Carson and Jantzen had their first track meet of the year last week.Apparently, there was some "down time" in which Jantzen could practice warming her ears with her legs.

Check out her smile! You can even see it through the blurry picture.This is Carson running the 1500. He loves this event, but I'm not sure why. I can't figure out if he loves the winning part or the actual running part. As Carson would put it, he "owned" this race. The next kid was almost a minute behind him and he beat his personal best to finish in 6:25. I love this picture because it shows his friend, Parker cheering him on. His friends would run around the inside of the track and try to run along side so they could help encourage him. Carson is so lucky to have a good group of friends at church and at school. On Sunday he and Nick kept laying their heads in each other's laps and then stroking each others hair. Weird, I know but I think they just did it so I would laugh while I was trying to lead the music. It worked.

Anyways...

Keaton wasn't too excited about going to his little brother and sister's track meet but I reminded him of how they came to his tennis match to support him and that he should return the favor. To that he replied, "Tell them they don't need to come to any more of my tennis matches." Very funny, Keaton.

And because I know you haven't heard enough ramblings about our kitchen...

What do you know? It's still not done! A million dollars goes to the person who can guess what's missing.

But seriously, folks I can't complain about not having a dishwasher or a complete backsplash. Mostly because I'm the one doing the tile on the backsplash so complaining to myself gets me nowhere. I'm afraid there might be retaliation if I file a complaint, anyways. Plus, after living for a month with nothing but a microwave, this is small beans! Washing dishes by hand is a pain, but I've definitely lived through worse!

I'm really happy with the way things are turning out. Chris and I were talking tonight about all the yard work that needs to be done, and how we can't afford to do it now because of all the money we spent on the kitchen. But we decided it's okay. We'll just camp out in our kitchen all summer and try not to look at the yard.

Oh happy day!

Monday we had a very special visitor...

(Cue the singing angels)And we've had very special visitors every day since Monday because we chickened out on installing the cabinets ourselves and hired some very talented guys to do it for us.

(Yes, that's my breakfast cooking)

And it's a darn good thing because it turns out that our walls, ceiling and floors are "like the rolling hills of Kentucky", as our installer put it, and I'm sure we would have said a few swear words, messed it up beyond all repair and then took a torch to the whole kitchen.

We are paying the installers by the hour and it has been taking a REALLY long time, due to the hill situation. Chris and I did a little bit of mental math and we started to get really sweaty. Especially when the owner of the company said, "This has been one of the most challenging jobs we've been on in a long time." In my mind I was starting to see dollar bills fly out the window, but later he said that this has been really a good training experience for his helper and that he would just charge us a flat rate. What a nice guy!

So now we are off to Utah for spring break and when we get home the countertops and sink should be installed. Then we will be VERY CLOSE to a normal life again.

There is a faint glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.

Well, you can't tell from this picture, but A LOT of work has been done this week on our kitchen. Since my last post we have done some more electrical work, finished hanging sheet rock, taped all the seams and textured the walls and ceiling. We also scraped up the old linoleum floors and took the old carpet out of the dining room. Today the kids and I primed and painted the walls and ceiling. Whew! I am tired just remembering all the work that's been happening.
So now we are getting to the exciting part... putting everything back together. It's funny how you grow to be thankful for the little things when you've gone without everything. Right now I am so excited to have my pantry back come Monday. There's a possibility that we will get more pieces installed on that day but I dare not get my hopes up.
We are really tired of eating frozen food. It just doesn't satisfy the appetite that we have when we've been working all day. And I'm starting to feel kind of crummy from all the processed foods. Don't get me wrong-I'm not some organic eating health nut, but I'm used to home cooked meals and gosh darn it, I MISS THEM! Our friends Jake and Karen were kind enough to have us over for dinner one night this week so that was a really nice break from our pathetic food we've been eating here.
Friday we're leaving for Utah to spend spring break with Grandpa Tom and Grandma Fay. Grandma Fay is the queen of home cooked meals. It will be such a treat for us. Can't wait to come and eat all your food, Fay! hehe
Keaton has decided to go out for tennis this year. In the past he's always done track, but he thought he'd try something new. So far he's enjoying it and coming home tired and sore. Their first match is March 30 and I'm excited to be involved in something new.
Carson had his last basketball game today. His team went undefeated (again). I think the closest game they played was 6 to 24. One of the games was won 0 to 34. That poor team! I felt so sorry for them, I kept wishing our team would just let them have a basket or two. I think it's just a matter of time until the city puts an end to this team Carson always plays on.

Right after spring break is when the track season starts and Jantzen is finally old enough to do it this year. Yippee! She's so excited to finally be able to do what her brothers have been doing every spring. I'm dreading the three hour track meets in the cold and wind, but I guess that's just the way it goes. Until I save enough money to move to Hawaii I guess I'll just have to get used to it.

Here's a few cute pictures from the last week:

Nice safety glasses, huh?

Jantzen LOVES to help clean the bathroom. It probably won't last long enough for her to actually get good at it.

Poor Kamber, she endures so much humilitation!

Welcome to my world, Part 9,765,251

Progress IS being made. I repeat. Progress IS being made!

Despite a couple of minor setbacks, (like electricity running through Chris body a few times), we are making pretty good time on our little project. Check it out:

We have almost finished putting up the sheet rock. All of the old cabinets are out except for the island. I am clinging to the island for dear life because it is a great place to put all our tools while we're working. Well at least that's what I'm telling Chris. Really it's because it holds my ONLY accessible dishes. Without them we would be eating cereal out of a toolbox. I would be slicing apples with a utility knife and and then serving them up on a piece of sandpaper.

