December 24th through December 30th

December 24^th through December 30^th: Monday Chris got up bright and early to report for her first day at her new job.  She will be working for Blomquist Hale EAP as a therapist.  She was introduced to their computer system and then she saw two clients.  She says she is enjoying doing therapy without having to think about billing, insurance, and scheduling.  I spent the day working on the sheetrock, applying mud and sanding. We had Christmas Eve dinner with Charlotte and Alex and their family and then we read the Christmas story together.  The children wanted to act out the nativity so Tilly was Mary, everyone was an angel, and I was sheep because I kept falling asleep under a white, fluffy blanket.  It is hard to stay awake when I get up at 2:00 am.  Tuesday we headed down to Charlotte’s to see what Santa brought.  We were only 5 minutes away when John B called to say his kids were up and ready to open presents.  We asked him to stall them with breakfast and we continued to Charlotte’s.  Their kids excitedly opened their presents and we hurried back to John’s.  They opened presents and everyone seemed happy.  We then went to Katie’s for another round of presents.  I then took Charlotte and her family to the airport to visit Alex’s family.  We are going to stay at their house and take care of Rico, their dog.  Chris is excited to be out of the construction and sheet rock dust. 

Christmas morning at Charlotte's house.

Christmas morning at John's house.

Christmas morning at Kate's house.

Wednesday was a day of mudding and sanding and more mudding and sanding. Chris helped cleaning up and doing some sanding.  I got the first coat of waterproofing on the walls of the shower.  We went and bought the tile for our bathroom. 

We had another snow storm.  The trees were so beautiful after the storm.

Waterproofing the shower.

Thursday was mostly spent mudding and sanding and we went and picked up the moldings.  In the evening we went to dinner with Kate and her family, John and his family and Ed and Cindy Hansen, Kate's in-laws, all to celebrate Kate's birthday.  

At Kate's birthday dinner.

Friday, I got the second coat of waterproofing on Badger’s shower and now it is ready for tile. I did more mudding and sanding on the sheetrock. In the afternoon I went and picked up the vinyl flooring. 

All the ceilings are textured.

Bathroom ceiling textured.

Hall textured.

Laundry room textured.

Bedroom textured.

Dinning room/front room textured.

Saturday, I got most of the tile set for Badger’s shower and we got the sheet rock sealed and ready for paint. We also went and bought paint, 2 bathroom sinks, a toilet, door-knobs, and a paint sprayer.  We took a break and went to the temple.  

Bathroom is sealed and primed.

Shower tiled.

Sunday we went to church and in the afternoon we picked up my brother, Van and drove to Utah County to see James and visit my other brother Tad and his wife Tove. I have been working a lot of hours trying to get the sheet rock finished.  I can see some light at the end of the tunnel and I hope it is not a train coming at me.  We enjoyed being with some of our kids and grandkids for Christmas.  It has been a long time since we have been able to be with them.  James was in Washington with Kirstin's family and Ginny and Sam stayed home in Pasadena.  Life is good and will be even better once the sheetrock is finished.  

December 17th through December 23rd

December 17^th through December 23^rd:  Monday the inspector came at 7:30 am and passed us off on the rough 4 way inspection.  I started hanging sheet rock.  I even got Chris to help me with a few pieces on the ceiling before she went walking with her friend, Merritt.  Merritt heard what I was doing and called to say that she and her husband, Tom, would come right up and help with the ceiling pieces. Chris left to go for some training with her new job and to see Emme’s Christmas dance program in American Fork.  

Emme was the cutest little elf.

Tom and Merritt were a big help.  I had one accident!  As I was screwing a piece of sheetrock into the ceiling, I put a screw into a copper pipe.  I had to shut off the water to the house and call the plumber.  He could not come and suggested a plumber here in Bountiful.  They could not come until after hours.  After hours means $$$$.  But we had to have water so everyone could get ready for school and work. We just went on hanging in other rooms.  The plumber arrived about 8:00 pm and left about 9:30 pm.  But at least the water was back on and everyone got ready for bed.  I then noticed that it was still leaking.  I shut off the water again and called the plumber and told him it was too late and to come back in the morning.  

