Severe Weather Warining

The National Weather Service has issued a severe weather warning for Woodland, Utah. The storm is small, but powerful. It has tornado like gusts of activity that can leave your house totally destroyed in a matter of minutes. Do not sit idle thinking the storm won't hit, because it will. It always does. Do NOT try to clean in another room, do NOT try to make a phone call, and by all means do NOT hide in the bathroom (even to use it!). Hurricane Elijah is currently a category 4 storm, but gains power everyday. It is assumed that the storm will quickly become a category 5 and leave a wake of destruction in it's trail. TAKE ALL NECESSARY PRECAUTIONS!

Ninja, Super, and Bat....oh, my!

I love Halloween. For me is perfectly starts the holiday season. We had quite a few activities in the days that lead up to Halloween, which just added to the CRAZY life we are leading. Oh well, the effort is always worth it when it comes to making your kids happy. I am always quite frantic when I am trying to get things done, but end up being so thankful for the time and memories I have with the boys.

Here is the short list of our weeks activities

Preschool Halloween party

2nd grade class party

Sugar cookie decorating GALORE

Luke's breakdancing solo at the "Spooktacular"

Pumpkin carving

Trunk-or-treating

Trick-or-treating

(we wouldn't think of missing out on our Aunts, Uncles, and Grandpa)

Scary Movies

(Mostly Ghostly: 4 times!)

CANDY, CANDY, CANDY

Decorating cookies at the preschool Halloween party.
Noah got a little carried away with the black sprinkles and ended up with black teeth and lips.

Trying to carve his very own.

The frozen, defrosted, mushy pumpkin.

Elijah knows what Halloween is all about!

The cutest bat. EVER!

Dash showing off his muscles.

Nothing but speed.

Ninja Luke

I tried to get a good picture of all of the boys together, but Elijah was having none of it!

This is the best I was able to get.

Happy Birthday, Noah!

Okay, it is only 9 days late, but here are a few pictures of Noah's fourth birthday. I usually say something like, "where does the time go?" But for some reason it really does feel like four years (or more!) have gone by since I had my beautiful black-haired baby boy. A lot has happened during these last four years, and I know that there will be even more exciting things to come in the next four.

Noah is such a case of extremes. He is the child who can TOTALLY exhaust you of all patience, but then is full of hugs and kisses. He is stubborn from head to toe, but can out of the blue surprise you with thoughtful deeds and sayings. He didn't even say "mama" until he was 18 months old, and now knows all his letters, sounds, colors, shapes, rhymes, and initial consonant sounds and letters. He LOVES being outside playing and getting dirty, but wants a bath every night. He jumps at the chance to go out and "work" with Dad, Grandpa, or any other worker who may grace our house, but whines that he "just wants to stay home" every morning we are headed out of the door.

Noah is unlike any other. And that is just how I like it.

Blowing out the candles on his transformers cake

Displaying all the birthday loot!

Noah got a kitty for his birthday from Uncle Chris. THANKS A LOT!

He LOVES the kitty and named him Tiger Shark. Tiger for short.

Elijah also loves Tiger. I'm not sure if the feelings are mutual.

House Update

I know that it has been WAY too long since I have taken the time to update this blog and show you the progress we are making on the house. I can't even take 5 more minutes and explain WHY I am too busy, because the few minutes I am on the computer are making me feel guilty about all of the things I SHOULD be doing! Last week the cabinets were installed and it is finally starting to feel like a real house. We really had to push fast with the travertine in order to have it all laid before the cabinets came, but we made it. Rick has been AMAZING. He has had some help, but for the most part he has done all of the travertine by himself. I love the way that it looks, especially with the cabinets. We (and by we I mean Rick) just have to finish grouting the travertine and then seal it and we can move on to the next project. I'm not sure what that will be, the list is a mile long! We are heading into the final stretch, but it seems like we have more work than ever. I hope that Rick can hold out for about 6 more weeks.

a> Here is the bench in the back entry. I have aleady informed the boys that this is where they sit to put their shoes on and take them off! I love the hooks for their coats. No more shoes and coats past this point.
The back entry/laundry room.
Lots of storage for coats, hats, gloves, bookbags, etc. You know, all of the things that are strung out from the front door to every room in the house!

