We've Been Busy

The last two months have been insanely busy. We are currently working very hard on our landscaping. I'm excited to see the plans we've made come to life! We have officially cut down every tree that existed when we bought our home. Don't worry, we are replacing them with prettier (and better placed) trees. Everything looks a little scary right now, but in a few weeks I'm hoping to see a complete transformation. We might actually have grass in the front lawn this year!

Along with our own projects, Garth has acquired a side job installing baseboards for a family in our ward that are trying to sell their house. Garth has also been helping his brother remodel his home in Payette. And last Wednesday, Garth had a phone interview with the prison. I think it went really well from what he told me about it. Now we have to play the waiting game again. They told Garth that his name will be put in a database so when an opening comes up they can pull the names for further interviewing. So we don't really know when we will here from the prison again.

I've spent the majority of this week and last on the couch with the worst cold I've ever had. It completely wiped me out. I've finally been able to catch up with most of my house work. Thankfully Garth has been a huge help with the dishes and laundry. Mother's Day was very relaxing. I was still very sick, so Garth and the girls stayed home from church to take care of me. They made me an awesome breakfast and gave me beautiful flowers. It was nice to feel pampered. I'm very blessed to be a mom.

Here are some pictures of what we've been up to. I can't wait to post the "after" pictures.


This is the side of our house. We cut down a tree that was growing into our foundation and ripping off our shingles. Try to imagine it with no tree limbs, no concrete pieces no ugly red fence.




This is the back yard. We cut down the biggest tree on our property. It was half dead and just waiting for a summer wind storm to blow down onto our house. Hopefully our neighbors will put up their fence soon. Most of the wood is gone now, thanks to a lot of neighbors who wanted it.




I never thought I would live to see the day that Garth would cut down the Juniper tree. This is what was left. Garth cut a chair into the trunk for the girls to fight over. I'm going to plant a maple tree in its place. Since this picture was taken, we have pulled out the stump and leveled off the dirt. We are almost ready for grass!!




Liz finally talked Garth into teaching her to ride a bike. It was so fun to watch.



And Claire got her first severe burn. She was making mac & cheese with Garth and when he took the pot off the stove to drain the macaroni, Claire rested her hand right on top of the red hot burner. The picture didn't show too well all the blisters she has on each little finger and the big blister on the pads of her palm. We were up until midnight keeping her hand soaked in cool water.