life in general

a tale of three bathrooms: part three

Since we are moving in less than 2 weeks, I thought it would be a good idea to wrap up this series.

First there was the kids' bathroom.

Then came the master bathroom.

And finally, I give you the guest bathroom.

It's tiny, but the ceilings are tall.

I took advantage of the tall ceilings and moved my collection of B's to this bathroom.  All the way to the ceiling!  As you may or may not notice, I also painted a few of the B's.  I decided to go with a grey and yellow color scheme and made that happen with a few cans of spray paint.

It's such a small space, with very little light so I needed a paint color to brighten things up.  The creamy white wall & ceiling color is Marscapone -- Pottery Barn for Benjamin Moore.  It looks yellowish in some photos, but I promise it is white.  The lighting in this bathroom is just horrible.

After seeing something similar on pinterest I picked up another one of my favorite IKEA frames, spray painted a yellow B, and attached it to the front of the glass with Command Picture Hanging Strips .  They are pretty awesome.  

And that, is the guest bath.

 

jewelry organizer

For the longest time the art of accessorizing has alluded me.  I always like the look on other people, but couldn't figure out how to do it on me.  Slowly I've figured out what I like and in the process I've amassed a large (for me) collection of jewelry.  But in that process I have not figured out a way to organize or store it all!  For a while my dresser has looked like this . . . 

and that's just scratching the surface of what resides in various boxes here and there.

Using inspiration from online I decided to make a wall organizer for some of my necklaces.  I bought the basic materials months ago, and last week I decided to finally make it happen.

Nothing fancy, but it works.

Here's how I did it.  And believe me, there is really nothing fancy going on here with the assembly.  Duct tape was involved.  Lots of it.

I couldn't find hooks in silver, so I was stuck with brass.  I used some spray primer and metallic paint that I already had in the garage to pretty them up.  (I only used the primer because the metallic paint was running super low and I wasn't sure how much coverage I was going to get out of it.)

I envisioned using a piece of plywood or MDF as the backing for this project.  But I had neither.  What I did have was a foam core poster-board.  So with my trusty xacto knife I cut it down to 12x16.  This was after using the poster-board as my painting surface.

Then I laid it down on a piece of burlap, snipped the corners, and proceeded to affix the burlap with duct tape.

The burlap-covered foam board fit perfectly inside the picture frame.  But there was no way I was getting the frame backing to pop back in.  Enter more duct tape.

And thanks to my beautiful prop assistant.  As you can see, the foam board is help in entirely by duct tape.  I considered gluing it in there, but I didn't want it to be so permanent.

Next comes hook placement,

Now that I see it on the wall, with necklaces, I wish that I had put my top row up a little higher.  There's just a smidge too much white space.  But I can deal with it.

I knew the hooks would screw easily into the foam board, but I wasn't sure if they would hold over time with the weight of the jewelry.  Only time will tell.  To give me some insurance I added a few drops of E-6000 glue (the best, strongest, all-purpose glue ever) around the screw before installing it.

Everything is lining up well . . . 

And now it's time to hang it on the wall!  But wait, the thickness of the foam board wouldn't allow me to get the frame backing (with hardware) to pop back into place.  How will we hang it on the wall?  Don't worry, I have a little secret.

BEHOLD!! . . . 3M Velcro picture hanging strips!

They are awesome.

And now I have a pretty jewelry organizer hanging in my bathroom!

I really like it.  And I especially like that I have enough necklaces to display that coordinate with my bathroom color scheme.  Coincidence?  :)  Silver and aqua/turquoise are my favorite colors for accessorizing.

just add paint

Here it is.  The master bedroom before and after.

Ahhh, heavenly.  That's the word I use to describe it.  I love the airy, fresh, clean, relaxing vibe that it sends out.

What's amazing about this sprucing up project is really, all I did was add paint.  The decor is exactly the same.  Just a new lamp from Target.  I purchased the bedding last summer from Pottery Barn, so it's been around for a while.  And moving things out of the room for the paint project gave me an opportunity to edit what came back in, which helped eliminate some clutter.

But the paint color.  That's where the transformation lies.  It is Polished Limestone by Glidden.  I also repainted all the baseboards and window sills which really helps things feel polished.

We both love it.

Now up for debate:  Do I hang something on the wall above the bed?

If so, it has to be something simple so as to not interfere with the vibe I've got going so far -- a mirror, large piece of art, photo on canvas, maybe something black and white, etc. . . . . 

Or keep it bare.

