Our fun 4th

Jamie and Kyle came for the extended 4th of July weekend. As always when they are here, we had so much fun. We made red, white and blue tye dye shirts and festive hair ties. We had a campfire, and roasted giant marshmallows. We hiked up the ridge-when it was really hot-and forgot all the water in the car! But my Sage made it pretty much the whole way up on her own (a hundred yards or so courtesy of Uncle Kyle). What an amazing kid! Marlee prefered the route up the hill on her daddy's shoulders. Great view from the top though.

There were some Pop-its and sparklers in addition to the spectacular fireworks over the river. We met up with the Barth family for the big show. We also checked out a really cool park just down the street that despite living here for over 7 years had no idea about. But best of all, before they left Monday afternoon, we got Kyle to help Heath hang all the window wells in the basement. So Great! Thanks Kyle, you saved me!!! Neighbor Ted was pretty instrumental in the process as well.

dirty job

Boy, there is a whole lot of dusty dirt at our new house. We bring mounds of it back to our old house after every visit. I have to scrub the ring of dirt out of the bathtub after every use. It is a full time job to keep up with the laundry!
Marlee, right before she slid down and got completely coated in dirt. She loves dirt!!!

making trails in the mounds of dirt.

The good news is that within that giant hole, much progress is being made. After the hole was dug, the footings were poured. Then came the walls. Plumbing went in, back filling the inside, putting down the vapor barrier, and the slab was poured on friday. The rock chucker and concrete pumper have been the most exciting pieces of equipment. The compactor, on the other hand, which is a tiny little thing, was heavily feared by the kids.

footings

walls
forms for walls set to go
Forman Hayden and his trusty sidekick, Emma. Hayden checks progress daily.

Since building things is what Heath does, he is pretty cool about each step, but for me its all new and exciting. I feel like a big dummy when i talk to the various subs, but luckily Heath has good friends that are patient and take good care of me. pumping the concrete into the forms

walls revealed

the Stone Slinger-even sounds cool!

choices, choices choices... yikes, I have only just started makeing choices, but there are so many things to think about. I hope I don't pick something aweful and ruin the whole place. faucets are on my mind right now. The plumber took me to the showroom and I got to look at all the possibilities. Marlee thought it was heaven with all the toilets!

I had never given any thought to the height of a toilet until recently. Hand washing is a whole new experience now that I have to check out every sink in town.

Heath hard at work

Marlee checking out exactly where stuff goes when you flush
Hayden is making sure everything is up to code
me and Heath getting the vapor barrier down before the slab is poured
a good fit!

Hayden's Baptism

Hayden got baptized on Saturday, June 5th. What a beautiful day it was! Grandma and Grandpa G were here for the occasion. Hayden was baptized by his dad, Grandma gave a great talk about baptism, and Mom cried. There were three other kids from our stake that got baptized, one other boy from our ward. Hayden was a bit relieved to have his friend there as he was feeling a little nervous. He knew he wanted to be baptised, but not sure about having someone dunk him under water.

Hayden is eight! How did that happen? He is becoming a very independant young man. Very energetic about life! I hope that he continues to work on making good choices and be an good example to his sisters who watch his every move. He takes such good care of them. I am very proud of him.

He chose to go to Granny's Buffet afterward to celebrate. He also played his final baseball game of the season and because he was feeling so great after baptism, he was able to turn a triple play all on his own. It was a very special day.