Not Our Best Month

As we near the end of September, we're really hoping things start looking up in October. I have a good feeling they will.

Here's where we're at with the house right now. They were "pretty sure" we would be able to close on Friday, but once again we didn't. However, we do have a time set up for Monday at 10 a.m., we are going to meet with the title company and sign the closing docs. FINALLY!!

BUT. This morning Kenny went over there to put some more of our stuff in the garage, and looked around in the house. They're still not even done. They still haven't put in the screen door in the sliding back door, still lots of blue tape where they were supposed to do touch-ups, and one of our kitchen cupboard doors is off its hinges and sitting on the counter. Really? When Kenny called and told me I wanted to either start screaming profanities or cry because I was just so upset. It's such a helpless feeling too, because we don't know what to do. All but the screen door, we can fix ourselves and just close, move in, and be done with these imbeciles forever. But the more vengeful part of me thinks "Why should they be able to be so unprofessional and unreliable, and do such a crappy job, and walk off without any repercussions?!!" But at the same time we are so sick of dealing with them, and so desperate to get into our house, that I don't think it's worth even getting into it with them. It's a very frustrating situation. When we very first met with them and put down earnest money, that was October 19, 2012 which means it's been 20 days short of A WHOLE YEAR to build a house. And a sub-par job at that. You'd think it was the first house they've ever built! I can't believe they're still in business.

Also, as I mentioned earlier, we bought 2 washers, 2 dryers, and 2 refrigerators from Best Buy. That's thousands of dollars worth of appliances. First, the sales associate at the store told us as we were purchasing them that we would be able to come and pick them up on the 11th, or any day after that if we wanted to. Turns out he was wrong, and we needed to wait until the 28th for them to be delivered. Before we were upset because we thought that was going to be a problem, as we really thought we would be in our house by now. I could deal with going to the Laundromat, but I need a fridge. So the manager gave us a deal on small mini-fridge we could use in the mean time. (Of course now we just wasted that money and have an extra mini-fridge and nowhere to put it). Saturday morning they call and say that they weren't actually there yet, and they wouldn't be delivered until sometime between Sunday-Tuesday--they weren't really sure. I called back using my angry voice and told them that was the second time they screwed us over and what were they going to do about it. He ended up giving us $200 bucks off the order. How many more things can not go our way? I'll tell you one more...

Also this morning, we were getting some of our "extra" stuff together to take over to the house, things we wouldn't need until Monday when we move again. So Kenny was in the closet picking up all of the cleaners that were in a box and had been dumped over. He was tossing them out of the closet to Tyler, who then put them back in the box. For some reason the bear spray was in there, and somehow the safety clip fell off when the box was knocked over. Without knowing that, Kenny tossed it out and it landed on the floor and sprayed. I didn't see it happen, but I immediately heard Kenny start coughing/choking and Tyler had sprinted to the sink and started crying and rubbing his eyes. Yes it was in his EYES! So while Kenny helped Ty, I picked up the spray and run it outside and read the can. We rinse his eyes out in the tap for like 15-20 minutes. I changed my clothes and took off Ty's, opened all the windows to air the house out, kept all the other kids outside, called poison control just in case and to get some tips...Oh that stuff just gets in your mouth and lungs and makes it burn and feel numb. Poor Tyler was so brave but that stuff is really intense and was burning his eyes so bad. I felt so bad for him. I'm so glad that he's doing better now and there wasn't any long-lasting eye damage.

I've been really wanting to go to the temple this week to get away and calm down. But Kenny works late every night and my temple bag is packed up somewhere. Hallelujah that we are almost at the other end of this. So I'm really, really looking forward to going to the General Relief Society Broadcast tonight.

Notes

Sometimes I quickly jot things down in the "notes" section on my phone, like quick journaling for things I don't want to forget. Here's some things from this last month that I haven't already covered.

July 24th
Today bryn was busy coloring and humming a little song as usual when she stops and says, "mom, where does Jesus live?" 

"In heaven" I replied

And what does He look like?

