Sunday, October 27, 2013

Our Fireplace was a DIY!

We have finished up another project this week! Our fireplace/built in bookshelves have been on hold for the past 2 years. I am so thankful we were able to do this project right in time for the winter months. My husband has learned to be quite the handy man since we built our home almost 3 years ago. He has finished our house with trim, interior doors, painting, outdoor projects, multiple "fixes" that weren't expected, and even built our fireplace. We are very happy with how it turned out. 


First thing he put in the actual "fireplace" insert. We chose a gas log insert with a blower that would heat our entire level. Our last house had a wood burning stove and it was really too much on me trying to get it going with 2 little ones and a husband who is gone a lot with work. Not to mention the fact that the last month we were there, I almost caught the whole house on fire with it. (long story) So I knew that a gas log idea was best for our family even though wood burning would be cheaper and "more fun" in Kevin's eyes :)


The boys were THRILLED when we started this. I expanded our project and suggested that we add a hearth at the bottom for me to sit things on and a place for pictures, etc. It all had to be done with wood that was flame resistant. 


Next game the framing in of the fireplace. We had to have wood around it in order for us to put the stones on something. 


We picked a stone from Lowes called "Air stone". It is very easy to work with it gave the country look I was hoping for without the huge stone price. 

After all of the framing was done, Kevin started with the stone work. He had to cut all of the stone with a hack saw which took a lot of time. We wanted to keep the stones looking rough and different so it was like a puzzle piecing them all together. 

I am THRILLED with the completed look. It was everything I was hoping for, for half of the price. 

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Halloween PJ Link-Up

I love seasonal pajamas and clothes so this link-up is awesome for me! It's so fun to see everyone dressed up in their Halloween pajamas. Join the link if you'd like to tag along. 


2013
A bit fuzzy but my boys are 4 and 3. They love to have seasonal pajamas on as well. We may or may not have already broke out our Christmas pajamas as well, but we'll keep those a secret a little longer. 


2012

A better quality picture with my big camera from last year. 


Happy Wednesday!

Saturday, October 19, 2013

5 things for Saturday

Well I missed high five for Friday so I thought I would share five things on Saturday. 

1. Both of my boys have been sick since Wednesday. Karson has the croup and Kipton has a low fever with no other symptoms. We have watched way too much TV and ate too many popscicles but we are surviving. 


2. Thanking God for fresh air. We finally got out of the house after 2 days inside. Went down to the playground and everyone felt like playing. I am a huge outside person and the boys are too. We had cabin fever after day 1. :)


3. I made a new reward system. Stickers for good behavior, obeying, helping around the house, listening the first time, eating good. When your chart is filled up I will take both/or particular boy to get a small toy. (dollar tree has been our go to) 

Now if I can just get Karson to turn that S around. But it's totally normal and I'm not harping much. (Even though it kills me a little inside) 


4. Drives to Chickfila (which isn't close) just for a drive and eating in the car. They have the best chicken noodle!


5. We are building our fireplace. Well let's scratch that. Kevin and my dad are. I am helping with the ideas and materials pick up. We are now framing it all up and putting stone all over it. I'll post a DIY post about what we did once it's all finished. 


Thankful for tomorrow. I love Sundays! Here is a quote that I read and it makes so much sense. 

"If you're too busy for church, then your just too busy!" 

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

DIY Fall Pictures

It's no secret that in our economy you need to stretch and save your money. This is especially true with just one income. I love pictures of my boys, but a photographer comes with a hefty price tag that I'm just not willing to pay. I would rather spend that money on our house or save it. So, we bought a professional camera about 4 years ago when Karson was born. It has been worth every penny. 

I love outdoor pictures. Especially fall pictures in the country. These were taken in our backyard near our chicken house. It was so fun to make the boys laugh and get their smiles. 

Enjoy!




Karson Bradley - 4.5 years old


Kipton Lee - 3 years old









Thank you GOD for these wonderful gifts. 


Monday, October 14, 2013

Weekend Whoas!

Last Friday my high school had Alumni Night. I was invited along with all the other majorettes & cheerleaders to do the school along with the band. I have lost my "not scared or nervous" feelings because getting out there was a bit scary! It's been 10 years since my last twirl at my high school. I was digging up some pictures from those good times. 

Here is the majorettes and me (bottom left) on Homecoming night my senior year in 2003. 

This picture is at a parade. I'm in the white. My sister was in the majorette group behind me. After I graduated she took over as Feature Twirler. 


Here is most of the girls that twirled with me on Friday night. It was a really great time catching up!


After performing I joined up with Kevin, the boys, and the rest of my family and we watched Spring Valley play until halftime. The boys were great I was surprised they were able to sit that long. 


