Exterior

BEFORE

March 18, 2017

 When we removed the ugly tree July 2017

 August 2018

  REVEAL NUMBER 3!!

Randy called our painter a few weeks back to schedule the front room, and asked if they would give us a quote for the exterior of our home.  It was well within our budget, saving us thousands off of others' low quotes, so we decided to go ahead and schedule it along with the front room.

Before they came to paint this back wall, I told Randy I wanted to try out some trim around the door, to see if I would like it above my front door.  I have never liked the wimpy trim around the door.  They placed the door in the space, and left it like that, no trim whatsoever.  It always felt unfinished.  Here is the before and after of that experiment.  I was in heaven.

Because I was worried about the color matching with the singles, I asked them to paint the entire wall.  If we loved the color that we chose, we would invite the HOA to come and see the wall to get approval, if not, we'd try a different color.  As I stood back, admiring the wall in many different lights, I was overjoyed to love the color as much as I did.  It was such a relief!  Now to get it approved by the HOA from Hades.

 Our color options were these: Sherwin Williams Cocoon for the main color, with Sherwin Williams Grecian Ivory for the trim.  The shingles color is Hickory-- a rich, dark red-brown.

HOA Stories:  Because the painters had a few days without much work, they told us that if we were to get approval that night, they could continue the very next day, and have it done in three days.  I immediately sent out an email to our HOA.  I'd let the President know that we had plans to paint the back wall, that it wouldn't be visible from the street, and that we had chosen these colors as a trial to see if we liked them.  I told him I understood that we were not to continue without their approval, and that I'd send in the paperwork for approval if those were, in fact, the colors we liked.  He said that was just fine.

With the news, I asked if there was any way I could ask for a quick decision from the board, and if there was any way I could get it that night.  I will say this: They were so great to come that night.  The President came less than an hour after I'd sent the email, with two more board members coming within just three hours, directly after work.  We'd given them permission to go directly into the backyard to see it, with instructions to look at the paint, the trim work around the door, and the new lights we wanted to put next to the garage doors.  From all that came during the day, we got an email giving us their approval of the color, but that they'd let us know officially if we were approved once all had given their opinion.

As we were cleaning up a few things from the trim around all four exterior doors, a man from the board stopped by to chat.  I was confused as to why he was there, since it was PITCH BLACK outside, but we took him back anyway.  Before he'd even walking inside our garage on his way to the back wall, he said he thought the color would be too dark.  We told him that that was the response from everyone that had come so far, since the only reference they all had had was the digital color online, but that they had all told us they loved it on the wall.  We told him that it looked different online than it does in person, and that we didn't want him to give his opinion of it before seeing it in the day.  "Yeah, well, I still think it will be too dark," as he's looking at the black wall.  With all of the excitement of the day, and all of the hope that others would like it as much as we did, I was losing my patience with this man.  He'd made up his mind before he even came to our home.

When we were telling him that we were also contemplating a blue at one point, he said, "Yeah, well we would have given you some definite kick back on that one-- Blue is not an Earth Tone."  I was confused.  "Um, yes, it is."  "No, it's not.  Earth tones are ones that you associate with Arizona."  I was dumfounded that this man, a man with power over our choice, didn't know that Blue is actually an Earth Tone.  I pulled up a few different images of Earth Tones on Google and set him straight.  "Hm.  Interesting!  I guess I didn't really know what Earth Tones were."  He actually chuckled at his comment.  Patience gone.  I walked away, leaving Randy to deal with him.  I was this close to telling him that if he's going to be on the board he needed to educate himself on all aspects of his position.  Only I wouldn't have told him in a conversational tone.

Another board member told us that she'd just had her house painted that week.  When I was asking her to look at the lights, she actually told me, "Hm.  I didn't think to have my lights approved.  I guess I should have."  Stunned, I said, "Yeah, well, when we got called liars for adding a kick plate and stickers on our front door the week after we moved in, we reread (I had already read them before we moved in!) and highlighted each point of the covenants, education myself on what needs approval for all points outlined, to ensure we never get 'in trouble' again."  Her husband laughed good naturedly, giving me a head nod in solidarity.  He could tell it was a touchy subject by the way I spoke spit out the word "liars."

