Kitchen Cabinet Makeover...

I forgot to add these to my last post and don't want to fuss with reformatting my last post again ... so here are the before and after pics... And the total cost: $45!

Before:

After:

Now... to add hardware or not? That is the question.

Here is a pic of the hardware we would potentially add. Tell me what you think.

How about a 4 month update... wow!

So, life with 2 little ones keeps me busier than I thought :o). We have done quite a few things in the past 4 months, so I will update them in some type of order...

We were looking for an investment property and found a super cute 3 story 2 bd, 2 ba condo in Gilbert, AZ (about 5 minutes from our place) and it has 3 community pools and tons of great playgrounds, so felt it was just the right fit for us. With costs so low and interest rates also excellent we went for it. Here are a few pics of the condo. My sister is currently renting from us and she has really decorated it nicely. It's just perfect for her and it's a win win situation, as we are giving her a good deal, but she is paying our mortgage on the place... thanks Renee!

We have been on a few trips. A while back we went up to Sedona for a night with my sister. We started with shopping at a great outlet mall in Anthem, AZ then drove the next hour to Sedona to get away for a night. I love going to the Talqueria (a little artsy shopping village in Sedona), and enjoying the awesome views of nature that surround every direction. Here are a few pics of that.

We went up to Spokane in early August to catch up with some of my high school friends and their kids. We went to a park called Riverfront where they have a bunch of kiddie rides and Kyson LOVED the roller coaster and train ride. We also spent one full day at Liberty Lake where my friend Gen lives and had a blast swimming, paddle-boating, catching up with each other and munching. I was also able to see my friend Aimee and we went to our typical Spokane meet up place- the bowl and pitcher on the Spokane river and had some yummy breakfast at Franks diner. I was craving huckleberries like no other and even tried to find some to pick for a half a day when we were there with no luck. But I did have huckleberry french toast, frozen yogurt, milkshake and even bought some huckleberry jam at Greenbluff. We did pick some yummy cherries at one of the farms there and that was fun as well. We stayed part of the time with my sister Rachel and enjoyed some time with her as well. She is in excellent shape and has been doing several marathons lately, in fact she has a chance to qualify for the Olympic trials this weekend at the Chicago marathon.
Over labor day we painted our kitchen cabinets. I was so tired of our ugly oak- so voila... our newly painted kitchen. We are still debating on if we want to add hardware to the doors, but we will likely start swapping out our black appliances for stainless (to match our fridge and look better with the black). It looks worlds better to me, and it only took us about 14 hours from start to finish (including stripping, cleaning, sanding, painting and putting them back together and on).

All in all... life is great, we are still enjoying Arizona (esp now that we have a pool to swim in anytime we want) and staying busy (as usual).

I will try to be better about updating my blog (I have probably lost all of my readers anyway)... if you're still reading feel free to leave a comment, so I know if anyone is still reading this :o)

No title needed... just an update already!

It's once again been way too long since I last blogged on here. There's not too much new, other than the kids are a little older, I'm working a little more, and things seem to keep us busy. Kenley is now 9 months and standing all of the time. She will get in this squatting stance with her legs and just stand up without holding onto anything. She'll stand for 1 minute looking around then go back to the floor to crawl around to get whatever toy appeals to her. I am certain she is going to start walking any day now. Kyson is getting smarter by the minute I think. He amazes me in how quick he learns things. His favorite words the past 2 months are "okay, mama," and it melts me! "lets read a book," "okay mama." "Go find daddy," "okay, mama." "Let's brush your teeth," "okay, mama." I am loving this... instead of the typical 2 1/2 year old "NO!" He really hasn't picked that up thankfully.

Kyson in his 2 seconds of trying to pretend to like Kenley. He does like her but still has his "moments" of wanting to be an only child :o)"What?"
Kyson deciding that paper wouldn't cut it today...
Occasionally we have taught Kyson funny faces and this is one that he does often when we say smile! It's a half smile... maybe he's only partially happy?
This pic needs no caption... but I'll give it one anyways: Kyson: "I didn't do it." Kenley: "Excuse me?!!!"

