Exterior Remodel

We just completed our largest home remodel to date: an update to our entire exterior.  We needed to buy new windows for the house because the old aluminum windows did not keep the cold/heat out, were difficult to open/close, and the seals on the glass were broken on most of the windows.  On a stucco house, window replacement typically requires a new stucco color coat as well, which our house desperately needed anyway.  We also took the opportunity to replace the front door and exterior lights, and to re-paint the exterior trim.  Here is the finished product!

And here is a night shot so you can see our new motion detecting dusk to dawn lights at work.

Although we replaced our windows due to functionality issues, our new windows are different aesthetically as well.  We opted not to include grids in our new windows, and replaced all of the single hung windows with either sliders, casements, or picture windows to eliminate the horizontal bar.  The big windows in the front and back of the house changed the most -- from two single hung windows with grids to a large picture window without grids.  Look how Nathan almost appears to be outside!

Here is a before and after shot so you can see the difference in the stucco, windows, front door, and lights.

Echo Park Hello Baby Boy

I love scrapping baby boy pictures, and Echo Park's Hello Baby Boy's collection is perfect for them.  For this for layout I used pictures from Nathan's first balloon glow, a wood veneer hot air balloon, and I was inspired by the left sided sketch from Scrap our Stash.  

This next layout was inspired by the More Than Words July challenge.  It features Nathan's first trip to the fair (where he discovered farm animals), and my title includes large alphabet letters that are some of the oldest items in my stash.

Nathan's Photography

Nathan has started taking pictures -- on his tablet, on our phones, and on our point and shoot camera.  Here are a couple shots Nathan has taken over the past few months:

Happy 4th

Happy 4th of July!  On our day off, we drove up to Sandia Crest and hiked at the "tippy top" of the mountain, as Nathan likes to say.  

We hiked to the Kiwanis cabin, which was a fun little adventure.  Nathan did a great job during our 1.5 hour hike!

The views from the top were exceptional!

Grandpa Thomas's Summer Visit

Grandpa Thomas came out here last weekend to spend time with us.  He went hiking with Jesse and Nathan -- it was such a lovely day.

In the afternoon, we took Nathan to his first ever movie in the theater -- Toy Story 4 -- on opening day!

He loved the movie, he loved the popcorn, and his new favorite Toy Story character is Forky!

Grandpa Thomas also enjoyed seeing Nathan play soccer.

We had a fun weekend together!

Ambrosia Layouts

This month I dove into some old Basic Gray again, and this time I used the Ambrosia collection.  My first layout was inspired by CSI's File No. 287.  I used an old collection with distressing and the color orange.

I created this second layout for the Scrappy Friends challenge.  I used Rochelle's sketch, and I was inspired to scrap beautiful outdoor photos from Stacy's mood board.

Fathers' Day Weekend!

We kicked off Father's Day with a donuts with dad breakfast at Nathan's school.

Nathan painted a box for Jesse and drew a picture of him (you know it is Jesse because Nathan wrote "Dad" underneath it -- zoom in to see the cuteness!)

We picked up some sports equipment to prepare for the summer soccer season, and Nathan asked for (and got) a little t-ball set, which he is loving!

Jesse is coaching Nathan's soccer team this year and we had a good first game yesterday.  Go West Ham United!

Today we spent a lot of time at Lowes -- Nathan enjoyed touching basically everything in the store (look at the memo he created on this smart refrigerator!) while Jesse found the perfect Father's Day tool storage unit.  Happy Fathers' Day everyone!

Grandpa's Last Days in Albuquerque

We continued hanging out and having fun with Grandpa Ariyavatkul in Albuquerque after we returned from the Dominican Republic.  Nathan asked him to play super heroes a bunch!

They also played a lot out in the backyard.

Look at how excited he is!

Last, but definitely not least, we went to Round 1 -- a really fun arcade.  We had a fun visit!

Rachel's Wedding!

My beloved sister Rachel got married and had the prettiest beach wedding!  It was gorgeous, she was gorgeous, and we were so fortunate to be a part of it! 

Enjoying Punta Cana

Our hotel room had a nice pool view, and we definitely enjoyed playing in many of them.

There were pool floats galore, and this cutie had so much fun.

Nathan is such a water boy!

We spent quite a lot of time in their kiddie pool, where Nathan practiced floating,

slid down the little kid slide all by himself, 

and went down the big kid slide with us probably 30 times!

We spent our last afternoon at the beach enjoying the water

and the sand.  We had a wonderful time!