Goals For 2017!

2017 Goals

Yard Goals:

Level front yard 

Put in a sprinkling system

Lay new sod

Build patio furniture 

Built more planters 

Home Goals: 

Fix deck and stain it

Paint living room

Built computer station 

Fix Foosball table

Saving Goals: 

Save $1200 for Hawaiian vacation in 2019

Save $1200 for the kids future cars

Bump the 3-6 month fund back up to where it needs to be

Save $1300 for vacations (Water Park, Family Reunion & Seabrook)

Put tax return towards future basement remodel

Purchase Goals: 

Tent

Cabinets for computer station

Fire pit

Cushions for patio furniture

Snow gear for all the kids

Family Adventures: 

Family Reunion

Great Wolf Lodge

Seabrook

Mt. Rainier

North Cascade Hwy

Bullwinkle's Family Fun Center

Personal Goals:

Lyndsay 

Drink more water on a daily basis

Exercise 

Learn to knit

Organize each room

Get a job

Michael 

Make dates a priority

Learn to drive the dump truck / get CDL

Accomplishments For 2016!

This is the post that's mainly for my records. I like to look back and see what goals we set out for ourselves and how we did. 

2016 Goals

Home Goals: 

Replace deck surface and stain

We didn't actually get around to taking care of the deck last year. It wasn't a super rush, but this year it's on the list and it's a priority.

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Touch up paint throughout the inside of the house

Michael did get around to touching up all the baseboards and we did repaint a few rooms due to the remodel of the bathroom. In all the entryway, bathroom/laundry room, the dining room and the master bedroom all got fully repainted. The living room is in dire need of getting repainted so hopefully that will happen this year. 

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Fix master bathroom ceiling

Michael actually repainted the master bathroom ceiling before I even got around to posting the goals on the blog last year. 

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Put Moss Out on the roof

Michael did put moss out on the roof unfortunately we had a horrible wind and rain storm the very next day so I'm not sure if it had the full effect. This might be something we need to revisit in the summer time. 

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Jack up the front awning

Michael did take care of the sagging front awning. It was awful listening to it creak and groan everytime Michael pushed down on the jack. It has made a huge difference in the look of the house though. Nothing was structurally damaged the post had just sunk over the years. Michael did have to put up a few more trim pieces under the awning and fix the gutter a bit, but we are so happy this is done and it wasn't nearly as big of a hassle as we thought it would be. 

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Replace kitchen lights

Michael put in 4 can lights in my kitchen and it's been so amazing. I also bought a bunch of puck lights at Costco for under cabinet lighting. Those really helped last winter, but then I had to put new batteries in them...27 batteries in total! They honestly lasted for about a month and I think I only actually used them about 4 times. I was so mad! So I'm going to check out options at IKEA....I already have at Lowe's and hardwired under-cabinet lighting is ridiculous. I have some awesome LED lights in the laundry room that go under the cabinets and they have lasted forever. I honestly never turn them off and they have been used going on 3 or 4 years. 

Yard Goals: 

Buy and plant more bulbs

This last year was the biggest year for our garden. We put a lot of our tax return money toward really making it shine and it made such a difference and was so fun to sit outside and enjoy all the new plants that kept coming up. 

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Edge playarea and buy pea gravel

As well as buying more plants and bulbs we did get the gravel for the playarea and I love how it turned out. 

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Get giant tree rounds removed

We didn't actually get the tree rounds removed, but Michael put them to good use. I love how he used them to edge one side of the playarea. Click here to see the massive yard remodel post! 

Money Goals: 

Save at least 1/4 of the money we will need to go on our trip to Hawaii in 2019

We ended up saving $100 a month toward our trip to Hawaii in 2019 for our 20th wedding anniversary. Originally we had planned to go through Costco for everything, but recently I've been looking into AirBB. I've found a cute house that looks like it would meet our needs. It's still over 2 years away though so I'm trying not to plan too much as I'm sure things will change. With what we saved and will save in the future I think we actually saved more like 1/3 of the money we'll need. 

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Save at least 1/3 of the money needed to replace our driveway

This is expensive and honestly it's really been put to the back of the list. I would love to get it done, but it would cost so much money and just wouldn't be that much of a life changer right now. Instead of saving for this we saved for and accomplished the bathroom/laundry room remodel and let me tell you that was a life changer! Click here to see the remodel post. 

