A Day Of Labor.

So the basement goal was to have carpet in by Labor day.  Aaaaaaaaaah.  Think vibrato, Angels are singing. 

But things change.  Plans change.  The Angels were on vacation.

The microwave stopped working.  One microwavable dish at a time.  When a simple quesadilla just wouldn't melt, we called it.

So long microwave which has gotten us through 14 and a half years of food warming and all around delightful nuking.

Daniel and I headed to Lowe's and got a new one on Monday.  We're staying with white to match the other appliances, then when we re-do the kitchen, (read:knock out the wall and give me a bigger kitchen) we'll replace all the appliances.  With another color.  Like black.  Or, if finances allow, that silver expensive stuff.

Here's the guy who's gonna put that baby in.  While he does that, I thought you might like to see what IS finished in the eternally unfinished basement...

All the window sills got painted on Monday.  The curtains had to come down for a day, but now they're finished. Yay window sills! Obviously we didn't pull weeds on Monday.  We need something to do another day.

I took the rest of that white paint and painted this door to the food storage.  It's already on it's hinges, so I did it carefully. Becuase we still have 4 more basement doors, all the basement baseboards to get done, and then 7 upstairs doors and many more baseboards to re-do, I suggested we invest in one of those paint sprayers.  Also, I have a trigger finger starting again.  Different hand and finger, but I can feel it growing.  I need a sprayer.

Daniel finished the bathroom tile.  Well, not the grout. But we purchased the grout.  So now he needs to grout.  Then I'll paint.  Then we'll get the vanity.  Then we'll call Steve to come put all the necessaries in so we have a functioning bathroom.  Except they can't shower til I get a shower curtain.  Details, details.

Oh!  Why look at that.  Tile in the entry way. Daniel stopped here, with 6 full tiles, but we can add another row to make it 9.  How clever is that!  And it needs to be grouted. 

Let's head back up and see what's happening with the microwave, shall we?  Let's shall.

What the WHAT??  A black microwave.  But.. But..  it's like 3-5 years early. 

What happened? 

Um.  They gave us the wrong one.  But we're Labored out.  Let's keep it.

And there you have it. One of these appliances is not like the others.  But it gives us hope that one day all the kitchen appliances will match.  And.. I guess we're going with black.

That was our Labor day.  We're labored out.  

A Day In The Life.. On Vacation!

This will be a multitasking blog post.  Why??  Because I'm busy.  And we just got back from a trip.  And I forgot to post last week.  And I just have to do it this way.  It will make me happy.  And I'm hot.  So happy is good!

So let's go back 2 weeks for a day in the life.  I'll go day to day for these last two weeks and share our vacation trip along the way.  Plus I don't have pictures for the first of the two weeks.  I didn't take pictures.  I was busy.

Monday...  So this was a Monday when we went to the local pool.  The kids swam and I read a book.  It was lovely.  Below is a picture in Lava Hot Springs.  That's where we spent last week. 

The boys.

Tuesday... This Tuesday was stormy.  I went to do missionary visits and then it began to rain.  The plan was to go to the drive in, but it rained and rained.  So we didn't go to the drive in.  The picture below is to prove that I, Jennie, wore swim gear and even went in the water.

The girls.

Wednesday...  This paricular Wednesday I went into the dentist.  I have had a molar hurting like crazy cakes and thought for sure that if I didn't go in that I would bite down on something hard and break my tooth and we would be up in Idaho. So I went in.  Nothing.  That was the verdict.  There is just no explanation for the pain.  There's no swelling, no infection, nada.  So he gave me a script for an antibiotic.  Just in case.  I should fill it and take it and see if it helps. 

We also had the missionaries and our neighbors over for dinner.  Lots of fun!

  This is a picture of the kids in the tent watching the laptop.  Ruthie is telling her brothers to shut up.  They are giggling and hiding from the camera.  Sheesh.

Thursday...  This is the day I took the hoodlums, I mean my wonderful children, to the Leonardo.  Fun museum for sure!  Go!  You'll love it.

This is my husband.  Striking a pose.

Friday...  Ruthie and I went to get our hair cut.  Always a good thing.  Daniel and I went to the temple on a date.  Good stuff.

This is supposed to show my eye that was bright red and just all around bugged.  I went through 5 contacts from Monday to Friday in my right eye alone.  I wore my glasses most of the time.  I don't know what was going on with the eye, but I'm all clear now.

Saturday... We got up early and headed to the cemetary to help a boy in our ward with this Eagle project.  We cleaned up headstones-trimming and edging and sweeping, then recorded names and took pictures.  All the information goes to be recorded as family history records.  It was so much fun.  All our family was able to be there to help.  Thanks Nate!

We had a family reunion with my mom's family.  It was fun to catch up with my aunts and uncles.  We played games and ate good food.

