State Fair

Last night we went to the State Fair. I have a client showing there and went to help school and then groom for today's show. We were given exhibitor passes from my client so we got in for free. Allen met Lexi and I there and we got to see some of the sights before I got to work.

Lexi loved all things animal. We went through the goat/lamb barn. We saw lots of horses, but the novelty has completely worn off there. The local FFA chapters have a small sampling of lots of different baby animals and we saw goats, piglets, puppies, kittens, miniature horses, bunnies and pheasants.





Lexi and I shared a caramel apple too. It was her first ever and she loved it, of course. Allen wrangled her while I helped my client and they took off about 8:00. I got home just before 11 p.m. after schooling and grooming. We had a good time, good weather, and got to hang out with our good friends. Not a bad night, all in all.

Nice Form

We were back at it this morning. Allen decided to take today off from work because the forecast calls for severe rain/thunderstorms all week. It was a kind of "now or never" moment for cement.

He was up before 7 and finished the forms. When I got Lexi up, I asked him if I could be of any help. What a mistake! I loaded up Lexi and went to get 3/4 of a yard of cement. He unloaded that and I went back for another yard. When I got home, we realized that we had way too much cement for just one man. I stuck Lexi in the house with our lovely babysitter, Toshiba, donned my work gear and went back out to help Allen. I smoothed out the edges and knocked the frames while he kept doing other finish work. I will say squatting to work on cement with another person living inside your body isn't the most comfortable thing to do. While getting the mixer to the far side of the yard, he got the truck stuck up to the rims in the really deep sand. He asked me to get it out so stuck it in 4 wheel drive, backed up just enough to get on the high side of things, put it low and floored it. Sand and smoke were everywhere, but we made it out. I then finished the sidewalk and my side of the mow strip. I ran in, checked on Lexi and returned the cement mixer to the rental yard. When I got home, it was already after noon and getting pretty hot. Allen released me from my duties outside so I ran in and checked on Lexi. She was doing just fine. I made her lunch, got Allen water, and got me some water. Lexi and I chilled out for a few minutes and she went down for quiet time. Allen had a bit of a struggle with the last few feet as it had gotten a little too hard while he was trying to juggle all of the different places to work. However, he got it just in the nick of time and it all looks great.

The End of an Era

Lexi has outgrown her afternoon nap. I should have seen it coming as she's been napping regularly, but her bedtime has been getting later and later. Yesterday, we put her down for quiet time, but she didn't fall asleep. She maintained a good attitude all day, but mentioned she was tired starting at 7 p.m. Last night, she went to bed promptly at 8 and fell asleep rather quickly. I heard her up playing around 4 a.m. but she didn't wake up until close to 9 this morning. Trading sleep in the afternoons for the mornings is what it's looking like so far. Since I'm a total night owl, later mornings are just fine for me. I'm a little bummed because I really enjoyed her naps, but we'll have quiet time each day and I'll just have to learn to get my sanity back in an hour's time. I'm sure it will be nice for some things as we won't feel so bound by nap time. This is a big step for our little girl (and for me!).

Thy Well Be Done

Finally! It's taken 7 weeks and an extra $500, but it's a fully functioning well. We get 35 gallons per minute so we can fill a 5 gallon bucket in about 8 seconds. That should be just fine for our sprinkler system. We feel like we can actually move forward now since the well was halting quite a bit of our work.

Allen's still been struggling with the septic solution. The good rental place says their pump won't be back for a month and Home Depot swears if theirs comes back smelling like anything but roses, we have to buy the whole thing outright. Allen was chit chatting with our neighbor and the subject came up. Kreig busts out this pump and tells Allen to take it. He hasn't used it and we can do what we want with it! Awesome. Hopefully, it will work and we'll get this dumb septic tank filled in and covered a.s.a.p.

In the mean time, Allen started painting Lexi's room. We're shopping for furniture and planning on having her in a big girl bed mid October. That gives us only 2 short months before the second coming, but it's gonna have to do.

