Delectable Demolition

Who would have thought demolition could be delectable? Well, at the Fish household, you better believe it is. So Jackson and I have been really wanting to open up our house for the last while...mainly because of the fact that we basically have the smallest kitchen in the universe. It has been kind of tragic. We've been waiting until we get some extra money to start our fancy new remodeling project. Thanks to the graciousness of the federal government in giving us some of our money back in the form of a tax refund we've decided to start what could be an extensive project. So here are a series of "before" pictures:
















OUR "BEFORE" LIVING ROOM!!



OUR "BEFORE" KITCHEN

So it looks fine, right, but quite small... kind of a bummer deal. So we had this great idea.. why not tear out part of the walls in between our kitchen and living room and then put a counter/bar table where the two walls used to be? Interesting idea.. well, we being young and ambitious like young married couples are supposed to be, decided to just see how it would turn out.
The demolition day was set! And what day did we decide to use for our beginning demo? None other than Valentine's Day, of course! Romantic, I know. Well, Jackson said that I had to be the one to make the first hole in the wall. I decided that since I wanted to start bright and early Saturday morning that I would put the hole in the wall Friday and then we could start whenever we wanted on Saturday. So we got back from Idaho Falls late Friday night moved the couches, took down the pictures and then BAM! SMACK! POW! The next thing I knew there was a giant hole in the wall! I actually surprised myself a bit, and when it came down to it I was a bit nervous to go through with the hole-in-the-wall-we're-going-to-do-this-for-real thing. Jackson decided to snap some pictures of me in action.


Exhilarating, I know... So Valentine's Day we get up not so bright and early (like 9:00 a.m.) and begin!! The demolition actually wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I found it pretty fun, to tell you the honest truth. I did feel bad for Adalynn though. We didn't want her to be out in the dust and everything (it was INSANELY dusty), so we put her in her room, set her on a blanket, and pretty much surrounded her with all of the toys that she owns. Luckily for us, she was quite content to just play most of the day so we could get a lot done, but I still felt kind of bad.

Here is the first half of the living room wall taken out...sorry, the camera I think has some dust particles on it or something so there's random dots on the picture.


Now both walls are out!! Well, the drywall at least.. we still have to take all of the studs out...well, I guess not all of the studs.. we can leave Jackson around ;) haha.. okay that was corny, I know.



Jackson and Kevin worked on taking the studs out. Kevin has been helping us out and we appreciate him and his help so much!! At the end of the first day, this is what our house looked like:


On Monday Jackson and Kevin worked on wiring all the electrical for our kitchen and they put up this beam, since our wall is a semi-weight bearing wall: (hint: if you can't see the beam, look up on the ceiling. There's some extra wood up there, for those of you, like me, who don't really know what installing a beam entails.)

So....enough with this big and slightly boring construction project. I wouldn't be so lengthy about it, but to be honest, we don't really do anything anymore that I can blog about... oh the joys of married with children! haha..

The final thing I have to blog about is... can you guess?... the cutest baby ever, Adalynn! Adalynn has some exciting news for everyone.....



Adalynn is moving up in the line of grown-up world. She is getting a tooth!! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it's the truth. One baby tooth coming right up.

For more on the ultra-exciting life of Sheila, Jackson, and Adalynn, be sure to continue reading as updates are posted. I'm not gonna lie, they probably won't be very often, but it will happen someday.

My goodness it's been a month since I've updated this thing

I think the title of this blog explains my basic reason of why I decided to update our blog... it's been forever and ever!! The primary reasons for me not updating our blog in so long are as follows: A. We had to make the forever long trip back to Idaho from San Diego; B. Once we arrived home we had to unpack everything (which took centuries); C. I was waiting to get pictures from everyone of events that have taken place recently because we never take our own pictures (we're really cool like that); D. Laziness. Whew. What an exhausting list of excuses.

Jackson, Adalynn and I had a fantastic time in Arizona... thanks again to Mom and Dad Fish for letting us stay with you!! We had such a great time laughing and visiting with family, playing an endless amount of Phase 10, and, of course, spending Christmas with everyone. I can't believe how many Christmas presents Adalynn got this year! Seriously, I think probably four fifths of our tiny car was packed with stuff for Adalynn. She must have made a good impression on everyone in order to get so lucky! We also got to visit a lot of our old friends in Phoenix and surrounding areas, and we seriously had a blast seeing everyone! Thanks for making time in your schedules so we could visit you all!! (also, sorry we don't have pictures that we can post..like I said, we're not that great at remembering our camera.)