Here are the kids and Daniel watching the laptop.  See the fence behind them?  We were in a spot with a fence around it. It was so peaceful to not have neighbors right next to us. 

Sunday... Went to church and then packed for the trip.  Finally... The trip!

Sam, in the car.

Monday...  Took off for Lava after Daniel had a dentist appointment.  This was just a 6 month cleaning. We spent the rest of our afternoon setting up camp and walkiing into town to sight see a little.  Here are Daniel, Isaac and Ruthie on the river.

Tuesday... The plan was to hit the river and then head to the Olympic pools.  Instead we packed a lunch and treats and just went to the pool.  The first two pictures are all of us at the pool.  We spent most of the day there playing.  This is Daniel, Ruthie and me on the river.  Sam went down and then got in the car.  He had had an allergic reaction to the chlorine on Tuesday and didn't want to go back on the raft.

Wednesday...  We spent a couple hours on the river.  It was low so we bumped our bums on lots of rocks.  Here's our site.

Thursday... Time to pack up for home.  Sam in the tent while packing up. After getting home we decided that we were still on vacation.  So we packed up quilts and treats and really went to the drive in.  We watched Turbo and Monsters University.  We didn't get home unitl 1 am. 

Friday... Sleep in, laundry and grocery shopping.  Daniel went to work.  I made dinner for a gal in our ward who is having contractions but so not close enough to her due date. 

Saturday... Lazy day.  Yard work, house work, more laundry.  Daniel had put the pool up and found holes.  He tried patching, but to no avail.  So the kids slashed it with a razor and shot at it with a BB gun.  Daniel finally took it down and threw it away.  I spoke at a baptism for a woman in our ward.  It was so fun to be a part of it.  I love convert baptisms.

Sunday... Meetings, church, choir practice, home teachers, home teaching and family get together.  We went to my brother's house and hung out with cousins for a while.  Time to get back to the normals of life. 

Here are the kids at the drive in Thursday night.

Have a fun week!

Greatest Museum. Ever!

This last Thursday the kids and I took the opportunity to go see 101 Inventions That Changed The World at The Leonardo in Salt Lake.  My kids had wanted to go see the Mummy deal, but we never got to it.  So I made it a point to go see this.

Wow!! 

We were all completely amazed and loved loved loved it.  The 101 Inventions deal was awesome.  I sat and watched the whole thing, Isaac was with me for most of it and the other two kids ended up in the Lego room building about half way through.  After watching and looking and playing, we were ready to walk out of the exhibit and found these screens.  They had games and puzzles.  So we stayed for some puzzling.

After leaving the exhibit we went to see what else the museum had to offer. 

We found this little room.  You go in, put your arms out and the skeleton mimics your moves.  Here's Isaac...

And Sam, saying hi...

And Ruthie, dancing...

We then moved on to another area with this green screen.  Why are they being so crazy?

They're on the TV screen driving a car.

Isaac loved this.  Doesn't he look chipper?!

Right across from that were these dealios where you do stop motion filming.  Ruthie set up a few different scenes and took the pictures to make a quick movie.

Sam used the dragon and a mummy for his movie.

Isaac went to the little living room with the action figures and made a cool movie.

Then we went to the Tinker Counter where Isaac worked with all this electricity stuff.

Ruthie and Sam made marshmallos shooters.

If you have an afternoon, go here!  Just the museum itself held us for hours.  The 101 Inventions exhibit was crazy great! Plan on spending lots of time!

When gunpowder came up as an invention, there was this quote, which I loved...

"We owe to the Middle Ages the two worst inventions of humanity- romantic love and gunpowder." Andre Maurois, novelist and writer.

July The Second.

It's July

It's Hot

Google Reader is gone
 
I've gone to Bloglovin'

So not the same

It's Hot

Summer's speeding by

My hair can go in a pony tail

I call that progress

The A/C in my Durango stopped blowing

Daniel fixed it

Then it stopped again

It's Hot

Went to an art gallery this afternoon

It was closed

We went to lunch instead

The 4th is coming

We'll be hot

And having fun

Hope you have fun too

Note:  I do have another Day In The Life post for last week.  But I need to get my pictures loaded on.  And. It's. hot!

Finally, A Date With A Hot Guy.

Friday night I had a date with a hot guy.  Daniel and I went to dinner and a movie.  We realized we haven't been on a real (no kids with us) movie date in 2 years.  It was kinda nice.  Saturday was the annual Poppy's Hike.  We headed down to Abbie and Poppy's early.  Abbie had camo handkerchiefs for each of the boys.  My boys indulged and took 2 each and turned into some ninja things.  Here are my boys...

And the whole group.  Ruthie and I stayed behind with all the other moms and daughters.  It was a fun day.  And we didn't break the McDs when we went to lunch after the hike.

