Noelle sings some songs for me

Noelle has been going around the house singing all sorts of songs for a while now. I knew one day I would have to get that on my recording program, Sony Acid. So, tonight I decided it was time for action. She actually really likes microphones since she had to participate in the Primary program in sacrament a couple months ago, and also when Regan and I spoke in sacrament so it wasn't a hard sell to get her to sing into the microphone. It worked out really well and here they are. We've got the ABCs, Wheels on the Bus, and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. All very cute renditions if you ask me. Enjoy.

Halloween

We went to the Gateway mall which is Noelle's favorite place. Well first we went to Discovery Gateway and then we Trick Or Treated at the mall. Noelle was in heaven. She was saying "I miss my old home." It was actually really sad. I think she was happier when we lived at the Gateway apartments.

First day of preschool

Disneyland Pictures

Noelle loved Disneyland. Her favorite rides were Small World and Peter Pan. She especially loved seeing Michael's bed from the Peter Pan ride. Funny :)

Restaurant.com Deal

So I was using the last half hour of work today to find a good Thai restaurant on the internet so I could celebrate the weekend in the right way. Scandalous, I know. Anyways, I had remembered that Restaurant.com always had deals for Thai restaurants so I decided to check it out. I was about to purchase one of their gift certificates when I remembered that you can typically find discount codes to knock some more of the price off. So, with trusty Google I searched for a discount code and found one for 90% off their regular price!!!!!!!! With that little deal in hand I proceeded to buy 4 certificates that take $25 off of a dinner of $35 for only $1 each. Essentially I got $100 worth of certificates for $4. Amazing.

If you would like to take advantage of this deal go to www.restaurant.com, select the restaurants in your area that you would like to get a certificate from, and on the checkout screen there is a box labeled "Discount Code". Enter "NINETY" into that box and watch the price go down by 90% for your certificates. This offer expires on the 13th so you have through Sunday to get your certificates. It's a beautiful thing really.

Here are some songs I put together awhile ago with our recording program. They are really rough cuts and you'll definitely notice some funny mistakes and what not. I think the second one down is my favorite, however it's also pretty messed up. The glockenspiel, yes that's right a glockenspiel, is way off beat. So just disregard that and imagine that you're in the final montage scene of an episode of Lost where Hurley walks around with his headphones on noticing how life is so grand on the Island as you listen to it, or something like that.

Beautiful Chapel

There are several streets near our home where the very expensive million dollar houses of Sugarhouse reside. They are amazing. Pete and I love to drive down Yale and Harvard Avenue and see them. It sort of looks like Berkshire LC but the houses are more ornate and old. Their are some really darling tudor cottages. Anyway, one day when Pete and I were driving through these streets we came across a beautiful old LDS chapel. At first we thought it was a mansion. It has a very large stone gate around it. The backyard of this chapel is amazing. It has a waterfall that flows into a pond with ducks. When I took Leah there she remembered that she had heard about this church and that there was a very long wait of people who wanted to have their reception. On Sunday we drove to the church to let Noelle play. She really loved it. Here are some pics.

Finally a color!

I have been to both Lowes and Home Depot searching through their thousands of color paint choices and narrowed my search down to 6 choices. I have had the color swatches up on my wall for a month now debating which color works the best. All of the choices are in the olive green family and have very warm tones to try and pick up on the cherry wood floors and moldings. I am close to deciding on a color and can't wait to start painting. Noelle will most likely make it very difficult. She loves paints and getting into messy things. Our ugly rocker recliner broke last week and I was in a huge hurry to go shopping and buy a new one. I went to RC Willey and they really didn't have anything that I liked. Actually they did have this beautiful LazyBoy that I really wanted but it was $520 which is way too much. I ended up getting a Lane brand recliner. I absolutely did not want anything remotely like microfiber. This Lane recliner was 50% off of $600 and a great deal. It was a beige fabric and looked decent enough so I impulsively bought it. When we brought it home it was horrible. I don't know what I was thinking. I just was in such a rush at RCWilley and picked the first thing I saw. The color didn't go with the rest of the room and it seriously looked like something that was just bought at the Salvation Army. I think it looks 60's or 70's. It's sad to think that I have to live with such an ugly thing for so long. It's funny because Pete usually doesn't have an opinion on furniture and decor and likes pretty much anything. He also trusts my judgement. When he first saw the chair he said "Wow that looks pretty ghetto what a random choice." Thats when you know it is really bad. Oh well i'll just throw a blanket over it when we have visitors.

