February 8, 2010
After Brad Saw The Last Post....
Okay- so after my husband saw the last post he called me up and demanded that I change it. While he does most of the remodeling stuff around the house and I try to keep it clean, and put dinner on the table-- I guess I do have to say that I help him with some of the small stuff. The night after writing that post I helped with grouting the tile in our bathroom. He has to teach me how to do a lot of it and sometimes I say "no way, no how" but I do try to do all that I can.
February 3, 2010
Thank You!
I just want to say how grateful I am for my husband. He comes home from a hard day at work and without any hesitation or complaints changes into his grubby clothes and gets to work on our house. I am so grateful that
1) he is willing to do all that he does without complaining
2) that he knows how to do so much (he has done some pretty major electrical work, tiling, painting, texturing a ceiling, putting in new windows, inserted a fan, and so much more)! It not only saves us so much money but also really makes us feel that this house is ours.
I sometimes feel so lost because he's doing all sorts of things that I can't help with.
Thanks so much sweetheart!
December 9, 2009
Gotta Love Kids
So I was correcting my students science tests today and I had a few laughs out loud and knew that I had to post them.
Here they are:
The question was: "Describe the steps you would take to make a simple working compass". Now---we did an experiment where they made a simple working compass by magnetizing a needle, sticking it Styrofoam, then sticking that in a cup of water- the needle points north. We also talked about it a few times and it was in a movie we watched. Almost all of them got the question right but there were a few answers that were pretty clever.
- "Take a piece of paper, write North, South, East, and West. Take a paperclip and attach it." (if only it were that easy).
-"I would take all the direction letters off" (yes...I suppose that would make it more simple)
-1st- You take the compass and put it towards north. 2nd- pick it up and walk west. 3rd- turn back north and there you go :) (the smiley face was included on the test)
Next question: "Why does a compass needle point north?"
-"It has to or else it won't work" (true, true)
Last one: "What do the magnetic fields of a bar magnet, horseshoe magnet, and disc magnet have in common?"
-"They all have magnetic fields" (as if the question didn't already state that out).
If they are going to get the answer wrong at least it gave me a laugh! Luckily for the most part they did awesome on the test. :)
Here they are:
The question was: "Describe the steps you would take to make a simple working compass". Now---we did an experiment where they made a simple working compass by magnetizing a needle, sticking it Styrofoam, then sticking that in a cup of water- the needle points north. We also talked about it a few times and it was in a movie we watched. Almost all of them got the question right but there were a few answers that were pretty clever.
- "Take a piece of paper, write North, South, East, and West. Take a paperclip and attach it." (if only it were that easy).
-"I would take all the direction letters off" (yes...I suppose that would make it more simple)
-1st- You take the compass and put it towards north. 2nd- pick it up and walk west. 3rd- turn back north and there you go :) (the smiley face was included on the test)
Next question: "Why does a compass needle point north?"
-"It has to or else it won't work" (true, true)
Last one: "What do the magnetic fields of a bar magnet, horseshoe magnet, and disc magnet have in common?"
-"They all have magnetic fields" (as if the question didn't already state that out).
If they are going to get the answer wrong at least it gave me a laugh! Luckily for the most part they did awesome on the test. :)
November 4, 2009
A "New" House
Life has been so absolutely crazy since my last post (pathetically from July) that I have put off blogging. Especially since we've had some big events happen since our last entry.
So to start off with the most time consuming and exciting bit of news....we bought a house! We had been looking every spare moment for about 2 months and we were starting to become pretty frustrated. We definitely were coming into the housing market without too much knowledge so we had to many times adjust our price range, expectations, areas of our search, etc. Luckily Brad and I pretty much had the same idea of what we wanted.
Well the push to find something really increased when we were supposed to be out of our apartment by the end of the month. I was off track for the summer so I started making daily drives around neighborhoods looking up homes we had found on the internet. Well one day while I was looking for a house just in some Millcreek neighborhoods northeast of where we were currently living I happened to drive past a house that I became interested in. I called the number on the sign and the real estate agent basically just told me, "Sorry that house is already under contract." So I moved on. Later that night the agent called me back and left a message on my phone explaining that the contract had fallen through because the person had gotten extremely sick, lost his job, and no longer qualified for the house. She had looked up my number on her caller ID and wanted to know if we were still interested in it. I called her back later the next day and we were the first people to go through it after the broken contract. We fell in love with it. It was exactly what we were looking for: a nice neighborhood with big trees, perfect starter house size, an older house with lots of character, and it just had a good feeling inside of it that we hadn't felt in any other house before. So we played the little offer/counter offer game and finally got it under contract! We were so excited.