Well, we're not sure, but we know he is man and has a body just like we do.

She says, yes I do know. He has white hair, and a white beard and all of him is white. 

I think you're probably right bryn.

Then Ty joins in, yeah! He has white hair and blue eyes.

Her thoughts are so often on our Savior and Heavenly Father. What a sweet stage she is in.

August 24th

Kels gets into the dog food a lot, sticks her hands in his water bowl then sucks on it, gets her arm stuck in the kennel, tries to sit on him a lot, and pulls his fur when he's sleeping. She is very jealous of the attention jake gets, especially from daddy.

After bathing the girls I got Kelsey dressed and left the other two to dress themselves since they can. I went upstairs to start on dishes and hear my kids outside. Madison had gone outside buck naked holding her pajamas in her hand. Thankfully just the backyard. She loves to snuggle up to me. Especially when I read her a book she has to be touching me and slide right up next to me. So sweet.

Written Sep. 8th

Madi: bryn asked when Christmas is. I told them when, and mentioned that Madison's birthday was first and then 20 days later would be Christmas. Madison gasped and said "Yes! Lets do this!!"

At the movie theater I left T & B in there and took madi and kels to the bathroom. When done madi ran out while I was washing Kelsey's hands. I tried to follow her as soon as I could, but couldn't see her anywhere. I thought that she would be lost, that there's no way she would remember which door to go in (lots of rooms of movies) and that she wouldn't be strong enough to open the door if she did know. She was nowhere to be found and I'm running around everywhere, trying to listen for her crying or calling for me, back to the bathroom etc. finally I thought I should check on Ty and bryn. She was sitting right by them. I underestimate how smart she is sometimes.

Today at stake conference I was out in the hall with the noisy little girls. Kelsey pooped, and I had left the diaper bag in the mtg by daddy. I had Madison go in with the mission of finding dad, getting the bag and bringing it back. I only half expected this plan to work. A minute later, out walks madi, half carrying, half dragging this huge and heavy diaper bag, with a big smile on her face for accomplishing this big girl task. It was so cute.  

She catches daddy every time and reminds him to buckle up in the car. I'm grateful for her saying it because it doesn't work if I remind him, but you got to listen to your cute 2 year old, especially when we tell her she has to buckle up :).

Sep. 9th

Tyler keeps using the word sabotage. We gave Kenny a pair of shoes for his birthday and there's a heel cushion in them. Tyler joyfully exclaims, "there's a sabotage in them!" Haha I asked what he thought that meant and he confidently said, "a sabotage means something that's comfortable."

Then when Madison scratched his back he said "oh yeah I love this back sabotage"! I finally figured out he was confusing MASSAGE with sabotage!! Lol

Sep. 20th

Madi got a muscle twitch and said "my bum is going up and down" 

Me: (I was laughing really hard) why is that?

Madi: umm...I can't tell

Getting There

So we're still not in our house. Shocker, I know. We did "move" back to Anchorage, at least. Wasilla was over an hour commute each way, the house was gross, and I needed to be in town to start babysitting. Thankfully, Kenny works in the oil and gas industry so he has a lot of buddies at work that work on the slope. That means they're gone 2 or 3 weeks at a time. Brian was kind enough to let us come and stay at his furnished rental here in town. It has been a huge blessing, but really I'm just still frustrated that we haven't been able to close. We are being repeatedly let down with every day and week something else getting delayed and pushed back. But at least we haven't been in a hotel room, so it could always be worse. So last weekend we were busy moving what little stuff we have down here, and cleaning up the other house really well. Hopefully Louden will feel like he got a good deal by having us stay there for how much cleaner his house his now! :)

We were able to get a nice family to rent out the other side of our duplex at the first of the month. Cross your fingers we've actually closed by then!! Haha. But I'm glad to have one less stress off our minds and get that out of the way. AND on Thursday Kenny and a few buddies moved half of our stuff out of one storage unit and into the garage of our new house. They did at least let us sign something to hold stuff in the garage, so that saves us from paying another month on the storage unit. We got a deal for $30 for the first month, and we only used it for one month so that's nice.

