Lots Going On

Last week Jack had marching band camp. He thought he was going to play the euphonium for marching band but decided it was too heavy after one day of practice and switched to a mellophone. It is the equivalent of a French horn but for marching and it happens to be lighter than his trumpet. I caught one picture of them practicing since I was volunteering for a couple of days. I helped serve lunch, helped with uniform fitting and snack time. Once you get the hang of things it's fun to help out. The camp started at 9am and ended at 5pm each day. They have to learn the songs they're going to play and practice marching on the field. It's a lot of work and I'm excited to see Jack play this year! This band is about half the size of Skyview's band even though the school itself is bigger. Ever since covid, kids just don't want to get out and do extra curricular activities, but I guess it's slowly growing again.

All of the horns practicing together. Jack is the one right in the middle wearing a black baseball hat, just to the right of the girl who's wearing a white skirt and leading them.

Curtis and I started the process of taping and mudding the walls, getting ready for texture. Man, everything takes much longer than we thought! We are both sick of working on the house but we need to get the master bedroom and pantry finished, so we have to push ourselves and work when we can.

Taping the pantry.

Last Thursday I decided I needed to get the other kids out of the house while Jack was at marching camp. All they do when I'm gone is play video games or watch tv. Sometimes I really hate electronics but they do come in handy. I asked Garrett if there was anywhere he wanted to go, somewhere other than Walmart. 😆 Well, we had recently got him in touch with my friend's daughter, London, who lives in Pasco and they have been texting. She told him about a book and game store in Richland called Adventures Underground, so that's where we went. It was a fun store. The owner even had their dog come say hello to the girls, which Charlotte loved. Garrett also wanted to look at a videogame store that was nearby so we went there next. Since we were very close to where Curtis works and it was lunch time I contacted him to see about doing lunch together, so we did. We went up to look at the office first and then walked across the parking lot to eat at Burger King. 

Trying out Dad's chair in his office.

In the break/conference room.

It was fun to get together with Curtis for lunch since that doesn't happen very often. Charlotte was really wanting to go see the dogs and cats at the animal shelter. They have several shelters so we drove over to one of them that's in Kennewick. Most of the dogs would bark as you walk down the aisle to look at them but we did happen to see a batch of puppies. The males and females were separated. The cattery where you can go see the cats was much quieter, so we took more time looking at them. 

Looking at the puppies.

They're so cute. I almost wanted to take one home.

Charlotte obviously still really wants a dog. She was in tears that night because she wants one so bad. Honestly, I would rather get a dog than most other pets but I'm just not ready for a dog yet. We may end up getting one sooner or later but for now it's a no. She'll just have to settle for her stuffed animal dog, whom we found Sage sleeping on the next day.

The girls both got letters in the mail from their new teachers with their supply lists for school so we went over to Walmart on Friday to do some shopping. They are both excited to start school on the 30th. The girls bought a couple of things with their own money. One thing was a dry erase white board and the other was a clipboard. They like to pretend they are teachers or going to school themselves, but they also like to draw pictures on the board.

She's getting pretty good at drawing!

Friday night Garrett got together with London and a bunch of her friends to go bowling in Richland. We dropped him off at 8:30pm and waited for him to say he found his group. He was nervous and I knew he wanted one of us to go in with him but we made him do it by himself, but he did find his group. They had to wait an hour for some lanes to open up so they just hung out but they got to bowl two games and did cosmic bowling where the main lights are turned off and the glow lights on. I later got this picture sent to me from my friend Shannon of their group. He had a really good time and that got him in a good mood for the weekend.

Garrett's in the back far left. That smile just says it all.

On Saturday morning Jack was supposed to march in the fair parade with the band but they pulled the band out of the parade last minute because we woke up to very smoky air due to several wildfires burning north of us, one clear up in Canada. I was a little bummed that we wouldn't see him march but at the same time glad I could stay to help Curtis. While Curtis was working on more taping and mudding I had the boys help me clean out tools and garbage out of the master bedroom so we can getting ready for doing texture. We had to clean the garage out a bit first so that we could move tools in there. 

Jack wanted a picture with this tool.

Garrett got in on the action.

Taping and mudding in the master bedroom.

Because of the smoky air, we stayed inside for the next few days unless we needed to go somewhere. One good thing is that the temperatures outside cooled down. I was a little bummed though because on Friday I bought a used croquet set and was planning on playing it on Sunday but that will have to wait for cleaner air, maybe this weekend. Also, Jack heard there was a regional stake dance from a friend and made plans to go. After Garrett heard that Jack was going, he decided he wanted to go too and tried finding friends to go with. Unfortunately, the dance got canceled because of the smoky air. I think it was going to be an outdoor dance. I was just happy that both boys wanted to go. Hopefully they'll still want to when the next one comes around. 

