Progress you can see. Finally......

We have had a lot of help getting things done in our basement.  We are really grateful for everything that everyone has done.  It seems like everything we have done up to now (except the first few days of ripping stuff out) isn't really apparent.  We spent a lot of time redoing the wiring, adding light switches and replacing light fixtures.    Last weekend, we finally made some visible progress.  Jake, Eric, Brent, Daniel and a guy from the ward came over and helped us and we got a lot done.

Work done so far:

• All the wiring that was in or near the water has been replaced


• Every room has it's very own light switch (in a logical location) - Yea!!


• New light fixtures in several rooms (needed more than 1 40 watt mini-bulb to make it not feel like a dungeon)


• Added light fixture in family room


• Centered light fixtures (instead of wherever they were before)


• Moved the wall and Heather now has a laundry _room_ instead of a laundry closet


• Closed in the wall to the storage dungeon and opened up an opening for new french doors


• Removed big box on the ceiling at the bottom of the stairs (was put there because of a lazy electrician)


• All exterior walls have new insulation


• Drywall in the pink room


• Drywall in the blue room

Work left:

• Window box in the blue room


• Drywall in the yellow room


• Drywall in all of the closets


• Drywall in the hallway


• Drywall in the family room


• Wetboard in the bathroom


• Install french doors into the office


• Move 2 wires in the ceiling (where the electrician went around, not through the top plate.... Crossing my fingers - hoping it is easy)


• Add 2 new outlets in the office


• Fix all the holes in the ceiling from pulling new wires


• Do all the taping and mudding (I think we will pay somebody to do this)


• Lay new flooring in the bathroom


• Put down new carpet pad and all the carpet


• Redo the window wells so this NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER happens again


• Keep tabs on a good realtor in case this happens again

As I look at that list, it seems like we have more to do than we have done.  As I look at the basement I am pretty sure we are well past the hump and entering the home stretch.

Here are some pictures of where the basement is at right now.

Last night's ceremony...

Last night as Heather and I were talking, a small ceremony took place. It was very small and unassuming, but it definitely signified a major event in both Heather and Noah's lives. It got me thinking a little about ceremonies in general. Everybody knows you are getting married long before the wedding. The ceremony doesn't annouce anything that was unknown. If you skip your graduation, you are still a graduate. Attendance is optional. The ceremony is usually just a capstone. The work is done before you enter the ceremony.

Last night's ceremony fits all of these descriptions, but it was much smaller. The ritual has been performed. If you weren't paying attention, it was easy to miss. As we were talking, Heather looked at me and said "Someday, _your_ boy is going to have a little boy, _just_ like him. I feel bad for his poor wife."*

It is now official. Noah is a boy, and Heather is a mother.




* Brief explanation for those curious about what caused this comment. Noah was curious. He wanted to see how well dryer sheets clean a bathroom mirror. When they did nothing, he got them wet. When that left a white film, he tried toilet paper. With the toilet paper though, he was a step ahead. He knew that dry things did nothing, so he went straight to the wet phase. The end result was a bathroom mirror 100% covered in white dyer sheet film with a light spattering of toilet paper pulp. The counter was covered with enough raw materials to do a few more mirrors, including water.

What we've done so far this summer

We haven't posted a whole lot this summer. That isn't because we haven't done anything..... We have even slipped some fun in between weekends of working on the basement. Noah and Matt went on a father's and sons campout. Noah thought it was awesome sleeping in a tent. For the Fourth of July we went to the Plain City celebrations with Heather's sister. Noah participated his first pie-eating contest. The highlight of the day though came with the fish catch. They had a pond that they filled with water before adding fish. The kids got to climb in and catch the fish with their hands. Noah caught a couple of them on his own but had troubles putting them into the bag. Gracie needed a little more help. Both of the kids had a TON of fun running around in the water with the fish. Here are pictures that do a better job describing the summer than I have done.

USU Update

Family and Friends,

I have accepted USU's offer. I'll join the Applied Economics department in July 2010.

We look forward to moving to Cache Valley, but we are sad to be leaving NC. We'll keep you posted.

And now back to the weird stuff.

You have been warned...

The posts will keep getting weirder until you start commenting.

My Brother the Blogger

My brother used to run his own blog, Dead Seriously. Now he blogs at bycommonconsent, a well-known LDS blog.

Here is a link to his most recent post. (Rated PG for mild underwear and Relief Society related humor)

Here is a link to his other posts.

Awkward

I...can't....look...away...