Memories

I have seen and commented on this tag on a lot of different blogs and I think it is so fun...and since Jeff and I are actually not camping or hiking this weekend (we have a luncheon for his company instead) I thought it would be a good time to post.

I'm sure most of you know the rules, but here they are just in case you haven't see this.

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory of you and I, or you and Jeff, or with both of us. It doesn't matter if you knew us a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you.

Can't wait to re-live good times with such great friends and family!

What we've been up to...

We have been very busy as usual. This last weekend we went camping and four wheeling. We went up to the Uintas about an hour from our house and we had a great time! I still wouldn't consider myself a "camper" but I have come to really appreciate the beautiful places we have been. I think the reason I like camping now is because I get to spend so much time with Jeff. We love just being able to spend time together without any other distractions.

There were a lot of really cool trails and we only got rained on one day. This was a great place because it had the things I like and the things Jeff likes. I love the trees, lakes, and streams (probably because I grew up in Michigan and Illinois). Jeff loves the mountains (probably because he grew up in Utah). We played hard while we were there and now that we are all cleaned up we are trying to figure out when and where we will go next.

Other than camping, I have been spending a lot of time in my new classroom. I have been lucky enough to make friends with one of the teachers and she is so sweet and came out to help me clean out the room. It is nothing like my Pony room, but it will do. I am getting so nervous for a new year and feel like a first year teacher all over again. We have also been busy with little house projects and enjoying time together when Jeff isn't working. He is on regular schedule now and I couldn't be more thrilled!

Breathtaking

This weekend Jeff and I went hiking in the Wind Rivers. These are only a few shots from the 10+ miles we hiked and These pictures do not even come close to doing justice to what we saw. So many times we were left speechless. Dana: this might go on my list of most beautiful places. Can't wait to go back and see more.

Ta Da!

So after hours and hours, and late night after late night, my basement is finally finished! It took
us for what seemed like a decade, but overall, I am excited with how everything turned out. The color looks a lot better in person than it does in these pictures. The chocolate brown couches aren't as dark as they look in this picture, so they look better with the wall. Even though we ran into so many problems with that blasted wallpaper, it's amazing what a difference it makes now that it is gone. I knew I hated it, but I didn't realize just how suffocating it was. Now I feel like I have a huge basement and a lot of empty walls. Before I couldn't even imagine hanging anything up on the walls because everything would look terrible with flowered wallpaper. Now I feel like I need to get thinking about what to put on them--it looks so plain! I am so grateful to my mom for coming and helping me and running to ACE and Home Depot every 5 minutes! It was nice to have someone there to help make all the decision while Jeff was at work.

While my mom was here we also managed to have some fun. We took my sister to some of the parks and to the storytime at the library. This is splash park. It is so fun! The best part about Wyoming is that nothing is ever crowded. In Utah, I would imagine this park being bombarded with kids and families, but here you can park anywhere and you have pretty much every place to yourself.

How cute is my cousin???!!

I have the best cousin in the world! The other day I was waiting at home for FedEx to come with my phone...if you have tried to reach me, you will notice my old number does not exist. We have now switched to Verizon and I have a new number. If you need my number, please email me since this blog is not private! Anywho, so I was waiting and waiting. Finally I see the mailman. The mailman has a box. I thought, "that's weird, I thought the phone was coming FedEx". The mailman drops off a package at my door and I realize it is not the phone, it is a cute "welcome to Wyoming" package from my cousin Camielle!! How cute is that? She put in maps, tour guides, and foods from Wyoming like salsa and chokecherry syrup. I cannot even tell you how much it brightened my day. Her husband is from Wyoming and they are in North Carolina for residency. I can't tell you how much I hope she ends up in Wyoming someday! THANK YOU CAMIELLE!! Oh and by the way, in between sending out this package, she had her second little boy...where does she find the time??

We have been so busy lately I cannot even begin to describe our lives the last 3 days. Anyway, as promised, here are some more pictures. This room is what has taken over my life the last little while! This is the basement, which I love, but it was covered in wallpaper. As I mentioned before, my mom came out to help me take it down. Well, of course it didn't just come down as planned. I bought chemicals, rented a steamer, and after a whole day, I had pretty much nothing to show for it. Apparently the walls weren't prepared properly before putting the paper up. Because taking down the wallpaper ultimately led to taking the drywall with it, we ended up having to prime over the paper. Then, we have had to put two coats of mud over the primer. I think we are finally to the point where we can paint how I want it, but now I can't decide on a color. I am planning on putting up a chair rail and doing two tone of brown. What do you think? I need some major advice! After all this work, I want it to look great!

Here are more random pictures of the basement as well. I love having a big laundry and food storage area. There is also a bedroom in the basement where we are currently sleeping. It will be a guest room later when I get the master bedroom upstairs finished how I want it. I think I will get a new bedroom set for upstairs and leave our old one downstairs as a guest room. For now, it's nice to sleep in the basement. I couldn't get a picture because Jeff was sleeping...he's on nightshift again. At least my mom is here this time.

Today we are having a picnic in the park after story time at the library for my sister so it's nice and quiet for Jeff. If anyone has any painting or paint color advice, please send it this way!