Alternate Universe

For Christmas this year, my sweet daughter Sierra told me that she had arranged for us to get new carpeting!! I was confused and not really believing her at first. I kept asking her what she meant. She told me her dad's friend is a professional carpet layer. He had a bunch of extra carpet from a job where they had ordered the wrong carpet. So he was going to come and put that carpet in our home...for free?? Still not really believing anything would really come of it, I was very surprised to get a phone call from Chris last night. He asked if James could come by and measure the rooms. After measuring everything, we talked about the carpet and James said I owed him dinner. I told him I would supply the beer as well, during the installation. A small price to pay for such generosity. He seemed happy with that arrangement. Chris said that he, Sierra, and his sister Niki have been trying to organize this for several months. I still don't understand really why they would want to help me out like this...but it is very humbling, and tears fill my eyes every time I think about it. Come to find out most of the family has known about this for a while...and no one said anything. Such a wonderful surprise! So we are working out a schedule for the installation. I feel like I am living in an alternate universe. For whatever reason, I am blessed by the people who know me. My neighbors, my ex-in laws, my kids, my parents, my ward. It just never ends. I am so thankful for the people in my life. I have been wanting new carpet for about a decade...so it will be a fantastic change for our humble little shanty! Wahoo!

December Madness

I am so far behind...let's see if I can catch up on the last 10 days. It's been crazy busy in our home.

Mom asked me several times what I would like for Christmas. So I decided to have her give me paint for the house. So for a solid week the house was turned upside down & I was scaling up and down a ladder painting. I painted the living room, family room & part of the kitchen that hadn't been done earlier in the year. It still needs touch ups but I am loving it! It makes such a big difference. My friend Diane has been so good to come and help me with this process...she is a master painter & absolutely loves it. Without her it never would have gotten done before Christmas. Thanks girl!

Sierra's drill team had a Semi-Formal Christmas Dinner. The moms made the food & dressed up like waitresses in black and white. We donned the tables in fine china, tablecloths, real silverware, and fancy glasses. It was a lot of fun doting on the girls and they loved it. We had Santa come & the girls had the funnest time. Singing at the top of their lungs and being silly with Santa. I made 4 pans of peach cobbler for the event and it was a hit.

Sierra also had another drill team competition, this time at Jordan High. It was a huge competition and a lot of fun seeing all the other teams from pretty much the whole state. They placed 4th in their dance routine. It's amazing to me that they can look soooo good and still not place. But it is brutally competitive. They have a couple more competitions in January so they are trying to revamp things, keep working hard, and hope to place better at the next two. The injuries and illnesses keep plaguing them so hopefully they will be rested up & good to go after the holidays. Sierra is totally loving drill team!! Go get 'em hon!

I took Justice & Montana sledding a couple of days ago. They were in hog-heaven. Justice is quite the dare devil. He was going head first down the steepest hill, with a giant smile on his face!! Lots of wipe-outs, snow in the face, cold toes and hands. But all in all a good time! We came home and had some hot chocolate & snuggled on the couch to watch Christmas Story! Our favorite family holiday movie. Good times!







I've been dating a really fantastic guy for the past few months. Jim has been spoiling me like crazy. It's weird, and fun, and I'm enjoying it. I'm just now introducing him to the kids and things are going really well so far. We have fun together and he makes me laugh & feel special. Everyone has been asking about him but he has requested that I keep him out of my blog writings. haha. So there is the brief skinny.

This past week has been a whirlwind of shopping, gift wrapping, getting the house ready for Christmas, more shopping, more wrapping, parties, and spending time with friends. It's been totally crazy but when the big day comes...it is always worth it. The kids loved their gifts and seemed to get all the things they wanted. I love seeing the smiles on their faces and in their eyes as they open their gifts! Such a fun time. I had to hold back the tears because it has been such a crazy year...but things have seemed to work themselves out despite all of it. We are so blessed & I am so thankful for everyday I get to spend with my kids, my amazingly supportive & loving parents, and my sweet man. Merry Christmas everyone!

