Pictures

It seems like all we talk about is our house....but that's not all we do!

I'm just glad to have a happy picture of Ian. We've been struggling lately. His cousin Karsen gave him a bunch of really cool jammies. We've only been able to talk him into wearing these...and only the bottoms. We hope he warms up to the rest. If they were in my size, I'd wear them myself!

He's so cute! Yes, I know he's chewing on a cord. I thought maybe if I let him play with it for awhile (it's unplugged, of course), he'd get his fill. That didn't happen, so I just have to barricade all my plugs for now.

Ian and I enjoyed the leaves while Cam took a nap. It doesn't feel much like it's almost November. Today, Ian spent all afternoon in nothing but his underwear, playing with his backhoe in the dirt.

Cam really wanted to help carve the pumpkins. He even taste tested them, but didn't come back for more.

Cam is getting big enough to have a little fun with Ian. I love it!!

Tito checking in...

Hello peoples!

I know that Nancy does the vast majority of posting on here, but I couldn't let her have all the fun...so, here's a quick rundown of how life is going. Currently, Ian is working very hard to master the art of going to the bathroom on his own, and right this moment is screaming for help. Back again and catastrophe averted with a Starburst (Ian's favorite) earned for a successful operation. Successful to us means that we don't have to do any extra laundry.

Since Nancy won't tell you, it seems her greatest desire these days is to stop nursing Cam. Not because Cam is a poor "client" or that he is beyond drinking milk, it's just that she longs to rid herself of the pesky nursing bra. She pines for the good old days. Now, never having worn the contraption, I cannot submit an opinion on the matter. But, they certainly don't look very appealing to wear. Not that any brassiere looks very appealing to wear to me. Beyond that, and, "packing around five extra pounds for this breast feeding business," Nancy is otherwise in good spirits and excited about the prospect of potentially, eventually moving into our new house.

Last Monday I ran over to Salt Lake to buy some stuff, including a dining room set which looks great....and smells less than great. It was a screaming deal and now I know why. It came from a smoker's home and so we have been diligently wiping it down with alternating layers of vinegar, murphy's oil soap, and lemon oil. It smells quite a bit better, but we may have to end up selling it in the end and chalk it up to experience, which would be too bad because Nancy trolled through all the tables on KSL for months to find this one. I hope we can keep it, as it suits our tastes very well. Any suggestions out there for de-smelling wood?

Cam is a scooting machine! He motors around all over the place and pulls himself up on his feet whenever he can. I'd forgotten how much work keeping an eye on a wee one can be.

The house: the closer we get, the further away it seems. Case in point: Connecting the well to our house. The "expert" comes out and tells us he is going to put a pump and pressure tank above ground because so much water is coming out of the well that he can't stuff anything down inside it. Hence, the necessity of having a shack built to go over it to keep it from freezing. Well, two days pass and he calls me to ask if I have his shack built yet..........which comes as no small surprise as he had forgotten to ask me to build it. Once he explained to me that he could build it-- for $1500 to $2000--I said to myself, "methinks I can do it for slightly less than that." Then, he tells me that our pump will have to run all summer to run our sprinklers. And again, I said to myself, "methinks this guy is not very sharp." With 150 gallons a minute coming out of the ground at 35 psi, it won't be high pressure, but surely I can do something with that. So, I borrowed Marlow's backhoe and trenched out a line across the yard for a yard hydrant one direction and then put a line over to the creek for a "running creek on demand system." I just tested both systems and I can run a sprinkler, dump 50 gallons a minute in the creek for aesthetics and have plently left over for the house--all this before it gets to the pump and runs up our electric bill. It just goes to show that if it isn't your house, why bother to plan ahead and think things through? Man, I love contractors.

And I also LOVE Home Depot!!!!! I spent $1200 there last week and surely will spend another $1000 this week. I now know the aisles of Home Depot better than the grocery store. Concrete? Aisle 1. Lumber? Aisle 4. Power tools? Aisle 5. Compact Flourescents? 18. Paint? 22. And on and on.

I've been reading Robinson Crusoe...so I can understand the TV show better. Well, not really. But I do feel a certain kinship with ole' Robby. Not that I am on a deserted island, well, almost, but he has to plan, fabricate and build most everything he needs and I'm starting to feel a little like this myself. Installing power panels and meters, wiring and such, plumbing, moving dirt around the yard for finish grade and landscaping, I'll have to install my phone lines and cable lines and on and on.... it's a pain, but there's a certain amount of satisfaction to it. I'm glad Paul is letting me take the month off to get all this done.

