January 17-23: In which Mom realizes she doesn't like popcorn

January 17.  I woke up Saturday morning and started painting right away.  I was able to get a first coat of paint on nearly everything, but my arms were so tired I left the ceiling for Bryce.  He thought we should go ahead and paint the whole ceiling, even the part that wasn't blue.  However, once he started all the popcorn started coming off.  It may have been because there was some old water damage, but whatever the reason it was a mess!  We now had a bigger project than we bargained for.  The hardest part of the day was readjusting my expectations.  I had wanted to finish painting the new office by the end of the day.  I settled for having my bed set up on our new bedroom.  We did get the popcorn removed and the rest of the first coat on.  All in all, it was a productive day.  (I will try not to think about what a mess the house is.  You can see below the kitchen, the front room and the rest of our bedroom.)

January 18.  Thank goodness for a day of rest.  I taught gospel doctrine and then we came home and did our best to relax in the mess.  It was our turn to host the Norman family dinner, but will all the chaos I asked if Char would host.  It is so nice to have good sisters.  We ate elk steaks, funeral potatoes and yummy cheese biscuits.

January 19.  Monday was Martin Luther King Day.  We decided not to sand the ceiling and just paint it after realizing that we had exposed ourselves to asbestos.  So I started with the first coat on the ceiling.  

Ed and Cyndy were kind enough to take the kids for the afternoon and leave their truck.  This allowed me to make a trip to IKEA and buy the new desks.  My friend Karen met me there with her little boy and we were able to have a nice lunch and some fun shopping.  When I got home I painted a second coat on everything and declared the painting complete.

Meanwhile, the kids ate lunch at McDonalds.  Abby came home for a nap and the boys got to go to a 3D Imax moving at the planetarium.  Fun.  Fun.

January 20.  By Tuesday morning all the paint was dry and I moved in the file cabinet and some boxes.  While the boys were at school Abby played trains.  I also managed to get the first two desks built.

 

January 21.  Wednesday afternoon was a beautiful day.  The kids got to try out our neighbors jeep.  They all loved it!  I also got the last of the desks built. 

On Wednesday, Bryce participated in a pitch with Wild Hair Technologies at the StartSLC pitch competition.  It was his first pitch where he was part of the team.

January 22.  Thursday I realized that I have wonderful neighbors.  Lisa (my visiting teacher) helped me move all three book shelves downstairs after I dropped Kimball off.  While Abby took a nap, Sierra picked up both boys from their respective schools.  Then Veronica watched my kids while I worked.  Last, I accidentally locked myself out of the house and Audry came to my rescue.  Such a busy day, but such wonderful friends!

January 23.  Friday morning, these little monkeys woke me up.  Kimball had piano lessons and Mom and Dad had a date night.  We went to dinner and then bought some new sticker books and activity books for the church bag.