I was able to start babysitting (finally) this week. It's a little 9 1/2 month old girl, Anja. She's such a cutie, and the kids really like her. The funniest was when Madison called her "lasagna". It's more tricky having an extra baby around, but not too bad.

We've been trying to get outside and enjoy the fall weather before it turns quickly to winter. The snow moves farther down the mountains all the time and I know it's only a matter of days (or weeks). On Friday Kenny had the day off and went fishing for the last time this season. He went with Tim, Mike, and Feliciano. They went down the Kenai river in a boat and fished for silver salmon and rainbow trout. They caught both, but you can't keep trout so he brought home the two silvers he caught. It was a beautiful day and he had a fun time, I'm glad he got to go.

Last week was our first Sunday in our new ward and I just know we're going to love it! Kelsey went to nursery last week which was absolutely heavenly! I haven't NOT had a kid with me during church for a long time so it was really nice to sit through all of both classes and listen. I'm glad she has Madison in there with her to help her adjust.

Happy 30th Birthday Kenny!

I need to do a catch-up of our latest happenings. Probably the biggest thing I haven't blogged about was Kenny's 30th Birthday!! He's getting so old!! :) It was on Sunday, Sep. 8th. We had Stake Conference at 9 a.m. so it left little time for doing anything but a "happy birthday song" in the morning. We went to the meeting where I spent probably 1.5 hours of the 2 hours in the hall/mother's room with Madison and Kelsey who don't know how to be quiet and sit still. But that's okay. What I did hear was very good and I'm getting so excited for General Conference. After the meeting we were in the hall, walking out to the car when we heard someone call "Kenny!" We saw Maren and her kids coming down to meet us. They are our "Wasilla friends", that we haven't gotten together with since we went clamming on Memorial Day. Kenny used to work with Mike, her husband, at URS and we really like their family. She invited us over for lunch, which we were grateful to spend time with friends on his special day that would have been so lame otherwise! When we got there, she had put up streamers and a big happy birthday banner, and even made a chocolate cake! She served us a fabulous steak lunch with candied yams (his absolute favorite). I thought she was so inspired to just happen to have that planned for the day without knowing beforehand we would be coming. They're such good people. After having such a big lunch, no one was really feeling up to another big meal of chicken fettuccine alfredo (his for real favorite meal that I was going to make him). We did do our own little brownies and ice cream later that night and played the hot and cold game for him to find his presents. Tyler and I had gone birthday shopping for him, and got wrapping paper too. But we failed to remember that all our scissors and tape are packed up so we weren't able to wrap anything after all! Oh well. He didn't get anything too great; a brown and black pair of shoes for work, a new shirt and socks also for work, and a few random little gifts.

I am so grateful for Kenny. I don't think I realized how really great he was when I married him. I mean I knew I loved him, but I don't think I expected him to be so awesome! Every single time we come upon a trial or go through something together whether it's moving, pregnancy, having a child, losing a child, job change, etc. he has been a rock. Truly, he is my strength that keeps me going and gets me through everything. I can always count on him to take care of us, and keep us laughing on the way. :) It's sort of a running joke between us that he's "Superman" because everywhere we move we have many people comment on how much he looks like Clark Kent. But really, he is my Superman and I feel so blessed to have him as my eternal companion. I love him so much.

Once again, I'll add pictures later.

My New Motto

I've been pretty stressed lately. When I get stressed I get snarky and short with my family. I lose my patience a lot quicker and I'm just not happy. I was thinking the other day on the drive from Anchorage to Wasilla, about what makes happy people happy. Aside from the regular and obvious things of choosing the right and staying close to the spirit of the Lord, I thought of the fact that they are able to let go of things they can't control. Like when our house will be done being built. I have absolutely no control over that. And it's been a very frustrating process. The thought came to me,

"Do your best then let go of the rest."