So after visiting the sunny and beautiful and sunny Arizona (oh, did I mention it was sunny?), we made our way over to San Diego, California. San Diego was also beautiful and so warm.. I loved it!! The reason we were in San Diego was because my second youngest brother, Cody, was graduating from the insanely difficult and hard core Marine Boot Camp. It was a really awesome experience to be able to go to his graduation, and we are soooooo proud of him!! I do have a lot of pictures of his graduation, so brace yourselves.


The first day of his graduation was "family day." It was really interesting to be able to get a glimpse of what the last couple of months of Cody's life has been. The first thing all the Marines did was a five-mile "motivational run." Doesn't it look fun? Cody is the third one back in the second picture.

The next item on the agenda was a "parade." I put the word parade in quotation marks because this was not the type of parade I was used to.. you know, the kind with floats and candy and fun things like that.. but it was still cool to see. The Marine Corps band played some songs and then all of the Marines marched out. It was a rather short parade.

The first picture is us waiting for the parade to start. The second one is the Marine Corps band, and the third picture is when we first start to see the Marines marching out. It's pretty cool to see, for those of you who have never seen anything like that.



So the funny thing is that to me Cody looks really angry in all of the pictures. Surprisingly, he isn't even mad. He just claims this is his "serious" face. I actually believe him though, because when I put on my "serious" face for pictures or something everyone always thinks that I'm mad. It must be a Terrill trait or something.

I wish that pictures could really show the sharpness that the Marines have when they walk, turn, or even verbally respond. It's insane. They are all so in sync with one another. It is really amazing how every one of those guys can have such impeccable timing. Cody told us that they practice things like turning and standing at attention for hours.. so long, in fact, that it's not uncommon for somebody (or somebodies) to pass out because they've been standing there so long.






















So after the parade the Marines got to enjoy a few hours of some well deserved leave time. We were able to attend the LDS lunch that the Church put on for the members of the branch and their family members. It was delicious. The only negative thing was the walk to get to the luncheon was honestly like two miles.. or at least it felt like it. I was also carrying Adalynn, because she had fallen asleep, so that really made the walk seem long. Toward the end I was fully convinced that my arms were about to fall off.






























The next day was the actual Marine Corps graduation. It was really cool to be surrounded by all of these men who are loyal to their country to the point of being willing to give their very lives in defending America and the freedoms and values it stands for. The average Marine going through boot camp is 18 years old, and it's astounding to me that they are willing to give up anything and everything to protect what has become most precious to them: Their country and their brothers (aka fellow Marines).
















Being able to attend this graduation really made me think about how fortunate and blessed I am to live in a beautiful, though imperfect, country where I have fundamental human rights. I am so thankful to all those in the armed forces, regardless of branch, and their families for the sacrifices they make protecting me, my family, and my rights. I am so proud to be an American. I think sometimes it is so easy to focus on what is wrong with our country, the government, and the society we live in in general that it's easy for me to forget how great I've got it. I'm really proud of my brother and the determination that he's had to get through this. Yea Cody!!


So now that I'm off my serious-toned soapbox...after Cody's graduation he had a 10-day leave and he wanted to start it off by.................can you guess??...............eating at In-N-Out Burger!! haha.. it was random, but that's what we did. I love the In-N-Out Burger. You basically have the choice between a hamburger or cheeseburger, fries, and a shake. It's rad.




























So now about two weeks have passed and Jackson and I are home.. It's so glorious to be able to have a whole house that we can stretch out in. We are also so lucky because we have closets at our house and we're not living out of a suitcase anymore!!

The last thing that I have to blog about is this cute chair that Adalynn got for Christmas from Grandma and Grandpa Fish. It is too cute!! Here is Addy enjoying her very first chair that is just her size (well, it's still a little big, but you get the idea).

Oh, and I love the second picture, because to me she totally looks like she's got this attitude like, hey, you wanna fight?? She even has her fist clenched.. haha..

A beautiful fireplace, a Merry Christmas, and the long Arizona journey

Before I even start this blog I will post a warning: There are some darling pictures of a very cute baby girl that may make you want to have a baby girl all of your own!!!
Well, to start off this blog I need to brag about one of my favorite people ever...Jackson!! For those of you who are wondering why I am so happy with this handsome husband of mine, I'll let you in on his latest project... our fireplace!! Jackson painted and installed the random wood-burning stove that was in our garage when we moved in, and it is so wonderful. For anyone who doesn't even understand how AWESOME this is, I will tell you why I am so stoked: 1. Now it is basically free to heat our house (and for those of you who know me, you know I LOVE saving money) in this wintery wonderland Pocatello is having, and, 2. I can keep the house as warm as I want.. and trust me, it is sooo nice. If I want the house 80 degrees, no problem!! Here is a "before" and "after" picture so everyone can see the fireplace in all its glory.






