All Things Anderson: February 2014

Sunday, February 23, 2014

Hexagons and an Endless Supply of Goldfish

We went out to eat on Saturday evening and Pizza Pie Cafe's floor looked like this:

When Gavin saw it he declared, "Hexagons!" Matt and I were floored - pardon the pun. I had read him a story a few days prior and pointed out the shape of a hexagon and he's been requesting to watch "train" you-tube videos - one of which teaches about shapes. Oh the things he remembers!

Gavin didn't want any of the all-you-can-eat pizza - just an endless supply of Goldfish.

Fire! Fire! Fire!

Grandpa Anderson bought this cute little fire engine at a thrift store and fixed it up. It kept Gavin busy the ENTIRE time it took Grandma Anderson to file our taxes.

Saturday, February 15, 2014

Amour!

On Valentine's Day, Gavin had his best friend over to play. He LOVES Brock and they play so well together.

Snack time!

When Daddy got home, we sent him on a fortune cookie scavenger hunt b/c we are so "fortunate" to have him in our lives. He had to find 6 different fortune cookies that had fortunes such as: "A surprise dinner soon awaits." or "A thrilling movie is in your future."

Here the fortune of: "You will be light in your step as you dance away the night." came true. :)

22 Months

Yep. That's right. He's almost a 2 year old!

Gavin LOVES anything with wheels. He especially loves Disney's Cars characters, tractors and garbage trucks. He is all boy - loves to run, jump, fix things, play with balls, and tries to be like his daddy. He loves strawberries and chips n salsa. He likes to cuddle and is speaking quite well for his age.

30 pounds

34.5 inches long

Takin' it back to the 90's!

Sporting some retro Utah Jazz attire!

Go Jazz!

When I noticed Gavin sitting on his stool "reading" a book, it totally melted my heart, and I had to take a pic. He loves books. He has a little board book called "Peek-a-boo" that he's memorized (only one word on each page), and it's sooooo cute to hear him read it to me.

The Meat Slicer

Growing up, Matt's family had a meat slicer on their kitchen counter. It was a commercial one that was used in his parent's sandwich shop (Good Time, Charlie's) in the late 1970s. He thought every home had a meat slicer on their kitchen counter and that they were as common of a kitchen appliance as a toaster oven.

The other day, we purchased a meat slicer.

Matt was in his element.

Look at that thinly sliced piece of ham!

For all of you wondering: "How could they be so frivolous in purchasing a meat slicer?" We actually got it for FREE! We had to use up all our Cabela's credit card points because we decided to get credit cards through our bank. So, with that meat slicer, we also scored a nice sleeping bag, a fold-up table, and a water bottle. Free is good.

BEFORE

I didn't take any "before" pictures. Sad, I know. Luckily I found these off a home buyers website. Because they were trying to showcase the home, it looks nicer than it really was. You will understand if you've ever tried to buy a home. The MLS pictures are often deceiving. I don't know how many times we looked at a home only to walk away disappointed b/c it looked nothing like what the pictures showed.

2 different colors of flooring

hardwood in hallway/entryway and laminate in sitting room/living room

living room

This kitchen was DIRTY! Cooking grease was in every nook and cranny. (I think a lot of Asian food was cooked in it by the previous owners.)

utility room

Don't you LOVE the ladybugs and flowers?!

Bedroom #1

Bedroom #2

Master bed. It looks really nice in this pic, but it had a terrible paint job and the flooring doesn't match any other flooring in the home.

master bath

AFTER

WE ARE DONE!!! So we must shout it to the world!... or at least put it on this blog so we can look back and remember all the blood, sweat and tears that went into this place. This project took a total of 2 months from start to finish. We did most of the work ourselves which saved us tons of money and made us have a newfound respect for people that do this kind of work every day for a living.

Walls were textured, primed (2 times in most places), and painted. A tile entry was put in, a door removed, stress cracks and holes in the wall puttied, caulking replaced, and we even had internet and electrical outlets put in above the fireplace so our tv can nest there. UGLY hardwood floors and laminate were removed. When we've told people we tore out our hardwood floors, we get these looks of shock and sayings of "How could you?!" Trust us. It's been a MAJOR improvement. We don't understand why people LOVE hardwood floors. I, personally, love to sprawl out on the floor while I'm playing with Gavin and change his diaper there. I love how it absorbs the sound and makes our home so much quieter. I also love how it feels soooooo much warmer. Plus, I prefer vacuuming to sweeping and mopping, and an occasional spill on it doesn't bother me at all.

So... here she is!