Curb appeal

About 6 weeks ago we were approached by a window company and were asked if we would be interested in buying new windows for our house. At first we were not sure, but decided to let them come and give us a bid out of mere curiosity. So about a week later a person came out to measure them and give us a bid for the ones we would want to do.
While this person was at our home they gave us an incentive to do it- basically giving us a major credit for putting a sign in the yard and doing a minimum of three windows.
So after deliberating a few minutes we decided to do it! So these last few pictures were the before shots. Ugly OLD brown windows that were NOT energy efficient!! (that was the thing I was the most excited to change!)
Here's the after shot! SOOOO much better! White vinyl replacement windows that WILL save us energy costs! YAY!
When we bought this house 5 years ago I never loved the windows, but with the new ones I think it has definitely boosted our curb appeal!!
So cute our house is!! (If I do say so myself!!)

The most important job in the world!

Yesterday was Mother's Day and I have to admit I LOVE that day! I love the things the kids make and do for me- there's just no better job in the world than being a Mom! My wonderful hubby has been slaving away in our master bathroom helping me make it beautiful for my Mother's day present! It has come a long way already and a lot of that is due to HIM! He has demolished a lot of the old and has already replaced the flooring (new tile), light fixture, some electrical, shower head and soon to come are vanity/countertop, mirror, baseboards and other fixtures. How lucky I am to have him in my life and even luckier that he's "handy"!! :) And as for the kids the photo above shows some of the fun things they gave me- and most they made themselves! I also got a plant from church and another from Tom and Kathy (that is not pictured here) and I even scored a couple of hanging flower baskets for the porch from Chan and the kids. I also was served some yummy cinnamon rolls for breakfast, a fabulous dinner over at Tom and Kathy's, and when I got home Will had put a big stuffed animal on my bed with a note that read, "Happy Mother's Day! Love, Will and Fuzzy". It just doesn't get much better than that! There is no job in the world more rewarding than being a Mom! I LOVE IT! I only hope that I am doing it right and am making memories and relationships with my kids that will last a lifetime and more! I love you my family!!! :) Thanks for spoiling me and making me feel special on Mother's Day and always!

WINNER!!

I am sooooo proud of my little Brianne! Last week at school it was "I am going to college week" at school and during this week they had each class enter an essay about why they want to go to college. Out of each class one of the essays was chosen a winner and they were given a Snow College T-shirt and my Brianne won!!! I have always known she was a talented writer and here's the proof!!
Her essay was darling and she talked about how she wants to go to University of Utah and all the things you can learn there. She is an amazing student! I am so lucky to have her and so proud of the job she did! Way to go Brianne!! :)

Our new family member

This is Teddy! Isn't he soooo cute!! Chan and I have wanted a Yorkie dog for years and we finally decided after spending the weekend at Tammy's over Easter that we were going to bite the bullet and find a good one. We came home and started searching and found Teddy. We discovered him on KSL classifieds in the late afternoon and called immediately and we drove all the way down to Eagle Mountain to see him and his owners and we left with him and have LOVED him since! He is 3 and a half years old and is totally trained- yeah that's what I wanted- and he is awesome! The perfect addition to our family!

The last Derby

Right around Will's birthday was the pinewood derby for Cub Scouts and since he turned 11 and is no longer a "Cub" this was the last derby for us. Will is more than ready to move on to the next chapter in scouting- can't you tell from this photo! He is so proud and excited to move up to being a real Scout!
Now I must tell you that in the 6 years we have done the Derby with both Carter and Will we have NEVER had a good car!! We have seen many over the years that we would swear someone purchased from some kind of shady back door derby sale because they were just too perfect!! The boy did that.......right..... anyway, this year we wanted to go out with a bang!!
So I asked Chan to talk to Kent (the general contractor that works for them) and see if maybe he could help us out. He has a huge wood shop and is VERY talented in wood crafts- so one Friday after school we met him and Chan at the shop. Will and Kent worked on his car for a few hours cutting and shaping and Kent sent him home with some sandpaper and told him to finish it up. Will took pride in sanding and painting it all on his own.
Then Chan and Will put the axel and wheels on and started putting the graphite on as well as the weights. Will was getting excited and was very proud of his car.
All I can say is SUCCESS!!!!!! You can see from this picture how excited he was!! His first race he took first place- I think I was just as excited as he was! We really didn't care what happened from then on- we were just thrilled to have won ONCE!
After each race it was Carter's job as Den Chief to put on these star stickers. Gold was first, silver second and so on. As you can see here will took first twice and second twice- it was a great day!
After all the heats Will didn't place because there was a lot of cars faster than his- but truly this was a great day!! We had a great car!!! Thanks Kent!!

Carter's Birthday

Well here is Carter's birthday spread! It was actually a bit smaller than usual because we had already bought him his gift when we were on spring break- but I got him a few small things to surprise him. His favorite thing- the Costco size mega pack of his favorite brand of gum! I knew it would be a hit!
I had intended on going to get doughnuts the night before his big day- but believe it or not I FORGOT!! Ugh....... I was bummed..... but Chan came up with the idea to take him to Starbucks, so I whipped up this coupon last minute!
Here he comes.......
Checking out all the loot and cards.....
Ah SUCCESS!! He was a happy man!!
The cards we got him were hilarious! I have had some good luck in that area lately!
Here he is with his double chocolate chip frappichino!! (SP??) Wow...I am a bad influence......but they are sooooooo good!!!
It was a great birthday surprise- and the doughnut wasn't bad either!! Later that evening we went out to dinner to celebrate and his pick was Goodwood BBQ! It is soooo yummy!! They have the biggest and best onion rings I have ever had!
After that it was home to have some cake! This time Carter wanted one from the store- so we went and picked one out together and it was really good!
Wow...hard to believe he is 14 now! Time goes quickly!
It was a great day! Happy birthday buddy!! We love you!!

Our Spring Break/Easter fun!