July 22nd through July 28th

July 22^nd through July 28^th 2019:  Monday Chris went to work and I went and bought new stair parts for the remodel.  I tore out the old handrail and installed new newel posts and made the two sides of the stairs the same.  I had to order the new handrail online, so I was not able to install the balusters and handrail, something to do next week.  I also installed wainscoting in the entryway and hall.  

Newel posts and stairs rebuilt. 

New wainscoting and crown in the entryway and hall.

Tuesday with Badger and Moose’s help we got the particle board sub floor removed from the laundry and the new bath.  These floors had only been in a few weeks.  John and Jill decided that they wanted to tile the floors in these two rooms and not have the vinyl be in every room of the main floor.  I then installed concrete board where the particle board had been.  Mom worked the afternoon and evening.  

Particle board coming out.

Particle board removed from the new bath.

Cement board installed.

Cement board installed in the bath.

Wednesday I got up and mudded the sheetrock and then we went into Salt Lake and met Alex and Charlotte’s family, Bryce and Kate’s kids, and John and Jill’s family and we hiked up to the top of Ensign Peak.  For many years it has been a family tradition to hike to the top of Ensign Peak on the 24^th of July to celebrate our pioneer heritage.  I worked the rest of the day getting the curb for the washer drain built, the rubber pan installed, and the concrete poured for the bed for the tile.  Chris and I went to dinner and I had a great rib eye stake and then we met some of our kids and grandkids at Bountiful park for pie.  

This is our group that hiked to Ensign Peak.

Beautiful view of the Salt Lake valley from Ensign peak.

Rubber pan installed for the washer drain.

Cement bed poured for the washer drain.

My steak was delicious.

Thursday mom went to work and I spent the day installing crown molding in the entry, and making all the parts for the paneling on the ends of the cabinets and installing some of the paneling.  

Cement board installed on the curb of the drain.

Moulding installed around the fireplace.

Panels installed on the bar and ends of the cabinets.

Friday we got up early and drove to American Fork and picked up President Faundez and his lovely wife.  They finished being mission president and companion in the Coban Guatemala mission the first of July.  We became good friends serving together for 2 ½ years. We first went to breakfast and then we drove to Manti and went on a session.  I then asked the recorder if he could give us a tour of the temple.  He was very accommodating and took us up the circular staircase to the top of the temple and showed us the attic and the upside down boat that was the roof of the temple.  The story goes that the man put in charge of building the roof did not know how to build such a large roof, but he did have experience building ships.  So he used his knowledge of ship building to frame the roof like a ship only upside down.  He also showed us the priesthood solemn assembly room and some of the sealing rooms.  The Faundez’s really enjoyed the temple and the tour.  We then had lunch in the cafeteria and President Dyreng and his wife came over and sat and talked with us for 15 minutes about our experiences in Guatemala.  Then on our way home, we stopped in Mt.  Pleasant and had a short visit with Mike and Merlene Ellington.  They let us pick apricots and black raspberries from their garden.  We then drove the Faundez’s back to their daughter’s home in American Fork.  We got home about 7:00pm.  It was a great day,  filled with sweet memories of our shared time together in Guatemala.  

Carlos and Therasita Faundez with us at the Manti temple.

Mom picking black raspberries in the Ellington's wonderful garden.

Mike and Merlene Ellington and the Faundez's and their apricots. 

Saturday mom went to Kirstin and James’ home to spend time with their kids.  She is going to tend them for 4 days next week, while they take a short trip to California.  I worked all day and finished installing the paneling on the ends of the cabinets and installing the last of the cabinets in the music/craft room.  John and Jill came home with some tile that they decided will be great in the laundry and new bath.  I laid it out so everyone could see what it will look like.  I have the go ahead to install it this next week.  

Panels on the cabinets installed.

More new panels on the cabinets.

Last of the cabinets installed in the music/craft room.

The tile they picked out for the laundry.

They are going to use the same tile in the new powder room.

Sunday we went to church and had a very quiet and relaxing afternoon working on this blog and taking a nap. 

July 15th through July 21st

July 15^th through July 21^st: Monday mom went to work and I hung 4 doors and installed all the molding around them.  

Doors to the laundry and new bath installed and moldings attached.

Closet and door to the basement installed with moldings. 

Tuesday I got the last can light in the music/craft room installed and the last of the ceilings taped and mudded so that while we are gone with Miles and Ellie to Tijuana, John B. can get the rest of the ceilings textured. I also built two cabinets so that John and Jill can decide if they want an island in the middle of the kitchen.  Wednesday we got up early and John B. took us to the airport.  When our grandchildren turn 12, we take them on a temple trip to do baptisms for the dead and this year we are taking Miles and Ellie to do baptisms in the Tijuana temple.  After we got our bags, I ordered an Uber and we went to the Ped West crossing in San Ysidro.  This is a crossing only for pedestrians and it was really quick.  It only took us maybe 30 minutes to get into Mexico.  We took a taxi to Alamo rental car and got our rental car and then drove to Rosarito where the condo we have rented is located.  We stopped at Walmart and stocked up on groceries and snacks.  We got settled into our condo and went to the pool and walked on the beach.  

We are off to Tijuana.

View from our balcony on the 7th floor.