Halloween Hootenanny

Our fun filled week is coming to an end. :-(

Wednesday was our annual Pennies by Inch Drive for the Primary kids. They dress up in their Halloween costumes, and we go door to door thru the neighborhood in groups asking for Donations for Primary Children's Hospital. It is always a huge success. After is the ward party, complete with Chili Cook-off and spook alley/activities for the kids. Face painting, cake walk, fishing pond, games, and of course the spook alley that justice went thru several times. Montana looked in, but didn't go thru. Fun was had by all...and I am tracking down the recipe for the White Bean Chicken Chili, it was absolutely delicious!

Thursday was the costume parade at school. They fly by in a matter of seconds. But it's always fun to see everyones costumes. And the smiles on my kids faces! I was surprised that Justice was the ONLY Harry Potter this year...and sooooo cute in those glasses! Montana looked adorable. Her costume evolved a bit as the days went, added a turtle neck, new boots...and she was the cutest.

Friday the kids were out of school. J & M were with their dad, but Sierra and I enjoyed the day just being TOTALLY LAZY. Literally, we slept, ate, & watched TV. Then she was off to a costume party & slept over at her friend Tiffany's. She looked so adorable in her costume! It turned out even cuter than I thought it would.

Saturday Sierra and I went to see Paranormal Activity. Advertised to be the scariest movie of all time. I thought it was a total let down . It was good, and suspenseful, but only scary for the last 5 seconds of the show. We had a good time. It was fun to watch Sierra plug her ears almost the entire movie...waiting for me to scream!! Hahaha. Then Justice & Tana came over for the evening. We made cookies, and decorated pumpkins. We headed out for trick or treating around the neighborhood. GREAT WEATHER. Such a nice change from the usual frigid cold we usually have this time of year. Justice was having a blast, but Montana has apparently decided she is too old for this nonsense. She was a bit of a stinker the whole time & mostly stood by my side and didn't even bother going to the door. She had half a bucket of candy already so I didn't push the issue. We took Roxy around with us and just enjoyed seeing the kids and neighbors. Sierra went off with her friends and hung out for the night. I had to work that night so I decided to take the kids to work with me for a bit and show them around the station. I was showing J & M how the cameras work and how they do the weather. And then the Technical director asked if I would like to run a tape with some funny green screen stuff. Of course, I said yes. So we have a dvd of the kids goofing around with a dancing chicken ( a man in a suit) The kids are working the camera & taking turns at the screen. It was really a fun time for them. I was hoping to show them how we do a newscast, but the baseball game was running long and it looked like we weren't going to end up doing news at all that night...so I had Eric come pick them up. A fantastically fun night!


Kids on our deck in the awesome weather!


Doin' the news!


A pro already!

New pics & tricks

We had some new family photos taken by my sweet friend Niki. She did a fantastic job. We have only seen a preview of some of the photos but I love them. The kids are growing up so fast it's hard to keeps their pics current. We headed out to Gardner Village to do the shoot and realized it was also the Witch-a-Palooza going on. So it was packed and we had a really good time. So thankful for good people in my life. Love you Nik!






Dad came over to help me with some electrical issues we were having in the house and he spent the whole day fixing little projects that have been on the to do list for years. It really lifted my spirits because it feels like the house is falling apart. He keeps asking "What else do you need done?"...I keep telling him not to ask because I could keep him busy for a couple of years if he wanted to fix a couple of things a day! He laughed but I was quite serious!! So thankful for our humble abode & pray that I can keep it in working order. So far so good.

Today is the Halloween Party at work. I'm going as a witch--I will try to get a few fun pics of the anchors dressed up & some of my cohorts. Should be a good time.

A total surprise

My dad stopped by unexpectedly the other day. He was here with a new dishwasher for my birthday & he was ready to install it!!! I was so surprised and excited. Our old washer was completely falling apart and not cleaning the dishes at all. I guess I complained about it one too many times and my parents ran with it. So dad and I decided to install it right then & there.

We spent most of the day taking out the old disgusting washer and installing the new beautiful one. I'm so glad my dad is handy because I wouldn't know the first thing to do. After hitting his head on a drawer a couple times and the counter once, we decided we would try electrocuting him. I had turned off the breaker that was label dishwasher disposal...but apparently it was labeled wrong. He yelped pretty loud, and scared the crap out of me...but luckily he was ok. And luckily I had just wiped up the puddle of water that had leaked out of the washer!! So after the handyman was finished...we loaded the washer and waited for the magic to happen. And it works fantastically!!! Thanks sooooo much mom & dad. I really appreciate your thoughtfulness!

