new pets

For several months, Audrey had been asking to get a bird. She really wanted a parakeet like her babysitter, Alley. At one point I said we can't get another pet until our dog, Swicey, dies. We can't afford another pet, in time or money. Then Audrey asked if we could sell her. I had to do all I could to hide my excitement, since I was getting pretty tired of all the dog care. The kids had pretty much lost interest in our dog (except Maddi who hurt her as much as she loved her). I carried the burden and I don't like dogs! We spent a while letting Kimee think about it, and when everyone agreed, we moved forward.

We put an ad on KSL and waited. I didn't want to give her away, since we paid and invested so much in her. We got a few calls here and there. Finally, we got the right call. It was a perfect fit for both of us. I got a little sad for the kids the day we gave her away, but boy was I ever so relieved when she was gone. Wow! So much more free time.

That weekend I started looking for birds on KSL. I saw one ad that looked perfect for us, 3 parakeets partially trained, that came with the cage and food, etc. But it was really a long drive, so I kept looking for something different, without much luck.

In a separate story, we had been thinking about getting a matching dresser for our bedroom set. Ever since we moved, we new this dresser would fit perfectly in our bedroom, but we just didn't want to spend the money on it when we had so many other things to pay for. Every now and then, I would check on the internet to see if that particular dresser was on sale. I thought it would be nice to get for our anniversary, but when I went online to check, it was gone! It had been discontinued. I searched the web and found it only in Texas. I called the Orem RC Willey, and they said there were only 2 stores that had their display model left. One was in Syracuse, a few blocks from where the birds that I wanted were. I called up there and talked the manager into letting me buy the dresser without the bed. We got a babysitter, and Dave and I took a drive up to the original RC Willey store, and picked up our birds. It was perfect!

The girls LOVE their birds. Rio is blue and is Audrey's. Kimee's is the yellow "Tweety Bird." And Maddi's is green named Ivy, but we call him the wild bird. He wasn't trained and his wings weren't clipped, so he would fly all over. We don't get him out much- and only Dad handles him.

They really like to hold their birds while they are watching movies.

We also have a 10 gallon aquarium. Skyler set it up for us in January. We have 11 fish- 3 each of 3 different types of tetras, neon, black skirt, and an orange type. Then we have 2 tiny algae eaters. It has been lots of fun for all of us.

Home Improvements

We did a few more home improvements over the summer, mostly to get the house to cool down a little this summer.

Windows
The first hot day we had in March took us by surprise. The upstairs, especially the master bedroom that faces west, was ROASTING! It started to sink in that we might have to replace the windows, at least the west facing ones, sooner rather than later. This started the quest. We got a bunch of bids and did lots of figuring before we figured out what to do. Because of the discounts we could get, we ended up doing most of the upstairs windows and a couple downstairs.

BEFORE:

DURING:
When the installers were putting in the windows, they said the trim was so bad, it would need to be removed if we wanted to get a good install/seal on the windows. It was a little anti climactic to come home to see "new" windows, and all the trim was pulled down. It looked pretty bad for a few weeks until my brother could come down to put it back up.

AFTER:
Once the trim was back up, it looked much better. I had the privilege of picking out the trim at Home Depot and painting it. I was impressed how well it matches the old stuff.

Sliding Door
The biggest and most urgent window that needed to be replaced was the one in the master bedroom. Well, if we intended on adding on a deck, then it would be waste to put in a window. We should just put in the sliding door and save that step later. So we did. My brother, Dave, cut out the wall to make it big enough for the new door, and my Dad put in new electrical to go around the door and for lights and an outlet outside. (Now we just can't wait to get the deck in- hopefully next summer.)

It was really weird to come home and see a big hole in the side of your house. Especially from the inside!

 My dad pulling the wiring through.

Dave covered it with plywood until the day the window guys would come.

Attic Fan
We wanted to put in an attic fan to help cool off the house some more. This turned out to be more of an adventure than expected. Dave's helper, Steve, tripped on a wire in the attic and he fell and landed on the drywall in the ceiling. Apparently, it wasn't screwed down where it should have been, so a huge chunk fell down, including all the insulation. Once I knew Steve was ok, I couldn't stop laughing. Seriously, how many people have had this happen to them?

Dave had it fixed up in no time. Now, just need to get the mudder/ drywaller to come patch it up.

Shower Floor
One of the surprises when we first moved in was that the shower floor in the master bathroom was completely soggy. In other words, you could step on it hours or days after showering and water would squeeze out. We did a temporary fix of caulking it, but that only lasted a couple months and then we were back to oozing. So, we finally ripped out the bottom of the shower floor and had my brother put in tile. Eventually, we will have to redo the whole shower, but this should work for now.

Wood Pile
We have had a lot of wood piled up on the driveway and behind the shed. Dave has been wanting to tackle this for a while. He was finally able to get a friend from work to come over with his wood splitter machine. WOW! Did they get a lot done FAST! I guess having breakfast burritos and Daylight donuts helps. Audrey was my pal that morning to go get one of her FAVORITE treats.

Dave and I worked hard stacking all the pieces up and getting the driveway spotless. It was so nice to have it done.

One more thing- this is the tree that shades our patio. So beautiful when it's in bloom- and the hummingbirds love it!

It's time...

I can't believe I haven't updated my blog since July. Shame on me. I guess the updating I did in June was so massive (I think it was Thanksgiving up through Lagoon), that I took a break for a while. Well then August hits and life becomes a big blur.
I am having so much fun looking through all of the pictures, thinking of all the stories, and hoping that I will be able to get a bunch of posts done before I go back to school on Tuesday. Thank goodness for Fall Break :)
So here goes...

Lagoon

We had a great time at Lagoon this year. We went June 9. It was a pretty cool day, which was nice. But boy, was it windy at the top of the ferris wheel!
We always start at the carousel. This year Kimee and Audrey both took turns going with dad on the old rickety white roller coaster, while the rest of us rode the carousel. It worked out great. Pretty soon Maddi will be tall enough. We went on lots and lots of rides, these are just a few.

Maddi was my buddy most of the time. Luckily, she is tall enough to go on most of the family rides.

For the most part, we skipped the kiddy rides (YEAH!). We did get a few in that had short lines while dad was going on a bigger ride with one of the girls.

After lunch, we were right by Rattlesnake Rapids. We convinced Maddi to go with us, but Kimee refused to get wet. So we left her to take a picture of us. Miraculously, a couple from our ward just happened to be there and they waited right next to her. Their kids were in line a little behind us.

 We all got pretty wet.

Going on the Bat, after a LONG wait in line.

I should've taken a picture at one of our favorites, Bamboora. Its a roller coaster that the whole family can ride on. We had a great day and were all exhausted by the end.