Track is back!!!

Will's track season has begun and we are looooooooving it.  I have taken the kids to practice and Will is pumped to set some new personal records.  He has such a natural talent for it and it is so fun to watch him!  Nothing is better than cheering for your kid.

The Tulip Festival

I kept Annie home from school, and the girl's and I met Cami and Alex for an adventure. It started out at the Thanksgiving Point Tulip Festival. It was so beautiful! Beautiful day, beautiful flowers, beautiful company. Did you know that at its peak, one tulip cost more than two TONS of butter?

We finished off our day with a leisurely trip to IKEA where I spent my wod. $400 later we were on our way home!

Annie: An American Girl

Once upon a time there was a girl named Annie. She loves pickles and loves to play. And she loves to jump on the tramp and she loves to play with her sister.

Week 33

Dallas is working on finish work on the 9th house these days. Ninth!!!! We are almost there, just one more to go. He and Jeremiah can bust out all the finish in under one week now. Pretty impressive!

I ended up on a project all on my own this week: dry stack brick veneer at Dexter's house. It is looking great!

Don't let this smile fool you. I have been negative this week and it was a good thing I was alone. I just feel DONE. Done with working every. single. Saturday. Done with babysitters. Done with eating out. Done with my messy house. Done with the total exhaustion. DONE! It feels so close but so far away. We were given a possible completion date of May 30tj. While I think it is ambitious, we are going to push through this next month and hope we can hit it!

I am not doing a very good job keeping my eye on my two year old.

Case and point.

She ate a rubber stamp today.

Week 32

We made all this rock go from this....

To this!

In only 3 days! Say whaaaaat?! We are really rocking it these days. (See what I did there?) 

Our crew was awesome and were there late into the night to put the final pieces in. Now we grout!

Week 31

Isn't it gorgeous?! It was worth the wait to have it come together on the outside like we hoped. 

On the inside- primed!

Dallas and I put in every extra hour we could this past week to get it ready for primer. We are feeling a bit burnt out after  60+ hours there over the past week. We need an entire day just to sleeeeeeep...

Week 30

When we tell people we anticipate moving into our house at the end of June, they usually react with "That's so soon!" Or another favorite, "You're so close!" There is some truth in this. We have been working for a long time and have come a long way, BUT we still have a long way to go. 

It's like telling a pregnant woman that is 30 weeks that her baby will be here so soon! Get pregnant and experience those final 10 weeks AND THEN let me know what you think. ;)

The name of the game lately: Paint prep. Caulking and sparkling and sanding and cleaning for days and days and days. Neither Dallas or I are on the paint prep crew and we are thankful. It is a task that is taking so long and can lead to hilarious photos like this:

This is the Jensen's house, but I laughed out loud when I saw it! Holy moly!

Our house was hit hard with shelving and trim with the goal of being primed next week! Always exciting. Dallas has been putting in lots of extra hours and staying late each night to work on it and it looks so good! He can do anything!

We are starting on landscaping, and Rock will be delivered to all the houses next week!

They EARNED it!

The past six months has been a wild ride for all of us.  While Dallas and I are at the houses hammering away, our kids are being shuffled to and from babysitters and cared for what seems like everyone except for us.  They have adjusted well (especially the big kids), and Dallas and I wanted to reward them for being so patient and flexible with us during this time period.  We gave them the option to choose a trampoline for our new yard, or Lagoon season passes.  We also told them that if they chose Lagoon they would have to work a bit for it- earning $50 each and memorizing all 13 Articles of Faith.

It was not easy and was not grumble free.  We focused our scripture study as a family to studying and memorizing each of the Articles of Faith, and This past Tuesday both Will and Annie finally passed of the 13th and final Article of Faith!  The kids made and sold cookies around the neighborhood, did countless extra jobs around the house, babysat, and pooper-scooped the neighbor's lawns so they could earn their money.  Will even said the other day, "Mom, I'm not going to buy any books at the book fair this time because I want to save my money for Lagoon."  Delayed gratification!  They are getting it!  We were so proud of them and all of their hard work.

Saturday Seth came and worked all day at the houses with Dallas and I took the day off from construction and got to hang out with my kids on Paige's 2nd birthday at Lagoon!  Jenn, Brad, and their kids were all there, too.  We had a blast together and are looking forward to a summer filled with lots of rides and lots of fun!

Easter

Have you ever noticed how Easter is one of the most beautiful days of the year?  The sun brings light hearts and happy faces.  I think it's God's way of reminding us each year that His Son does the same thing; Jesus Christ makes hearts lighter and brings true happiness to each and every one of us.  At our house, we feel that way because of Him!  Happy Easter!

Paigey Turns 2!

We have a two-year-old in the house!  I can hardly believe my baby is so big already.  Paige's curls match her personality, wild and fun.  Paige is my busiest baby and will hardly sit still through anything- especially church, scripture study, family home evening, or prayer!  She runs around leaving trails of blocks and stuffed animals in her wake. 

Paige has many favorites:  Outside, popcorn, pets, friends, her beanie boos "Tabitha" and "Magic", her best buddy Rune Carter, Grandma's, suckers, peaches, cucumbers and ranch, singing and back tickles.

For her birthday Paige chose a rainbow cake instead of a pink cake, and we gave her a balance bike so she can start riding bikes with the big kids.

Happy Birthday, Paigey!

April Fool's!

I laughed out loud when I pulled up to my house and saw this:

I wonder who the culprits are???

Hello, Spring. I think I'm in love.