Where did the time go?

Oh, my. I see the time has passed me by and we are now in December and I last posted in August! I guess I'll start up where I left off. Here are the Trial Lake pictures I promised!

The water was freeezing! Brooklyn enjoyed walking around in the mud and water, and even ventured to touch a fish Grandpa had hooked. Until it started flipping around and spraying her with water... Then she cried. 

 Handsome Bucket. A mountain goat at heart.

 And here is the sexy man I married.

 Brooklyn wanted to spent the whole time there with Grandma and Grandpa. She really had such a great time! I wonder where she gets those "outdoorsy" genes. Not from me.

Her very own campchair. She loved it so much! She kept falling over though. She loved the fire and the outdoors. And the marshmallows, of course! 

We didn't get to stay as long as we would have liked to, but it was a fun trial to see if Brooklyn will be able to handle camping better than her parents. Ha!

Hello, Stress!

Hello, Stress! It's so nice to see you again. It's been awhile, so I guess I'll take my turn with you.

I am going to de-stress for just a moment, so skip this paragraph if you don't want to hear it! I feel like a chicken with my head cut off. I'm trying to balance  - deep breath - starting school (2 classes that are both ridiculously hard), packing for our move, fixing up a house, dealing with a teething toddler, trying unsuccessfully to get pregnant (8 months and counting), doing massage, being a CureSearch committee member, teaching piano lessons and singing lessons, PLUS cooking, cleaning, studying, exercising, socializing, grocery shopping, laundry-ing, and being husbandless every night while he goes to the house! (All said in one big breath!) AHHHHH! I guess while I'm at it I should include breathing, sleeping, showering and did I mention having a cranky, whiny baby attached to my hip who won't eat or sleep? And I have bad hair days - every day. AND I've been sick! AND I've had a strained muscle in my shoulder for months that just won't go away, and that makes everything worse. Ugh! Does it never end?!?

I need a vacation.

Speaking of vacations, we went up to Trial Lake with Craig's family on Friday, and it was awesome. Brooklyn had a great time - pictures to come. Then she screamed for the entire hour and a half drive home. That helped my headache.

Luckily I have a Heavenly Father who loves me and gives me tender mercies! I have at least one moment a day when I look at Brooklyn and just love her (of course I always love her but I'm talking moments here). She is so beautiful and perfect and special in that moment. I am so blessed to have her, and to have Craig, who puts up with having a crazy wife. He is my rock and keeps me grounded (even if it means bursting my bubble every once in awhile). Really, my life is great. And crazy. And great.

Another house update to come as well!

We're Moving!

Yes, we are moving. FINALLY. After searching for a house to buy for 7 months, we finally signed on one. And we love it. After seeing the pictures, you might wonder WHY we love it. But when you rescue something and tlc it back to life you love it. More about that in a minuto.

In May, Craig and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary! We went to the Roof for dinner, stayed overnight at the Little America (it sure was nice to get a break from the kiddo, even though we love her!), then went to Temple Square the next day and enjoyed the scenery. It was beautiful. It renewed my love for church history and all the wonderful places here in Salt Lake City. What a wonderful day it was! And besides that, I got to spend it with the love of my life, and be reminded what a fun, amazing person he is. 

Here's a cute picture of Brooklyn. She rocks my world.

Here are the 'before' pictures of the house. We bought it in mid-July and will be working on it for about another month. We have a contractor who is doing the tile, carpet, finishwork, and other jobs, but we are doing a lot of it ourselves - which is a process because we've never done this stuff before! Craig has been over there 4-5 nights a week working on stuff. We did all the demolition (tearing out carpet, linoleum, and cabinets - I should say "cabinets"). Craig and John Carter (who is helping us a ton and teaching us how to fix up a house) have done all the caulking, priming, painting door frames, ceilings, and closets, taking down drywall, and who knows what else. I've helped wash walls, fill in the hundreds of tiny holes on the door frames and baseboards (they're new), paint the bedrooms, tape for painting, and entirely spent too much time there. :) It is hard work!

Master Bathroom

Living Room

Hallway/Dining Room

Kitchen

Basement

Basement Bedroom

Garage

Now let me share a little bit about the house. It's in South Jordan (close to the Oquirrh Mtn Temple), about 2500 sq feet, and in really bad shape, as you can see. It was a foreclosure and it seems that the former residents were pretty upset about that, because they destroyed the house before leaving. The grass is dead, the walls downstairs were bashed in, all the doors, toilets, drawers, shelves, and door frames were taken, the copper wiring cut, the air conditioning and plumbing cut... The list goes on. It also smelled really strongly of smoke and dog pee. :) But we love it. It has 5 bedrooms (3 up and 2 down, one will remain unfinished) and 3 bathrooms, a big shed in the back, and a large grassy community area behind the house. Our new ward is great, and are excited for us to move in. It really has potential to be a lovely house, and we are so excited to move in! 

Now, here are more current pictures.

 Living Room

 Dining Room

 Bathroom

 Master Bedroom

 Bedroom 2

 Kitchen

Laundry/PANTRY!

More pictures to come!