A picture tour of the CASA...posted by the Mrs.

I thought it would be kind of fun to post a tour of our house since most people haven't seen it...other than my mom, the missionaries, and a few friends from the ward.  I love looking back at the pictures we took of our home in Pittsburgh and so if anything, we'll appreciate these pictures now and later! 

I was drawn to this house while we were in Utah and all I knew about it was from the picture of the outside and a few details of the property.  I don't know what it was about it but it just felt different than all the other houses/rental places we had looked at.  After Bobby made a quick trip to Sacramento to check this out along with a few others, he was also eager to settle on this.  

I have decided that I love this place for many reasons: the street is quiet, the house faces south so the sun is never glaring into the windows in the morning or evening, the backyard is fenced off and has a cement patch that Duncan can ride his bike around, there are lots of windows (and mirrors to reflect the window light!), and I love the layout of the house.

So, without further ado, I give you

1404 Santa Fe Circle

This is the view after walking in the front door.  The kitchen is in a corner of this big area, the family room, and the eating area.  This is probably my favorite part of the layout.  It's very open, light, and we spend a lot of our family time here!

The family room.

The kitchen is on the other side of this wall.

Got a feel for the open-ness yet?!

Sometimes when my 8 month prego body gets ambitious I open the blinds behind the couch.  It's so light in the room even without opening them though, that I often put my energy to use somewhere else. :)

Here is the kitchen, walking in from the eating area.

The stove which shares a wall with the the computer desk on the other side of it.

The other opening to the kitchen which is visible from the front door.

Are you lost yet?  

It's essentially one big square room with the kitchen corner sectioned off a little bit.

When you come in the front door, there is one long hallway to the left.

That's where the rest of the house is located.

The laundry closet.

Featured here:  The front loader washer and dryer bomb.com deal of the century.

Would you expect anything less with my mom involved in this deal?!

The 3rd bedroom...aka craft/storage/painting/anything room.

The bathroom which is available to the general public.

The Boy's Room

The master bedroom.

Check out the mirrors...serious illumination of light, I love it.

This is the view from the bed and off to the left there is the bathroom...yes those are full length mirrors back there as well.  All the bedrooms in the house have them.

The master bathroom...

Backyard

That's the complete tour!

And this is one of our monkeys...posing because he wanted a picture with Koli.

 Labor Day weekend plans?

Indoor Camping!

Duncan loved his first encounter...at least the first one that he can remember.

We rented the Lorax, grabbed some sweets and cuddled up for some family time.

Duncan loved every second of it, can you tell?

Ready or not, here comes September!

The dresser for our little Monkeys to share...posted by the Mrs.

We've been on the lookout for a dresser to use for our little boys and all the clothes, blankets, and burp rags that now need a home.  I found this one and knew it had serious potential.  The handles alone had my heart beating let alone the overall look and legs.  We got a pretty good deal though we probably could have paid a bit less and slept even better at night ;)  To date, this has probably been the easiest piece we've done...which was really good news considering I'm 7 1/2 months prego...and yes, I did help!

Here is "The Beaut" according to the Craigslist picture.

Bobby sturdied it up with nails and glue, we vacuumed it out, sanded it, waxed the drawers so they would glide better, wiped the drawers out with vinegar to rid it of foreign smells, and finally painted this sweet thing.

The result?

Behold, the most awesome piece of retro furniture we own.

Bobby left it up to me to choose the colors and I think after seeing it all finished and put together, he liked it more than he thought he would.

Check out these compass handles!  If we were to ever sell this dresser, I might have to replace the handles and keep these for myself.

I know old school isn't for everyone but just compare it to something that makes your heart palpitate and you'll understand.

Pictures to come of the boys' room all put together...

Phavorite Phrases from Duncan - Posted by the Mrs.

Toddlers + thought processes = great moments

Incident #1

The other day at dinner, we were eating Cobb Salad and Duncan turned to me with an over exaggerated concerned look and with a pointed finger gun he asked me, "Are you a Chicken Pot Pie?"

He proceeded to ask Bobby after I answered no and Bobby said no as well.

When we asked Duncan if he was a Chicken Pot Pie, he replied yes. 

Incident #2

We went out to eat at Panera Bread tonight using a gift card from some very loving thoughtful people.

We pulled in and parked, Bobby went around the car and opened up Duncan's door and he enthusiastically said, "I'M SO LUCKY!!"

"My tummy hurts!"

We never told him that he was such a lucky boy to be going out to eat but he knew.

Thanks loving thoughtful people for making this little boy's day!

Our Quick Trip to Utah - Posted By the Mrs.

