Under Contract

Those of you who actually read to the end of my last post may have noticed that I mentioned that the offer we put on a house has been accepted. Well, we now have a contract on the house and are working toward a January 22 closing date. Wahoo!! The house itself might not look very big, but we assure you that the mortgage is... It is a cute little house in an historic district (seriously, it's on the national historic registry for being a track house built in the '50s) in the perfect location for us. We are quite excited.

Here are some pics. Descriptions are above. For example, this pictures shows the exterior of the house featuring the for sale sign.

This is the view of the living and dining room and into the kitchen from the front door.


Here's a shot of the kitchen and dining areas. (The dining area is pretty small...like 2 feet.)

Here's the kitchen. It's all brand new...

Here is the bathroom that we will be sharing with our children. Nothing brings a family together like sharing a tiny bathroom.

This room will be the nursery as it is the smallest and quite fitting for the smallest member of the family.

This room is the master. You can't really tell it apart from the nursery in the picture, but it is quite a bit bigger. There's another bedroom upstairs as well, but apparently I forgot to capture it. That's okay, it would look pretty much exactly like the other two anyway.

The staircase downstairs is in the kitchen. Here's the view coming up the stairs.

There are two bedrooms in the basement, although the previous owner knocked out the wall between them. Putting the wall back up is already on our project list. We're going to use one as a storage room and one as a guest room (for anyone who wants to come visit!).

There is also a full bathroom in the basement. My favorite part about it is the shower that I can barely stand up in because the ceilings are low. It shouldn't be a problem as long as our kids aren't tall...

Most of the basement has normal ceilings. There's just one little corner that is really low. The bottom of that light comes down to my nose. Project #2 - take out that low fixture and put in a recessed light.

Here's the view of the staircase coming down into the basement.

There's a nice sized rec room downstairs. It's also a walkout basement, so it's nice and sunny down there.

We have a nice little back yard (featuring a ginormous shed). Justin is already planning to put a grill/smoker/woodfire oven in that corner.

Here's the other side of the yard. Notice the bike path 2 feed out the back yard. Prime location for a family that likes to bike!

I'll post more when we actually buy the house, paint it and move in. Here's to thirty years of house payments!!

Snow Day Craftiness

So what do you do when it randomly snows two feet overnight? I decided to make Christmas stockings. Actually, I was already planning on making the stockings that day, but not being able to go anywhere definitely reinforced the plan. You see, a few weeks ago I decided that I would make a Christmas tree skirt, so I bought a whole bunch of fabric only to realize later that we actually bought a tree skirt last year. Oops. Good thing that I also had it on my list to make stockings as well.

Last year, Justin's mom gave us his stocking that he'd used growing up, so I decided to make one for me and Colton to match. (Warning: Those who are not so interested in craft projects, should probably just scroll to the bottom at this point and look at the finished product.) I started by cutting 2 1/2 inch strips of 5 different fabrics, sewing them together and then ironing them flat.

Then I realized, I should probably have some kind of pattern, so I traced Justin's stocking onto newspaper. This is good because I ended upcutting out two front quilted pieces, two back pieces, four pieces of muslin and four pieces of fusable fleece. I guess I should point out right now that this project took me all day.

Once the front piece was cut out, I had to sew on the toe and heel and embroider around them. (Justin's mom used lace, but it turns out that I don't actually have any lace on hand. Justin thought maybe I could cut up a lacy shirt, but it also turns out that I don't own any lacy shirts...)

Once the front was entirely done, then I just had to attach it to the fleece and muslin and quilt down the front. Then I attached it to the back. I included the picture to show that I actually used pins. Sometimes the quality of my sewing workmanship is seriously hampered by the fact that I am too lazy to put in pins. It just seems like so much effort to pin stuff just to unpin it again. I guess the efficiency of not pinning is undermined by the ineffeciency of having to unpick things and redo them. Anyway, all that was then left to do was sew on the top, and voila! Two of the cutest darn Christmas stockings you have ever seen!!

And what was Justin doing all this time? Well, he was taking care of Colton and finding us the perfect mortgage...because while I was sewing, the offer we put on a house was approved!

A Wicked-awesome birthday

You don't turn 29 everyday. And, in all truthfullness, I didn't actually turn 29 this year. (If you look hard, you can see two little toothpicks aflame...we kind of forgot to buy more candles since Justin's birthday.) But Justin did a great job making this a memorable birthday. He surprised me with a trip to New York to see Wicked!

We started our trip out with a nice workout...running from Metro Center past Union Station to the Greyhound station so that we wouldn't miss our bus. For those of you unfamiliar with D.C. that is approximately FAR (see map). And let's just say that one of us hasn't exercised in a year and one of us was carrying a suitcase. I'll let you decide which was which.