What do you think?

a tale of 3 bathrooms: part two

{refer to this post for the reasoning behind my desire to rejuvenate all 3 bathrooms in my house.}

The master bathroom was number two.  It was just blah and felt so heavy and weighted down.

We have this wonderful, large bathroom with a great sky-light and window.  It just needed to go on a diet and lose about 80 pounds of visual weight.

Before:

and After:

Ahhh, now that's more like it.

And it only took 11 months to finish.  Here's what I did.

1.  Prime and paint the bathroom.  (September 1, 2010)  There was some color mixing drama at Ace, but we eventually got it figured out.  The paint color is Waterfall by Benjamin Moore.

2.  Paint the bathroom cabinets.  (A couple weeks later.)  My mom was visiting and was a huge help in this project.  Really, she did all the painting and I just assisted with touch-ups.  We removed the cabinet doors and drawers and did a very light sanding.  Then we painted everything with a coat of Bullseye 1-2-3 Primer -- the can says that it will stick to anything, even slick surfaces.  Hence, the need for little sanding.  Then we painted everything with some white cabinet & trim paint.  2 coats, I believe.

3.  Install new light fixtures.  (At the same time as number 2.)  My mom walked me through the process -- she is a pro at all things diy. It was pretty straight forward, but it was definitely a job that needed two sets of hands.  I ordered the light fixtures from Lowes online.

4.  Add frame around mirror.  (Also in September 2010).  In a moment of pure serendipity, after I made a comment about desiring a frame around my bathroom mirror, my mom received an email from her editor (she used to write articles about home & decorating for a blog/website) offering her a Moen Mirrorscapes kit in exchange for a review.  Crazy, huh?!  So she had them send the bathroom mirror frames to me, we installed them, and I wrote up a review.  It was really easy to do and I love the end result.

5.  Add art.  (February-ish)  These are photos that I took in Hawaii.  I had them printed through Canvas on Demand.  They are both 16x20.

6.  Install cabinet hardware.  (March-ish)  I'm not crazy with the knobs, but they'll do.  I had intended to install the pulls on the drawers, and knobs on the cabinets.  But the construction of our drawers made it impossible to install pulls there.  And the "drawers" that don't have any knobs? . . . I refuse to install knobs on fake drawers.  That's just a cruel joke.

So really, the project only took 6 months, start to finish.  Not too shabby.

I love the color.  I love the white cabinets. I love the lightness, but punch of color, that it gives to our room.

a room just for me

When we first moved into this house my scrapbook desk, shelves, and computer shared the guest room.  It worked, but after a year or so I moved stuff into a small empty bedroom upstairs.  Ever since then I have had grand plans of showing off this space on my blog because I just plain love it.  But then I'd start a project and the piles would grow, eventually I'd find the time to organize and get through about half of the clutter, and then it would grow again, and so forth and so forth.

Basically, my visions of getting this room to a state of neatness where I felt I could take pictures to show it off have never materialized.

Then my mom asked me to take a few pictures of my workspaces & decor for an article she was doing on Blissful.  I'm always happy to help.  So to get my room picture ready I employed the following tactic -- Move piles from point A to point B - take a picture of A - return piles to A.  Move piles from point B to point A - take a picture of point B - return piles to B.

So, because I don't see a massive overhaul of this room in the near future (maybe a project for next fall?) I'm sharing the pictures I do have.  Because this is as good as it gets.

You come into the room and on the right wall you see this:

I love this work table from IKEA -- it's a stainless steel kitchen island, the UTBY.  I use it for stand-up work.  Love the open shelves, the industrial look, the sturdiness.  The bucket/rail system and picture frames are from IKEA.  Baskets are from assorted locations.

I love love love this black scroll frame.  In fact, I have 2 of them in my house.  I got the idea for the photo collage from Heidi Swapp's blog yonks ago.  The top wood frame includes several phrases and sentiments from Ali Edwards for encouragement in the creative process:  it is ok // embrace imperfection // simplify // don't make it more complicated than it needs to be // have fun // celebrate the everyday // share yourself. tell your story.

The bottom wood frame includes a quote and a little piece of ric rac:  Every morning is a fresh beginning.  Every day is the world made new.  Today is a new day. Today is my world made new. I have lived all my life up to this moment, to come to this day. This moment - this day - is as good as any moment in all eternity. I shall make of this day - each moment of this day - a heaven on earth. This is my day of opportunity.  -Dan Custer

Then in front of you and to your left I have two desks that come to an L-shape with the printer in the corner.  The right desk (not pictured) holds my computer.  And the left desk has more crafty purposes.

