At Peace...sort of

So, remember how I wanted black wood floors? Sort of like this?

Well, my floors don't look like that. They are gorgeous, but they don't look like that. They look like this:

Before you think me ungrateful (how could you?) for not appreciating the fact that we did not have to refinish the floors ourselves, lemme esplain: We told the floor guys that we wanted a black stain, to which they gaffed and gaffawed and promised us that we would end up hating it. They told us horror stories of other misguided homeowners that chose black floors and wound up ripping their hair out and were finally admitted to the psych ward. It was a pain to clean, it showed wear really fast, we would end up hating it - they promised us. Rather than stand our ground, we caved. We thought, "Oh man, these guys have been doing floors for decades, they know what they're talking about. Maybe we will hate it. What if we're wrong?" So with that we chose a black walnut stain and crossed our fingers that it would be dark enough.

As soon as they spread it on the floor, I knew it wasn't dark enough. HOWEVER, it really warmed up the tone of the wood and the stain locked into the grain and made it really stand out. They turned out so great! So pretty, like a tobacco stain.

Mmm, but those black floors! The past few months I have entertained the idea of perhaps using a black epoxy on our floor to get the color I want. We don't have our baseboard on yet or the kick boards around our base cabinets, so really the time is ideal. It's our only option (other than replacing the floor entirely) since we can't refinish our floors again. I talked to my brother at length about the process, it sounds totally doable and Cody and I could finally get those black floors!

But Cody and I talked this morning. "Am I crazy?" I asked. He knows better than to answer truthfully, but he did say that while the floors aren't the dark color we wanted, he really likes how worn and sort of 'saloon' they look. He thinks they look warm and inviting and give the house that country feel without it being a country house. I so get that.

So while I initially wanted (and may always yearn a bit for) dark floors, I do love the color of mine. I love the idea of how these floors will look years down the road. They are so pretty and warm. They fit the feel of the house and everything plays off them beautifully. I regret that we didn't stand our ground about what we wanted, but man... I think we came out alright, don't you?

Closeout Sale

One of my favorite shops in Gardner Village is closing. Not awesome. 'The Christmas Village Shoppe' went bankrupt and is having a ginormous liquidation sale this week. My Mom told me about it last weekend and we made plans right then to get there early the first morning of the sale. When we got there a line had already formed, but it wasn't too bad.
As soon as the doors opened we headed straight for the Halloween and village pieces area. To my great disappointment, there were hardly ANY village pieces to choose from! I think employees may have had first pick, because it was slim pickins. I did get two Christmas houses for $12 each - not bad! I was pretty bummed, however, that they didn't have more. That's the reason I went! Not even village accessories - it was all cleaned out. The pieces that were there weren't anything spectacular, but that didn't stop people from loading their bags with whatever was left. I didn't think to bring my own bag...I should have. There was one couple that brought LUGGAGE and they were just filling it with whatever they could grab.

This pic was when the chaos had started to calm down...but you can see how empty the shelves are. EVERYTHING was for sale, even the display cases and tables. My Mom scored a sweet iron urn that was hanging from the ceiling!

So weird - the ceiling used to be FILLED with cool Holiday goodness.

That far wall is where all the village houses used to be...bare! Again, this pic was taken as soon as the craziness started to thin out.

Friends? It was like jungle madness. You could hardly maneuver in there and people were just grabbing stuff off the shelves. How do people do the day after Thanksgiving sales? Why would you submit yourself to the crazy? A positive note was that the prices were super great. You know how some sales start with 60% and then progressively get lower each sale day? Yeah, not here. So many things were .99, I think my village houses were the most expensive thing I got.

Each was originally marked at $45.00. Two for $24? Done.

I love that golden turkey.

My chocolate tinsel tree! This was such a find, I think it was $8.00.

The total? $80.00.

The check out line was another battle entirely. They didn't have any cash registers, so they were just manually writing down everything and totaling it up on a calculator. I know. It took forever, I think the line was about an hour long. We barely got out with our lives at noon and we were exhausted! Of course Gardner Village promises a great new store in there soon, but I will miss that shop. That was a vital stop when doing our Halloween shopping! Where do I go now?

Moab

Last weekend Cody and I took the boys down to Moab for some Jeeping (or 'Jeepin' if your nasty). I got really sick a few days before we were supposed to go, isn't that just the way of it? I thought I had the flu, then I got strep...not pretty, friends, not pretty. My dearest friend Celine watched my kids while I recovered and even brought me some apple blossoms to cheer me up. Fortunately I got on some meds and was on the up and up just in time to leave town!

