The never-ending July and right on into August....

I'm sick today. Been cooped up on the couch all day watching movies and being lazy. Kevin taught our Primary Class alone today. I'm not sure why now, but I suppose its time to update our blog. The last time I wrote we had just come home from California.We've done a lot since that first July trip home and now things are finally starting to settle down in the Ford home.

We returned to Sacramento for my sister Aubrey's wedding just two short weeks after our first visit out there in the beginning of July. It was a wonderful, quick trip home. Aubrey and Daniel made a very fun bride and groom. The reception was held at the same location Kevin and I had our reception. It was truly amazing to see how different the cultural hall looked for Aubrey's reception compared to ours. Each absolutely expressed our personalities and we had the same amazing people pull it all off.

 

It was so wonderful to see Aubrey and Daniel sealed in the Sacramento temple. I know that their lives will truly be blessed for making covenants with their father in heaven on their special day.

 Like I said, a quick trip home and Sunday we headed back to Utah. We took the long way (the southern route) home so we could stop in Bakersfield to visit Kevin's younger sisters. Marianne was visiting Kevin's other sister Melissa and her husband who live in Bakersfield. Sunday also happened to be Marianne's birthday and we thought it would be a lovely surprise to see her while she was so close.

We haven't had the chance to see Kevin's parents and siblings very often so we were so excited at the chance to see both Melissa and Marianne that day, even if just for a few short hours. It was so lovely to be with them. I miss them so much and wish everyone lived closer. I truly wish we could see the Ford side more often. We are terribly excited for December when we will go to Washington for the holiday. Kevin's older brother Jeff and his wife Hayley live there with their sweet daughter Lucy. They are also expecting a little boy to arrive two weeks before we get there. Kevin's parents and youngest sister Marianne live there as well and we are so ready to spend some time with them.

The following weekend we moved! Not far, only 10 feet across the patio but it was still work!

Our neighbors, who we love SO much, Kyle and Carly, moved to Nevada to start their own business! We were so sad to see them go, but very excited for their new adventure! The new place is A LOT bigger then our first apartment and its still in the same ward and area which is so great. The new place has two bedrooms and is plenty big enough for Kev and I to stay in for some time... maybe even with a couple kids!

We love, Love, LOVE the new place. It is so perfect for us. We are excited that it's a bigger place so we can entertain and even have people stay over!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My mom came to town last week for her Aunt's funeral and was the first guest to stay. It was a blast to have her and we had a great time with her as our guest for a few days. We went and saw the "UP" house in the Parade of Homes show and it was so neat. We saw lots of other beautiful homes too but the Up house was by far the coolest!

Kevin and I have been working on a few home projects. The first is a garden. Since we are renting we don't have a yard of our own so we decided to plant a garden in a wheelbarrow (I saw the idea on Facebook of a friends daughter who did it in class.) We found an old wheelbarrow on KSL for $5 bucks. Got some topsoil on sale at Lowe's (they give u discount if the bag is ripped) and a few herbs, vegetables and flowers from random places. Its a start. The weather has been hot so we have to make sure we water it EVERYDAY and its looking great. The vegetables haven't sprouted yet but we just got them planted. We will keep you up to date when they finally do.

 

 

 The second project we have been working on is trying to have a proper and organized food storage. In the new place we have this AMAZING pantry and before this weekend it was just cluttered with random things.A lot of the grocery store's have a couple CASE lot sales during the year where families can stock up on canned foods and lots of other food storage items. Kevin and I set aside some money for this go round of case lot sales so we could get our food storage started. It was a little harder then I thought. I knew it was important to buy enough to last us a few weeks/months if we weren't able to shop or whatever the situation might be, but I just didn't feel like we needed 50lbs of flour. There is after all only two of us. We did a great job, I think, of buying things I could actually cook with and things we would actually use of the course of time so we didn't waist anything if we never "HAD" to use it. With our set aside amount and guesstimating what we were at we only went over by 28 cents at the register and our food storage is WELL on its way! I am so proud of us. It took me a good hour or so to organize everything in the pantry once we got it home. I felt like we got so much but in the room it didn't look like anything! I organized everything in sections putting the closest expiration date in front to be used first. It was work but it turned out great and I feel blessed to be prepared (starting to be prepared) like the prophets have asked us to be!

