Picnic in the canyon

Ahhhh... retirement !! Today Roger said, just out of the blue... "Let's jump in the Porsche and go for a picnic up in the canyon." And so we did! How fun !

It was absolutely gorgeous! I am a real LOVER of fall, so all the beautiful fall colors were breathtaking. We went up into American Fork Canyon, which is only about a 20 minute drive, and stopped at a picnic area. It was cool enough for a jacket, but sunny enough to keep it enjoyable. The leaves were raining down in the breeze & we were right beside the river.

of course, since this was SUPPOSED to be a work day, and the idea had been just spur of the moment, I didn't have any makeup on or hair done... so while Roger looks GREAT... I look like

the Hag of the Woods! Nevertheless, Roger HAD to take my picture too.. ugh... just quickly scroll down....

It was such a fun day! Just a few hours out of the middle of the day & all the gorgeous fall colors to make us truly thankful to be here during the fall. How blessed we are!
It's on days like this that I wish I had those wonderful, big cameras of Brooke's or Lindsay's.

They would have captured all the color so much better, but alas.. my small one will have to do.

I LOVE FALL ! I LOVE FALL !!!! I LOVE FALL !!!! I LOVE FALL !!!

We are getting there...

Well... Lindsay (my personal interior designer and organization guru) has left now. I feel like she helped sooooo much! She cracked the whip and got me almost totally unpacked, organized, decorated, and generally feeling like this is truly turning into my home. Thanks so much Lindsay for helping us get so far and with all your great ideas & help! (I LOVE grown-up kids!)

The great room/family room is finally finished:

The entertainment center is all decked out:

The crazy 2 foot deep niche above the fireplace & mantle is finally decorated:

The metal wall art was hung so masterfully (and nervously) by Lindsay above the stairway:

The dreaded Media Room where everything that didn't have an immediate home got shoved is now beautifully organized and everything is up on a shelf. (no we are NOT using it as a media room because just 20 steps away is our huge 65" TV in the FR of the basement- so we're using it as a storage room)

In the kitchen the drapes and pictures are hung & the decor has been added to above the cabinets. One side is an homage to Roger's mission - the french Eiffel Tower and on the other is our remembrance of an old family motto: No Empty Chairs.

We put this vinyl lettering on the wall just to left of the refrigerator. It's a small wall & it kind of sums up how we feel: Our master bedroom we did similar to the Antioch home. This time we used beadboard and more moulding in white -with navy blue paint above. They aren't in this picture, but we now also have navy blue drapes on the sliding door & a matching valance over the window

The basement isn't quite finished, we've hung a few drapes, but not all. And a few pictures & clocks, but not all. It's a work in progress. Roger & I still have a few things left to do in our individual offices, but Lindsay helped us get incredibly organized there as well... converting the closets into shelved storage areas. All those pictures will be later in coming...(just as they'll be later in getting done! ha!) Still.... we're getting there!

The Lord giveth & the Lord taketh away....

A year ago Roger was offered a promotion and the new job meant a move to Utah. Everything fell into place so smoothly that we KNEW we were supposed to take the job & move. We hunted and hunted for a home in Utah. Then about 6 months later, we found out why we were prompted to take the new job. Novartis had a small down-sizing and eliminated Roger's old job.
What a blessing we had been given - to escape being out of a job! Then in April of this year we
finally found a home in Cedar Hills. Many things happened in quick succession - My mom passed away in May, we moved in June, had many visitors and family in July & August, I had double knee surgery in Sept and then came another interesting phone call from Novartis. After moving us to Utah, and having been on the job only one year, they decided to eliminate this new job! About 15 people in the same job all over the US lost their jobs as well. We're guessing that the Lord must have REALLY wanted us here... to eliminate TWO of our jobs !! SHEESH!! So, now... after much prayer & thought, Roger has decided to just retire. The company offered a very good severance package & so we decided to take it. He hasn't quite decided whether he wants to still work part time or in a consulting capacity for awhile, or if we should just put our papers in & go on a mission... so, we'll see what happens! But, for now.... just consider us ......