Play Date with Friends

My good friend Mandy's kids came over on Friday, so she would have some time to pack/clean, since she is moving soon.

Her kids are SOOOOO good & they all had a blast together---it was such a fun day! Bring them over again soon Mandy!

Armoire Makeover

We decided we needed something to hold the TV in the playroom, so we turned to our best friend...Craigslist...for an affordable option.

I found this black armoire that I thought looked nice...

But when I went to pick it up I noticed the "southwest" design carved into the top...that I didn't see in the original picture & I didn't care for it. I asked him to drop the already low price, 20 bucks & he agreed, so I decided I could work with it. I also decided while I LIKED it black...I wanted WHITE furniture in the YELLOW playroom, so I sanded it down...

and Parker helped me PRIME it...

I took over from there & painted it white & was sad because I liked it better when it was black.

SO....I rubbed down the edges with sandpaper & the black popped through & decided I liked that much better.

Then I was TRYING to figure out WHAT TO DO about the Southwest carving???
I had no saw...no wood...pretty much nothing to work with & both my boys were napping & I wanted it done NOW & couldn't go to the store to find other options.

I searched through a couple of boxes & found 2 pieces of already cut wood that were black & orange-that I bought at Michael's forever ago for $1 to make a Halloween sign on. I decided since I hadn't found time for that sign yet, I probably never would & they might just hide the design.
I painted them white, nailed them on & while not perfect by any means, I like it better & was a $1...5 minute fix...which is my kind of project!


Matt & I moved it in the Playroom lastnight & I LOVE it!
It is perfect size for the wall it is on & the bottom is large enough to hide/store toys:)

My Dad...

Today was my dad's birthday & we all got together for a BBQ!
It was so fun to celebrate with him!
Here he is, with all NINE grandkids...just after blowing out the candles on his cake...

My parent's got irrigation towards the end of the party & while we herded the children inside to head home...these 2 somehow escaped & both face planted in the irrigation, while running through the water...
Parker was in heaven & I let him play for awhile, before giving him a bath before leaving.

Ryler discovered the car & was in HEAVEN...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!!
We LOVE You!!!

Brick to Beadboard

Wanna see a BEFORE & AFTER that will knock your socks off!?!
I can brag about this one...because well, I didn't do it.
My brother ROB did.
& I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!

This is a view standing in our Living Room looking at the front door.
The house came with this UGLY brick planter when you walked in, with a brown, wood panelled bookshelf on one side. The wallpaper in the background, the brown door & the pebble tec entry way don't help either...

Our original plan was to knock it down & get rid of it...
BUT...that would have created an entirely new project of patching/texturing the wall...
&
then I was worried about the fact that there is a STEP down into the living room...so when you walk in our front door, I didn't want people tripping off the edge...
SO...I came up with the idea to hide it's ugliness with BEAD BOARD...
& I asked my brother for his expertise on turning our ugly brick planter into a beautiful entry table.

AND because he is incredible & so nice & so talented...he got to work&
it turned out better than I even imagined!

I LOVE it!!!

I love it! I love it! I love it!

Did I mention that I LOVE IT!?!
THANK YOU ROB!!!!!!!!!


It is currently home to some cute fall decor...

Wanna see more of my brother's talent? Check out his Custom Framing Store on Main St. in Mesa...you WON'T be disappointed!

Halloween Carnival

We got moved in, just in time to pull out our Halloween decor & in that tub, we discovered some costumes that my aunt had given to me a couple of years ago. Parker discovered a Mushu costume from Mulan...and immediately thought it was a scary monster or a dinosaur & wanted to put it on:) He wore it ALL DAY & even though he had been saying that he wanted to be "Buzz Lightyear" for WEEKS...he only wanted to be Mushu when the night of our family carnival rolled around.
So Mushu he was!

Cavewoman Heidi EATING my cute little monkey!

My sis-in-law, Julie, dropped off some costumes that day for me, since I had NOTHING for Ryler yet & there was a monkey costume that fit him just right! He was soo cute! Thank you Julie!

Every family brings a booth to run & this year we rummaged through Parker & Ryler's toys & came up with BOWLING:)

Thankfully the weather was GORGEOUS & cooled off, so that my boys didn't die of heat in these costumes! I think we might have to come up with new costumes for the Phelps' carnival this coming week...because it is supposed to get near 100 degrees next week! ughh.This is Ryler's 1st Halloween & I think he was confused by all of the costumes & didn't quite understand why I stuck him in something so confining. He was SO MELLOW the entire night, I don't think he realized that he could move in the costume...so he just relaxed in whoever's arms that would hold him:)

Moving Madness

We are in our house!!!!!!

And we are EXHAUSTED!!!!!!

We are SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO grateful to our FAMILY MEMBERS, who are absolutely INCREDIBLE & helped us out SOOOOOOOOOO much!!!!! We couldn't have done it without them! We are so thankful for the countless hours that our family spent in helping us work on getting the house ready to live in & in all the packing we had to do & for helping us MOVE all our stuff!!! We can't even tell you how much we appreciate all your help & support!