I have a hanging bar above the dryer. Everyone keeps telling me that I will LOVE it. It certainly will cut down on the ironing (which I HATE to do.)

(Kitchen)

Looking toward the range, microwave, and sink.

(Kitchen)

Hutch on the left down to the pantry on the right.

Yes, the cabinets reach to the 9 foot celings. I am going to have to have a step ladder to reach anything in the top!

I wanted black as an accent and I think the hutch was a perfect choice.

Here is the full kitchen (from the dining room) the lighting isn't very good, but the beadboard on the back of the bar is also black to match the hutch.

The dining room travertine.

Our bathroom.

I love the turned feet. They make the vanity really seem like a piece of furniture.

Peach, Green, Brown...the story of the paint

Labor-Day weekend was suppose to be a painting party at the Gunnerson house. Max and Chelsea were even going to come and help since Max has painting experience. We planned on getting everything primed on Friday night and painted on Saturday and Monday. That is what we planned. This is what really happened.

Friday: Max and Chelsea did arrive around 7:00 on Friday night. We didn't get right to work because Billie Jo enticed us all to dinner with enchiladas and zucchini cake, but by about 8:30 we were hard at work. Max was spraying, Rick was rolling, and I was trying to finish up vacuuming all of the sheetrock dust out of the house (an endeavor I am convinced will NEVER happen). We worked for a few hours and got most of the house done before calling it a night.

Saturday: Back to work and almost finished when the sprayer quit working! Oh well, it was almost time for the BYU game anyway, and we were ready for a break. During half-time Max and Rick ran to Home Depot to trade in the broken sprayer for a new one and soon were back to work. They finished priming the house and started with the paint in our bedroom and bathroom. It was about 10:00 pm when they came in to get us (me, Chelsea, and Giselle) to show us the finished product. I stepped into the bedroom and was proclaiming what a fabulous job they did when I stopped and said, "It looks kinda peachy, don't you think?" Everyone tried to convince me that it was okay, that it would look different in the light, and that it would dry darker. I was unconvinced. Even though Rick and Max were planning an all-night painting party, I talked them into quiting and NOT painting the rest of my house peach.

Sunday: Upon further inspection, the color really did look more peach than tan. What a dissappointment! It was something that I could have LIVED with, but I knew that I would never really like it. We decided to bag the painting for the weekend and just have fun!

Monday: Instead of painting we actually got to enjoy our holiday at Francis Frontier days. The boys rode sheep, played games, and we visited with friends and family. Rick decided that he would go ahead and paint the ceilings since we were doing them white and we would have to try and do something with our "peach" paint. So, he took the evening and sprayed all of the ceilings on the first floor. After I put the boys in bed I went to see how it was going and as soon as I walked in I said, "That looks peach too!" It wasn't until that moment that I remembered my Uncle Alvin (our family painting expert) told me that if we used white paint on the ceiling it would look gray, so he told the paint store to go 1/4 strength of our wall color for the ceiling. Another night of work, and paint, wasted.

Tuesday: Rick took some of the paint back to the paint store to see if they could add some color to take out the peach and make it a little more tan. He came home and tested it out on one wall in our bedroom, which was quickly becoming the test center. It was okay, but in an effort to get the peach "out" they added in some green. It ended up looking a little too green to me and even though I liked it, I felt like I was copying Billie Jo's house. So again it was a no-go.