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Boost up appliance savings account

We did save some for appliances and then we spent it to get the new washer and dryer. I have kind of reconsidered the idea of having an appliance savings account. We have savings accounts for SO many things. That's kind of common when you follow Dave Ramsey. I have accounts for vacation, auto repairs, auto insurance, auto replacement, gift fund, Christmas fund, Boot/Water worker expense fund...you get the picture. That's on top of our emergency fund and our 3-6 month fund. It's just a totally different way to live. We might have a decent amount of money, but it's not there just to spend it on anything. It's designated for certain things. Anyways Michael's job is SUPER stable so the chance of us using our 3-6 months because he's been laid off is slim to none. So we have decided to use that account as our own personal credit card. We can just pay ourselves back instead of paying interest on a credit card. So if we do need to go out and buy a new refrigerator we have the money. We'll go buy one and then we'll just bump that account back up to the amount it needs to be. 

Purchase Goals: 

Gun / Permit / Classes / Safe / Ammo

We didn't end up buying a gun. The money for that went to the yard remodel and I'm so glad it did. A gun is still in our near future for sure! 

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Refrigerator

We did buy another refrigerator for our garage and I'm so happy we did. Click here to read the post about why we got another frig....it's at the bottom of the post. 

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PC or a Laptop

We actually used the money that was going to go towards a computer for the remodel, but then closer to the end of the year all of our computers were just shot. This is where the whole 3-6 month fund came in handy. Michael found a screaming deal for an awesome computer on Black Friday. I ended up getting his old computer and all has been well....after he sent it back his new one and they return it that is. His old computer was having issues, but that was only when games were being played on it. I don't play games so it doesn't give me any troubles at all. 

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Rafts 

We had wanted to buy rafts so we could float down the river more often as a family. However....at the end of 2015 we had a falling out with the friends we went floating down the river with. That was a major bummer and kind of made the whole adventure sour after that. This might be something we do in the future, but it's not on the near horizon. 

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Snow Gear for the family

I think I completely blew this one. I didn't remember this being on the list at all. This year this is absolutely going to happen. All the kids are big enough now to really enjoy the snow and we already have plans for next winter to go tubing with the Dial family. 

Family Adventures:

This is where we totally failed last year. We did so much here at home that we really didn't have the time or the money to go enjoy some of these things. We still did have lots of fun at the zoo, NW Trek, state parks and the beach though. 

Ape Caves - nope...I would like to say this is going to happen this year....it's been on the list since 2014, but I don't want to get my hopes up. 

Sledding or Tubing - nope....planned for February 2018

Tag Zone or Lazor Tag - nope, but planned for Jack's 10th Birthday in June 2018

Rattlesnake Ridge - We wanted to go here, but then heard it's really not a good hike to go on with young children. 

Camping - We had wanted to go with our friends the Korve's, but honestly between their busy schedule and us being in the middle of a remodel during the summer this did not happen. We are hoping to make it to the Jennings Family (Michael's Mom side of the family) Reunion this summer so we might be camping then. We don't have a tent or a trailer so if you know of anyone that might lend us either of those things that would be awesome!!! 

Family Fun Center - I could have sworn we went to the Family Fun Center last year, but looking back at the blog that was actually 2015. Wow time flies! If I find a good groupon we might do this this year. 

Water park in Ritzville - We tried!!! That was such a sad experience. Click here to read the blog post about that. This year we are taking the kids to Great Wolf Lodge and I can't wait!!! 

Take Ella out for tea - nope....Ga-Ga and I decided she was still a little too young. This year for her birthday she is having a tea party though and it's going to be wonderful!

Personal Goals:

Lyndsay - Run a 5K or longer and build a farm table and benches 

I actually didn't run much at all last year. I really wasn't in it! I like the idea of running and I felt good when I was doing it, but for some reason I couldn't motivate myself to go. It didn't help that in the summer time Owen and Jack went to Summer Learning and the timing made it hard for me to go when they were at school and then going after would be right during the heat of the day. I've also been struggling with back problems. I started going to physical therapy in September and it's better, but I still need to work on it. Depending on how I feel I might try to get back out there this summer. 

As for the farm table I ended up not needed to build one and Michael built the benches! Click here to see the post with my beautiful table and benches! 

Michael - Get his CDL and don't gain a notch on his belt! :) 

Michael didn't end up getting his CDL...it's slated to happen this year as far as he knows. As for the notch on his belt....that was a total success. He's still on the exact same belt notch! :) 

Snow Day!

On Superbowl Sunday we went to church and watched the game on the big projection screen. It was loads of fun. While we were watching the game a few of us kept getting either texts messages or we would check FB and see that it was snowing. We went and check outside, but there was nothing in Kent. We cleaned up and left once the game was over and headed home. By the time we made it home the grass was lightly covered in our neighborhood. The last time it snowed it was raining by morning so we let the kids go out and play in it for a minute. After we put them to bed I opened up the front door to look outside and the area where they had walked you couldn't even see it anymore....it was like they had never played out there and it was still snowing really well. 

