the new house

Here are few pics from the new place. We will start with Zane's room (simply because I'm tired of trying to rearrange photos on this stinking Mac).

We went with modern masculine with a hint of Asian influence. We still have a cool mirror and some art to hang up.
This is the view from Zane's bedroom window. It's beautiful at sunset!

Please ignore clutter. Zane has not completed his chores yet this week.

Isaac's room. (also has great view). He has glow in the dark stars on the ceiling and on the canopy part of the bed so when it's dark it looks like the stars are floating.

We also did a magnetic wall in Isaac's room. Then we bought a bunch of magnetic poetry and magnetic children's stories. We've missed many bedtimes because we all end up in Isaac's room coming up with wacky sayings.

Here are some before and after shots.

Main living room. The carpet was so stained and disgusting.
We love the color. It's called something like Morning Mist Gray but it looks more of a subtle green. I have to say that I don't like the brown carpet as much as I thought I would. It's so hard to tell how one little inch square of carpet will look through the whole house. Rick and the boys really like it, so 3 out of 4 isn't bad. :)

Master bedroom before. (Yes, I think it's kind of scary having a door to the outside in my bedroom)

We went with a grape colored accent wall in the bedroom (hoping it would make up for the lack of headboard at least for now). We like it. Once we get the art up, I'm really going to love the bedroom. It's on the main floor, as is the laundry room, which is so convenient.

Here is the kitchen. This is the before picture, however, we didn't really change it much. A fresh coat of paint, but basically the same. If you stand at the sink, you are looking into the main living area. I LOVE the open floor plan.

So there is a sample. Come visit us to get the full tour! We love having people drop by.

Zane's Birthday

It's official, we have a teenager in the house! Zane turned 13 last Sunday. Here are a few pics.


My favorite. Zane wanted ribs for dinner. He was wearing white pants and didn't want to get BBQ sauce on them so he put on my apron. This pic is showcasing sticky fingers and food in his mouth. (this is not typical for my family)


Rick made his famous carrot cake and mom and dad and some friends came over to help eat it.


Opening presents! Isaac gave him a body pillow (now they don't have to share mine). Rick and I gave him some camping clothes/gear as he left on Monday for Scout Camp. We also got him a Halo bookbag, which STILL hasn't come in the mail. We wrapped up a photo of it for him to open.

Zane's birthday also marks one year since I met them. Rick brought me to birthday festivities last year to meet his kids and some other family members. Wow, a lot has happened since then.

It was a fun day.

My Bike

Have you all missed the "I love my bike" posts this summer? Me too! Unfortunately, this isn't one of those posts. Rick and I rode up Emigration Canyon last week. It was not fun. I could blame that I didn't eat first, it was hot, my calves kept cramping up so I had to flex my feet hard the whole ride, my tires were a little low on air.... the truth of it is... I'm out of shape! I used to ride up that canyon on mountain bike and, this time, I barely made it on the road bike. I'm a total wimp!

I've been riding about four times this year. Each time had 3-4 weeks in between. Funny how that doesn't seem to work towards conditioning. It did make me determined to get out more. Our new house is on a hill... a big hill, which will mean any biking from home will be killer. This is a good thing.

The one redeeming part of the ride was going down. Ahhhh. Such a great reward. I actually froze at the top. The canyon was shaded and I was wet with sweat. I loved feeling the air temperature change as we sped down. I'd almost say it was worth the climb up. I hope before too long I can enjoy going both directions.

Side note- I also played tennis this week for the first time this season. Tennis does not disappoint. So much fun! (Thank you Rick for playing to my level.) Good times!

Is one of us a dog in this scenario?

I have been experiencing a really strange phenomenon. As you may know, I have quite a long commute to work in the morning. I like to stay updated on traffic reports- not that it helps me get home faster but at least I can mentally gear up for what's ahead. Luckily there is KSL with its "Traffic and weather on the nines" to keep me informed, theoretically.

For the past several months, maybe longer, when I switch to KSL to hear the traffic, my brain turns off and I come back to reality just as they are finishing the report. I could blame the fact that they always commercial first and I tune those out and just stay in la-la land too long, but I think it goes beyond that. Sometimes, I sit there determined not to space out, I hear the car soundtrack they play to start the report and think, "OK I'm listening". Then, next thing I know my brain went elsewhere for 20 seconds and I missed it. It's so bizarre that it makes me laugh... and curse.

I think I have figured out why this happens. I am victim of a Pavlovian effect. When I started getting up early for the commute I would set my alarm radio to KSL. I had the rule that as soon as I heard the traffic and weather in the morning I would have to get up. One morning, in my half-slumbered state, I missed the report which, of course, meant that I had to stay in bed another 10 minutes until the next update. This soon became more and more common. I believe I have now been conditioned to tune out the traffic and weather report, even when I'm not in bed.

I have been trying to deprogram myself. On the way home yesterday, I only tuned out the Southbound traffic out of SLC (which is what I needed and broadcast first), but came in to hear I-80. Maybe one day- just in time for my long commute to stop as we are moving in a month- I will be able to get the full report. Curse those drooling dogs!


p.s. bonus points to anyone who knows the movie reference in the post title.

Young Women's Waterski Party

Here are a few snippets from the YW waterski party last night. I posted photos on facebook and vids here. (takes forever to upload here, but I can't figure out how to post a video of FB) I randomly chose three videos of all the ones I took. I don't have anything to view them with me at the moment so we'll see what comes up. Looks like first is Misty getting up on the wakeboard. It was really choppy water which made it hard! Next, another good Misty video, as she gets thrown from the Molecule. She is riding with Sam and Gabby (I think). I should have got later video of Gabby and Sam. Sam was flying everywhere but wouldn't fall off and Gabby was laughing so hard I don't know how she could hang on! Our final video is Kate and Chloe on the Molecule.