Michael's Arrival

The dreaded phone call..........
It's 2:00 am in the morning and the phone rings.......It's Arayna........She is so excited, her water has broken and her contractions are now three minutes apart! We being the chosen photographers must leave for the hospital ASAP! What you don't know is that this is Arayna's second child and the hospital is in Redlands over an hours drive away! Because of construction the only road open is to go down the back way on highway 38 which is very deserted. Jim being the fireman forever throws me a small pack of dental floss. What's that for I ask thinking he wants to clean his teeth on the way down. It's to tie the cord if we have to deliver the baby! Quickly we grap a trash bag and begin......... Clean soft towel for the baby, dental floss for the cord, scissors to cut the cord, Bulb syring for suctioning during delivery, trash bag for the placenta and did I mention towels for the mess.........and because it's only about 34 degrees out blankets for the car and did I mention towels for the mess.... you would understand if you have seen a baby born! We head out down the hill carefully watching for any point in which our friends might have pulled over to deliver if they don't make it. They were about 15 minutes ahead of us.
Fortunately the trip down the hill was uneventful except for 2 coyotes and a bobcat. We arrived in time for the delivery and welcomed brand new little Michael into the world.




I am probably the luckiest person in the world to see four perfect little babies born in the last three years! It is so beautiful that it brings tears to my eyes each time. What an amazing thing to experience...................

Almost!!!!!

Today we could really see the possibility of our project ending. Woody was working hard to finish the taping and mudding of the utility room. Jim was busy finishing everything up under the floor. The last thing to do before closing up the floor was to replace the floor joists to support the floor. After doing this Jim was almost stuck forever. I laughed so hard and took this picture. We really weren't sure he would be able to get out. It wasn't so funny for him, he got stuck once in an attic during a fire and really starts to panic when he is stuck. As you can see he's out and the room looks great. Tomorrow I will start to paint and on Thursday the floor will be put in.

Construction Update

Well everything is coming along pretty good, it has just taken alot longer than anticipated.

First, I will tell you that our street is no longer a dirt road they have brought in the asphalt. It looks great! The only thing left for the road crew to do is the swalling. The swalling is in place of a gutter and crubs. In the mountains you have more asphalt that connects the road to our driveways and is kind of like a dip for drainage. So we have about two feet of dirt still.

Second, our furnace is now in and functioning. It is located under the house and looks like a huge octapus with lots of arms or tubing for vents that travel under the house to each vent on the first floor. The house is now cozy and warm just in time since it has been down to 30 degrees at night. Sorry no pictures

This is a photo of our new deck which is also complete. It is beautiful. We were going to oil it before we left on vacation but we have run out of time so we are going to hire someone to do it while we are on vacation. They will sand it all down. Put three coats of Australian Timber Oil and it will be all sealed for the winter.


Last but not least this is our new tankless water heater. Very interesting? We have endless hot water! So far so good! As you can see we still haven't been able to finish up the utility room yet. Jim has been working very hard. I probably won't get my washer and dryer hooked up until after we get back, we just don't have the time to get the floor in before we leave. But I think the mudding will be complete and maybe I can get the walls painted. We are sooooo close...........

A Little Less Thumb

I guess me and knives just don't go together. I spent the morning in the emergency room.
Last night I was trying to cut up chicken for dinner and oops...... I cut off the pad on the end of my left thumb and had a deep laceration. Being the good EMT'S that we are, I applied direct pressure and elevated it until the bleeding stopped. We cleaned it and bandaged it up. Jim found the piece of my finger that had been cut off and asked if I thought it could be sewn back on. No, it was too little. Things were fine until I tried to change the bandage this morning and it was stuck to the wound. I had to unstick the bandage and we couldn't get it to stop bleeding. So, off to the emergency room we went. Soon after, the bleeding was stopped and I looked like a dork with a huge bandage which seemed to cover my entire thumb and half way up my arm. Everyone said I would have no problem hitch-hiking. haha
Jim has threatened to never let me use his knives again, no problem, we all know how much I like to cook! Besides, I have been pretty pampered today, no cooking, no dishes, and Jim had to shampoo my hair for me.......
Oh well, it's feeling much better and honestly, it wasn't that bad, just a tiny piece. It'll be as good as new in a couple of weeks.

David in his Firetruck

On Wednesday David worked his shift in Fawnskin. While out doing the shopping they attempted to drive by the house only we have alot of roadwork on our street. Jim took this picture about three houses down when the rig was turning around. That is David in the back seat. Later we took Caiden to the station for a tour and then after dinner we treated the station with home made apple pie that I had baked this morning and ice cream. The Captain on his shift was very nice. What a great place to work.

The Mountain Men

Here is the result of the big fishing afternoon. Actually Jim and I will have a nice dinner some time soon.



The whole crew of manly men..........They really did enjoy themselves.



Caiden before bed............



This was the second fish caught. Caiden and grandpa used the net to bring it in. I think Caiden enjoyed that more.

David and Caiden Come to Visit

Enough about the construction......... This is our pear tree we have lots of pears this year.



Tuesday David and Caiden came to visit just before lunch, it was good to see them. David did a shift change with a friend who works in the station on the other side of the lake. We drove by the station to show him where it was and then stopped at the Discovery Center so that Caiden could see all the stuffed animals. I don't think Caiden was very thrilled about it. In fact he didn't want his picture taken so close to the bear.



When we got home we took Caiden for his first fishing trip to the pond across the street from our house. I'm not sure who had the most fun, Caiden or David. This is Caiden and his first fish.



If you look close you can see that Caiden is reeling in his first fish.