TILING

We finally tiled our floors in May after living on cement floors for most of our first year in the house. This was a major process that took 3 weekends.

The 1st weekend Ryan and My dad did the Master Bathroom & closet.

Preping the floor so that the cracks in the foundation don't crack the tiles.

Master Bathroom

Entrance to Master Bathroom

Closet in Master Bathroom

The 2nd weekend I helped Ryan and we did the kids bathroom the hallway and part of the dining area.

Kids Bathroom

Dining area /hallway/entry

Dining area

The 3rd weekend Ryan and I finished the kitchen and laundry room.

Preparing the floor in the kitchen.

Preparing the floor in the laundry room.

Kitchen

It was so nice to finally have all my floors in place. YEAH!!

Our Trip

Ryan had a business trip in Grapevine for 2 days (Wed. March 25th and Thur. March 26th). I decided to take those days off and go with him. I was really needing some time off from work. My mom & dad agreed to keep the kids and get them to school so we headed out early Wednesday morning. We had chick-fil-A for breakfast... yummmm. When we arrived at our hotel we checked in and rested for half an hour before Ryan had to go to his training.

Our bed

Our sitting area

Our shower/tub

Sweet ...it's a Jacuzzi

When Ryan left I called Travis to see if he would be available for lunch. He came and picked me up around 11:30 and we ate lunch at Firehouse Subs. We had a nice lunch & a good time catching up. When I got back to the hotel I decided to go to the Grapevine Mills Mall. That is one big Mall. It was lots of fun looking in all the stores and taking as long as I wanted.

When Ryan got done we went to dinner at this steak house that was recommended "Love & War in Texas". It was kind of expensive and it was okay, nothing fancy.

The next day Ryan went to his training again & I headed off to the Mall again. I found a couple of purses that I bought & lots of clothes that I would have loved to get but didn't. I ate lunch in the mall. Ryan got done early so we headed home early. On our way home we stopped in Ft Worth to see one of my sweet little friends (from my class) who was just diagnosed with Leukemia (ALL) that week. I enjoyed playing trains with him in the play room.

We made it home that evening and picked up the kids at my parents it was a nice little get away.

My 29th Birthday

I celebrated my 29th Birthday on March 24th. We had a nice birthday dinner at my parents the Sunday before my birthday. It was nice having dinner at my parents. I love having my favorite meal (steak & Armenian rice) followed by my favorite dessert (pound cake smothered in strawberries). On Monday night mom permed my hair. Tuesday the 24th Ryan sent me beautiful Roses at work. Then my friends at work gave me a card and shopping money for my trip. Thanks guys that was really nice. I enjoyed shopping and finding something for me.

Thanks Honey they were Beautiful!

I just love all the different colors.

Isn't that a pretty color

Flowers & Love, Flowers & Love, Flowers & Love

On Thursday after work & School the kids were playing outside. They both came in with hands full of flowers they had picked for Mommy. It was so sweet of them.

Latter when Ryan got home I said I needed to run to the store to get some hamburger buns for dinner and pick up some pictures. Ryan & Ethan offered to go for me. When they got home Ethan handed me bouquet of Yellow Roses (My favorite).

On Friday while I was at work we were just finishing lunch with my class when the office buzzed my room and asked me to come to the office. When I got to the office I found a box with my name on it. When I opened it up it was a bouquet of Red Roses & Baby's Breath (the vase was laying behind it). Ryan sent me these beautiful flowers with a very sweet message. It was the first time he has every had flowers delivered to me and it made me tear up. I love my husband. He is so thoughtful and I think it was very sweet of him to get me flowers 2 days in a row.

Trip to Canada

Ryan's Grandmother passed away in December. At the last minute we figured out that you can still drive across the Canadian border without a passport. So Ryan booked flights for the two of us to fly to Great Falls, Montana and from there we would drive in to Canada. My parents agreed to keep Madalyn and Ethan while we were gone. Which was really sweet of them to keep the kids for the week.

We drove to Dallas Wednesday afternoon and went to Travis' house. He took us to the airport that evening. When we were boarding the plane a lady that worked for the airline told a few people in front of us that the overhead bins were full everyone else would have to check the luggage in that would not fit under your seat. We were not very happy about this but what choice did we have. Ryan knew we would lose our luggage once it was checked in.

