What a Mess!!!

This past week has been kind of crazy around our house and we're slowly getting it put back together. Stephen's been quite adventurous in trying to figure out how to rewire some electrical outlets and cables so we could hook up our new t.v. I would have to admit I didn't think he could really do it and was nervous when he started punching 3 or 4 holes into the wall. (Thank goodness the holes were in our pantry where if he messed up, it wouldn't matter too much.) But with a few trips to Lowe's and few hours later, I was pretty impressed at his skills. While I was helping him run some wire, I felt some drops of water on my shoulder. At first, I was quite puzzled and couldn't figure out what it was. Then we realized it was coming from our ceiling and we had some sort of leak! Being new home owners we started to panic a little. We couldn't figure out what or where it was from other than being directly underneath our water heater. We rushed to get a bucket and turned off the water main, since it was too late to call someone. An hour later, about 3 feet further into the room it started leaking again. At this point it was almost midnight and we were really tired and nervous as to what would happen during the night. The leaks were getting closer and closer to our piano. We were grateful to wake up to no more leaking in the morning and had someone come look at it. They ended up ripping a hole in our ceiling and ruining the wall that I had just painted a few weeks ago. I'm just glad our house is still under warranty from the builder this first year. Here's a few pictures of just how crazy it's been!

My 10 Year Reunion

I can't believe I'm old enough to say this, but I went to my 10 year High School Reunion this weekend. It was such a weird feeling. I did get to see some good friends that I hadn't in a very long time. But in some ways I felt like I was stepping back into high school.....I can't believe how fast time has flown. What have I done the last 10 years? This was a common question that was asked during the entire evening. My life...well, I've gone to school at USU for 5 of those years, gotten my degree in Special Ed, taught school for the other 5 years. During that time I've traveled, spent many summers doing EFY, met many amazing people, gotten married to a wonderful guy, bought a house, ummm yep. I think that about covers it. Somehow it doesn't sound all that exciting. But, I've sure enjoyed the journey. We'll see what the next ten years brings!

Swimming Pool to Cement

One of our big projects this summer is to put in a backyard. Although we don't have a very big one...this is still a big job and we are learning lots along the way. Thanks to the knowledge and skills of my dad, we were able to extend our patio and pour some cement this past week. We've learned so much about how it all works and spent many hours digging, raking tons of rocks, screeding, and putting in the forms all to get ready for the cement. A few days prior to pouring we needed to water the ground to keep it moist. Well one day Stephen surprised me and got off work early. He decided to take me to lunch and a movie. As we were sitting in the middle of the movie, I realized I had forgotten to turn the water off in the backyard. We quickly rushed home afterwards and found a swimming pool had literally formed. We had about 4 inches of standing water. We couldn't believe our eyes and quickly tried to dig some ditches out each side to drain it. We had a good laugh and we're glad that we weren't pouring for a couple of days so it could dry out a little. I would have to admit I was really excited to finally get some cement in. (Ten years ago I think it was pretty weird to get excited over something like that. It's interesting how our priorities change) My Dad and Brother-in-Law Mike came down and helped us. It was a hot morning and we...well the guys worked really hard. We are continuing to water it and it's looking great...So long to our one time swimming pool and onto the next project of sprinklers! Here's a few pictures. Enjoy!

We're working quickly before the cement drys!

Here's Stephen getting the cement from the mixer!

YEA! We did it!

Dad's Car

After showing Stephen the changes I made on our blog and the last post, he wanted me to add a few pictures. We went up to my parents house the night before the 4th July so I wouldn't have to wake up any eariler than needed form my race. We ended up helping them get the old car ready for the race we washed it and polished it inside and out. Then my dad taught Stephen how to drive it. It's kind of tricky because it has a double clutch. (I figured I'd stay with my automatic car) But Stephen was up for an adventure. My dad shocked us all when he got the 1931 Model A car about 3 or 4 years ago. But he really enjoys taking his grandkids for rides in it around the neighborhood and hearing the sound of the old fashioned horn.

Here's Stephen in the driver's seat...watch out!

Happy 4th of July!

I just wanted to post a few pictures from our highlights from the holiday weekend. We were able to go up to my parents and celebrate with them. About 2 weeks ago I convinced my sister Camille to run a 5k with me. So we got up bright and early that morning to run the Kaysville 5k. It was so great! I'm so proud of her for doing it. It was her first one and she did awesome! I always enjoy running a good short 5k each summer. It gives me something to look forward to. However, I was pretty tired the rest of the day. I must be getting old. We did make it to the Kaysville parade where my dad drove his Model A car with the grand kids. (This is becoming a fun tradition each year) Stephen rode with them this year and helped hand out candy. They had a blast and it was great to watch for them. Then we did the usual 4th of July BBQ and homemade ice cream at my sister Melinda's house. The night wouldn't have been complete with out a fireworks show. At Melinda's house we not only saw one but 3 different shows from around the valley. The 4th of July is always fun...especially since 2 years ago that day was the first time Stephen met my family and he held my hand for the first time. It's kind-of our unofficial "anniversary"! What great memories!