Nephews

Noah

Kannon at Christmas...I don't have any more recent pictures of him or Noah.

Jake

Parker

Fun Exciting News!!

Warning....I have a lot to say...

We bought a truck! Ever since we bought our house, Andy and I have been talking about our need for a truck. Since our life lately seems to be filled with weekend home improvement projects, we have felt that need a little stronger. Andy was given a company car about a month ago and while we were very very thankful for it...it also complicated our plans to buy a truck. If we purchased one then it would have to be my vehicle because Andy has the Murano. I didnt really want to drive a truck...and andy really did want to.

So last weekend we were at Andy's boss's house for a bbq and he was asking me how I liked the Murano. I told him I really liked it and was a little jealous because it is similar to the Ford Edge that I had been dreaming about getting. Brad also knew that Andy had been wanting a truck...he mentioned something fairly casually about maybe we could work something out so I could drive it and Andy could get a truck. so after praying about it and lots of discussion about what we needed in a vehicle, Andy sat down with Brad to see if that would really be a possibility. We didn't dream he would really agree--we thought he was joking more than anything when he suggested it, but we figured it wouldnt hurt to ask. Brad quickly agreed to it though!! He said no problem--we just need to work out the insurance. CRAZY!!! I was so excited because that meant I got to drive a car that was nearly exactly what I had been wanting and we would be able to get a truck! Thank you Brad Jones!!!

So we have been doing lots of research on Toyotas, for several months now actually. Andy had a list of features he wanted and NADA and blue book pricing and more. We looked at a few used Tacomas that all had pretty high miles for a 1-2 year old model. Then last night we went to look at new Tacomas. We test drove a couple and then decided that we would just go in and talk to the salesman...see what kind of deal we could get. We started with a really low offer and after about 2 hours waiting for the stupid back and forth "let me talk to my manager" stuff....we ended up hardly having to come up from our original offer plus they are going to out leather seats in it!!! Seriously it was such a God thing...the negotiations were pretty easy, the financing worked out, and we got a truck with 24 miles on it instead of 45000 for nearly the same price.

Here is Andy with his new Toyota Tacoma. When we finally got home I asked him how happy he was with it 0-10....he said 10 :)

I was kinda dreading the whole negotiation part of buying a car before we started...but now I must say I thought it was really fun. It is just manipulation and mind games...and once you realize that and understand that you can go anywhere and buy a car...it makes it really fun! What deal can you get out of it and how many times do you have to get up and walk out before they give you the price you want. On occasion I had to keep myself from laughing--it was just all so silly.

more backyard projects

The weekend after we put our sod down, we were debating whether to start on the floors or try to finish up our backyard and patio...since it was such a pretty day, the backyard project won. Andy worked a good portion of the afternoon on saturday building this planter box to sit in the corner of our back patio. Up until Andy built this, our back patio felt like a really big concrete backyard. We tried to make it look better with a little container garden thing, but it just wasnt quite enough, so Andy came up with the idea to build this planter. He finished the construction two weekends ago, then we sealed the wood and let it soak in for a few days...we were delayed by a few days of rain. Last weekend we bought approx 30 bags of soil and plants to put in. As you can see in the pic, most of the planter is plants, but the corner section is a "water feature". That part isnt totally finished yet. We need some river rock and maybe some water plants, but the pump works--it bubbles out of that green and brown pot. It will be awesome when it is totally finished...and it already makes the back patio look so much better! Isn't Andy talented?? :) We also bought a propane heater for the patio so we can hang out there and bbq or play games even if it is a little chilly outside.

Grass!!

We have grass!!! Saturday morning, Andy and I put down 1500 square feet of zoysia sod in our back yard and side yard. We had used dirt given to us by our neighbors (they put in a pool) last summer to fill in some low spots...and since then we have had a big mud pit backyard. Yoda loves the mud pit, but we are sick of having an Oklahoma red dirt dog. After about 5 hours we had a new backyard and tired hands and backs. I never thought my thumbs could be sore...but they are! We have watered the yard to death so Yoda still gets a little muddy, but once the sod takes it will be great! And it already looks 9 million times better!

Before

After

Andy's new car

Andy got a company car...a 2006 Nissan Murano...which was an awesome blessing! We had been planning to purchase a new vehicle within the next month so that he could park his Monte and start working on it a little more, but during Andy's yearly review his boss told him that he had decided to get Andy a company vehicle. This was Brad's car, and he decided he really loved it and wanted to get one with a few more features, so he used this opportunity to upgrade. It seems a little fancy for a lumber company vehicle, but Andy is enjoying it and we ended up with a car that is nicer that one we would have purchased on our own! I just wish I got to drive it instead! :) We are going to lay sod in the backyard this weekend. Then maybe next week we will start pulling up our floors. Anyone want to help?