Otto's First Birthday and Easter

Happy Birthday Otto!

 Not much to say on the pictures, they pretty much speak for themselves. We had a small family party on his birthday with cupcakes and ice cream and a few decorations. 

Easter

Jelly Bean hunt. I think Otto liked it more than Rockwell.

The Unveiling: Before and After

There are about a MILLION pictures below of our house before and "after" but after isn't really a good word for it because we aren't quite there yet.  Skim through them if you want, read it if you want but here it is.  We love it here in Teton and we love our little home.

The Living Room

I'm sad to say that this is already an improvement. There was way more stuff in it and I'd already primed the trim (which was red, you'll see below) and the walls. 

And after: With our St Patty's Day Decor which is fitting because I'm posting this on this very special day. I LOVE how the gray turned out.

The front living room window, front door, and coat closet. Above: Before. notice the tile floors and the red valance. Below: After. I love how the black doors turned out.

The Bathroom:

was SO BAD! This is all the stuff the previous inhabitants had left

The shower is just drywall

After. Troy picked out the blue and I found the mirror at Ross. This room was mostly done by our contractor

The Hallway

Before: This red trim was all over the front room as well.

After:

The Master:

Again, not our stuff

After: Out of the whole house I love this color the best. I plan on putting in curtains, real nightstands, and display our bridals on either side of the bed.

The baby room:

 I don't have after pictures because the boys were asleep when i had a minute to spare taking these pictures. I will try to post some soon but here is before

The Laundry Room

Waaaaay scary. When we looked at it Troy joked that they would leave their dirty laundry and they did (not pictured)

The Hall the the Basement

made me scared of what was down there

We need to put the banister back up but now I'm not afraid to go down there

The Kitchen

Someday it will have new countertops, sink, faucet, and appliances but a paint job and new floor went a long way

The Basement:

is coming along. I don't have any before pictures but imagine the upstairs x10. Obscene graffiti all over,  stuff stuff stuff everywhere, and holes in the walls the size of small children. This is just the living room. there is a bedroom, workroom, bathroom, storage room, and pantry down here. It's AWESOME having such a big basement but it's coming along a little more slowly.

Words can't express our appreciation for our friends and family who helped paint, move stuff out and move stuff in, babysit, let us stay with them, etc. THANK YOU!!!! we couldn't have done it alone. We are so fortunate and blessed to have such amazing friends and family.

Lucky Number 27

Troy's bday was on a tuesday this year. He was no help whatsoever in telling me what he wanted to do that day so I took it into my own hands and made brownie and ice cream sandwiches at my parents house. Troy ended up really liking them.

 It was a small gathering since tuesdays are a little crazy. This is how everybody looked at me when I told them to come eat dessert.

 Troy thought he would be funny and blow out the candles before everyone stopped singing so I didn't get the traditional birthday-boy-with-the-candles photo. 

 Too much sugar and a new friend. This cat is sooo wierd

FRIDAY NIGHT

we went swimming at the infamous Green Canyon hot spring. Rockwell was so funny because we thought he would love it but when we stopped at Charles and Nancy's house to wait for them all he wanted to do was stay and play with Charlie (side note: after we picked him up all he talked about was how Charlie is is "new friend" and has "fun toys") BUT Otto loooooved it and Otto also looooves the camera.

It was awesome to have so many people show up. We were so happy to see everyone who was made it. Below is a terrible (lighting) picture of some of us in the hot pool. 

 Awww, the birthday boy himself in his element.

 See? Point a camera at this kid and he lights up

Fred, Nita, and Julie (I put this on there so you can steal it, Nita) 

Chicken fights. I like Troy's karate chop. Jordan, Josh, and Fred are also in the picture. Oh, and the back of Charles's head

It was late and we should have gone to bed but Anna talked us into going to Nielson's custard. Just look at that guilty face

 WAY past his bedtime but he liked the custard. Anna took this picture and then said "k that one was.... well, you both looked at the camera"

Way past his bedtime, too. This was the face I got when I told him to smile

any comments, Troy?

"Advice: blowing out the candle's before the birthday song is over won't make the singing go away"

Words to live by. Here's to an older and wiser Troy.

Christmas Picture Overload

A month later we found our camera and all the Christmas pictures on it. Christmas Eve was just plain old crazy and we didn't get any pictures of it but it was fun. Sarah and Heidi and their families were in town and it was AWESOME to see them and their kids and spend time with them.

Christmas morning a happy Troy found a Toy in his stocking. Only Troy would appreciate this at his age. It's some dino rider or something from the 80s 

One of my most favorite traditions is making a big family breakfast before we open gifts. We made good use of Mom's big new kitchen.

The breakfast table 

Aunt Lindsay with baby Hunter who didn't sleep at all the night before but fell asleep in her arms. I think all the kids got sick that week and some of the adults. I don't know where it originated but I think we all blame each others' kids.

The tree was pretty impressive with all our families gifts under it. There were 9 Adults and 8 kids!

 I can't get enough of that smile!

 Aiden and Rockwell

 Christmas day we hung out and assembled toys. There were so many helpers around

Why do we give them toys? 

We had a great time. I had more pictures of everyone but they were mostly candid and maybe a little embarrassing. Merry Christmas!