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 ;)