4th Of July Weekend

We had a lot of fun this weekend. Unfortunately I had brought my camera to take pictures of Noelle and it was out of batteries. We bought this little $20 pack of fireworks at walmart and lit them in back of our house. Noelle loved them. She kept saying "more fireworks." Sugarhouse park has one of the best firework shows in the state. People had been waiting at the park from early morning on to reserve themselves a spot. It was really crowded and the parking was filled. We parked at the grocery to get on top of the car and watch them. Noelle didn't seem too interested in the parks firework display. Pete and I both love The Twilight Zone so we recorded some of our favorites on DVR and have been watching them together.

We are so lucky. We live next to three parks. Noelle and I go to the park almost every day. Liberty park is my favorite because it has rides, a pool, a fun water area for the kids and a lake with paddle boats. Then there is Sugarhouse park. It is enormous like Libery park and has a river running through it that flows into a very large lake. Westminster park is just two blocks down from our house. it is small but cute. Today we went to Sugarhouse park which is Pete's favorite. Noelle demanded her swing for about an hour so it was a little boring. Then we went down to the river and then the lake. Nellies was playing in the water in her diapers. The water was freezing cold. She was trying to get close to the ducks and started walking in the deeper area of the lake. She slipped on some moss and fell in screaming. Luckily Pete went in and got her before her head went under. She was pretty upset. We went home after that.

This has been a crazy week. The Winstead's flew in on Tuesday for a visit. Then leah flew in on Friday as well as the rest of the Kelley clan. Leah left today after a five day visit. We have had alot of fun visiting with everyone. Noelle loves her cousins, Grandparents and aunts so much. Here are some pics of the finished wood floors. The top pics are Noelle picking the strawberries from our garden. We have hundreds of them growing. They taste horrible. I'll write again soon. Pete wants to finish watching 24.

Fun Times!

Finally after much work and money the hardwood floors are finished. Pete and I stayed in a hotel for three day while our floor guy Wes finished them. I can't say that they look extremely professional but they are really nice. They are 100 year old floors after all so there is only so much you can do. He charged us $725.00 for about 600 square feet which is a steal. We traded favors. We promised him a good referral and he gave us a great deal. Tomorrow he is coming to finish of the trim along the bottom molding which has been discolored from the old carpet. I promise that I will get some pictures of the new floors on the blog tomorrow.

We had a fun filled night tonight. Claire and the boys don't get here until later on tonight so we took advantage of the extra hotel room last night. Noelle went to bed really early so we were all able to visit and chat.

Our new ward is offering discount tickets to Lagoon so we are really excited. For any of you who will be in California in September Pete, Noelle and I have a free trip to Disneyland. We won a round trip air ticket, and two night hotel stay and some food coupons. Disneyland with Noelle for the first time will be a treat. I can't even imagine her shock with the small world ride. She loves her dollies! Anyway I will post some pics tomorrow.

Our New House

I promise I will be taking pictures of out new house very shortly. I have been so busy with my Etsy shop they I literally have not had time for anything more! Hopefully we will be refinishing our hardwood floors next week so I am really excited. I thought I would share a quick story. Noelle and I went to old navy today to find a black skirt for Grandma's funeral. They have these cartoon looking mannequin children. Noelle was just intrigued by them. She was afraid to touch them though. She kept calling them "Big Dollys." One of them was holding a dog leash with a dog attached. She especially loved the doggie. So we walked over to the adult section and there were mannequins without their heads on. Pretty typical because most of them usually don't. She was pointing and saying "Mama, Mama." I pulled our cart next to one of them and she started screaming. She was so confused. Then she said "Why does mom torture me so." Just kidding. But that's what she was probably thinking. Poor Nellies, it's so hard being a baby!

finally an update!

okay, just kidding.
this is amanda. brian, katherine and i are visiting the winsteads at their new house!- regan wanted me to change her blog background and stuff, and in exchange i made her promise to update at least once a week- lets see if she listens :)
katherine and noellies are playing together, and it is very cute, they love eachother.

Some pics I took

One night it was really foggy so I decided to take some pictures. I love fog, and apparently I love taking pictures of things through trees.

Christmas Stuff

Here are some pics from our Warner Bros Tour, with pictures of the set of Friends, the Batpod, the alley scene from the first Spiderman, the Warner Bros water tower, and a picture of me standing in front of the area where the scene from the final episode of Seinfeld was shot where they all get arrested after witnessing the mugging.