The next day, after many more board members came, I asked if we could get an approval so they could order the paint and start after lunch.  The President came back quickly with an affirmation, telling me they really appreciated the easy access to the wall, and the fact we'd painted such a large area for approval.  We ordered the paint and finished all the prep work for the big job.  About three hours later, another board member came storming into our backyard, telling our painters that she had the authority to shut them down if she didn't approve of the color herself, and that she was the last member that needed to give her approval to move forward.  He told her that we'd already gotten approval, had already ordered the paint, but encouraged her to come see the color in person anyway.  Begrudgingly she admitted she loved it, and gave her approval.  Good thing she didn't shut us down, this all-powerful, most important board member {insert eye roll here}.

But it doesn't give me confidence, these incidents with the board members.  How can they expect us to follow the rules to the letter of the law, if they themselves aren't held to the same standard?  They watch our houses like a hawk for garbages out past the time slot, weeds overgrowing the sidewalk, fences that are in need of repair, as well as front doors that have decor added without approval, yet they don't need to get their own stuff approved by the entire board.  How can they have power to approve paint colors when they haven't educated themselves on what color actually fall under their own chosen covenants?  How can we trust a board when we actually get approval from the President, yet have members come hours later, threatening to shut us down?  In all honesty, it makes me want to move.  That's saying something, since you know how much I love this home!

Rant Over!

 The night before they were coming to paint the exterior.  Notice the white trim around the black door.  We're all ready to begin!

It should be noted that I was a nervous wreck.  I was so afraid that I was going to hate it on the entire house, although I loved it on that back wall.  I almost had a panic attack walking outside after they'd been painting for two hours.  It was pretty scary.

When you're painting a room, if you hate it, it's only like $25.00-$35.00 for that gallon of paint.  If you hate the color of your home, we're talking thousands of dollars.  It was very scary to be the one to choose the color that would match well with the shingles.

AFTER

 It is hard to get the perfect color of the home.  As you look at the angles below, you'll see as I move from left to right, the color changes slightly.  It's also hard to capture the true color of the shingles.  Not only does the angle of the sun make them look different in these, but there is a layer of dried dust from when they pressure washed the home in preparation of painting.  Mario said the home was probably the dirtiest home he's ever cleaned in all the years he's been painting.  I'm not quite sure why that is, since ours is not the oldest home he's ever painted, but he's certain it is the dirtiest he's ever done.  We're waiting for a good rain to help rinse off the grime from the shingles to bring them back to their rich red-brown color.

 In the picture above, look at the singles above the garage, directly next to that top-story window-- you can see the line of "clean" shingles under the eave from the top story.  That's a good reference for how dirty the rest of the shingles are.

Front Door Transformation:

Before

After

Welcome to our new home!

Aunt Debbie

My Aunt Debbie has always been so compassionate, generous, and kind.  Just after Caden's diagnosis, Aunt Debbie called, saying she had some high-calorie drinks she'd like to send to us to help Caden's weight during treatment.  She knew it was hard to get much down, so with the high calories in this drink, we'd have a better shot at weight gain than most other options.  She shipped them to us that day, brooking no argument of us paying for shipping of the heavy box of liquid.

When we got the devastating news that the immunotherapy hadn't worked, Aunt Debbie sent us a check, with instructions to do something fun as a family, and if it wasn't enough, she'd send more.  We went to a movie, and also got video games at the discount game store.  We had so much fun together during the weeks that Caden didn't feel well enough during radiation.

When we got the even more devastating news that there were 4 new tumors despite radiation (September 8, 2017), she sent Caden a letter with some money in it, giving him the option to spend it as he chose, but giving him the suggestion to purchase something for his siblings, again telling him she'd send more if it wasn't enough.  That is what he did: Engraved necklaces for his sisters, engraved pocket knives for his brothers.

After Caden passed away, Aunt Debbie called, asking if I'd gotten the package she'd ordered online.  I hadn't, but it came soon after.  It's a heart-shaped necklace for me, engraved with mine and Caden's picture taken just three days before he died on one side, and a beautiful quote on the other.

Aunt Debbie's monetary gifts are just the outside gestures that can be seen.  If you ask anyone in our family, they'll tell you of all of the things she's done for them, as well as the kind words in letters, text, and phone calls, the encouragement, the love and support, and the prayers that Aunt Debbie has offered.  Aunt Debbie is a treasure.

Monday night, Aunt Debbie and Uncle Rick were sitting down to dinner.  I'm not sure of the particulars, but Tuesday morning I woke to a text from my Mom.

