the basement

I would have had this post up sooner, but I didn't have all the "after" shots, and I accidentally left our camera in Provo when we were down there a week and a half ago for graduation. So I finally just took some "After" pics tonight with our cell phone, so I could post this and be done with it. Once we get our camera back, there will be more posts of more recent stuff.

So we're still not completely done fixing up the basement, but done with the big things, and done enough that I can post before and after pics and give you a good idea of what's transpired over the course of the summer. Shad has been wonderful in all the time he has spent working on our basement. And we couldn't have done it without good friends and Shad's dad Brett--he not only did a TON of the work, but he's fast too! Thanks again!

So now for the pictures.


These are the stairs from the kitchen which lead down to our basement.

Before

During


After



Once you get down the stairs, you can turn left or right. Turning left takes you to the bathroom and the existing bedroom.

Bathroom Before
(under the dirty mats was a big hole in the gross, uneven concrete)


After.
(Shad put in the new sink and tile floor--he does good work!)


More before.


More after.



Just past the bathroom is the bedroom.
Before.


After.


This is an "after painted, before carpet" shot, but it shows the new egressed window better.


Before again.


After.




Drake still says he liked the "blue room" better.

If you turn right at the bottom of the stairs, you walk into what was once a big, long family room. We put up a wall and added a second bedroom downstairs.

North Side Before.


North Side During.


North Side After.




South Side Before.


South Side During.




South Side After.


And finally, the new bedroom (added on the North Side)





I can't tell you how nice it is to finally have it done. Thanks Shad. Before we started working on the basement, Drake and Graham would not go downstairs by themselves---Shad or I had to be with them or they were too scared. Now that it's actually a nice place to be, they go down by themselves all the time. Thanks Shad and Brett and everyone else who helped throughout the process.

And a special thanks to our three "bumpkins" who were so patient and "helpful" during it all.

Our little Aves

Avery had the wonderful experience yesterday of the 2-month well-child check-up; she received three shots in her legs as well as an oral vaccine. She cried at the onset of the shots, but just a few seconds later, she was just smiling and happy again.

So here are the stats: our cute little porker weighs in at 14 lbs. 4 oz and measures 23 1/2 inches long. That puts her in the 90-something percentile for height, and outside the rainbow (more than the 90s) for weight. I wouldn't expect any less from our sweet chunker. :)

Love you Avers!

Pioneer Day Parade and Family Reunion

Drake loves parades. Graham enjoys them. Avery could care less. But we all go because it's fun to see the entries, and fun for Drake to get candy (since he never gets candy at home...). Here's just a few pictures from the parade.

Our ward's float... well, half of it.


Our next door neighbor and his youngest daughter.


Indian chief and a cool statue.


Pretty horses.


Don't-know-how-he-got-in-there guy and his car.


Drake's load by the end--at least ten times what he got at the 4th of July parade.



After the parade, we went straight up to Rexburg for the Jones Family Reunion. This is the same reunion where Drake fell in the mud real good, but I wanted to put up a few more pics.

The kids all fell asleep on the drive up.
Sweet Drake holding Avery's hand as they're both falling asleep in the car.

My "too-late" attempt to get a picture of Shad's grandmother with all of her siblings and cousins that were there.

Shad, high up in a tree, retrieving a pair of tennis balls that go to a game.

Arriving home after a long day.

The things we put our kids through. Besides the mud fall, Drake had a good time. Graham liked eating the watermelon and following Drake around. Avery took a bottle for the first time, which was good because Shad and I went to the temple after the reunion, and we wanted to make sure she'd take a bottle in case she got hungry. If I get around to posting again soon, you'll get to see pictures of the updates we've done in our basement thus far.

Likening the Scriptures... as a 4-year old

So yesterday I was trying to get Drake to clean up a mess that he had made with water. He was trying to tell me he didn't have to. As I kept trying to convince him to clean it up, he finally said, "Can I tell you something?" I said, "Sure." So Drake went on by saying, "We read a story about a wicked man who wanted to be king and he told everybody what to do." (At that moment, I was so proud that he'd remembered a scripture story, and praised him for his good memory.) Then, looking me right in the eye, he continued by saying, "You can't tell me what to do either."

I had to remind him that I'm his mother and not a wicked man, but if he's coming at me with that kind of reasoning now, I don't know what I'm going to do when he's a teenager!

A Dirty Deed

Saturday afternoon, Shad and I went up to Rexburg for an extended family reunion. It was held at the Stake Center, where exists a little playground for the kids. So Drake joined his 2nd cousins, and other more distant cousins, on the playground.

At one point during the reunion, I heard Drake's distinct cry of displeasure. I ran to the playground only to find my little boy, covered in mud, being escorted by his "Papa" in my direction. My first reaction? Go grab the camera--not ask if he's okay, or comfort him, or even try to help him in any way, but instead I turn and go get the camera. Is that mean? If he was hurt, and not just dirty, I would have reacted differently. But still.

After I took the picture, Shad and his dad took Drake to the men's room to clean him up (fortunately I'd brought an extra pair of clothes). It took them a while, but finally Drake emerged clean and ready to play again (with a little coaxing).


The slide behind Drake is the culprit... there was a big puddle of mud in the grass at the bottom. He stopped at the bottom of the slide, but his foot slipped when he tried to jump over the mud. I only took the one picture, but here he is just after the fall, with his dad and his papa.