Fortunately, we made it just in time to get on the bus. (And can I say that taking the bus is really the best way to get to NY these days.)

Anyway, when we got to NY, we checked into our hotel and then strolled around Central Park. On our way back, there were suddenly tons of police everywhere and barracades around the street. We were very confused until we looked over and saw a huge tree...and Rockefeller center. It turns out we were there the night they lit the tree. If we hadn't already had tickets we would have had a front row spot for the big event. As it was, we had to push our way through the crowds to get back to our hotel.

We then enjoyed a nice dinner at Carmines. I would highly recommend it. We ordered an appetizer of fried zucchini. Too bad we didn't have an extra 14 people with us to help us finish it...

Let's just say that at Carmines, the portions are large...But it was fun to get all dressed up and go out.

After dinner, we headed over to the show. We had great seats--sixth row, almost center. It is a fantastic show. (And yes, Justin liked it too. For some reason, people keep asking if he liked it. I guess they don't know how cultured he is.)

Justin gets full points for giving me a great birthday! (And Michael and Julie score some big points as well for tending Colton for us.) It was a great way to start a thirty-one-derful year!

Nothing says holiday like Frog's Sugar Cookies

Sometimes you just really need a sugar cookie. When that happens, I always turn to my Aunt Frog's recipe. (You'll have to talk to my mom if you want to know why her sister was referred to as "Frog".) The cookies are soft and delicious similar to these ones, and really not all that hard to make. Here's the recipe:

Sift together (if you do that sort of thing. I always just dump stuff in sans sifting):

3 cups flour

1 tsp soda

1/2 tsp salt

In a separate bowl mix together:

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg (unbeaten)

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup sour cream

Slowly stir the flour mixture into the wet mixture. Role them out on a floured surface (about 1/4 inch thick). Bake on a greased cookie sheet at 375 F 7-9 minutes (until the bottom just starts looking golden). Makes about 24-30 cookies, depending on the size of your cookie cutters.

Frost with your favorite icing. As for me, I dump in random amounts of butter, powder sugar, vanilla and milk until it looks and tastes how I want it to. This time I added LOTS of green food coloring to make the really bold Christmas trees. And it turns out that sprinkles are a better way to go than frosting tips for the inexperienced cookie maker (such as myself). Yummy! I would seriously recommend you make these this holiday season.

Best Turkey Ever

It turns out that honey smoked turkey is really as good as it sounds. And in honor of our national day of giving thanks, here are the top ten things (not necessarily in order of importance) that came to my mind as I started listing what I am thankful for:

1. Justin. He may be the best husband ever. I don't think I went to the grocery store more than twice in our whole first year of marriage. And he cleans. Enough said.

2. Colton. He may be the best baby ever. I don't know how he turned out so darn cute.

3. Family. I love my parents. I love my siblings.

4. In-Laws. It has recently been brought to my attention that not everyone gets along with their in-laws. I feel pretty lucky to have in-laws that I love spending time with, and they've made me feel loved and welcomed from the first time I met them....such a blessing!

5. The navy. I'm glad that they navy is willing to pay Justin enough money that we can afford to have only one income.

6. Height. I'm glad that I'm tall. It makes it way easier to reach things on high shelves and see in crowds.

7. Church. I love the direction and support it provides in my life.

8. Couches. I still love my red couches. They were by far the best purchase of 2006. They are comfy, stylish, and turn out to be very entertaining to small children.

9. Food. I love anything made out of a potato. I love ice cream (cinnamon is my current fav). I love cookies. Eating good things makes life better.

10. Good friends. I'm glad that I'm still close to the ladies of the L. I'm glad that I had amazing roommates in college. I'm glad that I have great friends out here in Virginia.

Thank you Thanksgiving for encouraging me to spend some time thinking about all my blessings!

Justin Scott, M.E.M

After years of torturous work, I'm proud to announce that Justin has officially finished his Masters degree in Engineering Management. The professor who graded his capstone project said that Justin's was one of the best executive summaries he's seen of the hundreds that he's read for this program and that writing such summaries was an art that Justin had clearly mastered. Justin said that the real art was taking the executive summary and making it a 40 page capstone paper. Either way, I'm proud of you for pushing through to the end. Way to go!!!

Here's a closer look at those cupcakes:

Sadness

My mom always told me that when I was a baby, I was (of course) very adorable. She has often told me how people would come up to look at me to admire my cuteness, but the moment they did so, I made it my practice to immediately stick out my bottom lip in a heart-melting frown.

