Graduation and Moving Back!

May 8-16, 2015

Brian finished Anesthesia school! It's been a long 28 months, but he did it! Blake & I flew to Erie for the last time on Friday, May 8th.

Saturday, May 9

Look who we found in the hotel on Saturday morning!

We went down by Lake Erie to take some pictures.  Top left, Brian and his cute little family. It was so nice that Ken and Cindy could come for the big graduation day.  Celia's parents Mike and Grace and grandma Jenny Clift were there to help celebrate too.

After pictures we went to lunch at Texas Roadhouse.

Graduation was held in a nice big room in a hotel.  There was a nice dinner before the graduation. 

They had these nice pictures up on the big screens as they called the graduates name. We are so proud of you Brian! Maden got really bored and tired, so he just went to sleep. 

Sunday, May 10

Since Brian is going to be working with Blake, they are moving back to Idaho! Blake and I were driving a car home for them. We started heading west about 8:30 Sunday morning.  Annie and Maden thought it was fun to pick some "flowers" at a gas station somewhere in Ohio.

We arrived at Cindy and Ken's about 4pm. I don't know why these are the only pictures I took there! We just chilled out and rested up to get ready for our long car rides. Thanks for a great pit stop, Cindy and Ken!

Monday, May 11

We got up really early and were on the road about 6.  It was raining really hard about the time we hit Chicago, then we had some pretty strong crosswinds the rest of the day.  We planned to travel about 10 hours and stop in Kearny, NE.

We stayed at an AmericInn in Kearny.  Maden was thrilled that there was a chess set in the lobby. He taught Grandpa and I a few things about the game.

Everyone enjoying being out of the car and having some swimming time at the hotel.

Tuesday, May 12

Once again, we got up early and hit the road. We had another 10 hour drive to reach Wolf Creek Resort near Ogden, UT. Once again we had some strong crosswinds, but they were coming from the opposite direction this time.

We spent a long time in the car with only two stops, and they were very short stops, just to get gas and use the restroom.  Annie and Maden were amazing little travelers! We all cheered when we saw the sign saying we were in the Mountain Time Zone.

There was quite a bit of snow along the way in Nebraska and Wyoming.

We went to the hot tub at the resort, Blake had a spider that looked like it crawled out of his belly button! Don't know where that came from! Annie thought the hot tub was too hot.

Wednesday, May 13

Brian passed his Boards! It was a very hard test, and he had a miracle and passed! Now everything is sent in and he's just waiting to get his license!

We made it home to Blackfoot! Maden wanted to play pool first thing. Annie just had fun rediscovering everything. She loved swinging, and Maden loved picking up pine cones with Grandpa. Annie thought this magnet toy made a good camera, she's telling me to say "cheese". The kids stayed with us and Brian and Celia went and slept in their new bed in the home they've rented in Idaho Falls.

Thursday, May 14

They loved using both sinks to brush their teeth, playing with the toys and playing more pool.  Nikelle brought Molly to meet her cousins, Annie loved the baby and wanted to hold her a lot.  Grandpa got a bunch of fingernails cut, but not Maden's! Annie went with Grandpa to the John Deere store and thought the trike there was really fun.

Maden got in the hot tub, but Annie thought it was too hot. Then suddenly she thought it would be ok. They had a great time!

Saturday, May 16

Brian decided to have their belongings shipped via UHaul Pods.  Cindy and Ken had gone to Erie the week before graduation to help them load the pods.  They got it all in 2 and sent them on their way.  The pods arrived in Idaho Falls on Friday, and we went to pick them up on Saturday morning. Of course, it rained the whole morning.

They were packed pretty tight. Randy, Blake, Jared, Brian and Maden had them unloaded in about 1 1/2 hour.  Maden thought he was one of the big boys and they found boxes that he could lift.  He loved helping.

After everything was unloaded, we got some pizza. It was nice to have so many chairs to sit on.  The kids were excited to find their trikes and bikes and try them out on the new driveway. Courtney even had to try out the little bike.  

