illumination

Border on the driveway got poured yesterday.  Brian spent the entire day with the electrician working out bugs. 

I caught Weston singing. 

And some pictures Brian took of the house recently.  The roof is done...just need to take off the spare tiles.  This is from the front of the house looking at the garages.  The second one is looking at the side of the house.

This is the back yard...looking at the back patio.

The wet bar in the Master with finished Marble.  And finally some flooring getting put in.  Travertine in the Master bath.  You can see the nice vanity is done and Brian's gargantuan tub as well.  GETTING CLOSE!

I came accross this as I was packing.  Serra has a logical mind.  She was probably wondering why they were asking her such a dumb question. 

Weston's two front teeth finally came in a few days ago and he is working on the two beside them.  Poor kid.  He's a trooper though and doesn't fuss much, just drools a LOT. 

My office is packed.   The girls room is packed.  I took a break yesterday so the girls could go swimming.  Serra decided she knew how to swim and is like a little fish in the deep end now. 

The house:  The granite is finished.  The cabinets are getting their final tweak today.  The power is in (only 28 plugs don't work)  I don't envy the dude that has to climb into the attic to figure out the problems.  There are over 100 plugs so that job gets a C.  The plumbing fixtures are done except for the ones with missing pieces.  The tile will be done Saturday.  The driveway will be done this weekend as well.  The wood floor go in early next week with the carpeting to follow.  There are some drainage issues on the outside that have to be dealt with to pass inspection.  The fences need to be raised a bit.  We are looking/hoping for a move in not this weekend but the next.  Serra starts school Monday so we will have at least a week of some interesting scheduling and commuting. 

I hate moving.  My life is chaos right now and so I feel like I am wearing my underwear on the outside.  I did get released on Sunday so that freed up some of my time.  My heart is a little heavy though. 

I can officially run for President of the United States now...and not a moment too late.  Just turned 35.  Weird.  Brian and the girls treated me really nice all day and Wes only barfed on me twice.  Brian arranged for food so I didn't have to cook.  He also got me some beautiful Irises (?)  and a CD/DVD of the Josh Groban concert we went to in April last year.  Mom gave me a puzzle of Logan but the coolest part of it is the box it's in.  I am a lover of cool boxes in case you didn't know.  Brian is actually taking me to dinner and a movie tonight for extra celebration.  We don't get to see movies very often so we use birthdays for an excuse to see one.  I think Batman is on the ticket tonight.   

We are within days of moving and have I started packing yet?   No...  I am kind of in denial and since we don't actually have a date yet I don't want to be living in a pile of boxes in the mean time.  I will start this week.   I will start this week...

Brian got released from his calling as Exec. Secretary yesterday.  It came as a surprise to both of us.  They rushed it because our high council dude was going to be out of town for the next few weeks and the bishop didn't want to have a gap.  I was close to tears all day as I am having a hard time with leaving this ward.  Brian getting released made it a reality.  I'm getting released next week.  Hopefully I can prepare myself this week so I don't fall apart when it happens. 

The house looks amazing.  The cabinets are in.  The granite is being finished today.  The plumbing fixtures are being put in this week.  The flooring has been started and hopefully will get wrapped up this week.  The stucco and painting is all done.  The roof is done.  Serra starts school on the 25th so our goal is as close to that day as possible.  Instead of packing we have been doing a lot of shopping trying to find good deals on the things we need for the house.  The kids love it when I tell them that's what we are doing for fun that day.  Actually as a reward for being such good sports for the last few weeks I took them to the mall on Saturday (which they LOVE) and let them pick out something at Claires...girly stuff, and dream at the Disney Store.  Baby Wes just chilled in the stroller and passed on the opportunity by napping most of the time. 

