Home Improvements

 We have lived in our So Jo house for 5 years now. One of my favorite things to do is to look through old pictures and see how our house has changed over the years. So on our 5 year house anniversary, I wanted to dedicate this post to Tyler who works so hard to update our house, and is actually excited to do projects. Our honey do list and project wish list continues to grow, but here's some off the the changes we've made to continue to make our house a home. 

One of the things we have been wanting for years is a back splash in our kitchen. But of course with Tyler, he isn't going to do just a back splash... he's going to add over and under cabinet lights. The end result was probably one of my favorite home improvement projects ever! Here's the before and after side by side. 

Not only is he a great Tyler, but he's also a great tiler... get it?  Thanks to the best Hubby ever for making our kitchen gorgeous!

Aww... look at little Kay-bugs in our living room five years ago... Before and after side-by-side

I didn't have any before pictures of our piano room, but here's the updated look. Just last year we added the sofa table and family picture. 

I think I mentioned a few months ago that we moved Brynnli from the bonus bedroom to Makayla's room, so now the girls share a room. Here's her nursery before...

And here's the girls room now...

**Who's that sexy thing standing in the mirror... That's Tyler... show him some respect (imagine me singing this to the song "Me too by Megan Trainor, then you might understand.)

Caden's room hasn't changed much, but it was important to document how clean it was. And how cute are these two? I love my boys!

We moved our leather couches down stairs about 4 years ago, but about a year and a half ago we updated the basement and added decorations. Here's the way before (before anything was down there)...

And the after...

Before picture looking from the other end of the basement living room. 

And the after...

When we moved in five years ago the basement room was a guest room. After a year we realized we needed a play room for the kiddos. The kids love to come down here to play and I love that their toys aren't all around the house.

The other basement room is still the work out room, but we've changed things around and added some work out equipment. Here's the before... 

And the after...

When we moved in we knew the back yard needed a lot of attention. It has been, and will continue to be, our biggest project, but now that we have an awesome back yard it is so fun to hang out here. Here's the before pictures: 

 and the after...

 One more before looking out from the porch...

 And to end our post, here's some pictures of the front of our house.

Grandma Draper's 91st Birthday

My cute Grandma Draper turned 91 years old on August 4. She is the cutest and funniest grandma around. At 91 years old she has 5 kids, 15 grand kids, and almost 52 great grand kids. 

 She can barely hear even if you scream in her ear, but she is seriously one of the funniest people around. I told her, "Can you believe you started all of this?" meaning her kids, grand kids, and great grand kids that were there to celebrate with her, and she said, "Oh my hell, all of these people are here for me?"

 My grandma with three of her kids:  JoAnn, my mom, and Dennis.

 Happy Birthday Grandma!

The Big K

I know I sound like every other mom out there when I say, "How in the world did my little baby girl get big enough to go to Kindergarten?" But seriously? Where did the last five and a half years go? Makayla is officially a Kindergartner now. I feel sad she's gone everyday for three hours, but it's hard to be too sad when she is so excited and so ready. She goes to Elk Meadows Elementary and has Mrs. Kimball for her teacher. 

We took some pictures before she left. Makayla just looks so grown up

 Waiting in line to go into the school. The sun was obviously in her eyes! :)

 And she was off...

 Great news! Makayla LOVES Kindergarten. She has already made a few friends, her favorite part is recess, and she loves to tell us all about the things she learns everyday. When she comes home she loves to play school with Caden where she is the teacher. It is so fun to hear some of the things her teacher says that she repeats like, "Eyes watching, feet still, lips zipped, ears listening" and "one, two, three, eyes on me."

So what do the rest of us do while Sissy is in school? We run errands. And Caden gives me this silly look when I tell him to say cheese.

So proud of my big Kindergartner!!