Some of our year in photos

Some of my favorite pics from this year!

My 10 favorite things about my new house

I know it has been 4 weeks since we blogged, but we moved. The list of the 10 favorite things about our new house:

1. Windows - lots of them and they are really big. Sunlight is wonderful.
2. Nice blinds over said windows - so I don't feel like I am in a fishbowl at night.
3. My own bath tub - I don't have to share it with anyone but Paul, and he hasn't even gotten in it yet. And it is nice and deep for a really nice soak.
4. My own sink in the bathroom - we both get our own sink! It has shaved 10 minutes off our getting ready for church time.
5. I can see the television from the kitchen so I know if the kids are turning off the wii or whatever program they are not supposed to be watching and start their homework.
6. A big master bedroom - there is room for all my stuff and all my Anne of Green Gables and Little House books.
7. A walk in closet - my sweaters aren't all squished into a little sorter and might actually look decent when I want to wear them.
8. Each child has his/her own room - they can't blame their mess or lack thereof on anyone else.
9. An office space for the computer and shelves for my cookbooks - I used to try to shove them all in a cupboard and never could find the one I wanted. Now even my paperwork will be organized (hopefully by this time tomorrow).
10. Bigger kitchen/more cupboards - I can stand in one place and whip up a batch of cookies without feeling like I'm going to trip over my child that is setting the table.

Paul's "Tour of Not Italy"

Shelly is resting right now so I get to do this. (Sorry if I get a little weird). We sign the papers Tuesday, so we thought that you needed a tour of the house before it gets official. If I sound like a tour guide, just remember that I grew up in Southern California, with all of the tours that go on around there.

Upon approaching the home we have a lovely view of this charming, two-story estate. (It is bigger on the inside than it looks from the outside.) Note the two-car garage and small porch that are ready for use as soon as we are able. Also, for our convenience, automatic sprinklers hooked to (we are pretty certain) secondary water (yea).

While approaching the front door, notice the beautiful flowers surrounding a small seating area. There are two different water spigots there. One for culinary water and the other for secondary. The flowers are even better in real life.

Just to the right of the front entrance is the living room. Notice the (cough) lovely red walls. My favorite color may be red, but even this is too much. We will paint it just before we move in. Great crown moulding though.

As you go upstairs , look up and notice the great chandelier. There is a small chandelier at the landing as well. The lighting fixtures in this house are great. There is also plenty of natural light during the day, so it is great. (Now how to change all of those bulbs.) There are just two fixtures in the kitchen that we will change.


Now for the master suite. To the left you see the bedroom. Note the vaulted ceilings and the ceiling fan with the light. There are two levels of lights that can be turned on and off. The walk in closet is to the right of the picture. In the right picture you see the master bath. Shelly is really excited about the soaking tub and separate (and much larger than we have now) shower. I am happy about them as well. We are both excited to each have our own sink so that we are not bumping into each other.

Now for the younger boys rooms. Jaredd's is on the left and will stay pretty much as is. He loves yellow and, for now, will have a Pooh Bear room. He also has the largest window of all the rooms and a small vaulted ceiling. The the right is Aaron's room. We will be painting the blue portion under the chair railing green and taking down the "Jimmy Neutron" stickers on the wall. Both boys are thrilled to have their own rooms. The boys will share a full bathroom that is just across from Jaredd's room.

As you go downstairs, you will run into Robbie's room, literally. He will have one wall that is a curtain (orange, of course). Eventually, we will build a wall there and give him a fully enclosed room. As you turn left, you will notice the downstairs family room/Shelly's work room. Just a great space for a pool table or a foosball table. We will see after the current (until next Friday) house sells.

Last room pictured inside the house is Amy's. The walls will get painted from a turquiose to something called "Ice Ballet" (of course). She is thrilled that she will still get her own room, and that it is not too much smaller than her current room. She is not entirely happy that she still has to share a bathroom, but at least it is only with Rob.

Last picture to post is the back of the house. No deck, but some great potential for it. The lot is 0.15 acre (much smaller) but we can work with is. Just a note, our dog and cat are bewildered by everthing that is going on, and may have to get along after we move.

That is it for pictures. Shelly said that she forgot to get a picture of the kitchen/eating area/upstairs family room. Next time maybe.

The New House

It must be ours. When we drove over there tonight, this was what was on the front lawn. Yeah!

Here it is. We know it is dark, it was just after sunset, so we couldn't get too great of a picture.

But isn't she lovely. The windows you can see are the living room on the main floor and Jaredd's room on the second floor.
When we got home, here is how Jaredd spent our entire date. Sound asleep in a faceplant on our bed. He hasn't been feeling too well the last couple of days and just couldn't stay awake during dinner. He slept for two hours before we woke him up to go to bed.

To Shave It or Not to Shave It? That is the Question

Here's the question of the day. Paul's rebellous goatee is now grown, should he keep it or shave it? Your vote may or may not influence his decision in the end, but it will be fun to see what you think. By the way, I think he looks like a Briney (Paul's sister's family) from the front and his brother Jim from the side. Notice the snow on his chin. I guess that's what 16 years, four kids and moving will do to you.

Oh the Changes That Happen

I have taken over the blog for one night (I don't think that I could get away with too much more than that). I had to rebel a little bit today. They asked me to speak in church, so I wore my BYU shirt and tie. I have not shaved since Wednesday, so I shaved all but a goatee (like three of the former EQPs in the ward have done) and told the Ward that I was very happy with it all. (even the Stake Presidency thought it was funny). Now that every one knows I have become a "free agent" they are all asking what my new calling is. I have to tell them that I will see what our new Bishop has for me. Yes, we signed papers for the new home. We are moving without having the house sold (yet). Talk about ulcers for cheap! I will just say that it is truly a leap of faith. After signing and putting our initials on something like 2,000 papers (okay, 20) and feeling as if my blood was being drained from my body slowly, I felt a peaceful feeling. It was okay. Now the stress of changing our address in somewhere around 50 places, getting new carpet in the old house, and moving can set in. Really, if you know anyone that would like a good home, fresh paint, new carpet, great shade trees, big backyard, wonderful neighbours, etc. let them know. we can get you in touch with our agent and work it out. (Now that I don't have to plug for Home Teaching to get done, I have to plug for something.) We hope that you are all well and having a great week. Something tells me that I won't get this opportunity very often. TTFN Paul (the not so cute one)

A Move in the Future?

Anybody looking for a nice, freshened up house in Layton? It looks like we have decided to list our house at the end of the month and try to move on to different things. Bigger and better is not really where we are headed, just more suited for our current needs, like a smaller yard, but a great room rather than a basement family room. We have found a house we like, but who knows if it will be around when ours sells. But there are other options, so we are going to list it and try. I think one of the "final straws" was Paul being released as the Elder's Quorum President. Maybe the Lord is telling us it is okay to go. So we are painting, carpeting, fixing the small things that you never get around to, and listing it. Wish us luck.