Desks and shelves are from the Container Store.  I tried to keep the room mostly neutral - white, black, cream, grey - and add a few punches of red and pink.  I had plans to make a new cover for the vinyl machine, but I changed my mind.  The blue will stay.

And in case you were wondering . . . . . wall color:  Mascarpone (Pottery Barn) and black chalkboard paint.

Ironically enough, my mom's Blissful article was titled, "How to Organize Home Office Clutter."  I definitely need to take her advice and put it into action.  I especially like this tip

Helpful things to gather before tackling the project --   A friend - that can help you stay on track and to have fun conversation with.  Even the worst jobs seem better with a friend to help.

Love it.  Does someone want to come over and be my de-cluttering friend?  :)

master bathroom progress

*Today I ordered these two photos in 16x20 canvas gallery wrapped prints (finally using the great "save" vouchers I purchased last spring through Eversave.com).  I can't wait to get them in my hands and up on my bathroom wall.

Ahhhh . . . .

*This weekend I added 2 coats of a water-based polycrylic to my bathroom cabinets (that were painted white back in September).  We've had a busy fall/winter.  And that's why I really like January.  The soccer and basketball seasons are over and I can breathe again.  And get back to a neglected projects.

*Maybe tonight I'll have Scott help me add the cabinet hardware.  Also purchased in September.

*I have a great idea in my head for organizing some of my jewelry in the bathroom.  We'll see how it turns out.

*Today I ordered some Showers-n-Stuff cleaner from Don Aslett.  Crossing my fingers that it will work wonders on my hard-water stained glass shower door.  Kaboom and Lime-away have been useless.

*I've picked out a color for my master bedroom and toilet room (I don't know what else to call it) . . . . Polished Limestone by Glidden.

A nice clean gray to go with the turquoise-y Waterfall (Benjamin Moore) in the master bathroom.  I'm hoping to pick up a couple gallons this week and at the very least, paint the toilet room.  The master bedroom is going to be a beast.

*And on a completely unrelated note, Scott just walked in the door with a mint Oreo Blizzard for me. Mmmm.

living room makeover

So . . . . this makeover began (and was mostly completed) back in February.  Pillows were added in March, and a photo gallery project finally went up 2 weeks ago.  Seeing as my project sharing turnaround is about 8 months, don't be holding your breath about the master bedroom/bath reveal.

This was yet another room in our house that was originally painted in Harvest Brown (Behr).  When we moved into this house it needed a top to bottom interior paint job. Pronto. I didn't have the time (or creativity) to come up with a color scheme so we handed the painter one color and let him go to town (with a few room exceptions).

I wanted to up the level of style and sophistication in this room so the primary elements of my plan included new paint (Classic Brown by Benjamin Moore) and crown moulding (with the help of my dad).

Before:

  (pretty blah)

After:

(ohhh, classic sophistication.  I love it!)

Before:

 (a whole lot of beige)

After:

 (now that's more my style - classic elements, modern clean lines, pop of color)

Here's a closer look at the photo arrangement on the right:

 (I collected several frames from Michael's (got a great deal).  The black oval frame and the gold frame on the far right came from a local antique bazaar.)

First off, we had a large 16x20 wedding portrait.  I wanted to create a collage/grouping of wedding and engagement photos of our parents and grandparents.  Kind of like a family history wall, with an emphasis on marriage and the sacred, eternal union that we treasure it to be.  I love how it turned out.  I love seeing all these familiar family faces, at such a young and fresh phase of their lives.

Here's a closer look at some of the details:

1.  white zebra textured pillows - IKEA

2.  squirrel bookends - antique bazaar.  I picked this set up for $3!  I love the whimsical, vintage-y look. Plus they give the perfect little touch of gold (which seems to be more and more popular these days).

3.  antique oval frame - ebay.  pumpkin and bird - Target (last year).

4.  damask pillow - bed bath & beyond.  creamy linen pillow cover - IKEA.  When I came up with a vision for this room I had a clear picture in my mind of the pillows I wanted on the red couch - a black damask print, creamy background, and texture.  I was thrilled beyond belief when I found these at Bed Bath & Beyond.  Thrilled!

5.  a white tray (Target clearance) on the shelves behind the couch holds miscellaneous photo albums and this cute book written and illustrated by Payton.  

6.  white frame - Target (this spring).  A few books, albums.  The witches' broom is part of my seasonal decor.

