Cleaning, cleaning, and living

We have been working really, really hard. After Sunday, we returned to the house to continue cleaning it. We have been cleaning since we took possession of the house.

Once a room is cleaned with the walls wiped down, we try to kilz it. We have kilzed 1 room and most of the floors upstairs. The air ducts in the house have been cleaned as well.

The kitchen is unpacked and being used. The oven took us 3 days to clean the black out of it.

The bathrooms are cleaned. The master shower has a lot of mildew and mold between the tile and the silicone. The silicone will need to be removed and re-caulked before we can start to use it. Sweetheart has made improvements to the house to make it more efficient with motion sensor lights, buying a NEST thermostat, smoke detectors with carbon monoxide sensor included, and a myriad of other tasks.

Sweetheart's employer told him to take the time and to help his family get settled after he went to work the first day. Sweetheart was home the rest of the week helping with the cleaning, painting, and unpacking.

Tuesday evening we met with our Bishop. He interviewed and spoke with our family for about an 1 1/2 hours. Thursday we enrolled the boys in school. Their start date is today Monday. Hurricane will be attending a charter school called Challenge to Excellence. Underfoot will attend our local neighborhood school until an opening is available at the charter school. They are bummed they don't get to attend together. We are hopeful that Underfoot will be able to attend soon with his brother

Underfoot mowed the lawn the first time. He is going to build muscles, patience, and some new skills! We are proud of his hard work!

On Friday, the double oven was fixed. The repairman asked for his check (that was at the Title Company) which sent us on a goose chase to find the check. When Sweetheart called our agent, Jay, to find the check, Jay asked how things were going. Sweetheart told him we had not yet slept in the house. Jay offered to send a professional cleaning company or to have a room painted. I was hesitant. Jay said he would pay for the service. We chose to have the Master bedroom painted.

The painter who came also pulled out our carpets. He told us that the pad was still wet with urine when he pulled the carpet. We have to kilz the main floor still.

The colors on the left are the main colors. The others are accent.

Friday night was the first night we spent in house! We pulled our mattress inside the formal living room and the boys slept in sleeping bags! We have been staying at the Eckert's home. They have fed us, housed us, and provided entertainment for us. We are VERY GRATEFUL for their hospitality and support.

Saturday we loaded our closet with our clothes.

The closet is the bigger than our old laundry room. We now are officially living in our house.

On Sunday Sweetheart was asked to be the Assistant Scoutmaster at church to work with the 12-13 year old young men.

Sweetheart is taking Youth Protection Training with Hurricane on his lap.

Later that day we had the Eckert's over for supper and Dominion. Later we were invited for dessert at our Bishop's family's home. During the evening, where people served an LDS mission came up. Another man in the room served his mission in Panama like I did. He was there 4 years after I was.  That was really exciting to me.

Be Well.

Welcome to Colorado!

Greetings from Parker, CO. On Monday of this past week we signed papers for the sale of our Tucson home. On Tuesday we signed on the papers for our Parker home. Early on Wednesday morning we packed up the last of our belongings and headed to Colorado. Many hands helped us clean the house, pack the car, and helped us emotionally. We are grateful for people's time, energy, and love.

Craig and Grace Earls opened Hotel Earls and were kind enough to let us stay at their home for a couple nights prior to our departure. We were able to sleep in a bed rather than on an air mattress. I must admit that I am very grateful for their hospitality.

The boys finished school at Sycamore Elementary. Mrs. Stone and Mrs. Middendorf, the boys' classroom teachers, have been wonderful as the boys have been moving. The boys celebrated by bringing a white t-shirt to have their classmates sign it and shared a treat on their last day. We have been blessed to be at Sycamore.

The drive to Colorado was long. The Scout did just fine pulling the Prius, and Wendy pulled the trailer behind the Pilot. We averaged about 60 MPH for the whole trip. We stayed at a Worldmark in Santa Fe, NM. It was the tiniest Worldmark we've every been too. They had no pool, no club house, and very little parking. Fortunately we were able to make arrangements with the Japanese restaurant across the street to park the Scout for the night. The manager let us park the Pilot and the trailer in an 'off limits' part of the parking lot because we agreed to leave before the workmen showed up at 6 a.m. I just moved the Pilot across the street and went back to bed. 

I found that the Scout has some carburetor problems. Someday I hope to put fuel injection on it, to make it easier to start. It should also improve the mileage. 10-11 MPG is all we got on our trip. I also had to put a quart of oil in every 150 miles (which is about how often we filled up with gas, too!) The changes in elevation in Colorado are such that fuel injection is a really good idea. I just have to get all the other house projects finished first....

On Thursday night we made it to the new house. The carpet guys were just finishing up the removal of the old carpet. We discovered large animal pee stains all over the sub-floor, which confirmed our decision to have the carpet replaced. The boys ran through the house and immediately discovered the joy of the slide in the basement. My friend Brandon, and his wife Moriah, who also live in Parker, were gracious enough to let us sleep at their house. (We've been camping out at their house ever since- Thank you Brandon and Moriah!)

On Friday we unloaded the truck. Brandon and Moriah came by to help us unload. We had some help from the freight company. The unload took us three hours instead of the two hours that I had originally thought, but we are glad we got the help. The bulk of our possessions are in the garage, with a few items in the basement. The rest of the house is 'naked' because there is no carpet. 

