Ben's parents came down last weekend for a short visit. They arrived on Thursday afternoon. We had three full days with them. We did a lot of shopping that they do not have access to in Canada: Joann's, Cabela's, Distribution Center, Seagull Book, etc. They finished their Christmas shopping and spent one afternoon wrapping presents and mailing them to their proper destinations. They went on a tour of Ben's work and got to see what he does everyday.
My favorite activity was going to Cabela's. It is the greatest store ever! Ben got a new semi-auto shotgun for bird hunting in Saskatchewan.
While he was looking at guns, Lucy, Ronna and I walked around the store. We saw the aquarium. Lucy fed the fish.
We looked at all of the dead animal displays. There was a waterfall in the store!
We pressed a penny for keepsakes. Then we ate lunch at the restaurant inside the store. It was very reasonably priced and delicious. The trip to Cabela's was, by far, my favorite thing we did while they were here.
We spent all of our extra time playing board games. We love playing board games and it's fun when we can play games with more than two people. Chuck and Ronna were so good with Lucy. Lucy loved them, gave them kisses, and talked a lot to them. It was great that they got to know her a little better in her normal environment. We had such a good visit with them. They are always so generous and kind to us. I cannot think of more selfless people than Grandma and Grandpa.
I love Thanksgiving because it is such a great time to reflect on all of our blessings, especially the wonderful blessing of families. I am so grateful for my family. I think about what an amazing husband I have and wonder how I ever got so lucky. I tell him all the time that I must have tricked him into marrying me. ;) He has so much patience and loves me for who I am. I am also grateful for my beautiful daughter. I remember how I sincerely wanted to be a mother and how dreadful it was that I didn't have her as soon as I wanted. I'll never forget the feeling of holding her in my arms for the first time. I was mesmorized by her. She is truly my little miracle. And I love her with all of my heart.
This Thanksgiving was great. It was relaxing to not have to travel and to spend the day at home. My mom and dad came over. We cooked, watched football, looked at Black Friday ads, played board games and then ate yummy food. My mom bought us ornaments that I am so excited to hang up tomorrow. We celebrated my birthday with brownies, ice cream, and pie. I got a lovely purse and lovely sweater. By 7:30 tonight my parents left and both Ben and Lucy crashed immediately. What a great day!
Halloween this year was a little chaotic with the move. We weren't able to enjoy the ward Trunk or Treat or go Trick or Treating on Halloween but we still managed to enjoy the holiday with a few festivities. Lucy was a monkey this year. She's very wiggly and by the third picture she was done. Plus I am not a good photographer. But here's our little monkey!...
We had a mutual activity with a massive pumpkin so we sat Lucy on it to admire how cute she is.
We also went to the Pumpkin Walk at Benson Gristmill. We were not sure what to expect but Lucy got to play in some hay which is always fun. Once again, I'm a bad photographer.
I have a group of amazing friends that get together every month to play Bunco. For Halloween we decided to dress up. I was Raggedy Ann....again. Plus I totally stole these pictures from Tatiana's blog so it's probably a repeat for some of you. :)
The actual move was Halloween day. It went very smoothly mainly because we dumped Lucy on three different neighbors during the process. We had a lot of help from people at church and work to load the truck and trailer that we borrowed. Our townhome was a little crowded with boxes the week of the move.
We settled into our home as much as possible and then the next weekend Ben went to Wisconsin for a week long training for work. Lucy and I missed him very much. But he got to see Lake Michigan. Woot! And he got to work on some big machine that he was excited about. In one video he showed me of the machining, I could hear guys in the background laughing out of excitement and saying how awesome it was. I tried to look excited while watching it but I failed...must be a guy thing. Or engineer thing.
There are no decorations in our home yet and probably won't be for a while. But we feel so blessed to live here. We love it. We've saved EVERY penny over the last four years and now we've spoiled ourselves with the home of our dreams. And as a request I have an updated video of our home. Feel free to skip over it if you wish. It's kind of long.
Ben and I have been looking at homes to buy in Tooele County since we moved here over a year ago. None of them seemed right for us and in our price range. So after thinking about it this past year we decided to build a home in Grantsville. It is a smaller town of about 6,000 people. We’re building right on the edge of town so we’ll be close to Tooele, about 7 minutes away.
We have been so blessed to be able to build a home. However, I would never do it again. It is such a rollercoaster of emotions: a lot of excitement and frustration. There has been a lot of prayers and fasting going on regarding this house.
We were supposed to have moved in on the 15th. Because of several situations, we’re not moving in until the 28th...or so they say. We are happy with the work they have done on it so far and are so excited for the day when we can sleep comfortably in our new home. I must admit, I haven’t slept comfortably since they started building! I’m up lots of nights, stressing, planning and over-analyzing. Since Ben is at work during the day I’ve taken up a lot of the responsibility for research on lenders, rates, home insurance, etc. I’m on the phone and internet every day negotiating, trying to understand, and trying to get what I want with these builders/brokers/lenders/you name it. We go out to the home several times a week to walk through it, make sure they are doing their job and that they are doing it correctly. I have to keep reminding myself that this time next month we’ll be in our own home!
Here are some pictures of the building process.
August 1, 2011
August 10, 2011
August 17, 2011
August 20, 2011
August 20, 2011
August 24, 2011
August 27, 2011
August 31, 2011 (Back of the home)
September 5, 2011
October 10, 2011
October 12, 2011
Stone and Stucco is Finished!
Here is a video and picture from September 30, 2011. A lot has changed since then.
The inside is now all painted with doorways, doors, tiled bathroom and flooring. They had the light fixures ready to be installed yesterday when we went. We were told cabinets are going in today.
We are in the final stages now and they tell us the home will be finished next week!
This weekend was the county fair. Last year we went and had a blast. We won lots of prizes. We didn't know hardly anyone and after spending three full days at the county fair we felt like we were a part of the community. We met a lot of people. So of course when the county fair happened this weekend we made sure to be there. We spent all day Saturday there playing games at the indoor stage. Lucy won $1.25 by completing the children's scavenger hunt. We played the Newlywed Game. Last year we played but didnt do very well. This year we competed against 9 other couples and WON! We got a $100 gift card to Home Depot.
Last year there was a Deal Or No Deal game. They chose 15 people to come on stage to be possible contestants and then they chose 1 of those people to actually play. I was lucky enough to play last year and I won $90. This year I thought there was no way I would be chosen again. I ended up being one of the 15 people on stage and then I was chosen again!!! This time I won $104. It was so fun, and very nerve-racking!
We also played "The Price is Close" and won $1 and a free car wash. We played the Tooele County Trivia Game and won $6.
Later that day we visited the petting zoo!
To end the evening off right we participated in the Funny Honey Money. Its where contestants pour honey all over themselves, roll in hay and whatever sticks to you you can keep. Super fun! Before the adults do it they let the kids do a dry version of it. Lucy participated and found an orange ball! Sorry for the huge belly shot. :)
We didnt get pictures of Ben and I doing the Funny Honey Money. We were sticky and both busy rolling in the hay. Haha. But we won more money there with a grand total of .....
$143 !
The county fair is so fun! We love all the friends we've made! The librarians that we visit weekly were there cheering us on during the newlywed game. The indoor stage directors remembered us from last year. By the time Funny Honey Money happened we knew a good handful of people in the audience and one offered to watch Lucy while we participated. I was talking to Ben afterwards and we've decided that Tooele really does feel like home. :)