The other night I complained one too many times to Kenny, who has a lot more important matters at work to worry about. He kindly said some things that really put me in my place, and I needed to hear. I have some repenting to do for my poor attitude, and how I've let silly things get in the way of how I behave.
I was thinking about the children of Israel who ate manna every day in the wilderness. This was a miracle that God provided EVERY day for them. They never went hungry! At the same time, they were also used to eating much better food in Egypt. So it was kind of uncomfortable, maybe boring, but they never went hungry. I found myself in a comparable situation. We are currently homeless, but we've never gone without food or shelter, or even running water and electricity! Sure it's not what I'm used to, and it's not our perfect, ideal scenario. But we have never suffered. I need to do better at being grateful. I will try harder to do my best, no matter what the circumstances, and let go of the rest.

Jake, Our First Family Dog

I'm not even sure when this whole thing got started, but somehow we ended up getting the cutest little puppy at the worst possible timing. My husband is an animal lover. He grew up with lots of pets and around lots of animals, he's very comfortable and good with them. I am not so much. I think they're really cute, and I like the idea of the kids learning more responsibility and having a playmate. But I don't like the added messes of them pooping and peeing and chewing and shedding and stinking. That's mostly what I see when I think of a pet--one more thing to clean up after. But knowing that we would be owning our own home (for the first time!!) we knew we would have the luxury of getting a dog if we wanted to.

The kids have been asking for a dog, or a cat, for a really long time. So one day I mentioned to Kenny one day (maybe I was bored I don't know) that we could maybe start looking for a puppy on craigslist or something, or see if any dogs would be having puppies soon. That must have been the green light he was waiting for because I think it was that very night he had set up a time to go see this little American Eskimo puppy. I was first of all shocked that it was so soon, and second of all hesitant because I know what happens when you actually go see and pet the puppies. It's different than reading about them online for sure. But he assured me that we were just looking at them and it would be fun for the kids, even good for them to be around dogs more. All but Kelsey were pretty leery of dogs up close.

We pull up to the house and 8 adorable, fluffy, little snowballs come running out the door and into the yard. I think it was pretty much over from there. Love at first sight. With all of them. Of course we would only pick one :). We went back once or twice a week to see our little puppy (who was originally named Scrappy, and had a very special place in the owner's heart). She wasn't going to even sell him because she liked him so much and wanted to keep him for breeding later down the road. But upon seeing our family, the number of kids we have and how crazy and loud they all are, she knew that his temperament would fit us best of all the litter. I was grateful for her discernment, that we would be getting a dog that could handle the chaos.

We wanted her to keep him until Sep. 1st, when we would be out of our house. At first that was the plan, but then she decided she didn't want to anymore, so we had to pick him up. So on Monday, Aug. 19th, after Kenny got off work, we went and picked up our cute little pup. And for 11 days, we kept him in a home where we knew we weren't supposed to have him. The first few days we kept him in the house to help him get used to us and his new surroundings. But then I ran out of carpet cleaner and just couldn't monitor him while I was busy packing and getting ready to move. So I moved him to the garage and he stayed there until we moved. One night the landlords wanted to show the house again. So we loaded Jake and his kennel, and all the dog evidence into the van and I left with him and the kids. I took the kids to a movie (Despicable Me 2) and left him in the car. I did it so that we wouldn't be in the way, and so they wouldn't know we had a dog. We are such rule-breakers! I did feel bad, but didn't really know what else to do about it.

Kenny and I both had agreed that it was such a stupid idea for us to get a dog right before/as we were moving. We should have just waited to start looking after we moved into our house. But, since we have been out to Wasilla, I have been so glad we have him, because he helps to entertain the kids. They love having him around to play with and go on adventures outside with, too. He really is a good dog, and I'm glad he's part of our family.

The funniest part for me, has been to watch Kenny with him! I had no idea how much HE would love it. He plays with him so much in the evenings when he's home, frequently gives him baths and even dries his fur with my blow-dryer!! He buys him special doggy treats and brushes his fur. He lets him lay in his lap like a little baby and everything. Jake just loves him and pees every time Kenny comes home because he's so excited! haha it's funny and annoying at the same time :).
Madison is the only one who isn't crazy about him. She's still very nervous and doesn't really like him to come too close. I'm sure that will change with time.