I haven't been to Moab in YEARS. Cody and his friends try to go down every Spring, but it's usually just the boys. I forgot how pretty it is down there...

We camped with our friends Jon and Eric, and our other friends John and LaRobyn met up with us for dinner Friday night. Saturday morning we got started early and hit Hell's Revenge. The boys in their new hats, ready to go.

This was the first part, driving up this spine...I swear we were going to slip off the edge.

Cody spotting for Jon.

It was cool to see these bikes up on the edge.

Right?? How amazing is this?

This picture doesn't really capture how steep this was...nearly straight up.

Jon is pretty adventurous anyway, but as I look through some of these pics he didn't really try anything that outrageous. But I was happy to just sit and watch rather than experience it firsthand!

Cute.

After the trail we got some lunch at Milt's.

John and LaRobyn.

Next we went on Fins and Things. It's a pretty simple train - LaRobyn even drove!

Great day of trails! That night John and LaRobyn had to head back, so the rest of us had some tasty mexican food for dinner and then it was back to camp.

After breakfast, Cody and I took the boys for a drive in the canyon. Seriously. SO pretty. The place looks just like Powell without water. Red rock is so amazing.

This is the face Cody makes when he's driving. Seriously. All puckered.

It was a GREAT trip, we really need to take advantage of the fact that it's only 3 hours away. That's nothing! A quick weekend getaway? I'm sure we'll be making many trips this Summer.

Momshell

To celebrate Mother's Day, we started a little early and went out last night with Dave and Celine. I LOVE these people, we had so much fun! We went to Texas Roadhouse and ate too much and laughed too hard. We must do it again, stat!

This morning Cache surprised me with a pink rose he bought the night before with Katie (the best babysitter in the world). He also bought me a Hershey's chocolate bar...his favorite treat. He told me during Sacrament meeting that I was to share that treat with him. Also during Sacrament they had all the Primary kids go up and sing. This was the first time that both my boys were up there! Cole held it together for about 12 seconds and then started to cry. He put his little hands over his eyes and sobbed. Awww! Poor little dude. In RS we had 15 minutes at the end of the lesson to just sit and visit while the Priests brought around our Mother's Day gifts. A plant? A notepad? A quote? No. A bag filled with treats. Win!

Cody gave me these beautiful lilies that we're going to plant outside and even kept the kids entertained so I could nap in the afternoon.

He did everything for me today...love him. We went and visited the Jolleys and then had dinner at my parents house. It was a marvelous Mother's Day! Being a mom rules. There is no better job. It's hard and frustrating and overwhelming, but the rewards are unmatched. I'm sure I'll have my doubts tomorrow, but today I love being a Mom.

What I'm Loving Wednesday

What am I loving?

Summer evenings.

Now I know it's not quite Summer, but tonight got me excited for those warm, orange nights. While making dinner my kitchen was filled with that bright, gold evening sun. Man, is anything better than that? That rich, warm bath of color that can fill up your house in the evening? Gah, I just love it. Our windows were open and I could hear my kids playing in the backyard...it was just perfect.

During dinner Cole asked if I would make the piano sing. I love him.

MAY

Oh, it's here! It's finally here! The month of May! Warmer weather, lots of planting, the start of many BBQ's... stoked. Even my hibiscus plant starting blooming!

This weekend was totally crazy. In a good way, of course, but quite busy! I got to lunch with my dear friend Kim on Friday and we caught up and talked for a few hours...just love her. That night I went out with Mindi. We laughed over our chicken wing dinner and then went to see 'Water for Elephants'. Have you seen it? Oh my, I loved it. I haven't read the book so I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but I loved every minute of it. Go see!

Saturday I met up with my dear friend Spencer! I love this man. We were super tight in HS, then he moved away to California and became a designer and make up artist to the rich and famous. No lie. He was in town last Fall and we had lunch together, but this time his boyfriend Owen was with him and we met up with another friend, Kelsey. We had the best time! We sat and talked for hours, love those people.

What I didn't love this weekend was the weather ohmyword. It was super windy and FREEZING and snowing. That's right. Snow. We've had loads of moisture lately and flooding is certainly a possibility. Not so much 'if' it floods, but 'when'. Fortunately it started to warm up yesterday and this week is supposed to be balmy!

Yes - I took pictures of the blue sky. I haven't seen it for a while and I love when it's SO blue. I'm so excited for May! Cache got his final schedule for school - they have all these fun field days and movie days planned...wasn't the last week of school always the best? I'm even entertaining the idea of having a little 'Summer Carnival' in my backyard for some of his friends. Bring on the Summer!