Project Mode

It took about a month of being in project mode for the house to be ready for us to move into it. We had to replace a piece of a wall that had water damage, take out a closet that wasn't needed, sanitize the floor, take tons of wallpaper off, repaint everything, put in new flooring, etc.

Good thing Superman was there to save the day and help out! Hooray!

We were blessed with LOTS of help from family. 

I found some wild hoodlums hiding out in the brush. I'll have to keep on eye out and be watching for were they hide next. 

Opps... Natalie touched the still wet paint. She felt really bad about it. It's all good sweetie, it's hard to avoid wet walls everywhere. In the pictures Bart, Nick, and Gayleen are helping out painting. 

Here Uncle Bart is breaking out the yucky pink till in the bathroom. Thank you Bart for getting that out! Ron is helping sand down some mudding where we had to patch a bunch of holes. I am so excited to pick and add color to our home. I've had these ideas in my head for years and it is soooo neat to be able to make this house our home. 

I really love and appreciate that Preston is so willing to let me go to town on choosing the colors. He's the best hubby ever! We have a "sunshine" yellow kitchen, a huge "northwest" green accent wall, and we plan on doing a blue bathroom upstairs.

Preston's Dad, Russell has helped a ton on the house. Here he is painting the ceiling. Check out that super green accent wall. I LOVE IT! It's my favorite color and it reminds me of Washington every time I see it. Ahhh, happy thoughts. 

Here the kiddos are hanging out in the safest spot for them in the house... the deck. They are maxin and relaxin while eating pizza. 

Almost there! The beautiful hardwood flooring is in and we have carpet. It's so awesome being married to such a handy man. He can figure anything out. Know it's time to move in!

Good Times

Preston's little sister Marissa graduated from school! Way to go Miss! 

Here is a fun photo of Marissa with her Mom and Dad. We are proud of her and her big accomplishment. 

Summer isn't summer without getting wet. Here are the kiddos at a splash pad in Kaysville. Jordan loved shooting the hug water gun, Natalie enjoyed filling up her bucket full of water, and Natalie and I hung out and played on the towel. 

Natalie and Jordan decided one day that they were going to be fixers. So they grabbed the toy tools and got to work on our van. Thanks fixers... the van really needed a tune up. 

Here is the little babe doing some tummy time. Her older siblings sure do love her. They always want to be around their little sis. 

I so appreciate how pictures capture the moments that we think we will never forget but do with our imperfect minds. Here is a good pic of little hands that wont always be so little. 

More summer wet times. We went to the Layton city pool with Cam, Nick, Aubrielle, Marrisa, and Nick's sister and her girls. The kids had a blast and though exhausted at the end, they still didn't want to go home. 

This was a Pinterest idea I stole to use for part of Preston's fathers day gift. Draw your picture on the ground with chalk, through in a cute super hero, and voila... awesomeness. 

 

With everything else going on we were also packing. Feeling a little overwhelmed.

I had to pack what was most important first. Got these sillies packed, now I can check that off the list.

This kid LOVES to dress up. Here is Batman with whatever we could find to make wings. He was completely satisfied with how it turned out; except for the not being able to fly part.

Wanted to take a picture of Katelyn in this cute pink BYU onesie and looked who jumped in the photo. I love his smile in this picture. Thanks for sharing the spotlight Katelyn. 

We bought a HOUSE!!!

It's amazing! After house hunting for months and months we finally did it... We found and bought a HOUSE!!! Here is a picture of Preston and me with the signed paper work. 

Here is our house! We will be living in a town neither of us new much about until now. We will be living in the little farming town called Hooper. The nice things is we are out in the country but it only takes ten minutes to get to all of the stores we want. We feel like it's the best of both worlds that way. 

It is funny to look back on now; when we originally walked through this house and looked at the yard. We talked with our realtor and said halfheartedly, "Yes, I guess we'll put an offer down on the house." He wasn't sure we meant it and asked us if we really wanted to. We said yes... we felt like we might as well. We low balled them on the offer and were shocked when they accepted it!

Here Preston and I are the house the day it officially became ours! It is so exciting to have a place to call and make out own! This will be where many of our family memories are made, were are kids learn and grow.  We will make this house a home were all who come here will feel welcomed and where the spirit can dwell. We are thrilled that it all worked out. We feel so very blessed!