I know what you're thinking.. oooh la la what a handsome fireplace!!









So since we're spending Christmas in the wonderfully warm Arizona, we decided to have our own family Christmas before we left. Adalynn was so cute. She was just in her diaper due to our sometimes outrageously warm house (what a lovely fireplace!), and so I just had to take some pictures. Adalynn LOVED the wrapping paper more than anything, which isn't really all that surprising since we just got her jammies, socks, and bigger clothes for Christmas. I know, I know, boring huh? But I figure we'll get away with a practical Christmas for as long as we can. Besides, her grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other family get her enough toys to last her for quite some time.










She's a super cutie, huh? And we thought we should probably take some pictures of her with her new presents
Clothes for Christmas!! It's quite obvious she's a girl, isn't it?
So anyway after our family Christmas, the next morning we left to Arizona. We ended up leaving at, like, 5:00 in the morning, and we were a little nervous about how Adalynn would do on the trip. To our surprise she did so great!! Adalynn pretty much slept almost the entire way down to Arizona and only woke up a few times to play and to eat. At one point she even decided she wanted to drive!! Since she's a little short to reach the gas and the brake, I decided I would help her out a little bit on her first drive.
I love how serious she looks in the picture..she's like, hey, dad, I'm driving. This is serious business.
Once we got to Arizona we had a lot of fun. Adalynn has started eating vegetables, which is really exciting. She's had a lot of fun with grandparents.


On Christmas Eve we went over to Grandma and Grandpa Fish's house for the Fish family party. It was so much fun Santa even showed up!! Adalynn was really funny with Santa. At first she looks at him like what the heck are you? Then Santa leans down and gives her a kiss on her forehead and she looks at Santa like how dare you even do that!! Then, obviously appalled at Santa's forwardness, she grabs Santa's beard and will NOT let go! It was pretty funny, I must admit. Atta girl!!
Finally the last thing that we did at the Fish family party was we took a five generation picture. It's pretty cool that Adalynn's great great grandparents are still alive. Yea!!
I think that's a pretty good update.. even though it only takes us to Christmas Eve... oh well, my fingers are tired.. more to come!!

Family pictures, Thanksgiving, and, oh, so much more

The month of November has come and gone, and I'm still thinking that Halloween was last week. How unbelievable. First, I have to say that the title of this blog makes the blog sound way cooler than it actually is. We lead slightly monotonous lives, I'm not even going to lie..but it is still worth reading if you don't have much else to do with your day.
So the latest exciting news of the Fish household is that the cutest one of us, Adalynn Shae, rolled over this past month!! She has actually rolled over multiple times the last couple of weeks, but it's kind of hard to get her motivated enough. Adalynn hates being on her stomach, so after she rolls over, she finds herself in a rather tricky situation. It is a little comical. Adalynn is just getting more personality every day. She has discovered the sound of her voice and so many days she fills the silence with her words such as "aaaayyaaa yaa yaa" or just "aaaaaahhhh". It's fun.
We also had family pictures taken a few weeks ago!! Yea! These are taken courtesy of my dad, and I love, love, love them!!






I know what you're thinking...my that is most possibly the cutest baby in the universe. Don't worry.. it's true! That's right, ladies and gentlemen, not
only does she roll over, she takes adorable pictures!! What a bargain.
We had a great Thanksgiving this year. For Thanksgiving we went over to my Grandma and Grandpa Dutson's house. It's always a fun time over there. There were like, oh, I don't know, 40 people or so in her house.. lots of those people being under the age of 10. It's crazy madness like no one's business, but, oh, so fun.
The day after Thanksgiving my infamous friend, Kaci, decided to drag me out of bed at 4 a.m. to go shopping on Black Friday. Actually, I'm not even going to lie, I'm glad she did.. I saved lots of money on our Christmas, and Jackson got almost all of his Christmas shopping done for me without even getting out of bed! Lucky duck.
Last, but certainly not least, our Christmas tree is beautifully sitting in our living room...okay, okay, so it's been up for like a month already, but I just love it the same. Now our tree is being joined by all our neighbors' trees, and our street is just festive like you wouldn't even believe. What a great time to be alive.