Garrett was pumped on getting ready to take his driver's license test on Monday so he spend some time taking practice tests Sunday afternoon after church. I talked him into playing a game with the family after dinner and told him he could practice some more after we played our game. It took a little coaxing but he came and we ended up playing Ticket To Ride. Everyone had a good time! And during the game, Alice lost her 2nd tooth!

Finally remembered I could use my phone tripod to take a picture of all of us. This was after the game. Alice won with a lot of help from Jack.

Charlotte didn't want the Tooth Fairy to just leave the money under her pillow though. She wanted her to do a little treasure hunt, so she helped make up some clues and then set them out. Alice enjoyed that and was able to read the clues and find them on her own before Charlotte ever woke up the next morning. Charlotte was planning on helping her but she didn't need to.

That same morning (Monday) the Home Depot guy came out to remeasure for flooring. Garrett did some more practice tests while waiting but after the Home Depot guy left we went over to Premier Driving School so that Garrett could take his written test and hopefully the skills test. The sign said no appointment necessary. He needed an 80% to pass and on his first try he got a 75%. They let him take it one more time (I had to pay $30 per test) and unfortunately he got a 65% on the 2nd try. He said there were questions on there that he had never seen on the practice tests. He was very disheartened and I felt so bad for him. We both thought for sure that he would pass. You can only take the test two times a day. After that they want you to have time to study some more. He was so disappointed and sad that he didn't pass that he hasn't done any more studying this week. I don't really blame him though. It was a big burst to his happy bubble he had from a good weekend. He did say he still wants to do it, just not sure when. He was hoping to get it done before school starts but that's next week so it doesn't look like that will happen unless he does a lot of studying over the weekend.

On Monday afternoon, Charlotte had activity days where they did a fun art project and played some games. This art project was meant to be done in the spring but they weren't able to until now. She had a lot of fun.

The girls' bunkbed had broke a couple of weeks ago and I decided to try and find a stronger bed. After missing out on a couple of opportunities, I found one close to our home and picked it up Friday. Curtis helped me build the beds that night. The girls wanted both beds down which was fine because we didn't have pegs for stacking them and there's no railing for the top bunk. You can tell there used to be but they probably did what Curtis did with the boys' bunk bed and threw them away. Oh well, the girls are still happy with their beds. After a few days of having them their bedroom was still a mess and I decided I needed to help them get it cleaned up. I bought a new storage bin that would fit under Alice's new bed (because it's taller than Charlotte's) and put the dress up clothes in there. Now we could put other things in their colorful drawers. I still need to figure out where to put their books though. Right now they are in boxes under Alice's bed. The girls actually helped me with sorting through toys this time and were really good about giving and throwing things away.

Charlotte was spinning around during the picture and Alice covered her face with her squishmallow. They were both pretty happy about their new clean room.

One last highlight of the week is that yesterday Curtis had the priests activity at our house again for swimming and he finally got the light fixed on the pool. I can't believe how well lit it is for only one light bulb. Now we're more excited to have night swims!

Curtis and Charlotte were the only ones to stay in long enough to enjoy the lighted pool for a night swim.

Charlotte doing a hand stand.

Curtis also bought some waterproof duct tape to temporarily patch the side of the pool liner. You can see it above his hand in this picture. The black spot.

Well, that's it for now. I need to go eat some lunch and hit the road with Garrett to go to Nampa for another orthodontist appointment. We're making it a quick over night trip instead of the whole weekend because I need to get back here to help Curtis with the house. I'm just not looking forward to the drive with the truck since our van is still at the dealership because they're having a hard time figuring out what's wrong. That's another story for another post though.

Stillman's Family Visits!

Last weekend my brother's family finally got to come see our house and hang out with us for the weekend. They rolled in to town Friday around 4:45pm. The adults had plans to attend the 5:30 session at the temple so they had just enough time to change their clothes and we were off to the temple while the kids stayed at the house to play. Thankfully, it's only about a 14 minute drive. We got there in plenty of time. After the session we had to pick up some pizza and drop it off to the kids and then the adults went out to dinner after changing our clothes. We went to Bob's Burgers & Brew. It was a nice sit down restaurant but I can't believe we paid $19 for a burger meal. It was good but the prices of food these days is ridiculous!

