9/11

there are not too many days that i remember like i do september 11, 2001.

i remember sitting in mr. martin's class 1st period. as we listened to the radio, we heard that a plane had crashed into one of the wtc towers, we all carried on talking lightly of the situation and the radio was turned off. as i walked to my second period (mr. bowman's math class) i had no idea what i was about to see on the tv. what i saw will forever be in my mind... the other tower hit, one starting to crumble. i was terrified. my class sat in silence. i couldn't wait to get out just to call my mom. i went to wendy's with my friend kelly, as she sat and ordered i cried and begged my mom to check me out of school. i totally thought utah was their next target. my mom wouldn't let me come home, she thought it was best if i stayed at school. i learned nothing at murray high that day.

i can't imagine how the people of nyc felt that day. i can't imagine getting a call from a loved one saying their plane had been hijacked or that they were stuck in a tower. i can't imagine fearing that i would never see my loved one again. and i can't imagine being in a plane or in a tower knowing that i was going to die that day.

this week as i have watched specials on every channel. i felt so much sadness for the families that lost so much that day. i cried as i read the stories about kids who lost their dads, and i hurt inside so much for those who never met them.

i am so very grateful that i live in this country. i love my freedom and i love each person that sacrifices to fight for my freedom. i am grateful that there are brave men and women that fight for our country, fight crime, go into burning homes or crashing towers to save their fellow man. they are my hero's.

it brings me peace to know that one day the evil of this world will no longer exist. that those who served that day and everyday will have a special place in heaven.

the inside-- downstairs.

i am on a blogging role!! here is the rest of our house!

i have no before pictures. just to give you an idea of what it used to look like, one wall was yellow and one wall was navy blue. and yes i am serious. the carpet stayed the same. downstairs also has a bathroom, a storage room aka jordan's closet and the laundry room.

we hang out down here more
then anywhere else. we love it!
thanks again to my parents for helping paint, and to
ammie for our quilt on the couch!

the inside-- upstairs

here are some before and afters of the upstairs. i wish now that i would have taken more pictures of before but these will have to do!

the kitchen. BEFORE.

don't mind the faces in any of these pictures.
here i am getting started with the cupboard doors.
like i said i wish i would have taken a picture of the complete
kitchen BEFORE. :(

thanks so much to angie, my mom,
amy and jordan for helping me tackle
this huge project. painting cabinets
is awful.

grandma lund in all the madness!

the original color of the cabinets.

the original counter tops.

jordan getting ready to
rip out the tile.

the mess. the gray blue pieces you see is what
we got when we moved in. the yellow is
what was underneath.

a giant thank you to ben for helping with
the demolition and to spencer helping
lay the tile and providing the
tile cutter!

the kitchen AFTER:

i love it! good thing amy and wendy talked me
into doing green cabinets.
i am so glad that we did the corner cabinet
a different color.. still need to
paint the doors for that.
we changed the wall color twice.
love my little table for two. it fits perfect!
love my chalk board! (the last pic, if you can't tell)
jordan did the back splash all by himself!

the front room. BEFORE.

the ONLY picture before.
notice the ugly green carpet and
walls. blah!

the front room. AFTER.

thanks to tasha's grandma and everyone
in her family for hating these pictures.
i love them, and so glad i could have them.
i had been looking for old, painted pictures!

i love how this room turned out too!
thanks jordan for giving in and
buying me leather couches, even though you hate
sitting on leather.
we had an accent wall in this room
it was purple and turned out ugly, making
the couches look purple. so i repainted it
and am glad i did!
thanks to my mom for talking me into putting
the couches in these places, i would have never
thought of putting them like this.
the front door is just to the right in the
first pic.
putting the shelf up, also in the first pic,
was hell! good thing ammie has an old house too
and knows how to handle plaster walls.

our room. BEFORE.

the walls were some sort of peach. and if you look close
you can see the orange wood floors. i know
the pictures of me and jordan are really cute. thanks.
angie also helped us paint this room.
thanks again ang.

our room. AFTER.

gray is one of my favorite room colors.
and mustard yellow i love love.
ammie helped me make my head board.
i stole her idea of rapping it around from
window to window.
love how it turned out.
i think i bought ten different sheets sets
before deciding on the very first
one i purchased.
grandma lund made us our quilt that is
at the bottom corner in the first
picture. love that too!

