Week #50: High Five Pens And The Polar Express

This Week...

...lots of progress at the new house. The kitchen and bathroom cupboards went in. The bathroom and laundry room tile was laid. The walls and ceilings are all painted. We picked up the laminate flooring from Craftsmans. Now our job of laying the floor begins.

We started the laminate flooring project at our new house on the weekend. Our friend, Stephen Schab, came to help us. We were so grateful he took the time because we were able to get part of the entryway, the kitchen, mudroom, and pantry all knocked out. It looks so great! Jason was a little nervous about the white coloring in the planks. It's randomly placed and we weren't sure that it would work or be too much. I pushed him into agreeing and I love it! This risk paid off.

...they poured concrete at our new house. Court Concrete got it all smoothed out and framed up. (They even worked in the rain!) It's amazing how much prep work it takes. They came back early the next morning to start pouring. I stopped by with the kids before school. It's so fun to watch the cement come down the trough and how the guys get it spread out.

...Jason had an eventful shift...Some tow truck driver was in the holiday spirit.

...Benjamin received a McGee Cares award at school for Attitude. He had a rough start to the school year, but has worked hard to get adjusted and be brave. (That's Naya's hand in the photo. Hehe!)

Benjamin also made a poster about the history of Pasco for Cub Scouts. He could point to each picture and talk about the early days of the city and different places of interest.  

...we went to our ward party. This year's theme was The Polar Express. The Primary was in charge, and the president wanted to go all out for the kids. We had a genuine conductor, ticket booth, polar Express train model and village. 

The program was wonderful too. We read a condensed version of the Polar Express book, with a break for Hot Chocolate, and then went through five symbols of Christmas. At the end, Santa came in for the kids. Our friend John was Santa's helper and wore the suit that night. He was such a great Santa-so good with the kids and funny for the parents. Everyone said how they enjoyed him.

Charith and I were talking once the party was over. She had some crepes in her hand that she was taking home. She randomly said that she felt like putting one in my face. Long story short, I agreed.

...I helped out at the book fair at the school. We got quite a few volunteers that don't normally make it out, but there were still shifts that needed to be covered. As a result, me and my PTO board spent a lot of time manning the book fair. We ran the book fair during parent teacher conferences which was nice for parents to come in and buy books, but there was also a lot of time when no one was there but us. Needless to say, I got a little silly. And they got silly with me. It's that kind of silly that happens when you've stayed up too late and everything is funny. I was cursing all of the erasers, and pens, and baubles by the registers until I started to play with them. I grabbed the high five pen and started giving people high fives. I would wave at people and try to give them a "helping hand." Naya grabbed the pointers and started making jokes about how we want volunteers. We all bought fun pens to use at the next PTO meeting. And yes, the book fair was a success. ;)

...Stewart the Elf continued his rounds. This time he hid in the cupboard hoping to scare someone. Well, he did. Me! He startled me good as I went to get a glass for water.

Stewart got into the advent and ate the hershey kiss for the day. That sneaky Stewart.

He got a little daring this time. We couldn't believe it when we saw him hanging from the clock, dangling so far above the floor. It was as close to Emma's repelling suggestion as he could get.

...Teresa came to take photos of our house so we can post them online. She was so great! We're talkers so we didn't have any trouble getting to know her. It turned out that she was a talker too. We were so interested in what she was doing that she let us tag along. It was fascinating to watch her and listen to what makes a great picture. She shared some tidbits and I ate them up.

And then this happened! What?! Our house is officially up for sale.

...Lainey fell asleep with Grandpa Zirker. Sometimes, you just play too hard at Grandma and Grandpa's.

Week #49: You Just Gotta Puzzle!

This Week...

...we went out to Azteca for Jason's birthday dinner. My mom and dad were in town, so they joined my sisters and us for the night. We had a great time! We love their beans and mild salsa with chips.

...we said goodbye to Elder Havland and Elder Bischof. They both got transfered out. It sure is fun helping them in the missionary efforts in the Pasco second ward.

...I needed a little down time. Sometimes you just have to puzzle. My Sister-in-Law, Julie Marie, says, "You're just like your brother Kent!"

...our Elf on the Shelf, Stewart, is back! Oh the joy of ever trying to stay one step ahead!

...we had our Elders Quorum party at the church. Games were the order of the night. We brought our Holy Board game and set up a bracket for competitive play. All of the kids were wanting their chance along with the adults. Another group played several rounds of Tenzi. That game is a fun one too!

...our neighbor Carmen surprised us with a box of Krispy Kremes donuts. Jason took some of the kids out with him to shovel the driveway of Vicki and Carmen. I went out to help finish up Carmen's when the kids trailed in before the job was done. Vicki saw them working and paid them some money for their service. When Carmen found out, she gave us the donuts and a card with some money inside. We weren't expecting payment, that was just a little extra bonus. The donuts were triple bonus! We were more touched by Carmen's card and that our service helped her and warmed her heart.

...we are in Book Fair mode. We had a great time getting the books set out. The Book Fair was set up and ready to go. Then school was cancelled. Bummer! We did have quite a few that braved the weather to come in the following morning for Donuts with Dads. They stopped off at the Book Fair to see us.

...snow angels never get old. Snow days are the best days...until they are make up days.

Spencer, Sophie, and Carson Buchanan came over to play in the snow. They played out front and at the park with all the untouched snowy goodness.

...more progress on the house. It's really coming together. It doesn't take so much brain power to visualize walls and rooms.

...we take a trip down memory lane. I made these afghans in high school for Personal Progress. What started out as one, turned into one for each of my siblings and my dad. It's time now to add them to the history books. It was an obsession!