Home Improvements

We sure love our house!

Somehow, we got involved in a lot of home improvements this year. It was mostly due to Covid-19 and the fact that we had an extra two months of summer with nowhere to go. That was okay. We weren't spending our money on travel, so it was good to invest in the house. Here are a few of our projects:

We had Ryan, who has built most of our house, come over and work on the half wall. It had been damaged and drywall was cracking in certain places. He built a really nice shelf on top of the half wall and put up some bead board around the table area. While he was at it, we replaced all the small baseboards in the kitchen hall and living room. Then Mom painted the hall, stairway, and living room. It made a huge difference in how our house looked!

Mom especially loves the bead board.

The new baseboards look so clean and pretty.

Dad also talked Ryan into rebuilding our deck. It used to be a small 5 x 5 foot wooden landing that clung to the back door. They ripped it out and extended it to a decent size. Since Dad traded work with Ryan, going with him on several jobs, we only had to pay for the materials. After Mom and Dad finished the railing, it looked great! We have barbecued out there at least 4 or 5 times a week!

We love the new deck!

Soon we will add a shade cover to the deck!

We also added a new light to the back porch, and we need to change the front ones, too!

Glen built us shelves in the basement to go on top of the shelves. We specifically designed them to fit the Dowdle puzzles that we love. There is now a ton of space for food, games, and other things. We've had this idea for a long time, and it was great to get it done.

The shelves give us so much more room! It's amazing!

One day our neighbor, Alfredo, said he was ready to redo the mailbox. We've talked about it before, but we never got serious about finding someone to do it and split the cost. So, we found a retired brick layer and he did a beautiful job. We admire it every time we pull into the driveway.

No more broken mailboxes for us!

Mom and Dad final decided it was time for a new bed. Coincidentally, they found the perfect frame at Costco. After finding a nice cushy mattress to go with it, we moved our old bed into Mark's room (he is sleeping like a queen), and hauled his bed away. Now everyone can sleep easier. 

Mark loves his new giant bed.

Mom and Dad sure sleep lots better in their new bed.

For years we've had these clunky shutters on the back door. Whenever we open or close it, the shutters banged against the glass. It only took Ryan about two hours to cut the old glass out of the door and install a new window with shutters inside the glass. Now we don't have to dust them, and they are not in the way.

After we updated this, we wondered why we hadn't done it 15 years ago!

Jonny offered us a new TV, and since the one in our basement is over twenty years old and roughly the size and weight of a manatee, we accepted. Dad lifted the TV out on his back while Mom and Mark steadied it. Mom's finger was the only casualty. Then we designed some shelving from IKEA and got it all put together. We have so much more storage for movies and video games, and the new TV looks great!

Randy worked hard to build everything around the TV. 

Our final project isn't really ours, and we would have delayed it if we could. But after 15 years, they finally developed the field next to our house. We miss the cows and the birds, but at least we lived on a dead-end long enough that our boys grew big enough to be smart in the road. We are really grateful for being able to live in this magical part of Lehi for so long, and we are actually excited to have a neighbor. It will also save us a lot of sticking gathering, leaf raking, and worrying that a massive limb will crush our fence!

Things are changing all the time over here!

This is what it looked like on August 5 when we came home from camping.
Soon it will be a thru street.

Family Reunion in Cedar City

The Daniels gang

This year we decided to meet up for the annual family reunion in Cedar City. This made the drive shorter for Tiffany and Melanie, but it also took us away from the beautiful blue of Bear Lake. We had a great time exploring Cedar City, but next year, we will be back at the lake!

Grandpa Daniels rented a cabin that was way out west in the juniper trees. It had a fun game room, and the kids could be found playing darts, pool, or air hockey most of the time. They also enjoyed exploring the property. They found an old swingset, but mostly they wanted to climb and explore the hill, looking for old tools or treasures along the way. The adults shared out the cooking and really enjoyed getting together for card games, which turned into massive tournaments that lasted well into the night.

The kids played lots and lots of games.

And lots and lots of pool.

Dad squeezes in all the girl time he can at the family reunions.

Dad and Kate!

We read scriptures together every night. It was awesome!

Kate (and Hattie) asked Mom to push them on the swings a lot. 

There were lots of fun places to explore at this house.

We spent three days at the cabin and did a few adventures together. We took a walk in the park in Cedar City. This short hike led to a nice wide waterfall. Everyone enjoyed the walk along the paved path, and we celebrated with snow cones afterward.

The cousins were all great hikers with us.

The man made waterfall was super cool!

We even got a family pic, which is rare on a hike.

We loved the red rocks and bridges. 

Aunt Tiffany helped Seth do a pull up!

Getting sno cones was the highlight of the hike!

Our other hike was more adventurous. We went and hiked a new waterfall outside of Parowan. All the cousins enjoyed climbing over logs and up and down rock piles as we made our way to the waterfall. We also spotted a hummingbird in its nest. It was a beautiful shady mountain hike, and we worked together to get everyone there. We had lunch at a little restaurant on Main Street, which managed to fit us in despite virus restrictions. 

This beautiful hummingbird was sitting on her nest with two eggs!

Another bridge picture!

We loved the Hidden Haven waterfall. 

Mark piggy backed kids all week long. Hikes, in the yard, the house. He is a great big cousin!

Mel, Tiff, and Mom together on the hike!

Our waterfall hiking gang!

Dad even helped piggy back some kiddos!

Mark loves to hike!

The food was good, but the cinnamon rolls were amazing!!!

Another time we went out to Old Iron Town. We've explored there before, so it was more about showing the cousins around, but we still had a great time. There are some pretty cool artifacts to see, and Grandpa and Grandma made it out to this adventure, too.

Old Irontown is so interesting!

We walked the kids to death!

One day we spent at the cabin playing in the freezing pool, and then warming up in the hot tub. It was hilarious to watch the kids go back and forth. Stephanie also brought the face paint and created some amazing faces. The cousins sure loved being together so much.

One night we had a fire with s'mores, stories, and scriptures.

Ben really loved his s'more!

Seth chose a husky for his face paint!

Dax chose a cougar!

Most everyone wanted to be in the hot tub. The pool was so cold!

Dax tried to go back to the pool, but only lasted a minute.

We also had a fun movie night. We watched two different movies. First, we watched Dad's movie, which he made with the help of the family. It was a hit, and everyone laughed and had a good time. Then we set up the screen outside and watched Spies in Disguise. The kids liked this one a little more, but it had a much higher budget. 

Dax and Kate had the same reunion shirts.

The kids loved watching the movie outside. 

Though we didn't get to put our kayaks on the lake this year, we still had a great time. Since everyone has been locked up in quarantine, it was fun just to get together and see the cousins. That's what our family reunion is all about anyway.

Our family did a small hike on the last day as we headed out of town.

We also stopped for some delicious ice cream in Beaver. 

We sure have fun when we are together.