perigee fun

We had a fun evening at Liberty Park celebrating Perigee's success (Jed and his 3 partners business).   It also happened to be Jed's birthday, 35 couldn't be handsomer.
They have put in a lot of hard work to make their company successful.  I loved that they decided to make this gathering about our families, not just an evening out with adults. 

The kids had a blast with a pinata. 

Lily loved, what else, eating everything on the ground.

 But the favored event was playing in the splash fountains. 

 Even when their lips were purple and they were nearing hypothermia.

 They were full of joyful goosebumps.

 

EMHE

Jed's company was able to donate their talents and time to the building of a home for Extreme Makeover Home Edition.  We were able to visit the site as VIP guests.  We knew that Chase would be the most excited about the "extreme" building that was going on.  It was a construction site/carnival gone mad.  Bayli was more excited about the VIP tent with its free food and the special "tag" that she got to wear.

You can ask Jed his feelings about the experience if you really want to know.  Let's just say that he and "the talent" (aka Ty Pennington and his co-hosts)  would never get along.  Oh, and he thinks that ABC is kind of lame as well.

Dad and his boy taking in the beautiful views of a construction site.

We've never seen him so quiet when there is any type of big rig around.

He was in complete awe.

Bayli was content to eat the free food.  It was like being poked with a pin to have her picture taken.

it's official

we have ourselves a rooster
and he's a crowing
well, sort of
more like screeching or dieing

pretty much at that awkward age
puberty
you know, with the voice changes and all
that is what he sounds like
so imagine a young man, going through puberty
speaking or better yet singing
and yeah, that is what he sounds like
only he speaks chicken

jed's impression is spot on
just ask him to speak rooster
then you can get a better idea

i kind of compare it to a beagle
or a dog that has had it's bark removed

we will take a barking chicken
we are in the business of competing with all of the obnoxious neighbor dogs anyways

chickens. or as my husband refers, peckers.

After years of proclaiming his love and desire to have chickens, Jed's dream FINALLY came true.  I finally gave him the go ahead to get some, and let me say that he jumped on that boat FAST.  He must have been pretty worried that I might change my mind.
I gave him some limitations on the birds.  They had to be as far back in the yard as possible.  They are HIS birds, he feeds, waters, and cleans up after them.  And, they are to never run free poop in my backyard or they will be made into soup.  I totally sound like a mom. He has kept his end of the bargain (I have only fed them a few times).

Jed chose out his birds back at the beginning of April.  He picked out an Orpington (the yellow), 2 Rhode Island Reds (obviously the little red ones), a Barred Rock (my favorite), and 2 Black Sex-linked.  Although he asked for hens, we think that the Orpington just might be a rooster, we shall see.

The cute chicks, only a few days old when they came to live in our basement.  I am very glad that it no longer smells like a barn down there.

He borrowed his dad's brooder (box/crate with warming lights).  And he began his hunt for the perfect coop. Of course, he couldn't find the perfect coop to purchase.  Either they were too expensive, or they were made poorly.  So, he began accumulating plans and pictures of coops that he liked and began the process of building one himself.

He began building the coop, in the basement shop.  His tools were all right there, and the weather has been less than cooperative over the last few months. 

And during the building process, he kept getting inquiries from me.  They pretty much entailed, "how in the heck do you plan on getting this out the back garage, turn the corner, go up the hill, turn the other corner, go across the grass, and make it to the back of the garden?"  He got pretty annoyed by these inquiries.  But on my behalf, it was completely a legitimate question.  And, I wasn't the only one asking.

So, on "moving" day, this was his plan of attack:

And let me say, it was a little bit intense.  Not to mention, my blood pressure was boiling as I watched my paint job mess up (I did contribute to the coop a bit-have I mentioned how much I despise painting?  Hey, I have to get my share of the eggs somehow.)

I think I was the most scared at this moment.  Turning that corner is crazy even without a little house on the front loader.

Poor little house needed a few touch ups when the job was complete.  Thank goodness Jed did the touch up paint, I think he might have gotten the hint that I was completely DONE painting.

