Happy Umbrellaz-The Random Writings of a Chandler Girl

We wanted to make one last trip home to Twin Falls before our cross-country journey. On the way home we picked up Addy (my sweet niece) and two of her friends from EFY in SLC. It was fun spending time with these hilarious teens :) We spent a very brief time with Kamie and her girls, but it was wonderful to see them while we could.

We had a great weekend with both of our parents (Hobbs and Chandlers). We wish we could have spent more time with them! It is REALLY nice having our parents in the same place...but it can be difficult to split our home time trying to see  both sides. We just want to be in two places at once!

One night there was a incredible sunset on one side of the sky and a huge moon on the other. See pictures below. Twin Falls summer nights are the BEST!

Addy & Me

Avery bounding through the kitchen with delight to see Grandma :)

Little Avers :)

Pretty incredible, right?

I wish this was better quality, but it was so fantastic to see in real life!

Headed out..Stopping in Provo to finish packing and then hitting the road to Florida! Ah!

My wonderful parents! I love any time I get to spend with them :) Home is the best place in the world! Luke and I are lucky that we get to share our childhood HOME together. Happy Umbrellaz!

Luke and I wanted to make sure we hiked in beautiful Utah before we left for Florida. After packing boxes on a Saturday we decided to head up to the Y about 8 PM. We thought it might be too late, but we went for it! I am so glad we did. It was so fun! And gorgeous!

Look at that sunset!

Luke enjoying the view :)

Our feet...on the Y

I can't believe that June has already arrived! Time is definitely flying by.

I had a marvelous birthday thanks to so many. Here are a few pictures from the special day:

Captured the moment my birthday began

Luke had my presents arranged and breakfast waiting when I woke up... hard eggs, toast, and my favorite: GRAPE NUTS :)

Everyone at work was so kind. This sign was hanging in the office when I walked in.

A treat from Marie...and...

A treat from Kiely...I have the BEST secretaries :)

And look who came to celebrate my birthday with me! It just so happened that Jason and fam were nearby before their trip to Europe, so Mom & Dad and Grandma made it an official party and joined us. I felt so lucky to have everyone together.

I have the best family!

And the best lover!

Thank you to everyone who made my birthday so fun! I really am so blessed with amazing people in my life.

One of the big events that I take care of in my position is graduation. There are lots of details involved which I work together with the advisement center to make everything go smoothly. At convocation I am I charge of setting up the stage, making sure the faculty line up correctly, and then present the diplomas on stage. After convocation, I am in charge of running the grad luncheon where we feed about a thousand people. The people helping me were so wonderful and i certainly could not have done it without so much help from the wonderful volunteers. People in my office have been talking about graduation for months now emphasizing that enormity of the event. Needless to say, I was a little anxious about the whole thing, but felt that it was definitely possible with the help of so many great people. And...I survived! It was a successful day and it all ran pretty smoothly. I am so grateful. And it was a success because of all the people that helped :)

Here are a few pictures from the day...

I have not blogged in far too long! I guess that's what happens when you get a full-time job. I have been so grateful for my job and the wonderful people I get to work with.

I am going to share a few pictures from the last few months to capture our winter memories :)

Hopefully more to come!





















Happy Umbrellaz! Here's to Spring!

After many trips to Home Depot, conversations with my sister-in-law (thanks Amy :) ), and days of hard work, my table project is finally completed!! I have officially sanded, painted, and applied finish to my kitchen table and two chairs. It is far from perfect, but I think I did a pretty good job for my first time...at least Luke seems to think so. I tried to capture each step throughout the table journey so enjoy the pictures!

The spray paint area on our balcony

The sanded, old table/desk ready to be painted

Coat #1

Coat #2

Notice the change in the spray paint area with the nicely spread plastic at the beginning to...well you'll see.

Me, after two coats

YIKES!!

Time to paint underneath

This is after the 3rd or 4th coat...I can't quite remember

And, me, dirty once again

Time for the chairs! This is before sanding...look how terrible this one was

Nicely sanded :)

Chair #2 in need of sanding

Both ready to be painted

One chair after two coats. I think I gave up on pictures at this point and just wanted the project to be DONE! :)

I know these are all really lovely pictures of me. I just wanted to give you a taste of how dirty I became. My forehead was so black and my hair had paint in it for days.

Luke eating at our table for the first time!! So happy that we don't have to eat on the couch or floor anymore.

I love you too, Luke! Even more than the fact our kitchen table is finished.

We also just purchased some red cushions for the seats that I will have to post soon.

Ok, please compare this to the nicely spread plastic at the beginning.

Evidence of all the hard work put into this project :)

Well there is the picture journey for you. It was well worth the work, because now we have a beautiful table and chairs. Thank you to family and friends for encouraging me during the process. I love you all.

Go and accomplish a project of your own!

Happy Umbrellaz!