Hello everyone. We've sure had a busy summer. The past two months were spent getting ready for our County Fair. At the start of every fair, there is a huge parade. Trevor decided that this would be the perfect kick-off for his campaign. So this meant that the Jeep would need a new paint job. The kids and I worked hard sanding and getting the Jeep ready in the wind and rain the weeks before. We finished just in time. I won't show you a photo of the float right now, but this is us sanding. Also, at the last minute I entered a photo. I mean, it couldn't have been more last minute. I grabbed a photo off the computer and sent it into Walmart in the late morning, ran and picked it up, and by dinner I was entered. It worked out though, because I won BEST IN SHOW!!!! LOL!!! Hilarious. My girls also entered at the last minute. I mean, seriously, last minute. They went to our good friends' house and each quilted a quilt in the morning, and by dinner time were entered in the fair. They each got FIRST PLACE in their age groups!!! It really did end up being a crazy, but fun week. But also, very very stressful.   

Interesting how quickly we can heal and start fresh. I thought I'd never feel the need for another project ever again in this life.

Maybe becoming a recluse for a time was all that I needed to feel revitalized and re-energized.

However it happened, I've been feeling a return of creativity and renewed readiness to tackle a few projects around here. That's a nice feeling.

I think I may tackle the front door tomorrow. After that, maybe my closet.

I've also been watching videos on how to build your own couch. I'm excited at the prospect of learning new skills and stretching my creative muscles.

Also, I watched a video on how to build your own canoe. Interesting.

I think I'm loving life right now because I can build on the house if I want, and I can play and be creative with building if I want too. I'm not locked in. Life doesn't hinge on what I accomplished or not today. There is no finish line to sprint to.

It's especially important to remember to breath and take vitamins and relax. Every. Day. Maybe that sounds weird. I wish I could go back 10 years and tell myself to take vitamins and breath. Haha!

Also, don't let people push you around and put their agendas on you. If someone calls and I don't answer, that's a boundary I've set that I won't be answering the phone. If they get mad that I didn't answer the phone, that's their problem. I guess I'm saying it's okay to take mental health days or even large periods of time. Take care of yourselves people!

Anyway, doesn't that canoe sound very interesting?

Twinkie

Although restoring the Countess does not seem to be a popular choice, I'm having a hard time understanding why anyone would care what Trevor and I choose to do with our time. I can't tell you how many people have stopped to talk to me about it; some excited and happy, and most very judgemental and rude. The judgy people seem to feel very strongly about it.

And that's what I don't get. WHY DO YOU CARE? Leave me alone! My choice to restore the camper does not affect you. Don't patronize me, don't tell me it's pointless, don't make fun of me. Just walk away and live your own life.

Trust me, I'm used to people judging me, but it's never been this blatant before. Friends and family, if you are reading this and you have an opinion about this trailer, please keep it to yourself. Not to be rude, but it is none of your business!

Time for a new blog post...

Phoebe had a Lego robotics competition this last week! It was fun to see her feel good about something that only she was involved in. She really was proud. I think her team did a great job too!

The kids and I redid the front flower bed this week as well. We really only shaped it, weeded it, and then planted a few things.

Also, if you are in the market for some asparagus,  it's that time of year! We picked a bunch this week and gave it out to friends and family. Let me know...

The weather has been so wonderful lately. The wind has been blowing, but ya gotta just look past it and feel the sun on your face.

Today Logan was one of the youth speakers. He gave a talk on Obedience. Kinda fitting if you know that Logan has been struggling with that for a while now. He really worked hard on getting a talk written. I worry about Logan's speach. It was very noticeable when he was talking. Maybe I'm used to it in normal life, but today, his lisp was very prominent. I did ask a school counselor for an assessment a while ago, and when they came to observe him in class, he was able to hide it by talking very fast. He says his S's really quickly and a very short touch on them. Most people don't notice it. He is good at hiding his problems. Kind of like when we got his hearing assessed, and after failing the test in both ears, and then passing in both ears, the doctor asked him if he ever has problems with his ears, and he said no. That's totally not true. He has constant, really fast onset ear aches ALL THE TIME!! He has lots of head aches too. Also, his hearing comes and goes. Too bad the ENT doctor cleared his health and declared him a normal boy. Ugh. That was frustrating.

