Babysitting that night for the McKinlays...
2 years ago
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Rewind: Valentine's Day 2009
Our very first Valentine's Day, back in 2009, when we were dating:
Babysitting that night for the McKinlays...
Babysitting that night for the McKinlays...
CTR 4 Stories
Matt and I weren't sure what to expect with four-year olds in primary. However, we have quite enjoyed ourselves...
- The first week we are teaching, I am trying to get started on our lesson and I was not prepared for how easily the kids get side-tracked. I am used to 10-year olds, and 4-year olds are very different. One of the kids stood up and said, "I have pockets!" Then all the other kids had to look for their pockets, show us their pockets, and discuss pockets at great length for at least five minutes.
- We have been talking a lot about choosing the right. One of our cute boys is always telling us the elaborate ways that his brothers beat him up at home, and how that is not choosing the right.
- "Have you seen 'Frozen'?" "Have you seen 'Frozen'?" "Have you seen 'Frozen'?" Ask that question fifty more times, and you will feel the same way as we do after six weeks.
- The kids have all learned Matt's name. They love Matt. They have no idea what my name is. I tried to help them remember my name by telling them it's like the word 'story'. So the next week, Matt asks the kids my name, and one of the boys says, "Well, it's not story...."
- Matt and I give the kids treats for being good. Like being able to sit in their chair for five minutes, and walking to the bathroom, and actually going to the bathroom while we're in the bathroom, and being quiet during sharing/singing time. During singing time, one of our little boys walks over to me and says, "I have been singing for three songs! Do I get a treat now?" He is also the same child who will start crying if he wants to participate and doesn't get picked. Actually, we have a couple who do that.
- The bathroom. We have to use the bathroom at a different time than the other classes because our group is a little crazy. The first week, the boys and girls were going in the stall, locking the door, then crawling under the bathroom stall doors to get out, leaving all the stalls locked. Not to mention that they never actually went to the bathroom.
- One week, we were learning about God's plan and the war in Heaven. I had some little printed pictures of people and Jesus and Heavenly Father and one of Lucifer. I was telling the kids that we chose to follow Jesus and not Lucifer. I pointed to the picture of Lucifer and asked, "Who is this guy?" "JUICIFER!"
- We have to play "Follow the Leader" when we walk to the bathroom. Matt is always the leader. He will walk down the hall with his arms folded, and the kids have to also fold their arms. But to keep them interested in our game, Matt has to move his arms around and the kids have to watch to see what he's going to do so they can do it too. We look like the biggest idiots walking down the hall sticking our arms out to the side, then folding them, then sticking them out the other way...
House Updates... Long Overdue
These pictures have been long overdue. We have hit a slow time in building because there is really nothing left for us to do but electrical, and since we are doing it ourselves, we need a lot of help and it has been hard and slow. However, this week we finally were able to get started! Yay! (And I apologize in advance for all the pictures... they may look like they are all the same, but they are really different. I also apologize that all the pictures were taken in the dark. I haven't been to the house in the daytime very often lately, and when I'm there while it's light, we are working and I am usually too tired to take any pictures.)
Master bathroom
Lights in the master bedroom. There will be a fan in the middle. I talked Matt into wiring a light switch next to our bed so we don't have to fight at night about who has to get out of bed and turn off the light. Yay!
Lights down the hall
Second bathroom
Lights in the vaulted ceiling in the living/dining room. There will be a fan in here too.
A couple weekends ago, Matt and I framed the basement! All the lumber had already been delivered and payed for, so we decided to just frame it. We will also insulate and run basic electrical so when we finish the basement it won't be super hard.
This is the view from the landing into the east half of the great room
All the HVAC is done and passed inspection! This vent runs down the great room.
The west part of the great room
The furnace. Water heater will go in here too.
Storage room! I love how much space there is in here, and can't wait for Matt to build shelves for me to use for all our stuff! The organization possibilities leave me breathless. We are planning to sheet rock this room.
South bedroom- this is directly below the master bedroom. It has a huge closet. Definitely the best closet of all the bedrooms (besides the master of course)
Bathroom for the two bedrooms. There is a linen closet in the bathroom. Matt is pretty mad about how the heat was run right through this room. Another thing to do different next time... check the Manual J before you frame!
