CLICK HERE FOR FREE BLOGGER TEMPLATES, LINK BUTTONS AND MORE! »

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Trip to the Red Barn

A Fall Favorite of everyone I'm sure... A hayride to the pumpkin patch at the Red Barn! I've never actually gone and done this before, but it was such a fun time! My nieces and nephew loved it!Kanyon loves tractors! I think it was probably one of his first words ever. So to be in a place where there were tractors EVERYWHERE, he was in heaven!

They have everything set up so cute out there that I couldn't help but have a little photoshoot with the kids!

Once we made it to the pumpkin patch the girls were so excited to do the maze and pick their pumpkins, but once again, Kanyon was enthralled with the tractor, so we did another photo shoot!
We took advantage of all the fun places for pictures! The girls were getting pretty annoyed with me by this time :)
Finally we let them go pick out their pumpkins! They had to check out every pumpkin in the patch, but they ended up with some good ones!
The must have shot from the Red Barn pumpkin patch
One last pic just to make you smile! Afterward we had a picnic in the park, and we were entertained by this little monster! Kanyon has become quite the character!

Friday, September 24, 2010

Lake Powell - Sept 2010

We were so lucky to get in a second Lake Powell trip this year. This trip was a little different. It was our first trip with friends, not family. It was a great little end of summer getaway! I have to say that Lake Powell in September may be my favorite time! The water was amazing, and although chilly in the night/mornings, the weather was beautiful!

Calie and Dave put together a great group of people! It was so fun to meet a few new couples, and I was so excited how well everyone got along with one another!

Billy was in heaven because he actually got to go fishing! We don't usually get much fishing in on our July trip, so he was so glad he final got to on this one! They did really well, and we even ate fish for dinner one night!

I was finally able to get up on the wakeboard after seriously 3 years of trying! I don't know what my deal was before because I was able to get up on only my 2nd or 3rd try this time! I credit Jared's advice of telling me to lean back...I seriously don't think I have ever leaned back before! Haha! I surprisingly got up on the wake surf as well! I have to say I was pretty proud of myself :)
(Don't mind my face, I was concentrating really hard!)

It was so much fun hanging out with this crazy fun group of girls! There was fist pumping, foot pumping, boat dancing, and fun times that sure took a few of us out of our shells!

We hiked up to the Defiance House Indian ruins for the first time which was a fun experience (and a great photo op!)
The guys entertained us all with a pretty competitive game of 500!
I saw my first ever actual roadrunner! I've only ever seen the cartoon version!
It was sure an amazing time! We couldn't have asked for better weather, better water or better company! A huge thank you out to Calie and Dave for such a wonderful trip! So to Lake Powell I say, thanks for the great times in 2010....until next year my sweet escape!

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

I love these kids :)

I just realized I uploaded all of these pics and never did end up posting them. I love these kids! I am so lucky to be their aunt! We had a fun day going over to Great Grandpa Daley's house to surprise him for his birthday, and then spend a little time at the splash park in Santaquin. Sadly it was too windy to actually play in the water!







I will hopefully have a big end of summer/vacation post coming up soon!

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

What could be greater? JOHN MAYER 2010

I had the awesome opportunity to see John Mayer for the 4th time last night! However, this time was different...I could see the whites of his eyes from the fourth row....the closest I've ever seen him! My bosses' daughter, Stephanie, was awesome and got me pre-sale tickets so we were able to get incredible seats!
Anyone who knows me, knows that I could listen to John Mayer all day everyday (and sometimes I do :) While I actually think he is somewhat obnoxious in all of his media hoopla, his music is inspiring to me. In a time when I feel that lyrics and music are just going down hill.. (with lyrics like, "I wanna be a billionaire so fricken bad..") It is so refreshing to listen to his meaningful lyrics, and incredible guitar skills.

He still pulls crazy faces, which is pretty hilarious to watch, but I personally think it shows his passion for what he is doing.

I was able to get some great video of a few of my favorite songs!

It was great girls night out with Calie, Katie, Cassi, Britney & Monica!

Friday, August 20, 2010

Living Room Remodel

So few months ago after months of helping my mom remodel her entire house, I walked into my house and looked around and just HATED my furniture and current set up! When I got my furniture we lived in our apartment and I had a modern/contemporary kick going on. I loved it at the time; however, seeing all of the more antique/distressed styles out lately, I decided that I really wanted a change! On a limited budget I began surfing KSL.com for deals!

So, here is a before picture of what my living room looked like:

Like I said, I actually really loved it all when I first got it, but after nearly 6 years, I decided it was time for something new!

First purchase was a coffee table for $25. I had decided I wanted to buy a cheap one and refinish it to match my already red wall. So this is what I started with:

While I actually quite liked the green, the finish was just wearing off, and it just didn't match. So after painting the bottom once and staining the top, oh 4 times :) I finally got the finish I was looking for!
Once the coffee table was done, it just opened a can of worms! Walking in everyday and seeing the coffee table made me really not like my more contemporary entertainment center. So once again, I started checking out KSL.com for good deals!

I found a hutch/buffet combo that I loved and wanted to refinish, but it just wasn't the right price. So I bookmarked it hoping that maybe it might not sell and the price would go down. My patience paid off because about 2 weeks later the price dropped 50% and I called right away!

While waiting for Billy to get home so we could go up to Orem to check it out, I put all of my current furniture (sans couches) on ksl.com to see what I could get for them. Then we went up and picked up my new hutch/buffet, and while eating dinner I got a few calls. One person called, emailed, and text. She said she really wanted it and not sell until I talked to her. So I called her back on our way home. She sent her husband (who surprisingly turned out to be Billy's old neighbor from when he was about 10 years old and lived in Bluffdale...small world!) from Clinton to check out the furniture. He walked in looked at it and handed over asking price. He loaded it up and left me without furniture!

So I had to hurry and finish my new TV stand so we could get the TV off the floor! I was in such a hurry I didn't even take a before picture so I'm kinda bummed about that. I love the way it turned out! I painted it (well Billy painted it after a teensie weensie temper tantrum thrown by me because of paint frustrations :) Haha! Then I replaced the hardware. Here is the final product:

I only used the bottom portion of the piece, but the hutch portion found a perfect place in the garage to hold all of Billy's stuff! I guess you can kind of see the before finish in this pic!
After getting all of these things done I just shopped my house for decorations to fill in, and finally found the perfect place for my favorite teal clock!
Last week, the day before I left for 4 days in Nevada I checked KSL.com one more time for an end table to finish off my room and low and behold someone was selling the exact end table that went with my coffee table for $15! So I rushed to Lindon that afternoon and picked it up. Because of traveling and work, I haven't gotten a chance to finish it yet, but it is next on my list!

So, I can proudly say that after finding the awesome deals I did on KSL, and selling my old stuff, I replaced all of the furniture that I was sick of with "new to me" pieces for less than $50. That amount includes the paint, and supplies to refinish it all! After all of this I have honestly decided that I am going to have a hard time ever buying a piece of furniture for full price!
Toby wanted to be sure to make it on the blog today :)


I would highly recommend checking out KSL's classifieds if you are looking for an inexpensive way to make some changes to your house! I am currently searching for the perfect chair to put into my bedroom. Remember though, patience pays off!