So let's move to another topic. The trailer is almost all stripped of its mossy green paint. I'm about ready to polish her up. She'll be so pretty as a shiny girl. This week, Samantha asked me why our trailer is a VAMPIRE. What? Where did that come from? It's because it's a Streamline Countess. Well, The Count on Sesame Street is a vampire apparently,  (according to her) and also, Logan said. I had to explain to her that a Count and Countess were titles given to royalty, and not vampires. Except, I just looked it up, and it's actually EARL and Countess that go together. Where does Count come from? But this brings up a really good question: Is The Count on Sesame Street really a vampire? I guess I never really thought about it.

About that thing called Countess

Our new trailer is a 1971 Streamline Countess, 27 feet long. It looks like an old Airstream, but is a different brand. The story goes that two designer guys for Airstream had a falling out with Airstream over the design of the trailers. They split off and formed their own company. Shortly after that, the two men then had a falling out with each other and split one more time, forming a second split-off company from airstream. Therefore, there are a bunch of old trailers that look like Airstreams floating around out there.

Currently, I'm trying to title it, but no one seems to know where the title went off to. I'll get it sooner or later. After we get the title, we've got some work to do.  That's all I'm gonna say about that.

Meanwhile, did you know that oven cleaner makes a good paint stripper? Yep.

So there ya go.

Healing

Hello everyone. I took a break. I know it's pretty obvious at this point. Lol.

Here's the deal, I felt like I was drowning in expectations. Not just the obvious expectations I put on myself, but in the expectations of other people. I'm still struggling with that, and maybe I always will, but after moving into our house finally, I just needed a break, and felt like disappearing was the only way to take it.

Anyway, I'm still taking a break from things, but I feel like it's time to pick the ol' blog back up.

So what have we been doing these past few months? We've been building more things in the house, and painting, and I've had some time to take a few breaths and put myself back on the healthy track.

A lot of things have happened. We got a new old car, Sami had a birthday, we got a free old camping trailer, we've settled into a new rhythm at the new house. Carter can read now and Will is almost bigger than him. All the kids are thriving and so much happier.

As the dust has settled, I've found that I don't know how to settle now. I'm trying really hard to relax and enjoy this time, but I still find myself looking for projects every day.

I've recently taught myself how to screen print. Lol. Really. I know how to burn screens and all that jazz. Pretty dang exciting.

Still, there are people who don't understand. I don't know how to explain it without actually going into details that would give away who they are, in case they read this. I'm talking about people here in Gooding. Sometimes small town living isn't ideal, even though most days I absolutely love it. So yeah, healing and wanting space. That's what I'm all about right now.

Hitting Rock Bottom

You'd think that moving into the house would have solved any and all of our problems, but moving into the house made our lives much more complicated.

After moving in, we had the huge task of packing and moving all while living our regular lives. We couldn't find anything once it was put at the new house, because there was nowhere to unpack it and put it away. Not having a master closet has made it difficult to find clothes. Not having a second bathroom made it difficult to sleep at night, because kids would be tramping through our bedroom at two in the morning. Trying to find tools to continue building has been difficult, because the tools are no longer easily accessible and are not organized among the boxes and car tools that have been stacked out in the little house. Everything has become so much harder.

Since moving in, Trevor dug up the pipe outside, and found the clog. We replaced twenty-seven feet of sewer pipe, and let me tell you... it was a smelly job.

We mudded, taped, textured and carpeted the basement, and finished the stairwell mostly.

We have blinds.

I built a coffee table out of old wood, Trevor moved a light in the living room, we painted window trim, and did a bunch of little jobs here and there.

We still don't have insulation in the attic, which makes for a hot sleep for the girls in the basement. The upstairs is chilly, and the basement is a sauna. Also, no closet, no doors downstairs, and really a lot of projects to finish still.

