The Shed...

Ever since moving here Greg has been planning on putting a shed in the backyard to hold all his tools and clear up the garage for much needed car parking space...and he decided to get started this weekend. Now, this is not just some TuffShed that someone drops off and builds for you...he is building it FROM SCRATCH!!! Which meant a 3 hour shopping trip at Home Depot last Saturday for all the wood, and another 1-1/2 hours last night for last minute wood and other accessories.

So, this morning the Elders from our ward came over and my brother came over to help him start. They started with the base and are working on the sides as I type, here are some pictures of their work this morning.

The elders, David and Greg working on the base

Here is the base from above on the foundation for the shed

And here is the base with the floorboards nailed on...yes, they got to use a nail gun to put it on!

Lastly, here are Greg and David working on the first wall...still getting to use the nail gun...

So, I will post some more pictures when they have the foundation for the walls up...until then I am going to feed Freddie and finish watching iCarly (Karyl is playing with her toys and hasn't noticed Spongebob was over yet!!).

Kid's Clinic and just plain cute kids

HAPPY FRIDAY!!

Well, Last Saturday we brought home the Lowe's project and Karyl and Greg made it at home...here is a picture of them working on it, it was an Emergency Box for kids to put stuff in for an emergency. Not terribly practical, but they also gave the kids some game pages and information on Emergency Preparedness and what to do...it was a smart idea!

Here is a picture of Greg and Freddie sleeping....Like father, like son!! Look closely and you'll see Freddie buried on the other side of the bed and they both have their arms the same way, and no, it was not staged!!

And here are a few cute pictures of the kids....they are just so darn cute and they love the camera!!

Dirty progress

Well the dirt pile is mostly all gone and Greg and David did an awesome job. These first 2 pictures are from back on May 9th when David helpe Greg break up the cement and from the Lowe's project that Saturday...Karyl and I went on our own and luckily it was easy enough that I was able to make it. Ironically it was supposed to be a Mother's Day gift (it was a planter!).

This other picture is David showing off his Dora Band-Aid...He had a blister and was told to come ask Karyl for a Band-Aid...she got him a Dora Band-Aid and even opened it and helped him put it on!! He wore that Band-Aid all day...

Now, on to the 22nd....Greg and David loaded up a U-Haul with all the cement and dirt the truck would hold and hauled it to the dump yard. Karyl wanted to go out and see them, and when she did every time one of them picked up a piece of cement she would start cheering them on saying "Go Uncle David go!!" or say "Oh, you are SO strong" it was cute. Here are a few pics of her entertaining them...

A defeat mixed in with great progress

DEFEAT

Ever since Freddie was born I have been relentlessly working to curb his urge to suck his thumb by shoving his pacifier in his mouth every time he tries to suck on his hand, and anyone who has seen this attempt knows that he's not a huge fan of his pacifier. Up until now the closest he has gotten is a few good licks on the side of his hand....until this morning. I left him on our bed like I usually do in the morning and went to get Karyl up and do a few things. When I came back to get him and feed him I heard him sucking and my first thought was "wow, how did he get his pacifier back in his mouth?"...sadly, what I found as I got closer was not anything like that....here is what I found as I peered over the pillows on to the bed...


Yep, he was sucking his thumb....and not just experimentally...he knew he had found what he has been looking for these past 3 months and he wasn't going to let it go.

So, the moral you ask?? This morning I was defeated....despite my best efforts, we have a thumbsucker. Poor boy, I hope our dental insurance covers braces in about 15 years!!

UPDATE:

I put him down to sleep a little while ago with his pacifier in and left to go cut up some veggies for dinner...I came back and in the 5 minutes I was gone he had found his thumb yet again....

PROGRESS

The past few weeks Greg has been working unbelievably hard to get the side of our house ready to pour cement and to get the front patio ready. This entailed using a sledgehammer, a pickaxe and lots of manual labor. After many, many hours of swinging heavy tools and breaking up lots and lots of cement and digging up lots and lots of dirt the RV access and patio are ready for fresh cement. Below are the pictures of the progress and the proof of all his hard work (that he now has to dispose of).

Our front patio

A side shot of our dirt pile

The front shot...and the cement!!

After all is said and done this yard is going to look amazing!! I can't believe how well Greg's vision for our house is coming together and can't wait to see it all done!!

Sunday sleepy time....

This one is being posted at Greg's request...

