March brought us into SELLING THE HOUSE mode and Jennifer was our amazing agent!
We sold the home within a week of putting it on the market and then of course it took another couple months to close but it is all done!
We spent lots of time at the new house with all sorts of fun projects including bailing out the window wells before gutters were put in...yes, those are Scott's mud covered shoes!
We met up with three great RMs in Salt Lake for dinner one night.
Kellie Carrigan, Michelle Summerhays Watts and Kaitlyn Tolley.
Scott and I drove through ZIONS NATIONAL PARK to get there and it was a lovely drive.
We stopped and took the shuttle through the park to THE NARROWS. We walked as far as we could until the river hike part started.
Saw lots of wildlife like these deer right by the trail.
We started at Bryce.
The snow on the rocks was so beautiful.
We went to a talk by a volunteer at one of the lookout points and it was really very interesting. We learned how the formations happened and some of the history of the park.
The sun came out and it was really bright. But it was pretty cold all day.
We were glad we brought our hiking poles as they helped a lot with the ice and snow.
Next we left the actual park and stopped at MOSSY CAVE to hike in here.
We did not know what we would find at the end, but the waterfall was a beautiful ice formation! It was a light blue color, so interesting.
And some really pretty views hiking in and out.
Next we stopped at RED CANYON nearby and really enjoyed our hike there. We were one of very few people in this little park so it was very private and really interesting rock formations.
Last we went to a State Park called KODACHROME.
This park was also very very private but spectacular and great hiking! We were all over the place on the trail here and there were lots of these huge outcroppings that were like little fingers of stone way up high!
This shot gives some perspective of how high up we were on a narrow outcrop...a nightmare for someone with little children I think!
We were so glad we went here though! It was just so beautiful and we had a full day of great hiking in 3 great locations!
It was just what we needed to get out into nature with Breanna and Elliot!
We had our great YSA help another night taking things over to the house once we were getting serious about moving things over.
The IKEA building continued once we got moved over...this was the den bookcases.
Early April we hired movers to haul all the big stuff.
This crew looked a little scary but were the NICEST GUYS ever! They all came up and introduced themselves to me right at the start and worked hard and fast!
We enjoyed being around them when we were not trying just to be out of their way, which we realized we needed to do more than anything else to help!
Once the big things were in, we got serious about little things like hanging valances.
Standing on the kitchen counter to see how high to put the valance.
Visitors to the new house like another RM Carlos Cecena from Mexico.
Breanna came down and helped paint her new room just like her old room. Honestly, it does not look that neon yellow in person, it is a lovely butter yellow!
Having our kids in the house makes it feel like a HOME! Baking chocolate chip cookies also made it feel like HOME!
Scott and I got to watch Nathan and Daniel one day and we had a really fun scavenger hunt time at the Bean Museum...the kids found several things from the photos I gave them to try to find that were different, and that made it even more fun!
Then we grabbed a pizza and headed to a park to play.
OK...this is really random, but one night after a WalMart run, Scott chose these crazy flavor M&Ms for us to try out.
Jalapeno...really?
Coconut, well, yes, that was more likely, but still interesting.
OK...I put my degree to work again this spring.
I called "Whirleybird" to see if they truly do honor their "lifetime guarantee"
We had 3 on the roof where 2 were failing and the third was not far behind.
Well, a little over a week later and I had 3 FREE whirleybirds delivered to replace all of them.
They were as nice as could be on the phone when I called and the girl helped me find the stamped code inside the head I had brought into the house so they could verify where it was made...and this was no easy task. She was so patient and kind. If I EVER need roof turbines again, I will for sure buy this brand.
House progress was exponential this month.
This photo shows the FINALLY INSTALLED front porch rail.
we copycatted Jennifer's rail that we liked so much and had one made!
We had several groups of ANGELS who helped us out this month.
This crew were from our old Ward. We asked them to come empty out our old garage and help us take everything in it to the new house.
I am pretty sure they were just relieved we were not asking them to move the contents of the house!
In 90 minutes they had brought all the boxes of furniture, all our contents of garage and the shelve units to the new garage! It was just amazing and was a HUGE help to us!
Early April we completely passed inspection and moved over my preschool to the new house.
This is my Preschool room for seat work...pretty much just like my old one but smaller.
This is the new play area just by the downstairs kitchen. It is WONDERFUL!
You can see the kids are CRAZY for my new sequin wall hanging that I made.
I told them to hug him and they did not hesitate at all!
I am in love with this new space and the ability to leave it all behind and go upstairs.
It is really like having 2 new houses!
OK...I have made new friends already in the neighborhood.
This is Taylee and Riya, who live nearby. They showed up one day to tell me they were my new neighbors. I took them on a little tour and told them they could come help clean the dollhouses if they wanted to.
They have come back over twice already and I just put them to work and give them a treat when they are done playing/setting things up.
Scott and I got away to a sealing up in Bountiful in April. Cute RM Katrina Woo and her new husband.
See this car...it is one of MANY trips we have made to IKEA. Much of our home has IKEA elements including our kitchen chairs which Scott had to grab in time for us to host Braden's graduation lunch.
I have been busy busy with my school kids. This was our bus trip up to BYU this spring. Really a beautiful day and one that was not so cold.
Speaking of BYU, Braden graduated in April as well!
He got his BS in Communications Public Relations and has accepted a Fellowship type position at BYU helping with Sports teams.
Braden and McKenna, a year after her graduation from University of Utah.
We got to put the new kitchen area to the test and it passed with flying colors!
It made our day to have FAMILY in our home. We just had the best time visiting and celebrating together.
We had room for everyone and it felt like HOME!
The GRADUATION BOY and his cake!
We could not end there. We also hosted a MISSION DINNER the Sunday after graduation!
This is our group in the MISSION ROOM, which does not have a bed yet, but does have the Mission Quilt.
We also had a wonderful time with this group and loved having them in our home.
Then we finished the month by taking McKenna and Braden up to TULIP FESTIVAL up at Thanksgiving Point.
It was really pretty and nice to get outside together!
