Trip to Hawaii

Our summer this year ended with a trip to Hawaii!  After a crazy summer, we were so excited to escape reality for a little while and enjoy some family time.  So in August, we set out to paradise with Garrett's family.

The prospect of a 6 hour plane ride with a 1.5 yr old can be pretty daunting.  As excited as I was for the trip, I was nervous.  If you know Jackson, you know he doesn't sit still!  But somehow, we lucked out!  He watched a movie, colored, read, played with cars, and even took a nap!

Once we made it to Kauai, we checked out our beautiful home!  Pictures did not do this place justice. The view was unreal!  We spent our time swimming at the pool, playing at the beach, taking long walks, eating delicious food, and playing tons of games.  We took WAYYYYYY too many pictures, but here are a few to document the first part of our trip!

If you can't tell by his face, Jackson was in absolute heaven the whole trip!  He loved swimming and playing in the sand.  It was impossible to get this kid cleaned up at nights because he would spend all day rolling around in it.  This is Jax's element, and I'm so grateful I was able to witness his joy!  Vacations with kids can be hard, but holy cow they can be magical!  And 10 days with your husband is just hard to beat.  Stay tuned for more from our trip!

Decisions Decisions

When it comes to building a home, there are so many decisions!  After we decided we wanted to build, we had to pick what model we wanted.  We went back and forth over this, but decided to go with the Seth model from Richmond.

My favorite thing about this model is the upstairs loft.  When my kids are older, I want them to bring their kids over to our house.  That way, I will get to know their friends and hopefully have an idea of what they are doing!  Some of my favorite other features:
* a separate bath and shower in the master bath
* 4 rooms on 1 floor
*An upstairs laundry room
*A nice big island in the kitchen

Our house is currently framed.  They are now working on the siding, interior mechanics, and plumbing.  We have had one appointment to pick out all of our finishes, and will have our final one in a couple weeks.  Both Garrett and I are extremely happy with what we have picked out so far, with the exception of carpet.  The standard options are terrible, and their are very few options in the gray color scheme that aren't crazy expensive.  Here are a few things we have picked out.

*The exterior is a tan, with dark brown trim and stone.  We didn't get to pick this out, but it should look good!
* White cabinets.  This is the thing I wanted more than anything in the house.  Garrett wasn't a huge fan at first, but he came around.

*Dark engineered wood.  Its slightly distressed, which I am a fan of with a crazy boy in the house.

*A light gray speckled granite.

(This picture is pretty terrible, but you get the idea)

*Gray paint.  I am a little worried its too dark for all over the house.  Any thoughts?

*And here is a picture of the cabinets, backsplash, wood, and granite.  I am trying to use warm grays, so they won't contrast with tans and browns.  I LOVE gray, but I need it to work with everything that I already have.

I am sure I will have a lot more to say about our house down the road!  I LOVE decorating and designing, so this whole process has been a blast for me.  If only I had an endless budget......

The house as of last week:

Changing Spaces

Garrett and I first moved to the Parker area a little over 2 years ago.  We looked at tons of houses, and ended up really loving a cute little patio home.

I was about 3 months pregnant with Jax when we first moved in.  We were both busy working and getting ready to be parents.  The nursery was right next to our room, and I spent so much time in that room, just imagining the sweet boy who would soon occupy the space.  

For the first year and a half, this house was perfect for us!  My mom had helped me decorate the space, paint walls, and make it into our home.  But once our little Mr. Moo Moo because mobile, things began to change.  Our rooms were on the top floor, the kitchen on the second, and the laundry room on the base floor.  Luckily Jackson mastered the stairs pretty seamlessly, but thats not to say I didn't have a few heart attacks!  The older Jackson got, the more time he wanted to spend outside.  With this being a patio home, we didn't have a yard.  There also weren't really any kids his age in the neighborhood to play with.  So after living in this amazing first home for just over 2 years, we decided to make some changes.

We knew we wanted to change spaces, but we didn't want to change our location.  We have a fantastic ward, with friends who we didn't want to leave!  So we decided to build a home about 5 minutes away from our current home.  We put the house up for sale just after signing to start our new home, and had 2 offers the first night!  We decided to accept one offer, only to have them fall through 2 weeks later.  I wasn't very happy about putting our house back on the market.  Showing your home with a toddler is hectic to say the least.  Luckily, we sold the house again a couple days later.  This time, everything went well and we closed on Aug. 12th.  I didn't realize just how sad I would be leaving our home.  We had such incredible memories in this house, and will always look back at these times with a smile.  So Lego House, Doctor Seuss House, tall and skinnies, whatever you want to call it, thank you for an amazing 2 years!

The Patio Party

Once we returned to Colorado, we had one more celebration for Jimmy and Jordan.  It was a beautiful dinner in the most amazing setting!  And to top it off, Jax was even able to run around on the golf course and play a little corn hole.  He also didn't complain about the hamburgers and hot dogs....The concluding event for the wedding was one to remember!

I sure love this little family of mine!

Jimmy ties the knot!

I first met Jimmy 2 days after he returned home from his mission.  He moved in with Garrett as soon as school started back up, and the rest is history.  He was always a huge advocate of Garrett and I, and I am forever grateful to him for that!  He is kind of like the little brother I never had (even if he is older than me).

Jimmy met Jordan just after Garrett and I got married.  I was fully prepared to not like Jord, but she soon proved me wrong!  I fell in love with that gorgeous girl he brought home, and hoped she would be apart of our family.  After a few years, these two finally decided to seal the deal!  And heres a little recap of their day.

First was the sealing.  Isn't she the most stunning bride?

Then, it was time for pictures.

Finally, it was time for the party!  It was an outdoor reception on a perfect night!  Everything was gorgeous.

Isn't Jax's outfit to die for?  This boy and his faces.... you just never know what you are going to get!  We are sure happy for the two love birds!

Independence Day

I sure love the 4th of July in Utah!  So thank you Jimmy and Jordan for choosing your wedding day just for me.  We spent the entire day with my parents, and it was such a blast!  With all of the wedding excitement, we wanted to keep the day pretty simple.  We started our morning off with the Provo parade.  I was a little bored, but my heavens Jackson was obsessed!  He watched intently, danced along, and loved every second of it.  We were all a little shocked at how long he sat!  

After lunch and a nap, we decided to visit our favorite Utah friends!  Poor boys, I never get picture of them.  Something tells me they don't mind....

While the rest of the town was at Stadium of Fire, we headed to Malawi's pizza at the Riverwoods.  After dinner, we stripped off Jackson's clothes and let him play in the splash pad.  I am convinced there is nothing else he enjoys more! 

I have decided there is nothing I love more than watching this little guy do the things he loves.  We finished the night with ice cream and an early bed time for Jackson.  We watched fireworks from the hotel, and decided it was the perfect 4th of July for our little family!

Red, White, and Blue Wedding Dinner

On July 3rd, we had a fabulous wedding dinner for Jimmy and Jordan.  These two had dated for a while, so we were all thrilled for the wedding!  Because of the upcoming holiday, Tammy decided to decorate in red, white, and blue.  It was a perfect night of delicious food, dancing, and celebrating an amazing couple!

Thank you Rich and Tammy for such a wonderful night!  And thank you to my amazing parents for taking Jax back to the hotel and putting him to sleep so we could enjoy the night.