From this point, on the edge of the grass, I was very interested to see how he planned to get it the rest of the way without the tractor.  He wasn't about to mess up the back lawn and garden.  This is where we definitely are missing a big piece of the move.  Just imagine the house up on stilts with long boards connecting them and 4-5ish strapping young to middle aged men packing it.  I don't know that our neighbors will ever answer the phone when Jed calls again.

Cute little coop, finally complete.  After he got the house back there, he had to patch it up, shingle it, and complete the run/yard.  He was pretty excited when the project was complete.

The nests are inside this door, easy access to the eggs once the hens start laying.

Our mystery Orpington.  Boy or Girl??? We are kind of hoping for a boy at this point.  One rooster would complete the bunch.  He can compete with all of the blankety-blank dogs in our vicinity.

The Orpington and Barred Rock (the black and white speckled one) are the most interested in us.

I will say, that they have grown on me.  But, I still will not include them in my chores. 

Little biddies better be good layers or we'll be having chicken soup!

sustainable doors, meet ginormous ladder

our north facing (rear of the house) doors have a problem,

namely, the weather.

they get the brunt of weather changes causing them to shrink and expand more often,
thus, paint peels.

husband has wanted new door frames after repainting them year 2 in the home.
(he has painted them a total of 4 times in 6 years)

racking his brain to find a better solution,
he finally found one, clad them with composite decking.
quite the feat, he had to fabricate them entirely.
but they look wonderful.
best of all, no paint required!

while installing said doors, wife mentions that dryer isn't working.
also noted, the washer sounds like a wind turbine.
husband heads to roof to check the vents.

husband doesn't return in a timely manner so wife goes out to check husband.
chirp chirp... time waiting at the bottom of the ladder and calling for husband.
husband reveals self unharmed with a bucket and shovel in hand.

?? why the shovel and bucket??
oh, the gutters are full of dirt, that's right dirt!
we have a drainage problem.
add the gutters to the list!!!

and that is why we had to borrow my dad's neighbors ginormous ladder.

meanwhile, we are waiting for parts to fix the broken washer and dryer.

isn't being a home owner wonderful?!!!

the finished product

Chase's cute bed, ready for paint!

We decided to go with a royal navy. Jed LOVED turning the shop into a speckled mess with the sprayer. He did a fantastic job, so glad he is so meticulous.

The bed turned out perfect. Jed set it up in the basement for a few days. I know that he was delaying handing it over to the boy. And for good reason. When we finally started to set it up in Chase's room, the boy started working it over with his little tool set. I guess that we shouldn't have encouraged him to watch the building process.

I had found this cute bedding on clearance almost a year ago. Where you ask, Target of course. It was a super deal. Plus, it matched his room perfectly. We were excited to not have to repaint his room. And he can keep his cute fishies up for a while longer.

the finished product, minus the bed rail we were hesitant to put up

Chase was so excited once it was all put together. He would point and say "bed, nice!"

the happy guy testing things out

Then he started getting a little crazy and had his first 'fall out of bed' incident. We decided that we would have to put up the toddler rail, even though the fall wasn't far. His bed is still cute, but doesn't show off the overall wow factor as much.

The first fall. He kind of made it look like he was doing a trick, not so.

He slept wonderfully in his new big boy bed. The following morning, he was again super excited. He came and got mom and had to show her his new bed. "Mom, bed, wow!"

Bayli was also super excited because she got a new mattress in the process, handing hers down to Chase. "Mom, I slept so comfortably. Why does my bed smell like butter?" Gotta love that new bed smell. But butter, never would have thought that.

