One scheduled visit, and one surprise visit.

The last weekend in March was a busy one. We were expecting a visit from CJ's Aunt and Uncle from Washington for a visit on Thursday. They were on their way to Colorado and wanted to stop by for a few days to visit with us. They brought their two dogs Maddy and Gunner with them. It was a very nice visit. I wish we had more time with them because they like to do a lot of activities out doors and it would have been a great chance to get out and play. Unfortunately because of the build we just didn't have the time I wish we could have. They do plan on visiting again in the fall after the build. We also want to go to Washington and visit them.

Wednesday night (just before CJ's family got to town) I get a call from my little brother and he asks me what I'm doing for Thursday night. He wanted to come over for dinner. "Sure Aaron, it's only a quick 900 miles. Dinner sounds great." I forgot that he has free flights on Southwest because my Sis-in-Law worked for them. He got on a flight the next morning with his two girls and was here by noon. He rested up a little, we went to dinner, had a good visit, went to bed, and he left the next morning. It was a quick surprise visit. I so wish we had more time too. The girls had so much fun with their cousins. He said that he plans to do that more often before the flight benefits run out. I sure hope he does because it is so much fun when he comes to visit.

CJ wants a dog.

So, when CJ's family came to visit they brought their dogs and CJ was way excited. He has been wanting a dog for so long and now that we are getting closer to our own home, you know a place that we don't have to move from in two years, a place where the landlord can't say "no pets allowed", we are that much closer to actually getting one. CJ wants one right away and I am very reluctant to getting one at all. A little back story to my reluctance at getting a dog. We did have two dogs back in Arizona. We had a German Shepherd mix. She was a good dog that we got when she was a puppy. I carried her everywhere for a few months and then she got too big for me to carry. She also never really potty trained and had more energy and more fur than I could handle at the time (I was very depressed and thought a dog would help me feel better.) When she was about 1 1/2 yr. old I convinced CJ that I couldn't handle her any more and he agreed to let me find her a new home. I am so glad that my brother's family took her. I did love her and wanted her to have a good home. She is super happy and I get to see her when I visit. I still had a desire to have a dog as a companion so I started looking for a small lap dog like the one I had as a child right away. I found one that a family had rescued from a vet (someone had abandoned it there) and were giving away for free to a good home. She was the same breed as my childhood dog so I jumped at the chance to get her. It didn't take long to realize why she had been abandoned. We only had her for two or three months before we found her a new home too. Since then I have felt so guilty for wanting another dog. I had two chances and failed at both. I know that some of those feelings that made me give the dogs away are still there, ie: shedding, potty training, chewing, slobber, tons of energy, and the one that I absolutely hate the most, disobedience. I don't want to be afraid to open the door for fear the dog may get out, and then I have to chase it for an hour before I finally catch it. That happened waaaaay too many times with the other two dogs and I know I can't handle that! Anyway, back to our current dog dilemma. Like I said we had dogs here for a few days last week and it was kind of like a trial run for me. I wanted to see how the kids would handle it, how the dogs behaved, and so forth. Here are a few pics.Megan was outnumbered.

Megan's writing was interrupted.

Gunner was OBSESSED with Dakota's rear end.

Megan found a cool new water toy and snack bar.

Rebecca stayed under a blanket the whole first day. Can you see a pattern here? Our biggest concern was that we had to hold them back when the door was opened because they would get out and chase the neighborhood dogs and cats (remember, my biggest fear in getting a dog.) Plus we are moving into a brand new house and it sure won't look new once we get a dog. I must say though the dogs were pretty well behaved. CJ was hoping that this would help to convince me to get a dog. I want to be open minded about getting a dog so I told him that maybe we'll get a small dog first. They offered to give CJ one of the puppies from the next litter and he keeps asking me if I want a male or female one. Labs are NOT small dogs! What am I to do?

Okay, okay, it wasn't all that bad.

Megan realized that the cool snack bar, and water toy were not meant for her.

She did get lots of lovin'.

And CJ looks pretty good with a dog.

