A funeral and a wedding

This past Friday we celebrated the life of  my grandma, Mary Hyde. She passed away peacefully on Thursday September 12th at 94 years old. She was a remarkably strong woman and set an example to all of us. She was very generous even though she wasn't considered wealthy. She was a traveler and didn't just let the many years she spent as a widow slip by. She volunteered for nearly 25 years at a local hospital. She taught me how to knit and play scrabble. She voiced her opinion to our legislators or elected officials because she felt like her one voice made a difference. We will miss her.

 Grandma's amazing children with spouses (left to right): Judy and Rick, Bill and Sue, Mom and Dad.

My siblings were all there, Verna, Kirk, Kim, Keith and I.

And lots of great grand kids were there too. It turned out to be a beautiful day.

***** The wedding*****

The following day we got to celebrate my oldest niece's wedding. It started out as a windy,cold day, but ended up being perfectly calm and warm.

Here are Italia and Jonathan just after being sealed in the Colombia River Temple.

Afterward, a ring ceremony for those who couldn't attend the sealing.

Italia's parents put together a pretty amazing reception, Javier as DJ/MC and Verna as event planner. The reception was held outdoors at a friends house and it was spectacular! I definitely didn't get enough photos to show it off but here is my handsome date.

Decisions, decisions, decisions.

It is a challenge figuring out all the details of building a house!! 

One challenge was how to place the tile around our tub. 

 I think we got it figured out.

We had to figure out how to hold back the 7 ft wall of dirt next to our house and this is what it is looking like now.

After several samples, and repainting, we have some colors we like on the walls.

Here is the home gym, no caffeine needed to wake up!

My laundry room- Copen blue (Sherwin Williams)

We are still figuring out some lighting options, how to landscape the yard, what kind of hearthstone to use or do away with a hearth, where to put concrete and blacktop. 

We were very excited that our cabinets got installed this week. Here are some photos:

Month # 5 Building a house

Is there supposed to be a month #5? No! But here we are, starting the fifth month of this adventure and we'll probably even get a sixth month! 

We are seeing changes weekly and having ups and downs with this process. Most recently we are deciding on paint colors for the interior. 

Not the best photo but Brandon is trying out a few "greens" for our home gym. We want something bright that will be energizing. We saw a home gym at our local "Parade of homes" last year that had a bright green paint that was fun.

For our main areas we are going to paint them grey. But which grey? You won't believe how many variations to a color are available.

We have our front door framed in and our contractor doesn't want anyone opening it. Hence the -"No".

He has another sign by our bathtub:

The fine print says you will lose your foot as a consequence of standing in the tub. 

We are also deciding on light fixtures and fans. I like something modern like this:

And this:

We just have to see how far the moola will go to afford these fancy things!

Stucco

We now have the stucco on the house. It took a while to get the right golden yellow but we both really like it. It stands out from all the brown houses in the neighborhood and will be a cheerful site to welcome us home.

Month #4 Building a House

Things are starting to move along again! 

Electrical is mostly done.

The fireplaces are put in.

Septic system is in. Thank you Vanna!

We've met with a landscaper to figure out what to do with our monster hill in front and to the right of our house.

We had ordered French doors with side lights but they were teeny tiny so we got them replaced with a little bit wider ones. 

The old sidelights: they have a nice frame but only 6 inches of glass.

The new sidelights: a little more glass.

We've looked at lots of tile and lots of tile....

Carpet too...

Doors and knobs....

This one is fun but $$$!

We've tried out some paint colors too. Not the best photo, but you can see the paint on the left.

But maybe we just do something fun like polka dots!

And maybe some pink walls to go with it.

Lots of beautiful sunsets out here!

Month #3- the begining

Here is the latest photo of the house. Not much is changing externally, but a lot is going on inside.

The electrician, plumber and low volt guys are nearing completion. Kelli's sister Kim, helped us with a "walk-through" and deciding where outlets, lights, and faucets, etc. should be placed. So many decisions!

 A tape measure is a handy tool.

Fourth of July!

We were fortunate to get away for a few days and went camping along the Lewis River in Southwest Washington. It is such a beautiful area.

We did a 9 mile hike up Quartz Creek. There are a lot of old trees, some up to 6 to 8 feet in diameter! 

The weather was quite a bit cooler than the Tri-City area. We got in some good relaxation while we were there.