Sprinkler Savers

I have had a couple of broken sprinkler heads for most of the summer. I keep meaning to fix them, but just haven't gotten around to it yet. In the meantime, my poor lawn is getting crispy in spots. Well my mom and dad just showed up a couple days ago with a truck full of tools and were ready to get to work. I was really suprised and excited.

The broken head in the front yard was being totally choked by roots from our tree. It took several hours to chop and dig down to the problem. Literally it was fighting for every inch. Dad was using every tool known to man. We could not find the pipe where this broken head came from...so we kept digging. Mom and I were working on the yard- clearing rocks, mowing the lawn, pulling weeds, and making future plans...like we always do :-) After many hours we had not solved the probelm and had to call it a day. Dad said he would be back to finish.

Then Chris stopped by last night to pick up Sierra, but she was still out shopping with my mom. He saw the big hole in the lawn and said he could fix it and was just killing time until Sierra got back anyway. He looked down into the hole we had dug and could see the pipe...honestly it looked like tree roots so it was hard to tell. He went and picked up a few supplies and was able to clear the dirt out of the line. He is coming back today to finish putting the sprinkler heads on. Then I will be able to put the yard back together.

I'm so grateful for everyone's help. And my lawn thanks you too!! You guys are the best!

All is well

Tana made it back from Mill Hollow just in time to turn around and go camping with her dad & Justice up to Strawberry. So we didn't get much time to talk about her trip...but it sounds like she enjoyed it--except the LONG hikes. But she survived and that's what it's all about. I'm sure she will be all camped out when she returns. Poor kid!

I'm taking the kids to the 24th parade downtown this year...I'm thinking about camping overnight. It was so much fun when I was a kid. I'm trying to convince some friends to go with me...but they are leery. Come on...what's more fun than running around all night long, playing cards & silly games? :-)

My neighbors came and started work on our deck. They measured and made plans for the railing, and then sealed the existing deck. I'm so grateful they are willing to do this for me, because I don't have a clue how to even get started, and it really needs to be done. I'm so excited!!

Justice's Room

It's been pretty quiet around here with the kids gone to their dad's. So I decided to start painting bedrooms. Well, a bedroom. We bought Justice new bedding last week and so I started with his room first. His walls are still peach from when the girls use to be in that room...so really his needed to be done first! His sheets are so cute- covered with all different airplanes and kind of a military theme. So I've been slapping up Blue & Cream paint. When I get that done (hopefully today) we are going to hang some airplanes from the ceiling on clear thread. He wants to make a sky on the ceiling--blue sky with white clouds on top, but I will pass on that for now. It sounds cute--but I will need someone to help me who knows what they are doing. And I don't want to ruin what I've already done. He is soooooo excited about this. I am excited to see it all come together. I will post pics when it's done. Then I will most likely move on to the other bedrooms! I guess having the kids gone has it's perks??? The house is getting spruced up a bit--and it really needed it. We haven't painted for 10 years. YIKES!!

Pool Time

After swimming at my friend Michelle's last week we were really itching to get a pool. We just got it set up and it is MUCH bigger than I thought it would be. It's 10 feet wide and 30 inches deep. It is 900 gallons (yikes) and has a filter & chlorination system. So it's pretty nice for a "little" pool. It was really a pain to set up because our yard is so un-level. We tried several spots but ended up putting it on the brick patio (which I know is going to be a bad idea) right by the house because it's the only place it would work. So we will see if the kids can behave and not flood the house :-{ I will have to put a tarp over the window right behind it I am sure. But I am hoping we can avoid that--- I NEED THE SUNLIGHT! We have a cover for it so hopefully the water will warm up a bit! It is chilly hose water. So the kids are perfectly happy and loving the water today!! Hopefully that will keep them busy for a couple of days!

I can't believe it!!