Maybe with some good training a dog might not be so bad. Don't tell him, but I think I might let him have one of those puppies when they're born. I still want my little dog though. Only time will tell what happens.

He finally got a haircut!!

Most of you know that I babysit a little boy Megan's age everyday while his mom is at work. I've had him since he was 5 months old. His name is Gavin. When he was about 7 months old he started pulling on his hair to help him fall asleep. Back then it was just a few thin strips of hair on the top of his head but they were long and so he would pull on them. His mom and I thought he would grow out of this strange habit but we were wrong. As time went on his hair began to fill out nice and thick, so his habit of pulling on his hair to fall asleep turned in to his comfort mechanism. Some kids have a binky, some kids have a blanky, some kids suck their thumb, but not Gavin, he pulls his hair (with a binky in his mouth too.) Because his mom didn't want to take away his comfort mechanism she refused to cut his hair. He has had two bang trims since he was born but that was it. I know it sounds like no big deal since most kids don't have that much hair at this age but not Gavin. He must have Italian in him somewhere because he has been blessed with a TON of hair. Everyone that saw him asked if he was a boy or girl because he had so much hair. Sometimes when I was feeding him I would pull it back just to see what he would look like with a "little boy" haircut. I never said anything to his mom because that is not my place. When she was ready she would cut his hair. Imagine my surprise last week when she dropped him off and he had short(er) hair! It took a while to get used to because he looked so different to me. She said that she went to visit her mom over the weekend and her mom said, it was time, and convinced her to cut his hair.

This is Gavin before. You can see why she did at least trim his bangs. The pictures don't really give you a good idea of how thick his hair is because it is so much thicker than it looks here.

Here is a view from the back. It used to be a lot more curly. The longer it got the straighter it got though and his mom was sad to see the curls go because she used to put gel in his hair to keep it curly, (maybe she secretly wanted a girl.)

You can see his ears now. He looks so much thinner and older too.

Here is the back. He still has enough hair on top to grab so his mom is okay with it. Thank you Gavin's Grandma, he looks really good. lol

Building: Week 15

Well I don't have any pictures this week. I was pretty busy on Saturday and forgot to take pictures. Not much was done though. Our assignment was to start the underlayment for the linoleum in the kitchen/dining room, both bathrooms, and laundry room. It was hard work but I feel like we got a lot accomplished. We finished the underlayment in the master bathroom and almost all of it in the kitchen/dining room. One of the other builders put in the door knobs on the outside doors. Our back door was not hung properly so CJ took it out and fixed it so that it hangs properly now. The stucco still needs some repair work so they haven't painted it (not to mention we are still getting snow and a lot of wind.) We will start framing on the 7th and final home this Friday. There is light at the end of the tunnel. The house that will be showcased in the Parade of Homes is going to be completely finished by the end of April. They are the family that will have to see their home completely finished and not be able to move in for over a month. By the end of next week 5 out of the 7 homes should be caught up to the same point as ours. I don't mention the progress of the other homes that often so I thought I would let you know how far they are as well. We are still on track for move-in day to be in mid June.

Comedy Sportz

Elizabeth and Rebecca participate in the 4-H Mentoring program. They are each assigned a Mentor who is a college student. Once a week their Mentors visit with them and do fun activities with them. The girls love the attention they get from their Mentor and are able to do activities that they normally wouldn't be able to do otherwise. Anyway, once a month all the Utah county Mentors and Mentees get together for a group activity. Last Saturday was their M&M activity. The group was going to attend the Comedy Sportz club in Provo. If you have ever seen the show "Who's Line Is It Anyway", that is what Comedy Sportz is, except for one difference, it is completely clean. If any of the Comedy Teams or audience members say something inappropriate they are "brown bagged" for the rest of the skit and have to wear a bag over their head. At the last minute Elizabeth's Mentor called to say she couldn't make it. I know Elizabeth would rather have gone with her Mentor but since she couldn't go I was allowed to take Elizabeth in her place. I was really excited because it sounded like so much fun. Liz and I got a seat in the front row and Rebecca and her Mentor sat in the seats next to us. My girls are very shy when talking to strangers so I figured they would just sit back and enjoy the show (I knew I wouldn't be yelling out anything.) It didn't take long at all before they caught the spirit of the show and started yelling out suggestions for the comedy skits. They had really good suggestions too. I was totally shocked at how badly they wanted to be heard. Two of Rebecca's suggestions were used and the skits turned out to be super funny so she was way excited. We really had a good time. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. I would recommend the Comedy Sportz club to anyone, as would the girls. We can't wait to go back. It's great because you can go there on a date without the kids, or you can do it as a family outing because it is family appropriate at all times.