Sunday Karyl got up around her normal time so we didn't make her take a nap before church...and after church we just caught up in having fun and didn't make her take one then either. Well, usually it works out fine but that night apparently she was more tired than we had thought. She sat down to watch a Spongebob episode at about 6:30 pm and she sat in her Princess chair, within 2 minutes she was out and the chair started to recline further, and further....and further.

Don't worry, I finally moved her so she wouldn't be bent over backwards, but it was a hoot to see!!

And of course, Freddie slept through it all!!

Oh, and to update everyone on Saturday's truck driving competition...Greg did great!! He got 5th place in his category and was only 10 points behind the 3rd place person (10 points is NOTHING in this competition...) the scores were super close! Sadly, through some fluke in the order he was made to go first instead of the order he had been originally told so he didn't get to watch anyone run the course before him. Had he been able to watch just one person run it he would have gotten at least 30 more points which would have sent him to the state level. Oh well, we can't win them all!! Luckily, all 3 years he has done this he has placed in the top 10 and is always within just a handful of points of the qualifiers so it's only a matter of time before he gets to go on again to the Nationals!!

My aoplogies

So I know it's been a while since we put anything up here, but I promise that it's not through lack of effort. The past 2 weeks have been crazy...Karyl was sick twice and is still getting over some side effects with the antibiotic that she's on (we affectionately call the problem 'poop soup') and then a few days later Greg was sick and then I got sick last night. In fact, this is the first time today that I have been out of bed. Greg's parents were sweet enough to take the kids today so I could rest and get better, and to help see that Freddie hopefully (fingers crossed) doesn't get sick too. I have to say that I have been really good today and have done what I normally can't do when I'm sick...just sit back and relax.

Tomorrow is Greg's truck driving competition, and I am hoping and praying that he does really well!! I would really like to go and support him but I don't know if I'll be feeling up to it. If I do go then hopefully I will have a few pictures to share with you afterwards.

On a side note, today has been especially hard...not only with being miserable last night and this morning, but with not having the kids here. They needed to get out so they didn't get sick and so I could rest and get better, but I didn't realize how hard it would be. I was scrolling through the channels on the TV and came across Spongebob Squarepants and I started crying...that is Karyl's favorite show and it just made me very aware that they weren't here. Anytime I see something here that reminds me that they are gone, I cry...I know, it sounds overly dramatic, and I think being sick doesn't help any but I miss those little kiddos. I guess sometimes you don't realize how much you appreciate something until it's gone for a day =) On top of that I have been reading Greg's mother's day present to me...Dr. Laura's "In Praise of Stay At Home Moms" and today has just made me even more confident and thankful for my ability to stay at home with the kids. Working with one kid was hard, and with 2 it's going to be brutal, especially since Freddie doesn't like to be left laying down, but I know that this is the best option for our family and we will be blessed in the long run for the sacrifice!!

Fredrick's Blessing

WARNING...THIS POST CONTAINS LOTS OF PICTURES!!

Go get a cold drink and a snack...you're gonna be here for a while

Today we blessed Fredrick at church and had lots of family and friends here to support us. Rather than waste time with words, I figured I'd let all the pictures do the talking!!

Diana's mom and brother

John and Kelsi, Jake and Georgia

(John is Greg's cousin on his mom's side)

The Jamgochians

(Greg's dad's sister and her family)

Greg's Grandma

(His dad's mom)

All the "Bauns" that were here for the blessing

Glen and Dyanna

(Greg's brother and his wife)

Alo, his wife and youngest daughter

(A great friend of Greg's from work)

Some pictures of Freddie on his blessing day...he was so well behaved for all the pictures.

The outfit Fredrick is wearing was the same outfit Greg was blessed in 28 years ago!! The beautiful blanket was made when Karyl was born by Sis. Montierth and has been used (and will be used) for all our children's blessings.

Karyl and Jake had a GREAT time playing together!! They were practically inseparable the entire time Jake was here!

These are just a few pictures from the dinner afterwards at our house. Our LuvSac got plenty of use this afternoon, and our backyard was actually used to relax in for the first time since we've moved here! Poor Georgia, she was getting so tired...she tried so hard to keep up with Jake and Karyl!!

Isn't she beautiful? She was such a great big sister today!!

And at the end of the night, Karyl did what she does every night before Daddy has to go to work...she helped him make his lunch!!

