Our Deck

Trenton has been working SOOO hard building our new deck. I knew that would be the case from the moment I said, "Hey Trenton, I think we finally have the budget to build a new deck!" Immediately the wheels in his brain began turning and he drew, and re-drew plans for this deck as if he were the architect for the Taj Mahal. I would be talking to him and realize his eyes were glazed over and he would just blurt thoughts about the deck during movies, or church. Needless to say, I am glad that it is coming along so well-for more reasons than one. We have had so much help from Darrel, Tad, and Steve. We can't thank you enough. Okay-so here are some pictures of the progress.

 Looks okay from a distance as it was, but it was very poorly built, not up to code, and the wood was rotting. We are rebuilding with composite decking.

Tad and Trenton spent a Saturday ripping down the deck. I couldn't believe how fast it came down. Granted-I wasn't the one out there working. This picture gives you a better idea of the condition of the wood.

Trenton came home from work one day-he didn't even change out of his work clothes, and just started beating away at the concrete slab that was covered with this stupid AstroTurf. I guess pounding something with a sledgehammer is good way to relieve stress...and it was productive. He had it all broken in a half-hour!

Darrel and Tad helped Trenton with the foundation (I would have gotten a picture of Darrel too but he tends to flip off the camera).

Steve helped Trenton the last few days and so much has been done in such a short amount of time!

Getting there...

Major progress...

We'll keep you posted!

Babies

My sister Shannon and her husband Steve are going to have a BABY!  We are so happy for you guys!  This is the first picture of "Baby Foote."   Isn't she/he cute?

St. Patty's day was really nice this year. Emma woke up to a trail of gold leading from our front door to a "pot of gold" in our family room that was left by a leprechaun, I had a brunch with some ladies from the relief society, and then we had a traditional corned beef, cabbage, and potato dinner. It was a beautiful, sunny day.

Ben is 7 months now. He has given crawling a try a couple times, but doesn't seem all that interested yet. He loves to stand though. I can only imagine how that must be-going from a very narrow view of the world (mostly carpet) to the panoramic view that standing provides. He has also started eating cheerios, every pureed fruit, vegetable, meat, and grain you can think of, and he says "mama" and "dada". He blows raspberries, laughs at everything, and waves. I can't believe how much can change in a month.

Meet our new cat- Lexi. We rescued her from the shelter a while ago and I'm just now getting around to posting a picture of her. She's the perfect pet for the kids-totally relaxed, lets them pull on her, comforts Emma during nap time, and uses the litter outside. She's cuddly, and fat, and gets along with Shelby (our dog). Best of all-she doesn't seem to want to escape like Turtle did. She has even gone outside and made her way back. She knows she's got it good and doesn't want to ruin that. Thank goodness.

Emma is 27 months now. She is growing and learning at the speed of light. The thing that surprises me most is her vocabulary. It has exploded in the last month. She was a very quiet baby and now I know she was just listening and absorbing so that she could really use her voice when she got it. The other day we were in the car and I heard from the back seat, "Mommy-I want to drink blood." Obviously my mind went through all sorts of possibilities but then she continued, "Charlotte drinks blood." She was talking about the spider in Charlotte's Web. Adorable! And then she recently started using the word "maybe" a lot. As in, "Maybe we can go to the park later?" Or, "It's upstairs, maybe?" Just yesterday she started using this any time I ask her to do something- "Emma's busy." Everything ends in, "I can't...Emma's busy." That must be a sign that I say that too often. She is also memorizing books. I had no idea until she shushed me the other day and proceeded to "read" me the story. I find myself feeling giddy almost every day because I realize something new about her. I LOVE MY BABIES!

Love,

Janet, Trenton, Emma, and Ben