Kelsey is really funny too because she just bugs him to death! Especially when we first got him, I knew it would be a learning process because she was already so obsessed with dogs. She would try to sit on him, poke his eyes, pull his fur, grab his tail, wake him up every time he slept, eat his dog food, splash in his water bowl, etc. etc. It's been a challenge, for sure. OH, and she's starting chewing on a lot more stuff, just like Jake does. Sometimes even his chew toys, which is totally disgusting. It is adorable to hear her get so excited and say "Hi Jay! Hi Jay!" (She doesn't really finish the end of her words.)

I've got lots of cute pictures of him and the kids, but I'll have to add them all later. I think even with the extra work, it's fun to have a family dog and we're all glad he's here.

Vacation Part 3--Heber, Uah

I know my blog is all out of whack lately, chronologically, anyway. But it will all be straightened out when I make it a book. So, my apologies.

Backing up to Thurs., August 15th: The kids and I left Bridal Veil falls and continued down the canyon road until we got to Heber. I think they all slept, they were so tired!! We found the big, gorgeous house that they had rented for the reunion and were reunited with the family that were there. Kenny drove down with Chris and his family, and was very sunburned from his day of bass fishing. They had a fun time though, and I'm glad he got to go do that with his brothers. Everybody except Grandpa and Mike came that night and it was fun to see everyone again! All of these people that we love so much and have such a good time with, and we have to cram everything into one weekend, once a year! It's such a bummer. But it really makes us appreciate the time we do have with them.

Friday Aug. 16th: Beach day! We all went to the reservoir and played in the water and sand (okay mud and rocks) for the day. It was hot, and it felt good to be HOT :). They had some fun water toys, paddle boards, canoes, etc. They rented a couple pavilions and we brought a bunch of food for lunch. Grandpa and Mike came around 2 or 3 with the boat, but our kids had had it by then and wanted to go back home. So we got them out of the sun (we're really not used to the heat of the sun anymore and how much it drains you!) And all 6 of us fell asleep! This vacation was wearing us all right out haha. Eventually everyone else made it back too, we all cleaned up and went out to eat together at some cute little burger diner with a train theme all over. Good food. We did a devotional every night and stayed up playing games and talking once our kids were in bed.

Saturday Aug. 17th: Park City day! We all wore our matching reunion shirts and headed out to Park City for the day. First we stopped at the outlets (I hadn't been in years and it brought back lots of good memories of back-to-school shopping every year with my mom and sisters!). We got some new outfits for the kids, though I could have got a whole lot more, I had to refrain since we had limited space in our suitcases. Then we met up with the rest of the crew for the alpine slide, coaster ride, etc. We had a great time on the coaster (I think that's what it was called...) and then it started to rain when we were all in line for the alpine slide. They shut it down for like 25 minutes every time. So it would stop raining, then start, then stop, then start. Kenny took the kids on the little kid rides and they loved that, but we were wasting hours, with no hope of it stopping raining long enough to get on the ride! Once it started again, we all decided to get a refund and call it a day. It was a bummer, but we all still have fun together back at the house. All the little cousins really enjoyed the hot tub especially! This was the first year Tyler's been brave enough to get in. He is very sensitive about certain things like temperatures, diff. noises, etc. but he did it this year and had a great time! We had a photographer friend come and take a big family picture that night, (thankfully our prayers were answered and the rain stopped, and the sun came out. Just for our pictures, I think:)  ).

