Before and After: The Floor

We've finished working on the floor.  It took us about 3 days of pretty hard work, but the results speak for themselves.  I'm really glad we decided to try our hand at refinishing the floors.  It saved us a ton of money and gave us some practical experience.  Let's take a look at some before and after shots.

Before

After

All in all, it was a fun project. Tara was the real hero of this one. She sanded, swept, polished, and stained all through the night. When I was ready to throw in the towel and say, "Good Enough" she went the extra mile to ensure the floor was done right. Thanks Tara - it was great working with you. I hope you like the new floor!

Diary of a Utah Fan

That one was UGLY!

Going into the game with byu this week I felt the Utes had the better team.  Sure,  the past month Utah hasn't been lighting up the scoreboard.  In fact, we've gone from an elite team, to a team that's barely surviving.  Still, last week the Utes showed some heart against the Aztecs.  I thought that victory would help Utah regain their mojo going into Rivalry Week.

I was wrong.

Utah was terrible offensively in the first three quarters.  They didn't score.  They benched Wynn and brought in Cain.  That was one of the worst potential mistakes of the season.  I know things weren't going well, but switching quarterbacks wreaks of desperation.  Maybe we were desperate.  After Cain got picked for the second time, the Utes really were desperate.  Then something started to happen.

The cougars made some mistakes.

Each time the Utes were right there to capitalize.

In the 4th quarter things turned around in a hurry.  The game when from 13-0 to 13-10 in a matter of seconds.  Momentum was on the Utes side.  Then the game stalled for much of the period, but with four minutes left the Utes scored a second TD and took the lead 17-16.  It looked like Utah might just pull out a win.  Til byu drove the ball downfield.  It took the rest of the time, but the cougars were prepared to win the game on a FG with 3 seconds left.  Then something happened.

Brandon Burton happened.

The kick was up and Brandon Burton blocked it!

from Salt Lake Tribune

The Utes won!

They won ugly.

They shouldn't have won, but they won.

This is what the cougars usually do to Utah, but not today.

Today was a UTAH day.

It's a great day to be a UTE!

70 Years of Memories

My mom turned 70 yesterday.

It was somewhat lost in the shuffle of a busy Thanksgiving Day.

We didn't forget her birthday (aka Sixteen Candles).

The plan to celebrate her milestone of 7 decades came tonight. My family and I have been arranging a birthday dinner for my mom for a weeks now. It was one of those "on-again", "off-again" kind of parties. Finally, last Sunday it was officially "on-again" so we set the guest list and made the final plans.

Everything went really well tonight. We went to the Mandarin in Bountiful and celebrated in style. My mom's cousins were there, her sister, and our whole clan came. We were a little worried about taking Big D out to a restaurant like the Mandarin, but somehow we managed to survive and the evening came off without any major issues. After dinner, it was back to my sister's house for a little pie and ice cream and then it was time for the presents.

We created a few little memories of my mom's 70 years to give to her for her birthday. For the past couple of weeks Jason, Alicia, and I have been assembling a fun book to give to our mom. It contained some great pictures of her life and it really turned out nice. Since, we had all the pictures together I also created a video of them as well. My mom usually doesn't want any fanfare about her, but this was a moment where we wanted to reflect on what a great life she's had so far.

Mom - I don't say it often enough, but I love you very much. You've always been there for me throughout my life with support and encouragement. Whether it was homework when I was a kid, or sharing your time and resources with me as an adult - I know I can count on you. Thanks for being such a great mom. Happy Birthday.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours!

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Home Improvement: Our Project in Photos

We started a little home improvement project today.  Refinishing the wood floor on our main floor.  Today was a big sanding day and everyone pitched in to help.  We'll keep you posted on the progress.