North bedroom. Most of the window is above ground, so this will be nice and sunny!
Under the stair storage and view of HVAC
Matt and I are very secure now with this fantastic deadbolt in our door to the garage...
Ok, so if someone wanted to get it, they could just go through the wall. I guess the deadbolt is not quite so secure right now... The sheet rock is supposed to go up on this wall soon so we don't have to worry about wire getting stolen out of the house.
Lights in the kitchen. We are going to put in a few more lights over the bar and are considering under-cabinet lighting (as a suggestion from our great, but light-crazy, electrician friend... we'll see). There will be a light over the window too.
This week Matt has finished putting up the frames for all the cans and has started running wire for the lights and outlets. Hopefully by Friday we can have most of the wires run for the lights, and most of the wires run for outlets, so next week we can pull everything into the box! After rough electrical, we will have our four-way inspection (actually more of a two-way inspection since the inspector already passed the framing and HVAC, so we just need the plumbing and electrical looked at). Then we can call the sheet rock guys and the insulation guys and start doing finish work! We have hit a snag, but once we finish rough electrical, things will start moving again! I'm excited that it's already halfway through February but way nervous too that we won't be done by summer!
Master bathroom
Lights in the master bedroom. There will be a fan in the middle. I talked Matt into wiring a light switch next to our bed so we don't have to fight at night about who has to get out of bed and turn off the light. Yay!
Lights down the hall
Second bathroom
Lights in the vaulted ceiling in the living/dining room. There will be a fan in here too.
A couple weekends ago, Matt and I framed the basement! All the lumber had already been delivered and payed for, so we decided to just frame it. We will also insulate and run basic electrical so when we finish the basement it won't be super hard.
This is the view from the landing into the east half of the great room
All the HVAC is done and passed inspection! This vent runs down the great room.
The west part of the great room
The furnace. Water heater will go in here too.
Storage room! I love how much space there is in here, and can't wait for Matt to build shelves for me to use for all our stuff! The organization possibilities leave me breathless. We are planning to sheet rock this room.
South bedroom- this is directly below the master bedroom. It has a huge closet. Definitely the best closet of all the bedrooms (besides the master of course)
Bathroom for the two bedrooms. There is a linen closet in the bathroom. Matt is pretty mad about how the heat was run right through this room. Another thing to do different next time... check the Manual J before you frame!
North bedroom. Most of the window is above ground, so this will be nice and sunny!
Under the stair storage and view of HVAC
Matt and I are very secure now with this fantastic deadbolt in our door to the garage...
Ok, so if someone wanted to get it, they could just go through the wall. I guess the deadbolt is not quite so secure right now... The sheet rock is supposed to go up on this wall soon so we don't have to worry about wire getting stolen out of the house.
Lights in the kitchen. We are going to put in a few more lights over the bar and are considering under-cabinet lighting (as a suggestion from our great, but light-crazy, electrician friend... we'll see). There will be a light over the window too.
This week Matt has finished putting up the frames for all the cans and has started running wire for the lights and outlets. Hopefully by Friday we can have most of the wires run for the lights, and most of the wires run for outlets, so next week we can pull everything into the box! After rough electrical, we will have our four-way inspection (actually more of a two-way inspection since the inspector already passed the framing and HVAC, so we just need the plumbing and electrical looked at). Then we can call the sheet rock guys and the insulation guys and start doing finish work! We have hit a snag, but once we finish rough electrical, things will start moving again! I'm excited that it's already halfway through February but way nervous too that we won't be done by summer!
Life
Since Christmas break, I feel like our lives have totally exploded into chaos. The first week in January I started my Reading Endorsement classes. They are every Wednesday night from 4:30-9:00 in Hyrum, and go every week from January 2014 through June 2015 (except this summer). I am still teaching pre-teaching math every morning from 8:00-8:30 and coach jump rope club after school Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, until 5:00. I was put as head of a new committee at school and we have had several meetings this month, not to mention the other committee that is starting to have meetings. I have also had A LOT of meetings about one of my students. I also just got a level 2 student from Utah State and will be getting a level 3 student from Utah State in my classroom. Oh and don't forget that I still work all day.
