Stephanie Adams tagged me

Ok, I wasn't very good about posting after the first time I was tagged (i'd do it now, but I don't know where the card for my camera is) so I thought I'd come through with this one. You have to go into your photos, pick the 4th folder and then the 4th picture. This is Craig and I in my first trip to Disneyland, March 2007. Look at the short hair! Won't be doing that again anytime soon. Not that I hated it, its just not me. I've always had long hair (except in kindergarten when I had lice). Regardless, it was a great trip. Craig had just broken his foot and was in a wheelchair. Best way to do Disneyland because they have no wheelchair accessibility so they send you to the front of every line! I tag Linda, Stephanie Saunders and Kathryn.

A Fair to Remember!

Ah, the fair. I love it and I look forward to it every year. I really miss the MN State fair- its HUGE and the food selection is well, riDICulous. Its so big that there is a little train/trolley you can take from one side of the grounds to the other. This year we dragged the men along and made them suffer through quilt and 4-H displays. We didn't leave empty handed either. We invested in an awesome, couldn't pass up- deal on a steam mop for the new floors, and a sham-WOW! And I could never forget my caramel apple!

The House!

The kitchen is finished! I tried to post pics last night but Craig made me wait until he edited the ones HE took with his fancy schmancy camera. I'll have to throw in a few that I took too, just to cover all the angles. We did everything ourselves except the tile counter tops and some of the electrical work. We also had a friend help us with the floors. I decided to paint the laundry room at the last minute.

...Yes, duh, thank you Craig. Much thanks to Steve and Linda who put in our pocket door for us- which makes a HUGE difference, and wasn't an easy job to do. If anyone out there needs a pocket door installed, I highly recommend them:) Of course, I could start a whole new blog dedicated to all the things they do for us. -But then all the other Saunders kids would want to move here, and then we'd have to share.

Labor Day Weekend

Saunders, you can ignore this one, as it's all old news. Everyone else- listen up:)
This was my 3rd annual trip to Mammouth Lakes for Labor Day weekend with the Saunders Family. We all love it up there! I'm the only person in the family over the age of 7 that likes to fish, so lucky for me Craig will come along to keep me company. This year was a bust on the fishing front- not even a nibble. I'll have to seriously consider spending the $$ next year for a license to sit there for hours with a line in the water- totally in vain. That's a pricey disappointment/waste of time. We did get to drive up to a beautiful lake though!





Speaking of a pricey disappointment/waste of time, we played golf too! Not one of my better days on the course. Its amazing how much a crappy golf game can really make you hate life. Its always fun riding around in the cart with Craig, though:)

Catch up

Yes, its been forever. I am a blog-failure. It was Linda who reminded me the other day-eyebrows raised- "you better update your blog." Seriously, the tone was like "or you'll be grounded." So I figured It was time to catch up, and remind everyone that we are still alive. Again. There are about 6 or so new posts that I have to add, so keep scrolling.

I Stand Corrected

All of you out there who read Stephanie's post and subsequent comments (including mine) on the Choc cake with peanut butter frosting- I need to readdress the issue. (if you haven't read it- check out "sweet... and a little salty" on Two Little Rascals- blog) Last night I made said cake and corresponding PB frosting and I would like to say that although it was very good, and ridiculously rich, I... well... I guess I have to agree with Kent. (don't hate me, Stephanie.) It was so rich and peanut buttery- you know how it sticks to the roof of your mouth- even a tiny piece is a little... overwhelming. Lemonjello, on the other hand, you can eat like 3 pieces of it and still want more. I had 2 pieces of it just this past friday night!
In conclusion, I liked the cake and frosting- definitely lingered on the beater licking- but if I were stranded on a desert island and could only have choc and peanut butter or lemonjello?... it would have to be the latter.

Thank You.

Remodeling the remodel

Well, this has definitely been a learning experience for me- this whole renovations project. I have learned how to comfortably and assertively navigate my way around Home Depot and Lowes, I have learned how to prime and paint: baseboards, cabinets, doors, trim, etc, I will soon learn how to paint appliances (post to come), and I have mastered the shop vac like its nobody's business. But by far, the most important and valuable lesson is TOOOOO: .... make sure you reeeeeeally like the paint color before you spend 50 bucks on paint and then let your husband paint an entire room and then decide that you really didn't like it afterall but was kinda too afraid to say anything. (Kelly- way worse than killing the stupid grass.)

this was the...um, after- before


And this is the after-after.

If you can't tell, the ceiling is a dark purple too. I really liked the green, just not for my kitchen. After all. ...I guess. And the counter tops are finally done! Its hard to tell from this shot, but we love them! (just don't ask about the grout lines. kind of a sore spot)

So if you're sitting there saying "ooh, I liked the green better!" WELL I DONT WANNA HEAR IT!


Look, the new floors! They're still dirty, though.



TA DAAAAA! Our giant 10 inch deep- sink and equally as huge- 17 inch faucet. We're calling it our 3rd bath and shower. Testing it our this weekend;)

Happy Birthday to me!

My birthday was weeks ago, but Craig took me to this sweet little B&B up in Shaver Lake, so I wanted to share the pics with y'all. I LOOOOVE little getaways and this was one of my best birthday's ever! Thanks, Love! (that's you, Craig)

I loved the little welcome board. We arrived after everyone had already checked in and gone to their rooms, so it was nice to see the welcome waiting for us when we got there. ...A diverse group staying at the Elliot House that night;)



Dinner on the lake. Soooo niiiiice.



