Great Brain

At Castle Heights, the school where Haylie attends and I teach, they have a program called the Great Brain.  Kids can choose a topic to learn more about outside of school and then prepare a presentation on their topic outlining their research to present to their class  Haylie decided she wanted to do one this year in kindergarten and chose penguins as her topic.  It was a little slow in getting started because most of last year was super busy with the house building and everything else.  We finally got our act together and Haylie presented hers during the last week of kindergarten.  I had her take notes on the books we read about penguins, choose pictures to include in the presentation including some hand drawn ones, and type most of the words on the power point.  It was a great learning experience and she did a great job of presenting and answering questions asked by her class.  Afterwards she was presented with an award and certificates for free items at businesses around town.  Great Job Haylie!!

Zander's 4th Birthday

Zander turned 4 on April 10th.  We had a small family party on the day of his birthday and then he had his first friend party the following Saturday.  He doesn't know a whole lot of kids that are his age.  It always seems like we know a lot more people with kids Haylie's age.  Anyway, we rounded up a few friends and everyone had a great time at his Jake and the Neverland Pirates party.  The guests were Grant Sherman, Molly Staley, Kaden Butler, Thomas Baric, and Haylie. We played some pirate games including Toss the Coin and X marks the spot, had cake and ice cream and, of course, opened gifts.

Learning how to run the remote control dump truck he got for his birthday.

The pirate cake.  I was impressed with myself with this one because I only had about 15 minutes to decorate it.

Playing Toss the Coin

Waiting for cake

Zander is a wonderful part of our family.  He has a fantastic sense of humor and a kind heart.  He loves Angry Birds, Mario, and watching sprinklers.  He also loves to eat fruit and vegetables.  He can be pretty stubborn at times (like potty training) but we love this little guy SO much!  Happy Birthday Zander, we love you!

Easter

Grandma and Grandpa Oberholtzer came down over Easter weekend this year to help with the house and see the kids.  It was fun making Easter treats and coloring eggs.  On Easter Sunday we went to church and then later in the afternoon hunted for eggs and Easter baskets.  This is also the last holiday we spent in the apartment.  When I look back at pictures of that place I am reminded of how small it was!  We had stuff jammed everywhere.  I am so grateful for the new house!!

Making Twinkie chicks in nests.

Chubby little rooster created by Haylie

Grandma O helping with Easter egg coloring

Zander hunting for eggs

Haylie on the hunt

Baskets Found!!

Soccer

Haylie decided she would like to play soccer this spring.  So we signed her up and then they called the next week looking for coaches.  I was just crazy enough to say yes.  We both learned a lot about soccer and Haylie was a lot more confident with her mom as the coach.  They play 3 vs 3 so they were lots of opportunities for everyone to kick the ball.  The coaches are on the field during the game to help guide everyone in the right direction.  Since I was on the field every game and Dave was usually working on the house I don't have too many pictures.  These were taken during the one game I couldn't be there for so someone filled in as the coach and Dave was there and snapped a few shots.

Paint Sprayer

Here's what happens when you paint a house with a paint sprayer.  Fun Times!

Haylie's Missing Tonsils

Luckily we aren't sad that we are missing a pair of tonsils.  Haylie's tonsils were almost touching each other in the back of her throat.  It was causing some LOUD snoring as well as sleep apnea.  We visited Dr. Ence in Payson and he removed them in February at the Central Utah Surgical Center.  As you would expect she was very groggy and grumpy after she woke up from the surgery.  She made a speedy recovery though.  We are amazed at how quietly she sleeps now and also how much better she focuses at school now that she can get a good night's sleep.

The House that Dave Built

When we moved to Price we expected to live in our apartment for about 6 months while we sold our house in Boise and then purchased a house in Price.  Things never work out like you think they will and we ended up being in our apartment for 3 years, still owning our home in Boise, and building a house here in Price.  Dave was the general contractor for the project and also did a good share of the work.  It has been a long road from the saving money for the down payment to finally getting moved in, but we are here and it's wonderful!

I have several pictures of the process that I wanted to get on here.  I will have to take some pictures of all the rooms now that they are finished and post them in another post.  We have been cramming a bunch of things into our lives that have made it difficult to get everything put away and decorated.  We moved in on a Friday, hosted dinner club the next evening, then drove the next weekend to Salt Lake to pick up Haylie's new bed.  I hosted book club somewhere in there and emptied  and sifted through a storage unit full of junk.  This was all before school got out.  I have spent the first week of summer prepping for a garage sale that we held today, and now it is on to getting ready to house around 20 family members for next weekend's family reunion that we are in charge of.  The weekend after that we will have Dave's parents here for a visit.  WOW!  No wonder I am so tired!  Anyway, on to the pictures of the house as a project.

Excavation-August

Zander watching the back hoe

Starting early annoying the neighbors with a 5am concrete pour.  They were trying to beat the rain.

Basement floor poured. Around September

Framed and ready for shingles on the roof.  November.

Looking out Zander's future bedroom window

That is a lot of trusses!

This was a slow part of the construction because nothing changed visually for a long time while Dave was hard at work running the electrical, and the plumbers and HVAC people got everything ready to go. This photo was taken in December.

Installing kitchen cabinets

Newly tiled master bath

The kids campout.  They were good sports to hang out while we worked.

Partially done gas fireplace in the family room

Hanging cabinets

The ugly railing Dave built to pass the inspection for our certificate of occupancy.  It has already been torn down and turned into a workbench for the garage.  We are waiting on the iron railings to be installed.