The kids were swimming when we got back. We hung out for awhile and then had to figure out where everyone was sleeping. Michelle ended up using Garrett's bed while Stillman and Bridger slept on their inflatable queen size mattress down in the boy's room also. Nobody used Jack's bed because they were afraid Keaton would fall off the bed with no bed rail up there. Jayden and Alex used the couches upstairs. Garrett slept on the big couch downstairs while Jack slept on a cot in the family room along with Keaton on a twin size inflatable mattress.

Hanging out. Keaton made friends with Sage.

Cousins playing Minecraft.

Saturday morning we all slept in until around 9am or so and then Curtis and I got to work making a big breakfast of waffles, scrambled eggs, bacon and fruit. Curtis used the smoker to cook the bacon and it was delicious! After breakfast Stillman brought up the idea of going to play disc golf since he brought his set. Everyone except Garrett went to a park in Finley, which is next to Kennewick, to play disc golf. It was fun but it heated up quickly and with the size of our group we only did 5 holes.

Bridger was taking his turn while everyone else cheered him on.

This was at the 4th hole. The little kids were done playing after this one.

We were all so hot and tired by the time we left and knew that it was time to swim when we got back!

Our new basketball hoop for the pool came on Thursday, just in time to play it with the Nortons!

Charlotte used the inflatable hammock as a saddle for the dolphin.

Throw Throw Burrito Extreme version. Technically, the game wasn't meant for the pool. The cards that came with it were water resistant but not water proof but Jack really wanted to try playing it anyway. They only played one round. After that, the burritos just played in the pool with the kids.

Charlotte showing us her dives. 

She improved quite a bit just from earlier in the day.

After swimming, I found this group all having screen time, either on phones or on the tv (videogame). The world we live in now.

Later we ate banana splits/ice cream sundaes. Garrett had really wanted some earlier in the week but I made him wait until we could have them with the Nortons. It was a hit!

Stillman's family stayed with us for church the next day and even went to classes with us. After church they got some lunch and then packed up to head back home. It was a fun weekend and I'm so glad they were finally able to come. Even though our house wasn't finished, we made it work.

Boat Ride on the River

Last Wednesday evening the youth in our ward had a boating night where they met at the Columbia River here in Kennewick to have some fun in the water. Jack was all in for doing that stuff but Garrett did not want to get wet. Garrett went anyway and hung out with Curtis at the picnic area where he was tending the food. They called and asked us to bring Jack's sunglasses, some salt and pepper and bread. The girls and I drove over there and visited a little bit. We were about to leave but then the bishop asked if we wanted to go on a boat ride. The girls were excited to go and since we were going on the boat and not dressed for getting wet, Garrett decided to come with us also. I think he's glad he did.

Sitting in the back of the boat.

Feeling the water.

Sister Sheryl Walker was so nice to let the girls drive her boat.

It was so pretty and it brought back so many memories of being on Lake Cascade.

Later we went on another boat ride on a different boat.

We talked Curtis into riding with us this time.

And the girls sat in the front of the boat.

We didn't see Jack until the end of the night. He was having fun with the other youth.

I wasn't having a good day and just felt like I was moody all day. This is exactly what I needed to change my mood for the better. It felt so good just standing up in the boat and letting the wind whip past my face, just like I used to when I was younger. It was a blessing for me and a blessing for Garrett also. He enjoyed the boat rides and didn't have to worry about getting wet. Later he told me that maybe he would learn how to water ski if we got a boat.

I also later learned that Garrett's friend had decided to skip the activity that night because he too did not want to get wet. His mom said he thought he'd be the only one who didn't want to get wet. Maybe next year we'll keep these boys together if they don't want to get wet. 

This was our first time on the Columbia River and it was a great time! So glad the boys asked us to bring them some stuff.

Making Progress Again...Finally!

We had to get our van taken in to the dealership here in town to get it looked at and fixed, so we dropped that off Wednesday morning. Curtis's mission president had passed away and so that same Wednesday after work, he drove down to Nampa. Then the next morning, he and one of his old companions who lives in Boise drove down to Bountiful for the funeral, which happened at 11am. They stayed in Utah way later than they planned and so they got back to Idaho really late that night. Then Curtis worked in Meridian the next morning and after lunch time headed back home. He did not get much sleep but it was worth it to reconnect with old companions at the funeral. Now that we are done traveling for awhile, it is time to get serious about our house projects again. I think I needed that break because I really didn't want to do anything for awhile but now I'm ready to go! 

