I'm starting to sweat...

No, our A/C is working just fine. It's about the derby. I've been a little nervous since Merril's demolition derby dream became more of a reality. But I'm struggling through and just asked that he mount a fire extinguisher within arm's length so he could put out any miscellaneous fires in the cab. Do I really think he'll catch on fire??? No. I've just watched too many movies. They've taught me that cars blow up at the drop of a hat. :)

Other than that, we're just getting ready for Maxine to start school. I put some money on her lunch card so she could get milk to drink with her sack lunch. We also took some pictures together and put them in her bag because she frets about things.

I've always been really excited for her to start school but I'm just now realizing that I'm losing my biggest helper with the kids. She entertains them, she helps them get drinks and tells me when someone's poopy. Very important stuff. I hope I can survive without her.

We had to get them, they're red...

What's better than one demolition derby car???

Two, of course.

Merril will be competing in this year's demolition derby at the fair. It's coming up in a week and a half so if you've ever wanted to see Merril get pounded, now would be a good time. (Come on ladies, I know you're out there!) Car #2 is up for sale so if there's any men out there wishing to fulfill a boyhood dream, now would be the time. It's competition ready and the Starsky and Hutch racing strip comes free of charge. 1st place is $3,000.

The demolition derby has sold out for the past couple of years but tickets are still being sold here and look for ticket purchase. Children 5 and under are free.

But you may be asking yourself, "Where did Merril buy demolition derby cars?" He found this pair on Ebay in Louisiana. So Merril and his buddy, Brent, drove to Louisiana and back over the weekend. Nice. One thing's for certain, he definitely ambitious.

It's so caliente!

My garden has never produced in huge numbers. I've always had 1 or 2 tomatoes at a time and that was enough to keep me from buying tomatoes throughout the summer. This Spring, a friend told me to plant 2 tomato plants per cage. You get twice the tomatoes but not twice the foliage somehow. This summer, my tomato plants are going berserk and I felt inclined to make some salsa!

Maxine, my huge helper, is always ready to help in the kitchen. We put Jack and Juliet down for a nap and started working.

The bounty-I have lots of cherry tomatoes as well. I threw them in too. Is "threw" a word?? One green pepper came in from the garden too.

Since it's 105 outside and my A/C is always struggling to keep up, I decided to put the water bath canner outside on the grill's side burner. The sledge hammer was an essential support because the canner was HEAVY with all that water. All the heat stayed outside! I'm never canning inside again! That was the best!

The result: 4 pints of delicious salsa! I spent $.47 on another green bell pepper and $.32 on jalepenos. The onions and tomatoes came from the garden. I already had the lids so I think $.79 for 8 cups of salsa is pretty worth it!

This is my favorite canning book! Every recipe for canning you could ever dream of or imagine from spiced apple chutney to habanero jelly. If it can be preserved in a bottle, you'll find a recipe for it. Plus a complete guide to canning if you've never done it before. Can you believe it'll be August tomorrow????

A fun weekend...

We spent time at my parents cabin over the Pioneer Day weekend and had a great time! My parents have some fake deer in front of the cabin and my little kids love to ride them.

Maxine and her cousin were "fishing" off the deck.

This is my Aunt Maxine (right) and my Great Aunt Gwen (left). Gwen is the funniest lady you will ever meet and really reminds me of my deceased Grandma. It was great having her there.

We hung out and told stories.

But mostly we gabbed over a card game called pinochle (pronounced pee-knuckle). Don't worry if you've never heard of it before but my Mom's side of the family has been playing it since before I was born. I learned to play when I was 7 or 8 but haven't played for years. It was a great weekend!

And today, I got very ambitious and installed a ceiling fan!!

It took FoReVeR to get the ceiling fan ordered and shipped. I could've had a fan a month and a half ago but I wanted to it match the upstairs fans exactly. It's currently fanning me because it gets hot in the downstairs office. (No A/C just yet.) I'm pretty sure I installed it correctly but there's always the creepy feeling that one of those fan blades is gonna come whippin' off and hit me in the back of the head; or worse, poke another hole in the wall. Haa haa haaaaaa um yeah.

Productive streak...