Oh yeah, and just when I thought there was nothing more I could possibly lose, Chris found one more thing to take apart...the railing above the stairs.
Nobody has fallen yet, but I know it will probably happen eventually. And I have a feeling it's gonna be me.

Welcome to my world--Part 2

First let's refresh our memories. I'm gonna go back in time to the good ole' days when I could cook whenever I wanted. "What's that you say child? You'd like a sandwich? No problem. I'll have one whipped up for you in 30 seconds or less."

Now we'll fast forward to Monday, the day my world came crashing down on me. The day I lost my oven and my upper cabinets.Notice how we're still smiling here because we haven't...
Done this yet!Did I mention that I lost my ceiling on Monday too? Oh, yeah and lighting. When I lost my ceiling I also lost about 30 degrees in the kitchen and gained a nice breeze which caused a constant rain of insulation on us.
Yesterday things got better...and worse. I got my ceiling back, but I lost my stove, sink, lower cabinets, drinking water from the fridge, walls and ...MY SANITY! All I have left in the world is a fridge and a microwave. Has anyone ever tried to cook a Papa Murphy's pizza in the microwave? Just wondering.

Welcome to my world...

And would someone PLEASE save me?

In the interest of full discloure I am showing some pictures that I would never show because my kitchen is THAT UGLY. But you have to be able to compare the before and after pictures to appreciate the results.

This is our future fireplace. Gorgeous, huh? For some reason I'm having trouble visualizing what it's gonna look like when it's done. Can't figure out why. At this point I just want it hooked up so I can WARM MY TOES on it! I don't care what it looks like anymore. This industrial look is starting to grow on me.

But nevermind the fireplace. Because we're going to have to abandon that project for now in favor of a different one.

Say goodbye to the kitchen. Our new cabinets will be in on March 16 so it's time to start demolition. If anyone wants cabinets for their garage let me know. I'll be placing an ad on Craigs List soon. And yes, that IS a tent in my living room. It's just how we roll these days. I'll be sleeping in it for 40 years to increase my spirituality.

See how the lovely ceiling drops DOWN in the kitchen? It's further evidence that this house was definitely built in the 1980's. But we're taking the ceiling out. Can't wait to be able to see the attic right from my kitchen! And to hang sheet rock, tape, mud, sand, mud, sand, mud, sand and then texture. It's gonna be a blast.

See these red shelves? This is my catch-all area of the house. (Yes, two people DO need to own 5 pairs of sunglasses!) But I think I've come up with a solution to make everything more organized and pretty looking. So stay tuned. When this project is done in the year 2027 I will show you what we did. And if I still have my sanity we shall rejoice together.

No takers, huh?

Well, if no one is gonna take this puppy, then I guess I'll just have to throw a fit and start tearing the bricks off my walls.

I'm starting to feel better already.

But seriously, this is getting really messy. Aaawww, look! Someone already found a new use for this empty corner.Stay tuned for more updates of the stray puppy and the crazy parents who decided to rip their kitchen and fireplace apart.

The Tile Girl Has Struck Again!

It's a bird. It's a plane. It's tile girl! And she has grout stuck permanently beneath her fingernails.

A few weeks back I wrote about how I was going to replace these tiles while the kids were at Grandma's. I didn't finish it before they came home, but I got a good start. And a few days ago I actually finished the job. It took a lot of blood, sweat and tears. Well, maybe not the blood. Or the tears. But I did sweat. But that probably has more to do with the 105 degree weather we've been having. Anyways, I'm VERY PROUD to say that I did this ALL. BY. MYSELF. Just in case you're wondering why Chris didn't do this, well, I wouldn't let him. I like to do projects around the house and I just wanted to know if I could do it. And now I have the pride of knowing that I did! And I learned how to use a new tool, the wet saw. And if you've never used one, here's a hint. Wear grubby clothes because it sprays yucky water at you. But enough with my meaningless chatter. On with the pictures!

You may remember my "before" picture.

And here's the finished product. TA DA!

And the best part about it is that it was all free! Well, kind of. It was all done with leftovers from our bathroom remodel project that we did last year. So yes, it does match our bathroom. But that bathroom is a long walk from our front door. And if you're a good enough friend to travel that deep into Wrathall territory then you know me well enough to know that I love a good bargain! And the fact that I recycled this stuff makes me twice as happy.

Gone Baby, Gone!

What's gone? You might ask...

The hair on my legs? No.

The weeds in my garden? No.

The little blades of grass on the floor of my car? No.

The pile of dirty laundry? No.

The five-years-old applesauce in my freezer? No.

SO WHAT'S GONE? MY KIDS!

Yes, folks that's right. I loaded them into a minivan with a strange man. Okay, only a little bit strange. But I didn't notice any guns, duct tape or rope in the car. So I figured it was okay. We said our goodbyes, then they drove off to Grandma Shanna's for the week. YAHOOOOO! Now I know that it may sound like I don't love my kids. But that's not true. I LOVE my kids. What I don't love is cooking for them, cleaning up after them, buying groceries for them and breaking up the incessant fights betweent them. This is my one week per year to rest, rejuvenate, eat popcorn for dinner and do some sort of project on the house. I think my project this year will be replacing these tiles:

I know, there's nothing wrong with them. They're beautiful the way they are. Well, that's what their mom tells them. But I'm not too crazy about the fact that some of them broke off and ran away. Then there's the paint they got all over themselves. I just turned my back for ONE SECOND and they had gotten it everywhere. I tell ya. Tiles these days are terrible. When I was a kid we didn't act like that. Well, I suppose I'd better go. I've got some serious popcorn popping to do.