We Bought a.... JEEP!

Nathan has been dreaming of getting a Jeep for quite a while now, and we finally bought one back in April! To say we are in love with it would be an understatement. We are so excited and try to go off roading every chance we get. If you're wondering what we're up to this summer... We'll be camping and taking trails with our Jeep!

One thing that I love about Nathan is that he is a problem solver, and when he gets an idea he makes it happen. We have made a bed for the back of our Jeep. It is probably more comfy than our own bed... haha When we lay down the back seats the bed fills the entire back. Nathan bought a memory foam and cut it to fit perfectly in the Jeep. Then he created a pattern and had me sew a sheet for it. I thought he was a little crazy at first, but it turned out and we love it!

To make camping in our Jeep experience even better, Nathan made mosquito net screens that stick to the door with magnets to cover the open windows. We get to sleep in our comfy warm Jeep while enjoying the fresh, cool mountain air.

Nathan also installed a back up camera all on his own because it would be cheaper than having the dealership do it. He never ceases to amaze me! I'm sure I will be writing about more projects Nathan does on the Jeep in the near future.

My Daddy

So, my Dad turned 50 this year! So crazy... A couple of months ago (in April to be exact) we surprised him with Marie Calendar's Pies and then the next day took him to the Olive Garden for lunch. We had a great time just chilling as a family.

When we were down celebrating his birthday he pulled out his mission pictures from Germany that have just been sitting in a box. I told him I'd take them and do something with them. So for Father's Day I gave him a photo album with his pictures all organized and a digital copy of all of the pictures I scanned. It was really neat going through them, and then having him look through the book and talk about each picture.

I am so grateful for my Dad and all that he has taught me. Some of my favorite things we've done together or that I've learned from him are:

• SPORTS! (He taught me how to play basketball and baseball. I was his little Tom Boy!)
• Watching Jazz Games
• Cleaning (Yes, I am grateful he taught me how to be clean.) 
• Scripture Study (When I was little he would sit on the edge of my bed and read a couple of verses from the Book of Mormon every night. I really enjoyed those quick moments before bed.)
• Baptizing and Confirming Me
• Yelling in German thinking he was so funny
• Asking him to bless the food in German at family dinner
• Father's Blessings
• German Heritage
• Bike Rides
• Backstreet Boys Concert
• Watching his favorite, super long movies (aka Ben Hur-1959, The Great Escape, Sound of Music, Spartacus-1960)
• His silly dancing and hula hooping skills
• Teaching me the power of prayer
• Encouraging me to always do my best and practice
• A love of German food, lasagna, cheesecake, and ice cream
• Having swimming races
• Halo Tournaments
• Father, Daughter Dance at my Wedding

I could go on and on with many happy memories and lessons, but most of all my favorite thing about my Dad is how much he does for me and my family and how he loves us so much.

I love you Daddy!

Summer Projects

Last summer I had three projects I worked on and it was so much fun. I loved taking something not so pretty, or out dated, and turning it into something perfect for our home. Here are the projects from last year.

Coffee Table $5 at DI

For the coffee table I just sanded everything down the best I could and it took quite a while. I think it was worth it though. The darker stain makes it look brand new!

Nightstand $10 at DI. I love how it turned out.

Side Table $8 at DI

For the nightstand and side table I covered them in primer and then painted two coats of paint. (They had laminate on them and there wasn't much point in sanding.)

It was so fun to work on these and we love having them in our home!

This summer I found myself two new projects. My parents gave me my dad's old desk and I have been dying to paint it a fun color and change it up a bit. I'm going to use it as my sewing/craft table. I also got a cedar hope chest. I can't wait to see how they turn out!