Water

The 8th of February seemed like  normal day - until after my morning piano lesson Abigail comes running and saying the carpet is really wet at the bottom of the stairs.  I thought someone had spilled water or something, but I opened the door and BAM!  An inch of water all over the floor that had come in over night.

We had no idea where the water was coming in from - so we called Kartchner to see if we were under warranty and they'd take care of it.  We were past our warranty but they sent someone to come look at it to help us, and he thought it was coming in from the windows.  It seemed like a lot of water for that, but we went ahead and got a pump from the store (we weren't the only ones there with problems!) and spent a few hours pushing water to the pump to get it out.

We'd push the water and we thought were were making progress, but it would never stay down.  It made no sense!  And it was in our cold storage, our workout room - practically everywhere down there!  It wasn't until Joe got the shop vac and started vacuuming that we saw it just seep in from under the foundation - it was coming in at the lowest points, and anywhere there was a crack.  Joe finally decided to break a hole in the concrete and put the pump below ground and it worked!

Then ... two days later, even with the pump on, it came back!

My dad was kind enough to buy us a better pump and bring it up (they ran out up here), and that pump seemed to do a bit better.  We did decide to get one permanently installed once the plumbers can get here!

16 weeks

Boom - there's a baby!  No hiding this little one!  This pregnancy has been rough - I forgot how sick you get!  The first trimester was full of dry heaving, tiredness, and general aches and pains.  I had forgotten how much pregnancy consumes you!  I am so grateful that I am pregnant, but there are times when I just want to sit and cry because it's hard!  I'm now almost 19 weeks and I'm feeling this girl move more and more every day, and it makes my heart so full!  The kids LOVE giving her kisses, and Abigail was so excited to learn this week they baby can now hear.  They are going to be great siblings!

Fix it!

Grayson was SO sad when Buzz's arm fell off!  A plastic piece snapped, so I wasn't sure if it was even fixable but he got out his tools and went right to work!

Joe was able to put a metal screw inside and fix his arm and now all is well!

Superheroes

Introducing some new superheroes ... Underwear Man! Life is never dull with these kids!

Grandma's party

When we were down in Salt Lake for my birthday/Jane's birthday, my  mom was kind and threw the kids a Valentine's party!  The kids had a great time, for the most part, and loved all the surprises they got.  Thanks Grandma!

Oh baby

In case you missed it - we are expecting a baby! Due to insurance we waited until the new year to have my Doctor's appointment, and it was hard waiting!  So at 12 weeks I headed in and got to see our little one!  We are very excited!

I was able to go in and get a quick ultrasound at 15 weeks, and found out the gender.  We were hoping for a boy, but we kept saying we should be happy with whatever we get.  And the results were:

Snow!

What??? Another snow day??? It has felt like the winter that NEVER ends.  I do think snow it beautiful, and don't mind it most of the time but this year it has been extreme.  The kids have loved it - they turned the huge piles by the driveway into slides and would go down them  all day!

our largest pile of snow!

basement

Finishing a basement is a LOT of work!  I thought it sounded simple - hanging doors - but turns out it is quite the process!  So grateful for my Dad and Joe who spend a lot of time down there putting it together!!

piano

It has been very fun (and a bit frustrating) teaching Abigail piano, but she LOVES it!  She will often sit down and play what she's supposed to, then play the other songs she knows- mostly Christmas songs! She loves saying the name of the notes when she plays, and counting out loud.  She's always asking for a lesson!

 

sleepy girl

This girl!  She often falls asleep on the way home from getting groceries - it's so tiring!  Lily is such an active girl, and loves being busy! We finally feel like we understand most of what she says - and she's talking in more complete sentences.  I let her watch the letter factory while I teach piano, and now she's picking up on letters and sounds.  If only she wanted to use the potty so she could go to preschool!  She's so stubborn, and loves to push people's buttons.  Mostly Grayson's. She love to cuddle, and will come in and cuddle with me for about an hour every morning. She loves barbies, and legos!