We boarded the plane and made it to Denver, Co were we met up with Ryan's parents and his sister Elissa. We were all on the the next fight to Great Falls. When we arrived in Great Falls Ryan and I had NO luggage. The fastest way for us to get our luggage was for us to come back across the border the next day and meet up with the delivery guy. So we made to Aunt Nola's house in Canada at 3am. We did get our clothes the next evening and all was well. We had a wonderful time visiting with all of Ryan's family that was in the area. Friday we drove to Cardston for the viewing and then Saturday was the Funeral. It was a very nice funeral service but the bitter cold made the grave side service short. After the Funeral we had a nice luncheon with the family.

We had a wonderful visit but we were worn out from all the driving. Sunday we went to church which happens to be just behind the back fence at Aunt Nola's house it was nice to walk through the back yard out the gate and be in the church parking lot. After church we rested and the had another great evening visiting with the family. We had great meal and learned a new game called "werewolves". They said it is just like "Mafia" but we had never played that either. Although it was hard to be away from Madalyn & Ethan we definitely enjoyed the visit.

Monday afternoon we packed the car and headed to the airport. We checked in and saw that our plane was delayed for and hour. Ryan decided to go check with the airline to see what was going on. They figured out we would miss our connecting flight in Denver so they gave us vouchers for food and lodging in Great Falls. After we got to the Hotel, Ryans parents called because the plane was still delayed and they were going to miss there connecting flight too. So we all ended up in the Hotel across the Highway from the airport. We walked through the snow filled parking lot to the Flying J and ate dinner. The next morning we caught our flight and made it to Denver. We sat in the airport for an hour and then boarded our next plane. We finally made it to Dallas. The nice thing about the flights home were: in Great Falls they checked our luggage on for free due to our delays. When we boarded our plane in Denver we realized that the guy in Great Falls upgraded us on our flight so we more space to be comfortable.

Streets in Cardston.

Standing in front of Aunt Lois's house.

Me in front of Aunt Lois's house.

The temperature on Friday in Cardston (-22 F).

Grandma Bennett's Children and some of the spouses.

A few of the girl cousins. Hillary, Isabeile and Jennyin the front row. Myself and Elissa in the back.

Elissa and myself talking with Aunt Jeannette and her daughter Hillary.

Cousins Dallin & Bradley

Ryan clearing the snow off the car.

Aunt Nola's house where we stayed.

The snow plow in Taber.

"O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree..."

We put up our Christmas tree on Dec. 6th and decorated it on the 7th. This was so much fun putting up a tree in our new home. The kids enjoyed putting on ornaments and did a really great job. I was very pleased and didn't feel the need to move ornaments around to make it look more balanced.

Me putting on the bead trim while the kids enjoy a Christmas movie (Santa Clause 3). They actually watch it year round.

Madalyn & Ethan

Madalyn decorating the tree.

Dad puts the hooks on the ornaments ant the kids hang them on the tree.

Here is the finished tree.

NATIVITIES

I have acquired a few nativities over the years.

This is one that Meme made for the kids. They love playing with it.

This one is a music box.

This one is the kids "Little Peoples" Nativity. They keep this one out all year.

This was my first. The Mrs. Clause on the end was made by my Grandma Eyers. It is very delicate so I had to put it out of reach from the kids.

Bumps & Cuts

On Friday July 18th I woke up with a very painful bump on my chin. I thought great I'm getting a zit. By Friday night this bump was incredibly hard and very big. By Saturday I thought I must have been bitten by a bug and had an allergic reaction. Each day it got worse by Sunday it was so big I could not talk very well. Monday we finally decided to go to my old doctor (since insurance still has not started with the new job). He took one look and said it was a staph infection. He lanced it and got a bunch of puss out. It hurt like crazy. My mom and kids were in the room with me. Madalyn & Ethan were very concerned about me (neither of them care for Dr.s, especially Ethan since his big ordeal last year). Once he had gotten lots of puss out of it he bandaged it and gave me prescriptions for pain and an antibiotic. The next day I went back to the Dr. for a check-up. He said it was doing very well and it would take about a week for it to get better. Once I had finished my 10 days of antibiotics my chin was back to normal. Although I do have a scar 1/2 an inch long where it was lanced.

On Sunday July 13th Ethan had a run in with a garden wagon and cut his lip. We were worried it was all the way through. Once he let us get a good look at it we could tell that he had a cut on the inside of his lip from his teeth. He also had a cut on the outside from the wagon. He would not let us keep ice on it but he finally let us put a Popsicle on it (the kind in the plastic tube that you freeze after you buy them. It worked really well. His swelling went down rather quickly and he let me put some "steri strips" on it to hold it together. After some Motrin he felt much better and has heeled very well with a very thin scar.

Playing "catch - up" continued

I am back to play "catch-up". On Sun. Jun 15th Amy brought Jackson & Teegan to my parents for a few days ( She had cub scout day camp that week). On Mon. we took the kids to the Zoo. It was fun to see the kids enjoy the zoo with cousins.