6:00am (paraphrasing):  Please keep Aunt Debbie in your prayers.  She was flown by life flight last night to a hospital in Montana.  She choked on some food that got lodged in her lung, which is collapsed.  They're going to do surgery to get it out.  She has been unconscious since the ordeal.

20 minutes later: She was without oxygen for 20 minutes.  Uncle Rick (a retired Chief of Police) tried everything, but it was lodged too far.  She is on life support.  There is too much brain damage, they are not going to do surgery.

6:00pm: Dad, Mom, and Grandma Fuller arrive in Montana.  They're doing another test at Midnight.  If they do not see enough activity in her brain, they'll take her off of life support and donate her organs.

Today:

7:00am: They are taking her down for a CT scan now.  We'll know more at 11:00am Mountain time.

11:55am:  Aunt Debbie has no brain waves.  They know for sure that she'll be able to donate her liver, they'll let us know which other organs she'll donate as soon as they can.

My Aunt Debbie, a beautiful soul in a beautiful body, is giving life to others today.  Her life was spent selflessly serving others, and so is her passing.  I cannot wrap my mind around this.  My Aunt Debbie choked on her dinner.  

My heart is so, so heavy today.  So heavy I can't even breathe.  I cannot image the hearts of my Grandma Fuller, my Uncle Rick, their kids, my Dad, his siblings, our families.  Surreal doesn't feel like the right word to describe the shock and devastation.  The world is losing someone very special right now, as she gives of herself one last time as a blessing for others.  Aunt Debbie is a hero among humanity.

7:00pm:  My Mom let me know that they are finalizing all of the necessary donor procedures and plan to do the surgery tomorrow.  In other parts of the nation, families are hearing the words spoken they hoped and prayed they'd one day hear, while our family is dreading what those words truly mean.

GOAL!

Tyson had his first soccer game of the season on Saturday.  Technically, it's his first soccer game ever.  He's been saying that he wanted to get into soccer for a while now, becoming more insistent after attending that week-long camp during the summer.  Randy went on to register him and found it was the exact last day we could.  I'm so glad he checked when he did!

I had spent the morning cleaning up from another project and only had mopping left, so I told Randy to go on ahead, and that I wouldn't be far behind.  I was just rounding the corner to his game when Randy called-- "Tyson just scored the first goal of the game!!"  I had missed it by TWO minutes!  Not to worry, I had another chance to see my boy make the goal.

 Tyson's back is to us-- number 23.

 Kneeling next to his coach on the right.

 Starting kicker, looking for the perfect teammate.

Fairly close to the end of the game, the goalie for the other team was kicking the ball away from their goal box.  Almost immediately, Tyson ran up from behind all other players and kicked it in, to the amazement of everyone, including himself.  There is no better feeling than watching your son, who has just done something he wanted so much but didn't think he could, actually do it.  He turned around, running in a victory lap with his arms pumped in the air, screaming in excitement, his team following close on his heels.

His team did not win, not by a long shot.  I wondered how Tyson would feel, since he is so competitive.  But there was no thought in his head other than how well he did-- he scored all of his team's goals.  In a way, how great the other team was makes Tyson's goals that much more amazing.

Randy admitted he missed getting a video of Tyson scoring the goal.  "The camera was up, poised for the perfect moment, but I was so shocked and distracted by what I was watching, I forgot to press record.  I was so proud, I felt like crying.  It was really incredible."

When we got home, Tyson told us all how much fun he had had, how much he loves soccer, and that he couldn't wait for his next game.  He's counted down the days since the second his first game ended.

Front Room

Reveal Number 2

I told Randy that if we bought this house, there was only one thing that I had to have changed: The Front Room color.  I could. not. stand. the orange.  At all.  There have been a few times where our painter said he could come, but for one reason or another, it kept being put off.  I didn't really care too much when Caden was alive, because we were too busy playing.  And, honestly, come on, there were more important things on our minds than that paint color.  I haven't really minded too much since he's been gone, because I have more stuff taking up my thoughts.  But let me just say, having it done, I now wish I would have pushed for it sooner!

Again, Randy got excited for a project and got it prepped before I could do real Before and After pictures.  It's the wall color that matters for this, so I don't mind too much, since you can't see anything but that dark color anyway.

BEFORE

AFTER

SIDE-BY-SIDE 

Even with the drying streaks that you can see on only this first coat, you can feel how much cleaner, how much larger, how much happier this room feels now!  They are painting the columns this week with a special paint that hardens a little better than normal paint, so I still have a mess between two rooms and a hallway, but I don't even care.  The bright room that I've waited 18 months for is worth the wait and the mess.  I can breathe much better in this space now.