After months of work- I have accomplished a monumental task. Every closet, every room , including the garage has been de-junked and organized. Today was the yard sale and we literally (mom, the kids, & I) worked for hours and hours getting all of our belongings out to sell. It had rained all week and so I was worried about having it in the garage and having everything covered. But it would not all fit. So we set up a shade tent and put the rest of it under there.

The weather ended up being fabulous and we sold a ton of stuff. Everything that was left was hauled away and I was left with....hold on to your seats....a completely clean garage!! We have been in this house for going on 10 years and we have NEVER been able to park in the garage. I actually cried- what a weirdo I am!! It was way too much work- but I am sooooo glad we did it.


The clean garage :-)


CAR IN THE GARAGE!!!


Car in the garage with the door closed!! Wahoo!!

What a weekend!

We had so much fun this weekend- and got so much done. It feels like the last 4 days have been two weeks long.

After church yesterday we went to decorate the graves. It was really rainy so we basically just left flowers and didn't get to do our usual shining of the stones and edging. Which was just fine. Mom cried this year- she is really missing John. We all are- it has been 18 years since John died. He is still a part of our everyday life. Can't wait to see you again buddy! I will hug you and kiss you, and then shake you and kick you right in the butt! After the decorating mom invited the Mc family over for a BBQ! My family is always a hoot. Lots of hugs, laughs, and food. The kids had so much fun they didn't want to leave, and ended up sleeping over. Fine with me.

Then today we FINALLY got the kids settled into their new rooms. This has literally taken forever to accomplish but we are so happy with the results. Thank you so much dad for helping me disassemble and reassemble the beds. That ended up being a lot harder than I had anticipated. I could not have done it without you! The kids are soooo happy and the rooms look great!! We still need to paint and decorate- but that will be a piece of cake now! And that can wait for another day. We are all exhausted. We need a day to recover- but there will be no rest for the weary. Back to normal tomorrow. Can't wait for summer!

Once we got that accomplished- I took the kids swimming to celebrate- and to relax! It was so nice. The kids were being very adventurous today. Justice went down the slide several times by himself. I waited at the bottom- but then he decided he didn't need me because he could land and even go under the water and would be just fine. Montana was jumping off the side of the pool into the deep end, floating on her back, practicing her strokes. She is so proud of herself. They can't wait to start swim lessons now. Sierra decided not to come and went to spend time with Ari (her new best friend from Drill). So it was just me and the little ones.

Pet Project

I was cornered at church today and found out that "a little birdy" told someone that we need a lot of work done on our house. I wasn't sure what to think about this at first but after the initial embarassment I was so excited. I am not sure who is going to do it exactly but it sounds like a bunch of different organizations: the boy scouts, the young men, and the elders in the ward are coming together to do the fix it projects in our home. The Elders Q president is coming on Tuesday to find out exactly what we need done. The first project that we discussed (that he already knew about) was the railing on the deck and down the deck stairs. They are worried about the safety issue of that. So that will be done first. We have just gotten use to it after two years. Also the fence needs to be fixed because Roxy keeps getting out and it is literally falling over. He wants me to show him anything that needs fixing. Should I really whip out my big old list?? Or just be modest and show him a handfull of the most important things? I am not sure. I just feel so blessed that in our time of need people just step in and do things for us without us even asking. That is divine intervention in my book. I am excited but nervous. I guess we will see how this irons out. It's kind of weird being a "project family". But I won't complain!!

Oh yeah!! It's gettin cold in here...

My friend Reed came and hooked up my swamp cooler today!!! I thought we were going to melt the last couple of days. Seriously, we had all the windows open and fans going day and night. He came in just the nick of time!! I am so grateful!! Maybe we can actually sleep tonight! I love my neighbors!!

Switcheroo

For the past year we have been talking about the kids switching rooms. The downstairs room is bigger and has two closets- so that really would be more ideal for the girls. We were using one closet as storage and the other for Justice. Yesterday we decided to get started on switching closets. Sounds easy enough. But now the ENTIRE house is in chaos. All of the storage closet contents ended up in my room, and then it became Sierra's new closet with her dresser inside. Hopefully all of her belongings can be contained in there and not all over the room like they usually are. Montana and Justice switched closets and are still in the process of switching dresser contents and toys. Then the furniture and it will be done.

