The basement

I figured it was time to write again in the blog. We are getting our basement finished and I must say it is quite the process. We hired out, because basically, we wanted it done and Robert nor I have any skills in that department. It is also nice to give people a job during this hard economic time. They framed it when we were out of town at the Grand-daughter's weekend. That was the beginning (after Robert and some boys in the ward moved all the stuff out of the basement to the garage). In no particular order, we've had the electricians, plumbers, sheet rockers, finishing carpenter, painters, the carpet layers are coming to measure some time soon, and I am sure I have missed some people, specifically the framers and our contractor who has been in and out frequently. Needless to say, I stopped breast-feeding Evan about two weeks ago to make things more comfortable for all those involved. It looks really good down there but I am getting anxious for it to be finished. It was also fun to hide Easter eggs and baskets downstairs because it was raining pretty hard at the time we were supposed to hide them outside.

On another note, Robert is still working at ES Squared as an engineer, but sadly, some of his friends over there were laid off this week. Good Luck to all of them that need to find new jobs. They are in our thought and prayers. Life is Good!

The wind storms in Idaho Falls are something else....

I wish I would have gotten a picture, but I didn't want to lose sight of this strange but hilarious object floating in the sky. Yes, it was our light weight playhut school house that got caught up in a sudden wind storm. We decided it was not too windy outside, matter of fact not too much wind at all for Idaho Falls, and the kids were tired of playing with their three toys that were out due to the renovation of the basement. So, we let them take their little (about 3 feet by 3 feet by 3 feet tall) light-weighted material playhouse outside.

They were mostly done playing with it except for my two year old, Hyrum. He was inside it. I was hulling strawberries at the sink when I heard Hyrum scream and then I heard the wind. I dropped the strawberries in the sink and quickly ran to the back door just in time to see the hut (it is like a tent without a bottom) fly over the top of our house (thankfully the little kids umbrella was a bit heavier). I ran through the house to the front door to see the hut already across the street, still in the air, with some very curious on lookers. The hut then flew over another house, above the wires, mind you, and across another street. I had no shoes on and I was trying to chase it down. There was really nothing I could do but wait for it to land. It landed in the middle of the street and almost got run over a couple times. It was pretty far away and I didn't know what to do. Finally, someone else in a car that had seen the whole thing went to go get it for us. What's a girl to do? I am thankful for the kind stranger who saw the plight of a helpless mom and rescued our little playhut.

Pictures I Promised

Here are some pictures from the weekend we spent at Nana and Papa's house. This first one is of Hannah dressing up. I love to see her cute smile.





The picture to the right is of Aunt Andrea and the nieces in their new hats. (Jaycen, Molli, and Hannah)



This picture was taken at Temple Square on Saturday......









...And this picture was taken the next day in Nana's backyard.

Grand-daughters Weekend

This past weekend was a whirlwind of events and it's good to be back home. My mom wanted all of her grand daughters to come to Salt Lake for the weekend and I think it worked out well. My niece Jaycen came in from California and my niece Miriah couldn't make it from Texas, we missed her. I came down from Idaho and dropped my two boys off in Hyde Park to spend the long weekend with Grandma and Grandpa Esplin. Robert stayed in Idaho Falls to work and "supervise" the work on our basement.

We stayed one night at a Marriott in downtown Salt Lake and the kids were so amazed at the "fanciness" of the hotel. I even got a hotel room all to myself, and my baby Evan, while the girls shared Nana's room. We went swimming, went out to dinner, relaxed, took the Trax to the Joseph Smith Memorial building, and walked on Temple Square. It was a georgeous day and I am glad my sister Andrea was there to help with the day, the who weekend actually.

On Sunday I played my violin with my mom at the piano in her ward. On Monday is when we decided to head back home and there was at least six inches of new fallen snow on the driveway that we had to get around before heading back. I will post some pictures of the weekend later.

Our basement is looking great and I am excited that it is getting finished.