And that is just my schedule. Matt is working like crazy, and when he doesn't have work with Todd, he is working on our house. Every night after both our jobs are over, we go over to the house and work as long as we can. Sometimes we work until we run out of materials, sometimes we work until we have no body heat left, and sometimes we work until we can't stand any longer. Needless to say, everything else in our lives has pretty much gone to waste...
This is our "junk drawer". Everyone has one. Yes, you do. Ours is a table. All the books I'm reading, projects I'm in the middle of, cereal Matt can't put away, house plans, invoices, drinks, etc., etc., etc. I'm sure Randy's head will explode one of these days having such a mess in his house, being the neat freak that he is, but he has been more patient than I can imagine. Sometimes even Harrison wants to clean up after us. I look forward to having a lot of places to put all this stuff when the house is finished!
Again, another one of the things that we don't really have space for. The drinks have a nice little home on the floor next to the garbage can.
Matt and I recently were called to teach the CTR 4 class in primary at church. We have had many adventures in just the first six weeks of this calling, and Sunday has really become an interesting day for us. I will have to blog about some of our funnier moments later. But the picture below is our church bag. We have all the important stuff: the manual, iPad with music and other stuff we need on it, whatever materials we need for our lesson, and of course, Matt's treats that he so willingly shares with the kids in our class. We started with the giant bag of Skittles, but Matt had to have some variety so he bought the gummy worms/gummy bears to have too. We had to designate these treats as "Sunday Treats" so that Matt wouldn't eat them all during the week. I love being around such a grown up all the time.
Speaking of grown ups, apparently Matt gets thirsty while he is IN THE SHOWER. I have never been so thirsty while in the shower that I couldn't wait until I got out to get a drink.
I hope you enjoyed the little snapshots into our lives. We are so crazy right now, and I am so happy we are building a house and so happy Randy and Jenny are letting us live with them, but I really am excited for things to calm down.
And that is just my schedule. Matt is working like crazy, and when he doesn't have work with Todd, he is working on our house. Every night after both our jobs are over, we go over to the house and work as long as we can. Sometimes we work until we run out of materials, sometimes we work until we have no body heat left, and sometimes we work until we can't stand any longer. Needless to say, everything else in our lives has pretty much gone to waste...
This is our "junk drawer". Everyone has one. Yes, you do. Ours is a table. All the books I'm reading, projects I'm in the middle of, cereal Matt can't put away, house plans, invoices, drinks, etc., etc., etc. I'm sure Randy's head will explode one of these days having such a mess in his house, being the neat freak that he is, but he has been more patient than I can imagine. Sometimes even Harrison wants to clean up after us. I look forward to having a lot of places to put all this stuff when the house is finished!
Again, another one of the things that we don't really have space for. The drinks have a nice little home on the floor next to the garbage can.
Matt and I recently were called to teach the CTR 4 class in primary at church. We have had many adventures in just the first six weeks of this calling, and Sunday has really become an interesting day for us. I will have to blog about some of our funnier moments later. But the picture below is our church bag. We have all the important stuff: the manual, iPad with music and other stuff we need on it, whatever materials we need for our lesson, and of course, Matt's treats that he so willingly shares with the kids in our class. We started with the giant bag of Skittles, but Matt had to have some variety so he bought the gummy worms/gummy bears to have too. We had to designate these treats as "Sunday Treats" so that Matt wouldn't eat them all during the week. I love being around such a grown up all the time.
Speaking of grown ups, apparently Matt gets thirsty while he is IN THE SHOWER. I have never been so thirsty while in the shower that I couldn't wait until I got out to get a drink.
I hope you enjoyed the little snapshots into our lives. We are so crazy right now, and I am so happy we are building a house and so happy Randy and Jenny are letting us live with them, but I really am excited for things to calm down.
Sunday, January 26, 2014
Saturday Work
When Matt told me that he wanted my help putting shingles on the roof on Saturday, I definitely thought he was crazy. First of all, it took months for him to let me use any tools, and second, I am probably the most clumsy person there is. Not to mention my fear of heights. So, trying to be brave and helpful, I came up on the roof with Matt to put on shingles on Saturday. It was terrifying. I got to the top of the ladder, not even on the roof yet, and was scared. I kept thinking that I was going to fall off any second. But I survived! And even better, I actually helped. We put shingles on the rest of the south side of the roof, including putting on the vents and shingling around them and the plumbing pipes. Matt had to go down into the house a couple times for materials and tools and I told him that if I had to go down the ladder that I wasn't coming back up, so he was up and down a few times. Including when we were done and wanted to take a picture. My camera was in the car and I didn't want to go down there and get it, so we used Matt's phone to get proof that I actually was on the roof.