Monitors

Before the pool opens for the season, we have a meeting to go over rules, turn in our old keys and get our new ones, and sign up for different jobs to keep the pool nice and running.  It is a 30 year old pool, after all.  One of the things that each member is required to do, though, is monitor the pool one night a year.  From 6:00-10:00pm, you make sure that all is well with the pool, that all are following the rules, and that the pool is left clean and ready for the next day.  

Here's my secret: I love to sing up for the last Sunday night of the season.  It gets pretty cold by then, as well as like 70% Latter-Day Saint members, so we have always been able to close the pool earlier than the 10:00pm close time.  I understand it's on a Sunday, but we don't swim, we spend time together, and it's a duty.  Justification Queen, thank you very much.

Last week was our night.  I planned to take a book and just read, but last-minute, Randy decided to come along.  It was so much fun to play games for 3.5 hours, just the two of us.  

 6:00-7:00PM-- A family of four swam.
7:00-9:00PM-- A guy and his girl played games to the tranquil lap of the pool water.

9:00-9:15pm-- The bathroom cleaner came to clean the bathrooms, since she realized not many would probably be swimming.  When her kids saw the cool lights of the pool, they asked if they could call their dad to bring their suits.  9:05-9:15, they swam.  And then they realized they didn't bring towels, and that it was dark and much colder because they were wet...

9:30pm-- Closing duties complete.  OK'd closure with the Board.

9:45pm-- We're home.

It was a wonderful Sabbath Day evening, spent with my Mister.  Whom I beat at most of our games.  I'm just saying.

Day of Labor

Not wanting to lose the momentum of putting our house back to rights, we decided to use Labor Day as a "clean the garage better than it's ever been cleaned before, since you moved in in such a rush 18 months ago" day.  From 8:00am to 4:00pm we took everything out of the garage, cleaned what would go back in and Goodwill'ed what wasn't going back, and then organized the entire space to fit things better.

It felt so nice in there, I actually took my dinner out and feasted with my eyes as I feasted on my food.  Socrates, eat your heart out, I'm waxing poetic now.  

For the most part, the kids didn't complain too much.  I did have to laugh at Tyson, though, because he voiced what we were all thinking about lunch time, "I'm just waiting for the end of this project!"  I laughed with the family, then sternly told them all to "get back to work..."  I would have been a cool boss.  

Kitchen

Since returning from Utah, where we helped Danielle remodel her home, Randy's been on a kick that maybe he wants to build a house.  Since our home is in such a nice, desirable neighborhood, one that we could potentially get top dollar with the right upgrades, we decided to go ahead and do some updates now, for the possibility of selling.  I'm not even joking.  Sometimes I wonder if Randy will ever truly want to stay put forever.

If Randy gets his way, we'd sell this house once our renters contract expires in June.  Granted, we'd move back into the home that was my safe haven while we were going through cancer care, and we'd fit in it better (it is torture realizing we fit better in a home without Caden, but it's the truth), but this home that I have right now is my dream home.  It is my hope that these upgrades that I'm going to reveal the next few days will only make Randy fall more in love with this home.  Truly, we used to dream of things we have now (maple cabinetry, double sink in the master, jetted garden tub, hot tub, three-car garage, two-story, Master on the main level, just to name a few).  I can't understand why he would ever think about moving out of this home!

So, without further ado, my first major reveal...

August 18

Taking off a tile backsplash is no joke!  Those are HOLES in the drywall.  Talk about heart attack before we really began.  But, because I married Randy Dirks, he was able to fix this problem, no problem, no sweat.  I don't think there is anything he doesn't know how to do.

 For the major holes, we had to use some metal screen patches.  Because they were so big, it took a few days of tender loving.  I know he doesn't stress as much as I, but it speaks volumes when he tells me early one morning that he woke in the middle of the night, and since he couldn't fall back to sleep quickly, he got up and put another coat on the holes.

August 19

*I know the decor I have above my cabinets isn't glamorous, but I love it so, so much.  It's hard to see them all, but these are all of the Lego sets Caden did, and loved, and always kept displayed and nice.  It's just a small visual reminder we have of him.

It was about this time that Randy joked that I could take my Before pictures of this project.  He was so eager to begin, he forgot that I had cleaned the kitchen to take the pictures when I got home from the gym and just got started when the urge struck him.  When I got home, he'd already removed too much to fake a Before.  That's how we are though.  Once we make up our minds, we run with it.