Friday we had another ultrasound and everything looks good. Our little alien is coming along nicely. After that, Lexi and I went to Target. We refer to Target and Walmart as "the great and spacious buildings" in our family. They represent the world in so many ways...so many cute ways. I had to get a few shower gifts and ended up getting Lexi this little Rose Petal Cottage house. It stores easily, has a little oven, and you can get other appliances to go in there. It has a door that really works, too. I got some fake food and pots and pans to go with it. This whole thing was supposed to be Lexi's big Christmas present, but I had a huge moment of weakness. She loves it! She's been cooking hot dogs, french fries and potatoes since we put it up. She brings over the pots and pans with the lids on, presents them to me, and then proudly pulls the lids off with a loud "gasp!" to show me the wonders inside. Today's speciality is cucumbers and hot dogs. Once her bedroom is painted, we'll put it in there and it will house all things pretend. I'm hoping she'll have lots of fun with it. I really hope in a year or so, she and her sister may start doing some playing together. Lexi is desperate for a friend. The other day she asked her pink blanket to play with her. That, to me, is the height of desperation.

All in all, it's been a banner weekend. I even had some time to go to a baby shower and be sociable.

Deep Thoughts by Traci Riddle

If your bra's under wire breaks through the fabric, a heavy duty band aid will corral the pokey beast until you're able to make a permanent fix (mine has been this way for 3 weeks - just remove band aid at washing and re-apply a fresh one after drying).

Does anyone else who uses blogger hate the way it formats your spaces all cookey like?

The more I want Lexi to be independent, the more I find it bothersome when she is independent. For example, I want her to be comfortable in her friend's homes and run off to play. But, when she waves and says "Bye Mommy" so easily I get a little sad.

You can substitute evaporated milk for half and half. It's a one to one ratio.

I keep wondering why it feels like I always have a foot in my throat. I then realize I DO have someone's foot in my throat.

Is it a reflection of my true state of mind when a German friend jokingly calls me a Nazi and I want to reply, "Yeah, you're one to talk."?

In our house, the theme song for a woman using a breast pump is: "IIIII looookeedd out the window and what did I see?" Hand gestures must be used to their fullest effect.

I think your marriage may be in trouble when your husband spoons the dog more than he spoons you.

I hate it when people say, "You always think you're right." Well, duh. Would I keep doing what I'm doing if I thought it was the wrong way?

From The Zen of Sarcasm:

If you think nobody cares if you're alive, try missing a couple of car payments.

Always remember that you're unique. Just like everyone else.

Never test the depth of the water with both feet.

If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is probably not for you.

Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish, and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.

If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably a wise investment.

If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.

Some days you're the bug; some days you're the windshield.

Everyone seems normal until you get to know them.

The quickest way to double your money is to fold it in half and put it back in your pocket.

A closed mouth gathers no foot.

Generally speaking, you aren't learning much when your lips are moving.

Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.

Never miss a good chance to shut up.

Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.

And lastly:

Do not write a check with your mouth that your actions cannot cash. - Neal A. Maxwell

What's On My Plate?

Sometimes, events take place that put things into perspective and do it in a hurry. When we got home from the zoo, I had a voice mail from my mom. Her mom, my Grandma George, had been hit by a car. She had a broken arm, was in surgery, had lacerations on her head and lots of bruises. How in the heck does a 75 year old person get hit by a car?

My Grandma has advanced Alzheimer's/Dementia. She doesn't know my mom, me, Marti, or even my Grandpa anymore. She has lost lots of weight and often wears clothing from one season with clothing from another. She carries toothpaste and other random items in her purse. My Grandpa has been trying to care for her on his own, insisting she is getting better. The dementia my Grandma experiences manifests itself through violent and combative outbursts. We've been dealing with these outbursts for about 12 years. One of the ways she expresses frustration, anxiety, or fear is to runaway.

She asked my Grandpa to take her to Oakland (she grew up in CA and spent many, many years in the Bay Area before they moved to Idaho). Grandpa told her he couldn't take her then. While he was sleeping, she took off. She ended up on the highway and was clipped by a car at an intersection. Thankfully, her injuries are relatively minor.

