Our little helpers

Elise is pulling nails, Mason is showing off his work gloves and Sammy is taking sheetrock out to the dumpster.

House work

To celebrate Mason's birthday on Saturday we had a demolition crew (namely: Dad, Trevor, Brett & Stephen, with a little help from Elise, Mason & Sammy) take out the walls and windows in my room. What is a birthday (or any event, for that matter) without a project? What do people do when they don't have house projects? Is there life without them?

Anyhow, they got the walls down, the windows and closets out, new electrical, insulation, and windows in, as well as hung sheetrock! Stephen and I finished nailing the sheetrock up last night, and I got blisters - ouch! It's been a long time since I've pounded sheetrock - since the family room, I think. It is great to be on the last room in the house; every other room has been re-done. There are only a couple of walls that are original to the house, and even they have been re-wired, textured and painted. Sigh...sometimes it kills me that we are going to be leaving just as we get the house how we like it. Maybe I can talk Stephen into waiting to go back to school until next year.

I just have to say that I come from a very creative family. My sister-in-law is a photographer, my older brother invented an awesome thing (I can't say more since the patent hasn't gone through yet...and I don't know what it is called...), Elise sings, my mom does calligraphy, my grandpa writes, and my brothers create their own power tools. Enjoy the redneck table saw!

Brett & Trevor

Coyote scare

During a break in the rain yesterday the kids and I visited a local nature park to wander around. We identified animal tracks in the interpretive center and then went on a little walk. We got lost and I couldn't understand the map that I had picked up, but I figured that we'd make it back to the main trail eventually, so we kept wandering. When we passed a sign that said "Educational Experience Ahead", I knew we were getting close. Mason ran on ahead, and when I came around the corner with Elise and Sammy I stopped dead in my tracks and my heart started racing: Through the brush about 15 feet in front of me was a coyote, and it wasn't running away. A million thoughts flashed through my head - Mason had just run by - where was he? Was he going to be safe? We were making lots of noise and yet there was still a wild animal mere feet away - what was wrong with it? Why wasn't it running away? If it attacked - what would I do? My adrenaline was pumping and I was about ready to attack it!

After standing stock still for a few seconds and seeing that the thing still wasn't moving, I took a step closer and started laughing hysterically (because, you know, that is what you do after a scare turns out this way) - it was a coyote skin! It had been placed so that it looked like it was walking through the forest, and it was very successful in conveying that image! Using my Sherlock Holmes-like stills I deduced that it was there as part of the "Educational Experience", and sure enough, as we walked further down the path we noticed a fake dragonfly in a tree, a picture of a skunk near the trail, etc., etc.

When I told Stephen about my heart-stopping experience later that evening he laughed and laughed - especially thinking of the scene of me attacking a coyote pelt - "It's all right, kids, this coyote was so scared that he ran away and left his skin. I took care of him all right! You're safe now."

What fun we have in nature!

Out...

The sun is shining for the 3rd day in a row, and it feels like Spring has finally arrived! The daffodils and tulips are blooming, my plants are starting to grow, and the kids have their first sunburns of the year. I'm getting around to planting my garden a little later than normal this year (it was still freezing at nights April 1st and has been raining ever since!), but it is at the top of my list for the next sunny day that is not a Sunday. :o)

The one downside to this beautiful weather is that I can't really run. My knee is still giving me trouble, so I'm doing some physical therapy for the next month or so. I'm glad to be doing something that will help me feel better...I only hope I'll be able to run again soon. :o( Swimming and doing the eliptical just aren't the same as getting outside and going somewhere!

Yesterday Stephen and I went to Corvallis to teach a budgeting class for my mom's stake Relief Society Women's Conference. It went well - Stephen is the best at that kind of thing! I just added in personal experiences, and he gave the meat of the presentation. It was so odd to have people taking notes of things that I said! Chieko Okazaki was the key note speaker. She is pretty amazing! I really want to buy and read her books, now that I have heard and met her. The more I grow up, the more I realize that our leaders are normal people - people with extraordinary abilities, but normal. It gives me hope that I can do extraordinary things one day, too. Because I'm pretty normal! :o)