The ceiling of the drop down in hung, check.

Tuesday  I turned on the water and just let it drip into a bucket so everyone could get ready and out of the house.  The plumber came and fixed the soldering he had done poorly.  It was a very expensive screw.  I continued to hang the sheet rock on the walls where we had the ceilings already hung.  We stopped about 10:00 am and got ready to go to Rigby’s Christmas program at his school.  

Rigby is in the middle,just left of the girl with a white shirt- "Rockin' around the Christmas tree!"

Click below to see Rigby's program.

Rigby's Christmas program

On the way to Alpine, we stopped and returned some of the samples we had taken home to see what we liked.  We purchased the quartz counter top and backsplash for the kitchen.  When we got back home I got the fireplace framed and covered over.  

The fire place is no more.

Wednesday Tom came back and helped me get the rest of the sheet rock for the ceilings hung.  He then started to screw off all the sheetrock.  

Closets hung, check.

Hall and laundry room hung, check.

Thursday I started taping the sheet rock and once again Tom saved the day and came and finished screwing off the sheetrock.  Thanks Tom and Merritt for all your help this last week.  Friday, mom learned how to fill screw holes and I continued taping.  I went and picked up the doors.  I also got the mortar base in Badger’s shower poured.  

Kitchen hung, check. See those screw holes mom filled.

Here are the doors we picked out.

Mortar base installed and yes it slopes to the center.

Saturday, I continued with taping.  We took a break and went to the temple.   After the temple, I got the rest of the hardi-backer installed in the shower.  John and Jill picked out and purchased the tile for Badger’s bathroom.  I should have his bathroom tiled by the end of next week.  

We even hung sheetrock under the stairs.

Hardi backer installed and tile picked out.

Sunday we went and spoke in the Ensign 6^th ward.  This is the ward where we raised our children.  We had some good friends and missionaries come and support us.  We went to dinner at Cindy and Ed Hansen’s home after our talks.  They are the parents of our son-in-law, Bryce, who is married to our Kate.  It was nice to spend the afternoon with them.  Wally and Martha Cooper came by in the evening and Wally checked up on the progress of the apartment.  They are our good friends and Wally is the architect who drew the plans for the apartment so we could get the building permit.  Thanks again Wally.  We worked hard this last week and I only woke Jill up once at 3:00 am.  We so enjoyed seeing everyone from our old ward and seeing our good friends who came to hear us speak.  We are so blessed and grateful for the many tender mercies we receive on a regular basis. 

December 10th through December 16th

December 10^th through December 16^th: Monday I worked on finishing the duct for the dryer and wiring the last of the can lights and plugs in the hall.  Mom went to lunch with an old high school friend.  Tuesday I framed around the duct work in our bedroom and finished all the wiring in that room. Mom went to the dentist to see what she needs to have done.  She had a tooth pulled in Guatemala and will need at least one implant and a crown. 

The ceiling is ready for sheet rock.

Wednesday I got all the loose ends done and my work is ready for the rough inspection.   The plumber came and finished the pan for the new shower and the drain for the washer so his work is ready also.  Mom went into Salt Lake to Blomquist Hale, where she is going to work as a therapist.  She met with the HR person who gave her a lot of material that she has to read and sign.  She has to have a background check to see if she is a “shady” character.  She did get finger-printed and we are relieved she has no criminal record.  In the evening, we went to Badger, Moose and Ellie’s Christmas program at their school.  It was fun to see them all perform. 

 Badger plays the trombone.

Click below to hear BadgerBadger playing the trombone

Moose plays the Cello.

Click below to hear MooseMoose playing the Cello

Ellie singing in the choir for her Christmas program.  She is the blond in middle of the front row in the grey dress.