I feel like I've been cleaning out closets and organizing a lot lately. Yesterday I bought 5 bicycle hooks for the garage and now my side of the garage is spotless. I've cleaned out under the fridge and the stove and cleaned out my linen/sewing closet. Why, you may ask? We've lost the DVD remote. By we, I mean the kids. At least I suspect the kids. I would just program the DVD player into our universal remote but it's old and their aren't any universal codes for it. I wish the player would just die so I could go get a new one but alas, it keeps on tickin'. So I've looked behind the TV, in boots in my closet, in all the cupboards in the kitchen, emptied all the toy boxes, searched under all the beds, felt down into all the cracker crumb regions of the couch but I just can't find it. Any suggestions?? :)

Alarming...

I rarely wake up with an alarm anymore. Jack is usually up by 7 or 7:30 a.m. and that's early enough for just about everything we need to get to. The other morning, my brother-in-law was graduating from Police Academy and we wanted to go. We needed to drive for a couple of hours to get to graduation so I needed to be up by 6:00 a.m. to get me and the kids ready. I DIDN'T SLEEP A WINK!! I know my alarm is going to go off, I just obsess constantly about the time. 2:36 a.m......3:04 a.m......3:17 a.m.........3:41 a.m. and so on. It's so annoying because I really need to be sleeping because I'll be getting up early. When I was waking up for school, I never had a problem sleeping all night long; I'm just out of practice. Next time I need to set my alarm, I'm going to have to do some serious Zen relaxation activities right before bed and visualize myself sleeping all night long. You are getting very sleeeeeepy......

Temple Open House...

Sunday after church, we drove to the South Jordan area of Utah so we could go to the Oquirrh (pronounced O-ker) Mountain Temple open house! Maxine was very excited.

Maxine has always wanted to go inside a temple and the open house provided a perfect opportunity. The temple was very pretty inside and Maxine's favorite part was the chandeliers. For more information about LDS temples, click here. If you haven't been yet, the open house only runs until August 1st. It's free but reservations are required and can be obtained here. There are free cookies and water afterwards too! :) This temple seemed significant to me because the city of South Jordan will have 2 temples. It's the only city in the world with 2 temples inside the city limits.

I wish I had more pictures but I forgot my camera and I forgot to take pictures with my phone. The only picture of the trip was of the kids in the back of the Tahoe. Merril's brother and his two girls came with us too so we used all 8 seat belts. I tried to get the picture off Merril's phone this morning but it didn't happen before he left for work. I'll try later!

Sparkles...

Fireworks always present a fun opportunity to mess with the settings on my camera. I wanted to capture the sparklers and in doing so, the kids came out fuzzy. I still think they look fun.

Juliet liked sparklers a lot.

Jack, not so much. He carried around a sparkler but didn't want it lit.
And a 4th of July first: no one was burned in any way this year!! Sweet!

AND...my hole in the wall has been sanded, textured and primed. I just need to paint it, and it'll be as good as new!

We hope you had fun too!

Weekend of camping and hole repair...

Last weekend, we drove about an hour to some sand dunes and camped. We took the 3-wheeler and Merril's dirt bike. The dirt bike broke down but the 3-wheeler ran like a champ! Maxine learned to ride by herself. (I know, I know. She's in flip flops, a skirt, with no helmet. Serious riding apparel. I promise we made her change later.)

Then the kids played in the fire. (We're starting a responsible parenting trend. Feel free to join in!)

And then Jack decided to be a moose.

Then the kids went to bed but some very nice people unloaded their 4-wheelers at 9:30 p.m. and continuted to buzz around until 2:00 a.m. Luckily, we are all heavy sleepers and they didn't drive over our tent.

The next morning, Merril was getting bored and decided to pull wheelies on the 3-wheeler.

This is the only picture I got of Juliet; she still has hot chocolate face.

Then we decided to go for a hike to see some Native American pictographs. The desert turned into lush forest for a bit and was a nice little hike. Only 1.5 miles round trip.

The pictographs were neat and then we headed for home.

On a side note, I'm finally starting the hole in the wall project. My colors are so awful in these next two pics but I'm tired and almost done.

Step 1: fix the hole.

Step 2: Spackle it. My spackle is pink. It dries white later but I feel like it's girl spackle because it starts pink. :)

Next...sand and texture. Happy 4th of July!!

Juliet turns 2...

My baby turned 2 last Wednesday. Since I was leaving for girl's camp at 8:00 a.m., we decided to do cake and candles on Tuesday night. Then I left for girl's camp and everyone seemed really old when I got back. I was only gone for 3 1/2 days! It even took a few seconds for Juliet to remember who I was. (That or I looked really scary after 3 days without a shower.)

So we had some cake. I don't remember why Jack and Maxine are pointing at Juliet.

Cake is yummy.