On Saturday I returned the tow dolly to Uhaul and we started working on the house. Wendy and Moriah did a lot of cleaning in the kitchen. (The new house has been neglected quite a bit!) Wendy mowed the front lawn and we took turns mowing the back yard lawn. I somehow managed to misplace the box that had all the painting materials (rollers and paint trays) so I took the boys to Lowes to pick up more rollers. We began painting the subfloor with Kilz primer. Underfoot and Hurricane did a great job painting. Hurricane and I also began removing all the face plates from all the light switches and outlets. We returned home to Brandon and Moriah's house exhausted. Underfoot said his back hurt from bending over so much to do the painting.

Today we attended church at our new congregation. During the second hour, we attended a special sunday school class were members of the congregation leadership introduced themselves. We were also given a chance to introduce ourselves and ask questions. It was the first time Wendy or I had every attended such a class, but it was really nice to get acquainted with a few people. Underfoot and Hurricane were both nervous to attend church, but I believe they have already made some new friends and will be just fine here in Colorado. 

We have not yet decided if we will enroll the boys in school tomorrow or wait a week to give them a little break. They've already been in school this year for 5 weeks, the local school system is only on week 2. Underfoot wants to start school tomorrow, Hurricane wants to wait a week.

Be Well.

Moving and A Wake

We have packed the house, loaded it into the trailer, had a wonderful wake, and will sign on two houses this week.

We have been very busy and couldn't have done it without the help of many, many people.

Sweetheart played games with his friends. He has enjoyed playing Conflict of Heroes. While he played games, Underfoot, Hurricane, and I saw the LDS Tucson Temple construction,

used a birthday gift card for Legos at Toys R Us, used another birthday gift card at Bookmans and played Pokemon there, and shopped for the last few items of food.

Our family birthday was celebrated by packing the attic, garage, and unloading the storage unit we got for showing the house.

Sweetheart had an allergic reaction in the middle and had to stop. We were invited for supper at the Carpenter home and enjoyed hamburgers and hot dogs. On Monday, we enjoyed homemade fondue.

Sunday we hosted the last Young Single Adult supper for members of our congregation. We extended the table to its full length, and everyone had a place at the table.

Underfoot and G took a picture at the YSA dinner. They are really great friends.

We really love our table and the memories that have been made around it.

Many hands came to our rescue and aid as we finalized the packing and loading of the semi-trailer. The miracle is everything fit in the trailer. We packed rooms during the day with help. Sweetheart packed the garage by night or worked on the International Harverster Scout.

On Thursday and Saturday, men came to help Sweetheart load the trailer. Because of their help we accomplished a mountain of work. The men were helpful to Sweetheart make sure that the load fit tightly and safely. We are grateful for the many hands and hearts that helped us.

On Saturday, we attended the nicest wake ever. Many people came through to share memories and to wish us well.

R. N., Baby M, and I took at picture at the wake.

We were overwhelmed by the love that was shared.

Underfoot finished his Cub Scout Bear Rank and was awarded the rank this last Tuesday at Pack meeting.

He was given the microphone and shared how he earned some of his awards. I have also been working on the Young Women Personal Progress program. The program is designed for youth ages 12-18 to bring them closer to Christ. Adult women who are interested may do the program as well. I finished this on Sunday, had an interview with my Bishop, and was given the award during our church services.

I was really surprised to be presented in front of the congregation.

The best part of living here is Hurricane! He is our gem from the desert.
 

We have much to accomplish this week. We hope for a smooth week. Prayers would be graciously accepted.

Be Well.

 Wonder Woman Smoothie from a library cookbook

 

 A sunbeam from heaven

Meridale Cider that I took from Pocatello at Thanksgiving

First Day Action

School has started. We came home from Havasupai on Saturday and started school on Monday.

They were happy to start and said that the walk to school wasn't that long after hiking from the bottom on the hill at Havasupai.

At the end of the school day, we went on our traditional getting ice cream.

We invited our friends who are attending the new elementary school. The reunion was a sweet one. Pun intended.

Lance gave his 2 weeks notice at Raytheon the day we got back. He was really nervous to tell, but it went better than he thought it would. He finished his 2 weeks. His co-workers took him to lunch. He started his new job on Monday.

You know on the 1st day of school parents take pictures of their children. Here is Lance on his first day - nerd pack and all.

The boys finished their summer reading program. We decided that they would read as many pages as the Mormon Battalion walked in miles.

Underfoot read all the pages, and Hurricane's job to was listen to and read pages. They both completed their goal.

The sunflowers have been beautiful.

The monsoon has come in full force.

The rain is very welcome and helps keep our house clean outside.

 Both houses have had the inspections and the appraisals. We have started to pack our house. Last Saturday, we packed the canning materials in our outdoor shed. We cut the lids off 2 barrels and filled them then 2 boxes. We didn't realize how many jars we have. We will need to fill every single jar in Colorado.

 Saying goodbye to friends is going to be the hardest thing. On Sunday, we went to supper at a friend's house. Their son thought it was the last night we would see each other.

The Earls family has offered to have a wake for us before we leave. It is August 13 if you'd like to come. Let us know to give you the details. Two weeks from today we will be moving. Hard to image our time is short here.

Be Well!