We moved in around the middle of August and have been working on making it our own ever since. The house was built in 1941 (very old so it has a lot of quirky things about it) and had previously had only one owner which we thought was pretty cool (it was an estate sale). From everyone we have talked to it sounds like they took care of the house like you wouldn't believe. The daughter said that they weren't allowed to run in the house, the neighbors say that it was so clean you could have eaten off the floor, and supposedly the yard was the husband's pride and joy. So needless to say- the house looks like a grandparents house complete with wallpaper, linoleum, orange carpet and wood paneling downstairs- but it is in great condition. So we'll continue to take small projects at a time to update and modernize but try to keep some of it's character there as well.
Here is a picture of the house when we bought it:
We realized that since it was going to start turning colder soon that we should tackle the outside first. It was in great shape but we wanted to liven it up a bit. We have painted the top siding (oh for quite awhile there were multiple colors up there while we were trying to find the paint we had in mind- I think the neighbors thought we were crazy), taken off that hideous storm door, painted and attached shutters, painted the door and hardware, changed the mailbox and porch light, torn off the gray porch carpet, reinforced the raingutters, painted the trim and white picket fence next to the house, removed those shade awning things over the windows, taken off the drapes and replaced with blinds, fixed some cracks in the cement, pulled out rose bushes and fitzers, and done many other things around the yard.
This is the outcome (when it gets warmer we are going to fix the trim and railings on the porch).
Now it was time to start tackling the inside stuff! I went off track the last week of October so one day I decided that it was time to work on the upstairs bathroom. When you start remodeling you realize how funny they did things long ago. So the upstairs bathroom looked like this before (notice the lovely wallpaper and light fixture):
I think we'll keep the lights as a weapon! :)
So to start off with the most time consuming and exciting bit of news....we bought a house! We had been looking every spare moment for about 2 months and we were starting to become pretty frustrated. We definitely were coming into the housing market without too much knowledge so we had to many times adjust our price range, expectations, areas of our search, etc. Luckily Brad and I pretty much had the same idea of what we wanted.
Well the push to find something really increased when we were supposed to be out of our apartment by the end of the month. I was off track for the summer so I started making daily drives around neighborhoods looking up homes we had found on the internet. Well one day while I was looking for a house just in some Millcreek neighborhoods northeast of where we were currently living I happened to drive past a house that I became interested in. I called the number on the sign and the real estate agent basically just told me, "Sorry that house is already under contract." So I moved on. Later that night the agent called me back and left a message on my phone explaining that the contract had fallen through because the person had gotten extremely sick, lost his job, and no longer qualified for the house. She had looked up my number on her caller ID and wanted to know if we were still interested in it. I called her back later the next day and we were the first people to go through it after the broken contract. We fell in love with it. It was exactly what we were looking for: a nice neighborhood with big trees, perfect starter house size, an older house with lots of character, and it just had a good feeling inside of it that we hadn't felt in any other house before. So we played the little offer/counter offer game and finally got it under contract! We were so excited.
We moved in around the middle of August and have been working on making it our own ever since. The house was built in 1941 (very old so it has a lot of quirky things about it) and had previously had only one owner which we thought was pretty cool (it was an estate sale). From everyone we have talked to it sounds like they took care of the house like you wouldn't believe. The daughter said that they weren't allowed to run in the house, the neighbors say that it was so clean you could have eaten off the floor, and supposedly the yard was the husband's pride and joy. So needless to say- the house looks like a grandparents house complete with wallpaper, linoleum, orange carpet and wood paneling downstairs- but it is in great condition. So we'll continue to take small projects at a time to update and modernize but try to keep some of it's character there as well.
Here is a picture of the house when we bought it:
We realized that since it was going to start turning colder soon that we should tackle the outside first. It was in great shape but we wanted to liven it up a bit. We have painted the top siding (oh for quite awhile there were multiple colors up there while we were trying to find the paint we had in mind- I think the neighbors thought we were crazy), taken off that hideous storm door, painted and attached shutters, painted the door and hardware, changed the mailbox and porch light, torn off the gray porch carpet, reinforced the raingutters, painted the trim and white picket fence next to the house, removed those shade awning things over the windows, taken off the drapes and replaced with blinds, fixed some cracks in the cement, pulled out rose bushes and fitzers, and done many other things around the yard.
This is the outcome (when it gets warmer we are going to fix the trim and railings on the porch).