And one more angle.

There is one project remaining . . .  deciding on a window covering for the giant (and I mean giant) window seen above.  I think it's something like 64 x 58.  I'd love to do a nice roman shade.  The view out that window is not ideal - our neighbor's front yard, driveway, and a glimpse of their backyard swingset.  So a roman shade would be nice because I would only keep the bottom 18-24 inches open to let in some light.  The other option is to get drapes & sheers to match the ones on the front window.  Decisions, decisions.  For now, the collage of snowflakes made by Payton last winter are a perfect screen.

Thanks for taking a peek!

what's under your bed?

well, under ours you will find a guitar, assorted duffel bags, and  . . . . light sabers.

 

No, we do not pull them out for light saber battles after the kids go to bed.  But we could.

Now, on top of our bed you will find this

the Heavenly Bed.  Ahhhhhh . . . . . Feel the comfort.

For years we have talked and dreamed about having a Heavenly Bed.  Every time we stay at a Westin we sooo look forward to that wonderful, dreamy sleep.  When you sink back in the pillows all your cares and worries just melt away.

And now our dreams came true today.  Our current mattress is 11 years old and has been great.  But for a while now Scott has been dealing with an achy back every morning.  When he suggested getting a heavenly bed I didn't put up a stink.  (Plus they're having a sale right now - 25% off everything heavenly).

I've been running around town this afternoon and shopping online to gather a new bedding ensemble.  Most of it is here so far and I looooove it.

• all white sheets
• white matelasse duvet, & shams
• porcelain blue quilt & euro shams
• and 3 layers of pillowy comfort

Since we're freshening up our bed I think it's the perfect time to freshen up the bedroom & bathroom as a whole.  Which translates to . . . . paint.  These colors are inspiring me.  (that's our blue quilt on the right)

 

Going for a relaxing, airy, calming, fresh feeling.

Now I just have to figure out what walls get what colors.  Anyone want to come over and stare at walls with me?  It's my latest favorite past-time.

red, white, and sparkle

gotta have the red and gotta have the sparkle . . . 

 

this year there's an abundance of word art . . . 

 

and a few touches of nostalgia here and there . . . 

 

a collage of christmas wishes - i love to watch it grow . . . 

 

sparkle, shine, glow, twinkle, illuminate . . . 

and there is magic in the air.

our backyard: formerly known as "the pine cone mine field"

remember this?

Yes, it all started last spring when the two giant trees went timber!  Then in August the sod went bye-bye with the help of a rented sod cutter and a lot rolling, hauling, and dusty, dirty little helpers.  September brought the sprinkler system of Scott's dreams and brand new gorgeous, green sod.  In March my dad worked mow strip wonders around the flower beds.  And in April & May I have been busy planting away.

I wasn't planning to have a reveal for a while longer, until we brought in the bark mulch to make it look more polished.  Scott said he wasn't planning on doing that until the fall (september-ish).  So, imagine my surprise when I came home from the fabric store a few Saturdays ago, the truck was in the garage, the boys were just home from the father-son camp-out . . . . I walked in, everything was unloaded, everyone was bathed and clean, and . . . . I had beautiful bark in all of my flower beds!  What a great surprise!

So without further ado . . . . 

Even though the plants are still small, I can "see" their potential in my mind.  I find myself just tickled looking at the window, imagining what it's going to look like in another year.

Here are a few more angles:

along the back

by the patio (dogwood and lavender)

the back of the house (blueberry bushes in front of the A/C, my garden!, and hydrangea bushes - one is struggling to survive)

And a few close-ups:

Last year we had pine cones on top of, embedded in, and under (yes, under) the grass.  The kids had to wear shoes when they played outside because it just hurt to much to walk on the grass.  But this year we can finally enjoy barefoot bliss.

now we can run in the sprinklers

lay in the grass

and generally have a great time in comfort.