August 24

 All cleaned up, ready for them to come make the template for the Quartz.  It was really neat watching how he did it.

It took him 30 minutes to do the kitchen and the Master Bath, including measurements for the sink cutouts.

August 25

 Countertops gone.  Little did I know that I was going to have such a hard time without a kitchen sink for a week.  It's harder than I realized.  We are very used to the ice and water from the fridge, and simply being able to rinse our dishes and place them in the sink.  Another thing I love about this house: I have a large laundry sink!  We used that as our sink, doing them by hand and letting them dry on a folding table in our front room.  Super fun!

August 31

 I told myself that I'd do my laundry while they worked.  Turns out I just wanted to sit on the couch and watch.  SUPER interesting to watch how these were installed!

 While Randy was working on the plumbing (again, there is nothing this man cannot do!), Shelby went to get the mail.  It was so awesome that a part we'd ordered on Amazon, shipped from Hong Kong and not expected to be delivered until October 1st, arrived the exact second Randy was installing everything for the sink.  We were able to replace the old, yellowed disposal switch for the stainless steel one.

*Interesting fact: the switch actually activates the electrical components by pressing air into a thin tube.  As you press the button, it forces air through the pipe and turns the disposal on.  When you press the button again, it presses air through the pipe and turns it off.  Isn't that so interesting?

September 1

Sometimes it's hard to capture the true color in pictures.  This view offers the closest color of the backsplash.  It's a soft gray/beige and soft gray mingled with two different shades of white.  It pulls together the specks of the countertops, which ties together the cabinets and the countertops, as well as the stainless steel of the appliances, sink, and handles.

Some asked if we were going to paint the cabinets white, since that has been the preferred style for a few years now.  Like I said before, when we talked about dream homes when we first got married, my dream has always been to have maple cabinets.  Interestingly enough, this home was built around the same time we got married and dreamt about building our dream home, when maple cabinets were the preferred style.  They got the upgrades when building this home that we could never have afforded.  I have them now, and I want to keep them, and cherish the fact that I now have what I've always wanted.

To round off the entire project, we had the tile floors throughout our main level professionally cleaned.  The grout was in desperate need of some tender loving, so not only did we have them cleaned, I took all day Saturday scrubbing every single square inch of grout on my hands and knees with a pumice-type thingy the cleaner recommended.  I literally worked my fingers to the bone, they were rubbed that raw.  We sealed the tile floor before bed on Saturday night.  Our kitchen has never looked better!  Even better than the day it was built in 2002, if I do say so myself!

One reveal down.  Two more to go, including a story about our intense HOA.

Know?

While at a meeting for Shelby's STEAM school, the opening statement of the presenter was an announcement that we were all invited to the Open House on October 4th.  It was one of those times where it felt like I was hearing everything through a tunnel, watching everything like I was in a slow-motion trance, wondering how life could go on around me.  October 4th?  There is actually something planned for that day?  How can that be?  Life stops on that day, don't they know?  It took everything in me to switch gears and concentrate for the 30-minute presentation.

The next 30-minutes went well, although I didn't really know why I was there.  It was centered around a program they use in 7th & 8th grades-- Shelby is in 6th.  As she was nearing the end of her presentation, she told us that she was a pilot presenter of this very program when she was a teacher at Enterprise Middle School.  Because I was so confused as to why I was in the meeting, I hadn't really looked at her name.  I did then.  She taught at the Middle School Caden went to?  I wonder if I know her.  Her name looked familiar, but it's been so long since he attended that school, I wasn't quite sure.

"I'll have to ask..."

And a bullet entered my heart.  I couldn't breathe anymore.  Blindly, through torrential tears, I made my way down the stairs, and out the doors, truly in a trance.  Over the last 11 months, I've come to terms, in a very small way, with the fact that Caden has no future here.  Today, I realized I will never truly know some of his past either.

It was a nothing comment, not even something that really matters one way or the other, but my mind latched onto that one thing and made it bigger than anything I have ever wanted in my entire life-- Did this teacher know my son?  Did she have him in her class when he was ripped from his childhood to suffer for a chance to live?  When the beginning of the end started, and we didn't even know it?

Oh my gosh, this is real: I'll never be able to ask him anything, ever again.  My son died.  He's never coming back.  Time has not stopped, even though I'm stuck.  My mind won't shut off.  What else do I not know, or remember, from Caden's life?!...  I'll never know.