Friday: I drove to Salt Lake with 55 gallons of peach paint to see what could be done. I went into the paint store a little embarrased to be back. I am sure they thought that I was pretty foolish to order 55 gallons of paint that I hadn't even tested to make sure I liked it! They were also probably annoyed that I was bringing back perfectly good paint and making them remix it. Oh well, I needed paint that I could live with. I pick out a paint chip that I liked and they said that they would try to remix our paint to match. One hour later I picked it up. The paint was no longer the original "calfskin", they had magically turned it into "summer suede."

Saturday: Get out the sprayer and roller (again) it is time for round three. Rick and I painted the ceilings in the ENTIRE house! I was quite worried because against the white primer the celing paint looked quite dark, but Rick told me that we could NOT make any more changes.

Monday: By the light of two spotlights, Rick and Tim got to work on the wall color. Tim cut in the color against the ceiling while Rick sprayed and rolled the walls. The slow work of cutting in only got finished in our bedroom and bathroom, while the spraying and rolling got done on the entire first floor.

Tuesday: The big question. How did the new paint color look? Perfect. Well, not quite perfect. I would've perfered a little lighter, but Rick really liked it a little darker. Now the paint wasn't the problem, it was the paint job. Apparently painting at night with just a couple of spotlights is not the best idea. There were so many spots of uneven coverage that we ended up going back over everything that had been done! I suggested to Rick that instead of painting at night we sould just take the time to tape and mask the ceiling in the evenings and then spray on Saturday. Even though I could tell he didn't want to agree with me, he did.

Wednesday: Rick had to finish up the last couple of roofing items so that the workers could finish the siding.

Thursday: Taping and masking.

Friday: Taping and masking.

Saturday: We did it! Once I got home from teaching yoga we hit the painting full force. Rick was on the sprayer and I followed with the roller. Luke and Noah were in charge of tending themselves (lets just say I found many candy wrappers around the house and an empty bag of cheetoes by the computer) and Eli had to be exiled and spend the day away (with my mom). We still have some areas that we need to touch-up, but I can officially say that the house is painted, and the best part is that I actually like the color! I hope that the tiling doesn't have as many snags.

Rick and Max getting the house all primed.

Daredevil Rick painting the two-story entryway.

Luke had the job of washing all the paint buckets when we were finished with them. A job he didn't much like.

We did take a break from house work last Sunday and went on a fall ride. We drove to Mill Hollow to find some leaves for Luke's school project and took the trail around the lake. The boys loved it and kept asking if they could go fishing in the lake. We gave the same response everytime they asked, "Someday boys, when the house is finished, we'll have time to go fishing." With the painting done, it feels like"'someday" is getting closer and closer.

Signs your parents are building a house...

Here are just few signs that your parents are spending all their time building a house.

1. You are covered, head to toe, with sawdust and sheetrock dust.

2. You have new interesting toys, like...

mountian of rocks

indoor motorcycle
racing track,

pile of sawdust

and slide of death.

3. You have to get your own lunch.

So refreshing!

4. You are basically dirty, hungry, and totally neglected.

Don't worry boys, we are almost finished. It will all be worth it. I promise.

Firsts

This month has seen a lot of FIRSTS for our little family...

The First First,

I started work at a new job. I actually had to come home from our Bear Lake vacation for a couple of days to start teaching yoga and dance at a school in Oakley. The Oakley School is a private high school for kids who for whatever reason were no longer able to stay at their last school. I work three morning a week teaching two periods. For the most part I have enjoyed it, but lets just say that teaching high school aged boys ballet is a little intimidating. Thankfully the last day of our ballet unit is tomorrow!

The Second First,

Rick started work at a new job. Rick left the law firm in Park City in May and has been working on his own all summer. Things were really starting to fall into place with the Law Offices of Richard Gunnerson, but when he got offered a job in Salt Lake we felt like we had to accept. Literally we HAD to accept. Just try getting a mortgage while being self-employed. So his own office is on hold for a while until we finish the house and finialize our financing. He actually likes his new job quite a bit, but just today he was lamenting how terrible it is to have a real job working for someone else. It really has put a cramp on his house building time.

