The basement before and after

I finally did it. Here is a very long posting of pictures documenting the immense time and effort we (mostly Marty) put into remodeling our basement. I hope the pictures speak for themselves, but just in case I'll explain a little bit. The basement used to be 2 large rooms with a wet bar and fireplace in the larger of the two. We turned the smaller room into a bathroom and small bedroom with a hallway into the laundry room. The larger room had a recessed floor which Marty framed into an even floor and covered the fireplace space. The wet bar was redone, Marty built shelves in the closet he framed in the new bedroom, and he stained the bathroom cabinet himself and put the hardware on. Upstairs he built a half-wall where an oak railing used to be. We still have some crown to put up in one small section of the new hallway and a few other little ends to tie up, but the bulk is done and we love it! Now we have room for people to come and hang out! So please do :). Thanks to my talented, skilled and hard-working husband who made this all happen in just a few months on top of working full-time and going to graduate school. He's one in a million and I'm a lucky girl. Mmmmwwwaaa! Also, thanks to Travis for helping with the tile in the upstairs and the slate in the bathroom and thanks to Shane for assisting us with the plumbing and getting us high quality bathroom gear. :)

Anderson family reunites

Well, we did it. All 10 of us plus 3 spouses and 5 grandkids were together for Christmas this year. One came from France, one from England, one from Philadelphia, one from Washington D.C., and 5 from Florida. Because it was such a miraculous event, we made sure to document it by getting family pictures done. It was a dang cold day, but we still managed to smile and have some fun. I can't tell you how true to form the one of the boys and the mom is. One of my favorites. I think my mom looks so beautiful in these pictures. What a lady. Thanks, mom and dad for being great parents. I mean, just look at the fruits of your labors. A sight to be proud of. Ha! Should I even attempt to name everyone for those of you who don't know my nutty family? Ok.

Back: Keaton, Tressa, Kryn, Amy, Rudy (the dad), Karen (the mom), Jaron, Alicia, Marty, Kindy, Gregan

Front: Hayden, Damian holding Merin, Zade, Ava, Devon holding Aria

Love every one of you!

Thanksgiving in Mesa

Marty and I went to Mesa for Thanksgiving this year. I met all of the rest of his family on his dad's side and couldn't even name anyone at this moment because there were so many people. But they were all very nice and excited for us. I do remember his sweet grandparents, though. We also spent some time with the Smith side as well, but since I had met all of them at the reunion in August, it wasn't quite as overwhelming. Anyway, you'd think we'd have pictures of some family, but we don't. We just have pictures of our night at the lights at the Mesa Temple. They were beautiful. The day was warmer than the night, hence the shorts and coats. Thanksgiving itself was 80 degrees! Loved it!

The Big Apple - why do they call it that, anyway?

Marty and I had been planning on going to NYC this fall for months, but it depended on whether or not he sold his home in Cedar City. Clearly that happened because here we are! Our good friends and neighbors, Kirk and Heidi Tidwell, joined us and we had a great time doing just about as much as we could in 4 days. This first picture is just a pretty bridge in Central Park. Some of these pictures include eating at Lombardi's in Little Italy, crossing the Brooklyn Bridge at midnight, a ritzy, gorgeous neighborhood in Scarsdale, the new Yankee Stadium, and a bunch of Central Park. More pictures to come when I get a hold of the Tidwells' memory card...

Here we ate at Tavern on the Green for my birthday. Ironically, everyone's food was yummy except mine. Roar. But the ambiance was nice and the company was enjoyable :).

Empire State Building at midnight. A breathtaking experience.