Claire - ified

Claire's blessing day in Orem, UT.















Casey & Suzy and Claire are visiting with Casey's family in Orem this week.
Next week Suzy and Claire will spend a week in Farmington. Kevin and family will be coming up too!


Claire smiles!

Las Vegas and Cheap Hotel Rooms

This all started when I got an email offering a great rate at Bally's Hotel in Las Vegas. Since we were going to Lake Havasu for the Half Marathon (see prior blog), I thought it might be fun to break up the trip and spend a night in LV on the way home. This particular hotel was interesting to me because it is right next to the Paris which IMHO has the best breakfast buffet by far in all of LV. It's also right across the street from the Bellagio which has the beautiful fountains which "dance" to the music every 15 minutes, one of the best free shows in Las Vegas.

So I was standing in line to check into this hotel room which I got for a very cheap rate, along with a long line of people who apparently were there for some convention. I was sure that when the clerk saw how much I had paid, she would give us the worst room in the place. However, when I finally got up to the counter, the clerk said since we were only staying one night, she would give us a suite. I said fine, thinking it would just be a larger hotel room with maybe a couch at one end. When we got into the elevator to go up to the room, I noticed the floor we were going to was the top floor.
Top Floor = Penthouse suite? This was starting to look very good. When we opened the double doors to the room, this WAS the Penthouse Suite, with the Penthouse VIEW! The room was actually 2 huge rooms, about the size of at least 4 normal hotel rooms. The first room had a marble entry, 2 seating areas, dining room table, wet bar, refrigerator, microwave, 2 TVs and separate bathroom. The second room was the bedroom/bathroom with an elevated jacuzzi tub in the middle, 2 separate sinks on each side, a walk through shower, and more. The whole width of the room was floor to ceiling windows looking out on the Eiffel Tower (remember the Paris was next door), the Paris pool area and a great view of Bellagio fountains. The view was even better at night, but sadly I only have daytime pictures.


Eiffel Tower and Bellagio











Room 1













Room 2










For one of the lowest prices ever paid for a hotel room in LV, this was by far the best room I've ever stayed in. And that's what happened when we stayed in Las Vegas. Oh yes, I did get my breakfast at Paris in the morning. Great crepes!!

A Bridge Too Far?

Last weekend we met Kevin, Caroline and family at Lake Havasu for the Half Marathon run. Ken, Kevin, and Caroline ran and I stayed with the kids.
( I think I got the best end of that deal.) The 13 mile race course went over the London Bridge and along the lake shore. They each finished the race with times that were their own personal best! Finishing times were 2:02, 2:05 and 2:09 for those who are interested in these things.

After the run, we enjoyed seeing the London Bridge and playing on the beach at the lake. Yes, the real London Bridge has been moved from England to the Arizona/California border in the middle of the desert. Who comes up with these ideas??

The pictures below show the baby and I in front of the vacation house we rented in Lake Havasu City, AND the 4yr old and 2yr old having fun at the pool and hot tub just across from the house. It was much warmer there than in SLC, which was a welcome change.


















On the way back to Farmington, we decided to stay in Las Vegas one night.
What happened there will be the subject of my next blog.

It's not over yet

I guess I was just way too optimistic about Spring in my last blog.
However, I have been reminded in a most cruel way that in Utah,
even at the end of March, Winter is NOT over yet.

It's hard to believe that just a week ago I posted pictures with bright blue skies and spring-like temperatures.
It has been snowing most of the morning and everything is white.




How many inches of snow are on the BBQ?
(The cover blew off and is under the snow somewhere on the deck. )



Here's another street view from the front door.

The snow plows are out. The driveway needs shoveling. Ice is forming on the tulips that have already emerged. This is just NOT right.

Who could question the move to Tucson after this?

Are you afraid of heights?

I'm not afraid of heights. I'm only afraid of falling off high ladders.
As I was climbing to the top of the ladder, ten feet off the ground, ready to continue my deck painting project, I was thinking of the scene in the movie Christmas Vacation where Chevy Chase is on the ladder putting 1.2 MM Christmas lights on his roof. Even if you haven't seen it, you can just imagine the ladder tipping every which way and all the hilarity than ensued. Fortunately for me, the ladder did not tip over, I painted the outside of the deck, and I survived.

First, the BEFORE picture of the outside of the deck.
As you can see, there was very little actual paint left, mostly bare wood to paint.
















Next, the AFTER pictures, from both inside and outside.



























And, as requested -
Other pictures of the renovated house showing new paint, tile,
carpet, light fixtures, etc.

Front room















Kitchen to hallway














Hallway and stairs.















Master bedroom














Stay tuned for upcoming blogs to see . . .
pictures of the kitchen after the new appliances are in and
pictures of the new and improved bathrooms.

PS: Happy First Day of Spring!! I't's always a great day when Winter is over.

All (Red) Hands on Deck

Several years ago, we bought this house in Farmington as an investment. We have had good luck with most of the renters who have lived here over the years, but after the last ones moved out we decided to renovate it and will most likely sell it.

We (mostly Ken) have done lots of work on the inside (pictures coming later) including:
New paint throughout the whole house
New tile floors in the kitchen and both bathrooms
New carpet throughout (installed 2 days ago)
New stainless steel appliances in the kitchen (to be delivered tomorrow)
New kitchen sink
New light fixtures
New faucets and fixtures in both bathrooms
Regrouting in both bathrooms
New door handles throughout
And much much more.

In the past few days, I painted the front door black (previously an ugly gray) and I painted the railing on the stairs (previously a bit rusty). I also painted the mailbox post (previously peeling white) since I had more black paint left over.


However, my biggest painting project has been the deck. Those of you who know this house know that it has the smallest deck known to man. It is a tiny square off the sliding doors from the kitchen in the back of the house. It is so small that one person standing out there with a BBQ would feel crowded. It is so small that it doesn't even have stairs going down to the backyard.

You would think that repainting this deck would be easy. That's what I thought until I started the job yesterday. Somehow this small deck grew bigger yesterday. After going through one can of paint, it was back to the paint store to get another can. It was kind of embarrassing to walk through the store with red paint on my hands, which looked similar to dried blood, but I did it. After 5 hours of painting, the inside of the deck, the part visible from inside the house, is done. However, the job is still only half done. I still have to paint the outside of the deck, which means getting up on a ladder and balancing a can of paint while painting. That should be interesting. I'll try to post pictures tomorrow, after the job is completely done (assuming I don't fall off the ladder and break my neck).

As a side note - my kids will remember they were the last ones to paint this deck many years ago. One summer day, we just gave them a can of paint and asked them to do the paint job for a little work project. I think they did the whole job in one afternoon. At the time I didn't realize how difficult this job was. So thanks Kevin, Ryan, and Suzy for doing that paint job, even if it is a bit late!!

Back in Utah

After being in snowy and cold Massachusetts for about 3 weeks,
I am back in Utah where it is . . .
also snowy and cold.
No picture here as my old computer in Utah is not as smart as my new computer in Tucson or Suzy's computer, but I'm sure you can imagine the white stuff covering the BBQ on the deck.

I have been spending a lot of time the past few days with my friend, Turbo Tax. It's sad to realize that even if you don't make as much money, and your 401K is a mere shadow of it's former self, there are still more taxes to pay.

I've also been spending time at the rental property we have here.
Every room has been repainted, we have put in new fixtures and faucets, and new appliances are expected next week. Ken has replaced the old floors with tile in the kitchen and bathrooms, and new carpet is to be installed in the next few days. Just a few other things to finish up and then . . .
we will test the Utah real estate market.
Doesn't that sound fun?