Tonight is back to school night for Isaac.  Tomorrow night is back to school night for Ruthie and Sam.  Then Wednesday is the big day!  Back to school for everyone under 5 feet tall.  This morning I went to the dermatologist for another 6 month check up.  Guess what?!  NO Pre Cancer!  So I don't have to go back for another year.  Yay me!  Last night grandma and grandpa came over for dinner and after dinner we played Sorry!.  It was fun.  Then Daniel gave each of the kids (and me) a father's blessing.  I love that we can have that tradition when the kids go back to school.  Or any time they feel they need a priesthood blessing.  I need to go to the store tonight to collect some fun stuff for the back to school morning gift for the kids.  I am mixing it up this year.  I'll take pictures and show ya later.  Daniel bought wood and stuff to build another goat house in the pasture.  With 6 goats we are short on housing.  But Bella and Angelica are adapting well.  Tonight we have goat club and then our last club meeting is in September.  It's been so fun.  We are looking forward to goat club 2013!  My eye is better.  My eye doc said the inflammation was gone.  I just did a drop a day for a couple more days.  Isaac is going to finish up the Horsemanship merit badge this week.  The bishop mentioned to Daniel that Isaac was so fun when he came to talk to the boys about horses.  Isaac had so many good questions and was really interested in all he had to teach.  We all have colds in one way or another.  My throat hurts and my sinuses are killing me, Ruthie is coughing and blowing her nose, Isaac is coughing and Daniel has a sore throat.  Sam has a stomach ache.  But I think that's just nerves.  I loaded up on cold meds today because no one gets a sick day home from school after tomorrow!  And with that, I'll leave you with the hot guy I love most. It's a laugh a minute I tell ya!

Is It Hot In Here?

In honor of the "Dog Days Of Summer"...

We had "dogs" for dinner.

All The World's A Fair.

What do these boots...

This cute western shirt...



These passes...

And this goat have to do with anything?

It's Fair Time!  The Weber County fair began today and goes till Saturday.  Ruthie will show Iris on Friday at 4:00 pm.  If you'd like to come, we'd love to see you.  If you happen to just come to the fair any old time, stop by barn B and proceed to stall 238.  We will be there much of the time. If you'd like, you can let me know you're coming and when and we'll be there for sure.  Here is Ruthie's poster and stall decor.  "Iris says Howdy!"  The mustache is because the theme for the fair is Ba-a-ad To The Bone.  Cute, heh? 

All in all it's a great experience.  But I do smell like a barn.  

What Did You Do Last Night?

I grew up close to a drive in theater.  We went once in a while.  One memorable time was right after I got my driver's license and my sister and I went by ourselves in the big white van to see a Michael J Fox movie.  We've been 10 minutes away from a drive in since we've lived here. We've never taken the kids, though.  So last night we got our pillows and blankets and treats and then picked up some pizza and root beer and headed to the drive in.  The kids got settled in inside the Durango and Daniel and I set up camp chairs outside. 

We saw Ice Age Continental Drift and Brave.  We didn't get home until close to 1 am, so we are tired and cranky today.  Here are 2 of my kiddos walking to the bathrooms.  Sam's the one in the snow boots.  We believe in being prepared.

Yellowstone. Part Siete.

I am just not sure where the Spanish parts came in.  Just happened.  So this is the seventh and final installment of our Yellowstone vacay.  Yay. Here is a picture in front of the Yellowstone sign.  We didn't actually take it until we were leaving the park on Thursday night. 

On our travels and stops we looked at license plates.  There were only 6 state license plates we didn't see: Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Vermont, West Virginia and Rhode Island. And Canada was representing.  We saw Alberta, Quebec, Ontario, British Columbia and Saskatchewan.  But no Nova Scotia. It was a fun and exciting game.  And seriously..  Hawaii?!  What's the deal?  Can't just drive over and tour Yellowstone?!

This is the last line of stopped traffic we sat in while in Yellowstone.  1 hour is just too long to sit with no bison or bears to look at. At least we had movies and the DVD player.  And snacks.

Lot's of road work.

And here's our mode of transport for the trip. We had finally gotten the parts to put the container on the Durango rather than the van.  Otherwise we wouldn't have had enough room for the kids to come. 

As we drove through Malad Idaho, Daniel yelled out, while I was asleep, "Hey, there's Abbie and Poppy!"  And there they were.  On their way home from Mount Rushmore.  We drove by them and talked on the phone for a bit.  What a fun way to end our trip.  Then when we got home and looked through the mail, there was a post card from Mount Rushmore that Abbie and Poppy sent to the kids.

We've already begun looking at the campgrounds near Mount Rushmore for our trip next year.  Thanks for a great vacation Yellowstone!