On our first day at the house Preston couldn't wait to tear out the carpet... because it was soooo nasty. The previous owners let their dogs do anything and everything to the carpet. This is one of the reasons we didn't jump up and down to put an offer on the house. The house has a lot of potential, but it will take a lot of work to get there. 

Here are the brave souls that picked up the gross carpet and took it outside. Just having the carpet out made the house smell instantly better... not great, but better. 

Already in project mode. I painted some walls to try and figure what color we wanted. Preston and other family started the tedious process of getting the wallpaper off the walls. Unfortunately this house is full of wallpaper. Once again... potential. We will make this house look awesome. It will just take lots of time and money. Thank goodness I married such a handy man. 

 

Jordan and Natalie are spraying Mommy with water instead of spraying the wallpaper. They are excited about the house and have already had a lot of fun "helping" with the projects.

 

 It is adorable to see them explore and play in the yard. That is one thing Preston and I have always wanted for our kids, space to play and explore outside like we both had growing up. See if you can find the house hidden in the trees. We love trees, but we plan on doing a lot of landscaping, trimming, cutting down, and making our yard less wild. Once again, we feel so blessed and we are excited for this new adventure and chapter in our lives.

Celebrations

Another Webb BYU Graduate! Gayleen graduated this April and we were so happy to be there for her to celebrate her great accomplishment. Way to go Gayleen!

Here's a picture of some of the folks that were there to celebrate with her. 

My brother Bart is a wonderful husband to his wife. It is so sweet to see their love and excitement together in this big celebration. 

Next we have two sweet baby blessings. Katelyn and Aubrielle were blessed on the same Sunday in the Layton Park Ward. It was a special time and it has been so special for us to live just down the street from Nick and Cam for a year. We have loved every minute of it! I love how in this picture it looks like Katelyn and Aubrielle are holding hands. So sweet!

We so appreciated the family support of all those that came to the baby blessing. It was a wonderful time. Nick and Cam were ever the party people and had a big luncheon at their home after the baby blessing. It was a blast!

Our little Katelyn Suzanne Murray. We love you little one! It was so sweet to hear Preston give Katelyn a blessing. I am so grateful for a righteous father and priesthood holder in our home that can give blessings to our children.

Grandma Suzie being a good sport with all of these kiddos climbing around her. 

While the food and mingling was going on upstairs, Preston took these pictures of the boys downstairs taking advantage of the Uncle Nick's weight set. I can make out Jordan and Avery in the back ground, but I have no idea who the crazy kid in the black vest is. I'm just glad Jordan was still alive after the party was over. 

Hanging out as a family. What could be better?

Oh, question answered... what could be better? Playing a game together. Blokus always a good choice. 

 

Here are some fun pictures of Jared, Shaylee, Marissa, and Tazia with the babies. 

Family pictures with Leslie, Annette, and Russell.

8th Anniversary!

The Salt Lake Temple. It never gets old to see this magnificent piece of history, beauty, and holy house of the Lord. This is where Preston and I were married now 8 years ago to be sealed for time and all eternity. It is a special place for us.

The kiddos loved all of the water features on Temple Square. 

Preston and the kids making funny faces. I love all of the gorgeous flowers on Temple Square. This was one of the big reasons I wanted to get married in the spring... all of the colors!

The fam. Katelyn is present, but asleep in the stroller. It's amazing all of the changes and blessings that have come into our lives in 8 years. The greatest blessings are these cuties that teach us so much and that make us into better people.

"I love to see the temple."

I am so grateful to have this wonderful man as my husband. He is simply the BEST! He is my everything and I look forward to what the next 8 years have in store for us. Whatever life brings... we'll take it on together. That's what best friends do. 

The flowers are always amazing to see. I so enjoy looking at all of the different flowers individually and then seeing how they look all together. Each perspective has it's own beauty. 

 

Preston and Hillary, a moment caught under the flowering trees. It was fun to see the couples getting married today and to think back to when we were in there shoes. 

We had a wonderful afternoon on Temple Square. On to the next year of our happily ever after...