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!