John and Ida's Wedding

The 2nd marriage this year in the Bennion family! John and Ida were married September 26, 2008 in St. George, Utah. Ida is from there and we were thrilled to be there on their beautiful day. These two make such a wonderful couple. I couldn't help staring at them all day :) Adam took a few (or something like 200) pictures, just trying out the camera. I LOVED her dress. Bennions

Everetts Aren't these faces funny? Ida was taking a rest from smiling. My dad looks great. John was probably resting his face too, but it looks like he's transitioning to husbandhood/manhood. I don't know what I'm doing. Jane wanted "in" on the boys' shot.

Christian brought his girlfriend so we took some teaser photos in front of the temple.

The family luncheon was catered Cafe Rio!!! I had all my wishes come true :) Who else thinks John and Ida are cool now?

Jane and Audrey missed out on the Cafe Rio.

Uncle Richard just got home from his mission (Mexico) just a week earlier. I was pregnant with Jane when he left, so he, Jane, and Audrey all got introduced.

The girls at the reception: dancing and socializing!

Jane coached everyone on catching the bouquet. I think Ida's sister caught it.

Fashion

Jane had rather voluminous hair after her bath. She was pleased.

Also, she has stepped into the realm of choosing what she wears. This 4th of July dress marks her fashion independence; for the first time she brought me her clothing choice for the day. She has been wearing it for two days now. Even to bed.

Kitchen's AFTER

Here's the final product! New floor, cabinets, sink, walls, and harware. Some boring FYI: we treat the counters with a protective oil every few months and use cutting boards. The benefit of using the oil rather than putting a hard shellac on is that if we do accidentally cut it or stain it we can sand that spot and reapply the oil rather than having to treat the entire shalacked countertop.
I love having more cupboards and counterspace!

These lower countertops are perfect for kneading bread and sitting down to a computer for recipes while cooking.

Housework Continued

This isn't exactly a recent makeover, but we may as well showcase the whole year on the blog while we're on topic.
Before: Our bedroom was blah. I came home to find the aforementioned coffee table finished and our bedroom painted this lovely blue that we had previously chosen for the kitchen, but decided against it because it was going to feel too dark and small. I LOVE how it turned out in our room. This picture isn't quite a true after, since we've since hung things on the walls, but I didn't feel like cleaning it this morning to take another picture :)

And here is the kitchen before we moved in. Yes, that is floral wallpaper, and a hot pink stripe on the edge of the countertop. Let's not even start on the lack of counterspace and cupboards.

We borrowed the missionaries to help mount the upper cupboards after Adam gutted the kitchen, except for the dishwasher.


All that you see, except the appliances, are from Ikea: the cupboards, countertop, and sink.

I was so thankful to go from washing dishes in the tub...

to washing dishes in my brand new kitchen sink! I get to take the credit for taking the wallpaper down and for helping to paint this time. Do you like the yellow?

Housework

Adam has been doing SO MUCH to our house since moving here last August. How about a little before and after show? Let's start with the back room. Here's a picture from the dining room looking at the back room's door. It was originally the back door of the house and the previous owners built an additional room onto it. The room eliminates most of our backyard, but since it's mostly winter in Wisconsin, we'll take the extra indoor space!

The weird shelves and cupboards that made entering the room feel like going down a hallway and moving a couch in tricky, if not impossible. The far left doors covered a bar area.

These bookcases were an ugly color, with orange 70's carpet attached to the back of that left center one...gross. We decided to keep these bookshelves but take out the others by the doorway, along with the entire wall they attached to!

First came the demo. We had to take the ceiling down because 1) It looked like elementary school tiles, 2) We needed to put more lights in since we could barely see with them on. They were dim and VERY recessed, and 3) It looked like it could be asbestos. We hired Igor--now that's a good story--to take down the doorway and put support beams up. Igor also took care of the new lights/electric work and hung the ceiling (and from then on, Adam has done everything). Adam tore down the wood paneling. We weren't against just painting them, but the ceiling situation gave us no other choice. While we were at it, we took the carpet up to reveal hardwod floors.

Adam hung the drywall, taped mudded, sanded, primed, and painted! I just stood there holding Jane in one arm and paint samples in the other. You can see the spots where the cabinets used to be--where the blanket is in this picture. We called those the "holes."