This is the 3rd time in the last 6 months she has had an incident in the public. The police know who she is and her situation. My mom and uncle have tried to convince Grandpa to get help, seek out support and if necessary, find a safe setting for Grandma. But, he has stubbornly resisted their efforts. I'm sure it is scary for him, too. He's losing his wife. He's trying to support her, redeem for his sins as a husband by caring for her, and maintain his independence all while drowning in the process.

Needless to say, this will be the final straw. My Grandma has been assigned a case worker and has 24 hour monitoring in the hospital. You're probably wondering how it got to this point. Why didn't the family do something earlier? Because of her type of dementia, she will not allow a strange person in her home to help. I know my family has been reluctant to get help because she will assault any person who is in her home that she does not feel good about. She will also become combative with my Grandpa if he tries to restrain her. Now, my Grandma is a tough lady and will kick your butt. She has lived a hard life and will come out like a rabid raccoon if you push her. Knowing this, my Grandpa has refused help in the home - for the safety of the caregiver. And, of course, he doesn't want to put her in a facility. However, with this latest incident, I'm sure for every one's safety, a facility is the best place for Grandma.

My mom's life will change dramatically as she assumes a more active role as guardian and caregiver during this process. Her relationship with my Grandpa will be at risk as the protection of my Grandma takes precedence over his need to provide. Her work my suffer. And lastly, the reality that her mom is no longer here for her has set in - in the most final of ways. Even though my Grandma's body is here, my mom is losing her mom. Whether over the course of 10 years or 10 days, losing your parent is a club no one wants to belong to.

Suddenly, a down well and lawn by October seem insignificant. It's a normal progression to watch your loved ones enter, live and leave this earth. However, all of the things you thought were important are suddenly blurs in the background when something like this comes into full focus. So, the timing of machine rentals to get the landscaping done, the importance of riding lessons, not having the money to buy a new washing machine, the air conditioning in my car that only comes out the defrost vents, the stains on the carpet, the peed on sheets, etc., etc., are really just small blips on a much bigger screen. It's so easy to get caught up in the day to day activities and allow them to define your life. Ultimately, though, these moments, eternal moments, are what define us as people. The passing of souls through the veil, either into this earth or from it, are earthquakes on our personal Richter scales. This is the big stuff that really matters in the eternal picture of life. I hope it won't take these types of events to help me remember that. Every time our little peanut makes herself known by kicking my ribs, each time Lexi says, "I love you Momma" or sings a new Primary hymn, when I talk to my loved ones, and when I pray to my Heavenly Father, I hope I'll feel the small tremors on my personal Richter scale and know I've just experienced something eternal.

We Do Know How To Have Fun!

After a long weekend of hard work in the yard, we decided to spend the morning at the zoo. Lexi had a great time. We love the zoo here because you can see almost all of the animals in just a couple of hours if you want to. Lexi stayed awake during the drive home and took a good nap this afternoon. Allen took a nap too and I enjoyed a few hours of complete quiet. Allen did go back outside and work for about 4 hours, but the beginning of the day was pretty relaxed.

Go Cougs!

Lexi had a great time feeding the Lorikeets.

They have a place where you can feed the Giraffes, too. Look at that long, funky purple tongue!

The zoo has this cool play area for the kids with some water fountains they can run in. Lexi was not too excited about them, but Allen convinced her otherwise by pushing her into the stream. You can see by her hands that it wasn't her idea...

She did get nice and cooled off though!

Cement

We got one thing done with great success this weekend. The majority of our new sidewalk has been poured without incident. Allen was worried about doing the cement by himself, but ended up doing a great job. The weather held out just long enough, too.

Davis was very upset that he couldn't be outside working with Allen.

I drove back and forth to pick up loads of cement while Allen formed the cement at home.

Good work, Allen.

The Bosque Farms Horror

Ok, so we don't think our house was built on an ancient burial ground; although we did find a completely in-tact goat head (horns and all) buried out with the horses. And, we don't think we're possessed - yet. But, the outside sure feels like a curse!

We expected to work hard. We expected to encounter some resistance. This is getting ridiculous. The septic tank needs to be broken in, pumped, the sides broken down and then filled with sand. Not too hard, right? We try to rent a pump and the good ol' Home Depot, but they won't let us because the pumps aren't to be used for septic tanks (the water is rain water, not actual sewage in our tank). I tell Allen I'll go back and tell him I have a pool to pump out. Problem solved. Allen says no, we'll just wait until the good rental place has another pump in. Ok, fine.