I totally forgot to mention that I bought a piano.  I had $1000 saved up for one and have been keeping a close eye on craigslist.  When a cute little spinet popped up for $50 I couldn't resist.  It is in pretty good shape but needs a few hundred dollars worth of repairs.  Completely worth it.  I also had $500 set aside for a dresser for the girls but found an antique one for $40.  Pictures later (Maybe in a few months when we are moved)

The kids and I took a trip back up to Utah the last week of July with the intention of picking up a year or more supply of beef.  The trucker that was bringing it in at no extra charge was behind schedule and so had to do his paid jobs first.  We aren't sure when it is going to get to Ogden but we will figure it out when it gets here.  Good part about it was we got to spend an extra week in the north.  I can't say it was much cooler than Vegas although it actually cooled down in the evenings...and breakfast on the deck every morning was delightful.  We were so glad we got to go to Bear Lake for the day and spend some time in the lake.  It's been nearly 15 years for me and a first for my kids.  I am still amazed that Doug found his glasses on a moonless night at the bottom of Porcupine Dam after losing them cliff jumping later that day.  I am even more amazed that he found more than one pair. 

In the meantime....Weston is 7 months old today.  He is able to roll over when pressed but is such a mellow dude he is content to just lay there smiling.  He sits like a champ and loves to play while sitting.  Poor little dude is working on his 4 upper front teeth and has some miserable moments.  They have been sooooo close all this last week but just refuse to break through the skin.  He has moved from sweet potatoes on the menu to chicken and vegetables in the hopes that he will sleep longer at night.  I don't know if it is the teeth or just him trying to maintain his thick form but the kid is up every 3 hours wanting to eat.  Two nights of chicken dinners haven't helped.  Guess I just need to go to bed earlier to allow for the interuption.  It's hard though with the Olympics on.  We really get into the swimming and gymnastics.  Brian and I were hollaring out loud last night as the Freestyle relay team with Michael Phelps beat the Frenchies who had been talking trash.  AWESOME!  Our kids just kind of look at us like we are nuts. 

On the Rosie frontier...POTTY TRAINED.  She does really well and even wore panties on the trip to and from Utah without any troubles.  She is a handful that looks at me and tells me no when I ask her to take her bike back outside.  She refers to it as "my ride".  It even gets brought upstairs occasionally.  It's a little Cinderella scooter that I found at DI for $4 and the kid loves it but unfortunately likes to ride it inside where there is a longer stretch than the back patio.  She does respond to threats but it would be nice if she would obey just when I asked.  I guess she's two and we'll work on it. 

Weston has been left on his tummy too long and is madder than a hatter so this is it for me. 

UPDATED:

 So much is happening on the house right now it's hard to know where to begin.  Cabinets should be finished by the end of the week.  The colored stucco is being put on right now.  The power is getting its permanant wires on the outside from the street, and the gas company is supposed to be there today to get that done too.  Brian's soaker tub is in.  The painters showed up and there were so many people there they said they would come back tomorrow then it's less crowded.  Brian sent me this one by his phone yesterday.  This is the main cabinet wall in the kitchen.  As you can see some of the painting has been done as well.  Anyway, I am hoping to stop by tomorrow before I leave for Utah.  That's right folks.  I am headed North again, this time to pick up beef.   I bought a whole cow for $175.  I am splitting it with the family, but we should be set for a while in the beef department. 

The far wall is where the cooktop and giant hood are going.  You can see the progress on the island there in the middle as well.  The granite we liked for the kitchen turned out to be $40/sq. foot.  So we have someone looking for some remnants of it.  If we can't find it for half that cost we will have to choos another.

this is the wet bar in the master bedroom.  We will actually have a fridge in the opening there...which I think is absurd but we are doing this to sell it...and appartently folks like that.  I personally will be using the bar area as a changing table. 

The entry from the garage...the begining of lockers and a bench.   And more of the kitchen.

Here is a shot of the color going on the house.  The brown is the color not the gray. 

I recently took pictures of Amy Jo's little girl, Jillian...and a few of Weston for their six month birthdays.  Adriane stopped in to add Violet to a few group shots as well.  She is almost 5 months old. 

Here's Jillian with the infamous flower hat.  I also did a photo shoot yesterday and used it again. 

Three cousins semicooperative.  Wes was chillin' the whole time.  The girls took turns being fussy.  But as you can see we got one where no one is crying .  Victory!  Jill and Violet are the same size with nearly 2 months between them.  Weston has them both beat by a mile. 

