Maeley's friend birthday party!

Somehow we made it this long without doing any friends birthday parties with our kids. Part of that has been we've moved so many times. Earlier this year Maeley got the idea in her head that this was going to be her year for a friends birthday party. Her theme started off as baking but also turned ino an doll party as well. 

The party has begun as the first friend showed up. 

For Maeley's birthday present this year we sent her doll Molly to the doll hospital because she hair became ragged. Now she's practically brand new!  

Playing baking bingo

The girls managed to fit all the dolls into the doll tree house.

Getting the cookies and icing ready for the girls.

I think the girls enjoyed decorating the sugar cookies. 

She definitely got spoiled by all her friends.

Maeley even decided the cake she wanted. 

This cake was so easy! 

Maeley had a smile on her face the whole time! 

This really is a fun age. She is growing up and changing so much. I'm grateful she has such wonderful friends. 

Kitchen cabinet reveal!

I love the kitchen now! It really makes the whole downstairs feel cohesive now. I always hated the granite before, but now it's not as bad. I think before the cabinet color and the granite just competed against each other. I should note that we did eventually add hardware after these pictures were taken.

Kitchen Cabinet before and during painting

Ever since we bought this house we've been dreaming of painting the kitchen cabinets white. I loved our white cabinets in our last house. These cabinets are definitely a better quality than our last house and they are a smooth finish without any wood grain. I was nervous but after awhile we decided that we wanted to love our house not just tolerate the kitchen.

Derek took time off work during the kids fall break with the intention of going on vacation. After a lot of thought we decided to stay home. When that happened we decided to seize the opportunity and get the kitchen finished.

It's hard to notice but the cabinet above the fridge is reset quite a bit. We could never reach the cabinet without a chair. 

Before

During: after adding molding

After adding 5" basebords upside down with crown stacked on top of that. 

Derek removed the shallow cabinet above the refrigerator. He reused the face frame and built a deeper box.

Now we can actually reach inside the cabinet. 

Getting ready to prep. Filling nail holes, sanding and taping off.

Our dining room became quite tight while holding all of the kitchen appliances. We needed our garage to paint cabinet doors in. 

Kitchen is fully taped off ready to begin. 

These kids were troopers through the whole mess.

My office bookcases held most of the dinnerware during the painting.

My vision is coming to life!!!

Derek takes painting the kitchen cabinets seriously. He likes to take his time and do it right the first time. 

September

We took the girls to the new American Girl store in Scottsdale. Of course they loved it! 

My new favorite faux ice cream. It seems to always be sold out so its rare if I can get it at Sprout's. 

Chase has become obsessed with breakfast burritos lately. Here he is watching dad prepare the food. 

A lazy Sunday

The kiddos did great for our ward Primary Program.

Some of our fall decorations.