Seven Quick Takes!

1.  YARD WORK!  This weekend begins the big work on our yard.  We've been working on it since we've been here really--we got a new fence, took out LOTS of shrubs and trees, dug up bricks and pavers, etc.  All to get us to this point: Joey and a Bobcat.  Joey gets the Bobcat this weekend (watch out new fence, here he comes!) and hopefully will be moving a LOT of dirt around to get our yard ready for some sod and plants.  I'm super excited to get one step closer to an awesome backyard!

2.  WHISKEYTOWN RELAY!  Joey did the Whiskeytown Relay last weekend and I didn't even realize that Julie was doing it too!  I was able to find her on the road and honk at her during her leg of the race after dropping Joey off at his.  :)  I love living in Redding and randomly getting to see my friends!

3.  CALIFORNIA LICENSES!  Joey and I both got approved for our CA licenses (pharmacist and doctor not drivers) in the same week!  We are both THRILLED.  The process of getting my license has involved tears on many different occasions, way too much money, and over a year of time.  (shout out to Courtney who was by my side every step of the awful way!)  I am so so so thankful to have the whole process behind me!  Celebrations are in ORDER!

4.  OWEN!  Owen will be 19 months on Monday (or still a year and a half if you're not counting).  Everyday seriously just seems to be better than the last.  More and more of his crazy personality comes out every day and we find ourselves laughing even more than before.  He also learns at least one new word a day and that has been so fun to watch.  Don't get me wrong, we get our FAIR share of tantrums and meltdowns, but the good stuff makes those times more bearable.  :)

5.  FALL!  Fall is officially here!  I look forward to the day where I don't have to blast the AC in order to fully enjoy my pumpkin spice latte--maybe someday the temperature won't be over 100 degrees!  Pumpkin patches, Halloween costumes, leaves changing...ahh, can't wait!

6.  MINNESOTA WEDDING!  Joey leaves for his cousin's wedding the first weekend in October.  We were supposed to both have all next week off (and we did) to go to MN together and check out Duluth where Joey did his undergrad and hang out with friends and family in MN.  I lost my week off with the surgery, and can't fly anyway, so Joey is going to still go to the wedding for the weekend.  I'll be sad to miss it but I'm glad Joey will still get a chance to hang out with his family!

7.   COUSINS!  I am super excited because my cousins Emily, Jess and Sara and their baby Luke are coming for the weekend to hang out!  Can't wait to see them all and get a chance to catch up!

I told him to smile, and this is what I get.  :)  Love this crazy little man!

We have a bike trailer that Owen currently loves to ride in.  He yells "weeeee" whenever we go down a hill.  It is fun and I hope he continues to like our bike rides!

Notice the tiny ledge that Owen can jump off?  If he finds a ledge of any height, he will go up and down it until you finally drag him away.

Leaning back as far as he can til he almost falls.  Owen does NOT mind falling as evidence by the cut on his cheek, and if you could see his knees...  Last week we had to take him outside of church because he was being crazy.  When we went back in his knees were dripping with blood from so many falls on the concrete.  Doesn't bother him a BIT. 

With Julie after the Whiskeytown Relay

Owen loved the lake, but wasn't so sure about getting in the water at first.

Shirt's off--getting a little braver!

Daddy encouraging Owen to get all the way in...

Dunked!  He loved it and asked "again?" when he came up. 

$50 DIY Bathroom Update

I love projects, and I also love Pinterest.  But I didn't love my guest bathroom.  SO my first bit of inspiration came when I saw on Pinterest that I could paint Formica.  We had a yellow/brown fake marble counter top (see pictures below).  Hard to do much with paint colors and that--so I had originally painted the bathroom a gold color to try to go with the countertop.  I didn't really like it.  So then when I realized I could paint the Formica, my possibilities were endless! I saw a picture of a bathroom with white wainscoting and a bright aqua paint--and I was inspired.  We already had leftover wainscoting from Owen's room, so really the only cost for the update would be the paint for the countertop ($20) and paint for the bathroom (which ended up being the cost of two quarts of paint cause I NEVER get a paint color right the first time).  :)  I did all the measurements and jig-sawing myself.  It wasn't easy going around the toilet plumbing, light fixtures and medicine cabinet--but it looks pretty good! I'm still on the search for the perfect finishing touches--something above the toilet, fun towels, etc.  But overall I'm really happy with the update!

The original bathroom.  White paint, brown cabinet.  Gold and Brown Marble Counter.

A couple months ago I painted the walls gold to match the counter, and the cabinet was painted white. 

The "before" countertop

The "After" counter using Rustoleum Countertop paint.  It actually washes up nicely and looks pretty decent.  I have tons of paint leftover...hmm...

Paint done before the wainscoting.  You can see the slight change in paint color.  Just a little darker of a blue made a big difference to me.  Enough of a difference to repaint the whole thing!  :) 

My "mostly final" project.  A few more accessories and a trim piece on top of the wainscoting, and it will be good to go!  It is so much happier to look down the hallway at this bathroom!

Monkeys Jumping on the Bed!

Three weeks ago I had to have eye surgery down in Sacramento.  So to make a not-fun situation fun--we went down to Davis the night before the surgery and stayed at Luke and Erin's.  We also got to hang out with Eric, Mandy and their girls since they now live in Davis!  We had a pizza party and hung out.  Owen got to play with Anna and Em and they had so much fun together terrorizing Luke and Erin's place.  :)

Uncle Luke--why are they are running away from you??

Okay that's more like it--Owen is still not sure.  :)

Wanna race?  (check out Luke and Erin's awesome garden in the background)

Anna's gonna win!  Owen was left in the dust. 

Monkeys!

We love Uncle Luke and Aunt Erin's house!