Tile Backsplash

Today they are starting our tile backsplash. Of course, because this is our kitchen, nothing can go right. They were actually supposed to start yesterday, but because of miscommunication, today is the day. Once they got here, they discovered that the backsplash pattern that was designed and drawn won't work. Most of the outlets are in the wrong place and the design won't be centered above both the sink and the stove. So, after much discussion, we have changed the layout. I hope that it looks good when it is done. I am so ready for this all to be over.

Carpet Re-tack

They finally came yesterday and re-tacked our carpet next to all the new tile. Now that the extra carpet is cut away, we can finally see what the transition from kitchen to family room looks like. It wasn't exactly how I wanted it, but it's all right. Here's a picture. The table is acutally pushed way further toward the family room than it will be because they are working today.

Toothless

Sam has had a loose tooth for quite awhile. He was always a little hesitant to have me wiggle it (I think he was afraid I would pull it out). While we were in Utah, he was wrestling with Dan (surprise) and he bumped it. Even though it was really loose, it still took awhile to come out. He was afraid the dentist would pull it at our appointments on Tuesday, but he didn't. On Wednesday, it finally came out while he was eating and the swallowed it! He was so worried that the tooth fairy wouldn't leave him any money, that he drew her a picture so she would know what happened to the tooth. What a cute, toothless grin he has!

Stowell Family Photos

Photos taken at the Stowell family BBQ on the 5th of July.

The grandkids lined up by age. Interesting, isn't it?

Ekberg family photos

Photos taken at the Ekberg family BBQ on the 4th of July.

Countertops!

We got countertops yesterday! Yeah! It's starting to look like a real kitchen again. This weekend, Brandon will install the appliances, they will finish the electrical stuff, put the doors on the pantry, and some other miscellaneous stuff. After that, we will have the tile backsplash installed next week, and the cabinet issues taken care of and then it's all done! I can't wait.

Pictures from Nationals

I finally feel like I have recovered from a couple of very busy weeks. Here are some pictures of Olivia and her team at Nationals in New York. We stayed at this really cool house--four stories, seven bedrooms, four bathrooms, and lots of room to spread out in. It was great!

Kitchen Progress

I was only home for a day before Olivia and I flew to Salt Lake to be with the rest of the family, but here is a photo of the current state of the kitchen. I'll post some more pictures next week when we get home.

Nationals

Olivia and her team competed in Age Group Nationals in Binghamton NY last week. After a nightmare trip getting there including five different flights, five different states, three rental cars and almost 24 hours, we finally made it! The girls swam their hearts out and finished the semi-finals in 10th place out of 43! We then went on to the finals, where the girls swam figures (Olivia finished 107 out of 118, but she was swimming against 13-15 year olds. She was the youngest competitor there in that age group, and she totally held her own). After finals, we were still in 10th place, but we were thrilled with that! Their coaches were actually hoping for a top 25 finish, so top 10 was way above their expectations. Congratulations Arizona Desert Dolphins!

Cabinets

They delivered the cabinets even before I was done painting. Steve (the install guy) spent all day Wednesday working and he will be back today. Of course, nothing can go smoothly, so he ran into all sorts of problems--especially with my "mud room" cabinets in the hallway. Most of the pieces for it are wrong (doors instead of drawers, center dividers where there aren't supposed to be, wrong size, etc.). I'm a little frustrated! I know they will make it right, but it will take several weeks to get it right and I so wanted to be done with this.

Painting

Brandon and I painted on Monday and Tuesday. Ugh! What a thankless job. I had forgotten just how hot it gets at the top of the walls in the summertime. We painted most of the kitchen red (same color as the fireplace), the hallway tan (same as the living room and entry), and the new arch brown to match the rest of the family room. We also repainted all the baseboards (way to go Brandon!) and the entire inside of the new pantry. Everything looks so nice! However, my whole body hurts and I hope to never see another gallon of paint again!
Here are some pictures...