On a side note, I have about 5 bird nests on the corners of my roof. They're not pigeons or a nuisance so I leave them be. They're some sort of finch I believe. I've heard the babies chirp for a few months but they're finally big enough to stick their heads out a little. I noticed these guys while I was putting stuff in the boat. I made chirpy noises and they'd open their beaks.

I started talking and they all shrunk back and wouldn't come out again. Silly birds.

Also, the cool weather that's continued throughout June has given my garden a good head start. It looks fantastic but it'll some to a screeching halt once it heats up. I have a lot of tomatoes that have set and looks like it'll be a great crop. I have the hardest time keeping spider mites away! Anyone have any sure fire tips!! I keep buying pesticide but wish I could find a recipe for insecticidal soap so I could make it at home. And I'll share my tip that I tried this year. A friend of mine told me that her farmer in-laws always plant two tomato plants in each cage. They set twice as much fruit and I've been amazed at the bounty. Somehow, they don't seem to grow twice as much foliage. It's been really helpful for my garden since it's small. I have mounds of green tomatoes that will be ripening soon. Yippee!!

Safe Recall

In the interest of full disclosure of the facts: The gunsafe in question has a factory defect in the locking mechanism that when the safe is tilted(for example at the angle where the balance point of a handtruck that is being used to transport the safe is found) the electromagnets can allow the door to swing open causing a security risk and incurring the potential wrath of spouses and others. Plans are being made to have a locksmith repair this factory defect as soon as possible! Thank you for your interest in the matter. Posted by Merril

New room...

I have new switches...

I have a new smoke detector.....

I have new lighting....it even works!!

I have new furniture.....okay, a gun safe isn't really furniture but you get the idea.....

And now I have a new hole in the wall......

Sigh......Merril and I were moving the gun safe into the room and the door wasn't locked shut and while we were turning, it swung open and crashed into the wall. It's a heavy door. Merril's solution was to hang a picture. I just shrugged it off because it'll take a piece of sheetrock, plaster, sand, texture, prime and paint. But it'll have to wait because I'm leaving for girl's camp at 8:00 a.m. tomorrow. No cell phone service, no wi/fi and no kids for 3 1/2 days. ;)

On a side note, a heard something scratching inside my dryer vent yesterday. We had mice a couple of weeks ago but I was pretty confident we'd killed all of them. I was a little ticked that one was caught in the dryer vent and grabbed my traps. I loaded them with peanut butter and pulled the dryer out. I carefully pulled the flexy tube off the dryer and peered inside. I didn't find a mouse. I found this:

The bird flew out at me and I screamed like a school girl. It perched on top of my laundry room cabinets and I yelled to Merril, "How do I get it out of here???!!" Merril said, "Open the front door and turn off the light in the laundry room." After a minute or two, the bird flew out of the laundry room to a picture in the living room, flew to the chandelier and then out the front door. He perched on the house for a second or two and then flew away.

After climbing on the roof, I discovered the vent cap had blown off so I got a new on and screwed it on. I feel really bad for the bird because I heard it on Sunday but we were leaving for Merril's Grandma's missionary homecoming by 8:30 a.m. and I didn't have time to worry about "mice" at the time. So the bird was stuck in there for a day and it just wanted to get out. Hopefully my new vent cap keeps rain and birds out!

fish update...

I've had a number of inquiries about the fish that splatted on the garage floor. He's still alive and kicking. I mean swimming.

I have real carpet!

Here it comes...

Are you ready?

Wahoo!

The basement bedroom looks fantastic with carpet! I think it even looks bigger!

I plan on doing a little wiring this weekend! I can do the closet light and switch and the outlets. I don't have 3-way switches so those will have to be purchased later. YEAH! Now I just need to think about moving everything and getting a bed for Jack! I'm so excited!

KF...

In the earlier ward triathlon blog post, I mentioned that a man in his 70s fell during the bike portion and broke his leg. Everyone just called him KF and he was the organizer of the triathlon. The coolest, most active old guy I ever knew. Merril and KF had become good friends because KF was always in Scouting and Young Mens. He never let his age slow him down and he and Merril did a 50-mile hike with the Scouts last year. This is the only picture I have of KF and it's during the 50-miler.

He was taken to the hospital and underwent surgery on his leg. Surgery didn't go well and his body started shutting down. He made it through surgery but was taken to the ICU. They decided to take him off life support last night and he died at around 10 p.m. When I found out about it, I couldn't really believe it because if ANYONE was going to pull through, it'd be KF. I guess the Lord just wanted his faithful servant back because he was awesome! Rock on, KF!! I'll miss you.