On Tuesday night we went to Bryan to visit with Ryan's family (especially Elissa and her kids before they went home) and take Jackson & Teegan back.

Wednesday morning we took all the kids to the Bounce for a few hours. This was really fun having all the cousins together (on Ryan's side). Wednesday evening all of Ryan's siblings and spouses went to eat at The Road House. This has become a tradition with us when ever we are all together. We all had a great evening enjoying each others company and catching up.

Thursday (June 19th) I watched Amy's younger kids so she could volunteer at cub scout day camp.

Friday we hurried back to Waco so we could meet with our realtor.

The next weekend Fri. (June 27th) & Sat. (June 28th) Ryan and I helped Amy & Chris with a job they had in Belton filling in an old pool. That was lots of work.

Sunday (June 29th) Amy took Madalyn & Ethan back to Bryan so they could spend a few days with Grandma & Grandpa Bennett.

Wednesday (July 2nd) Ryan started his new job here in Waco.

Thursday Mom and I drove to Belton to pick up Madalyn & Ethan from Amy.

Playing "catch up" (June-July)

Wow! I can't believe it has been a month since I blogged. I feel so disconnected.

Okay everyone you will have to bare with me. This may take a while to recount all that we have done in the last month.

On June 5th we made our first offer on a house. It took about 2 days before we heard back from the seller. She counter offered and so did we. She said she was firm with her counter offer and we decided it was still a great deal on the house so we accepted.

During this negotiation of price we were in RR so Ryan could work and I could pack. Madalyn and Ethan stayed with my parents. Due to some unexpected events this also ended up being Ryan's last week at Firehouse. Which turned out to be really nice. We had Ryan all to our selves for about 3 weeks. Now that he has started his new job the kids are a little confused. They want to know where Daddy is and don't understand why they cannot talk to him whenever they want.

So, Ryan's last day was Sat. June 7th. Sunday went to church to teach our class and make sure we would have help the following Sat. when we were loading up the Uhaul. After Church we drove back to Waco.

We spent this week enjoying time with the kids. We went to the Zoo one day and played outside on the water slide at my parents. We also went swimming at the Baldwins a couple of times.

(Madalyn & Ethan watching the rhinos)

(Madalyn the Butterfly)

(Ethan the Butterfly)

(Madalyn having fun in the pool)

(Ethan discovered that he loves goggles)

(Ethan learned how to hold his breath under water)

(Madalyn & Ethan swimming around)

We were also in our "option period" on our house during this week. So we had the inspection to be at. The good news from the inspector was that this was a structurally sound house. The bad news was that the AC did not work and the tub in the master bathroom needed to be replaced. The seller had the AC in the house replaced now it works great. She is also paying for the tub to be replaced.

On Friday June 13th Ryan and I went back to RR so we could pick up the Uhaul. We got the Uhaul around 9am and went to our storage unit to start loading up. It took us 2 hours to empty out the storage unit. It was really easy b/c we had flat carts to use at the storage place. Our unit was on the second floor of a climate control storage facility. The Uhaul was backed right up to the loading dock for easy loading. Once we were done at the storage unit we went to our apartment and got the truck backed in and ready for loading. It was lunch by this time so we went and grabbed a bite to eat. When we returned we started loading the truck again. We got everything out of the bedroom, closet and kitchen that evening. I was also able to clean the empty rooms.

Saturday morning our help from church was not coming until 10am. Ryan woke up early and we took everything down stairs and put it on a tarp(except for 5 pieces of furniture that I could not help Ryan with). I finished cleaning and we waited for our help to arrive. It took 20 min. to finish with 2 extra people. I vacuumed on last time and then went to the office to turn in our keys. We were on the road to Waco by 10:50am. Ryan & I got cleaned up so we could meet with our realtor to sign some papers after lunch. That evening we unloaded the Uhaul at another storage unit. We only had one person show up from my parents ward. Luckily it only took us about an hour to unload.

While we were unloading the truck Mindi & her family, Marion & Seiko, and Adrienne & her family were at my parents playing on the water slide with my kids. I wish I could have visited more with my good friends that I rarely see. Sorry, Adrienne it was good to see you and your adorable family for the short time that we had.

I helped my mom and a few other people make a memory scrapbook for a Becky Gropp. My mom and Sis. Webb asked everyone to write letters telling Becky how much she means to them. We then put the letters together in a scrapbook.

(Amy, Leigh, Mom, Sally & Myself)

Well I still have more to write about but I think I will stop for now.