Senior Night

Ah the bitter sweet Senior Night.  This year was most definitely hit closest to home because I've known these boys since many of them were freshmen.  Lance coached them for two years and they became my friends!  We traveled to California and Nevada together and had many in depth conversations with these boys.  Lance and I both thought we were going to be extremely emotional, but I don't quite think it's hit us yet.  We still have more games to play next week in the state tournament.  I think it'll hit us both this summer when they all leave on missions and espeically hit us hard next fall when none of them are in the gym.  We LOVE these boys and are so happy for our friendship and their success!

 This is Tyler, my contractor's son.  He is 12 and when he grows up he wants to be just like these two boys, Chandler and McKay.  It was so sweet to watch how Chandler and Mckay interacted with Tyler and really made him feel special!

 Half of the senior boys. I will certainly miss them!!! (sorry the photographer got in the way of me taking a picture of the other half!!)

we're blue.... or grey

We have been going back and forth as to whether or not we want to have a blue house or a grey house.  At first I was dead set on grey because I thought it was more neutral and wouldn't stick out like a sore thumb, but Lance mentioned that blue was more country/farm and fit the Draper neighborhood we are building in.  The house directly behind us is blue, but all of the surrounding houses are shades of red and brown brick.
So today we drove through daybreak looking for some ideas

and this is what we've found

House #1:  Located in Draper. My grey inspiration.

House #2 a medium dark blue.

House #3 a bright light blue.

House #4 a powdery light blue.

House #5 light blue with a hint of grey

*** We've decided on GREY!!! :)

the minor details

Just yesterday I went on a little journey with our contractor to pick out the little things such as doors, hardware, and stone.  Who knew all of the minor details associated with these decisions!!  Round, Egg, or Lever shaped knobs? Oil rubbed bronze, satin nickle, ect, size, type and color of stone as well as color and amount of grout!  AHH!!

These are the things we have decided on thus far.... 

Hardwood on main floor... a combination of 4, 6, 8 inch boards.

2 panel square doors.  Oil-rubbed bronze handles.

 a combination of the following three stones.  a thicker heftier stone with a dark grey skinny stone and a river rock skinny stone.

 ... We still have tons and TONS of things to pick out, but things are starting to get FUN!!

In addition, Lance and I got a steal of a deal on our dining room table that we bought from World Market.  Their store was having a furniture store, but I joined their club and got an additional 15% off my total purchase... so we were able to buy 6 chairs, 1 bench, and a table and saved 550 bucks!!

Goodbye Olympus 2nd

Today made things extremely real.  We woke up and got ready for church and drove up to our old ward for the very last time.  We drove past our duplex which had cars in the driveway notifying us of occupancy.  We were 10 minutes early for the first time.... ever. We were even able to get a cushion seat!  Our dear friends Jenny and Rich blessed their two little miracles today and I was emotional the entire sacrament meeting.  Jenny and Rich have been such a great example of faith, optimism, and love.  I remember the first Sunday in our ward nearly 3 years ago and I saw Jenny and thought, that girl is cute. I really want to be her friend.  Now 3 years later I consider her a dear friend and I'm so grateful for her support and advice as Lance and I journey through infertility.  Her two twins are the product of in vitro and are literally little healthy miracles.

Towards the end of the meeting I made my way up to the stand and sat next to her waiting for a few kids to finish the bearing of their testimonies.  From the moment she started to bear hers I was already in tears.  This of course made the bearing of mine challenging from the get-go. 

It's friendships and examples from people like Jenny and my dear friend Ashley that make me eternally grateful for moving into our little duplex in Holladay.  They have helped me cope and understand the process and have been great sounding boards because they have been through it and both have been blessed with children, Jenny via in vitro and Ashley through adoption. 

I am so grateful for the friendly hallway conversations we were able to have with Brother Combs who was our Temple Sealer as well as fellow ward member.  What a great reminder of our commitment to each other than to see the wonderful man who made our union official. 

Overall I am so so grateful for all of the friendships we've established that will continue beyond our 3 years living in the ward.  Thank you Olympus 2nd ward!  We love you!

My Dirt

OFF THE MARKET!!!

It has been extremely stressful and crazy over the last 2 months trying to get this lot under contract.  We were told multiple times prior to starting this process that, "building a house is one of the most stressful things to do to a marriage."  Little did they know we've been stressed and the dirt hasn't even been touched yet!!!
We have had so many issues with the company Smart Choice Communities.  They misrepresented themselves and are extremely unethical, greedy, and flat out liars about everything.  They chose to place the lot under contract with them so they could hold control over our decisions, when in reality it is unethical to put a lot under contract with someone else's earnest money.   It just goes to show you that you have to be extremely careful in who you choose to work with and make sure everything is well documented.  Luckily with the help of our good friend and agent Natalie, the builder, and his representation we were able to completely remove this Smart Choice Communities from our contract.  They will no longer be hindering the progression of our home and we are so grateful for the team we currently have and the hard work they have put in to make our dream come true.