Thursday morning the inspector came and said I needed to do three more things before he could sign off and we can start to hang sheet rock.  So I went and purchased 3 smoke detectors and a smoke/carbon dioxide detector and hard wired them in the two bedrooms and halls.  I thought that they could be surface mounted and battery operated, but the code says in new construction they have to be wired and in a series so if one goes off the all go off.  I had to lower the ceiling in the new bathroom because of the dryer duct and the walls need some fire blocking.  The last thing is I need to provide more combustible air for the furnace.  This meant that I needed to cut a hole in the brick and put a grill on it so air from outside can flow into the furnace room.  Thursday I got the hole in the brick done.  I called for a re-inspection, but they don’t work on Friday so it is scheduled for next Monday.  In the evening, we went to Evan’s Christmas concert.

Evan's Christmas Concert

Evan plays the violin.

Friday we went to the temple and then did some shopping for counter tops, tile and vinyl flooring.  We think we have found what we want to use.  I started cutting sheet rock in anticipation of getting approval on Monday to start hanging sheet rock.

This is what we are thinking we will use. Vinyl planking for the floor, white cabinets, grey quartz counter-tops, and carrera marble with grey square tiles for the back splash.

The washer and dryer will be stacked, so the dryer vent and gas line are up high.

Mom took Rigby, Stanford, Luke, Jake and Ellie to the play, “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”.  

Mom took our 4 eight-year-old grandsons to the play, "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe." Left to right:  Rigby, Stanford, Jake, and Luke.  Ellie came along too.

Saturday I got all the fire blocking done and all but 6 pieces of sheet rock cut.  I also took a load of trash to the dump.  

Truck loaded for the dump.

Sheet rock is everywhere.

Only a few pieces of sheet rock left to cut.

Moose, age 13, made the semi-finals in the cha-cha at his dance competition.  

Click below to see Moose dancing.

Moose at his dance competition

Sunday we went to church and Mom and I cooked a pot roast, potatoes and gravy and broccoli dinner.  That is the meal we had when our children were small almost every Sunday.  It brought back a lot of memories.  

Pot roast with mashed potatoes and gravy, Yum

I got sustained as the Temple and Family History specialist in the ward.  We are starting to feel like we are putting down some roots and that we will be here for awhile.  Life is good and if we can just get into our apartment things will be great.  We are very blessed.

December 3rd through December 9th

December 3^rd through December 9^th:  Monday morning the inspector came and passed the sub-plumbing.  So I went to Home Depot and bought 14-60 lbs bags of concrete and a tub to mix it in. Carrying 60 pound bags of concrete from the garage to the basement is not my kind of fun.  I then filled the trench with dirt and packed the dirt down and then mixed concrete and patched the slab around the plumbing.  I still have to patch under the vanity in our bathroom that I reinstalled so we could have a wash basin, but at least I can keep going on Badger’s bathroom.  

Hand mixing concrete is a lot of work.

My concrete skills are just barely adequate. 

I will finish fixing the slab under the vanity when I demo our bathroom.  I spent the afternoon wiring the new plugs in our kitchen.  I added 4 new dedicated circuits, one for the refrigerator, one for the microwave oven, one for the plugs above the counter, and one for the dishwasher and disposal.  In the evening we went to Jake’s Christmas program at his school.  The third graders certainly have a lot of energy.  

Jake is the blondie on the back row center.

Tuesday I framed the rest of the bathroom, putting up walls at the back of the washer and dryer in our apartment and the walls for Badger’s shower.  I finished wiring his bathroom with 3 can lights, a light above the vanity and a ground fault plug by the vanity.  It is now ready for the plumber to come and rough in the plumbing in the kitchen, washer and dryer, and the new bathroom.  My nephew, Drew, delivered our kitchen cabinets and told me that they were going to discontinue the line of cabinets that I had purchased and that if I wanted any more I had to order then today.  

Badger and John B carried the cabinets down from the garage.

I talked to John and Jill and showed them what our cabinets were going to look like and told them we could get a good deal if they wanted me to figure out a cabinet plan for their main floor.   I spent half a day drawing plans for their kitchen, laundry room, half bath, front room, music/multipurpose room and the kid’s upstairs bathroom.  I emailed the list to Drew and he asked how much we wanted to pay.  I had also added cabinets for our bedroom, 3 rooms in James’ house and a few cabinets for Kate’s bath and laundry room.  I couldn’t get a hold of John or Jill and Drew wanted an answer if we were going to buy more cabinets.  So I said we would take them all for $2,500.  He said that would be great.  Wow, what a blessing.  I had just purchased 18 cabinets for our kitchen for about the same amount of money and that was 30% of what it would have cost if I would have built the cabinets myself.  So we bought 150 cabinets for $2,500.  