Thanks dad for making happy sleepers!

thoughts turn to saw meet bond

bet you can't guess what's been going on at our home...

my super impressive and talented husband has been down in the man cave making another wondrous creation. he wasn't just teasing me.
that's right, chase is getting his big boy bed! but not just any bed. one made with sweat, love, and blood (by someone he knows and thinks is pretty cool).

anyone who knows jed, knows he is a perfectionist. to sum it up, HE GOT SKILLS!!!
with nearly 12 years of marriage under the belt, he proves time and time again that he can do anything.
i find what i want, he draws it out, improves it, and impresses.

it is so wonderful to have a home filled with so many items created by his talented hands.
and this bed, is going to be to die for!

jed even marked it with his own blood (BIG accident) to show how much he loves his little guy.
the saw is still laughing at him, reminding us of a jaws horror movie.

at least he thinks he is pretty cool with his pink bandages. he tends to pose james bondish. i am sure he is thinking "table saw, make my day!"

we are just glad that his fingers are still intact and able to build more wonderful additions for our home.
also that chase is deathly afraid of the noisy machines in the shop and won't come near them, at least for now.

we can't wait to see the finished product!

honey-do-budget

budgets stink! especially when your budget gets cut in half and you are left with the smaller half. though we are nervously excited for the future, we can't help but stress about our budget. jed is, and has always been, very meticulous when it comes to our money. a very great quality, though annoying at times. fortunately, his ability to save has allowed us the opportunity for the changes we are currently undergoing.

with an extra body on the way, and an almost two year old, we have had to start looking for an additional bed. i have been scouring ksl classifieds for months looking for the perfect bed for my little guy. i know that there are beds out there for a great price, but i am still extremely picky. i know that if i keep waiting i will find the perfect bed. something that will last and is a beautiful piece at the same time. my problem is that i am in love with pottery barn. which is way overpriced even when my budget is at its high. you can find used pieces for a third of the price or less, they just tend to sell faster than i can get a hold of them. my dream bed for chase retails for $750, not including the mattress-YOUZAH!!!
the other issue we keep running into, is that we feel bad that we have never bought bayli a new bed. she inherited my old daybed. yes, it pretty much is the same one that all the girls growing up in the 80's probably had. the lovely white metal frame molded into heart shapes with hideous gold knobs.
she isn't bothered by it one bit, but we are.

now that the hunt has become a little more intense, jed is starting to look too. if you know jed, quality and price are his leading factors. so after he scoured through the few beds that were possibilities, he came up with a brilliant idea. "why don't i just make them?" at first, i was hesitant with his idea. he is extremely stressed and strapped for time with the new business. plus, will they end up costing more than a used find? but, then i thought, this is jed. he has proven time and again that he can make something beautiful on a lean budget. also, his quality of work will prove to be even better.

his next brilliant idea was "why not make three." he just keeps finding ways to make his honey-do-list increase in size.
get to work honey, times a wasting!

oh and honey, while you're at it, do you think that you can make one of these for way less than $1700? i know that your grandma won't mind.

a diggin good time

when the boys go out to play, this is where you can often find them.
chase thinks that the tractor is AMAZING!!!
he peers over the edge of the deck, like a prison inmate, to get a closer look at the mighty beast.
then, he works his magic (jabbering & smiling sweetly) to get a ride.
like any other loud engine noise, you can guarantee that chase will come running once started. and while he trots to his destination, you can hear him shout, "daddy, daddy, daddy!"
oh, didn't you know?
ALL loud noises are made only by daddy's.

lets take a holiday

to celebrate our day of independence (also known as paid holiday), our little family took a trip to some of our countries beautiful mountains.

after much discussion, and very little planning (like 2 days notice), our destination was potter's ponds.

the ponds are set in the heart of joe's valley (down past fairview). yeah, i had never been there either-existence unknown. but really, it was the perfect destination. it sits about 9000 feet above sea level. cold this time of year...perfect!

fishing. leisure riding. site seeing. trail meandering. wildlife searching. mud hopping. creek jumping (or falling). campfire cooking. tree sorrowing. deet spraying. badger fearing. star wishing. no rain praying. toad catching. insect identifying. deer calling. chase-ing. chase-ing. chase-ing. were among the many fun activities we undertook.

bayli catching the big one.




bay had a totally different view when it was time to gut the fish.