The final countdown

Today is Friday. (Don't worry, I'm not going to break out in song or anything, nor do I want you to break out in song!)
Tomorrow is Saturday, then Sunday, and finally it's Monday, October 3, 2011.
I knew this day would be coming, but now it's here, right around the corner. I'm trying not to tear up as I type this.

We are sending our two great parents out into the world to be missionaries. I still think South Africa is too far away!



I know they are so excited to go, so I will be too! I just want to be a little selfish and keep them close by. I've decided this is all in preparation for when I send out my three little guys. That day will come all too quickly, and Ethan has already informed us that he is going to China! Now that sounds really far!

A new home

I decided to dedicate a blog just for the house updates. The title is courtesy of Alex. One day while driving out there to check on power issues he said, "Erda House, Mommy?"

"Yes, we are going to the Erda House, Alex."

And thus it was named, Erda House.

It will sure be fun to look back at all these pics and see the house come together. This weekend we hope to be putting in some labor of our own. We made some adjustments to the plans and included a crawl space. We will only be pouring concrete on a certain portion of the crawl space and rather than leave the rest dirt, we will be putting down gravel. Sounds like a lot of fun, huh! My shoulders are already feeling the pain.

Say it aint so...

Tuesday morning I received a text from my SIL Cynthia. She most excitedly informed me of the news....

They were digging!!!!!


Yes, we now have a big ol' hole in our property. Made to fit one house we've been waiting a long time for. When my MIL asked if they were digging in the correct spot, I thought to myself, "Well, I'll take it where ever it is!"


This is from the south of the house.


This is from the north of the house.


And these are the two cute guys that accompanied me to the site!

I'm convinced that Rachael's positive thinking and most delicious cookies did the trick! Did I mentioned that I was a little excited?

Self portrait of one happy lady! Double chins and all! I seriously almost jumped in the hole and started hugging the poor guy!

Honey Bucket

Shout out to my SIL Nancy who sent me this hilarious text this morning.

"Your Honey Bucket has arrived...Let the construction begin!"

Nancy lives at the top of the road and keeps me updated on the particulars of what is happening out there. When I read her text to the boys Aaron thought a honey bucket was a big yellow truck used for digging. Then I reminded them about how there needs be a toilet for all the construction workers. They put two and two together, and their faces lit right up! They totally got it! They know from personal experience that you can find a port-a-potty next to "wooden houses."

As terrible as it sounds - a stinky portable restroom made me smile!

Really?!

I almost don't dare type this, afraid that someone will jump out and say, "Just kidding! You really don't get to build a house!"

September 1 was a beautiful day! I was walking around Temple Square with Alex while Mark attended the sealing of our nephew. I walked into the gated area next to the temple when my phone rang. I hurried to answer it - a little embarrassed to take a call right there. On the other end of the line came the news I had been waiting for. The building permit had been approved and now our construction load was ready for signatures!! Could this really be happening?! I am still waiting to see that hole in the ground, but I know its coming any day now.

My contractor contacted me today asking me to come in and make color choices for the house. Really!? You mean after all these years of dreaming about our home, I really get to pick the brick color? Seriously, how are you suppose to pick a brick color for your home off of the website sample pics? It's not like I'm painting my bathroom here and can easily change the terrible paint choice with something better. (I'm still lacking a little confidence after having thought I had the perfect yellow paint for my office. Needless to say, it tanked!! We've learned to live with it, but I know before long, we'll be covering up that big mistake with something else.) I'm going to the brick showroom tomorrow and hope they have something better than the website swatches!!

I know the boys want this to be over as much as I do. I don't know how many times I've heard them say, "Are we going to look at houses, AGAIN!!!!" We took them out again on Sunday. When they asked if we were looking at houses, we lied and said we were going to look at landscaping. It seemed to work until we stopped and got out to take a closer look at a paticular home. Then they were on to us.

I think I'm about to be overwhelmed!! But bring it on, right?!

Gilgal Sculpture Garden

Today we ventured off to find the Gilgal Sculpture Garden. I hadn't ever heard of this place until today when I found this site that features fun things to do. Not sure how we chose this place, but it looked interesting enough and something different for the boys than the usual park or playground. Best thing about the garden - it was free.

Nestled near Trolley Square, we enjoyed the garden to ourselves, literally. Well that was until the dreadlock guy and his belly dancer girlfriend found us.
I downloaded a scavenger hunt list for the boys which kept us entertained for quite a while. We actually had to leave because it started raining, and I took the umbrellas out of the car the last time I cleaned it.

The garden was created by Thomas Battersby Child, Jr.(1888-1963) in his back yard. Mr. Child was a masonry contractor and Bishop of the historic 10th Salt Lake LDS Ward. I would love to go again after having taken the time to learn more about the sculptures in the interactive online tour.




A few of the items we marked off the scavenger hunt list included the following:

The word Gilgal in stone


Never heard of the word Gilgal before?
"The name Gilgal refers to a Biblical location meaning "circle of standing stones" where Joshua ordered the Israelites to place twelve stones as a memorial. Gilgal is also the name of a city and a valley in The Book Of Mormon."

The words Count Your Many Blessings

I happened upon this gem and snapped a photo. There are several quotes, scriptures, and hymns carved in stone covering the garden. Lots to think about and ponder.

It wasn't until later when Ethan read the list of items to look for that I realized it was on our list. I just find myself needing to be reminded lately that I have much to be grateful for. This was a timely reminder for me and something I know I wasn't a coincident.

A spinx - Joseph Smith style?


Brick Pants and the 10th ward church building
Self portrait of Child with the church building where he served as bishop.


A Stack of Books
The boys thought it would be funny to pretend they were holding these books.


If only they realized how soon homework will be upon them. Heaven help me -- I know Ethan will feel like his homework is as much of a burden as actually having to lift these stone books.

This was just something I found that intrigued me and I wanted to take it home with me and reflect upon it some more.


As we drove downtown, I saw an advertisement for gourmet doughnuts. I'm sure I blew my points out of the water with this treat. Good thing we all shared.



Grasshopper and Cookies-n-Cream Doughnuts

We went to the playground and tried to work off the doughnuts. I'm sitting here hours later and still feel them. Might have to go let Jillian whip me back into shape.

Guess what made my day?

The road is getting laid with asphalt! After thinking it was going to finally happen on Tuesday, I was told it would happen on Thursday. Yesterday I was all prepared with my building permit papers in hand and drove out to see the beautiful road and turn in the paper work. We drove out to an empty subdivision and no work done on the road. Tomorrow I told. I was getting tired of hearing about things getting pushed backed, again. I stopped on the side of the road and cried. And to be truthful, we stopped at McDonalds on the way home, and I bought the boys ice cream.

Fast forward to today. I had a text message from my S&MIL telling me they were working on the road. The best was the message from my FIL telling me they had finished our drive way.

I had to drive out AGAIN to see the progress. When we got there the paver wasn't working and a handful of workers were sitting under a tree in the shade. The dump trucks had left to refill with asphalt. By the time we walked down to check out our driveway and visited Grandma for a bit, the trucks were back with new loads - and they just kept coming -- truck after truck. Each one went by and I had to think, how much money is each one of these worth? We went back up and watched the trucks unload their trailers into the hopper and lay that black asphalt down. It was beautiful!!





Of course Monday has to be a holiday. I'll have to wait until Tuesday to submit the building permit papers. I'm hoping to have a hole dug, maybe even some framing complete, before my parents leave for their mission to South Africa. A girl can dream!

A before pic:



Well, here's my new AFTER: