We have been busy

 Ever since we remodeled out kitchen I have hated the oak stair railings.  I felt like it dated our house and didn't go with the style we had.  We have tons of railings and with three little girls in the house, I had no idea how we would do it.  The cost to rip everything out and replace it all was not in the budget so we decided to replace the middle spindles with metal and I would sand and stain the rest.  What a messy dirty job. 

 I would sand for an hour and then spend a couple cleaning the house of all the dust.  We also had to wait until the metal arrived and took the rest of the spindles out in groups because we didn't want Bellamy to fall through.  We did the kitchen first.  Then the railings leading up to our room.  The main staircase was last. My husband is amazing and he figured out how to get the metal spindles in.  The slope was hard and after

 working all afternoon on it we put the last two railings in and luckily Steve stepped back to admire it and realized we had stuck them in upside down and we were able to fix it before the glue stuck. 

 We couldn't be more happy with the result and haven't been able to wipe the smile off our face every time we look at them.  It was worth all the hard work, and there is something to say about doing it yourself. 

 After replacing the sink in our bathroom we had to redo the white tile in the shower.  Luckily our neighbor was willing to do it for us and did an awesome job.  I felt bad for him going up and down our stairs for four days. 

 We put in two cubby holes under the shower and Steve even had a small one made for me to rest my foot while I shave my legs. 

The new door just makes it.  I think we are done with home improvements for awhile. 

Easter 2013

 We were home this year so we went down to Grandma Roberts home on Saturday for the Easter picnic and egg hunt.  It was a beautiful day and we were able to enjoy the outside.  Steve pulled out the motorcycle and we rode it down.  It was fun to visit with family and let the girls play. 

 Just wondering who wore this hat better.  Braelyn or Steve?  I am undecided they both look so cute. 

 Sunday we had everyone over for Easter dinner and to celebrate Taryns birthday. 

 I have the cutest daughter-in-laws. 

 Being lazy we choose to roll the eggs down the road.  Bell's loved running down it chasing the eggs.  Of course it turned into a egg fight and Taylor always seems to be the one they are after.  It wasn't until my kids were older that they discovered not everyone rolls their Easter eggs.  I still think its an awesome tradition and we always have fun doing it. 

Bells loves Gus and he puts up with her.  It was a wonderful weekend and I am so blessed.

Taryns Engaged

It's official Taryn will become Mrs. Bret Lopez in May.  Taryn's cousin set her up with Bret this summer.  When Heather told me that he was younger then Taryn and still going to BYU, I didn't hold out hope that anything would come of it.  But luckily I was wrong.  Bret has a couple more years at BYU so Taryn will be working and supporting them.  May is going to be busy but so exciting with a new grandson and two wedding.  I love my family.

My baby is engaged!

It's official my baby is getting married May 9, 2013 in the Mt. Timpangos Temple.
He meet Jenn at BYU and they started out as friends, then she left to do an intership in New York and when she came back this fall they started to date.  Her real name is YoungSun and she is from Korea.  She came to the United States when she was 14 and stayed with a host family in Idaho.  She will graduate in April from the accounting department at BYU and is hoping to get her masters from BYU.  Her parents moved to the United States this August and are living with a family in Cedar Hills.  We are excited to get a new daughter and that Taylor found someone so perfect for him. 
He will continue going to BYU and is still deciding his major. 

Road to Hana

 The last couple of times we have skipped going on the road to Hana.  It is only about 60 miles from our hotel but has I think 251 hairpin turns and is often a one lane road.  It's beautiful but can leave a person car sick.  Since we had a mustang convertible we had to go on the drive.  We stopped and grabbed a couple of sandwiches and headed off.  The weather was perfect and with the top down you see so much more, plus you get to smell and it smelled wonderful. 

 The hike is two miles to the top fall and there we ate our lunch.  

 Here we are at the bottom two falls.  The water was so cold that I got in and right back out.  Steve was more adventurous and swam over to the fall.  There were some teenagers there that we talked into jumping off the top fall.  Been there and done that so I felt no pressure and enjoyed watching everyone else jump. 

There is a road that goes around the island but years ago they wouldn't allow you to take your rental car around.  We didn't see any signs telling us not to go that way so we did.  There were a couple of rough spots but when we saw a tour bus go that way we knew we were safe.  That big white building down there is our hotel.  Unfortunately there is not a road that connects down there so you have to drive another 20 miles around to get to it.  We had a great day and wanted some mahi for dinner.  The cute fast food place that we always went to it out of business so we drove down Kehei road looking for a place to eat.  I saw a bar and grill and told Steve to pull over.  He was hesitant but smart enough to do it.  Me and three of my children get a little ornery when we are hungry.  Luckily we could go in dressed in our swimsuits and it was the best meal we have eaten. 

 This little old lady came by our table selling leis.  She was dressed so cute that we had to get a picture. 

Maui relaxing and resting

 Our two favorite places to go is Maui or the cabin.  Life would be so sweet if we could spend the winter months in Maui and then live at the cabin the rest of the year.  Our 30th anniversary is coming up in February and Steve got tickets to Maui.  We have never been in January and soon realized why.  Prices are sky high and it was very hard to find a motel.  We love this condo in Kehei, but they were all booked up.  Steve found a deal on travelocity for a car and motel.  The motel was in Walleia, which has the

 nice and expensive hotels.  We took a chance and it worked this time.  The hotel was so nice.  We had a beautiful room that overlooked the ocean and our beach was nice.  I love the sandy beaches of Hawaii.  We got in around 10:30 and got the car.  Steve got a convertible mustang, which was a fun surprise.  Thank goodness we are familiar with Maui and found the hotel with no problems because the stomach flu hit me.  I spent the night in the bathroom.  Berkley and Bellamy had it on Sunday, so I figured my time would come.  Monday I was still not feeling great so we took it easy and that set the stage for the rest of the trip.  We were so lazy.  It was great.  We sat by the beach, then moved to the pool, then drove to Kehei to eat and back to more sitting and relaxing. 

 Then at night we would grab the binoculars and watch the whales and the sunset. 

With all this sitting around we had to treat ourselves and signed up for a chocolate massage at the beach.  Very relaxing listening to the waves crashing and being slathered in coco-butter.  We didn't sit the whole time and I will post more later. 

New Bathroom

 After Christmas we were in Costco shopping when I saw a beautiful bathroom sink.  I brought Steve over to look and he said lets get it.  We have wanted to redo our bathroom for some time.  I am so grateful that I have a very handy husband.  Of course pipes had to be changed and we only had one light above our vanity and thought that two would look better so he had to rewire the lights.  Also they had a outlet and switch for the jacuzzi tub on the mirror and that

 had to be moved.  Luckily we had enough tiles from when we tiled the floor.  Our old sink went all the way to the floor so we didn't tile underneath it.  The next problem we had was getting the sink up the stairs.  The granite and sinks were firmly attached so it all had to be carried up at once.  Thank goodness for great neighbors.  I didn't even have to help. 

 Bellamy thought that she was papa's helper and has a big fascination with tools.  She played for an hour putting the drill bits in the right case.  He is very patient and let her help. 

I love it.  It looks so awesome.  Thanks again Steve for another home project.  Next new tiles in the shower.