Planning ahead

It's not even January, I'm thinking of spring. More importantly I'm brainstorming. Last year was the first time in 5,6 years I didn't have a garden. I missed having fresh vegetables.

I love being able to go and pick what I need for a meal.

My backyard is like a blank canvas. I love that I can set it up how I/ hubby want to.

I know this spring I will plant more fruit trees. I am going to plant them on the north side of the lot, in the front yard.

I just now have to figure out how many and where to put my veggies beds.

Sunday

I awoke and noticed it felt chilly.

I looked it up on my phone,

Yes, it felt every bit of -6.

Once the sun came up, I opened my curtains.

Yes, that is ice and frost. The windows are double pane. I have thick curtains which do help keep the heat in and the cold out.

Christmas was quiet. We stayed home.

My youngest son gets his braces tomorrow. My other son gets them adjusted.

Tomorrow evening will probably be a soup evening.

Two-fer Tuesday

My front yard

My back yard. We had 10-12 inches of snow.

Moving forward

The boys have RC cars. The type if you break a part, you can replace it.they have battery and a nitro powered one.

They had been discussing buying a go cart. They found one and brought it home. It needed a new engine,which Andrew purchased.

They hit some snags installing it and asked their dad for help. Which he went outside and showed them some steps they missed.

A few weeks later Thomas bought one.

This one also needs a new engine. Thomas will be rebuilding it instead of replacing it. It's a fraction of the cost to rebuild. He and Andrew are both excited to learn how to do it. It's been snowy here, the kids have had a blast in the go carts with the snow. I may need to expand the garage.

   As for replacing the flooring upstairs, we are done. We need to install some trim pieces, but the big parts are done. I love the new flooring. So much easier to keep clean.

    

Here is the dining room. We did get the transition pieces put in

Here are some pictures of the snow.

I love the moon.

The chickens aren't impressed. We bought a bale of straw yesterday and put it out. The hens did come out of their house for a bit. Next spring we will build an awning out there. It will serve a couple purposes. One, keep the snow off, two provide shade from the sun. Last year we didn't have that much snow. We will see what this winter brings. They are predicting more snow today.

Coming up.....

Slowly but surely

We did tons of work yesterday. The boys worked on the yard. Jason and I worked on the flooring. Hubby ended up recruiting TJ to help. I did the kitchen, they worked on the hallway living room.

I taped up the counter tops and back splash so I could re-texture the walls.

This is a picture of in progress...

Getting closer.. As this was drying I decided to play with the linoleum tiles.

I thought a diagonal pattern would be an interesting visual.

I'm super happy how this turned out. The kitchen looks brighter as well.

The hallway was a bit of a challenge. Not only are there crazy corners, the hallway is 2 1/2 inches wider at one end than the other.

Jason is hoping to have the living room done tomorrow.

Today, we are doing nothing- watching tv.

Out with the old

Hubby removed the old flooring today. Hopefully if the floor drys, we can prep it for the new flooring.

With any luck, we will begin to lay the new laminate for upstairs as well.

Projects!

Kitchen countertops

Hubby and I spent tons of time thinking and looking and discussing what to do with our countertops.

I like green, but this isn't my first choice. This pictures is right after we moved in.

We found some tiles that we both liked for the back splash ( yes, backwards)

Last weekend we heavily discussed using tile.

There is an outlet store nearby, so we went to check them out. We found tile that we both liked!

Let the demo begin.

We ( actually the kids) tore up the old counter top. We found an old Mountain Dew can

 

Jason and the boys set up the wet saw, laid out the tile then began to cut.

We are going to trim the bottom with wood, I have the stain and sealer already.

Hubby is super happy with how this project is going. My cabinets are in good shape, so that is one bonus we have.

The goal for today is grout and attach the wood trim.

I think the boys are getting tired of TV dinners!

This and that's

Life is busy as usually.

I can't believe it's already October. It hasn't froze yet, we are awaiting! I love cold weather. 

Friday I went to Idaho to visit a sweet friend of mine. She moved a month before me. The good thing is it take me 2 1/2 hours to get to her place.

Saturday we took the kids to a pumpkin patch. We had a blast.

I would have taken more pictures but my phone died.

