January 31 - February 6: Super Busy Week! (Spoiler: I survived)

January 31.  Saturday was a busy day.  After spending the morning doing jobs, we went to the baptism of our friend Joseph who lives in Ed and Cyndy's ward.  Abby napped through the talks.

After the baptism we were able to hang out with our friends the Kopaigoras.  They had a new trampoline which was enjoyed by the kids along with the weather.

Bryce had an evening event so I let the kids have a bit of a movie night on the blow up bed even though I was totally exhausted.  We watched their newest craze: Slugterra.

February 1.  For Superbowl Sunday we went back up to Ed and Cyndy's and had another chance to hang out with the Kopaigoras.

February 2.  Monday was a very busy day.  I found out that a bill, which the PDA had some concerns about, was going up for committee vote.  I had been unsure what we were able to do since I knew we couldn't lobby.  I got the green light to pursue it 30 minutes before the hearing, which was just enough time to thrown on a suit and race to the capitol.  It was a very crazy afternoon.  Good thing the day started with Stan's lovely hairdo.

February 3.  On Tuesday morning Abby and Stan played together so cute.  They took buckets of toys they had packed when we went to drop off Kimball and they held hands back to the car.  That evening we had a nice Relief Society meeting on how to make your home and MTC and prepare your kids to be missionaries.

February 4.  Wednesday was another very busy day.  We had a parent teacher conference for Kimball first thing in the morning.  He is doing well in school.  His teacher says he is very kind and considerate and that he stays on task.  If there is something to work on it is finishing projects a little more quickly.  He likes to take his time.  (He must be related to his Dad.)

Wednesday was also doctor day.  Stan and Abby went in the morning and Kimball went in the afternoon.  Stan got 4 shots and Abby got 3.

 After the doctor the boys had a picnic with our neighbors.  They got out a blanket and all the toy food while eating snacks.

 The best part of the day came when Grandma and Grandpa Hansen picked up the boys for an overnighter.  They got to end the day with a movie at the Kaysville theater.  Abby was so sad she didn't get to go.  We need to get her potty trained because Grandma and Grandpa have bad knees which makes diaper changes hard.

February 5.  Abby got up and stood by the door asking for Grandma's house.  It about broke my heart.  It was worse because I had a full day of meetings planned and she was going to be with babysitters.  I first had a meeting at the State Capitol.  After the meeting I had lunch in Layton.  I ran home after the lunch to give Abby kisses before a nap.  She was a trooper.  In the afternoon I had another meeting downtown.  It is hard on me to have such long days.  The boys decided to have one more night at Grandma and Grandpa's.

February 6.  Friday, after picking up the boys, I did a little work.  Then I took the kids and the neighbors to the park.  It was a lovely day.  We met up with some other neighbors and tried to fly kites.  I really do have such awesome neighbors.

January 24-30: In which we go roller skating

January 24.  Saturday morning started with moving the last of the furniture upstairs, namely the dresser and a book shelf for our bedroom.  The kids though that the furniture movers would be fun to slide on so we taped them to their feet.

After the moving there was a lot more cleaning and jobs.  Stan has been trying to earn an Ironman toy and only had a few more dollars.  For each job I gave him to do, he was joined by Abby.  She wanted to be a part of all of it.  She also wants to be paid.  I don't think that she understands what the money is for, but she certainly doesn't want to be left out.

For dinner we had pizza with our friends the Chamoros.  We had such a great time hanging out.

January 25.  After church we had dinner at Ed and Cyndy's.  They had forgotten to give Abby a birthday present from Arya so she got to open it.  She loves the little snowman and the books.

January 26-29.  It was a typical week.  Kimball and Stan had school.  Mommy and Daddy had work.  We had friends over, did homework and Kimball went to piano.  The weather, however, was not very typical.  It was so nice out the kids got to try their scooters for the first time since Christmas.

January 30.  Friday evening Kimball's school sponsored a night at the Classic Fun Center.  The boys got to roller skate for the first time in their lives and we all had a great time eating pizza with friends.  Kimball worked really hard learning to skate by using a bar on wheels to help him keep his balance.  Stan did too.  Abby loved being able to ride her scooter but wanted Mommy to push her.

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.

January 10-16: In which we start changing the rooms in our house

January 10.  I spent most of Saturday in bed being sick in bed.  For dinner we ordered pizza and Bryce got root beer floats.  Stan declared it a "great day!"  Maybe Mom should get sick more often.  Just kidding.

January 11.  I stayed home from church with Abby to try and finish recovering from my cold/flu/sickness.

When Stan got home from Church he was pretty excited to show me his new CTR stuff: a ring and a crown!  This big boy is no longer a Sunbeam.

Kimball had been looking for several days for his "crystals."  When he finally found them he put them in the fish tank.

January 12.  Mommy had a meeting at Lisa Lokken's office with the Office of Services Review that reviews DCFS.  It was an interesting meeting.  In the evening, even though it was Mommy and Daddy's anniversary we headed up to Grandma's and Grandpa's to watch a little of the college football championship game.  Mommy must love Daddy a lot.  Ohio State blew out the Oregon Ducks which made Daddy sad, but it didn't last long.  (We are planning a make up anniversary date soon.  We were supposed to go out over the weekend but didn't because I was so sick.)

January 13.  I had another meeting on Tuesday.  This time with the other directors of the PDA.  While I was gone to Provo the boys built a snowman with the our favorite neighbors.  (Yes, that is a baseball as a bellybutton.)  I think it turned out great!

January 14.  I have spent some of the week packing up my bedroom to get ready for some moving and painting.  We have decided to move the kids into the bigger bedroom downstairs; to move us from that room, upstairs to what is actually a master suite; and to turn the smaller bedroom downstairs into the office.  The only hiccup is that the new office will need to be painted.  The previous renters painted the whole house a nasty blue grey.  The only room that didn't get painted before we moved in was the small bedroom.  Well, that is about to change! 

January 15.  I got to spend the morning with Abby while the boys were at school.  I have discovered that she will eat peanut butter from the jar, although she won't eat bread.  I'm just happy to have found a protein source for her.  She also chose to play with the remote control tarantula.  She is usually scared of it.

On Thursday afternoon, my good friend and neighbor, Sierra, helped me move all of the bedroom furniture out of our room.  After Bryce got home we were able to get the kids set up in their new room in time for bed.  It is such a brighter and bigger space for them.  (Bryce and I slept on a blow up mattress in the soon to be office.)

January 16.  Friday was the big day to get started paining.  Ed and Cyndy gave us some supplies and some primer to get started.  Stan was my helper.  By the end of the day I was able to get two coats of primer on everything, which is a lot because part of the popcorn ceiling had been painted the awful blue.  It was a long day and I was so tired by the end.  Bryce and I plopped the blow up bed in front of the TV and watched a fund Norwegian film called Ragnarok.