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The upside of being on the roof was that it was fairly warm up in the sun. It also was a nice view of the crew working on the neighborhood non-profit houses up the street.
The upside of being on the roof was that it was fairly warm up in the sun. It also was a nice view of the crew working on the neighborhood non-profit houses up the street.
Weeknight Work
We are getting to the point where there is a lot of little things that we need to do in the house, and now that it has walls and a roof, we are actually able to come over after work and do those projects. It has been really hard because there are a lot of things going on during the week that we miss out on, like Matt hasn't really been able to help with Brad's basketball team. But we are very lucky to be able to build a house and know that when it is finished we will have time to do those things again.
This week, Matt needed my help putting in windows. We had to wait until we had some kind of porch so that we could reach the front window, so as soon as the metal was down, we were able to put them in. The windows on the front of the house have the spacers in them, as well as the front door. This is the most up-to-date picture of the front of the house.
The black stuff around the front window on the porch is an ice/water shield to keep the windows from letting water in. When I took these pictures we had only done this window and the window in the garage, but now all the windows are done.
The porch was poured on Friday. The tiny corner you can see in this picture is all I have seen besides pictures on Matt's phone. The blankets on it are helping the concrete to cure and there is a propane heater underneath that is also helping.
Matt took these pictures with his phone on the day the porch was poured. I guess the design in the concrete is a pretty big deal. I think it looks good in the pictures, but I guess in person it is awesome. I can't wait for the blankets to come off so I can see it for myself.
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We put in the front door on Thursday night, and had to wrap the bottom half so the concrete wouldn't get on it when they poured the porch. Matt also finished sheeting the garage and porch walls so now we are ready for a sheeting inspection.
All the windows and doors! Matt and Todd worked on putting shingles on the roof on Friday while I was at work and they almost finished the back of the house.
West bedroom from the inside
East bedroom from the inside
Front door from the inside
Living room windows from the inside. Matt had a hard time putting these windows in because they are so big. They are 5' by 5' windows and weigh a ton. There was pretty much nothing I could do to help until he had already put it in place, then I would hold it and make sure it didn't fall out. It didn't help that one of these windows is right over the window well for the basement window and Matt had to position his ladder very carefully when we placed that one.
Master bedroom windows from the inside. We will probably put our bed below the picture window (the long, skinny one).
This week, Matt needed my help putting in windows. We had to wait until we had some kind of porch so that we could reach the front window, so as soon as the metal was down, we were able to put them in. The windows on the front of the house have the spacers in them, as well as the front door. This is the most up-to-date picture of the front of the house.
The black stuff around the front window on the porch is an ice/water shield to keep the windows from letting water in. When I took these pictures we had only done this window and the window in the garage, but now all the windows are done.
The porch was poured on Friday. The tiny corner you can see in this picture is all I have seen besides pictures on Matt's phone. The blankets on it are helping the concrete to cure and there is a propane heater underneath that is also helping.
Matt took these pictures with his phone on the day the porch was poured. I guess the design in the concrete is a pretty big deal. I think it looks good in the pictures, but I guess in person it is awesome. I can't wait for the blankets to come off so I can see it for myself.
We put in the front door on Thursday night, and had to wrap the bottom half so the concrete wouldn't get on it when they poured the porch. Matt also finished sheeting the garage and porch walls so now we are ready for a sheeting inspection.
All the windows and doors! Matt and Todd worked on putting shingles on the roof on Friday while I was at work and they almost finished the back of the house.
West bedroom from the inside
East bedroom from the inside
Front door from the inside
Living room windows from the inside. Matt had a hard time putting these windows in because they are so big. They are 5' by 5' windows and weigh a ton. There was pretty much nothing I could do to help until he had already put it in place, then I would hold it and make sure it didn't fall out. It didn't help that one of these windows is right over the window well for the basement window and Matt had to position his ladder very carefully when we placed that one.
Master bedroom windows from the inside. We will probably put our bed below the picture window (the long, skinny one).
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