Carpet's comin' on Friday!!!!!!!!!

Okay, painting my ONE basement bedroom took forever. While painting, I went to the carpet store and got carpet ordered. The guy called last night and said he could come on Friday and install it at 8:30 a.m!! I installed door knobs and door kicks today. Painting is finished, more or less, and here are the pictures to prove it!

Juliet just woke up from a nap and was a bit grumpy for pictures. It looks like a real room!!

My fan is ordered but probably won't be here until next week. Next job is outlets and switches, which will take like an hour and it will be finito! I'll have a 4-bedroom house!

Bock, bock, bock...

I'm a chicken. A big, fat chicken. Merril and I have been throwing around the idea of a 4th kid. I've been sweating about it for months. Juliet will be turning 2 next Wednesday and I figured if we were going to have another one, I'd better get going. I had an appointment today to get my birth control device removed. I cancelled it. I really believed that if I had the appointment, I'd feel better about the whole deal and relax. Instead, I've been FREAKING out!!I just couldn't see how I could manage another kid and stay sane. I'm not completely ruling it out, it's just not happening right now.

When you were a kid, did you ever use eeny meeny miney moe to decide between 2 candy bars? After getting to the end, did you ever pick the opposite of what the game told you to do because you decided you really wanted a Kit Kat instead of a Snickers? The game was just a way to help you decide what you really wanted. My appointment helped me decide what I REALLY want, or rather, what I don't want. So for now, we have 3 kids and I'm feeling good.

Ward Triathlon...

Last year, Merril won a ward triathlon.  He was training for a marathon at the time and was in really great shape!  Merril was invited back this year to defend his title.  This time, Merril was in less than optimal shape.  

There's a 2-mile run, a 7-mile bike, and 5 laps in a pool(200 yards).  He was 2nd after the bike portion but got passed in the pool by two 16-year old twin boys.  He placed 4th overall.  Not bad for sitting on the couch since the marathon.  That's not true.  He plays raquetball a couple times a week with his BFF, Jared.  

When the kids saw Merril, they ran down to him and helped him finish the run portion.

Here's Merril after the swim portion.  His time was 48 minutes and 22 seconds, a little more than 2 minutes later than his 1st place time.   

He placed behind a lady, who was clearly in really great shape, and the two 16-year old twin athletes.  Not too bad at all.  

Unfortunately, the 70-ish year old guy who organizes the ward triathlon, fell during the bike portion and broke his leg.  He had to be taken to the hospital and have surgery.  He's an awesome older gentlemen and I'm sure he won't let it slow him down.

Been mad at my keyboard...

So the other day I sat down to look at blogs and moved my keyboard. The whole underside was soaked with water. Upon further inspection, it appears that someone (Juliet) dumped a cup of water on the keyboard and it leaked out the bottom. Needless to say, my keyboard stopped working. I was still able to surf from any pages on my Favorites List but I couldn't type a new http address or login to anything. Merril nabbed one today and it's felt like ages since I was able to type. Really, it's been 3 days I think.

Other than that, I've been painting like mad, ordering carpet and ordering a fan. The painting is almost finished. I still need to go back and fix a few spots and I'll post pictures when it's done.

We also got a new goldfish because our other one died. I went to Petco so the kids could look at all the other animals they have. It's our little zoo. So we bought our 13 cent fish and headed home. We put it in the tank and it was dead this morning. A little cheesed, I decided not to go back in case there was a fish disease in the tank at Petco. So I went to Wal-Mart this time and on the way to purchasing it, Maxine dropped the bag with the fish. A little bugged, we paid our 13 cents and took off home. As Maxine was getting out of the car, she dropped the bag again. From the other side of the car I said, "Did you drop the fish again?!?" She started sobbing and said, "I'm sorry!!!!" When I ran over, the bag had popped open the the fish was stuck in a corner of the bag with a teensy bit of water left. I ran it into the house and put it in a cup. After all that shock, he might be dead tomorrow too. We'll be going for the record, 3 fish in 3 days.

Adventures in painting...

After priming the walls and ceiling of the room downstairs with a roller, I decided that the doors, trim, and closet shelves needed to be done with an air sprayer.  So I finally rented one today, received my 5-minute tutorial, and started to work.  I think I got some primer on the trim and not just my face and arms.  I finished priming the trim and the closet shelves.  After the kids go to bed and the primer is dry, I'll go paint the the closet.  The air sprayer is sweet and works like a dream!