Spring Break

Happy belated Easter to all. Steve and I decided to go to La Canada over Easter weekend to see some of my family. We had a nice trip. Mom, dad and Chelsea were there along with Becky and baby Oliver. My parents were in Hawaii for the first part of the week, so Becky flew in to stay with Chelsea. My spring break started on a Friday so Steve and I left Thursday night. We didn't do anything too eventful. We went to the beach on Saturday and it was beautiful. A little cold, but what do you expect in March. It was great playing with Oliver. He is such a fun kid. He is in the process of learning how to walk. I've attached some pictures and a video. Well- It's back to work for me tomorrow. I have loved having the week off. Can't beat teaching.

New Kelley Baby!

Last night my brother's wife gave birth to a 6 lb. 6 oz. baby girl! They have named her Kathrine, Kate for short. Both baby, mommy and daddy are doing great. Brian said her only downfall will be to claim Rexburg, Idaho as her birthplace. The Kelley family is just growing and growing. Congrats you two!!

U2 3D

This weekend Steve and I, along with two other couples drove up to Sacramento to experience U2 in 3D at the Imax. It is one of their concerts from 2006. If anyone knows me they know that I am a HUGE U2 fan. So how was it you ask??? Amazing to say the least! The picture quality was superb and the 3D was incredible . It felt like you were there. Even Steve who is not the biggest U2 fan said it was the best 3D/Imax movie he has ever seen. The whole time I was thinking my sisters would sure love this. Can at least one of you guys move up here please! Wikipedia had lots of cool details about the making if you are interested. I encourage all to go and see what 30 years in the making looks like! After we went to Cheesecake factory and had some delicious dinner and chocolate cookie dough cheese cake for desert. Bono and cheese cake, if that does not constitute for a perfect evening I don't know what does?

Home Improvements

I have had a few requests to post some pictures of our various home improvement projects. We will have owned our home 3 years next month, so in honor of the “anniversary” check out what we’ve done!

Exterior: When we moved in and the house was yellow and forest green, horrible color combination. So we painted the trim white and the shutters and front door black. I think it turned out great. We also poured more concrete and made the drive way wider. We also poured concrete on the side yard, so we could have a place to park the boat. It just barely fits with a few inches to spare! My most recent project was pulling all the plants out of the front yard and re-planting. I just finished putting in a mow strip, planting bushes and flowers, laying bark. I think it looks pretty good.

Back Yard

Steve was the super star of the back yard. When we moved in it was a jungle! There was a greenhouse and a large square deck. There was no grass, just overgrown plants. We put the greenhouse and deck both on Craigslist and people came, paid us money, and pulled them out. Steve and a friend poured a patio. Steve and his dad installed sprinklers one weekend. Then a few weeks later (on the hottest day of the year, 115 degrees) Steve laid sod. Luckily nothing died. I want to add more greenery along the fence, but all in good time I guess. Steve did a fabulous job!!!

Kitchen

The kitchen was another huge project. I changed the paint color from baby blue to green. Steve tiled the floor and I painted the cabinets. We also got new stainless and black appliances. We’d like to install new counters, but it is not in the budget as of now. It’s like a whole new kitchen. The first picture we took at the open house, before it was ours. Doesn't it look different?

And More

Other then that we have replaced the carpet, baseboards, tiled the bathrooms and kitchen, changed out all hardware and lighting fixtures, added shelving in the garage, painted every wall in the house, window treatments, and more that I can’t think of right now. Oh the joys of home ownership. We’ve enjoyed a lot of it though. My next project is putting wainscoting in the family room and Steve wants to turn our fireplace to gas. I’ll keep you all updated! And there you have it.