....thats a lot of talking!!! and i loved every minute....saturday i was exhausted...we went to the mall....kerry's friend danielle and nate came to stay as they were going to conference...the boys went to priesthood ....i went a bit later to see polly, jim, our cousins, jeri and clayton who were also in town for conference....it was a fun visit...sunday we watched conference...lazed around...we went up to the fryer's for a delicious lunch....then, went to visit nathan and tayler and new baby remy...they are cute little parents with a darling baby....later we went to the viewing, it was fun to see a lot of old friends....monday morning i went to breakfast with my cousin mare who was in town for another friends father's funeral.....went to the funeral...it was very sweet...met the kids for lunch and shopping...had a quick dinner and flew home...fun and fast....saw a lot of friends...did a lot in a short time...a great weekend!

                                                                     lots of  babies!    cedar and wren

                                                                          julian, cedar and wren