House Update

This is looking from the new family room towards the dining room and my new bedroom

This was towards the beginning when wall were just starting to be knocked down. The picture below is the out side right at the beginning.

Here are some picture updates on our great adventure of remodeling!! ( Ha Ha ) It is definiately not something we will regret but also something that can wear you out quick. We are managing pretty well in spite of no washer and on kitchen but progress is happening. The drywall os being hung this weekend.

Well, we have been busier than ever so a quick update and I will try to post pictures later. The house is coming very quickly. Currently the plumbing and heating is being finished and this weekend Dad and Nathan and anyone else who is here to help (Thanks A Ton!!!). Next is insulation and dry wall then Danny and I will become experts at tile laying. Jonathan just finished his play and he literally stole the show each night. It is amazing to me to watch him every year in these plays and see how talented he is and he has a great voice too which I have to hear in the plays because I never hear it anywhere else. McKay is still REALLY into soccer. He is on his club team and also tried out for the school team which at first he was on JV but within a week was moved up to Varsity. So he practices every day after school tll about 4:30 or 5:00. Amy and Sarah are my little dancers they will have a Christmas concert on Dec. 12 and are very excited about it. Danny is trying to manage the stress of work, church, and a ever chaotic house project and I think he is doing well but he probably wouldn't agree. I have been house hopping since during the day I have been with out water, heat, and bathroom facilities. Thank heavens for family. This all will soon end and be nothing but a memory, or so I have been told but in the meantime if any one would like to give any helpful suggestions we are interested.

CONSTRUCTION BEGINS!!!
Oh Boy what have we done!!! We signed on our construction loan this week and have begun already. It took three days to get our back porch broken out. I have never seen a bigger piece of concrete. It was to big to haul off so our contracter buried it in the backyard. Danny and Mckay stripped shingles on the front side of our roof and will do the rest on Saturday. This is a huge project that we are very excited about but are nervous about all the time it will take since we are pretty busy already. I guess now I have an excuse to say NO to some of the other things I am invloved in. I plan on posting update pictures as we go along. I just wish I had taken a picture of the porch. The contracter worked on it for three days with a jackhammer, saw, and small excavater and FINALLY got the stupid thing out. If anyone has suggestions on remodeling we are completely open to them. Wish us luck (HA HA)

First Date

Jonathan went on his first date tonight to Granger High's Homecoming. He went with a girl named Maggie and he had fun. The details I got are a bit sketchy but he is just 16 and what on earth does a 16 year old boy need to tell his mom about a date. They went to Boondocks during the day and then to the Garden Restaurant at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, then to the dance, and ended at McDonald's. I sure hope my girls will give me more details since Jonathan's are few and Mckay has assured me that he will never be going to a dance ( we'll see!! ) Mckay had another soccer game today which was exciting not because they won which they didn't ( score 2-1) but because the refereeing was bad and a fight broke out and several of our players got carded even McKay which is very unusual and the cops showed up. I missed all the excitement because I was home sleeping which I think I am glad about. Oh well lets hope we can pull it together as parents and players for our next game on Wednesday. I have a hard time when parents get all keyed up and start yelling because it makes things so much worse for the kids.

This picture was taken in Cedar City where as hard as I tried I could not get a picture of Jonathan without his mouth open. He is not very cooperative!!! He is busy as ever with being a junior class officer, working, being in FBLA and MESA, and having a lead role (Major General) in the musical Pirates of Penzance, which we are really looking forward to!!! He will also be getting his liscence about December, I am not sure who is more excited me or him. YEA Jonathan is going on his FIRST date this Saturday to Homecoming with a girl named Maggie. I can't believe my babies is dating (boo hoo). No just kidding I am excited for him he will have a great time!!

Amy and Sarah both started dance last week and LOVE it!! Amy will be learning a dance to Where are you Christmas off the Polar Express and Sarah will be dancing to Grandma got ran over by a Reindeer. I am sure it will be very cute. Sarah also started preschool today and she loved it. She is so different from all my other kids. All my other kids were apprehensive about new things. Sarah just dives in!! Amy is loving 3rd grade mostly because she got her teacher from last year back again. She is also going to have a piano recital in October. Fun Fun!!!

This is a picture of the highlight of my summer. Danny and I went to Boston to visit Adam and Jack and had SOOO much fun. Boston is beautiful and we had such a relaxing time till we tried to get home but that is not worth repeating. One of the best parts was staying up late eating brownies and playing the Wii. I am sure that Adam and Jack were glad to see us go so they could get to bed at a decent time. We had a great time and are hoping to go visit again soon. This picture was taken on our unofficial tour of Harvard. Thanks Adam and Jack for allowing us to invade your home. Stock up on the brownies for next time we come. Maybe by christmas we can challenge you guys to a little bowling tournament online, thats if I get lucky and find a Wii before christmas.

This is Mckay at his first ODP competition. He made ODP as one of four goalies in the state. He went to Oregon and participated in a camp that lasted a week and had a GREAT time. He is planning on trying out again this year and hopefully he has a good experience again.

This is my feeble attempt to connect our family with those who are far away and those who are much more tech savy than I. My boys would probably have this all set up in minutes without any problems but here I sit trying to figure it all out. Just a little update on our family. Mckay is into the soccer season and thier team has had a disappointing start 1 and 2 both loses were by one point and very disappointing. Jonathan is practicing full swing for the musical Pirates of Penzance, in which he is cast as the Major General. (This will be a fun one!!!!) The play is sometime the middle of October. I will post a date for sure when I know. The girls Amy and Sarah started dance and are excited about thier christmas concert. Amy will dance to a Polar Express song and Sarah will dance to Grandma got ran over by a reindeer. Danny and I are just trying to keep up!!!