We LOVE You & THANK YOU!!!



Now...if I could only find what box my camera cord is in, I could post some pics...
hmmm....

New Carpet & New Friends

We have carpet! Hooray!
Today was the first day in quite awhile that boys have been able to be at the house & actually PLAY! We have been trying to keep them away because of all the painting & because there was no flooring in some of the rooms. Today, I took a laundry basket of toys over there with us & the boys were in heaven! I was able to get some cleaning done during Ryler's nap & get a few last minute things done so that we can start moving our stuff over TOMORROW!

I cannot believe how nice everyone is, in the neighborhood we are moving into! Leaving a ward/home that you love so much is hard enough, so even the smallest things have made this move easier & we are actually looking forward to this new chapter in our lives.

----------------

Last night we had our first House Hiccup...well, if you don't count the nasty tile that we discovered under the blue carpet that we had to remove.

We had a small flood in our kitchen. We have NO IDEA what happened, but somehow the water purifier under our kitchen sink cracked open & water starting pouring all over our floor! We had ONE TOWEL in the whole house, so we were frantically trying to figure out what to do??? Matt's parents & sister were over there & his mom {Thankfully} had the idea to catch the water in a garbage bag...which helped!
After my initial thoughts of our entire house flooding, brand new carpet & all...I was able to come to my senses & use a couple of sponges we had to mop up the mess. My wonderful mother gathered every towel in her house & quickly drove over & my amazing father-in-law ran home to grab a fan to bring back. In the end, we got everything under control & fans turned on to dry out the cupboards under the sink.

I left for a dinner break last night & came back to find our new Elders Quorum Pres. with another man(plumber)in our ward already FIXING the problem! I am SO GRATEFUL for both of those men that came over to help last night! While trying to stop the leak(the water to the house was off & it was still leaking???), we met a handful of neighbors that were out on walks or coming to get their mail(the street's mailbox is in our front yard) & everyone was SO KIND!


Then today...I was the recipient of an act of kindness that meant SO MUCH!
We were hanging out at the house WAITING for the carpet guys to come & finish the job they started yesterday & I was trying to entertain the boys as well as I could in an empty house. They were ready for lunch, but I couldn't leave since they might be coming soon. I decided to take the boys on a walk, so that we could all get a break. We were just leaving our driveway when a van pulled up & asked if we were moving in. We exchanged names, chatted for a bit(she was just leaving her brother's house a few houses away), found out we both like V-ball, exchanged phone numbers & she was on her way...telling me to call if I ever needed anything!

About 2 minutes into our walk, my cell phone rings & it was her! She apologized for calling so soon, but wondered if we wanted to come over for lunch & get a break(SO THOUGHTFUL)! I told her how nice that was, but that we couldn't go far, since we were STUCK waiting for the carpet guys. She then offered to make lunch & bring it to our house! I told her not to worry about it, that my husband would be on his lunch break soon & was bringing us lunch. She said ok, but told me she was going to just bring some snacks for the boys during our walk...to hold them over until lunch got there. I insisted she did not need to, but she hung up & said "See you in a few!" Within another 2 minutes, she pulled up alongside us & handed us 2 bags of goldfish, 2 gogurts, 2 fruit leathers, an apple & a water bottle!!!
The boys eyes lit up & started chowing down almost immediately.
I think they were hungrier than I thought.
I was SO INCREDIBLY APPRECIATIVE of her thoughtfulness. She did not have to do that! She didn't even have to stop and say hi in the 1st place...but she did & it made a difference.
It reminded me of THIS TALK that we just listened to last week.

Have you done any good in the world today???

Takin' the time to...

have some FUN...

...in the midst of all our packing!!!

Weekend of Work

I look forward to the 1st weekend in October every year, because it is

General Conference Weekend
and
My Birthday Weekend:)
This year did not disappoint.
I had the best birthday EVER
& General Conference was WONDERFUL!

This particular weekend was BUSY, BUSY...because yes...we are STILL PAINTING!
We have a deadline to be done with all of the painting this week, so that we can get our carpet installed! Woohoo! After carpet, we are moving in!
Saturday we had a WORK DAY & and listened to General Conference while we worked. We had SO MUCH HELP...I cannot even tell you what an incredible family I have!
My brother Rob watched the kids, while my mom, my sister Heidi, my brother Matt, my brother-in-law David, my HOT husband & I...WORKED away! We got a lot done & I can't even begin to tell them how appreciative we are of their help! THANK YOU THANK YOU!

Here is a bit of what we accomplished this weekend...

This is a view from standing in the wood panelled Family Room, looking into the blue playroom...

The lighting isn't great, but here you are in our new tan painted panelled walls, with white trim, looking into our Pale Yellow playroom. We have decided to leave the doors off, creating an open entrance between the 2 rooms...

The previous owners obviously liked blue...A LOT & as we have painted over each room, I was feeling a little bit guilty for painting over all of their hard work. I decided to honor them with ONE BLUE ROOM. This is a peak into what will soon be Ryler's nursery...I didn't say I was keeping it their color of blue...
but it will be blue...