Your's looks good...let me have a go at it.

Cuddles

Nice cleavage Wes.  Time for a new shirt. 

Officially six months old. 

Rosie is what I like to call semi-potty trained.  She will go days without an "accident"  and even take naps and go shopping in panties.  But when we are at home and she just doesn't feel like going to the bathroom to do her duties she reverts back to her evil ways.   I am still pleased with her progress.  By the way, her latest quirk is self diapering.  She insists on putting on her night time diaper herself.  She actually does a good job and it's one less thing for me.  Way to go Rosie. 

Serra was assigned to give the scripture and prayer in primary last week.  I was so proud of her.  She memorized it and give it flawlessly.  She has now declared she would like to memorize one each week in FHE...her goal being the ENTIRE body of scripture.  She has 4 down...and only a million to go.   We have been working on the articles of faith.  When she finishes there we will work on the seminary scripture mastery.  That should take us a while. 

The house is getting paint today I believe and we may be the ones actually holding up the cabinet people.  We want to get the paint in before the cabinets go in and that is supposed to be Thurs/Fri.  Anyway...back up a few weeks. 

The last week in June I headed northward to Palisade Lake in Southern Utah where the Brower reunion was to be held this year.  It took us about 6 hours and was a nice drive with the kids behaving nicely.  Soon after pulling in to the campground I left the kids with relatives for a moment while I went and checked into our accommodations.  WHAT!  I didn't bring a tent to rough it with the rest of the family?  Shocker...NOT!  I didn't think I would enjoy spending more money to buy camp equipment and then have to spend the night in a tent with my 3 small children and hordes of mosquitos.  Ask anyone who was there...I made the RIGHT choice.  The Bed and Breakfast was lovely...if you like late 70's deco and frequent power outages.  The price was right though, the breakfast was tasty, and we had plenty of hot water, and a king size bed.  I thought it was fun. 

For the next few days we hung out and played with cousins, mini cousins, aunts, uncles, and siblings.  We ate, rode on a stage coach, square danced (or watched while trying to keep cool in my case), ate more, swam, rafted in the lake, and tried to keep the little ones from drowning.  It was pretty fun. 

Shayla's 3rd child, Monson was baptized on Saturday and we had a sacrament/testimony meeting on Sunday.  Both were pretty cool and a little out of the ordinary.  All in all a good time. 

We headed to Logan on Sunday afternoon.  Katrina was the lucky sibling from Gary's family chosen to come with us to spend the week and the grandfolks so she rode with us.  Serra was in heaven. 

We spent the week in Cache Valley eating popsicles mostly trying to keep cool.  Julie, Katrina, and I hit a few antique stores and found a few treasures. 

I picked up Brian and Adriane at the airport on Wednesday and after dropping Adriane at the cabin in Park City took Brian with me back to Happy Valley. 

We celebrated the 4th together as a family and with my family in style.  2 firework shows, a program that Dad sang in, and a parade in Paris Idaho.  Small towns do it right.  The parade was awesome yet so small that when the parade got to the end of the street they turn around and come back so there are two parades going on at once.  Awesome. 

We left from Paris and drove through Wyoming back to Park City where we spent the next 2 days with Brian's family reunioning.  The kids spent most of the time taking turns on the 4 wheeler.  We pretty much sat around and chatted the whole time. 

We had Katrina with us and so dropped her off in Ceder City on our way home.  About 5 minutes after leaving the Arnells.  Rosie hollars out, "Where's Trina."  I guess she got used to having her around. 

We made it home and we are scorching here in Vegas once again. 

Here is Serra and Weston cuddling in our lovely room at the Cedar Crest Inn.

The Inn had a lovely view. 

My girls wearing borrowed bonnets for the stagecoach ride. 

Serra got to ride up top.  Sounded bumpy to me.

One of Shayla's girls...Lexi?

Taking turns on the paddle boat. 

Roaming Rosie

Izzie and Rosie...more alike than not. 

Weston was frequently seen in the Bumbo.

Did I mention that there were snakes and fish in this lake.  I wonder if that would have made a difference had she known.