Just this past week we were able to close on our lot, our builder was able to submit our official set of plans to the city of Draper, and we have moved out of our cute duplex and are off to Lance's mom's house for the next 4-5 months.

Our stresses have not only stem from the chaos with Smart Choice, but also with trying to move!!  With both of our schedules it was been nearly impossible to find time that we are both home and both available to move our furniture.  We started at the beginning of the month of January packing up the majority of our furniture (dining room table, chairs, misc) to a storage unit.  It is slightly a breath of fresh air to have all of these items that we don't NEED put away and out of sight, but getting it all gathered has been absolutely crazzzzzzy.  We were supposed to have all of our stuff moved out on Monday, but with the elements down pouring onto our great Salt Lake... Lance has had to plow every day and every night since.  Because of this we have yet to move out our bed and dresser and TVs... just waiting for a day that we are free..... but there hasn't been one.

Oh gotta love the stress and chaos that comes with building a home.

Babies, Guts, and Glory

It's official. I have made it through my first week of my capstone.  With 3 days (28 hours) under my belt, which includes 2 deliveries and 2 c-sections I can honestly say that I love the nature of the specialty.  I have learned a lot about the difference in demeanor of a person in labor and in pain to those who are just uncomfortable and wish they'd be in labor.  I've learned a lot of charting techniques and FAQ's and answers to those questions.  I've also learned and grown a lot as a nurse and am less scared to enter the real world of nursing in just 3 1/2 short months.  It is absolutely mind boggling that this is what I've wish and hoped and dreamed of becoming and the countless tears, stresses, and frustrations along the way all make it worth it.  I will be a licensed nurse in May of 2013 and with February just around the corner.

Things I have learned:

• I love the moment when the baby is out and the mother is overjoyed and in awe that that baby is HER baby. She has such joy and gratitude in her eyes for this little miracle, and that she has the privilege to call it her own.
• I love the giddy and nervous energy coming from dad who wants no part of the guts and grossness associated with the delivery because I KNOW my husband will be the exact same way and I find it innocent and cute. 
• I love the first cry, delayed but piercing as it allows everyone to breathe a sigh of relief, knowing this baby's lungs are working and everything is okay.
• I love the atmosphere, so excited yet so at peace (with an epidural.. haha!).  This little angel is coming slowly but surely and of course on the baby's time table, not any of ours.
• I love the knowledge, skill, and experience from the nurses I've watched.  They know just what to do and when to do it. Also what to look out for when things go bad, and how to prevent bad things from happening.  It's so intricate and overwhelming the amount of knowledge they have, that one day I hope to have. 
• I love the blood, guts, and grossness!!! I know. Everything thinks its crazy and weird, but I love the whole process from checking dilation to cutting open a belly. 
• I have also learned that for whatever reason Heavenly Father has given these mothers and fathers His children and that although I might not agree with His decision, I have to learn to accept His will, for He knows all things.  While it is frustrating to see children born into a family that isn't entirely grateful or they are unprepared with the necessities, it isn't my place to judge them.  

 All in all it has been an amazing, life (literally) filled experience. I'm so grateful for the next 92 hours I get to spend learning and loving the little ones as they enter this world.

Almost finalized....

The forever process of planning out the architecture, the materials to build with, and special things I've wanted is now ALMOST over.  With our closing deadline on the lot looming in the near future we were finally able to sit down with the builder last night and go through a step by step breakdown of costs.  One interesting fact was our builder took our house and all of the "upgrades" we have and went over to Bellevue which is an Ivory Home community directly across the street from our lot.  He asked them to give him an estimate of how much this house would cost if they were to build it.... The crazy thing was their estimate was 130-160 THOUSAND dollars more.
They said, "due to high demand, they are increasing their prices 30k in the next 30 days"... what a RIP!
Needless to say, I was in awe at the price difference, and happy that we are on track to build an affordable home.

And for those of you wanting to see a taste, this is what we are building....

front view. 3rd car garage visible.

side view with side load garage visible.

layout with secluded guest suite on the main level.

upstairs. 4 bedrooms and laundry.

basement layout. will be finished later.

kitchen layout. floor to ceiling cabinets.. upper cabinets with glass front doors. :)

 We are doing the entire main floor in hardwood except the front living room and guest bedroom. The rest of the house is this super lush multicolored carpet.  Cabinetry in the kitchen is white foil, not painted so it doesn't get scratched!! The island is going to be stained dark to help balance everything out.

We haven't decided on tile, stone, or colors yet, but things are coming together slowly but surely.  We should have everything finalized by next Wednesday, and start building the middle of February!!