I need to install lighting in all three closets, repair the closet doors upstairs, and rehang the door to the downstairs bedroom. I am quickly learning about home repairs. We are also painting and trying to come up with a new design scheme for both rooms. The girls have kind of decided to do Pink & Blue with Brown accents? It has been very hard to find in bedding. But I think I might be able to do a pink/brown pattern for Sierra, and then a similar blue/brown for Montana. Finding a mix of the three colors has been discouraging. But we will see. If you have ideas or sources let me know. Of course they can't agree on the same colors- that would be too easy!!

Justice wants to do a Star Wars theme. So that should be easy. But getting rid of the peach paint in his "new room" is top priority. Anyhoo- we will be busy for a few days!! Although it is a huge and daunting task- it is so nice to go through closets once in a while. More than once yesterday I heard "Mom, look what I found", or "Oh- I've been looking for this forever!". Plus I found a million things for our yard sale coming up!! Well, back to work!!

Spring has Sprung!

Wow- I am starting to feel the pressure of taking care of the house, yard, kids, and bills on my own. Not only is it stressful- but totally time consuming. Eric usually took care of the yard so I am taking on that task now. I have to admit that it is very therapeutic. I sprayed all the multiplying weeds with weed killer a couple days ago- so today I went around digging and pulling them all up. I swear there were at least 20 lbs of weed in just my postage stamp front yard and on the side of the house. Phew. I already know how to mow- but I have learned how to rethread the weed wacker. Something I thought I would never figure out. We planted seed flowers in the front yard and they are starting to come up. I also have more seed flowers that need to get planted in our planters. I hope they work because 10 dollars for seeds bets 100 dollars for grown flowers anyday! I need to plant some more grass seed in the bare spots (from weeds and our lovely dog), and then fertilize the lawn after I get the rest of the weeds pulled in the back yard.

Now I have laundry and dishes staring at me. Ugh. But I love having a home to call my own. I pray the Lord will help me be able to keep it- and keep it up!

Finally Done!

The cabinets are finally done! I just need to touch up a few spots with paint on the walls. I am really happy with how it turned out. Thanks so much dad for helping me put it all back together. I couldn't have finished it without you.

Oh bother!!

As usual...I have started a project that I thought I could finish in a couple days tops. Well, three days later- I am still painting cupboards, I am almost out of paint,I have the hinges back on, but now the handles I bought are problematic and I can't get the doors back on the hinges. AAAAA!! Dad is coming over tomorrow to help me hopefully solve this dilemma. It is looking so good- I can't wait to be finished. Only 5 more doors to go! I was so hoping I could finish this whole project by myself...but I have learned to ask for help when I need it. Curse my pride!!

It's coming together...I hope!

I've been working all weekend on repainting the cupboards. It is looking so good. They were so sad and ugly before. Every brush stroke makes me so happy. I spray painted the hinges silver to match the new handles that I bought. So far I have the front of the boxes painted and a couple of doors done. Mom & Dad are coming over today to help me finish. I am having a party on Saturday so I need to get it done quick. I love it so much I think I am going to do both bathroom cabinets the same chocolate color. But the kids are anxious to get their bedrooms painted too. All the kids were gone with their dads this weekend so I had a quiet house all to myself to get it done. It was a nice time filler. It's painting or homework. Guess what I chose! I will post more pics when it's finished.

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The Wallpaper comes down

After dad helped me install the microwave- the kids and I started pulling down the rest of the wallpaper in the kitchen. It was so cute when we put it up 10 years ago and now it just looks- well- ugly! We had planned on painting also- but it took most of the day to finish the removal. Isn't wallpaper the best invention ever??? NOT!! I hate it!!! Although it did come off a lot easier than some I have tried to remove. So the kitchen is coming along. I will post pics when we finally get the painting done. Hopefully next weekend!!

I have also become a labeling geek. I bought a label machine and I am labeling everything in site. My cupboards and drawers have never been so organized. It's keeping me and my mind busy anyway! Once I went through two rolls of label (which are kind of pricey) I knew it was time to reel it in and call it a day!