Even Lexi looks overwhelmed.

Now, the well. Cursed well. Let's look back. About 2 months ago, Allen decides to do this himself. We rent the equipment for a few hundred dollars, arrange for some help, and buy the pump. All the work gets done, no water. We rent the equipment again, buy even more pipe, and get some help. No water. Finally, all sorts of people start telling us about this wonderful guy who will make it aaaalll better. He comes out. No problem! Easy work! "I'll just order this part and we'll be done by Wednesday." That was over a month ago. The part was sent wrong, back ordered, not sent, etc, etc. Finally, he comes out yesterday, sees that we're in for more work than he thought and says he'll be back today. He comes out around noon and gets to working. He pulls the pipe out, cuts it off, puts it back in the ground, puts the pump on, and we have water. Only, it's pulsing which means we have a loose fitting down in the dirt that is letting air in, causing the ebb and flow. He'll have to take the pump apart, pull the pipe out, and check all of the joints. He pulls the pipe out, checks the joints, and puts the jack hammer type thing on the very tippy top of the pipe to pound the pipe back down in the ground. What, you say? It's broken? Noo, can't be. Not on a job that has gone as well as this one! Nope, he leaves with his broken down junk and 25 feet worth of pipe sticking up into the sky. Worst case scenario, he'll be back on Tuesday. Yeah, 'cause we heard that before - A MONTH AGO!

Before.

Looks hopeful, doesn't it?

After.

The Normal Ongoings at Our House

The whacker did it's job and pushed all of the stones under the dirt. I thought Allen had covered them with more dirt, but it turns out it really does do all it promises.
Feedin' I Be Streakin
Lexi decided to eat dinner with her "superstar" glasses one night.

Olympic Gold

I have never watched an Olympic games with such enthusiasm before in my life. We stayed up late every night just to see Michael Phelps and his quest for all of those gold medals. He is an unbelievable athlete, but his mental stamina is what really impressed me. We always loved to see his last turn at the wall when he would suddenly come up a body length in front of everyone else. I'd look over and Allen would be doing the dolphin kick while sitting on the couch. He looked like he was having some sort of spasm!

Of course, we were drawn into the gymnastics events since they were aired with the swimming. I have to say that I think China faked all sorts of documents and let little girls compete. Are we really going to find anything? Um, NOO. The same government that helped break the rules is clearly going to cover their tracks. And, Nastia got robbed on the high bars. No doubt about it.

We loved seeing the men's volleyball team rally considering the tragedy that engulfed the team when the coach's family was murdered within the first few days of the games. Track was a bit of a let down, but that Bolt guy is amazing!

I was bummed that the equestrian events were held 5 hours away and only aired sporadically. The U.S. doesn't typically medal, but this time in the individual we got silver. A true amateur rider came in and had a beautiful ride in the show jumping. I expect professionals to ride like professionals and be extremely competitive. When you think of the financial commitment, time commitment, cost of the horse, cost of transporting the horse to China, etc., etc. seeing someone without a professional backing who is doing this as supplement to their regular life go in and ride with the big guys, it's really motivating and especially sweet.

Overall, I think the U.S. did a great job and made me very proud.

Workin'

Lexi's most used phrase of late: "Daddy's workin'!" She sure hit the nail on the head with that one (no pun intended). Allen has had the forms set for the sidewalk leading from the house to the pasture done for a few weeks now. However, we've had rain everyday for the last month and that is not a great recipe for concrete. With monsoon season coming to a close, Allen has mapped out a new schedule for the lawn that gets us done by the last weekend in September.

Saturday morning I gave a lesson at 8 and ran to another at 9:30. I got home around 10:30 so Allen could get his part of the day started. He rented this 100 lb. whacker (yep, that is the official term and it looks like one of those carpet cleaners you rent from Safeway or Walmart) pounded the dirt inside the frames so that this Thursday, he can pour. Late afternoon, after he took the whacker back, we went for a long swim next door. That was a really nice reprieve. We were expecting hay to be delivered around 6:30 so we pitter-pattered around outside waiting for the delivery. We had already bathed Lexi, but as you'll see, that was a totally pointless endeavor. At 8:30 that night, the 20 bales of hay finally showed up so Allen helped unload that. Lexi and I stayed inside to eat some long overdue dinner while Allen helped unload.

