Our New Renters--Sort Of

Chelsea and Thomas have been trying to sell their 2 bedroom condo since she was pregnant with Sarah, who is just two months younger than Michael. They took it off the market for a little while between then and now, but they've been trying for a while.

So, when they finally got an offer on their condo that they could accept, Brian and I opened up our basement as a place for them to stay in between home sales. On July 31, their crew moved in. Chelsea, Thomas, and new baby Amber are in our guest room upstairs, and the other three kids are downstairs in our newly "remodeled" basement:

I went to DI to see if I could find some cheap rugs. I got this area rug for $5 and came home and scrubbed that bad boy until I was okay with my kids playing on it.

I also found this awesome road rug for $3 at DI (it's the one on the top left by the train table).

 I wanted the kids to have rooms downstairs, so I stapled fabric to our framing. The fabric is compliments of my sister Emily. It came from my reject pile--fabric I never thought I'd ever use!

Heather and Sarah's room. A few months back, Lea gave us her old king size mattress. After finding two free box springs on KSL, we almost have a completed bed! Now we just need a frame. And we inherited the twin headboards from Brian's folks. And check out those awesome curtains!

 The day after we got back from California, Brian and Thomas started working on a little bit of wiring downstairs. When they got these two rooms on their own switches, you wouldn't believe the parade those kids put on. They marched around the basement chanting, "We have lights! We have lights!" You would have thought it was Christmas!

 The wall separating the two rooms.

 Matthew's door.

 Here's Matthew's room. When they first moved in, Matthew was sleeping on a box spring with a pad on it. I couldn't stand that, so I hunted KSL and found someone selling a box spring, mattress, and twin frame for $30. I gave him $25 for it. Matthew is loving having his own room, away from all those girls! And I also bought this green rug at DI for $5, and scrubbed it until I felt good putting it in Michael's room. Lots of white vinegar, water, and baking soda later... (I know, you can barely see it since it sort of blends into the concrete).

Here's Matthew's closet, featuring the $1 shower curtain I bought at DI before I decided to use that ugly fabric.

Brian and Thomas have added outlets and lights to both of these rooms, as well as some in the bigger "family room."

So far, it's been pretty good having Chelsea and the kids here. Thomas stays in Odgen during the week with a friend so he doesn't have a 2.5 hour commute every day. Sometimes it is a little crazy having 5 extra people here (six on weekends). I'm constantly surprised by how the messes seem to have grown exponentially, which makes me feel better about how often I was cleaning before the came. Michael is LOVING having his cousins to play with everyday. I started giving Heather and Matthew piano lessons, and I'm enjoying practicing teaching on two such willing students. They closed on their condo a few days ago, and so now we're all just waiting for their new house to close, which should be the end of September. And now, a picture that pretty much sums up the dynamics of our new household:

I made popcorn for an after-school snack. The rule is that food stays in the kitchen. Well, they decided to all pretend to be dogs and eat their popcorn like this. It's amazing how much creativity is generated when 4 creative minds are constantly working together! Every day is certainly an adventure around here!

How Michael Sees the World

One day in mid-July, I taught Michael how to take pictures on our little Sony point and shoot camera and let him go around the house and take pictures. It was cute watching him, and fun to see how the world looks just a little different to someone who is barely three feet tall:

Ten-Day California Adventure

August 1: Pack. Get ride to Brian's work from Chelsea. Transfer luggage to Elantra. Drive to Mapleton. Transfer luggage and pack Pilot. Scarf some tacos. Drive to Vegas. Check into our $27 tax-included, breakfast included hotel; hope it isn't a dump. Find it isn't a dump. Go to bed relieved and grateful to be out of the car. 

 

August 2: Wake up, 

shower, re-pack, go to breakfast. Breakfast is AMAZING! Especially since it was included in our $27 room. Check-out. Load into Pilot. 

 Go to Hoover Dam to show Saville Parents and Michael the awesome new bridge. Try not to melt.

 Get back in car. Drive to Anaheim, California. Meet up with Ben, Jenny, Tyler, Alisa, Jared, Ella, Maiya, and Ethan. Eat dinner at Cheesecake Factory. Head to Brea to spend night at Will and Meagan's house.

August 3: Sleep in a little and head back to Anaheim and go to Disneyland with the fam that is in town.

 Meet up with Nat and John in the park. Take Michael on Smallworld.

 Go on tons of rides. Have a blast!

 Walk forever. Get lost. Finally get back to Pilot. Drive to Brea. Crash.

August 4: Meet back up with Saville parents. See Lara, Greg, and Julia. Drive to San Diego. Finish reading Devil's Arithmetic to everyone. Go crazy because of traffic. Finally get to beach house in Ocean Beach. Everyone is finally united, with Lea and Shayne Co. the last to arrive. Take no pictures.

August 5: Church. Visit to Beach.

Visit Mormon Battalion Visitor's Center in Old Town.

Emergency run to Wal*Mart to get ox out of mire. Make dinner. Hang out. Watch Olympics.

August 6: Spend the day at Mission Beach!

 Build a sandcastle.

 Do some Saville Olympics, including "50 Yard Dash"

 Long Jump,

 And soccer ball "Shot put". Go home exhausted.

August 7: Go to Sea World:

 Melt while watching kids too little to go on big rides and while saving seats for the Shamu show.

 Watch Shamu, the Dolphins, the Sea Lions, and Cirque dela Mar. Cool down in the Arctic exhibit.

 See the Penguins.

 Finally make it to Sesame Bay so Michael can go on some kid rides.

 Go to the Shamu Rocks show.

 Get splashed by the whales. Thank goodness we had ponchos!

 Go home exhausted.

August 8: Be lazy most of the day because we are so worn out. Finally get crew out the door to go to La Jolla. Stop to see the amazing San Diego Temple.

 Stop at the Children's Beach in La Jolla Cove and see three seals!

 Go home. Go on a spontaneous shopping trip to Ross with all the girls minus Jenny.

August 9: Take family pictures.

Say "Goodbye" to Ben, Jenny, Tyler and Ella who went on to spend the day at LegoLand, and Shayne, Hunter, and Cole who spent the day at Knott's Berry Farm. Load the rest of the crew into cars and go to tour the USS Midway.

Gain new appreciation for my dad's life on board a similar aircraft carrier when we visit the enlisted man's quarters.

Decide if we ever join the Navy, we're totally being officers.

Pretend to fly airplanes.

Pose in front of dental lab as a shout out to Dad.

Don't melt too much on the flight deck.

Go to Sea Port Village,eat lunch, and ride the carousel.

Go to Coronado Island, get a little lost on the way, and spend not nearly enough time boogie boarding.

Go back to the house, shower, pack, load the Pilot. Say "Goodbye" to everyone else, including our Saville parents, and then head for Las Vegas (about 8:30 p.m. Pacific Time by that point). Arrive in Vegas at 2:30 a.m. on August 10. Check into our $27 hotel bargain and crash.

August 10: Load back into the Pilot at around 9:15 a.m. Pacific Time, get breakfast, head North. Arrive at our house about 5:30 p.m. Mountain Time (Which means lose and hour). Shower. Eat food provided by Chelsea and Thomas. Head to Salt Lake to see WICKED!

 Totally exhausted--don't even take real camera--but totally enjoy the show! Come home and CRASH!!!

Oh, and favorite Michael quote from the trip: "Buckle me out!" He said this every time we'd stop somewhere.