P.S. I did end up yelling out once. In the beginning the referee was warming up the crowd and was just asking for random words for practice. He asked for us to yell out characters from the show "Star Trek: Next Generation". Being one of my favorite all-time shows I felt compelled to yell out a character. I yelled out "Data!" Unfortunately, I was the only one that yelled out anything! I feel like such a nerd.

R.A.D. Kids

I went to school today to watch Dakota's class do their R.A.D. Kids simulation. I'm not sure what R.A.D. stands for but this is a program that the girl's school participates in. It is a Personal Empowerment Safety Education program that teaches kids about personal safety in everything from not sticking their fingers in the light sockets to escaping from someone trying to abduct them. The program really emphasised to the kids that if a grownup was going to hurt them it most likely would not be a stranger but somebody they new and trusted. Today was when the kids got to put the techniques they have been learning about in class to practice for "real" in a small obstacle course simulation. They put on safety gear and their Principal dressed up in one of those padded suits so that the kids could hit him with all their might and get used to what it feels like to really hit a grownup they know and trust. It was really fun to watch Dakota because she really got into it. She was in competition to prove that girls can yell louder and hit harder than boys. The Coach came up to me afterwards and told me that she did the best out of everyone in her class. She was really kicking and hitting as hard as she could and almost easily escaped from the Principal.

Dakota, ready for action. She may be small, but she really packs a punch.

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Here she is in her R.A.D. Kids' stance because she is in a situation where she is not totally comfortable.

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This is when she gets to hit the Principal and yell at him at the top of her lungs without getting in trouble. (I had a really good view until the coach jumped in and blocked everything...sorry.)
It was a really fun demonstration. Rebecca and Elizabeth will have their simulations next month.

Fun Pix

I was cleaning up my photo file on the computer and found some pictures I haven't seen in a long time. Since they were taken before I began blogging I thought I would share them now. I love these pictures.

*These are of Megan in her first Christmas dress. I put some blankets on my couch, set her in the middle, and took about 60 pictures trying to get at least one good one before the total baby melt down. These were taken when Megan rarely smiled and didn't like it if you tried to get her attention (not to mention when she hated shoes.) I still can't believe the smile I got. You wouldn't even know that she had social issues. It just melts my heart every time I look at it. She wouldn't let go of her hands that day so it looks like she's giving herself a hug.

*I got a compliment on this one when the Photo Techs at Wal-Mart almost refused to make prints of this picture because they thought it was professionally done. It's just such a sweet picture.

*This one is Megan in her first Easter dress. As I was taking the pictures one of the girls got the idea to put the mirror in front of her to see what she would do. The resulting picture is priceless.

Building: Week 14

Last week was the longest week ever! Every week since the build started has just flown by, but not last week. It just seemed to drag on forrreeverrrrr (Sandlot flashback.) I sure hope it picks back up. Anyway, here's the latest progress.

Stucco is done. Everyone on the build was disappointed in our choice of stucco color until I told them it wasn't painted yet...duhhh. It will be painted this week.

Not a good picture I know but this the garage door. I haven't seen it closed yet. They have to leave it up until the stucco is complete. I'll get a better picture when they finally close it.


I got to put deadbolt locks on all the outside doors. Here is the garage door opener too.


The finish carpentry has been installed. Now Rebecca won't be scared to go down the stairs.


Shelf over washer and dryer.


CJ is so excited about the generous window sills. He's going to put lots of plants on them.


The hallway is taking shape.

