Like the Pioneers 2

When Mark & Sarah were here a couple of weeks ago, we took our kids to the Church History Museum. They didn't pull this handcart anywhere, but they did pose for a picture (and I think they actually broke the handcart as they were in it--or at least, Mark said they did).

Park Play

Last Monday was a teachers' day to work on grades, so the kids had the day off. It was a beautiful spring day, and we all needed to be outside. Jamison wanted to go fishing at Farmington Pond, but it was closed. We tried to think of someplace else to go, and ended up at Ponds Park in Kaysville. Everyone was happy: Jamison got to fish in the ponds, and the other three got to play on the playground. We'd been there about 30 seconds when I saw a couple of girls sitting on the grass talking, and I realized it was Carrie and her friend Madison! We stayed a couple of hours and played. I don't think my kids would have had so much fun if Carrie hadn't been there too! They had a great time, and I got to sit in the warm sun and read my book. What a relaxing afternoon!

Home Sweet Home

Our new house is finishing fast! It's all painted and we have cabinets. They're laying the tile this week. After that, they'll get the final plumbing in, hang all the lights, & then lay the carpet! On the outside, which is a little slower because of the winter weather, they just finished laying brick. They're starting on the stucco. And after that, there's just concrete to pour, and then it's ready. We're thinking it'll be about 4 weeks till we have to move again. But the bright side is, hopefully that's the last time!

Live Like the Pioneers

Last weekend Sean & I went out to dinner with some friends. When we returned, the kids were excited about a great game they were playing: live like the pioneers. They'd eaten dinner just like normal, but then they decided to get out the tea light candles and light them. They were having a great time--they'd turned off all the lights and were sitting around in the dark with candles on.

Within the last week, the following has happened:

- I went downstairs to the laundry/utility room and found a flood. Water was pouring out of the water softener for no reason that I could see or guess. I called Sean at work and he rushed home to help me turn the water off.

- A couple of days later I put a bag of microwave popcorn in to pop, and it acted like it was working, but no little micro waves turned on, because the popcorn remained in exactly the same state. The microwave is broken.

- A couple of days later I opened the dishwasher to supposedly clean dishes, and found that they were just as dirty as when I started the batch. The dishwasher acts like it's working, but it's not getting any water, it appears.

The water softener I can do without, and the microwave is an extreme nuisance. But the dishwasher is a huge pain! The kitchen in this house isn't extremely big anyway, and with dirty dishes stacked around, it makes for very little work space. I'm spending a lot more time doing dishes. But the bright side is: paper products!

Nothing can be repaired until Monday. I guess we'll be living like the pioneers until then.