A bunch of randomness.

Ok I'm posting lots of pics. So I'm going to power through here. Let's start with getting rid of our old washer and dryer that did not really work. Oh yeah..check out those ancient tired old work horses.

And here they go...off to be recycled.

Special thanks to Chad who helped Joel pick them up from the store. And special thanks to Brad & Steve Unger (pictured here). They were in the middle of working on a car and came over to help Joel get these bad boys down into our basement. Not an easy feat. You know you have great friends when they are willing to drop whatever they're doing to come and help. We love our friends..and not just because they are awesomely helpful!

Hello beauties!!! I LOVE THEM SOO MUCH!! I never thought I would have brand new washer & dryer. I figured we'd get something used or handed down. But we found these for such an awesome price. And we decided to make the investment. I'm sure the moms/wives can understand how much easier these make my life. This is how I put it to Joel. "I finally have the tools to get the job done right and WAY faster." And he said "Now you're speaking my language, I can understand you needing new tools." Haha!

Alright..it's hard to tell in this pic. But there are some foliage and trees blocking my view into my own front yard. So silly. And ever since we bought the house I have been wanting to hack them down. 

Ahem...so muscle man hacked them down for me. And now I can see!! And our front yard looks that much bigger!

 And you'd think I'd be doing something useful while the hubs is hard at work. Um...no...not really.

 This is Jake and I having fun while looking out the window watching Daddy chop the mini forest.

This Mommy/Kai photoshoot was when daddy was working on the stairs. (Hence the earmuffs) 

 Here they are watching daddy safely from a distance.

 Jake has a thing with noses. Probably because we make a beeping sound every time he grabs it.

 Haha! I love this pic!

 So here's a pic of the stairs BEFORE:

and AFTER:

Aren't they luscious!! Good job Joel!! My mans gotz da skillz!

 I have been slack about decorations b/c I didn't want to start putting holes in my beautiful walls. But I found these sweet "command strips" (forgot to include a pic)...and they make no holes. So once we finally received our family photos in the mail (took 4 months...are you kidding me!). We started putting them up.

What do you think? Like my grandma frames that I bought at the thrift store? Gives them a little character.

Ok..so here is something that had been driving both of us a little nutso. Always a pile of shoes at the entrance b/c we have no storage or place to put them. We don't even have a coatrack. Or an entry closet. So....

Ikea saves the day again. Joel thinks it's hideous...but I don't care. I can't see a mess of shoes and it fills that weird space in the entry. I am coming up with ideas to spruce it up in the future. 

Check it out: 

(starting from the bottom)

Kai-2 pair of boots/1 pair of shoes

Amy - 3 pairs of sneakers (I like that word)

Joel - 2 pairs of shoes

They all fit in that tiny thing that's only 7.5 inches deep. I was so excited when I found it at Ikea b/c it would actually fit in our tiny.. miniscule entry spot. 

Still working on the decorating theme. This is the first piece to go up in the boys room. Kai likes it.

 But he keeps saying "But Mama I do want to grow up. I want to be big like Daddy."

 An idea that I stole from pinterest was to buy some spice racks and use them as shelving in the boys room. Here is poor Joel trying to get them up while managing both boys. As I snicker and just take pictures. Man I sound like the most unhelpful wife. (Mua-ah-ah...yeah..that was an evil laugh)

 Kai helping Daddy.

 See! Aren't they cute? I still need to unpack all of their boxes of books, which will not all fit on these 3 shelves. But at least some will be out. Maybe I'll just put their favorites there for now.

Haha! I'm so sneaky! Poor Joel. We were having a movie night (that's the only date types we have since the Jakester was born)..and this is what usually happens. But I pretend that he's awake and we're having a good ole time. Haha! Poor hardworking man.

Ok a couple more random shots. Kai having fun at Costco.

Here we were watching Kai have his very 1st swimming lesson. So cute to watch!

Christmas tree time! It was Joel's turn to pick out a tree this year. Usually I go for the Douglas fir's and I like my ladies BIG & FAT! Which is probably ironic seeing as I'm a stick figure. But Joel likes the sparser looking ones. So I believe we got a Noble fir this year. Kai helping saw it down.

Mommy & Jake watching the action.

Grandpa, Joel & Kai taking the tree down to the car.

 Merry Christmas from the Huber's!!!!