While he was gone, I wanted to surprise him by getting something done on the house. At first I thought I would just start painting walls upstairs around the front room and hallway. As I was wiping down the walls in the hallway to prepare, I was looking at the popcorn ceiling and knew it needed to come down before we could texture, paint and put lights back in. So I switched gears and decided that I could remove the popcorn ceiling on my own. I already had the experience of prepping a room with plastic and removing the ceiling. The only difference is now I would be doing all of it by myself. I got a little frustrated while hanging up the plastic because the tape would stick to it in the wrong places, etc. but I got it up and went to work. I did the hallway on Thursday and then Friday morning I finished off the small area in the new master bedroom that used to be part of the hallway. Wow, I got SO sweaty after wearing a Tyvex suit and mask to do the scraping. After cleaning up on Thursday, I got right in the pool and it felt so good! I'm so thankful we have our pool.

I just scraped to the end of the hallway. It was tempting to do more, but this was our priority right now. Eventually all of that popcorn ceiling will be gone.

Curtis was pretty pleased that I did all of that while he was gone. He and I were so tired that we just relaxed Friday night. Then Saturday he got busy with hanging sheet rock and he got me started on prepping the shower and tub for tile. We had to paint this stuff on called Redguard that helps seal cracks and keeps moisture off of the sheet rock. I did take a break in between painting the shower and the tub but I was so tired by the end of the day and so thankful that the next day was Sunday, the day of rest, because I really needed it! Charlotte was also sick with a fever and sore throat over the weekend so I stayed home from church with her and watched Bible cartoons on dvd. It was good because I was able to teach her about some things she didn't know before. Jack had started to get sick while we were in Nampa for Ellie's homecoming but thankfully he is feeling better again. I'm just hoping no one else gets sick! Charlotte felt good again by Monday.

As usual, it took a long time to prep. I covered the tub and shower base with heavy plastic first.

Curtis helped me do the seams and then I went to town on painting the rest.

First coat done and drying.

Sheet rock filled in the little nook by our master bedroom door in the hallway. We're going to put a shelf or something here. Not sure yet.

Curtis working in the pantry. He needed to reset that door frame and it took awhile to get it right. After that, he worked on the walls in there.

Fortunately I did not have to paint the entire wall around the tub since it won't get wet up high. We're taking the tile up to the bottom of the window. Again, first coat done and drying.

Monday morning, Curtis was off to work and I painted another coating on both the shower and the tub.  The kids really wanted to go to the store to look at some stuff and so we did. When Curtis got home and we ate our dinner, it was time to work, him on sheet rock again and me on painting the third coat. After I finished painting, I helped Curtis. The sheet rocking was taking so long that we stayed up until midnight so that we could be done with it and move on.  We were exhausted but both of us had to shower before bed because we were covered in dust and itching from insulation. But we got it done!!

Lines in the ceiling from where the walls used to be for the hallway and closet. There was a board still attached and hanging down that we needed to remove.

Look at all of the patch work.

I bought a couple of Pokémon shirts for Charlotte while at the store, so she posed with her toy Pikachu with one of her new shirts on.

The next morning I took pictures of the finished sheet rocking. So glad that's done and we can move on!

Looking into the pantry.

The back of the pantry.

Looking out from the pantry to the kitchen.

The new closet.

The master bedroom.

The new master bathroom. Toilet will be on the left. Vanity with two sinks will be on the right.

Master shower and soaker tub. 

Tuesday morning I finished off the Redguard painting in the shower. Then I had the boys help clean up our construction mess a bit. They took garbage out to the truck and we moved some tools and things to the garage. After dinner, our next project was taking out part of the wall in the kitchen. We wanted to open it up and that had to be done before the flooring guys can come.

Covering what we could with old sheets, preparing for lots of dust.

The before shot.

Demo is so fun!

The electrical was "fun". Unfortunately, four of the six wires were pulling from a different direction than we hoped and will not reach the new outlet boxes. We're going to have to put in a junction box. It was too late to get one at the store so we'll have to finish that tonight since Wednesday was mutual day.

What it looked like at the end of Tuesday night. No kitchen lights for a couple of days.

This was taken this morning to get a shot from the other direction with more light.

We again stayed up until past midnight to work on this project. Tuesday morning I had to wake up early to get boys to the dentist but thankfully I was able to sleep in on Wednesday. My body does not like me staying up that late, especially two nights in a row. We felt pressed for time again because Stillman's family are coming to hang out this weekend. We want to get as much done before then as we could because we won't be working on it this while they're here. Next week it's taping and texture!