Last item and this is a small note, but perhaps some of you out there might feel a little bit like this. Nancy and I had casually gone about our food storage in the past and made small jokes about not worrying about it--because we are surrounded by 200 tons of beef. But lately the jokes have felt a little stale. I'm sure you know why. So, when our neighbor harvested his wheat crop we bought a modest amount (nothing like my parent's "feed the world" supply of 96 5-gallon buckets) and put it aside, along with some pinto beans. We've got some other canned stuff and now thanks to our well, a seemingly endless supply of fresh water. Anyway, you don't really need to know all the details, but what I want to tell you is that I feel much better having a little something tangible put aside for hard times. That's my touchy-feely moment. And now it is over. Ian keeps trying to wrestle me so I had better oblidge (sp?) him.

Hallelujah

The power company has finally arrived. In two days, they put up 4 new poles and strung the power lines up to our property. Unfortuntely, they don't actually hook it up to your house. Tyler and Jesse (my brother) are working on doing that today. Everyone told us it's so simple, and will only take an hour....which is why I'll bet it'll take all day. If there's one thing I've learned in this process, it's to never believe what anyone says. What you have to do is ask at least 5 people, and separate bits of truth from each conversation. That is what poor Tyler has been doing for months. He has worked so hard to get us into our new place.....calling people who said they'd be here, and aren't.....checking on county regulations.....scheduling contractors. We owe Tyler big time.

Next week, we will have the power setup inspected, and, should we pass, will have the power company back out to "heat up the line". I can't wait to see lights on in the house. Of course, it doesn't come with lightbulbs. We have to go buy 50 to fill all the receptacles.

If we could get the drilling company to work for more than 3 hours a day, our water would be hooked up too. But, they should be back next week to finish the job. I don't really understand all the different types of pumps they could have used, but they settled on a jet pump. The pump and pressure tank are all in line to the house. Anyway, they have to put a little shed over everything so our water doesn't freeze. I wasn't all that excited about having a shack on our lawn, but I'm also not excited about our water freezing.
By the end of next week, we should have power and water, so we can have the finish guy from Champion out to seal up the marriage line, fix cracks, install the carpet and finish the molding. He wanted to know if there was anyone interested in cleaning the house for $100 - because he didn't think he could get a cleaning lady out here. Of course, we told him that we will do it, so it can be our clean....and we wouldn't mind having our own $100 back either.

We also have to finish the grade around the house, put in our entry steps and gravel the parking pad. After that, there are a myriad of inspections. I believe Champion has to inspect, FHA, the state, the county.... everyone needs to get in on the action. THEN, we can close the loan and move in. We are so excited!!

We were up on the mountain a couple weeks ago, collecting pine cones, and I took this picture. Our house is circled. The pivots you can see above the house are on the Sharp Ranch, just to the north of us. Even though our little spot is pretty much dust and sagebrush right now, we are totally in love with it....someday we'll have more trees and maybe a little grass to keep our junipers and rocks company. (One of the well drillers was so funny. We have a little well just as we drive up to our house. It's never been cased, and just looks like a spring coming out of the ground. Anyway, this guy was telling me what a perfect spot we had....a swimming pool...maybe a little bbq there...he sounded like he had the whole thing planned.)

Happy Birthday to Tyler!

I thought everyone could appreciate this action shot of Tyler. Ian was so excited about the candles that I had to hide them from him. Then, when we moved the dessert, all of them went out except two. I guess I'm going to have to start using those trick candles that you can't blow out.
Anyway, Tyler is now 32. The big boss gave him the day off, and he celebrated by backfilling our septic system at our new house, and having some very frustrating conversations with some county inspector. I'm not complaining.
Tyler never wants anything exciting for his birthday, so I decided to invite some friends over to share the ceremonial chocomint nummy. I didn't tell Tyler because usually, he doesn't mind finishing off a pan of the "nummy" himself. (I made him a whole extra pan of the stuff - so if anyone is in the area and wants some....) Anyway, the party was wild. The Dahls, Sampsons & Knudsens all came to make a total of 7 kids under the age of 6. At one point, Jackson and Orrin had Ian pinned on the ground. Ian apparently has not had enough wrestling experience, so he just yells until someone tells the other two to get off. I guess we'll have to teach him some moves so he can protect himself.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TYLER!!