Rosie gets a ride and is sporting a life jacket that is older than her mother and would not save her life had she fallen in. 

Serra and Gary square dancing.  Nice water wings. 

Rosie just can't get enough of herself. 

The girls enjoy a nice breakfast. 

Is this not the perfect summer shot?

What my kids look like while traveling. 

Serra and her new puppy.

Serra would love to have one of these kittens.  Sorry Serra, kittens grow up.  So do puppies Rosie.

Weston likes to bounce a lot and Pop is the best place to do it. 

Gathered for fireworks on the Hyper field.

Moving on to the Paris parade.

Rosie isn't concerned with the parade at this point. 

The kids kept busy with crafts at the cabin. 

Serra and Maiah

Rosie loves to read and you could find her right here most of the time at the cabin.  Serra and Katrina were elsewhere, however. 

Minutes later she was zonked.  Rosie has a soft spot for Grandmas and Grandpas and loves to lap cuddle if one is around. 

Three Burts.  Brian Burton, Weston Burton, and the original Burton.

Wes and his cousin Violet. 

I know I need to update on our last Utah trip but I need to get these pictures up ASAP since by Monday they will be outdated.  It's amazing how fast everything is moving at this point.  Brian and I have finalized the interior and exterior colors and they will start painting next week.  I took these shots last Monday when they finished mudding.  Since then the primer coat is now on.  Our cabinets will be in next week as well.  (Or so they say)

This is looking at the kitchen/great room from the patio door.  You can see the entrances to the Formal Dining Room/Living Room, Brian's office, and the Master Suite.  (I like calling them things like...The Master Suite...it sounds cool. )

This is standing in the backyard where the pool will be looking at the patio area.  Shown in the right corner is Brian's giant soaker tub.  That will not be it's permanant location. 

Serra stands in Weston's room.  You can see the bathroom and closet. 

There isn't a great place to take a picture of the girls room, but here Serra is in her room anyway.

Here is the Kitchen looking toward the Great Room.  Imagine a flat screen TV above the fireplace in the far corner.  You can see the entrance to the Master Suite really well in this shot.  Why didn't I take any pictures of the Master Suite?  I was scorching hot and I wanted to get back to the airconditioned car.  The house will soon be closed up and the air will start running while they install the wood floors. 

...But you can see some of the detail of the ceilings in the Kitchen and Great Room areas.  There will be indirect lighting and some fancy paint work going on here. 

This is the formal dining room/living room.  There is a fireplace in the middle of the floor ready to install.  There is a story behind that beast.  Brian tore out a good fireplace during a remodle.  The owner gave it to him.  It was in good condition and so it sat in our garage for 18 months...taking up a LOT of room.   Finally Brian took it out of my garage and installed it here.  The city inspector would not let it pass though because the manufacturer is no longer in business and we can't get an owners manual for it.  We had to purchase a new one for this room.  What a waste.  So they actually had to tear out the other one and are in the process of putting in the new one.  It has a  new bright shiney owners manual.  (Other than that it's pretty much the same as the other one)

This will be the court yard area that leads to the front door. 

This is the very front of the house and also the side of Brian's garage.  I say Brian's garage because I have a separate garage that Brian isn't allowed to store any construction equipment in.  That's right ladies. 

And I know that some of you aren't all that interested in construction stuff so here is a cute picture of the boy so your time here wasn't wasted. 

Buckets of Poo...Sensitive folks do not read on...

Sometimes being the Mom or the only parent at home at that moment is the bad things to be.  Rosie woke up screaming this morning.  She woke up with a bucket of runny poo spilling out of her diaper.  It was everywhere.  She proceeded to walk down the hallway spreading the wealth as she went.  Thank goodness for HooverSteam Vac and enzyme cleaners, not to mention a washing machine.  She has been sooooo good about potty training this week including two naps and a shopping trip with panites on.  It finally clicked with her and I think we finally got over the hump of the learning curve.  Anyway, we obviously need to keep diapers on at night even if they don't always contain the contents she is capable of producing.  Is it true that someday I will look back and.....no, not possible.