Can you say, "Dremel?"

Ammon showed me how to use his Dremel tool so that I could do this fun design on our pumpkin. I used an exacto knife to cut out the words and instead of carving all the way through, I just took off the orange skin and thinned the wall of the pumpkin from the inside. If you decide to do something like this with your pumpkin, here's a helpful hint: you can't use a real candle. Since there aren't any holes in the pumpkin, there is no air circulation to feed a candle. I just use a few of the electric candles that have the flicker motion & they work really well!



Our New Bed

I found the plans for this bed at Knock-Off Wood by Ana White. It is called the Farmhouse Bed. I did have to figure out my own measurements, because the ones she has for the King-sized version has the mattress turned so it's 80"wide x 76" long. We like ours the normal way. So ours is 76" wide x 80" long. I also added ten inches of extra height to the footboard measurements. This was such a fun project to work on together & it turned out just like I imagined it would!

A fairly easy project

I forgot that I had pictures of this on my camera until I uploaded them this evening & surprised myself. This was a fairly easy project to complete & I am totally happy with the results. Someone made us a board similar to this (in different colors) as a wedding gift, but I have to admit that I have no idea what happened to it. The last I can remember for sure seeing it is when we lived in Flagstaff before we moved to Payson the first time. No idea where it went, which is a bummer because it was pretty cute. So, I decided to make another one. Don't you just love my vinyl lettering. Ha! Tricked ya! It's not vinyl! I used the same method that I have used before to fool you & used scrapbook paper. I first had my husband cut me a board 25" long, which he also routered the edges on to give it a more classy finish. Then I painted it white (I know, super hard). In my previous "vinyl" lettering projects I've had to cut out my letters by hand with an exacto knife, but no longer! I recently purchased theSilhouette SD, which is wonderful! I love it! I used it to cut out my letters in black, & then green for our first names. Then I painted some Mod Podge onto the board under each letter, applied the letters & then coated it all with a generous layer of the mod podge again. It's now hanging above my door & I love looking at it!

What you wish for

So we've been getting some rain the last couple days. Yesterday morning, though, it was kind of sunny in the morning & I was wondering where the supposed storm had gone. It clouded up during the afternoon & was sprinkling when Ammon got home just after 3:00. It continued to get heavier until we could hear it pounding on the roof, even with the TV on. Then, I went to let Jack out in the backyard & when I opened the door, the water was at least 1/2 inch deep on our patio. I told Ammon & he headed outside to check things out. I guess our two inch drain pipe that lets water drain from the back yard into the front yard wasn't up to the task of releasing all that water. So, Ammon dug the drainage trench a little bigger (noticing along the way that once the trench hits the end of our front yard, it just turns to head into our neighbor's yard. bummer for them, right?) & things got a little better. Then, the rain started coming down even harder (how is that possible!) & he decided to just enlarge the hole where the water escapes. He & Jack got soaked outside & finally came in at least half an hour later. Apparently that was the key, because our yard drained fine, & our house is still standing & quite dry this morning. With all the rain & the power flicking on & off, it made for a fun evening. How's the weather where you are?

Hooray!!!

We are officially moved! We are so excited to be in our brand new, very first, own home! I have tackled the kitchen first, trying to get things into cupboards and drawers. We have so much more storage space than in our last rental house, practically double. We have tons of counter space, and can fit both of us in the kitchen at the same time, even with tons of boxes, without bumping into each other every few seconds! We also have the living room pretty much taken care of, which includes the entertainment center and computer desk. Everything fits so nicely and we still have room!
I am really looking forward to the fact that we won't have to scoot the couch closer to the TV and pull our dining room table away from the wall when we have people over for dinner! We have an actual dining room, and separate living room. I think I will tackle the dining room and bedroom next, then the extra two bedrooms. I'm going to let Ammon tackle the garage, since that is his "man space."
If you would like our address just leave a comment and I can email it to you! Hooray for a new house!

P.S. I know you are all dying for pictures and I really will try to get them posted soon!

Almost There

We signed all the loan documents for our house yesterday afternoon. That means that we should close on Friday at the latest. We are hoping that it all works out that way so that we can get in and do some cleaning, and then start moving stuff in! We are buying a house! Yippee!