Just a few phone shots :)


Saturday we worked on our house all day and went to Lowe's for more materials. There is always a project going on here. Not sure how I feel about that. It's been 2 1/2 years since we built our house and we are always deep into a project. 

Sunday it was my turn to teach the 3-4 year old class at church, so we were up super early to get there at 9:00. I'm thankful to have both of my boys in my class. They are really doing well being together. I have be hesitant for the switch because I want them to listen and pay attention and not think it's play time. 

A bit sleepy on the way, but ready to go with his bible. 


Karson and his buddy doing crafts. 


It has been a great weekend. Especially because Kevin has been off. We love having him home!

Saturday, October 12, 2013

House Tour - Boys Bedroom

I have completed a few projects around the house here lately. First up is Kiptons bedroom. Now that he is 3 we got rid of the farm animal theme that he had in his nursery. He has a love for all things construction so we decided on that! 


The wall color is my favorite color =TAN! I just can't get away from it. I wanted a stripe in the middle to brighten it up so I thought what's better than orange like a construction cone? Truth be told my husband does all of the painting in our house. He says I'm messy :) 


My mom bought the bedding online. I got the pictures, lamp, and rug from Target. My mom also made the curtains. 


I have been looking for more construction signs to go on the walls but just had luck at Hobby Lobby with the stop sign. I'm hoping here in the next few months they will add more to their collection.


Hope you got some inspiration for future boy bedroom updates. 

Friday, October 11, 2013

Our Week

Monday: Karson had school from 9-12. Kipton and I dropped Karson off in our pajamas. (Yes I know if you would've told me that I would be dropping off in my pjs I would say your crazy but it's AWESOME!!!) 


We came home and did some laundry and then took a walk. Our gravel road is covered in leaves. He loves for me to throw leaves at him. :)

Then we made a cake for when Karson gets home. Of course you must wear your new Halloween costume when baking.


After baking we were cleaning up and saw a deer and our rooster just grazing around our backyard. I thought it was neat. Just a beautiful thing to see. 


Tuesday: Karson had preschool from 9-12. Afterwards we went to the park to play. We came home and spent the rest of the evening playing until bath and bedtime. We wore our Halloween pajamas for the first time :) 


Wednesday: it was Karsons day off and we decided to head over to our friend Samuels house for a play date with lots of our friends from mom club. We came home and later that day we went to the chicken house where we finally got an egg. They had stopped laying for over 4 months. We have been telling them we were going to eat them if they didn't start laying :) haha


Thursday: today Karson had school again. He wore his Marshall outfit for his Marshall loving mommy. 
Kipton of course wanted his picture like Karson. He looks up to Karson so much!



We went to a few little stores before picking Karson up. He has been wanting to touch this bear forever. 


After pick up we went to the library to get a new stash of Halloween books. We have already read all 9 of them plus ours. We love seasonal books!!

When we got up we had an outdoor picnic. It is around 73 degrees and windy. So perfect for fall. We have cut out naps. More on that later but we had quiet time from 2:00-2:45 then we were back outside. Bedtime has now moved to 7:00. 


Today: Friday we have no real plans except for an Alumni game tonight for my high school. I am pretty excited!! It will be the boys first high school football game. The alumni majorettes and cheerleaders are performing the school song. I am already nervous : / eeeeeeek

Saturday, October 5, 2013

Random

Just a few things to jot down before I forget. Today was Homecoming for Marshall. Kevin had to work so Erin tagged along with us to enjoy a Saturday morning of Huntington fun. 

The boys had the best time watching the parade. Karson wanted every piece of candy he could get. He thinks if you wave hard they will send candy your way. So he spends the whole parade waving as hard as he possibly can. 

My boys loved the bands! Just like their momma does ;)



A few nights ago around 7:00pm Kipton had fallen asleep in Kevin's lap while we were watching TV. This never happens! Both of the boys have always wanted to sleep in their beds. He must have been exhausted. 


Karson loves to look at all of his fishing equipment. He even keeps his tackle box in his closet of his bedroom. Kipton also has a small tackle box and one day Karson said "Kipton why do you want to be messy. Don't you want to be organized??" It was such a "mom" thing to say. I think he has heard me talking about his room. He is every particular about where every bait goes. 

Kipton almost doesn't know what to touch because he knows Karson will get mad. So he just sits and listens. What a wonderful brother. Kipton has had a great week. He got his sticker chart filled up and got to get a small toy today. 


He is so sweet. He kisses me every morning as soon as he wakes up.


I am thankful for the little things like going to a parade together, getting morning snuggles, and listening to the boys conversations. "The best things in life are free!"