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So we couldn't be happier to be home owners. We love the idea of having our own space and doing with that space what we want to. We bought a wonderful home with mounds of potential but a very short window in which to accomplish a lot of the needed revamping. We decided we wanted all of the big repairs done before we moved in so we resolved to take on the task of ripping out all of the carpet ourselves and most of the linoleum. We planned to replace all of the floors with a mixture of new carpet and hard flooring (more about the hard flooring to come). We also decided to replace all of the baseboards downstairs and put up something special in the living room. Oh, did I fail to mention painting 95% of all 3,000 square feet? Yeah well, that too.

Even though we had about ten days to finish all of this work we aren't going to toss it all in your lap at once. We're going to take our time and spoon feed you with it. I know, you are starving and you want to down it all at once but we don't want you to choke on it. We'll start with the house as it looked on day one. (The clutter is from the previous owners. They had not yet completely moved when these photos were taken.)



Living room. Notice the berber carpet and linoleum in the entry. Excruciating isn't it? Disclaimer: The lighting is quite bad throughout the whole house and needs some major improvements so keep that in mind.





Kitchen and pantry. Both great spaces. Love our BIG pantry.



Looking out from the kitchen into the open dining/family rooms. Fireplace included. Thumbs up.


Looking into the kitchen from the family room. I'm sure you notice the blinds and the dirt caked on them. That was kind of the theme of the house.


Back hallway from the family room to the mud room, half bathroom and garage.



Half bath. Exciting I know.



Mud room; typically the laundry room in this home layout. The previous owners moved the laundry into a closet upstairs, which we love. Most of the time it's hard to tell how bad things are by looking at a picture. That's even true here where it looks pretty bad. The damage and filth caused in this room was due to multiple great danes. The berber carpet throughout the house was incredibly soiled and torn up because of the dogs and the lack of maintenance. That's why it had to go, not just because berber is our least favorite type of carpet.



Headed upstairs. Keep that big tall wall in the stairway in mind. It will most definitely be popping up later in it's own special post. We've got great plans for it!





Second family room/loft. We love this space but it's going to take some time to fill. It'll be good for posting in the future.




Jack's room and closet. Plenty of room for a 9 month old. Don't you think? We've got some great ideas for our little boy's room that we can't wait to show!


Next to Jack's room is the laundry closet. It would be nice in the room downstairs with more space but it's even nicer upstairs with all the bedrooms and especially next to Jack's room.



Guest bath.



Guest room and closet. Finally, we have a guest room! If you visit us, you'll have somewhere to sleep. We've got some great ideas for this room as well.

We saved the best for last.



Our spacious master bedroom. So excited for this room!




The most wasted space in the house; the master bathroom. Not sure what we'll do with this space but we'll think of something.


One of our favorite "rooms", the master closet. Again, not a very good use of all that space.

Now here is a video tour of the house the day we got the key.



Let us know what you guys think. We would love comments, etc.  And we will be posting updates on all of our projects that we have done, so keep checking back or subscribe so you can see all the changes!!
I put off cutting Jack's hair for a while this time. I really wanted to see how it would look all "grown out."  Well let's just say his hair doesn't like to grow evenly around his head. He started to have a frontal mullet. Sound weird? Yeah well it looked weird.  So I had to cut it again.  This was the hardest cut I have done. He is SOOO active these days that I couldn't get him to sit still.  So needless to say, it wasn't my finest job. But it worked.  Oh and he also doesn't like to pose for pictures, so these are kind of weird pics from my phone.  Enjoy!
6th Haircut at 9 1/2 months old.

Tuesday was the anniversary of my brother's car accident. It's crazy, but it's been 9 years.  I say this every year, but I can't believe it has been 9 years. That seems like so long, but yet, every image burns in my mind of that tragic night.  No matter how long it has been, it doesn't make it easier.  It still hurts knowing that he is gone. 

(In short, Brian was one of three killed in the accident when a young driver was going 75 mph in a 35 mph zone.)

 So to help with that, my family has tried to make the anniversary more about a celebration for the time we have had with him, instead of focusing on the fact that he is gone.  I hate being away from my home town during this time, especially since I am home all day with plenty of time to just think.  So I decided to make the day here in Utah a happy one.

My brother Brian loved BYU.  So in memory of Brian, Jack decided to wear his BYU shirt!  And wow he is cute in it!
Jack also wore his uncle's wristband with his basketball number and initials on it. Very sweet of him:)
  
I headed to the aquarium to hang out with Jack for the day, and Brandon ended up leaving work early and came with us!
Jack LOVES the aquarium. He gets so excited. Here are some pictures for your enjoyment.



He pet a snake!




This is a dark picture, but look how happy he is!


He loved the water.


We then went to dinner with my younger sister Brittney. And then we came back to our house and released balloons in Brian's honor. (I wore Brian's Hollister hoodie!)
(Thanks Red Robin for the balloons!)

In Colorado, my mom and dad and older sister decorated Brian's grave.


And as a tradition, they put luminaries up and down the street where the accident happened.  This is a very memorable experience. We have done this every year.  My mom was thinking of not doing it but had so many people call and ask if she was doing it that she decided it had to be done.
 

Several people still gathered at the site and helped them put up the luminaries. What a wonderful community my parents have. They have so much love and support there.

  

I love and miss Brian so much.  But I am so grateful to have had 15 years with him. I see bits of Brian in Jack and I saw so much of my brother on the anniversary. And for that, I am eternally grateful.



(Side note: For those of you who might not know, Jack's middle name is Brian. He is named after his uncle... as I am sure Jack was the last one of us to see Brian!)