 

Our newest project came this weekend. Kevin has been showing me the "value of a dollar" and we have been shopping every weekend. Garage sales, KSL and DI trips to find great deals on fun stuff. The first week we got a printer (yes it works, just needs ink) for $2 and 7 yards of a gorgeous floral fabric for 50 cents (I plan to take a sewing class during the fall). This week we found a beautiful green vase for the office and an old wooden screen. The screen we found has got to be the best buy ever! We found it at DI for $3.

You can see why it was only $3 but I had a vision much bigger than that. With some sand paper, primer, yellow paint and hard work my vision became a reality. I have an incredible husband who helped make this  DIY project a huge success. A photo/artwork screen to be kept around for years. Our first "DIY Project" and a treasured piece of furniture we hope to be a part of our family for a long long time. It was a blast to do, super easy and made me feel so proud to have done it ourselves! I have definitely got the domestic juices flowing now!!

 

  

 

This weekend was also busy with service projects, cleaning the church and volunteering at a car wash to raise awareness for Dystonia with  Tonic for the Dystonic. It was a lots of fun and so great to see so many people supporting the cause!

Nothing big planned for K2 for a little while. We are taking it nice and easy and trying to enjoy the last few weeks of summer. I told Kevin that I felt I was missing out on all the back to school stuff. Some of my greatest memories were clothes, food and school supply shopping before a new school year with my parents, brother and sisters. So much fun and I am actually a little jealous of all the fun things Haley, McKenna and Desi are gonna get this week in their back to school shopping. Speaking of those 3 real fast. McKenna and Desi are going to be SENIORS! I cannot believe it. McKenna is ASB President this year and I am so proud of her. I see her FB post the last few days and they have so many fun things planned already. Senior shirts, Senior sunrise, ah, I miss those days with my friends from high school. Senior year truly made some of the greatest memories. Little (well she is taller but ALWAYS will be younger so I can say Little) Haley is going to be a sophomore! I can't hardly believe that either! She will be getting her learners permit here pretty quickly. It kind of frightens me! She also will be in Student Government as Sophomore class president and she is currently on track to graduate high school with her AA Degree. I definitely have some pretty amazing sisters and great parents who make it all possible. I am really excited to be going home this year a few times to be apart of McKenna's last high school experiences. Halls, Sports A Rama, Sr Ball and Graduation. It's going to be a great year Mickey G.

Kevin's birthday is on the 1st of September. It's almost been a year since we first met and its crazy that we have been married for 5 months of that year! Last year I met Kevin a few days before his birthday. I had talked to him once in person the day we met, once on the phone to set up a date and wished him happy birthday through a text a few days later. Birthday's are a big deal (for anyone who knows me) but I think it's a little different for Kev. He'll be 28 and I think he's at that age where dinner and a movie with his wife and maybe a few friends over for some ice cream cake will be about all he can handle. That's fine with me... this year :) I have already told Kevin, family and friends not to make plans for September of 2013. Turning 30 is a HUGE deal and I plan to give Kevin a HUGE, embarrassing, incredible birthday party to be remembered! You're all invited to.

OK, OK now I'm getting ahead of myself. Well, that's all we've been up to lately. I miss posting more often. I will have to try and do this once a week instead of once a month so these blogs don't go on and on.

We are so blessed to have such great friends and family who read our blog and care so much about us. We love you all and promise to continue to keep having amazing adventures and stories to share with you over the years!

Happy Sunday Readers

<3 The Fords

PS. A few extra pictures taken this past month I thought I'd share. Enjoy! (They are really Random)

Cooked Dinner for Kyle & Carly b4 they left.

Bride and Groom

Bridesmaid's/Groomsmen

Car ride to California

Mr and Mrs.

Aubrey's rocking Bouquet

I didn't miss out on back to school shopping. I got 3 new books!

 

Bride/Groom Night Before

Aubrey Started a new job at my work and Left me a love note!

Hedlund Wedding Day.

The AWESOME Aunt Rene working her magic!

The CUTEST picture Ever.

Crepes in Vegas

Homemade Desert. Borrowed the idea from Ashley Nichols. Banana Bread, Bananas and homemade Carmel.