We are so excited to have Brian, Celia, Maden, Annie and the new little one who will arrive next month back in Idaho again!

Molly's Blessing Day

May 3, 2015

A very special day for this little family.  Molly was blessed by her daddy! She was dressed in the same dress Nikelle was blessed in, she looked like a sweet little angel.

Driveway Project

May 1, 2015

Randy decided to enlarge his driveway by taking out some trees and bringing some gravel in. The area was not included with the sprinkler system, so it was hard to water and keep up. He took the trees out a couple of weeks ago, then sprayed the grass so it would die. The gravel arrived this morning.

Blake and Randy tried to just move the gravel around with shovels and a wheel barrow, it didn't take long to decide that there had to be a better way.  They borrowed Steve McClellan's tractor (Blake just drove it over). It was wonderful, it turned what would have been an all day job into about an hour.  It turned out very nice and level and will increase the parking greatly.

Temple, Baby Shower and Tulip Festival

April 16 & 17, 2015

Blake, Randy, Courtney and I loaded up in Red and took a little trip to Lehi and Orem, Utah.  Randy and Courtney needed to get some baby supplies from Courtney's sister Megan, and Blake & I wanted to go to a temple.  Megan was giving a shower for Courtney on Saturday and we wanted to go to the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point.  We did it all!

Since the Idaho Falls temple is closed for renovations, we decided that we would go to the Mt. Timpanogas temple. Blake and I dropped Randy & Courtney off at her parents, then went to the temple on Friday night.

Then, on Saturday, Blake took me back to Courtney's parents house for the baby shower. It was a very nice shower, and she got a lot of nice things.  While the shower was going on, Blake and Randy went and fixed Courtney's sister Makala's car and went test driving some cars.  Then they came back and got Courtney and I, we loaded up all her presents and headed out.  We stopped at an outlet mall, then went to the Tulip Festival.

It was a little different than I thought it would be, but there were a lot of beautiful tulips. I just thought it would be fields of tulips like you see in the movies in Holland. They were just spread out through the gardens.

There were tulips of every color! We did a ton of walking and I was amazed at how I didn't hurt at all! It was wonderful!

Molly Beth Purcell

We have another granddaughter! Jared and Nikelle welcomed Molly Beth Purcell into the world on Tuesday, March 31, 2015 at 9:23pm in Idaho Falls. She weighed 7 lbs, 4 oz and was 20 inches long.  She made her appearance about 12 days early! What a little sweetheart!

Her Mom and Dad are so excited to have her here! She looks a lot like Jared did when he was a baby.

Randy and Courtney and I were waiting at the hospital for her to arrive. Blake felt really bad that he had a bad cold so he decided it was not a good idea to be there. We were so excited when they told us we could come meet Molly.

Here are some fun pictures the next day, Wednesday, April 1st. No joke, she's a little Dolly Molly!

It was also no joke that she has some Grandmas that love her. Great Grandma Purcell, and Great Grandma Beth came to meet their newest great grandchild.  I'm so blessed that I live close!

Thursday, April 2nd, it's time to go home! Got all dressed up and fitted in the car seat. Jared decided that his hands are way big to be handling something so tiny. Because Nikelle's mom lives in New Hampshire and her plane tickets were scheduled for April 14th, Jared and Nikelle asked me to come and stay for a few days. What fun to be part of all these firsts.

Made it home! She looks very tiny in the pack and play. Mom and Dad are trying to file those sharp little fingernails.

Friday, April 3rd. Getting some cuddling with Daddy, and Uncle Randy and Aunt Courtney.

Saturday, April 4th. First bath at home. She loves the sound of running water and having her feet rubbed.

Grandpa finally felt better, so he got to come meet his "little tiny baby girl". Luckily, he is a master at cutting tiny baby fingernails. Much better!

While Molly slept in the swing the four of us colored some Easter eggs.

Monday, April 6th we took some pictures with eyes open! 

Tuesday, April 7th, One week old!

