Home Improvement...Thanks Mom and Dad :)

This weekend my parents, who are pretty much the coolest parents on Earth, came all the way to Utah to see our new house and help us with a few home improvement projects. My dad is extremely talented when he comes to handyman stuff (in addition to about a thousand other things). He can seriously fix anything or create anything he sees or can think up, and the nice part is, he is a perfectionist, so nothing is done sloppy and it always looks aesthetically great. You can see why we needed to recruit his expertise as we took on a few of our first Home Improvement projects. I don't have pictures of everything...because I am lame and tired during the school week, but I will get them up eventually.

The first project Ty and my dad did was put cabinets in my laundry room. They look GREAT and now I can upload the plastic bin which has been housing all my detergents and stuff. They also got parts to fix the toilet upstairs which has been hissing and got all the supplies to put in a work bench for Tyler. My mom meanwhile kept me company. We got the food and prepared a meal for a bunch of her friends to come over on Saturday night. We also worked on picking our fabric and making curtains for over my kitchen window. The curtain turned out great and it really adds to the room.

We had a great time with my mom and dad. Unfortunately they had to leave and Tyler was left to finish his work bench alone. He did a really good job putting it all together and now has a plan to turn the garage into his "Man Cave". He has already moved his giant speakers out there and wants to I guess just make it a comfortable place to do projects. (Which is fine by me, because I love my house and want it to be beautiful and costume designed to all my tastes and ideas!)

Here is a picture of the "Man Cave" at its start.

PS-That is not a real child on Tyler's chest. It is Carlos (from the Hangover I guess) and is the closest he will get to having his own baby. When we were in home depot so many people had to take double-takes. It was pretty funny.

Summer Sundays :)

Although Tyler and I have very little immediate family in Utah, we still manage to enjoy a Sunday dinner with some of our favorite relatives and friends on a regular basis. Here is a little sneak peak on what a summer Sunday is like at our house in addition to an update on everyone's lives. (It is quite enjoyable!)This is Tyler trying to coax Leah to come sit on his bike with him. She doesn't like motorcycles...smart little girl :)
I think I will frame this picture. Isn't it adorable! In this picture is Tyler's sister, Brooke, who just started her sophmore year at BYU studying International Relations. It also includes Kerstin, Tyler's second aunt once removed...or something weird like that, who is now in her third year at BYU. Brooke and Kerstin are both beautiful, smart and athletic girls...They are also available, so Ty often recruits brother/cousin-in-law prospects often :). Kerstin is holding her dog Xerxes, who LOVES all the love and attention she can give him. And the two little ones are Kate and Leah, who will be two in a few weeks. They absolutely love Xerxes. When he came to the window they left their food and just stood at the sliding door laughing and pointing.
While Brooke and Kerstin are outside entertaining the girls and the dog, "the adults" get to talk. (It's weird considering us "the adults" but I guess that is where we are at now!). Jenni and Dave Scoville are pretty much our best friends. Jenni is a crazy runner (seriously, she runs like 20 miles and still has energy to take care of Kate and Leah) and she is a great mother and friend. Dave works in real estate and has been doing really well in the foreclosure market (He helped get us our house---whoohooo!) He is also Tyler's BFF/golf/any sporting event buddy and a great father as well. Addie is also at the table, and she is my roomie once again! Addie was my roommate my freshman year, in Italy and my Senior year of college. She seriously is a friend you only find once in a life time! She is very thoughtful and just started her first year teaching second grade. (I think she is crazy hanging out with those little people all day long!) And then of course we have my dear, sweet husband. Since I am in the process of doing updates (I am a history person, I can't help it) Tyler this summer has gotten very into UFC fighting and works out everyday at a gym called Throw Down. (He is so 25 without children!) He also has been enjoying dirt biking and home improvement projects.
Here are Kate and Leah again. They wanted to take off their shoes to jump on the trampoline (Which actually belongs to our neighbors...hope they don't mind that we use it!)
Here is everyone jumping. Kate jumped a little too vigorously this Sunday and managed to unload all previous meals into her dads lamp. After a bath and some disinfectant she was back on the tramp laughing as much as before. I thought it was a funny experience, but it may have added another year to the amount of time Ty wants to wait for kids. Lame! A little throw-up never killed anyone.