Happy Birthday Court!!

December 5, 1982

Cannot believe Courtney is 30! I don't feel as old now :) Love you Chichi.. Enjoy!

 A sister is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost.  

~Marion C. Garretty

 Help one another, is part of the religion of sisterhood.  

~Louisa May Alcott

 When mom and dad don't understand, a sister always will.  

~Author Unknown

 If you don't understand how a woman could both love her sister dearly and want to wring her neck at the same time, then you were probably an only child.  ~Linda Sunshine

 Sisters don't need words.  They have perfected a language of snarls and smiles and frowns and winks - expressions of shocked surprise and incredulity and disbelief.  Sniffs and snorts and gasps and sighs - that can undermine any tale you're telling.  ~Pam Brown

 A sister shares childhood memories and grown-up dreams.  

~Author Unknown

 The mildest, drowsiest sister has been known to turn tiger if her sibling is in trouble.  ~Clara Ortega

 A sister smiles when one tells one's stories - for she knows where the decoration has been added.  

~Chris Montaigne

 Sisters are different flowers from the same garden.  

~Author Unknown

 Is solace anywhere more comforting than in the arms of a sister.  

~Alice Walker

 A sister can be seen as someone who is both ourselves and very much not ourselves - a special kind of double.  

~Toni Morrison

 Brothers and sisters are as close as hands and feet.  

~Vietnamese Proverb

 “Jo's face was a study next day, for the secret rather weighed upon her, and she found it hard not to look mysterious and important. Meg observed it, but did not troubled herself to make inquiries, for she had learned that the best way to manage Jo was by the law of contraries, so she felt sure of being told everything if she did not ask.” 

-Louisa May Alcott, Little Women

She is your mirror, shining back at you with a world of possibilities.  She is your witness, who sees you at your worst and best, and loves you anyway.  She is your partner in crime, your midnight companion, someone who knows when you are smiling, even in the dark.  She is your teacher, your defense attorney, your personal press agent, even your shrink.  Some days, she's the reason you wish you were an only child.  

~Barbara Alpert

Rio's 1st Birthday Party

September 23, 2012

Rio and Miss Morgan 

 Rio and Miss Kylen

 Rio and his MomG

 Jen, Ryan and Ky

 Rio and Matthew. Matthew is Jen and Ryan's boy who is always adorable with Rio. Ryan coaches with Gabe at the U. I am so sad I did not get any pictures with Mason (Matthew's brother) who is also super cute with Rio. They all play together at the U of U soccer games.

 Rio's favorite place at the little gym! Notice Ashton holding her earring... Rio yanked that thing off real good :)

 These two cannot get enough of each other.

 We got Rio and Parker's Birthday cake from City Cakes. They were able to make it Vegan and gluten free!

 The Aunts and Uncles were able to make it.

 Our dear friend Alexis and her kids, Eva, Will and Markus. 

 "The Fam"

 We had Parker over to take pics for the boy's invitations. Gabe took the pictures while I tried to distract Rio. Parker was so patient and acted like a sweet big brother while Rio kept climbing on him, trying to wrestle him, and relentlessly attempting to take Parker's ball. Gabe made them on Shutterfly. Great job babe! We actually did not end up using them as the Little Gym sent out their own invitations for the party. 

For Rio's 1st Birthday, we celebrated by having a birthday bash at the Little Gym where Rio goes for his weekly Bird class (they call his age group little birdies). Because Parker's b-day is a couple days before Rio, we decided to have the party together. It worked out extremely well. It was the perfect place as the little kids and big kids all had stuff to do- thankfully! There were a couple of instructors who played games with all the kids and made sure the big kids were careful and aware of the little ones. For some reason I was a bit nervous during the entire party and therefore my mind was not on top of snapping good photos. I wish I would have had all the kids get together for a group photo and an individual of Parker and Rio. Oh well... next year! You learn as you go, huh Court :) The party was on Saturday and Rio's Birthday was on Sunday. I will post Rio's stats and official b-day pics shortly.

Basement Rental

Basement is finally finished and ready to rent out!

 Separate Entrance. We will doll up the curb appeal next Spring.

 Backyard patio the tenant has access to. They will have their own little patio in the Spring when we have the funds to put up a fence with a gate. Will post pics of the patio shortly.

 Front door access. This is the living area. This is the wall we added with french doors. They can use this as a second bedroom or office. We did the french doors, so the tenant can use both rooms as a main living area if they want. We chose a light colored tile to mesh with the gorgeous wood panelling:/ It actually has grown on me!

 Second bedroom with a fake fireplace. Yes, the fireplace is just for show! It was sealed when we bought the house. We were thinking about putting an electric fireplace in there when we were ambitious in the beginning, but then the basement budget quickly caught us off guard and we decided to just leave it as is.

 Bedroom #1 with closet space

 The washer/dryer. The kitchen is huge so we put this in the corner. It worked out well.

 The bathroom has double sinks but only has a walk in shower with no tub. These mirrors were brown and in our main living bathroom and a room upstairs (random). We painted them white to match the trim and cabinets.

 Can you tell which cabinets are new :) We replaced old old metal cabinets and a rotten sink with these new ones. The countertop is new as well. We replaced all the handles too. 

A big must have for us when we were looking for homes in SLC was a basement that could be used as a mother-in-law apartment. The basement needed A TON of work but we were up for it or rather willing to spend the $ to get it ready :) We got all new flooring (had brown carpet), painted and touched up all the rooms, added a second bedroom/office, new cabinets and sink, new toilet (craigslist find for free), tiled kitchen counters and used tile as backsplash, added custom blinds, updated and grounded all the electrical outlets, new light fixtures in all the rooms, and plumbed for a washer/dryer for tenant. It took longer than expected but we have a renter now and get $695 monthly. The biggest lesson we learned during the remodeling process, is you always have to consider electrical, plumbing, and HVAC work may need to be done as well. I love this type of stuff and hope to become a landlord of many more properties. You cannot beat someone else paying your mortgages and having your money work for you instead of you always working for $! From the mouth of Scott McGillivray (Income Property).. "Taking checks to the bank!"

Home Cooking

I am so thankful to be able to stay at home to take care of Rio. Some of our best days have been spent at home playing games and spending time in the yard.