Jane crawled through the debris far too often for a 9-month old. Any health issues will be attributed to this period of her life when she breathed in drywall dust and tried to eat nails. Because of this, we recommend not living in the home you're working on if at all possible.

The room freshly primed.

Freshly painted and carpet pulled up.
And finally, re-stained bookshelves, new moulding aroung the windows, Ikea window treatments, couches, rug, some ornamental books from the "free" shelf at the library, and voila, we're living in the back room even though we're still not quite done.

We had to replace the dining room chandelier. We found a great one at Costco at an awesome deal. I made those curtains--my one and only sewing project for this house.

While I was in California, Adam decided to make a big coffee table for the back room so that both couches could share it for drinks, magazines, and feet. It was inspired by his parents'.

Can you believe all this stuff he's done without having done it before?? He's amazing!!!

Now about those "holes." This is why I am posting this huge run of pictures about the back room. We are thrilled to finally have new wood flooring in place of those holes. Hooray! Jane, as always, liked to help Daddy out.

Is there such thing as too much Disney?

So even though it is Sunday, I let Jane watch Robin Hood before church. Since Adam is out of town I needed HOURS to get ready and out the door on time. Well I joined her for the first few minutes while I fed Audrey. For those of you who know Robin Hood, do you remember when Robin Hood and Little John escape into the tree at the very beginning? That's where we were. Jane was facing me with her back to the t.v. and started squeezing her neck. Next thing I knew, Little John was doing the same thing and saying something like "Pretty hard to laugh hanging there, Rob." Next she grabbed an imaginary hat and said "uh-oh." On screen Robin threw an arrow through Little John's hat. Then she scratched her back. So did Little John with the arrow. All of this without once looking at the tv!!! She's not even two yet! Moments later she rubbed her hands together, as Robin Hood likewise did as they planned on robbing Prince John (to feed the poor, of course--let's have some morals in all of the violence!) Have we watched Robin Hood too many times? And dare I confess that we've watched Peter Pan much, much more?

Wedding Bells

My brother, John, with his FIANCEE, Ida Everett!!!!!

We met Ida in San Clemente. (They got engaged the weekend after) She is wonderful! I asked John if he was in love...here is his face just moments after confessing that he is! Can't you just see it?



Jane is a huge fan of Ida. One of her first sentences ever was uttered while looking at a picture of her; she asked, "What's her name?" I was thrilled to answer her first multi-word question with "Ida!" which she repeated with a peaceful happiness. She loves Ida.

San Clemente

Well, actually, our trip started out not in San Clemente, but in San Diego at Sea World. Adam took a handful of pictures and this is--don't be shocked--the happiest Jane looks in any of them. She was pretty tired after flying all day, then driving some more, and then going to Sea World. That's why I didn't go, in fact. I've found that I get sick if I push it too hard while nursing. So sadly, I didn't get to see Cannon and Emily and their gang, but Adam and Jane did (and my two younger brothers, Samuel and Porter). See how Jane looks like her cousins? She's such a Marriott!

At the beach, San Clemente was beautiful this year. Water at 75 degrees. No jelly fish, thankfully. Some rocks, unfortunately. Blue skies. Family. Good snacks. Waves lapping. Sand between the toes. Ahhhhh.
Yes, she's throwing sand/rocks. But not at anybody and look how the camera catches the little pebbles suspended mid-throw. Pretty cool, huh? Jane obviously thought so...
From Dr. Suess' Green Eggs and Ham, Jane knew about trains. Everytime the AmTrak went by she pumped her arm and said, "Choo-choo!" So dang cute!

We learned about sharing treats from Uncle Porter. Some for Jane...

...and some for Porter.
Some for me....
...and some for you


All day on the beach means naptime on the beach! Adam made some nice beds for her.

At the end of Jane's day, she was pretty tired.

Here's me asking, "How'd ya like to hold a newborn for a little bit? She's very sweet and tiny and precious...any takers?" Thank you "Uncle" Tim and Mimi!!!
Here's me saying, "Ahh, now I can bask in the sun and just worry about staying hydrated."

I love to look at my husband this way. I adore him! And I think he's funny and cute. And witty and clever. And smart and musical. And strong and able.
A couple model poses :)

Here are some generational photos. What else, at a family reunion?? Above: Gigi with all her great grandchildren. Below: Audrey and Jane, respectively, with their mother (me), her father (Pops), and his mother (Gigi).