How all of this sounds to you, I don't care. You can think I'm complaining, or not (I'm not). I think it's going to take a long time for us to come back together and heal as a family. We became so broken during the last few years. It was hard sacrificing so much for this house, even relationships. We've got a long road ahead of us and have been taking some really good steps towards healing. I recently took a parenting class that helped me a lot, even with my relationship with Trevor. lol. I realize I'm not his parent, but the class was very insightful with helping me look at relationships differently.

Now that the bulk of the building and the main push to finish things is over, we can begin to take the steps we need to move on.

Maybe this whole post sounds dramatic to you. I don't care. I will tell you this though: If you are someone who thinks I'm over-dramatizing this, and you wonder what I do or have done with my days, just know that you have judged me wrongly, have no idea what you are talking about, and can go take a flying leap off a tall building. lol. But seriously. GO. I don't need or want judgement in my life.

Halloween 2018

Living the Dream

Yes. Yes. We are living in the house.

We are living in the house!!!!

We are almost all moved out.

One more week of moving and cleaning.

Stay tuned for photos of the chaos and mess.

Technical Difficulities

Hi all,

I'm sorry I've been having some blog problems lately. I know it's been going on for a while, but I just didn't have the time to fix it or figure out what was wrong. Today I finally felt like tackling it, and I think I have it worked out now.

Here's my quick update on life:

I put Logan back in school. I published a post about it, but apparently it never published and now it's erased. *sad face

I'm packing us up and we are getting moved over into the town house.

The transmission in the van broke on my way to take Logan to see the ear specialist. It was a very sad day. I'm driving the jeep around now, and we are fine. So many silver linings to find in life, even when it doesn't go the way you think it should.

My dad and mom came and helped us finish the girls' bedroom in the basement and lay carpet in both the kids' bedrooms. We are almost all ready to move in now. Which sounds funny I know, since we are already moving in. But I never thought I'd be building and moving in all at the same time, and yet here I am.

I'm finding it hard to find motivation anywhere. This house-building marathon has had every emotion attached to it, but I'm to the "I'm done" part. I'm serious. I have no problem getting over there and continuing projects and building and mudding and taping, texturing, etc , but when I get home at night, the last thing I want to do is pack. I just want to lay in bed and have a foot rub and eat a piece of bread (because I have no motivation to make dinner).

Anyway, did I mention that the whole basement is dry-walled? Yep. It's all done. It's not mudded or taped, except for the girls' room, but that can happen after we move in.

Also, Brad finally came and almost finished on Saturday! It's a miracle! I hope he finishes before we move in all the way.

There are little miracles all over in my life, and even though we've had to really push ourselves and sacrifice a lot, I know we've been watched over and blessed so much through this whole thing. There have been so many people who have served us and given us a boost through this as well. I'm grateful that people can be so very good and kind, and that families are here to love, support and help. We couldn't have gotten through this without our families.

These were supposed to be white. It's a long story. I'll fix them later.

It's Been a While...

Hey everyone. I know it's been a bit. We've been working hard and trying to get things done around here.

Mostly, I've been spending my days working in the master shower. That thing is a beast. I just grouted the floor this morning, and should finish up the tile tomorrow (you grout the floor before you finish the bottom row of tile on the walls).

I'm packing up the house, and getting ready to move. I feel very up in the air right now, but I know that the worry could eat me up if I let it. So I guess I'll just let go and trust in God's plan for our family. It will all work out.

The summer has flown by, and still Brad has not returned to finish the HVAC. Oh well. It's gonna be a heck of a bill. I just know it will be worth it.

The house is transforming inside and out. We shopped the end of summer nursery sale and got three cheap bushes for the front of the house. Trevor has leveled out all of the dirt mounds outside now and we have grass growing in almost every spot. The trim inside the house is almost finished, and the double doors to the master bedroom are built.

We are working on purchasing gutters for the house now. The carpet is inside the house and ready to be installed in the boys bedroom.