We had another snow storm.

Wednesday Jill had a designer come in and go over the cabinet plans for the main floor.  She made a couple of changes, but overall liked what I had drawn.  It was a good thing, because we weren’t going to be able to make a lot of changes.   In the afternoon, I worked on wiring our bedroom with 4 can lights and some new plugs.  I also rented another storage unit and ordered a 26 foot Uhaul truck to move the cabinets we had just ordered.  In the evening, we went to the ward Christmas party and enjoyed a nice evening in our new ward. Two choirs from Bountiful High School provided the entertainment, one the girl’s choir and one boys choir.  

Neighborhood Christmas dinner.

Girls choir from Bountiful High.

Click below to hear the choir.

Girl's choir

Boys choir.  I graduated from Bountiful High.

Everyone brought their favorite picture of Christ.

Thursday I picked up the truck and headed to West Valley to get the cabinets.  It took me all morning to load the truck.  I had to hand stack a lot of the cabinets in order to make enough room for all of them.  These cabinets are very heavy and I was wiped out when I got finished.  I did not have the energy to unload the cabinets into the storage unit so I told U-haul that I would need the truck for another day.  

The truck is loaded and I am exhausted.

The plumber came in the afternoon and rough plumbed the basement.  He did not have everything he needed to run the gas lines for the stove and dryer so he will have to come back next Tuesday.  

The bathroom is looking a little more like it is ready for sheet-rock.

Mom had an interview and got a job as a therapist at Blomquist Hale.  In the evening, we went to Holbrook elementary school to see the 3^rd through 6^th grade choir perform.  We have 3 grandsons in the choir.  

Holbrook children's choir.

Click below to hear the choir

Children's choir

L to R Miles, Luke and Kimball

Friday First thing I made Swedish pancakes for Jake’s birthday and then I went to Home Depot in Salt Lake and got two laborers to help me unload the truck.  It took us till noon to unload and organize all the cabinets.  I took some up to the house for the two bathrooms in the basement and the cabinets that I added for our bedroom.  

The storage unit is organized.

I then went and bought the duct work for the dryer vent and the bathroom fan for Badger’s bath.  I worked on installing that duct work for the rest of the day.  Saturday John B. got up and helped me cut two holes through the brick for the two vents that I have been working on.  We worked till noon and then mom and I went to the dance recital for Abby, Kate’s daughter.  

Abby is in the middle front row.

What a cutie.

We then drove to James’ and delivered some of his cabinets.  We went to dinner with his family and tried to go to a live nativity, but we had the day wrong and it was on Friday night.  

Rigby

Emme

Campbell

Sunday we went to church and then in the late afternoon we all met at Charlotte’s home for dinner and a Christmas gift exchange for all the kids.  We had a Chinese themed dinner and I had made two dishes.  After dinner, we got Ginny, Sam and their girls in California on Facetime for the gift exchange.  It was fun to see the kids so excited for presents.  What a week of activities and work.  At the end of each day my body tells me I have done too much and that I am too old be doing what I am doing.  So I take some Tylenol and go to bed.  I am thankful that in the morning I don’t feel quite so sore and that I can keep going.  We are so blessed and are enjoying our grandkids so much.  

Fun with Poppa.

The Christmas gift exchange begins.

The other day our grandson, Moose, who is 13, told his mom that he liked having Nana and Poppa living with them.  We so hope that we can bless their lives and have a positive influence on them, because they are having a positive influence on us.  For those of you who missed our report and would like to see us, we will be speaking on December 23^rd at the chapel on 18^th avenue (589 East 18th Avenue, Salt Lake City) The time has changed because they are only going to have one meeting.  It will start at 11:30 am.