Basement Fun

Well, here is the latest.  A broken sprinkler pipe was the culprit, and a crack in the foundation expedited the flooding.  The drywall was mushy and moldy and is coming out.  It smells lovely, as you can imagine!

Flooded Fun

Mine and Ryan's idea of a ROMANTIC weekend is a little remodeling project---OK, well maybe it is MY idea of fun!  Well, we woke up yesterday morning fresh and ready to tackle our tiling project in the front entryway..........but our house has a mind of its own.  It talks to us in fact.  We get an idea of what we want to work on, and then it tells us what we HAVE to work on.  This has been happening to us since we moved in.  Today, it was the basement.  

WATER.......we love it, we need it, but not in the basement!  Water came down through our wall and out about 8 feet into the nice smelly carpet.  Brought back all of its past smells from septic back-ups, dogs that live here, etc.  I forgot to take pictures until we had already moved all of the furniture up and out into the garage.  Here is the beginning of the carpet removal.  It isn't that we haven't wanted to pull this carpet up, WE HAVE, and there is nothing like compulsory remodeling to get the job done fast!

You can see that nice water coming in to the left of the picture.

This picture doesn't do justice to real life, but that sparkle around my foot is splashing up water.  And to our great surprise----1968 original stick down linoleum squares under the carpet!  It actually made the clean up pretty nice!

Good bye TEAL carpet.  We loved you and are so glad to see you gone.  But we had no idea it would be this soon!

The grossest part of this picture is that there was so much STUFF in the air from tearing up the carpet and pad that the flash reflected the particulates in the air.  Lovely......

Well, I would like to say that we can now just lay beautiful new carpet tomorrow, BUT  no such luck.  The wall has a lot of mold in it.  It looks like the dry wall is coming down, the shelving is coming down, and new walls going up.  This is always how our home remodel projects go.  We never get to learn just ONE new skill.  One project always leads to FIVE or SIX more.  The fun of the journey.  We'll post more progress soon!  I guess we won't be tiling the entryway anytime soon  :  )

Bringing in the Harvest!

Kittens are everywhere at Grandma's house, and the corn was ready to harvest!

We went to Grandma's house to put up some corn.  There is something very fulfilling in harvesting, canning, jam making, and storing food.  It is sort of a peaceful glad feeling that I have done my part to store food for my family for the winter.  Obviously, we have grocery stores now........but made at home is always better and more fulfilling.  

In the past few days, I did corn with my mother-in-law, and apricots today by myself.  More apricots tomorrow.  My mom always  made apricot jam while I was growing up, so there is something reminiscent about the smell and taste for me.  I love it!

Who would have known that a raw cob of corn is the best baby teether?  Cool, kind of rubbery, a little juicy, and cold.

280 ears of corn, husked, boiled, cut off the cob, bagged, and frozen!!!!

I was able to get some apricots from a friend.  Nathan and I picked two crates full.  Today was the beginning of drying them, making fruit leather, freezer jam, and prepping for tomorrow.  Tomorrow I will can jam.  It is 102 degrees outside in the shade.  Great day for heating up the kitchen!

I am not a very clean canner, so my kitchen is still a little sticky with jam, and the sink is full of jam dishes!  Time to clean up........

We love you Grandma and Grandpa!

Had to post some proof that Ryan does get into a swim suit once in awhile!  His nice tan is evidence that he doesn't get to the pool a lot!

Our last swimming day with Grandma and Grandpa!

Well, my parents are off.................to St. George.  We will really miss them.  We have always had them around--for all birthday parties, for all piano recitals, for all primary programs, for soccer games, baseball games, an afternoon visit, or even to see a newly cleaned bedroom!  Life won't be the same without them living so near.  We will miss them!  I can't even go into how much we will miss them................

Our Little Girl is Two!

OUR LITTLE GIRL IS TWO!

It doesn't seem possible that she is two already, but she is.  She is talking so much now, 100% potty trained, loves to be a little mommy, and can hold her own with her brothers.

We love this little girl!

Summer Camping

There is something to say for summer, and not enough time for blogging.  Not enough time for TV, and hardly enough time for cell phones!  I love it.

We have had a WILD two weeks of comings and goings.  But I need to stop in and tell about our camping trip to Camp Zarahemla.  We loved it!  I had never gone camping there, but it was a blast.  It was our last hurrah with Grandma and Grandpa before they move to Utah this week.  We spent 3 nights and 4 days camping.  Some of you might not think that sleeping in a cabin could qualify as camping, but I do.  It only had beds in it, and no running water.  We still did all of our cooking over the fire, a little dutch oven action, s'mores, lots of dirt, canoeing, and outhouses. 

Camp Zarahemla is a campground owned by our church.  It is on Clear Lake, 30 miles or so from Naches.  They hold youth camps there, and also families can camp there, tents or cabins.  It was so great and affordable.  We brought all of our bikes, they have canoes to use, and lots of squirrel entertainment!  My boys could ride bikes, chase squirrels, canoe, and play in the dirt all day every day without getting bored.  And NO cell phone service up there, no TV, no laptop, a much needed break from the fast-paced life that we get swallowed up in.

Here is "Clear Lake"--clear because it is very cold! .......but very beautiful!

Ryan and Mark are trying to catch some fish.

We stayed in that little A frame on the left.  We loved it, and only $35 a night with beds for 8!

The memories came flooding back for me.  My dad cooked up a campfire breakfast of hashbrowns, scrambled eggs, and bacon for breakfast.  It has been MANY years since I have been camping with a good old campfire breakfast.

Canoes, life jackets, and oars provided for hours of fun.

Eliza is really going to miss Grandma.  The were buddies the whole time.

Miriam was so good.  I think she is a nature and fresh air lover.

I don't know where they hire their squirrels, chipmunks, and other related mammals.  But they were a highlight.  Hours of chasing them yielding swords, and even more hours of sitting in our camp chairs as still as we could be, watching them eat all of our food droppings under the picnic table.  The boys thought it was better than the Discovery Channel, up close and personal.

Grandma and Grandpa with the crew.

I can't believe they are moving.  Our life is about to change drastically.

And a final note........I love summer.  I love having my kids around.  I don't want it to end (even though by September I will be ready to jump into a schedule again).  We loved camping.  Take the risk and go.  It may seem like a lot of work, but it is worth it!