 

 

in the dirt

1 - red sunset maple
1 - bradford flowering pear
2 - newport flowering plum
2 - himalayn birch
3 - el dorado california liac
4 - green mountain boxwood
1 - zuni crape myrtle
3 - double knock out rose, red
1 - miss kim lilac
1 - corkscrew willow
3 - daylily, 2 pink, 1 yellow
3 - autumn fire sedum
1 - stellar pink dogwood
4 - aurinia capacta "basket of gold"
3 - provence lavender
2 - hydrangea - nikko blue and sister theresa (white)
3 - scabiosa - pincushion flower
1 - lady orchid peony
1 - midknight blue agapanthus

also

1 - cucumber

1 - zuchini

2 - peas

2 - pole beans

1 - tomato

2 - blueberry bushes

bell pepper seeds

finger carrot seeds

sunflower seeds

pumpkin seeds

zinnia seeds

african daisy seeds

cosmo seeds

hopefully my trips to the nursery are over, everything will bloom & grow (I gave all my plants a little pep talk as I nestled them in the dirt), and I will enjoy a beautiful yard this summer.

a tale of 3 bathrooms: part one

This is part one in, hopefully, a 3-part bathroom rejuvenation project.  Why?  Well,

1. we had the interior of the house painted before moving in.  It all happened really quick so I didn't have the time (or mental energy) to come up with the exact colors I wanted for every room.  So almost everything got the same color (Harvest Brown from Behr, I think).  It's a color I like in most of the house, but in the bathrooms . . . . I feel like I'm in a cave.
2. Also due to the speedy (3-day) house painting job, some rooms did not get the prep treatment they really needed.  Like, primer.  And from day one of living in the house I began to notice what looked like water-drip lines slowly seeping through the paint.  It's really bad in the bathrooms, so I've resolved to systematically priming & painting the bathrooms one by one.   

For my first project I tackled the kids' bathroom.  They really needed something more colorful and fun.  I did most of this room last August, and just recently completed some of the details.

Before:

and after:

what I did:

new paint (and primer) -- Poolside (Pottery Barn color)

remove the towel bar and hang hooks

new shower head

new shower rod

new baseboards

sew a shower curtain

hang up kids' artwork

add a vinyl quote to the wall and mirror

More before pictures.  See, it's a cave I tell 'ya.

And more delightful after pictures.

I found these 11x14 white frames at a craft store for $5.  The artwork didn't quite fill the frame so I cut some posterboard to 11x14 and painted it orange with a foam brush.  Just mount the artwork on top and it made a quick, easy, and colorful mat.

I love, love, love how this vinyl quote worked out.  President Hinckley's ever popular 6B's and I emphasized "be clean" here, and again on the mirror just above the sink.  It goes perfectly in a bathroom, and hopefully it will give them something to think about when they are getting ready.  That is, if I could get them to brush their teeth for longer than 20 seconds.  This quote is about 5-6 feet wide -- it was a little interesting to center and level on the wall.

And my other favorite part of the bathroom . . . the shower curtain!

This fabric was the color inspiration for the whole bathroom.  And I can't tell you how excited I was to find that ball fringe.  Love it!  I purchased all the fabric at my mother-in-law's favorite quilting store in Idaho. To hang the shower curtain I sewed button holes with my machine, and the shower rings slide right on through.  

Currently, bathroom number 2 has paint swatches on it's walls.  I'm quite undecided about the color.  This bathroom is even more of a cave (smaller, less light) so I think I need to keep it bright and airy.  My goal is to have a second bathroom reveal for you by the end of the summer.  I'm a realist so I know where to set my personal expectations. :) 

spring break project

 

55 sixty-pound bags of concrete . . . 240 feet of hardiplank siding . . . . a rented electric cement mixer . . . . 1 1/2 days of labor . . . . 4 extra (and very much appreciated) helping, guiding hands . . .  and we now have cement mow strips to polish off our planting beds.

It may take them a week (or longer) to completely dry and set in our cold, wet weather.  But they are in!!

My parents and Mason arrived on Wednesday afternoon and just left this afternoon.  They were here for 3 days to help us with this project (and to see the grand-kids).  Actually, we were the "help" as we've never done anything like this and my dad has thousands of feet of mow strip constructing under his belt.  I am so so appreciative of him being more than happy & willing to come do this for us.  Thanks dad!

Thursday morning the boys got to work bright and early setting the forms while the girls (and Payton) headed into town for some shopping.  IKEA, Beehive clothing {where we ran into Rochelle & Jenn -- they saw mom first (I was somewhere else with the kids) & recognized her from her blog & said hi & she thought that was just so much fun}, lunch at Applebee's, and the mall.  Ohhhh, I've got some really fun stuff from IKEA to show & tell later.  Eek!  Just as soon as I get the room re-do all together. :)

We came home to 3/4 of the project finished!  Way to go guys!  Friday morning they spent about 2 hours on it and it was done.  We were really really fortunate to have completely dry weather on Thursday, and mostly dry (just drizzly) weather on Friday.  Considering that every day leading up to their visit was wet and it's currently raining cats & dogs, somehow we threaded the needle on that one.