Sunday Aug. 18th: Everyone packed up and cleaned so we could check out of the house. We all went to a ward sacrament meeting together. Most families went to a nearby park and pulled out some leftover food (there's always a lot) and had one last lunch together. Then we had to say goodbye and go our ways. We went back to Kyle and Keli's house, and Andy and Shalee came with us (since we had their car). Our flight wasn't until like 8:00 that night, so we had some time to kill. It was fun to see their new townhome, and spend a little more time with those guys. We had to rearrange our stuff to finish packing our suitcases for the flight, and then we left. We had a direct flight back to Anchorage, landing around 11 p.m., which now felt like 1, since we had adjusted to Utah time :). Carmin was kind enough to go over to our house, get our hidden key, and come pick us up in our van. thank heavens for kind friends. The house was spotlessly clean when we got home which was so nice. I had forgotten that I had it super clean because they needed to show it while we were gone. It's always so good to be with family, but it's always good to be home.

Tyler's Jokes Today

This boy keeps me laughing every day

Ty: Hey mom, What's brown and wet all over? 

Me: I don't know, what?

ty: A sweaty walrus.

What's white, brown, and green all over? 

A seasick eagle

What's black and white and blue all over?

A frozen penguin

What's gray and green all over? 

An elephant covered in grass 

Vacation Part 2--Laura and Tom's Wedding!

Sunday, August 11th: After church we had lunch and packed up. We drove down to Draper, Utah and stayed at my uncle Boyd and aunt DeeAnn's house. But the best part was meeting up with my FAMILY!! I was so excited to see them all. My parents, Sarah, and Camille and Millie had driven from Lufkin, TX. I thought that's all I would see. But THEN, Jeff, Kerri and Jane showed up and I was so excited to meet and love on little miss Jane. She is adorable!! Then it got better because Laura and Tom came too! That was my first time meeting Mr. Tom and I was impressed. I was so happy for them--they fit so well together and make a great couple. It was so much fun to be with them all. Plus, DeeAnn was like the hostess with the mostest! :) They have a big, gorgeous home and she made us lots of delicious food. I felt bad that we all sort of crashed in on them, and the numbers kept growing. But they didn't seem to mind, and had room for everyone!

Monday August 12th: That morning we drove down to Orem and dropped off the men and children, while us girls went to a little bridal shower/lunch to celebrate Laura at the fabulous Brick Oven. There I got to see my aunt Sharon and Kelly, and aunt Marci and 3 of her kids. We did some shopping at the University Mall to get some coordinating outfits for the wedding. That afternoon we drove back up to Draper and got into the house we rented for all of us to stay in together. It was a great house for our big family. The Webbs showed up right after we did, and then the Bakers rolled in late that night, around 1 a.m. Now we were finally all together (minus Tim, on a mission). It was a blast. And I was horrible at taking pictures. But I hardly ever saw my kids, mostly Ty, because they just run around having an absolute blast with their cousins. I'm glad they soak it all up because it only happens about once a year. We stayed up late every night playing games and talking. Ah! Writing about this makes me miss them all over again. I hate that we're so far away from everyone.

Tuesday August 13th: The girls left in the a.m. for a pedicure, per Laura's request. It was the second pedicure of my life, and fun girl time. We all went out to lunch together at Zupa's I believe. There are so so many yummy food places in Utah, and I have to check a bunch off my list of where to eat, every time we go back. We are seriously lacking in good restaurants here in Anchorage, but that's okay. That night we got dressed up and went to Laura and Tom's wedding dinner at the church in Lake Point, UT. That's a really small town out by Tooele, where Tom grew up. The evening was great, and we have some fun traditions that I always look forward to.

Wednesday August 14th: Wedding day!! Thankfully, their sealing wasn't until 1:00. We took our time getting ready, got some lunch at Café Rio, then drove to the Salt Lake City Temple where they were sealed. It was a beautiful and sweet occasion, and I'm so grateful we were there for it. There are lots of pictures from this week, but I don't have them. I just hope I remember to get them from my mom before I print this to a book. After the pictures, we stopped at the good ol' AC (arctic circle) for some ice cream. Cami and I used to work there in high school, so it has some fond memories for my family :). That night was the reception, again in Lake Point. It was all outside with a very country theme, just like Laura wanted. I haven't asked her directly, but I think it was everything she was envisioning. They even had a horse drawn carriage to take them away at the end :). She looked gorgeous, and he looked so handsome and they were both just beaming from happiness. There was a big fire in the mountains that was causing it to "rain" ashes on everyone and everything all night. But other than that it was great. I had so much fun seeing and catching up with so many extended family members. After the reception we quickly went home to put our exhausted children to bed. Poor things had just been on the most inconsistent, and lack-of-sleep week of their lives, probably. They were troopers, but it was wearing on them. The adults stayed up eating pizza, candy, and having a great time.