You may recognize this pose from other shots- such as- "scenes from a bathroom."

The breakfast of champions.

Why we solicit dinner invitations

Laurel and Farty

DIY

These are the "before" photos of our lovely, dated, 1990's kitchen and family rooms. Craig and I have recently taken on the challenge of remodeling. Lucky for me, I married someone who has experience doing all of this cra-... I mean this kind of thing, so we don't have to pay through the nose for most of the work. Take a good look...
























Now say bye bye!











There's my manly husband working his magic! Stay tuned for the "after" pics!

Canine casualties

In California there seems to be this huge parvovirus outbreak in young puppies so our vet cautioned us not to take Gunnar on walks until he had his final shots. Because it can take up to 3 months to complete the series, we had to wait that long before we took Gunnar anywhere but the backyard. After his first few walks we decided to take him on a little bike ride/run around the neighborhood. We didn't know anything was wrong until we noticed him limping around the house when we got home. Lo and behold his little paws hadn't toughened up at all (from only a few walks and months of playing on grass) so on the first bike ride he tore a huge chunk of skin off and was walking on a ...raw paw. Not knowing what the heck to do, we fashioned this lovely bootie out of a cut up sock and duct tape. It worked for like a hour (while he slept, basically)then it got filthy and he chewed it off. It was cute for a while, anyway.



A few weeks later we were driving to the store with both dogs in the back seat of the truck. As usual they were both hanging out of the window, being dogs. As I was watching them in the side mirror I saw Gunnar began to squirm and before I knew it he had jumped/fallen (we'll never know) out of the moving truck and on to the street. I screamed and scared Craig half to death. What does that do to a puppy? Is it far enough to break a leg? Would it knock him out? Apparently not because all he got was a scrape on the chin. Didn't even seem to phase him. But oh the excitement! (show us your teeth, Roxy)

Infertility- BOOOO!

Another fun and exciting(where's the sarcasm font when you need it) thing Craig and I have had to deal with over the last 18 mos is the repeated doc appointments, drug treatments, specimen deliveries, multiple testing and procedures that, together, make up the wonderful world of infertility! Really, its not so wonderful, but I am blessed with an excellent insurance plan and good docs so I feel very positive about what we're doing.





Most recently I underwent a test thats called an hysterosalphinogram- HSG. In a nutshell (caution: rated PG-13) they give you an X-ray while injecting dye into the uterus and through the fallopian tubes to check for any blockages or abnormalities. After doing some online research and hearing some women describing it as "the most excruciating experience of their lives," I was a little nervous. Taking my doc's advice I loaded up on 800 mg of ibuprofen and 5 mg (ok 7), of Valium right before the procedure. I guess the procedure can cause "moderate to severe abdominal pain." Well either the drugs worked wonders or there are some seriously wussy women out there because it didn't feel like anything worse than a pap smear. Needless to say I was relieved but also delighted to find out that everything structurally was normal:)

And Gunnar makes Two!

So we have Roxy and everything was fine and good, until we started noticing that she was spending a lot of time laying over in the dirt by the fence apparently trying to communicate with with neighbor's dog on the other side.

At first we laughed and pointed, but we started to wonder if maybe Roxy needed a playmate. (I guess Craig and I weren't fun enough for her.) We also heard from some of our friends who also have dogs that its sometimes good to have two because they entertain each other. So again Craig started suggesting that I "go online and see what's out there." A month later we came home with Gunnar- also a wee-little boxer, but unlike Roxy, a total firecracker. I promised myself we would never be those LAME dog owners who treat their pets like children. However, when you raise them, discipline and punish them, play with them, let them fall asleep in your lap, and make sure to feed them enough to sustain their lives, it probably feels a lot like- NO I wasn't going to say it!

Regardless, they're both a hoot and we'll certainly be sharing the hilarious, shocking, and more often than not- stupid things they do to keep us always entertained.

And then came Roxy

So with the stork's delivery being late and all, we decided that we needed something in the meantime that would add a new dimension to the "family." And although Craig led me to believe that we'd never get a dog, he started to suggest that we "just look online to see what there is." That turned into " well, I just figured you would bring one home one day." (I think he felt like I needed something to nurture.) And lo and behold we came home with little Roxy- the most timid and scared boxer puppy ever. Man, did we learn a thing or two with her! Turns out you can't just throw a diaper on her and take her everywhere you go! But at the same time you can't just leave her in the backyard either- not at first, anyway. Luckily almost a year has passed since then and everyone has adjusted beautifully. I guess we'll keep her.

...And here we are!

Well I've succumbed. I have joined the blogging world. I'll admit, I used to make fun of y'all, but when I started viewing all of my in-laws creative and entertaining posts and pics (and Linda told me that her sister, Katherine, said that we had to set one up) (...and then I started to feel left out because all the other Saunders had one and we didn't) I knew I had to be a part of it!
My first thoughts were that we wouldn't have anything exciting to say or offer because, well, its just the two of us and the posts about everyone's kids are so fun to look at and read. Then I thought about Craig, and let's be honest, he's really one big 32 year-old kid anyway- always getting hurt, playing in the dirt, even having the neighbor kids come over asking him to play. (yes, really.) Oh the possibilities for a blog! So the kids will come, yes, but in the meantime please enjoy catching up on what fun and exciting things Craig and I have been up to in our first 2 years. Welcome, and enjoy the ride! ok, its not that exciting.