I left at 3 yesterday. It was warm

See all those dots? Those were bugs. i couldn't believe my windshield was that gross!

I did take my van thru the carwash.

In the nick of time

I got off work, began cleaning out the chicken coop. Hubby and boys replaced the roof. As I'm cleaning it, my phone beeps showing severe thunderstorm warning. Great. I could hear the thunder rolling off in the distance. I managed to get the old bedding to the compost and the new bedding in there as the hail hit.

We didn't get much thunder or lightening. The wind and rain were crazy! The NWS said wind gusts up to 60-75 mph were possible. I was waiting for some of my trees to snap!

After the storm blew by, I went to check the inside of the coop. It was nice and dry.

* this was done August 8, I didn't realize it didn't post!

Good news

We applied to be foster parents here in Utah, months ago ( finished the class March). We have had various papers lost ( one of our referrals, a packet of paper I mailed from the post office).

My licensor contacted me today. We have an appointment the middle of September for our home study and home inspection!

4 weeks to get everything together.

First week of August.

We have now lived in our house almost 7 months.

The project list isn't getting any shorter!

Today I am off, so the kids and I have several projects to work on today.

We have to rep,ace the roof on the chicken coup. We used corrugated plastic roofing. One of the sections broke in the last wind storm. We were at habitat for humanity last wee. They sell roofing shingles for cheap. So, that's on the list for today. To go purchase the supplies. We also have Russian olives and cotton less cottonwood trees popping up. The boys will be ripping/ cutting those down today as well.

It rained all day yesterday which was nice. We enjoyed the cooler weather. I am ready for fall. I'm not looking forward to the mess from the leaves. I do love the colors!

Happy Tuesday!

Philmont

My boys came back home Friday from Philmont. They had an amazing time.

The charter bus was late picking them up, so they didn't get to Denver until 230. ( they were suppose to be in around 1230). Traffic was horrible, but once I got out of Fort Collins it was smooth sailing.

I was beat, I left the day before and slept in the truck. I was hoping to be back home by 9,930. Reality was we pulled in just before midnight.

The boys each have amazing stories. The adults told me they did great, that they were natural leaders and did great at working together. They hiked 70 miles in 12 days.

I am glad I worked all the hours/OT I did so they could go.

My boys are on the far right in the tan shirts.

News for this week

This past week has been an adventure.
My Father in Law came down in June to stay with us. He has a lovely ulcer on the back of his leg that was not improving. Whether it was negligence on his part, the wound clinic or both we arent too sure. He is staying with us until it heals. The boys have enjoyed having "big papa" here.
I was going to start school this fall, but will wait until winter term. There is too much with appointments and working to fit school in at this time.
Its been cool here this week. It rained here yesterday. It got everything good and watered.
I planted some boxwoods last Saturday. I am hoping that they grow tall enough to block the sun from hitting the windows. My thought is that if we block the sun, then it will help keep the house cooler. Its been nice not having the AC unit on. My pocket book will be happy as well.
The middle boys are at Philmont. They will be home Friday. I have a feeling it will be a long 8 hour ride home. 12 days without showers. Magical.
School starts for the boys in August. This year has gone by fast. I cant believe we have been here in Utah almost 8 months. We have done alot of work in the house in that time. My goal for this fall and winter will be to replace the rest of the flooring and to finish painting. Rome wasnt built in a day.

Pictures from our road trip

Cooling down

The temperature has come down, it feels wonderful!

We have had some interesting clouds and an occasional thunderstorm.

I began painting my kitchen. When we moved in, it was half painted. The previous homeowner left 3 1/2 gallons of paint. I have been using it. Got the kitchen and ceiling done. Have been working on the living room ceiling.

It's nice to have walls all the same color.

Friday nite I moved my four young hens in with the rest of the flock. No major problems yet. The hens depend most their day sitting under the tree we took down. It has begun to regrow and looks like a bush. The hens seem to enjoy it, so I am leaving it alone.

We planted two trees last week. We are hoping they will grow and shade the house rom the sun. I hare running the AC. My room stays cool, but I have a huge tree that shades that part of the house in the afternoon. The windows magnify the heat. We hung thermal curtains but the heat is intense in the afternoon/evening.

Here is the tree that we took down. Glad my hens get protection from the heat!