Side note....we've been letting Charlie go outside. He's still a bit of a chicken, but he does love to go out and explore. Since he had never seen snow I thought it would be fun to let him out with the kids. Michael said, "You better watch him like a hawk!" It was of course dark out and it was night time and trying to find him would be ridiculously hard. Anyways he was just checking things out and he started heading towards the side of the yard. I was following him, but there were things in my way....a slide, the sandbox, the sandbox lid. He can climb under or over things and it happened in a moment and he was in the bushes. I started yelling at Michael....I lost the cat! He came outside and was like...I told you watch him! He wasn't mad it was more of a funny tone. He told me to go get the treats and I started shaking them and calling Charlie's name and thank goodness he came right out. I think Charlie was actually a bit freaked out and happy to be back in the house after all that drama. 

Later on that night we got the call from school saying it would be 2 hours late. We've had school be 2 hours late when they were worried there would be ice and then we woke up and it was raining out so I knew that from past experience school was not going to be 2 hours late it was going to be closed! At 5:30 in the morning I got the confirmation call that yes in fact school was out for the day. 

I took the ruler out to measure how much we got....5 inches exactly! We probably got the least of course since we are closer to the water, but it's just exciting to get any! Last time everyone else got snow and we got nothing! 

Winter wonderland!!! 

Well the slides all clear now! 

What a difference with this guy! He used to cry and cry about going in the snow...now he's all for it! 

The kids wanted to sled down the easement, but the snow kept getting all built up on the front side of the sled. That's when I had Zeke get in the sled and I pulled him down the hill a few times compacting the snow and then it's was ready to go for the bigger kids! 

Ready to go! 

Here he comes! 

10 year old approved! 

Whoa!!! 

Even Zeke went down by himself! 

While the kids were sledding, Charlie was up on the deck checking them out! 

After sledding I thought it would be fun to go for a walk. Zeke said....wow Daddy's car is that big!

I took the kids up the private road by our house....to the houses that have views of the sound! 

I remember it snowed a lot right before I had Owen and Michael and I walked over there and it just looked so pretty seeing all the houses and the water. 

After that we decided to walk to Ms. Rachael's house, but they didn't answer the door. Turns out she was in the shower. I was really impressed that the girls didn't come to the door....good job girls! 

For some reason Ella had to have her picture taken next to this snowed on car. 

After we got home I started to make a snowman for the kids. It really wasn't the best snow to make a snowman. I couldn't roll the snow into a big ball....it just kept breaking apart. So I had to form the snowman a handful of snow at a time. 

Hi. I'm Olaf and I like warm hugs! 

So happy with their snowman! 

Later Jack came out and put gloves, a hat and a scarf on him. He just had to take a picture of Zeke and I with the snowman! 

Proud boy! 

The next day we didn't have school either. We went sledding again although it was much more treacherous...the snow had turned into ice. Zeke went down with Jack and the sled kind of scraped by the concrete wall on the way down and then they stopped in the bushes at the bottom of the hill....needless to say Zeke was crying and was not happy about it. 

We decided to walk to Ms. Rachael's again and this time they answered the door, but poor Kendra was puking so we decided it was probably best to not go in and play. It was definitely harder to take a walk because it was almost all solid ice. After getting home from our walk we just came right in. Later in the day Jack did go out and went sledding for quite some time. The rest of us just vegged around the house watching movies, playing on the computer or in my case....caught up on the blog! :)  

In-Between Phase!

It's official...I'm growing my hair out! 

I've had short hair for years now. I normally get my hair cut short and then let it grow for 3 months and then get it cut...it's a cycle.

For our family pictures this last year I had literally just had my hair cut the day before. I love getting it cut short! 

My hairstylist usually has to shave the back because it's so short! It's actually been almost 5 months since I had my hair cut....that's the longest I've gone without getting a hair cut in a long time!

I've been wanting to change things up so I decided why not.  I have really really fine hair and it has absolutely no volume so I knew that whatever I was going to do I'd need to figure out a way to make my hair have more ooommmff! Yes that's a word! 

The thing that I hate about growing out your hair is that in-between phase. The my hairs not short, but it's not long either phase. Ugh!!! When my hair gets to a certain length I have this funny wavy that happens on the right side of my head...I hate it. So I thought if you can't beat it join it.  

I just tried curling it a bit with my curling iron. Not too bad...it gave me a bit of body and it actually did stay like this all day. 

Another picture of me the same day, but without that awful yellow bathroom light. I'm horrible at selfies though so disregard my freaky giant eyes. 

