One Step Forward and Two Steps Back

Over the past few weeks I've been working hard to try to get the house more organized.  I think it's an unusual form of nesting as I've been eagerly preparing for Brooklyn to come home.  (December 10th, friends!  Two weeks from tomorrow.)

For example, we bought this revolving bookcase for the upstairs bedroom.  I love it!

We also engaged painters to paint the exterior of the house.  It was definitely in need of attention.

In case we ever need to know the specific paint colors for touch-up.

Unsurprisingly, we discovered some places where the wood was far more rotten than we'd realized, meaning that Jason (and Adam) have spent far too much time up on frighteningly high ladders replacing lumber.

When it comes to home repair, it's always one step forward and two steps back.  When they tried to scrape the columns, the wooden bases crumbled.  Even more concerningly, we discovered that these columns are actually structural.  We thought they were decorative, surrounding a solid supportive beam.  Nope!  So now Jason gets to figure out how to prop up the entire porch so that we can replace the columns with a sturdier alternative.

The front porch columns are a big task, but that setback feels tiny compared to what came next.  One of the painters inadvertently left a hose on and FLOODED the basement bedroom.  It's hard to see, but the edges of the carpet are soaked.

Jason vacuumed up two wet vacs full of water and I vacuumed up another half..

I think this trinket pretty accurately sums up the situation.

At first we thought we could pull up the edges of the carpet and dry everything out.

With the carpet pad drenched, it soon became clear that wouldn't be enough.  We pulled out the carpet pad and rented a commercial dehumidifier from Home Depot.

With the smell of mildew getting worse, we quickly realized we would have to move out all of the furniture and pull up all the carpet.

Poor Eli.  Needless to say, he's been kicked out of his bedroom.  But hey, he always rebounds with a smile.

Just as long as we don't lose track of this beautiful ring he made.  Outstanding!  He does special orders for a very reasonable price, so let us know if you want one.

Meanwhile, the garage looks like this.

And since we realized the closets needed to come out too...

...the bathtub looks like this.  Creativity points for this substi-closet.

So many thanks to Adam for his help with demolition!

We are so grateful to Charles too!  Today he helped take out wood-paneling and is helping Jason even out the floor with some self-leveling concrete.

Thank you Charles!

Meanwhile, I recruited Papa Kay to help decorate for Christmas.  With all of the chaos happening downstairs, I really needed to feel like something in our physical world was put together.  Plus, decorating a tree is so much better with family!

Thank you, Papa Kay!

Zion made himself quite comfortable in front of the fire as we worked. He's such a creature of comfort!

To tell the truth, I wish we had a magic wand to fix this giant mess.  Instead of one step forward, two steps back, it feels like we just slipped on the giant slide in Chutes and Ladders and landed back at the bottom.  But hey, we'll get through this.  In the big scheme of things, this is a small setback that we will chuckle about later.  Plus, knowing the competence of my handsome man, I know that in the end, the basement will be so much better than before.

Not to mention we have an inside connection to magical blood.  Here's Ruby acting the part of Gilderoy Lockhart (or a spoof thereof) in her school play. Well-done, Ruby!

And just to keep the blog current, a few more puppy pics.  Whether under construction or not, I think Zion is happy to have a home with our family.

Brooklyn, it will take a miracle for the basement to be put back together by December 10th.  But whether your bed is reassembled or not, we are *so* excited that you are coming home.  The messiest times make for the most poignant memories.  Bring on the excitement--I'm just grateful that we are a family!

Happy Birthday Talia!

One day after brilliant Eila turned 11, our shining Talia turned 19!

I don't have the right words nor did I have the right gifts nor the right decorations to express how much you mean to us, sweet Talia Lily.  Just know that you brighten our lives!  Thank you for coming home to celebrate with us, even with our chaos.  Talia worked at the BYU bakery frosting Cougar Tails in the morning, went back for the football game in the evening, but still made time to be with us all afternoon.  Brianna, Violet, the Wilhoits, and my parents joined for the celebration.

On the menu?  Butternut squash soup and flan, per Talia's request.  What can I say? The girl has delicious taste.  We also had broccoli cheese soup, chicken noodle soup, pumpkin cake, and rice krispies.  Gosh, I love how our family is always willing to pitch in and bring something!  It made throwing together a party a piece of cake.

Too bad I didn't plan ahead for candles.  I tossed all of our old candles during a kitchen clean-out and forgot to replace.  This "five" was all I could rummage up!  Ah well.  I already have a reputation for messing up candle ages, so it works well.  Plus, if I could, I would absolutely turn back time and welcome five year-old Talia all over again.

All of Talia's gifts were thoughtful and appreciated.  However, Eli's gifts stole the show.

A hand-crafted Conan Gray teardrop necklace!  Eli's jewelry making skills are impressive.

For extra good measure, he 3D printed Talia a Taylor Swift bust. 

The smile says it all.

Many thanks to everyone for coming to support our kind and creative gal.  Talia, we love you!

Especially Zion.

Crazy Cute

The weather today is kind of blech--chilly and overcast and toneless gray.  It's hard to fight back the doldrums when the daylight runs short.  Wish I had a cozy mug of hot chocolate and could snuggle up with a good book in front of our fireplace!  

Since that's not possible right now, let me catch up a bit on our blog instead.  For a few days it seemed like I had nothing to say, then everything  happened.  But first, the fun stuff!  Like dog pics.  It drives me crazy that Zion is always messing up our couch cushions by lying like this, but at least it's cute.

The pajamas NomiAnn bought for him are pretty darn adorable as well, although I'm not sure he thinks so.

Speaking of cute, our friends Zizheng and Kambree are expecting an adorable baby.  Congratulations!

These winsome girls are also darling.  Jason and I were honored to attend their baptism into the Catholic faith.  Annika also came, so it was a great opportunity to share many of the ways in which our faiths are aligned, particularly through our commitment to Christlike love and families.

Our family got to attend the Bountiful Temple together to perform proxy baptisms as well.  I may be biased, but I think my kids and hubby are super cute.

As for their messes, well they are a little less adorable.

All the cute varsity cross-country runners at their Awards Banquet.  Congratulations, Eli!

Can I just say, my sister is pretty darn cute as well.  Her students' mariachi band got invited to perform at a community event that Jason attended on behalf of ASSIST.  (It was a dinner honoring local community partners.)  I think they were both pretty surprised by the unexpected encounter!

I don't think an aurora borealis qualifies as cute, but seeing the Northern Lights right here in Salt Lake was pretty magnificent.  

Now this sweet gal is both cute AND magnificent.  Happy 11th birthday, Eila!  Sadly I was working the night of her party, but the rest of the family enjoyed a trampoline park and dinner at Zupas.

Annika gave her cousin a potato.  Eila was thoroughly amused.

Eila, you were the very first to make me an aunt!  I feel so grateful for every moment that we get to spend together.  You are kind and smart and beautiful and goofy and wonderful!  We love you!

Also, you and your cousins are becoming tweens way too fast...

Now as Papa Kay would say, keep smiling!