Now it was time to start tackling the inside stuff! I went off track the last week of October so one day I decided that it was time to work on the upstairs bathroom. When you start remodeling you realize how funny they did things long ago. So the upstairs bathroom looked like this before (notice the lovely wallpaper and light fixture):
I think we'll keep the lights as a weapon! :)Well my mom and I tore off the wallpaper (amazingly enough it came off in full sheets) only to discover that the walls before were painted a nice really bright peach color. After much scrubbing and sanding the glue is finally off all the walls and ceiling (oh yes- there was white wallpaper on the ceiling). The most exciting part though was when Brad and I removed the large mirror. Behind the mirror was a cutout in the wall with a box that fit perfectly into the hole in the wall. It was like a moment you see in a movie when you start thinking, "What if they put their life savings or some expensive jewelry or old coins in this box???". We pulled the box out and sadly inside there was only old newspaper to fill the space (apparently it was November 1976 when they did some remodeling in the bathroom). It looks like the box (which was hollow from the other side) was the old medicine cabinet that was set in the wall. We're still looking for our hidden treasure though!
We have now torn out the linoleum, the sink, and the toilet. Now the fixing up can start rather than the demolishing. Wait to see the finished product!
More events coming soon!
We have now torn out the linoleum, the sink, and the toilet. Now the fixing up can start rather than the demolishing. Wait to see the finished product!
More events coming soon!
July 12, 2009
Summer Happenings
This summer has been a crazy but fun one! Not only because it started out with rainstorm after rainstorm but we've also had a lot of fun doing all sorts of things. June is always crazy since I am still teaching and dealing with all of the end of year junk but we manage to squeeze in some fun as well. Here's a list of the good times we've had:
- Memorial Day Softball Game with the Davis family
- Natalie's high school graduation on the same day as Kenny and Michele's baby birth (The Buttars' side)
- My 24th birthday (thank you all for the birthday wishes and thanks Brad for the wonderful day!)
- Game night with my college friends every month
- Brad running the Wasatch Back Relay! He had to run the Ragnar (the hardest leg of the race) and did awesome!
- Sleepover at the Bunkhouse- very primitive but oh so fun
- 4th of July celebrations- Deweyville breakfast & parade, Logan fireworks, and then a gorgeous 4-wheeling ride up to the top of Mt. Logan
- Tinfoil Dinners up Millcreek Canyon with some ward friends
- Beauty & the Beast at the Murray Amphitheater
- Mother's Day, Father's Day, Kevin Buttars birthday, Natalie Buttars birthday, Bob Buttars birthday, and so many more
- Manti Pageant and sleepover in Salina
- Landen Buttars (Kenny and Michele's baby) baby blessing
- Family Reunions galore
- Finishing my 2nd year of teaching
- Retro dining experience at The Road Side Cafe in Oakley (if you've never been there you gotta go- it's in an old railcar and the best Philly Cheesesteak sandwich you'll ever have in your life)
- And so much more......
May 28, 2009
Forever Strong On and Off The Field
One of my favorite movies finally came out on DVD this week! For any of you who have not yet seen this....see it! This is the best locally made movie around. It's inspiring, entertaining, and impressive. This movie reinforced my feelings of rugby vs. football....rugby is tough stuff and so much more entertaining. We just bought it and I can't wait to watch it again! 
May 7, 2009
Teacher Appreciation Week
Teaching can be an exhausting job and many times I wonder why I put myself through such stress (especially during report card time). Yet it is one of the most rewarding and fun jobs as well. I think back to those days at Cookies By Design or the Dry Cleaners and it makes me so grateful I don't have to do that anymore.
This last week was Teacher Appreciation Week and it definitely helped me feel rejuvenated and realize why I do this. No, I don't do it for all the goodies that I receive (just look at the picture below!) although I definitely won't complain. It's those notes of thanks from the students and/or parents that really keep me going. The parents that tell me I have made a difference in their child's life, the students that tell me that they now love reading, and the many other notes of thanks. It's also the excitement on my students faces when we do some pretty cool science experiments or when they finally understand a difficult concept.
Thank you Utah State for preparing me to become a (somewhat) successful teacher. Thank you Brad for all your patience with the hours, and hours, and more hours it takes after school. Thank you 5th grade team for helping me along the way. Last of all, thanks to all those parents and students who make it a successful and awesome experience.
Now the questions is....what the heck do I do with all of these Peanut M&M's?
This last week was Teacher Appreciation Week and it definitely helped me feel rejuvenated and realize why I do this. No, I don't do it for all the goodies that I receive (just look at the picture below!) although I definitely won't complain. It's those notes of thanks from the students and/or parents that really keep me going. The parents that tell me I have made a difference in their child's life, the students that tell me that they now love reading, and the many other notes of thanks. It's also the excitement on my students faces when we do some pretty cool science experiments or when they finally understand a difficult concept.
Thank you Utah State for preparing me to become a (somewhat) successful teacher. Thank you Brad for all your patience with the hours, and hours, and more hours it takes after school. Thank you 5th grade team for helping me along the way. Last of all, thanks to all those parents and students who make it a successful and awesome experience.
Now the questions is....what the heck do I do with all of these Peanut M&M's?
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