I liked it, but now that my hair has grown out even a bit more it doesn't so much as curl it more flips out and I feel like it looks like I'm wearing the hat from the flying nun or something. Once my hair grows even more I know that it won't do that, but again I'm in the funny in-between stage. 

Next up I asked my neighbor Rachael if I could borrow her 3 barrel curling iron. She had mentioned it one day when she was over at my house and I thought it might be fun to give it a try. I had my hair done using that type of curling iron for a wedding once and I liked it. 

Again horrible bathroom lighting, but I really like it. It gives me just a bit of waves, without it being too much. When I see it I think beachy waves! It's really easy to do since I don't have a lot of hair....it would be a pain if I had thick hair. 

Here's another shot later that day. I will say that the next day I got the curls to be a bit more pronounced and I liked it. I think this first day I was just being impatient and I didn't let the curling iron heat up all the way so they didn't get set as well as they could have. Also the nice thing is Rachael told me I can keep her curling iron!!! So nice of her! 

So thankfully I feel like at least right now that in-between phase won't be SO bad. If any of you ladies have tips for when you grew out your hair please let me know. I've never been a person that really spends a lot of time on my hair and make-up it's just not my thing, but I really want to try out new styles and see what I like.

Impromptu Visit To NW Trek!

Earlier in the month of January I was adding as many things to the calendar as I could...just planning things out. I noticed that the kids had the last Friday of the month off for Semester Break. I texted Ga-Ga and asked if she would keep the kids that night for us so Michael and I could go on a date. She was of course willing to watch the kids for us. I figured it might be fun to head down south earlier in the day so we could have a chance to hang out with the Kuch's for a bit. I contacted Christina and she was all for it. 

On the actual day of us hanging out I took advantage of us going south for another reason....getting my oil changed. The Honda dealership we bought the van from is down in Sumner and I still like to take it there. I made an appointment to drop it off and Pa came to pick the kids and I up so we could hang out at there house before it was time to go hang out with Christina and the kids. While I was waiting for it to be the time for us to go to their house...she needed to finish up a bit of homeschool stuff...I got a text from Christina asking if I thought it would be fun to drive out to NW Trek and let the kids play at the Kids Trek play area. This particular day it was gorgeous! The kids had actually wanted to go outside and play at Ga-Ga & Pa's, but for about half of the year their backyard is a swamp so it was a no go. This was a perfect solution! I was so happy she mentioned it. We've used out Point Defiance Zoo pass many many times, but the NW Trek one doesn't get used as often mainly because it's really far south for us to travel there on a whim, but since Christina's house is only 15 minutes away it was perfect!!! 

We first met up at their house and the kids got to play a little and then we were off. The girls decided that all the girls should ride in one car and all the boys in another. Christina got the girls and I got the boys. 

Jack and Zeke had to have a picture right away when we got to the Kids Trek! 

The weather was so gorgeous....it was actually over 50 degrees out. The way the sun is right now though it doesn't rise over the big tall trees completely. Everything was wet so Christina and I had to stand and chat the whole time. I wasn't obviously thinking of coming to NW Trek when the kids and I left the house that morning. Christina was so nice to let the kids borrow vests or even lighter coats since they were running around getting all hot! 

Jump Spiderman! 

  

Addison you adventurous girl! 

Jack and Caleb are buddies! It's so fun to hear them talk together and have common interests. When we were driving in to park Caleb was trying to plan out how they were going to play. He said, "should we play army soldiers?" Jack thought about that and said, "I can be Captain America...he was an army soldier!" Then Caleb said...."do you want to play Super Heros!" Not sure exactly what they ended up playing, but they had fun nevertheless! 

Zeke the bear! 

For the most part I didn't even see Owen. He was off on adventures. The nice thing was there were probably only 2 maybe 3 more families there. 

 These girls just played and played. When Christina asked if we wanted to go to NW Trek I did consult with the kids about it. The boys were SO for it and Ella was bummed. She loves going to peoples houses and playing with them and their toys. I asked if Ella could come back to their house when we were done so she could play a bit more with the girls. Then Pa would come pick her up later....since I needed to drive home to go on a date with my man. Christina was all for that. Jack ended up wanting to go back so she had a full vehicle on her way home. 

Run Jack...

Owen's gonna get you! 

Zeke the beaver! 

Zeke with his otter friend! 

  

This boy is still in the mommy watch me phase! 

Mommy take a picture! 

Mommy watch this...

Jump! 

Taking time to hug his beaver friend! 

Look at Zeke....he still doesn't even have to bend over in the tunnel! Cute little shrimp! 

It was such a great time and I'm so happy Christina recommended it. We are actually trying to figure out a date in February to the same thing again.