this is the hallway looking into our room.
to the right is a bathroom. we have
done nothing to either bath.
i would love to rip it all out, but
that costs money that we don't have.
and behind is another bed room.
which is, for now, the dog room.
we painted it a light pink and i intend
to use it as my "get ready" room. i just need to
get rid of all the dog kennels and put
in the cutest vanity. maybe one day.

our wood floors. i am so happy these are throughout the
upstairs. and in good condition. when we moved in
they were different shades of orange. gross.
thanks to my mom and dad for paying to have them
refinished. love them!



well, this is the upstairs. we love it! thanks again to all that helped us transform this house to our home. we couldn't have done it without you!

basement pictures coming soon!

our house.

this is our house. well the outside anyway. i still would like to post the inside before and after pics. one day.
i love my house. i am so grateful we found it. our lot is .44 acres and i don't think i will ever be able to have a small yard. we love it. our dogs love it! when i think about selling it one day, it makes me so sad.

our FIRST home.

one of our front flower beds.
i never knew how much i would
love gardening. thanks to kay and bob,
for buying our flowers and to ammie, and her mad
gardening skills for helping me plant
ALL my flowers. my great gpa
was the king of flowers and i always
loved his gardens, ammie took after him and
has a BEAUTIFUL yard of her own.
i want to be like them!

i also panted pots, hanging pots, some bushes,
my back yard and a small vegi garden.
i can't wait until we plant a big garden
next year. i love love love seeing what grows,
and picking it and eating it! there is something about
garden fresh vegis!

i am not good at blogging

wow... i find it really hard to blog. i have so many things i would like to blog about, but i never feel like i have any time. here's a re-cap.


back in june....

jordi and ty (mariah's bf) were in town. here we are at the pool and playing volleyball

meet ty.

jordi and markus

tash came too!

jordan went to jump in the pool
to splash someone and slipped.
he caught his toe on the edge.

it was so fun playing volleyball
the couple times we did this summer.

my cute boy. he even played
after he killed his toe.


girls trip 2011.
this year we had our second annual girls trip with my sister in laws and cousin in laws (is that what you call your husbands cousins?)

getting pedicures and manicures

this is bentley, she was a week
old when we went down. i love her.

we got to watch her one night because morgan
had to go to the hospital and bobby had to work.
we didn't mind.
we had to set a timer so no on would hog her.


all of the girls. don't mind how we all look.
we stayed up until like 5am every night.
bad idea! we were all so tired!


it took me 3 days to actually finish this. maybe one day ill be better. until next time.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JORDAN!!

jordan is 27 today! so here is 27 reasons why i love him.

1. he is good to me.

2. he is very handsome.

3. he motivates me.

4. he loves his family.

5. he is a great doggy daddy!

6. he is so cute with kids.

7. even though he hates it, he plays games with me.

8. he is a good cook.

9. he's committed.

10. he works hard.

11. he makes me laugh

12. he ran 28 miles last night. what? yeah that is more then a marathon. him and a friend have the same bday. so since jo is turning 27 and logan is turning 29 they decided to split and run 28. CRAZIES! Logan ran 18 and had to call it quits but jordan ran ALL 28. even though i think he is a nut, i am very proud of him. if he sets his mind to it he'll do it!

13. he knows how to make me feel better

14. he helps with the laundry

15. he accepts my crazy OCD cleaning ways.

16. he admits when im right. it might take awhile but he does!

17. he went back to school.

18. he is a great photographer.

19. he is creative.

20. he has a nice bod!

21. he saves stray dogs running down the side of the rode.

22. he loves animals.

23. he lets me decorate. (however i want!)

24. he tells me that i am beautiful.

25. he's honest.

26. he is NOT a quitter.

27. he loves me.

happy birthday babe. i love you so much. hope today is the best!

fathers day.

happy fathers day!

my dad is one of a kind! i can always count on my dad. he has taught me so many lessons. now looking back, he was always right, i wish i would have listened. my dad is a very hard worker, strong, athletic and has a very kind heart. my dad is very selfless and giving. he loves me and i know it. he makes me laugh, makes me happy and makes me better. my dad is always there to cheer me on, he never missed my games or anything else i participated in. he always said "strong mind, strong heart, strong body" and it always got me through. i love him and don't know where i would be without him.


bob, my father in law, is also wonderful! he is loving, kind, and helpful. he gives good advice. bob loves his family and shows it. he makes me feel welcome. bob taught jordan so many things and i couldn't be more grateful. i love his magic tricks. bob is so optimistic. this last year he has shown me how strong he is, how to make the best of a bad situation and not once did i see him even seem a little defeated. i am thankful for him. i love him.