No more 4 Eyes

Talmage got contacts!  He swore he would never get them, but after a bit of prodding from his parents :), he was willing to try out contacts.  His prescription is so strong that his contacts are really hard to order.  It took them a month to get the trial pair for him.  The saddest part is that because contacts don't correct vision as well as glasses he can't see as well with contacts.  His glasses don't even correct his vision to 20/20 so he wasn't very happy to have worse vision :(.  

Overall it has been great to see Talmage with contacts.  I have always loved his eyes and now that they aren't hiding behind his glasses they seem so bright!  His whole face seems more open.  

It's always nice to take a photo outside with more natural light :). 

The downside to this story is that Talmage lost a contact within a few days of having them :(.  They are expensive enough that I don't want to buy him more contacts when they don't correct his vision enough and they are hard to stay on his eyes.  At least we know that he was willing to wear them and that he looks great if he ever buys them himself ;). 

Double Expansion!

The time has come for Clark to get expanders... yes, double expanders at that.  I honestly was hoping that his overbite would give him enough room for all of his teeth and he wouldn't need any ortho work, but boy was I wrong.  He has a really deep bite and because of that he doesn't have room for all of his teeth.  He has his 2 front incisors in, but the next set doesn't have room to come down.  His poor tiny mouth has so many big teeth waiting to have space to join the party.  Clark has been a good sport about it all and may have head gear for a few months to help correct the position of his jaw.  He would only have to wear it at night tho so that's good at least.  I think the plan is between a year and a year and half for this phase... phase 1.  

The before shot!

Happily waiting.  Let's just say that Clark didn't know what he was in for.  He didn't look nearly so happy when we left the office.  The part that really bothered him was the taste of the cement to put in the permanent retainer.  He also doesn't care for the plastic taste of the expander.  Things like that really bother Clark.  Luckily after being home for a few hours the taste seemed to weaken.

Look at all of those adult teeth crowded out.  Hopefully they will have room soon enough!

Here are the appliances in his mouth.  You really can't see anything when he is smiling :).

Knock, Knock, Knock!

We finally installed the doors in the kitchen! 2 pantry and 1 between the dining room and kitchen.  We painted them and then Jeff and the kids got them in.  It feels like the finishing touches are taking forever, but maybe it helps us appreciate them more.  How many people are thrilled about doors :)?  It's especially nice to not see all of the food in the pantry.  Some places should have doors.  

I am also loving shutting the dining room door at night.  It helps us feel like we have a little more privacy from the front room of windows.  It is funny how one door can make such a huge difference!  The kids were great helpers and the doors went in fairly quickly!  The dark handles really finish the space beautifully too! 

Daddy and Talmage getting the door plumb and level

Shims!

Breaking the shims

Handles!

Beautiful Doors!

 So much nicer!

Let there be FIRE!

The magical day of getting gas to the house finally happened!  Were they 3 months later than promised?  Yes.  Did they fix things the first time?  No.  Is all of the drama and stress over?  Hopefully!  

It didn't take long once they arrived.  They worked for about 4 hours total and the gas line was in!  The next step was getting the fireplace people back to hook it up.  It took so long that we are almost done with any cold weather to use the fireplace, but at least it's done.  

It was fun to watch the guy put all of the pieces in and set it up. 

It was so exciting to see the fire going!  It's not quite what we expected, but it does produce heat so that's awesome!

One other project that happened to go along with the fireplace... I refinished the mantle!  I hated the original color so having it a more true dark brown makes me happy and looks great with our floors too!  Yay for heat!  

Spring Break... extended

March has been kind of a crazy month so far.  Jeff's Paralegal, Angela, left for a different job.  I have been able to go in and help answer phones and such.  It has made doing school a bit tricky.  The older kids have been so great to help the little ones while I'm at the office in the morning.  I know they could be much worse, so I'm really grateful!  

Spring break week I went into the office all week and the kids came in to help go through files and such.  Having the kids up at the office is tricky though.  I can't really teach them and answer phone calls so it's not a great mix.  I'm looking forward to the office having a new receptionist!  Anyway, with all of this work that has been going on, 6 flags was open for 2 weeks over spring break.  Once everyone else went back to school we snuck over to 6 Flags to play!  The kids had a blast (accept Talmage who had to work)!  I hung out with Clark and Lorna most of the time :).  Clark even got to drive one of the antique cars.  It was a fun day and a good break :)

Ella went on the little kid ride with Lorna ;)

The kids who were left with me by the end of the day :)

Cupcake Decorating

For our Relief Society activity this month we learned how to decorate cupcakes.  We also got to make the frosting :).  I think the best part was getting to practice with different piping tips.  I don't own any so it was good to get a feel for them.  I must say I enjoyed using the large tips.  It made simple, yet beautiful designs :).  The Laurels were also invited so it was fun to hang out with some of the young women for the night.  

It is amazing what you can accomplish with the right tools!

Saturday Projects

Saturdays are always good to work on a project, or two.  This week I worked on painting the new pantry doors for the kitchen and Jeff helped Talmage change fluids on his car.  

Lorna loves that I was working in the back garage where the exercise bike ended up.  She loves pedaling it!  

Just need to do a few more coats!

 Changing the oil :)

Naps and Fire

It's so fun to find the kids when they fall asleep randomly.  I love when they take their blanket and cuddle up with an animal.  They really do grow up too fast!

The kids have been helping go through some old files at Jeff's office with me this week.  We took home a few boxes of papers that we decided we can take home and burn, instead of trying to shred (which takes forever).  We made it through 1 box and man that created one hot crazy fire!  It was tricky to make sure the papers burned all of the way since there was so much of it.  I guess we will have some good fuel for our fires come fall!

The 1st Driver

Talmage has been getting close to getting his license.  He finally completed all of the necessary hours and it was time to schedule his appointment at the DPS for his driver's test.  Well, unfortunately they are booked a month out for driving tests :(.  Most of the teens we know who have taken the test failed on their first try, especially when done at the DPS office.  After doing some research, I found a place to take the test at for a decent price and got it scheduled for this week!  I even scheduled Talmage an hour of practice driving before the test.  This would give him any last minute instruction he would need before the test.  It is kind of stressful trying to figure all of this stuff out for the first time!  I wanted him to pass, but really also wanted him to be prepared.  It's tricky when you are doing the driving practice at home.  

Talmage did well with his practice hour and went into the test feeling good.  I snuck a photo of him while we waited for it to be his turn ;).  He did well on the test and all we needed to do was go to the DPS and turn in the paperwork.  Monday morning, we were in line before they opened.  Within a couple of hours we were done!  It is nice to have Talmage driving.  He can now get himself to and from work, which I really appreciate!  It is also nice to have someone I can send on an errand, if needed.  I know he's been ready for a little more freedom too.  

He's official

First time driving his siblings around... without me.

Boxes and Heros

Kids really are so fun!  Jeff got some new computer equipment so his office had some empty boxes... big boxes!  The kids had fun climbing in and popping out of them.  I got a few pictures of Clark, but I think most of the kids climbed in who could fit ;)

For pack meeting they talked about heroes and a firefighter came and showed off his gear.  The boys all had the chance to try on his jacket.  Clark was so cute!  It is crazy how fun simple things are, and how quickly go from playing in boxes to saving lives ;)