This weekend we headed up to the cabin to open it up for the year. We knew the weather would be cold and snowy but Greg really wanted to go up so we did. Knowing that the road down to the cabin would still be snow-packed we made plans to get all the stuff and ourselves inside. We were pleasantly surprised when we drove up and found that our great neighbor Tom had plowed the road for us. We made it inside on dry roads and thought we were safe. The next morning when we woke up and saw that it had snowed 6 inches, Steve decided that he better drive the truck out to the road in case it kept snowing.
Greg really wanted to go to the cabin so he could propose to Lauren up there. During the break in conference on Saturday they took a windy cold walk and he asked her to marry him. We are excited to have Lauren in our family and think they make a cute couple. They don't have a date yet but sometime this summer. I took this picture hoping you could see the ring in it, I will have to post another one with the ring later. That night Steve and Greg rode the four-wheeler out to the truck and drove down to watch Priesthood. Me, Taryn and Lauren just hung around the cabin, playing games and relaxing.
Easter morning we woke up to another 4 inches of snow and lots of sunshine. It was so beautiful. During the break in conference we went for a long walk and enjoyed being outside with the sun on our faces.
Of course Steve and Greg had to cross the river. We walked along the ditch bank and we would be walking along fine and then somebody would step and sink up to their knees. It got hilarious watching someone walking fine and then sinking to their knees.
We found a patch of ice on the river and tried to break it apart by throwing rocks. I have a hard time passing the river without throwing rocks into it.
We played outside for an hour then headed back inside to prepare dinner and get ready for the last session of conference. Taryn and Steve spent the time listening and putting together puzzles. The first one had 1000 pieces and they did it. The company was fun, the scenery beautiful and conference was amazing. I can't wait to watch the talks again and again. I'm so excited for Greg and Lauren and this new stage in their lives. If we had Taylor and Heather's family with us then it would have been the perfect weekend.
For the last three weeks we have been busy with a kitchen remodel. After we tore out the top cupboards I realized that I did not have a picture of what the kitchen looked like so this picture of Taryn and Zach at Taylor's farewell and Greg's homecoming will have to do. When we built we just had the standard oak cabinets put in. Over the years I have painted them white with a stain and then I painted them twice red. But as our family dynamics have changed the kitchen really didn't meet our needs.
So I talked Steve into looking for a new house with a kitchen that would work better for us. After a few months of searching we realized that house prices were still pretty high and since our home is almost paid off that it made more sense to remodel the kichen then buy a new house. So we found someone to custom build the cabinets and when he came out to look and give us some options we decided to tear out the part they had framed out above the cabinets. He assured us that only once has he ever ran into anything in them. Well he doesn't tell anybody that anymore. We had a lazy builder who hired even lazier subs so there was wiring and plumbing and all sorts of stuff that should not have been there.
Luckily I married a handy man and he was able to fix the wiring and plumbing and sheetrock it up. He even took out our big florescent light and put in recessed lighting. He is amazing and I'm lucky to be married to him. He is also smart and one afternoon Greg had a couple of his friends over so Steve put them to work helping us tear out the remaining cabinets.
It is nice to have someone else do the hard work.
This is what it looked like all torn up. We did that Monday and that night I started painting and getting it ready for the cabinets to be installed on Wednesday. 
Here are my new cabinets and I couldn't be happier. We took out our bar and he built me the cutest island. It has a butcher block top and is perfect for preparing dinner on. They have measured for the granite and it will be installed in a week. I never realized how much I use my kitchen sink. I've been hauling dishes up to the bathtub for a week and have another week left. But I don't mind the inconvenience because I love my new kitchen. 