Ian's Birthday List

ian has been telling me what he wants for his birthday for weeks. his birthday isn't until december, but tyler's is next week. so, every time i mention what we're going to do, he takes the opportunity to tell me his list several times. i can't tell you how many times i have heard it. sometimes the list varies, but this is all inclusive.

• two equipments. he goes on to explain that this means a backhoe and a loader. he already has both of these pieces of equipment. i don't know why he thinks he needs new ones. this is not on our list for him.
• loader tractor. we have one of these hidden away for him.
• horse trailer. i'm not sure what he has in mind for this. i keep trying to figure out if he really wants big cattle truck, and is getting the two mixed up. let's hope so because we already have a cattle truck for him. it's been hidden since july. we won it in a silent auction.
• cowboy boots. we are planning on getting him some for christmas. we're planning on buying them a couple sizes too big because they're too expensive to buy a new pair every year. tyler already got some for his birthday (even though i told him i couldn't see him in boots), so ian makes sure to include them on his list.

i told ian that we don't always get everything we want for our birthday. sometimes you just have to save your own money and buy it. he got out his little bank yesterday to see how much money he has. he rejected all the "little money", and just kept all the quarters. he is wise beyond his years. he currently has about $2. i have asked him what he's going to do to earn more money, but he doesn't seem to have a plan. i guess that just goes to show you that he's still only 2.

Get This

when we started this whole process of putting in a house, i told tyler that once, just once, i wanted to be surprised at how little something cost. well, this may be the only time it happens. we received a letter from the department of transportation today saying that our approach from the state right of way has been in existence since the 1950's and possibly earlier. yes, yes, all stuff we already knew. anyway, they letter went on to say that because it is an existing approach, there would be NO CHARGE for the permit. to which i say...why, then, do we even need the permit? anyway, i'm still elated that something during this long, painful process is free.

BTW - a copy of this letter was also sent to a woman whose title is "assistant chief right-of-way agent". i can't believe there would be enough work for just a right of way agent, let alone an assistant. this is how our tax dollars are spent.

Driveway Permit

so in the process of getting a permit to string our power line across the road (we finally have the permit - WREC is coming early next week), we learned from NDOT that we have to apply for a permit.....a permit to have a driveway off the state road. i'm serious. the road has been there for 100 years. there have been two indian cabins less than a mile west of us on the same road since before i was born. do you think they have a "driveway permit"?? it cost $600 to get the permit to cross the road. i can only imagine what it costs to have a driveway. all i can say is that if ron paul were still running, i'd vote for him. i can't believe how much money we've had to spend in permits, inspections, rezoning......

Kid Update

ian is going through an interesting stage. the kind where he is constantly gloomy and unfriendly (at least i hope it's a stage). he is, however, making a lot of progress toward being a big boy. he dresses himself most of the time, with mixed results. below is one of my favorite pictures. he's wearing his shirt on backwards and his shorts are on sideways. he's not wearing any underwear, but if he were, chances are they'd be backward too. it's very interesting....there are only two ways shoes, shirts and pants can go on correctly, so 50% of the time, he should get it right, but approximately 95% of the time, everything is backward & sideways.....even if i line his shoes up with the right feet, he'll go for the one on the opposite side. i don't get it.
ian is now potty trained. and...he doesn't poop on the lawn anymore. we tried to be positive, like all the books and such said, but finally we decided we were just going to have to punish him. we took all his tractors away. if he went in the toilet, he could earn them back, one at a time. oh - and he also had to get cleaned off with the (cold) hose....not so bad during the summer - but with a chill in the air...not really desirable. it didn't take long. we're still working on the nights.



ian likes to play hard to get. he looked at cam the other day, who was giggling and smiling at ian, and said, "stop liking me, cam!" we wouldn't want that.


cam is still plugging along. he's 6 months old tomorrow. he's starting to get up on his knees. i don't think he'll be happy until he's moving. he army crawls and rolls for now to get where he wants to go. also...you'd think he was teething. as far as i know, he's not. just really slobbery.