The kitchen pantry. My kitchen has started. Before you know it there will be appliances in there and it will be beautiful.
The doors and shelves will all be painted when we paint the walls so they will all match by the time we are done.

Who needs a dog.

Last night Megan came up to me on all fours with a ball in her mouth panting like a dog and begging me to throw the ball. I threw the ball and she crawled to get it barking and panting like a dog, picked up the ball in her mouth, crawled back to me, and begged me to throw it again. She never touched the ball with her hands. She kept "fetching" the ball (complete with barking and panting) until I had to put her to bed. It was so funny. She has never seen a dog play fetch or anything like it so I have no idea where she learned that.

This morning she did it again, but after the second time I threw the ball she didn't bring it back. Instead, she made me get on the floor and go "fetch" the ball. I told her that I wasn't putting it in my mouth though and she was disappointed. She decided that it was more fun for me to throw the ball and played for a little while longer. We have been thinking about getting a dog when the house is done but I guess we don't have to now. Here Megan...go fetch!

Building: Week 13

Saturday was the official 3 month mark for our build. We started our 35-hour work weeks on Dec. 15th. I still can't believe how much we have accomplished in such a short period of time. All the supervisors say that we are on track to being the fastest group ever (so far) in the program! I am so happy because one of my biggest worries was that the build would drag on and on for months. At our current rate we will have built 7 houses in 5 1/2 months...including landscaping. We are feeling so blessed right now. Anyway, here is the progress on our house.

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They started prepping the house for stucco. It took all week just to prep the house. I'm so glad that we don't have to do the stucco.

This is the view of the back of the house. Some of the trim has been completed.

The contractors came out on Saturday to finish installing all the trim (along with some of their little kids.)

The interior finish carpentry has been delivered. It should be installed this week. They used to have the families do the finish carpentry but it proved to be so difficult that they now contract it out. No complaints here. They also installed the garage door...and garage door opener,yeah!...but I forgot to get a picture of that. I'll make sure to get one this week.

I thought I would throw this picture in. You can see 5 of the 7 houses we're working on in the picture, (one of them is still only a foundation.) I know you only get to see pictures of our house but I thought you might like to see the whole work site, just for fun.

This week they will finish the interior carpentry, stucco and trim, install the outer door locks, and possibly prep for the driveway and stairs. Very exciting!

Dakota's Snowman

Recently we got some snow. Not a lot but enough to put a blanket on the ground. I had to run to the store and when I got back there was a visitor in the front yard. Dakota took what little snow we had and was able to make a good sized snowman. She even gave it arms and a face. I think she did a really good job on it. I wanted to take a picture of her masterpiece so we could always remember it. Megan was in the yard too so I thought I would take a picture of her next to the snowman so we could remember just how big it was. Megan was not too sure about the strange creature that was reaching out to her. She let me stand her next to the snowman but you can see how unsure she is as she leans as far from the snowman as she can.

Building: Week 12

The work on our home slowly progresses. Last week the drywall was mudded, textured, and sanded throughout the entire house. The walls are ready to be painted. We're getting down to the finish work on our house. If the weather gets better we will get stucco on the outside this week. Work on the inside will slow down while the other houses catch up to the same spot our house is in. This helps to insure that all the houses will be finished at roughly the same time. One of the homes in our build group has been chosen to be showcased in the Parade of Homes this May. It is exciting because that means that we have to have the houses finished by the end of May...and that means that our move-in is expected somewhere in the first two weeks of June (only 3 months from now!!!). It will be a great birthday present for CJ.

Science Fair: Part II

As I told you in an earlier post Elizabeth had gotten a high enough score on her science fair project at school this year that she was one of the students chosen to represent her school at the District level of the science fair. If she scored high again she would move on to the Regional level. Last night was the District competition.

She had to set up her project to be judged by itself at 4pm. At 6:30pm she went back to be interviewed and judged again with the project. At 8:45pm they had the awards ceremony to recognize those who would go on to the next level. There were well over 200 entries at the District level so the competition was high. It was a long night with a lot of driving back and forth, but to see the excitement on Elizabeth's face and hear her talk about how much she loves science made it all worth it. She did not advance to the next level but she was awarded Honorable Mention and received a medal for her efforts.