Friday, April 10th we decided to do a bit bigger photo shoot. We used a basket, a nice soft blanket and a fabric rug Nikelle made. I think they turned out pretty cute for real amateurs using an iPhone!

Now we added the headband and crown. Such a precious little Dolly Molly!

These are a little later, after a change of clothes became necessary and her eyes were open.

She was wide awake and so pleasant. I love her little hands.

Just a few other snapshots....top right, first outing so she needed a headband! Look at her hands folded snuggly and tight in the very top right picture. In the bottom left, Jared is outside washing the windows while we were taking pictures. I love the one of Nikelle holding her little princess.

We are so thrilled to welcome Molly into our family! It's amazing how much I love her already. It will be so fun to watch her grow! Thanks Jared and Nikelle for letting me be part of this experience, it was such a privilege to be in your home at this very special time with you and your little princess.

Last and Final House Transformation!

I've saved the best for last! The kitchen! It's been a long process, but oh my, it's worth the wait! 

Before:

It's a nice big kitchen, but with dated, plain cabinets. The plan for the kitchen; completely gut and start over!

One of the first things to happen in the kitchen was having a new window installed. Then Randy C. changed the doorway to make the laundry room. Then, Jared came and moved some of the wiring around.

Next, it was time to move out of the kitchen.  My mom came and helped me box everything up.  Blake unhooked the plumbing for the sink. The fridge had to be moved to the living room.

On Saturday, November 22nd, Randy C., Jared, Blake and Randy demolished the kitchen. They had to dump the horse trailer at least twice. It was a dusty mess!

It's now all cleared out. We are officially "kitchenless"!

Next came all the wiring.  Jared, Blake and Randy worked hard! But look at those wonderful lights!

Next came sheet rocking. It was very nice to have Dad's help holding these heavy sheets in place. Randy C. was worried about patching the ceiling and blending the texture with the old ceiling and the new pieces, but he didn't need to worry because it looks amazing!

More tiling! Tanner turned into the Grout Man.

Finally, so cabinets arrived! It was really exciting when the first one went up, we had been very patient waiting for them to come.  Tanner really had to use his head to get this one installed. I'm so grateful that Tanner was able to come help his dad install these!

The granite is being installed! That was a heavy piece! It was an interesting process to watch.  The first time I sat at the bar to eat breakfast the day after the granite was installed, I cried! It was just amazing to me to see this beautiful kitchen taking shape, I was simply overwhelmed. Blake is actually holding up the end plate while it's being screwed in from the other side.  There are so many details to get this all finished.

Randy's not really napping on the counter, he's working on the backsplash!  I got really tired of making decisions, but I'm so happy with the way this all came together!

Now it's Jared's turn to come back and work his magic. They installed the microwave, and range. He put under counter LED lights, above the sink lights and lights up in the little window cabinets above the sink. It's all amazing!

Here are some of the cool cabinets.  I love the spice rack on the lazy susan cupboard door. I also love the garbage next to the sink with a towel rod for a handle. This drawer works really well for cookie sheets and cooling racks.

I also love these drawers inside the cabinets! I want to thank Julie again, she came and helped me organize my kitchen! She really has a talent for organizing and planning! 

We put these new fangled "lazy susans" in both corner cabinets. They work really well. 

Here comes the finished Kitchen!

I still marvel at how beautiful it is! It's not just beautiful, it's very functional and easy! Sometimes, I just can't believe this is my kitchen!

Here are a few details.  The tap is awesome, you just have to touch it to turn it on. I love the shelves on the end. I love the granite, it sparkles! I also love the window cabinets above the sink.

I love my "new" house! We started this remodel on Sept.15, 2014 and it was finished on Feb. 20, 2015. It got long, but it was worth it! Thank you, Randy Chambers for your willingness to take on this project. I am amazed at your talents and abilities. You are such a hard worker, with such great vision. I actually miss having you come every day! We had some great times. You can forever call me "your highness"! I will forever think of you as the magician, because you definitely worked magic in our house.