...Light Blue!

Hope you had a WONDERFUL Conference weekend as well!

Today we are relaxing...so we can have the energy to start up painting again tomorrow!

Ryler -10 Months

Ryler is 10 months old & busy as ever!
We love this kid SO much. He is such a mellow, happy kid...but that doesn't mean he can't create messes faster than I clean them up!

Eating Habits:

He is completely DONE with jar food & will rarely let you spoon feed him. He LOVES to pick up food himself & feed himself...which creates quite a mess, but it keeps him busy:) He usually can eat whatever we are eating, I just break it into smaller pieces. He LOVES frozen fruit & veggies, pasta, applesauce, cheese, bread...who am I kidding, he LOVES EVERYTHING I put in front of him! He LOVES to drink out of a cup & LOVES ice!
He also loves to eat non-food items.
He doesn't seem to care whether he is supposed to eat something or not, EVERYTHING goes straight into his mouth. This week alone, I caught him eating packing peanuts, dirt, a wheel of a toy car & a cardboard box??? I don't know what to do about this?? Any advice?

Play Habits:
This boy is BUSY!!! He is now walking around everywhere & is in to everything! He is entertained with tupperware, electronics, cupboard contents...mostly things that aren't actual toys...keep him the busiest. Him & Parker have a love/hate relationship this month. They can play SO well together & they can also drive eachother to tears. Ryler is still incredible easy going & even if Parker pushes him or takes his toys, he rarely fusses. We are excited to get into our house, just in time for cooler weather...because I think they will be very entertained in the backyard!

Sleep Habits:
He popped a couple more teeth this month...now up to 8, which disrupted his sleep, yet again this month. I think every time he is sleeping really well, another tooth starts to emerge & while some kids don't seem bothered by their teeth coming through...Ryler is VERY bothered. He takes 2 good naps a day & still sleeps with his pacifier & a blanky.

Just one of his many messes this month...

We LOVE you Ryler!!!

Just another...

MESS to clean up...

More PAINTING!

This awesome blue room with gold trimmed mirrors will soon be Matt's real estate office/my craft room...

It is already looking a million times better with one coat of tan!

And you know that wood panelling that is all over the walls in our Family Room?

We decided to paint it & I LOVE it!
This is obviously nowhere near done...but hopefully the final reveal will be soon!

Barro's Birthday

I decided I wanted to go to Barro's for lunch on my birthday...because when you try to meet up for lunch with 9 kids involved, your options are pretty much McD's, Del Taco or Barro's, because they have a playplace for the kids.
It was a little cramped in the play area, but the kids had a great time & we enjoyed some DELICIOUS pizza! Have you ever tried their Kona Pizza? It is heaven.

We met during Matt's lunch break, so he was even able to join us! It was such a fun Birthday Lunch!!!

The rest of my day was pretty relaxing, I hung out with my 2 cute boys & then after work, I took the boys to my in-laws, who were SO NICE to watch them...so that Matt & I could go out to dinner...oh wait, I meant to say so that we could paint!

In Matt's defense, he DID ask me what I wanted to do for my birthday and I WANTED to work on the house! We are wanting to move in next weekend and still have a LOT OF PAINTING to do!

My dad gave me the worst present this year...he ended up back in the hospital yesterday with blood clots in his upper arm:( I feel so bad for my dad & hope and pray he is able to get better soon! My mom was at the hospital with him & left him to bring us DINNER! She is so thoughtful! She picked us up Panda( I love Chinese & never get to eat it, because Matt is not a fan) and concretes from Nielsen's---yummy! A yummy dinner & a night at work with my hubby...it was the perfect end, to the perfect day!!!

Happy Day To Me!

You Know it is Going to be a Good Day When...

You wake up to THIS HOT GUY...

Singing Happy Birthday (in an Opera-like voice)
&
you slowly open your eyes to see this...

and then you walk into your Family Room & find it SPOTLESS...
when you KNOW you left it a disaster when you went to sleep the night before.

&

when you are the mom to the 2 cutest boys in the world(who happen to sleep in for you this morning!!!)...

...That is when you KNOW it is going to be a GOOD DAY!!!




*THANK YOU TO MATT & HIS AMAZING FAMILY WHO ALL CHIPPED IN THE CRICUT!! I CAN'T WAIT TO USE IT!
I have the best in-laws ever!

Brown Be Gone!

I think I have mentioned this before, but the house we bought had wood trim throughout the ENTIRE HOUSE. All the baseboards, all the trim around the windows, all the doors...EVERYTHING was brown!

Well, guess what!?
NOW...all that trim & all those doors are WHITE...

And I LOVEEEEEEE it!!!!!

***A HUGE THANK YOU to my brother Matt & his paint sprayer...I think this job would have taken Matt & I the rest of our lives without your help!

Call my brother today for a free quote on any interior/exterior paint needs!!!! 480-215-5989