I Mustache You a Question...

But I'll SHAVE it for later. 

This is going to require some explaining.  You see, it's been a tradition that every year during the Christmas break the BYU MBA students (mostly 2nd years who are graduating) have a little contest to see who can grow the best mustache.  When everyone returns to school after the break they send out pictures of everyone that decided to participate and put it to a vote.  Luckily, this is what Seth looked like during most of the break.  He didn't full-fledge mustache it until the morning of school after the break. 

This is what I woke up to:

 

Yes, I laughed.  I really couldn't help it. Addy laughed too.  Why mustaches, you ask?  Well, most of you know about the BYU Honor Code which all the students have to sign before attending, and are expected to abide by.  The MBAs, who like to be rebels and get away with as much as they possibly can, found the clause in the Honor Code, that probably hasn't been updated since the 70s, that says "If worn, mustaches should be neatly trimmed and may not extend beyond or below the corners of the mouth. Men are expected to be clean-shaven; beards are not acceptable.” So, around 30 guys in Seth's class went to school with these awful things above their lips. (no offense to anyone that may like mustaches)

Seth totally played it up with the 70s shirt, suede jacket, winged hair, and aviator sunglasses

Later that week, we had the annual "Winter Spectacular" event.  It was so much fun with dinner, entertainment, and dancing.  We didn't get many pictures there, unfortunately, but snapped one before we left!

At the event, they announced the winners of the mustache contest...You guessed it, Seth took home the prize with the best mustache and "Magnum PI" award. We are so very proud! 

A Little Behind

Yes, I have put blogging on the back burner lately. I'm pretty sure this happened when I was pregnant with Adalyn too.  It's just one more thing to blame on the pregnancy. haha.

I realize it's almost Easter, but I just can't go forward without posting some pictures of our epic Christmas.  Yes, I said epic.  Santa spent a lot of time and energy making Adalyn's present this year.  It wouldn't be right to leave it off the ol' blog. 

So here goes.

We went to see Santa at the Shops at the Riverwoods in Provo.  Seth had been practicing with Addy on what she was going to say, but she didn't say a word. She didn't even look at him. But, she didn't cry either. And if you ask her, she told him exactly what she wanted. victory.

No emotion.

 And of course, we had to attend an "Ugly Sweater Christmas Nogger" with some BYU friends during the season.

Addy asked Santa for a kitchen this year.  He said, "Oh, like an easy-bake oven?" We said, "No, like a whole kitchen." Haha.  Luckily, Santa had some awesome helpers to get the job done.  It all started with this old entertainment center that was sitting in Seth's parents basement:

Lead elf #1, yours truly, got to work and took it apart.  took the doors off, the back off, filled in holes, and yes, even cut holes for the sink and faucet.  Assistant elves (Seth, Nate and my dad) were there to help with the big saws and hinge work as well as anything else the lead elf needed. 

 Primed and ready to be painted!

 Painting complete. Sort of...painting is one of those jobs that just doesn't end. Since it was freezing in the middle of December we decided to move it into my parents basement at this point so we didn't have to have 4 heaters in the garage going at a time.  I don't even have any other pictures of the process...so I guess it's time to skip to the end result.

Here it is!

I couldn't be happier with the end result. It is exactly how I envisioned it!  It was so. much. work. But Addy has played with it almost everyday since Christmas so it is sooo worth it!

 One side has hooks to hold her brooms, dustpan, and apron.

 The window is an old picture frame, we made the shelf and curtains. The sink is a buffet steam tray and I got the faucet from the ReStore for $8. It was like new!

 You can tell it's been getting used because of all the fingerprints ;) sorry, didn't clean it up for the photos.  The counter is painted with a stone spray paint, I really like how it turned out!

 The stove hot plates were all cut out by hand by my dad! See? So much work went into this thing to make it perfect! The knobs are real oven/stove knobs that I found on Amazon. They really turn!

 Pots and pans and bars and hooks were all from IKEA.  They are just the right size. The red shelf is also from IKEA, it was a spice rack that I just painted.

 We cut a hole in the oven door and attached plexi-glass.  There is a magnetic closure and a weighted hinge so that the oven doesn't fly open and hurt anyone and closes smoothly. (Just like a real oven)

 Of course there's always something baking in the oven...

 There is storage under the sink and in the basket for all her food and baking items (she has a ton!)

 The other side has a chalkboard that I made. I got this ugly oak wood thing from DI, it might have been one of those calendar holders? and painted it red and inserted a piece of wood I had painted with chalkboard paint.  Underneath it is a place to hold chalk and erasers.  On Christmas morning, Santa wrote a message that said "Merry Christmas Addy!" but I didn't take a picture of it :( This is a great drawing by Adalyn though.

 So, there it is. The one and only kitchen I will ever make.  I've had a lot of people say that it must have been really expensive to do.  I am quite certain that I spent under $100 easily.  It took a lot of manpower though.  Thank you to everyone that helped! Just because it's fun, here's one more before picture:

And here's the after:

I have a bajillion pictures of Adalyn playing with it on Christmas morning. I have to add those as well:

And, just because there hasn't already been enough pictures in this post, here's some randoms of Christmas morning:

 Addy specifically asked for cookies, sandwiches and pizza for her kitchen. She got all of them plus!

 She played with her kitchen literally all day!

 See? Epic right? lol...just glad I was able to finish it and had all the help!