Work is going well... it's hard to believe how busy that has seemed to keep me lately, but I love being a home health nurse. It doesn't feel like work- I just feel like I am going to peoples houses and helping them with whatever it is (their wound care, diabetes teaching, injection training, or just sit and talk with them about how life is going). It's nice to have a career like that!

We are currently house-hunting for a second property to rent out to my sister for now, then other renters when she decides she is tired of renting from us. We have found some super cute places and have put a few offers in, but so far no word back- a few of them are short-sales... so we don't expect an answer too soon.

For Easter we had an Easter egg hunt at our church and a potluck breakfast. Kyson loved it... as well as his Easter basket. We gave Kenley a little one with a few decorative eggs and she really liked it too... here are a few pics. We also had our 2nd year (quite possibly going to be a family tradition) attending the Mesa Easter Pageant. It's the largest in the world and done very well. You cannot help but feel the spirit of what Christ did for us. We then had a family get together with family and the food was excellent! Thanks Ashley!Lastly, Ken is free to help any of you blog readers with any computer help, web design, logos, or business cards/print needs you may have. Feel free to find him on www.kcndesign.com He hasn't been staying quite as busy lately with work... but that's okay... cause I sure have :o)

Hope all of you had a Happy Easter!

My niece Capri at the park one day... we had a little picnic...

My nephew Emerson... he is getting so tall!!!

My nephew Cade... loved this slide! I think he went down it 100 times!

Kenley's sitting

All by herself... and can hold her own bottle too. I love seeing her learn and grow! Here are a few pics since I have been so horrible lately about updating!



Half of the pictures I take are of Kenley looking at/ watching her brother. She loves him!



Here are a few pics I forgot to post over 2 months ago when Kenley was given her baby blessing at our home just before Christmas. It was simple and quiet... and a wonderful blessing!

My brother, his son Cade, Brother Van Wagenen, Ken, Kenley, and my dad.

Kenley's 6 Months!

It's hard to believe Kenley's already 6 months old. She had her check-up yesterday and wanted to put her stats on here... so I can keep track. She weighs 14 lbs, 10 ounces, and she was 25 1/2 inches. She is 25th percent for her weight and 50th percentile for her height. I compared her stats to Kyson's and he was 16 lbs 10 ounces and 27 inches... so she is smaller than Kyson was.

Her latest is that she almost sitting by herself. She can sit for about 3 seconds before she goes flat forward or backward. She can roll from front to back and back to front, is scooting backwards, and getting up on her knees to try to crawl but so far just rocking back and forth on her knees. She is very verbal, still smiles and laughs all of the time, and is still a super sweet baby. She also tries to grab anything and everything... she is very interested in the world around her. We have tried introducing rice cereal a few times, but so far no food for her... we'll keep trying some other cereals, then veggies, then fruits.

Kyson isn't too keen on her trying to play with "his" toys... but every once in a while is good about sharing or bringing her a toy to play with. When he does share we have been over-praising him to try to reinforce the good... He has still been growing like a weed and getting smarter everyday. He is talking a lot more, asking questions, eating better, and getting smarter all around. We bought him a puzzle that at first he could barely do, now he will do it in about 5 minutes (which is probably 5 minutes faster than I could do it.) He is getting into humming and singing more. He can sing about half of the alphabet and can count to ten. It really is an exciting thing to witness your child learn so much so fast... and want to learn more. He also cannot get enough books read to him. He probably has 30-40 books and could sit through us reading all of them to him if we would. Ken has read some 20 books in a row to him. For me... I'm done after about 5.

Work has been very busy lately but is finally slowing down some... which is nice to have more time with the kids. Overall life has been good... just busier... thus not as many posts lately... but just as everyone says and tries... I will try to be better about posting.