We took a speedy trip to Utah and back to spend time with family.  Most of the time we were in Paradise...or as most people refer to as Bear Lake.  I really Love being up there.  The scenery, the old but awesome cabin (I'm a fan of old things with character in case you don't know me very well :), and spending the days doing whatever we all feel like doing.  I think Joanne also nailed it when she said that Bobby and I spent a lot our dating days up there and that's probably another huge reason I'm attached to that place. 

Also while in Utah, we took Rich family patriotic pictures and spent a little time with the Duncan side as well.

Though we had some early flights, Duncan was a super trooper and loved every minute of being on the plane from the snacks and juice to the view out the window.

I love this picture because he's so happy and it's like 5:30 a.m. 

He'd already been up for an hour and a half but who would've known?!

Here's the Sunrise from 1,000's of feet up with a sea of puffy clouds below us.

Once up at Bear Lake, we didn't waste any time and got straight to playing around!

This is Bobby on Ben's new Scooby Doo...or whatever those things are called.

Bobby also got some wakeboarding in, and may have torn something in his shoulder.  

That is still yet to be decided.

Duncan thoroughly enjoyed playing trains with Honey.  

I would love to score a deal on a used Brio set someday like both Aunt Tiffany's have done.

Poppy got a good workout every once in awhile taking the toddlers for a spin around the cabin.

Here's Dunc's with his fellow little Hooligans.

They had a lot of fun playing pretend, being goofy, and listening to story books.

A little beach-front coloring time on Sunday.

Some of the Manly Rich Boys catching up and coolin' down.

I never get tired of this view.

Playing around with more family!

An "Orange-y" unofficial picture with the fam that was available.

We met Aub's 'friend' Darin later that evening...he was such a good sport to play Beyond Balderdash with us.  I'm pretty sure that wouldn't have been his first choice but we're sure glad he played!

Thanks Jim and Joanne for inviting us to come for a short but sweet visit!!!

July-ness Posted by the Mrs.

Duncan loves to be in on the action.  When the rental house maintenance guy came Duncan was eager to have a front row seat wherever he went.  From the toilet bowl tank to the missing sprinkler, he was not shy about his interest in the matters.  This is just a collage of some of the things we've been up to:

Playing kitchen, riding on the massive cement caterpillar at the library, glow sticks in the tub, cement dolphin at the park, lots of popsicles, learning to ride a bike, first time experience with Krispy Kremes, Target shopping, giving Lightning McQueen a good wash and the list goes on...fingerpainting, throwing snaps in the backyard, playing with water and dishes in the sink...

He's hands on for sure!

Another favorite past time...doing everything dad is doing.

Finding his way through the maze at the park.

Helping dad BBQ is never a question.  I love watching them sit and chill together.

P.S. if you need an amazing recipe for ribs, Bob is your man.  Seriously.

4th of July Bike decorating/parade.

Yay for a family picture!

Centipedes, earwigs, maggots, etc, etc, etc

I get phantom bug itches on my body all the time because I'm so freaked out by the bugs we constantly find.

We were eating at Carl's Jr. for a fun family night out and Duncan and I shared a chicken nugget meal.  At one point Bobby asked Duncan if he was going to eat some more chicken.

Duncan's honest response?

"I eat chicken all day long".

Funny kid.

When we got back from Utah, our neighbors who had been watching over our house while we were gone brought over a goldfish for Duncan to have.  We gave it a home on top of our mantel and lovingly named it Seymour, after the last name of the family that gave it to us.

The morning after we received this fishy, I had been putting things away in the bedroom from our trip.  I verbally checked on Duncan a few times and asked him what he was doing each time to make sure he was fine.  After a little while, I realized he could have been tearing the place apart...specifically the computer desk which holds treasures of wonder to him, and thought I better go check on him in person.  When I got to the family room, I was sort of puzzled to find Duncan sitting in the center of the room with zero toys around him. All he had was a guitar tuning harmonica thing that he was playing.  What had he been doing that whole time?

Then I glanced up on the fireplace where something bright caught my eye and answered my question:

Notice anything odd?

Maybe a  large stuffed animal fish submerged in a fish bowl?

I was so surprised that all I could say was, "DUNCAN!!"

Duncan just looked up at me.  I could tell he didn't think anything was wrong with this picture.

Poor Seymour had about two inches of swimming room.  Thankfully, none of the overflow water ruined anything and needless to say, Duncan and I had a little discussion about real fish and fake fish.

Next up for blogging: our quick trip to Utah...

And I'm pretty sure I still haven't blogged about Duncan's b-day party!