Yes, the mud was on his feet, legs, shorts, shirt, hands, arms, face and hat...



...but mostly on his face and hat. I was still getting mud out of his eyes even after he'd been all cleaned up.



At least he'll have a good story to tell, or laugh about, when he's older, right?

Boys in bows

I think Drake and Graham are a little jealous that their sister gets to wear bows in her hair--all they ever get to wear are hats. Of their own volition, the boys have decided to change that. I think the pictures speak for themselves.

Our 4th of July

So the Fourth of July was a very relaxing, no worries kind of day for us, which was really nice. We woke up and went to a breakfast and Patriotic Program at our stake center. From there we headed into Pocatello for their parade. We were lucky to not only get a good parking spot, but some seats with shade. The boys really enjoyed the parade--Drake especially.


Here they are excitedly waiting for it to start (Avery is sleeping in her car seat behind them).

Close-up of Graham.



Close-up of Drake.



Close-up of Avery, who slept through it all.



Intrigued by something in the parade, no doubt.



Sweet Drake was so excited that people were throwing candy onto the street, but we were sitting next to some older kids, and Drake was never fast enough. So usually he'd run out there so excited, only to run back and say, "I didn't get any candy." We had to assure him that more candy would come, and encouraged him to stand next to the other kids instead of behind them. By the end of the parade, he had plenty of candy to satisfy his little 4-year old desires.

Here's a shot of Drake walking back after a failed attempt to retrieve candy. Life can be so hard sometimes...



After the parade we all went home, ate lunch, and took naps--amazing, huh? Our entire family, asleep at the same time in the middle of the day--of course, I only slept a short while before little Avery rang out, but I did still get to sleep some. That evening, we went over to Heath's and Stacy's house (friends in our ward). Drake is good friends with their son Parker. We enjoyed a delicious barbeque with them and some of their family, then hung out and visited.

Once it was dark enough, we lit off all of our fireworks until they were gone. I didn't get many good pictures of that. Afterwards, we sat out behind our friends' house, and watched the big show they do from the fairgrounds. Our kids sure got to bed late, but I think they had fun. It was a nice way to celebrate our independence!

Avery's Blessing Day

We blessed our sweet little Avery on Sunday, June 29. I'm grateful for everyone that was able to make it up to support us. It was a fun day. I didn't get a lot of pictures because I was running around most of the day, but here are a few (my dad took most of these--thanks dad!).


That morning was Avery's last bath in the sink, right before church. She's been too big for the sink for a while, but it's easier for me 'cause I don't have to bend over as much. Her hair is really curly right after it's washed, but it doesn't usually last more than half the day.



Me and my daughter.



The lot of us.



Shad's dad with Avery and her cousin Spencer.



Shad's Grandma Johnson. I love this one of Avery because she looks happy and angelic.



My mom and her favorite red-headed daughter (and Avery of course).



Shad and his sister Haeli grilling hamburgers after church.


My brother, Landon, who's not sure if he likes holding her or not...



Thanks again to everyone who helped out with the day and the festivities. I appreciate the effort you all made to come honor Avery. We love you!

Happy 90th Birthday Ruth!

The last weekend in July, I made a quick trip to Utah with the kids and my brother Matt. My great grandmother, Ruth, turned 90, and my dad's family was throwing her a big surprise party in Salt Lake. Shad stayed in Idaho so he could go to the wedding of one of his really good friends from high school. So Matt and I drove down Friday night just to drive back up Saturday night, but it was fun, although my brother got a taste of what it was like to travel with three kids...


This is my brother Matt, walking around in the middle of nowhere with Graham (Drake was asleep) because I had to pull off on some random exit to feed Avery because she was screaming her head off. They had a nice walk. The kids were fine the rest of the drive down... oh, except for the last ten or fifteen minutes of the trip when Graham started crying, and then Avery started to cry because Graham wouldn't stop, and Drake woke up and wasn't in the best of moods himself. Matt and I just looked at each other and smiled. Thanks Matt, for putting up with your sister and her children.



When we got into town, we first went to Shad's grandparents in Bountiful so they could see little Avery. We spent some time there just visiting and passing Avery around. It wasn't until much later that I realized I'd forgotten to take any pictures at their home. From there, we grabbed some "really healthy" fast food and went to stay the night at Shad's Aunt Sandi's place. I won't tell you what time it was when my kids finally got to eat dinner... Below is a pic of Sandi with Avery. The boys loved playing with all of Sandi's toys that night and the next morning. Thanks again Sandi.

This is at the surprise party---my brother Landon and Drake.



Graham found this rocker and just sat on it by himself for a while.



Here's a 5 generation shot---my mom (back left), me, and Avery, with my dad's mom (front right) and her step-mom-in-law Ruth (front left, who the party was for). Not really a direct bloodline, but 5 generations nonetheless.



My dad holding his newest granddaughter for the first time.



My mom with Avery--I like her beady little eyes in this shot.



This is Saturday night back out our place in Pocatello. My family drove up because we blessed Avery the next day in our ward. My brother Nathan and his wife Adrienne (who live in Provo) came up as well. Here's the bunch of them laughing while playing a game called "Curses".

I always love it when anyone comes to visit/stay with us, especially when it's family. Our basement should be done soon, and then we'll actually have decent accommodations for anyone that wants to come up (that's an open invitation, by the way)!