A lot of people on the beach by our condo.

Pano of our view.

Thursday we walked the beach looking for sea shells and spent more time at the pool and hot tubs.  We then drove into Tijuana and found the temple.  We were surprised that they only do baptisms in the evening.  By the time we had lunch and drove home we did not want to drive back to the temple again later in the day.  

Early morning sea shell hunting.

We walked down to the pier in the background.

We just got done at the pool.

Click below to hear and see the beach.

Music at the beach.

Friday we spent the morning at the beach and pool and then went to see “Lion King” at the movie theater.  We then had a late lunch or early dinner and then got changed and drove to the temple.  It took about an hour each way with the traffic.  The temple is beautiful and we enjoyed doing the work for some or our distant cousins.  

At the pier we found this sand sculpture.

The force is strong with these two.

At the movie, The Lion King.

After our late lunch Friday afternoon .

The Tijuana temple is really beautiful.

We really enjoyed doing baptisms together.

Saturday we got up and packed and took the rental car back and  got dropped off at the pedestrian crossing.  We walked right through and had no waiting at all.  We took an Uber to the airport and after discussing all our options decided to check our bags and then go to Sea World.  We took another Uber to Sea World and spent day there.  We had dinner at Jack in the Box at the airport and our plane was on time and we got home about 9:30pm. Charlotte picked us up and drove us home.  We had a great trip with Miles and Ellie and we hope they will always remember our trip to the temple in Tijauna.  

This was a very big sign and you can hardly see Miles and Ellie in the middle.

Some of the rides at Sea World made me sick just looking at the ride.

Click below to enjoy the ride.

This ride was crazy.

They just got off the ride in the background.  

The Orcas did not disappoint.

Headed home after a long day.

Sunday we went to church and had dinner at Kate’s home with our kids and grandkids that live here in Utah.  It is always fun to be together.  We hurried home and hosted a walk about for the ward.  Many ward members came by and mom had made chocolate chip cookies for everyone.  We showed those that were interested our construction project and got a lot of compliments on what we are doing.  I am looking forward to being able to get back to work and finish up this project.  The temple is closed for two weeks so I should have no distractions and should be able to get a lot done these next two weeks.

July 8th through July 14th

July 8^th through July 14^th: Monday Chris went to work and I went and rented a demo hammer and worked on removing the stone on the floor of the entryway and hall to the kitchen and also removing the hearth to the fireplace and part of the stone on each side of the fireplace, in order to have a little more room for bookcases on the sides.  By 3:00 pm, I had the truck loaded down with debris and so I went to the dump.   I was surprised that it was so heavy,  just under 2000 pounds of demoed stone and concrete.  I then drove into Salt Lake and picked up the walnut butcher block counter tops that we had ordered for the TV/front room, music/craft room and the dining room. When John B. got home from work he helped me finish the demo and get the truck loaded with the remainder of the demoed material.  

The stone entryway and hall to kitchen before demo.

The fireplace before demo.

The concrete bed demoed into small pieces.

The fireplace after demo.  We removed the hearth and part of the stone on the sides.

I hauled 3900 lbs of stone, concrete and cinder block to the dump.

Stone and the concrete bed removed.

Holding a 20lbs demo hammer is not as fun as my smile indicates.

Tuesday I went to the dump first thing and was again surprised at the weight, a little less than 2000 pounds of demoed concrete block, stone, and concrete bedding material.  On the way home, I stopped at Home Depot and bought the materials to raise up the floor where the stone had been.  I spent the rest of the day getting the new sub-floor in where the stone had been.  Mom worked from noon to 10:00pm. 

I had to raise the floor about 2 inches to have everything the same height.

Sub floor installed in the hall.

And in the entryway.

Wednesday we got up at 4:00am and went to the temple for our shift.  In the afternoon, I worked on building the cabinets and framing the new fireplace.  We are moving the face of the fireplace into the room about 12 inches to have room for recessed bookcases on each side of the fireplace.  

Framing out the fireplace.

We finally got the sheetrock on all the exterior walls cut out and replaced with new.  Good bye mold.

Thursday mom went to work and I spent the day finishing the framing of the fireplace and the cabinets on either side.  John B. stayed up and textured the TV/front room ceiling so mom and I could install the crown molding.  

I had to do some of the fireplace framing in noncombustible materials. That means metal studs and concrete board.

I built some bookcases on either side of the fireplace that are recessed a bit behind the face of the fireplace.

Friday Mom helped me most of the day install all the crown molding in the hall from the garage to the kitchen, the kitchen, the kitchen dining, and the TV/front room.  

All the crown molding is installed from the garage door to the fireplace.

Entry from kitchen dining into the TV/front room.

With the crown mold installed.

John B. got the ceiling textured and mom and I got the crown molding installed.

Looking from the TV room into the kitchen dinning.

Saturday I got up and put a second coat of sheetrock mud on some of the joints and then mom and I went over to the church and helped clean the chapel.  I then spent the rest of the day casing the door openings.  

Doorways trimmed out.

More doorways in the hall to the kitchen.

Sunday we went to church and then had a nice relaxing afternoon and then dinner with John and Jill’s family at our apartment.  I feel like I got a lot accomplished this week on the remodel and it is coming together nicely and should be finished in about 6 weeks.