Worst Fears

At dinner last night, our conversation starter question (Thank you, Emily, for sure a great Christmas gift that keeps on giving!) was: What is your greatest fear.  There was a pause as well all thought of our answers.  While discussing it, it was discovered that we have all lived, and survived so far, our greatest fear.  We sat around talking, laughing, and crying about our memories of having Caden, and losing him. 

Keilie opened up more to us last night than she ever has before.  She's been opening up a little bit more about him the last couple of weeks, actually.  At the back-to-school dance last week, she told me that Caden was always such a good example by always being one of the boys that always asked girls to dance for every slow song.  She loved the memories of him always asking her, and how he was such a good big brother.

Last night she confided that she feels as if she needs to tell Caden that she's sorry.  She's not sure what for, but she told us that she's prayed many times that Heavenly Father will let him know she's sorry.  I suspect she feels guilt that she is alive.  We were able to talk about that, even joking that she probably feels sorry that she didn't love his Bronco as much as he did, and she's sorry she complained so openly about it.  It was fun to laugh with tears streaming down our cheeks.

She also told us she feels a little responsible for it all.  My thoughts immediately thought about how children of divorce always feel responsible.  Trauma like we have all experienced is going to have fears come to the forefront that seem unreasonable, but feel so, so real.  We were able to talk through that as well.

The neat thing about this conversation question is that I didn't quickly choose one off the top, like I always do.  I kind of dug around for the "perfect" one, not even realizing that the one I chose was going to be so needed for that night. 

Becoming vulnerable in front of others can be a very scary thing.  But last night, as we all cried and expressed our feelings, it was the most beautiful thing in the world.  I hope we can have many more nights like this one, where we grow together in our sorrow and joy, and the shared love of The Boy in the Bed.

Twins

Again, I have to write something quick.  The first major reveal will have to be put on hold until tomorrow, because our second major reveal came together much faster than we thought it even could.  So, we're busy again prepping for that, which means I have to be quick.  But I didn't want to forget a conversation I had with Tyson.

"Mom.  I really do wish Brennon and I could be twins.  Share the same birthday, the same eyes, the same face, the same clothes, the same lunch, the same teacher, all of it.  I wish we could have just been twins."

When I told him that I like things to match too, so I probably would have named them Brennon and Bridger or Brennon and Brigham, he said, "I would say, 'Hi, Bridger, I'm Brennon.'"

I thought it was cute that he took the name Brennon.

"Well, if you were twins, which boy would you want to look like?  Brennon right now, or you right now?"

With an impish grin, "Well, me, of course."

Personally, I'm glad they weren't twins.  While I am sad that Tyson will be alone in school for the next two years after this one, then have Brennon in the same school for only one year before being alone again for two years, I am glad that when I was dead tired from just having a baby (there are no words with enough meaning for "tired" after having a baby through three months of their life!), I only had one baby to console while I cried myself ragged from being just as tired as my baby screamed they were.  Brennon and his colic was the hardest first year of all five of my babies.  I wished away much of his babyhood, begging him to just stop crying, start crawling, start walking, please, just stop crying!  The thought of having twins before actually having babies scared me, but thinking back on how hard it was with only Brennon-- true terror, and gratitude that they were not twins.  Three in three years was pretty much perfect!

Sandwich

It has been an incredibly busy weekend.  Well, two weeks, really.  I don't remember a time that we've worked so hard on our home, unless we were actually building something together.  Our weekend was spent cleaning up.  I have so much to catch up on (hint: reveals of a massive nature coming soon), but I had to quickly write Tyson's plea this morning.

"Mom, will you make me one of your sandwiches?!"

Because my kids don't stick to the norms of breakfast (Remember when they used to ask for pickles for breakfast?  Like last week.), I asked if he was going to have it for breakfast, or lunch.

"Lunch.  I want to show my friends what I was telling them about last week."

Pride.  I have a sandwich that is known amongst the third grade table.  Wow!  Such an honor!

Because I want the world to partake of this amazing sandwich, I thought I would share it here.  This sandwich is one to write home about, apparently, so tell all your friends about it.  It. Is. Epic!  Here you go-- The Stephanie Dirks' Original:

• Two slices of Grandmother Sycamore's bread
• Four slices thin sliced Ham lunch meat
• One slice Tillamook Sharp Cheddar cheese
• Two Stacker sliced pickles

That's it!  You're welcome.