Well, the other day I was at the doctor, and I had Colton with me, so I turned him around so she could admire his cuteness. And what did he do? That's right! Apparently, sticking out that bottom lip is genetic. And I must say that I find it to be completely endearing. You can judge for yourself.

Sad

Sadder

Saddest

By the way, my appologies to my mother if sadder and saddest are not actually words. Darn that superlative case!!

Cute little monkey...

I can't say that Justin and I were the cutest palm trees in the world...
But I'm pretty sure that Colton is a dang cute little monkey.

And it would appear that he is destined to have a sweet tooth (he is genetically inclined to it from both his parents). He was quite literally drooling over this plate of cupcakes.

YMCA

Isn't it the worst when you fall asleep right in the middle of a rousing rendition of YMCA? He's probably best at the "Y" anyway...

Mental Pictures

I am terrible at taking pictures. It's not just that they don't turn out great...but I forget to take them at all. My mission pictures, for example, consist pretty much exclusively of me at Zone Conference or baptisms because those were the only times I'd remember to take it out. I had a whole companionship where I didn't take a single picture. Now that I have a blog, I at least occasionally take a picture specifically because I think it would make a great blog post. For example:

This was going to be a follow-up post when the Cougars were demolished by Florida State. Clearly, I never got around to it, but the devastation I felt was real nonetheless.

Anyway, the point is that I just spent two and a half fabulous weeks in Utah, and I fear that my pattern of not taking any pictures continued, so for this blog post I'll have to satisfy myself with mental pictures instead. I can think of several highlights of the trip that are picture-worthy:

• 
  
  Introducing Colton to the extended Durham family at Grandma's 84th birthday party.
• 
  
  Getting together with Emily and Kristi (who was also randomly in town) for a play group with only Colton.
• 
  
  A festivus reunion dinner at Red Robin with my dear friend MaryAnn.
• 
  
  Hanging out with Ben and Cami and Grandma Scott for conference.
• 
  
  Justin fixing the toilet paper holders in the upstairs bathrooms at my parents' house, despite his nasty cold.
• 
  
  Meeting Katie D for lunch in American Fork (and buying a lot of cookies).
• 
  
  Sharing Sunday dinner with Cousin Ted and Sarah and adorable little Drew.
• 
  
  Chad's 30th almost-surprise birthday party.
• 
  
  Dinner at Los with a some of the ladies of the L and their spouses.
• 
  
  Playing Book Worm with Joshy and having him tell me we better go get Grandma Louise to help because I'm not very good at it.
• 
  
  Getting very thorough pedicures with Margaret in a color that turned out to be one step away from black.
• 
  
  Taking a lovely walk down Timpview Drive with Cari and our two strollers.
• 
  
  My mom and dad and I sitting around the computer playing Chuzzle (we got the high score).
• 
  
  Coming home to Justin who had gotten me flowers and prepared a full at-home spa treatment for me after a long day of flying home alone with a congested infant--complete with candles, bubble bath, and chocolate-dipped stawberries. This might be my favorite mental picture of all.

The one thing I did take actual pictures of (in mass quantity) was Colton and his new cousin/future best friend Zac.

These little boys in their matching Sunday onesies were too irresistible not to take pictures of them!!!

Rise and Shout!

There are a lot of BYU fans out there. I know this. But so many people's dedication to the Y didn't take place until actually going to BYU. In some cases, even attending BYU didn't make you a true cougar fan (Cousin Ted, you know who you are--what's with this I was born a U fan, and I'm going to die a U fan? It just doesn't make sense when your diploma says BYU at the top...but I digress and that is a discussion for another post.) My passion for BYU football began in earnest in junior high school. Those were the good old days of Cougar football. Ty Detmer. Dewy Gray. Chad Lewis. Peter Tuipilotu. Kalin Hall. Jamal Willis. Eric Drage. Margaret and I used to get to each game early, and we'd wait by the door of the locker rooms at the end so we could give the team a high five. We were obsessed. We knew every player by name and number. We never missed a game. We even endured sitting in the most boring section in Cougar stadium next to the exact same people year after year after year (no offense to the faculty section, but really, you are supposed to cheer at a football game). I'm not quite so obsessed now (probably because they only broadcast a couple games a year on the east coast--although we are considering getting a direct tv, mostly just so we can watch the games), I'm dedicated enough to still put on my BYU t-shirt and cheer loud enough to wake up my son.

Anyway, this post is dedicated to the Cougar Football team for beating #3 Oklahoma, for not breaking our hearts at the critical moment, and for starting Colton's BYU Football experience out on the right foot. Colton and I had been practicing the fight song before the game. I'm glad to see that he remembered the actions.

Ra! Ra! Ra! Go Cougars!