Thursday August 15th: Early that morning I dropped Kenny off with Eric, so they could go bass fishing. Chris and Andy also went along with them and they all had fun together. So now Kenny has shown them his Alaskan fishing, and they returned the favor by taking him out Utah fishing :). I packed up everything and we had to clean up and get checked out of that house. We drove back down to Provo. The Webbs, Cami and Millie, and I (with my kids of course) hung out at BYU campus. We ate at Chick-fil-a, attemped the art museum (but gave up after not very many minutes because our children were too crazy and touching everything they shouldn't have been), played outside, went to the bookstore. Then we said goodbye to Cami and my parents and the rest of us went to Bridal Veil Falls. The Bakers and Andersens (Jeff and fam) were there with us too. It was so much fun, and the kids had a blast. That was a much more suitable environment for them. :) We stayed for a few hours and just enjoyed our last bit of time together. Then we all said goodbye and headed our separate ways.

Gone and done it--halfway

Well we somehow pulled it off and made it out of our house on time. On Friday night sweet Carmin, Sam and David showed up to help us clean and even brought a warm dinner! We were so grateful for the help. They ended up staying there working with us until 10:30 p.m.! Then we still had an hour drive out here to Wasilla, where we are currently staying. Kenny's friend from work owns this home but doesn't live in it. Some lady and her dog lived here a little while ago and left it a huge disgusting mess. It's pretty awful. But I'm happy to clean for him, since he is letting us stay here for free. That night (fri.) Kenny helped me get all the kids and myself to bed around midnight, then he drove back to anchorage to get another load of stuff and touch ups on the house. He came to bed around 5 a.m. The next morning we were back at our house a little after 10 to finish a couple things and be there for the carpet cleaner at 11. All we had left was to clear out the garage now. It has been cold and NON-STOP rain and Saturday was no different. The kids were troopers, especially considering the late night but they were getting worn out. Not to mention all but Kenny wished for and needed a change of clothes. I bled through, 3 kids peed their pants, and one slipped in the spilled bubbles (an attempt at keeping them happy and busy) and got soaking wet. Of course we have nothing with us except a few extra jackets. Anyway, we eventually all made it out alive. We even got our full deposit back which we really wanted!
Sunday we just found a ward here and went to sacrament Mtg. We were all so worn out from the weekend.
All 6 of us are sleeping on the floor, on foam pads, in one room. It's just one long line. The kids think its great to sleep with mom and dad every night. I, however, am looking forward to being in separate rooms. When one person wakes up, they all wake up! Oh, and it doesn't have a door, so it's harder to block out other light/noise. I am grateful we are able to stay here, especially for free, but I am just so frustrated and fed up with the stupid builders. If they push back one more date on us I'm going to...I don't know...move in with them and see if it motivates them to hurry any faster.
I feel like our lives are just on hold right now and it's super frustrating. I know this wont last forever. It just feels like it.
Monday, i was sooo glad kenny had the day off. We went back to anchorage and scored on some Labor Day sales. We bought 2 refrigerators, 2 washers, and 2 dryers for our duplex. Yikes that was a lot of money. We came back and hung out together. Even with the rain, we played outside for a long time. We are out in the country with lots of forest around us, which makes for great playing. The kids were catching teeny tiny frogs, and bugs, and pretending all the mushrooms were bad guys and whacking off the tops of them with some old tent poles they found. Good times. Its cute to watch them have a little puppy to run around with too. Even though he stinks, and chews on Stuff, and pees in the house, he's pretty cute and a fun playmate for the kids. We ended the evening with dinner at ihop where we didn't care what people were thinking or saying about our disruptive and noisy brood.