The water heater is installed, but doesn't work. Trevor is working on getting new coils for the water heater this week. Hopefully ASAP because we really need to pass the plumbing inspection.

The ward is supposedly going to be helping us get the tree down in the next couple of weeks as well. I hope!!!

That's all for now. I'm going to get packing. I'll try to get some photos up next time.

Progress Over Perfection

I am tired and sore today. My hands and back are killing me. Yesterday while Trevor moved dirt outside, I made countertop templates and then countertop molds. About that time, Trevor hurt his back trying to dodge Will who had run in front of the full wheelbarrow Trevor was moving. So I took Trevor home and came back with the two oldest kids and we mixed and poured the kitchen countertops. This was another different technique we tried this time.

We worked until just before 11 frantically mixing and packing the concrete. My back will never be the same. Two 100 lb bags of sand and three 100 lb bags of concrete. I did the mixing, the kids did the packing. I was thinking about what a blessing it was that I was able to mix all that and my back was able to hold up to it. Honestly. That's a job that most people rent a mixer to accomplish. I'm sure we had angels helping us. It was horrible.

This is what we worked on last week. The kitchen is in!! The kids and I started painting this week. We hope to have it finished by this weekend.

I

Am

About

To

Show

You

Our

Wood

Floors.

Are

You

Ready?

....

....

....

?????



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.....

Before:

 Applying first coat:

Still applying first coat:

Done:

It's not perfect, but I'm pretty dang happy with how it turned out.

My arms feel as if they've been ripped out of their sockets. I haven't been able to sleep because my left shoulder hurts so terribly. Buffers are no joke my friends. But... it's done. It's DONE!!!!! That reminds me of The Man From Snowy River. We should all watch that today. 

I can't wait to see how it looks dry. I bet it will have way less shine. I'll update later.

Howdy, everyone. It's been a bit. We have been plugging along. You know... sanding. Sanding my life away. Sanding from dawn until dusk. Those edges sure take a long time. This weekend will be d-day for our wood floors. I'm 

 a little terrified,  but it's one of those jump in feet first things. Meanwhile, I made this happen today:  

 

 I tried something different with this countertop. It's called the press technique. It looks a lot more like stone and less like concrete.
                            

The floor is sanded. The edges are not. But THE FLOOR IS SANDED!!!

I built a concrete countertop. Then Logan and I broke it. It was still green when we moved it. We should have waited a few more days. Lesson learned. 

Making Serious Headway

 Hey all, we layed more tile! We are having drain problems in the other bathroom, so we decided to put in a second bathroom before moving in. The drain problems are outside the house between the house and main drain. We think it might be caused by an old cast-iron pipe that sat empty for a few years, or maybe a tree root. Who knows, but we can't call roto-rooter in because we aren't even supposed to be using the bathroom yet. So until we pass final plumbing inspection, we need to help the problem.

 It has been Spring Break this past week. I decided to do something drastic that would help everyone feel like we had done something big, even though we didn't. I got the girls' ears pierced. It was fun and scary for Samantha especially.

Then, we had a fashion show with new clothes from Grandma and Aunt Alysa. 

 Remember the legs my dad and I turned on his lathe? Well, I'm finally building the cabinet for them. This goes into the master bathroom. Wait until you see the sink that sits on this!!!

 

 And finally, we've been working on the kitchen cabinets. It took many hours to modify the cabinet below for this awesome sink.

 And I forgot, one last thing: We dyed raw eggs this year in between conference. Then we hot-glued the eggs to yarn and tied them up between the trees in our back yard. Imagine shooting a raw egg with a bb gun!! It was a lot of fun. Every time the kids shot an egg, they would get to hunt a candy egg from the grass behind where we were shooting. It's just an extra step, I guess.
                     
One more really, really last thing: For anyone who I told we were going to be refinishing the wood floors this weekend. The person who was going to help us, and insisted on renting the sander and everything, backed out on Friday night. It was disappointing. Oh well. We had other stuff to do though, and it worked out just fine.