The Boy's 2nd New Bed

The boy's finally have a complete bedroom set. For months we were waiting for the dressers to the previous bunk bed set, to finally find out that the manufacturer had discontinued the series without fulfilling our order! We were furious, got rid of the bunk bed, received a full refund and had to go shopping again. We really wanted to get a set like the previous one, but we had a really hard time finding one that was similar that we liked. So we changed our criteria and this is what we came up with. It fits all the boys and provides plenty of storage.

Here is one side of the room with the boy's dresser and Luke's mini-crib.

The bottom drawer is a trundle bed and the center shelf is really a desk with pull out drawers.

To the far left you can see their walk-in closet, perfect for keeping their toys. Behind the ladder is a door that opens to provide more storage behind the drawers and desk. Up top is where they sleep (it's a full size mattress).

Here's an inside shot of the storage behind their bed. There's a shelf that they can sit on and we also put a little light in there so they can play house if they want to. It's also wide enough to put a twin size mattress in (Howard would have to build slats for it). When they boys get older we may convert it. I currently store Lego's and other small chocking hazards to keep away from Luke.

Kids/Guest Bathroom

Lets begin the tour of our home with the kids bathroom. We've done away with duckies and have invited a more grown up feel to the bathroom. I LOVE IT!!!! The towels and shower curtain were Black Friday deals, which is awesome because I was planning on getting these items anyway. It just makes it that much better getting them on sale! The artwork and accessories I had in my previous half-bath on base.

We don't let the kids brush their teeth in this bathroom since they make such a mess. We use ours for that since this is the bathroom guests will use. My soap dispenser is a green glass, but it's hard to see because I have orange soap in it. When we finish up the orange, I'll need to start buying clear soap so that it will look nicer. Eventually we would like to upgrade our faucet, but that will have to wait.

We live!

We moved into our new house on Wednesday (yep...the day before Thanksgiving). Understandably, blogging has not been high on my list of things to do (until today). So here's a recap of the long weekend.

Tuesday night (24th) - finish packing, load up U-haul.

Wednesday (25th) - Sign paperwork on house, move in, unpack

Thanksgiving - Bake bread in my new kitchen, spent with the Gardner's. (The food was delicious and the company of friends was even better.) Howie, Erin, Jack spend the night there.

Black Friday - 2:30am got up and went shopping with Howard and Luke. (Luke slept almost the entire time in his baby carrier.) Went to 4 stores and scored some deals!!! We were home by 9am.

Saturday - Unpacked, unpacked, and unpacked some more. The boy's bedroom furniture was also delivered that day.

Sunday - Church in our new ward, hung some pictures

Monday - Back to school and work for everyone.

Here is our trampoline that Howard stood in line for 2 hours to get. It was worth it! We've been promising the kids one ever since we moved back to the States and we finally followed through on our promise.

We got him for free!

I love my Jack!

He just couldn't last through lunch today! So cute!

But wait, there's more!

Here are some things from the last week.

On Thursday night we went to a farewell dinner for one of Howard's co-workers. I ordered an apple spritzer. I asked twice when I ordered it to make sure it was non-alcoholic. I triple checked when they served it to me in a rather alcoholic looking mug. I looked just like the beer at the next table over. I made sure Howard's coworkers knew it was apple juice, I didn't want to give anyone the wrong idea.

Luke can now pull up to standing all by himself. He's been doing this for a while now, but it's definitely a lot easier for him these days. I think he'll be cruising along the furniture soon. He's lightning fast when it comes to crawling. I think out of all my babies, he's the best at it. He'll be 9 months on Tuesday.

We stopped by our new house twice this week to check the progress. Once on Friday and then again today after Stake Conference (we're really close to the Stake Center). Luke enjoyed the new carpet and the freedom to crawl around and explore. The last time we were there, I couldn't put him down, it was too dangerous.

Here's a view of our dining area. To the right are the children's bedrooms and to the left is the master suite.

Green With Envy

Oh how I wish I could be this cute!

Trick-or-Treat

I know I'm a week late, but better than never. Last weekend we drove over to Missouri to visit my sister for Halloween. On the way there we stayed in a hotel and went to an indoor waterpark. The kids had a blast (except Luke, he was fussy that day)! Don't have any pictures, since we were swimming and keeping a watchful eye on the kids. Here are some pictures of our Halloween.

We have Dracula, Jackasaurus, and a witch.

Erin and her cousin Jackie. They are about a year apart in age and got along really well. They loved matching that day. Jackie was also a witch for Halloween. It was too cute.

Here is my very last minute costume that I picked up at the store earlier that day. I'm dressed as my Grandpa Simmons....big ears run in the family.

Here's Howard...almost every year he is a scarecrow. I made it for him for Howie's first Halloween. I have a Dorothy costume, but I can't fit into it yet...hopefully next year. Oh yeah, wanna know why Luke's not dressed up? Luke's costume was the first one I purchased this year, but we forgot to pack it! Oh no!!! He was supposed to be a little giraffe. I was more sad about it than he was!

Here's all the kids playing with uncle Levi. The other little green kiddo is Nadia, she was a froggy. She's so stinkin' cute, I wish I could take both of my nieces home with me! I'd keep them forever if I could.

Refrigerator Help

We are in the market for a refrigerator and I would really like some suggestions and input. We are looking for a quiet/energy efficient model. We also would like a water dispenser (but it can be inside or out). It needs to be large enough for our growning family (remember, I will have 3 teenage boys one day).

What do you thing of the newer french door styles with the freezer on the bottom? Is it convenient? A hassle?

Pros/cons of side by side models?

We all have a refrigerator so please share with me what you love or hate about yours, please include brand with model number if you're able to.

We checked consumer reports and we are considering the Kenmore Elite model # 77592. Does anyone have a Kenmore or this particular model number? If so, please let us know what you think.

We are also considering the Whirlpool Gold, model # gx5fhtxvq. This was also highly rated on Consumer Reports.