Kitchen Update

While Brandon and I were in Idaho over the weekend for his Grandma's funeral, the construction guys got busy! It is so exciting to see the kitchen start to look like what's in my head. Chad (our project manager) emailed us some pictures of the progress.

With the column gone.

With part of the drywall up.

Does't it look nice? I am so excited to have that stupid wall gone! Now I just need to figure out what to do with the carpet and tile. Any suggestions? This is where one of the kitchen windows used to be. Now we will have cabinets over the sink. They also installed a bunch of recessed lights in the kitchen. We could do surgery in the kitchen now, it's so bright!

They doubled the size of our pantry. I won't know what to do with so much space. It's all ready for me to paint starting tomorrow. Yippee!

The Writing on the Wall

Part of the kitchen remodel includes removing the half wall and column between the kitchen and family room. I decided to let the kids autograph it. They had a blast! They even let all their friends who came over this week add their own graffiti. But they also promised never, never, never to write on my walls again.

Let the demo begin!

Yeah! Today they finally started demolishing our kitchen! Workers showed up bright and early (6:30) to tear out the cabinets and countertops, then the tile guys came to start tearing out the tile. What a mess!

Before. Aren't those lovely pink countertops? So '80's!

One of the cabinet guys working. Hablo ingles?

With the cabinets gone, now the floor looks very pink. Ugh!

Now the floor is gone. Can't wait for the new stuff...

They tried to cover everything to keep the dust off, but it has managed to work it's way into everything. Who wants to come help me clean when this is done? Anyone? I'll treat at Sonic! :)

Thank Goodness for Air Conditioning

So yesterday, we were enjoying a little family time (okay Brandon and I were watching golf) and the power went out. We didn't think much of it, we occasionally get a short outage. When 20 minutes or so went by, we decided we better find some flashlights and candles in case it got dark before we had power back. It turns out that a transformer blew and left only about 7 houses without power on our street. Unfortunately, it was 110 yesterday and this happened just before 6:00. It was pretty darn hot! After a couple of hours, we managed to get the kids to bed (although Sam and Julia just couldn't understand why we couldn't plug in a fan because they were hot). We played a game with the older kids until it was too dark and too hot, then we sent them to bed. Brandon and I went outside, where it was still 100 degrees, but at least it wasn't as stuffy as inside. The power FINALLY came back on just after midnight. I've never been so thankful for air conditioning and fans! It makes me very grateful that I live now and not a hundred years ago. Brandon likes to point out that I would have died crossing the plains and I happily agree with him. There's no shame in enjoying some modern comforts. Here's to a nice, cool house!

Desert Dolphin for a Day

Julia officially tried synchro for the first time today (she has been pretending in our pool for 2 years). Olivia's team had a "Desert Dolphin for a Day" clinic, and Julia was finally old enough (almost) to participate. She was so excited to be a "synchro girl". She stuck close to Alex (one of Olivia's teammates) and had a great time. This is their little routine they learned today. How cute is that?

SIX

Sam is Six! Finally! Every day since Olivia's birthday, he has thought it was his. Actually we let him open his presents on Saturday (a day early) because he was getting a pool toy and we don't swim on Sunday, so we thought that would be a little mean. Silly Sam--he wanted a "mountain" cake (aka bundt cake). Unfortunately, the mountain had an earthquake (it stuck to the pan) and it was a little deformed. At least it still tasted good! Sam helped mix it all up--in fact, he got me up early in the morning by bringing in the recipe and then proceeding to gather all of the ingredients (mostly by running to my bed and showing me something: is this flour, mom?) I think he was a bit excited.

Presents are always fun.
Legos, legos, legos. What more could a boy ask for? He got a bunch, both from Grandma Anne and from Mom and Dad. He also got some water gun boats for the pool (see video below) and some money from Grandma Ekberg. He had a grand time at Toys R Us spending his money. Happy Birthday Sam!