Cabin Fever

So my parents decided to build a cabin for all of us to go up to. It is going to be built up Hwy 80 just past Colfax. They closed on the land and all of us went up there on Saturday to check it out. It is 20 acres and it is great. The main top part is level but then it drops off. Towards the bottom is a river and where the cabin is going to be built is a gorgeous view. You are able to see the view of it in the picture of me and Addison. It is going to be so much fun. It is only a little over an hour away, there are plenty of trails to hike and it gets snow. We are planning on making a playground for the kids, a baseball field and have pool table and ping pong in the cabin. It will have 9 bedrooms so that the whole family could be up there at once. When we got there on Saturday we found out that on the adjacent property there is a couple who is building a cabin also. They have 4 kids that range from high school all the way down to kindergarten. So it would be fun to make new friends for the kids. We checked out the progress of their cabin and got even more excited about our project. We then built a bonfire, roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. I am so excited about it that I told my parents we wouldn't mind being permanent caretakers. I have already gotten ideas on how to decorate it. Once we start the project I will post our progress.

Am I Crazy!

So I thought today...Am I crazy for starting my kitchen remodel at this time in my life? Probably. I just switched from part-time to full-time at work, Adam is working full time, and I watch Melanie's kids 3 days a week for about 6 hours each day. I have been wanting this kitchen for so long that I thought I just needed to make the leap and do it.
There is light at the end of the tunnel though. The electrical is almost done. Most of the drywall is done then it needs texture and paint. The cabinet guy (President Pebbles for those of you who know him) came by today to do some final measurements. He said he would be able to install the cabinets in the second week of May. Then all we have to do is my granite counter tops and the flooring. We are probably about over half way done. I will have to have a "My Kitchen is Finally Done" party at my house. Who's up for it?

It's Comin' Along

Well here is the most recent update of my kitchen. I am excited for it to be done. We still have a lot of work though. The drywall is almost done. We have to finish an archway over the desk window. Move the dining table light, install the in ceiling speakers, install can lights, install the exhaust hood under the island and texture/paint the walls. The cabinets are supposed be done in mid May so we have a deadline to do all of this stuff.

Kids and Pictures

Well today I decided to take a break from the kitchen and take the kids for pictures at Picture People. I rarely see Adam because both of us work full time and have opposite schedules. I work nights and weekends, he works days and weekdays. He is off of work this week to watch the kids while I work on the kitchen with my dad. My dad is a temple worker at the Sacramento Temple and his days to go are Wednesday mornings. I thought it would be perfect to schedule picture time. I made an appointment at 11am. Perfect! Just before the kids naps. Well they didn't get us in to take pictures until noon. An hour after our appointment. I was very annoyed. Picture People is usually really good about not having people wait. The last couple of times I went it has been getting worse. I am almost thinking about going somewhere else.
I did their individual pictures first and then our Easter pictures. Well once we got to the Easter picture part they have had it. When one was smiling the other one was crying. Landon does this funny thing now where if you say "don't smile" then he will smile really big. We thought we would try it for the pictures. He did it but would lose his pose in the mean time by leaning back on dad or uncrossing his feet. Now I understand why people take less and less family pictures when have more kids. If it is this hard trying to get two kids to look at the camera and smile what are we going to do when we have 5 or 6 kids?

New Kitchen Here We Come!

So I have been trying to save my money for the past 3 years for a new kitchen. I finally decided just to do it or it won't get done. My dad is helping me which is nice. I know that it would take much longer to do if it was only me. We did demolition on two walls to open it all up. The layout of my old kitchen was horrible. The refrigerator door would hit the wall every time you opened it, the space in between the cabinets were almost 6 feet. That was such wasted space and it felt like forever trying to move a pot of boiling water from the stove to the sink. I decided to move the refrigerator, get built in wall ovens, make an island, and move the dishwasher. I thought we were done with the walls when we brought them down but my dad suggested that it would look better with arches in them. Even though it was another thing to do on the kitchen I am glad he suggested it. I am posting some pictures to let everyone know how our progress is going.