Wheelbarrow Flowerpot

Today Home Depot was making a Wheelbarrow Flowerpot for Mother's Day...it was really cute but because we were busy this morning we didn't get there until about 11:30 and our store was all out here in Corona...so we tried the next closest Home Depot over by Costco on McKinley...that one was out too!! Luckily, once Greg sets his sights on something he will stop at nothing, and he had the store call the next closest location (Mira Loma) to see if they still had some and they did!! So we got back in the car and headed up the 15 freeway (it was only about 10 minutes away) and there we made our project for today!

Here are a few cute pictures of this morning, including one of Freddie jsut being so good while everyone was banging hammers around him - and in case you're wondering, yes he has gotten HUGE!!

Oh, and here's a cute video of Greg and Karyl...she loves to take turns helping Daddy and this is a great example of how well they work together!!

Good News!!

Greg just found out from his boss that in the Southern Region this year there are only 12 people registered to drive a straight truck in the NTDC!!!! We've noticed that each year the popular categories alternate between the straight truck and the 3-axle, and luckily Greg is doing the straight truck again this year!! This means that there is a VERY good chance that he could be going on again to the state or maybe even nationals!! We will be going to the Southern Region competition on May 16th so please wish him luck!!

For those of you wondering "what is the NTDC and why do we care?" The NTDC is a truck driving "rodeo" or competition for career Class A drivers (truck drivers). That means drivers for companies like FedEx and UPS, but it also is for independent truck drivers and anyone else with a class A license. It's a competition that involves obstacle courses for the trucks, interviews and some other little things you get scored on. Back in 2007 Greg competed for the first time because his boss kept bugging him to go, and he ended up placing 3rd in the Southern region and 1st at the state level, so FedEx paid for our family and his manager to head to Minnesota for the National Competition. At the State level he was also named Rookie of the year!! We had an awesome time and got a free first class vacation out of it....FedEx also gives cash prizes to its employees that place in the top 3 and that make it to the Nationals, and believe me, that was a nice surprise the year he won!! His showing at the National level also allowed him to meet with some of the top executives with FedEx and to get his name known with some of them...doing well in the NTDC while working for FedEx allows him to get himself known and put his foot in the door for amazing possibilities as far as advancement in FedEx like becoming a driving teacher/trainer for their trucking program and other jobs that he normally wouldn't even know about!

So, again, please keep Greg in your prayers...this is a wonderful opportunity for him to show what an awesome and gifted driver he is and for him to have some fun and get the honor he deserves (that I think he deserves...he hates the attention!!).

Kid's Clinics

In December we discovered the Kid's clinics at Home Depot and Lowe's. I have been meaning to post after each project but I just haven't done it, and now I am going to try and make a habit of doing it every time (starting tomorrow!)

For those of you who don't know, Home Depot (the 1st Saturday of the month) and Lowe's (the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of the month) have FREE kid's clinics and they are GREAT!! If you're looking for something fun and cheap to do, this is perfect!! Greg and Karyl love doing it and Karyl always gets so excited to go to "the building store" and build something with daddy. If you haven't discovered this little treasure I would suggest checking it out. The Home Depot projects from from 9am - noon and you just show up, no registration required. Lowe's is from 10-11 am and while you don't have to pre-register, if you do pre-register your kids are guaranteed a project (they only have a certain amount). At both stores, the first time you go you can ask for a free apron and they give you pins with each project at Home Depot and patches with each project at Lowe's.

Check it out sometime, it's a lot of fun...and if you live near us and would like to come with us let us know...we love company!!

1/3/2009
Home Depot - Superbowl helmet bookends

1/10/2009
Lowe's - Time Capsule

3/7/2009

Home Depot - Race car track

First project boo-boo

Last Saturday....a glider at Lowe's.

Obviously there are a few projects missing, like the 2 birdhouses and an easel, and 2 jewelry boxes and a few other projects I can't remember...but these are the ones I remembered to take the camera to!! Tomorrow is Home Depot and I can't remember what they are making but when Greg told me I remember thinking it was a cute idea...So hopefully I will get pictures posted soon afterwards and try to make it a habit!!

Oh, and total randomness, but I was entering Freddie's stastics into his baby book and I decided to peek and compare his size to Karyl's. I just remembered her always being so huge, so I figured her stats would be way above Freddie's....NOPE!! He was actually 4 ounces heavier than she was at 8 weeks and his head and length are like a 1/2 inch larger!! He was less than she was when born, but he has already caught up and I have a feeling he is going to be even bigger than she was!! Wow, good thing we didn't get much in the way of smaller clothes because he is going to grow out of everything well before it was intended to be grown out of!!