Hallie & Gracie's 1st Day of Gymnastics

The girls both started gymnastics this week and can't wait to go back. Hallie is in level 1 and Gracie is in the tot class. They were both really excited to go. We let them both decide what they wanted to do for extracurricular activities since I don't want to have to run them somewhere everyday. They both chose gymnastics so they go at the same time each week so I think we will continue to go once we move since I would only have to come down once a week.

Em was so good and just went to sleep while we waited for the girls to be done.

Im excited for the girls to try something new. They are both so great at everything they do and I think its so cute how they always want to try things together. I hope they stay this close their whole lives.

Hallie's 1st Piano Lesson

Hallie started piano this week and is really excited. She is taking from Anna, a lady in our ward, that came highly recommended. Im excited to see her challenged and grow

Gracie's 1st Day of Preschool

Gracie was so excited to start preschool and Sept 1st was the day.  She will be going on Tues and Thurs mornings. She will be going with Dallin and Brett which is nice since we can carpool. She was so excited this year that she got to pick a back pack and clothes. I think she will really enjoy it

Papa To The Rescue

So Papa came to help us with the house(see week 6 post). When we weren't working on the house we had some time to spend with him. On Friday night we had to run to Lowes for some house stuff. Gracie was so tired papa was nice enough to carry her. I love their love for him...he is pretty amazing

After our Lowes trip we stopped at Papa Murphys pizza to grab some dinner

Friday while we were at the house papa and I were busy working and Gracie got a little bored. So she was watching PBS kids on my phone when I looked over to see her sharing the phone so Emery could see it as well. The girls really are so thoughtful both to each other and towards others.

To The Fair We Go

We look forward the the fair every year. For me it brings back so many good memories with my family and I love that our kids really enjoy it as well. This year was hard since Matt had to be working on the house and missed all the festivities. I did however talk Nic in to coming with me since Kyle was out of town as well so we loaded the 5 kids up and headed to Tre-town. Nick & Brit were nice enough to get a good spot for us to all sit. The kids were all so cute with their hands on their hearts as the flag went by

Cute & hot girls

Me and the girls! Emery was sleeping behind my shoulder in her car seat until the sirens came by and then she was so sad/scared by the loud noise.

Nic and I decided we need a trailer like this to take to Lake Powell and anywhere really it was hug

Anxious for the candy

After the patade Nic and I decided to take the kids to the fair to eat dinner and see the animals. Dinner was ok not my favorite but it was fun to sit and visit with Nic although it was a little crazy to keep track of all our kids with so many people around. The kids loved the animals 

Nic and I decided to try no strollers so I packed Emery in her carrier I think she did better since she slept the entire time and we didn't have to navigate with a stroller

As we were leaving the fair we realized we hadn't take enough pictures so we got these before we headed for home. I really missed Matt and found myself close to tears multiple time that night but I know that his sacrifice of time now will pay off once the house is done and hopefully we can make it as a family next year. I really wanted to take the kids to the rodeo but I didn't want to take them alone so we will try next year.

My partner in crime. She really does understand what its like to be a single mom since Kyle is gone so much as well. She makes me feel not so alone in single parenting. I don't know that she realizes how much I appreciate her presence in my life.

Back to School Night & Hallie's 1st Day of First Grade

Tuesday night was back to school night. Hallie was so excited she could hardly contain herself. She was really excited to meet her teacher, see her classroom, and meet some new friends. This is Hallie with her teacher Mrs. Olsen. She had a scavenger hunt set up for them to find things around the classroom. Hallie was insistent that she read her whole hunt. Her teacher and a couple parents commented on what a great reader she  was and how she would definitely be one of her top readers. Its nice to have others think your child is so smart I have always thought so. She loves to read and has grown so much over the summer.

Wednesday morning it was time for the 1st day of school. I asked if she wanted me to take her to school. To which she replied,"No I think I better get used to riding the bus." I was slightly broken hearted that she didn't need me to be with her every step of the day but Im also glad that she feel comfortable being on her own to go to school.

To take it one step further she wanted Matt to take her to the bus. I have to admit once they pulled out I cried. I can't imagine my everyday without her. We will have to get used to it since she loves school and is getting to be such a big girl.

I have come to realize how brave kids have to be. Hallie has been so brave and taken all of these changes in stride. To put yourself out there, to make new friends, go to a new school, and change your whole day is a lot to handle but she hasn't even blinked. We are so proud of Hallie and the amazing young lady she has become. I love her so much and an going to have to adjust to sharing her with the school. 

Week 6-Timber Trusses are Up and Our 1st Big Owie Aug 24th-29th

The timber trusses have become a bit more time intensive than I think anyone ever expected. This has always been our problem and it continues to be. In the picture below Matt and Trav are playing teeter totter trying to get the timber to split the rest of the way. After awhile of trying to get it.

Monday the girls and I went up to take dinner and to do some work. I feel so helpless with most of the work since I have 3 little side kicks that come with me everywhere I go. So I took down a lot of the bracing now that the roof is sheeted. Hallie's job was to remove the nails from the 2x4 so that they would be safe and able to be used elsewhere in the house. Grandpa even taught her about a fulcrum and how it makes it easier to get the nails out. She is getting really good at it.

Wednesday night while trying to put up the big timber Matt got his thumb smashed between the reach fork prongs and the timber. It looked pretty bad but we were able to dress it for the night and then Thursday morning Matt went to the instacare where they poked holes in his fingernail to relieve the pressure and redressed it. It is healing really well but it has caused Matt a lot of pain unfortunately. We are just glad it wasn't worse

Thursday evening they finally got up the big timber truss after the accident Wed night. Things like this are a short lived celebration when you step back and see how much we have left to do 

We got a bid to have the AV done in the house for surround sound, music speakers, cameras for security, and all of our internet, phone, and data connections. The bid came back and was over 2700 dollars. Matt really is capable of running the wire but has no time to do that. So I called my dad on Tuesday to see if he would be willing to come up and run all the wire for us. He was so great and the next day had a plan in place to come up and run all the wire as well as getting us a good price on the wire. It was more than I could have ever asked. Saying thank you 100 times will never express how much we appreciate my dad driving 8 hours each way alone, using his vacation days, and running all the wire himself. It was fun to spend a couple days just visiting while he ran wires and I did a few other projects around the house. With him doing it and getting us a good deal on wire we got more than we even wanted for less than 600 bucks!

The girls have been really good to help. They were in charge of moving the wood and plumbing supplies so I could sweep the floor so it would be ready for the guys to frame it in.

On Saturday the 2nd and final truss went up. It really had to get up since the rental place was coming to get the reach fork on Monday...time was of the essence. They are going to look great and just another hurdle to jump to get to the finish line of finishing this house.

Im so ready for the framing part of this journey to be over! I have never seen Matt this stressed and I think we are both over the long hours he is working. We both feel stuck between a rock and a hard place we want to quit but if we do nothing progresses so we just keep swimming.