Oh dear...I am realizing I have no pictures of my children, especially Joel from this year! Talk about complete opposite of Terese! Yes, we are related! So I will try to throw a few more in the mix from time to time!

This photo represents Joel and Anora's almost daily routine: Wake up, get in swim suits, head out the back door. We are so lucky to live near a pool during these hot Utah summers.

Okay, here are some more house pictures. We are getting very close to finishing up so I don't think I'll post more pictures until it's move-in ready. P.S. Sorry about photo orientation--no excuse, but laziness

This picture is the kitchen where the stove once was:

Mudding and priming the walls:

Kitchen with lovely new paint and just after the linoleum was pulled and the fridge was taken out

getting ready to rip out the old carpet in the dining room 

the living room with no carpet and new paint! Can you see it coming together? I'm starting to love my house!

For the next week the flooring guys will be in the house sanding and refinishing the floors. The kitchen and kids' rooms are doozies. We are planning to move in a week from Saturday. In the meantime I think we will start preparing the yard for the new fence. Always a new adventure waiting!

 So, remember how I did that one post saying we found "the house"? Well, we backed out of the contract. I seriously loved that house and all of it's potential...it's actually quite sad to think it won't be ours. Unfortunately, the numbers were a bit too high in the end for us AND we realized we really wanted to be on the East side of University Ave. in Provo instead of the West (I am so sorry we won't be neighbors Kam, if you are reading this). Currently we are putting an offer in on this craftsman style bungalow. Right off the bat this house lacks a lot of the magic I felt the other one had, BUT it is brimming with potential. The major pluses of this duplex are that it is closer to BYU so we will have an easier time renting it, it's $20,000 cheaper, the neighborhood is a bit better, the rental space is in much better condition and will rent for more money, and the backyard is quite large. So cross your finger everyone that this one works out.

such a great porch, minus the green carpet and awning addition!

living room & large dining room. Notice the craftsman style built-ins, ignore the wall paper!

I can't wait to show pictures of after we put our touches into this house!

And the winner is...

This lovely Provo home built in 1925.

We absolutely love it and just finished price negotiations so we are now officially under contract! It's also a duplex so we will be renting out the basement to help pay for the mortgage. Any one know of any newlyweds looking for a place?

Here is a tour on the inside. The living room, dining room, and kitchen are on the left side of the house and the bathroom and bedrooms are on the right.

When you first walk in you see the living room with cool vaulted ceilings and a fireplace:

Next you enter the formal dining room with a nook for a hutch or china cabinet and on the other wall are these amazing french doors that lead to a little balcony:

This kitchen also has a nook perfect for a breakfast table:

Okay, believe it or not, this was the selling point of the house for me. A finished attic that can be transformed into a playroom, office, guest room--a very versatile space:

There is only a picture of one of the bedrooms. I am thinking this will be the Master:

And the backyard with mature trees that I love! It's not a ton of yard, but the attic playroom makes up for it!

Sorry, no pictures of the basement yet, but it too has a lot of the charm that the upstairs has. There is also a laundry room and extra utility room in the basement on our side. As an added bonus my friend, Kam lives just a few houses down. She has a little girl Anora's age and a new baby. We're so excited!

Tonight was the big dance recital. I know I am biased in saying Anora was the best! She took to the stage like a fish in water! She is such a goof-off in class, I never would have expected her to do so well. I will show pictures once I sort through them all!