Picture this...here

Picture this house...

Right here!

Back of the house

First floor

Second Floor

It's not official yet (Rick still has to meet with the fire department tomorrow), but last Thursday the County Board of Adjustments granted us a variance from the wetland code. By the end of the week we will have our building permit and we can FINALLY get started! The top picture is the drawing of the front of the house. It will look just a little different because we are going to finish it in more of a rustic finish with stucco, rock, and wood beams instead of siding and shutters. The second picture is of the boys riding Lynne two summers ago on our lot (yes, that is the wetlands!!!!!!). Right about behind where they are riding is where the front of the house will be, so that will be the view from our back porch. I LOVE the front and back porches because we love the beauty of the land around us and we will be able to enjoy it from our front and back porches. I love the layout of the floor plan, but am a little nervous to have our bedroom on an entirely different floor than the kids. Also, did you notice that I have my own closet. No more sharing with Rick. If you know the difference between how I keep my closet and how Rick keeps his you will understand how happy I am about that. We have expanded the utility room/laundry room out to meet the front of the garage, and I am so excited about a BIG laundry/back entry.

I know that we are a LONG way from really having this house being a reality, but it feels like the biggest hurdle is behind us. I am so thankful for Rick for all the work he has done to get everything passed with Summit County. We could never have imagined what a headache it would be. I am sure that once it is all finished, it will just be a funny story we tell, but truly it has been such a trial. We are expecting to be in by the Noah's birthday at the end of October, so everyone is invited to stay with us anytime you are up this way!

My Luke

I love my Luke. I can't believe how fast he is growing up. In just a couple of weeks he is going to turn 7 and it really doesn't seem like it has been that long since I had my first little boy. He has really enjoyed this school year and all of the fun things that he gets to participate in. He entered the "creative challenge" competition at the school and won first place for his rendition of "Fur Ludwig", a child's version on Fur Elise. He played at the awards ceremony where he got is medal. The truth is that he was the only one in K-1st who entered in the instrument category, so of course he won first place. He was so excited to get his medal and "win" first place that when he got back to his chair he said, "I did it! I got first place." I didn't mention the fact that he was the only person who entered. A few minutes passed and he turned to me and said, "Mom, was there anyone even competing against me?" I told him no and he lost a lot of the excitement of "winning". I reassured him that even if there were people competing against him I was sure that he would win anyway! He just looked at me and said, "Yeah, I would've."

Luke with his medal at the piano.

All of the winners at the awards ceremony.

My little pianist.

Also this year Luke is old enough to sign up for a basketball league. He was super excited because basketball is his favorite sport. Rick signed up to be the coach, and to tell you the truth I think he has had as much fun as Luke. Luke isn't a really aggressive kid, so he doesn't go after the ball that much, and at this age that is what you have to do! He does practice his skills a lot and is pretty good and has scored at least one basket at every game. We have just one more game until the season is over...and one more month until soccer season starts.

Luke is really good on defense and gets a LOT of steals every game. (I am sure there is a fair amount of fouling too, but they don't call it that much.)

Down For The Count

It feels like we have just gone 9 rounds with a heavyweight boxer, and the Gunnerson's are officially down for the count.

It all started last week when Noah woke up on Monday morning with a scratchy throat and a cough and by Tuesday morning he had a fever. I tried to just give him enough medicine to keep him from burning up and pretend that he would get better any day, but it didn't work. By Friday evening I took him to the clinic in Park City to see if I could find out what was wrong. I no sooner walked in the door and let them take his temperature and pulse-ox than they were calling an ambulance to take us to Primary Children's. They were convinced he had pneumonia. I tried to talk them into letting me drive him there myself, but with his oxygen at 79% they weren't having it. An ambulance ride, chest x-rays, snot test, and doctors evaluation later they confirmed that Noah did indeed have pneumonia. They didn't admit him to the hospital because the doctor said at his age a lot of kids do better at home than being traumatized at the hospital. (I think his kicking and screaming and refusing to be touched gave her that idea.) His oxygen had come up above 90% so we just brought him home. He actually started feeling better the very next day and now the only problem is getting him to take his medicine without 30 minutes of fighting about it!!!

Friday I also noticed that Elijah was getting a little cough too and I just prayed that it wasn't the same thing. By Saturday he also had a fever and I felt like I was having a bad case of deja vu. Again I tried to just wait out his fever and hope that he got better, but once again it was no use. Tuesday I took him to his pediatrician to find out if I had a double case of pneumonia on my hands. His oxygen was also very low, but his doctor said that his lungs didn't sound like pneumonia, it sounded more like RSV. They did an RSV test, but it came back negative. His doctor was stumped so once again we were sent to Primary Children's. At least this time they sent us with an oxygen tank and NOT in an ambulance. Now it was Elijah's turn for chest x-rays and snot tests. By the time I was back up the canyon and back to the doctor's office she informed us that Eli did not have pneumonia, but DID have RSV. Because his oxygen levels couldn't stay up Eli had to come home with the newest member of our family, the oxygen tank. Today we were back to the pediatrician to see if things had improved, but they hadn't. So we will continue to go everyday to the doctor to see if my baby can get better. Also today the doctor said that his ears are infected.

I'm really trying not to feel sorry for myself. We are very lucky that both boys were well enough to be at home and not in the hospital. Noah has recovered very quickly, and I am hoping that with his oxygen and his medicine Elijah will get better soon. Now all I need is a good night's sleep and a little oxygen of my own!!!!

On our way to the doctor AGAIN.
Despite the half-smile, Elijah HATES the tubes up his nose.