 

Conner was the water boy.

 

Mason doing the finishing work.

One of my favorite things about this project (other than allowing us to acquire new skills), was the fact that it gave the boys an opportunity to really work.  Payton . . . not so much, he's still little.  But Conner was a dang good worker.  Shortly after they arrived Mason went outside to begin digging the trenches.  Conner was right on his tail with another shovel in hand and followed him across the whole yard, smoothing out Mason's work.  He got to one spot that was really difficult and muddy and he yelled towards the house for help.  We told him to just go around that part and keep moving.  He did not like that idea; he said, "but I don't want to disappoint papa!"  He worked really hard and spent the entire day on Thursday alongside the men. 

 

Apparently they went to lunch at Burgerville where Conner stuffed himself.  Then on the way to pick up concrete Conner noticed a wrapped pastry on the floor of the truck.  He asked if he could have it but they said no because he couldn't even finish his lunch.  Then papa made him a deal.  If Conner could load one bag of concrete into the back of the truck, then he could have it.  Oh, that got Conner going.  He tried with all his might and strength to lift that bag into the truck.  But his little 50 pound frame was no match for a 60 pound bag of concrete.  That boy will do just about anything for food!  His ravenous nature drives us crazy (and gets him into trouble).  But that's a whole other post . . . .

And where were Payton & Anna during all of this?  Running around, watching Bolt, playing with Grammer, and planning a party (hopefully grammer will post pictures about this - it was so cute).

 

We also ate PW's chocolate sheet cake, Anna & Papa went Easter dress shopping, mom & I assembled IKEA furniture, the boys played Guitar Hero with Uncle Mason, we received the official announcement of Denver's engagement (!), and dad built me a raised garden box.  A great visit.

Once again, thanks dad & mason for all your hard work!  We could not have done it without you.  Really, it would've been impossible.  Someone would have ended up with a foot buried in concrete for sure. ;)

let there be trees!

We picked up 5 trees today for our backyard (with more to come) and I couldn't be more excited!  For me, it takes trees to make a home. 

 

1. Red Sunset Maple  2. Golden Corkscrew Willow  3. blossoms from a Newport Cherry Plum  4. Pink Flowering Dogwood  5. Newport Cherry Plum 

finished & just started

I finished the book!  Ahhhhhh.  Last night my fuzzy eyes read the last page in the Twilight saga.  The end.  At least the end of Bella's story, as Stephenie has often mentioned.

{I'm not going to go into details, but knowing myself I would not want to read this if I had not finished the book.}

My review:  I thought it was great!  And oh man, it was an exhilarating ride!  It seems that the other books build to a big climax at the end with a few tense moments here and there.  But this one was an all out thrill ride.  It moved pretty quickly, crazy events happening at every turn, Scott heard plenty of "what the heck?!"coming from the living room, and I found myself very emotional in several parts.  I guess I've just gotten attached to the characters.  Like I said, I loved it, such a fun/exciting/adrenaline fueled read . . . . . until the end.  I thought the big climax dragged out waaaay to long.  I found myself reading and thinking to myself: is it really this long or am I just sleepy.  I flipped back through the book and sure enough, it was just long - 60 pages long.  So because of that, I had a hard time keeping focus/interest on the big stand-off.  But there were lots of things I enjoyed.  I like how she broke it up into 3 books.  I even liked being inside Jacob's head for a while -- I wasn't sure about it at first, though.  I am Team Edward through and through.  I was happy with how the story ended.  Everyone got what they wanted, everything was set right, and Bella has the life that was meant for her.

Aside from reading Breaking Dawn this weekend and preparing a singing extravaganza for sharing time  in Primary, we also tore up our yard!

In the morning Scott did this:

Soon it looked like this:

Lovely, huh?  Kinda looks like the pigs found us.  ;)

After a lunch break to Burgerville for raspberry milkshakes we all pitched in to roll and stack the sod.  This morning it looks like this:

At church yesterday a neighbor boy asked Scott, "what are you doing in your yard?  Are you putting in a pool?" 

Yes.  Yes, a pool.

No, not really.  That was a good thought, until we remembered we lived in the northwest!

The plan is to install sprinklers & seed for a new lawn in the next 2 months, hopefully.  And then landscape in the spring.  But for the rest of the summer our yard will look like this.  It's pretty safe to say that you'll be finding us at the pool and the park on a regular basis.