She was so excited that she wore the medal to school today...just in case the other students wanted to see it.lol Congratulations Elizabeth!! We're so proud of you!

Random Photo Tag

Random Photo Tag
Here are the rules of the game:
1. Go to your my documents/my pictures
2. Go to your sixth file
3. Go to your sixth picture
4. Blog about it
5. Tag six people

Okay, so I haven't done a tag in a while and this one is pretty safe so...I'll bite. I don't have six files in the my pictures folder, I only have one. That is where I have all the pictures for the slide show screen saver on my computer that I love to sit and watch for hours. So I went to the sixth picture in that file and this is what I found. This is from a camping trip I took with my family about 6 years ago back in Arizona. My brother Matt who can play any instrument under the sun beautifully (without a single lesson no less) had bought an Indian flute and brought it with him. My parents decided that we would have a family Pow-Wow. All the kids (and there were many) got made up with head dress and paint for the festivities. The girls had a blast! They still have one of the head dress' from that night. This has always been one of my favorite pictures of Dakota's smile.

Well let's see, I'll tag Sarah, Darla, Jen Jen, Diana, Holly, and Matt

Building: Week 11

No more skeletons in our house. Last Thursday all our drywall was installed. IN ONE DAY! It usually takes a few days to do the entire house but because there is so little work for construction in Payson the drywall company had plenty of people to install the drywall. It was such a weird feeling to walk in to the house through the garage door and not be able to see all the way to the back of the house. I was a little disoriented at first. It looks so different with the walls up. After the disorientation wore off my excitement grew leaps and bounds because it looks more like a house now on the inside too.

This is one of the kid's rooms.

This is the half wall around the stairs being prepped for rounded corners. In the back is the master bedroom.

This is the entry area looking out from the living room.

This is the kitchen with pantry.

This is the family/dining room.

Here is the inside of the garage. Just a note about this door going from the garage out to the yard...it was a HUGE pain to install. CJ worked for 3 hours one day prepping the doorway that had many problems, then it took me 2 1/2 hours the next day to hang the door...with the help of the Supervisor. He said that this was the worst door to install in the history of doors. It's such a good thing that the drywall covers all the problems that we had with the door.

Lest anyone think that I don't do any real work on the build, CJ got a picture of me using a power tool.

Power tools have been my struggle in this project. I especially hate the nail gun. I have a real fear of impaling someone with a nail (or worse, many nails). I tried to avoid jobs that needed power tools as much as possible. The supervisor decided that I needed to get over my fears so he has made it his mission to make sure that I get jobs using all the tools. I am getting better at using the tools. They are still scary but I am not letting the fear get the best of me. The only thing I won't ever be able to do is attach or un-attach the air guns. There is a fear there that goes waaaay to deep. It is just like popping a balloon and I absolutely can't do that...but that's another story. Anyway, we usually get some BYU students from the Early Education department come to volunteer on our project. They need volunteer hours and we need little things done so that we can focus on the major stuff. This Saturday was a big surprise though. We got twice the number of volunteers from the EE department and another large group of Construction Management Supervisor students as well. We probably had 40 volunteers on Saturday.

All but one of the people in this pic are volunteers and this is only half the volunteers. The CMS students are on the roof and the EE students are laying out the trusses. This is major work that needed to be done and it was great to have their help. The trusses had to be layed out because we had the crane coming to set the trusses on the roof of the fourth house that afternoon and we still had lots to do before the crane came. The crane got there and CJ came up to me and asked if I wanted to be a "hooker" today. You can imagine the confusion on my face because he was totally serious. I made a few jokes before he told me what the job of the hooker is (and it has nothing to do with walking the streets. lol) The hooker is the person that hooks the trusses to the crane to be lifted on the house. I accepted the job and went to work as a hooker. Being that I was the first female hooker on the build CJ is now known as my pimp. We had a long day on Saturday but it was fun as well and there was a lot of work accomplished.