The Third First,

With me working in the mornings, Noah and Elijah have started going to the babysitters house a few hours a week. I feel lucky because I was hoping to find a mom who stays at home with her kids and was looking to make a little money, and that is just what I found! Her house is on the way to Oakley and the boys have had fun there so far.

The Fourth (and most exciting) First,

Luke started 2nd grade last week! He has a teacher who was teaching 2nd grade when I was in 2nd grade, and he totally loves her. I was a little worried about her being "old" but obviously teaching kids has kept her young in spirit. He already has some friends in his class, in fact we have already had our first sleepover of the year. Apparently Luke and his firend were planning it all week because on Friday afternoon the friend's mom called me and said that her son's bags were all packed to come! Luke reports that he has played basketball every recess, that school lunch makes "the best meat" for tacos, and his teacher REALLY likes to read to the class. So far no mentions of girls or kissing.

So handsome, and big! When did that happen?

Walking to the bus stop.

When the door to the bus opened I saw the meanest bus driver E.V.E.R. Apparenty he was just filling in for the real route driver. Whew.


The Fifth First,

Elijah got his first haircut yesterday. For some reason it always takes someone commenting about how long my baby's hair is to make me think that it is finally time for a trim. I keep wishing that one of my children is going to inherit Rick's family's curls so I let it grow and grow, but instead of curling it just starts looking shaggy. Rick is usually the barber in our family, but he was working on the house when I wanted the cut done. So I got out the scissors and had a go at it! Elijah was NOT the best client I have ever worked with, and what should've taken 2 minutes to trim turned into 20. It seemd that just when I would get his fine little hair inbetween my fingers to trim he would turn his head and I would loose it. I tried to divert his attention with lots of toys, but she thought it was fun to see how many times he could stand up and sit down. ARGH! I finally finished, and well it could be worse. It could be a lot better too, but it could be worse. No matter what his hair looks like I think he is such a cutie!

Before

After

What an exciting August. Bring on September, we're ready.

Mr. Clean

Noah is his grandpa's little helper. He spends as much time with him as he possibly can and is always talking about being a grandpa. For quite a while now Noah has been asking is he could have a haircut like grandpa. Of course I keep putting him off by saying things like, "wouldn't that be fun!" or "maybe when you are a grandpa". Just the other day when I was commenting to Noah about how long his hair was getting he asked again if he could get a haircut like grandpa. This time grandpa was around to hear it and said an emphatic "YES". I said no. Noah begged. I said no. Grandpa encouraged Noah. I said no. Grandpa rationalized that it would grow back in just a couple of weeks. I gave in.

As Noah and grandpa marched up the stairs I was going to mention to my dad not to really cut it quite as short as his. He could give him a buzz, but not totally shave it off. I WAS going to mention it, but I figured that my dad would think of it by himself. I thought he would use prudence in his judgement. Then I remembered that this is the grandpa who swings grandchildren around in blankets. This is the grandpa who gives grandchildren Pepsi before they can even walk or talk. This is the grandpa who lets Noah "surf" on the tire wheel of the tractor. This is the grandpa who takes the boys to the feed store for Pepsi and honeybuns for breakfast. This is the grandpa who lets Elijah ride the dogs. This is not PRUDENT grandpa! This is FUN grandpa! So I was not suprised when Noah came down the stairs and this is what I saw. Now Noah has a haircut like grandpa's...and loves it.

Summer 2009

A slideshow?! I agree. I usually don't really like slideshows because I don't want to sit and look at tons of pictures without any story behind them. But, because of my lack of posting this summer I feel a slideshow will be the only way I can get it all in at once and feel like I am caught up enough to start anew. So here are some highlights of our summer. I HOPE you enjoy!

• house building projects
• family reunions
• parades
• playing in the creek
• Learning to walk (Elijah)
• Lagoon
• Discovery museam and fountians
• Bear Lake Vacation