The Pains of Homeownership

As last posted, we recently bought our first house. We've been here for two months and two days and have thoroughly enjoyed the perks of having a home: both cars in a garage therefore there's no scraping frost off in the morning, a large closet, 2 sinks in the master bathroom, a dishwasher, etc. However, this morning we awoke to the downside of owning a home. When things go wrong, you're in charge of fixing them.

Our backyard had flooded and there was water EVERYWHERE. Any place you couldn't see water, you'd step and sink into the ground because it was so soggy.

Immediately we were able to find the source of the leak. That entire area was bubbling.

Jonathan was able to reach his arm into the lawn and feel the pipes.

So, we pulled back the mud and scooped about 14 gallons of water out the hole.

Jonathan was tempted to drink some because it looked so much like chocolate milk.

Then, we found the problem. Not just a crack in the pipe, but the entire hose had come apart. No wonder it was bubbling.

So, after a lot of digging, a trip to Home Depot and a few new parts we thought we fixed the problem.

But we were wrong. Once we turned the water back on, it burst again. Within about 15 seconds we had a now bigger hole filled with water. Back to the beginning.

After two more trips to Home Depot , 8 hours of working on it, another burst pipe and some blistered hands we had replaced that line of sprinkler. For those of you who have worked with sprinklers before probably are laughing at how long this took us but neither of us had ever done this before so we learned a lot and felt proud of our work.

When we turned the water back on just before dark we were thrilled we didn't have another hole full of water. We do however still have a leak. Looks like we need to replace it again with a slightly different part. Next Saturday....unless the ground is covered in 2 feet of snow. Then it will have to wait until the Spring. But for now, the water is turned off.

***Yes, my camera is still missing and I don't think I'll ever get it back - these pictures were taken with our old camera which we replaced with the new camera that was stolen***

Homeowners

Today we became homeowners.

Camping

When I was about 4 years old, my parents made my sisters and I a house. My dad put it together with PVC pipe and my mom sewed a red and white cover for it. We loved to playing in this.

One night we decided to take the house into the backyard and sleep in it. We had only been out there a little while when we saw a shadow creeping near the house and heard a loud RROOAAARRRR! We all ran inside and needless to say we slept inside that night.

21 years later....I've never really been camping. Girls camp in Iowa consisted of cabins, a huge cafeteria, showers, a swimming pool, and stage complete with a costume closet. I only did girls camp in Utah one year and that was real camping, but I slept in my mom's suburban each night.

Last weekend was our ward campout. We decided to go and I must say camping isn't the worst thing in the world. Granted, it helped that another guy in the ward helped Jonathan set up the tent, we had four inch pads to sleep on, dinner was ready about 20 minutes after we got there (and we didn't have to do anything to get it ready) and breakfast was served as soon as we woke up (again, nothing we had to do). My favorite part was making a dessert for the campout :)

Happy Father's Day

Anyone who knows my father knows that he loves to golf. So, this year for Father's Day I thought I'd make a treat that highlighted his favorite past time. I'm pleased with how it turned out.

Happy Father's Day!

Busy

• A broken dryer
• Ongoing mouth surgery
• Dealing with insurance that is not paying for the ongoing mouth surgery
• A totaled car
• Buying a new car
• Dealing with insurance who should be paying for the new car
• Planning a 5 day family reunion for 38 people
• Presenting at a conference this summer with my principal
• Teaching a class on how to use a Word Wall to new teachers
• Moving classrooms and preparing for a new grade
• Hopefully purchasing our first home this summer
  
  I'm feeling very busy.

A Hassle

Jonathan got in a car accident today.

No one was hurt.

It wasn't his fault.

His car was towed away however. It happened on his way home from work. He was turning left onto our street and the other car was turning left onto State Street. Jonathan was in the turning lane and the other car just wasn't looking and drove right into him. It happened about 2 hours ago. It took about an hour for the tow truck to come. Jonathan is still on the phone with insurance companies. He did nothing wrong and now we have to spend a ton of time cleaning up the mess.

What a hassle. At least no one was hurt.

Moving Up

It's official. After being in first grade for three years I'm graduating and moving up.

Next year, I will be teaching 3rd grade.

I am SO excited. I'm excited for the opportunity to try a new grade, work with new people, learn a new core, read new stories, organize a new classroom, and perhaps have a few repeat students (in some cases).

Wish me luck!