The frames before the whacker.

Lexi tells us: I'm pullin' da weeds! Thanks, Lexi.

We also finally finished the bathroom. We painted and installed a new toilet. We would have been done last weekend, but as Allen was cutting the bolts to put the little plastic caps on the bottom (the absolute last step), the entire seal gave way underneath the toilet. So, he had to buy the parts, take the toilet off, put a new metal seal and wax ring on, and re-install the toilet. We finally got that all wrapped up. The finished product was worth the work!

This was moments before the big fallout on the first installation.

The new-and-improved method for cutting bolts (when you don't have a bolt cutter).

Lexi was helping Allen work all afternoon.

Ta Da!

The Great Finale

I've been searching for these clips for a week now. Allen and I loved watching So You Think You Can Dance this season. There were lots of great performances, but this one featuring two guest dancers just blew our minds. You'll have to click on the link since I can't copy the video (click on video to see), but it's amazing. Another one of my favorites was this number (click on number to see).

I have to say, my favorite dancer was Will and he was voted off a few weeks ago. I thought he had great talent and versatility. So what if he seemed aloof? He obviously had a little personality 'cause his James Brown solo (click on solo to see) was pretty good. He was amazing, I thought. Behind him, I was pretty impressed with Katee. Here's Will and Katee together. (click on together to see)

Of course, Joshua and Twitch were very fun to watch and did really well with the different genres despite their individual focus as hip hop dancers. You have to admit that Joshua is one of the most athletic guys considering he's as wide as he is tall. All in all, we had a great time watching the show and will probably be addicted next year too.

Sick House

The cold that Lexi had 2 weeks ago has come back to haunt us. This time, all 3 of us are sick. She came down with it super fast in the night again and the next day I had it too. Now Allen has it as well. Lexi seems to feel pretty good today, but her nose is like a leaky, green faucet. I usually ask her if she'd like to blow her nose. Sometimes, she runs over because she is clearly uncomfortable. Most of the time when I ask, "Would you like to blow your nose?" I get: "No, I'm allright. Thank you momma."

My energy level is like 2 on a 1-10 scale. Our ward was in charge of decorations for the stake dance last night and I stayed to chaperone. This morning, it caught up with me in a big way. Allen is able to take stuff to feel better so he's doing the best out of all of us, but he's not feeling 100%. He's worked the last two weekends with 12 hour days each day. He's still trying to make some dents in our work at home, too. Plus, we've become addicted to the Olympics this week and have been staying up late to watch. So, we are stretching ourselves just enough to be vulnerable to this summer bug. This weekend, we're trying to take it easy by doing some weed pulling and painting in the house rather than trenching the sprinkler lines.

Lexi can climb up into our bed by herself and has been spending some time there these last few days. She usually says, "I wanna lay down." After she gets settled, she says, "Come on, Daddy. Come on, Momma. Come and lay down with me." Considering how yucky we feel, we've been pretty quick to take her up on her offers.

A Boy and His Horse

Allen feeds I Be Streakin' in the morning and sometimes at night. They have developed quite the relationship. I Be Streakin' is like a dog and loves any amount of attention you'll give him and has so much personality. I went out to feed tonight and he chased me around a bit. Usually, after his feed is in the stall, he's quick to go eat and leave us alone. However, he followed me to the gate and whinnied when Allen walked toward him. I told Allen he better jog the horse to his stall. If Allen runs towards the barn, the horse runs behind him. Before he did that though, he ran up and down along the fence line and I Be Streakin' loved it. He would run the length of the fence and then run over to the barn. He would turn and look at Allen. Allen would jump up and down and I Be Streakin' would charge the fence and they would run back the other way together. I got a quick video of them after they had done this about 10 times. They were both a little winded!

Running the fence.

This is their routine when Allen has time to play at feeding time.