Well, we did it. We tiled our floor, and I (and my family) survived Girl's Camp for an entire week.

First for the tiling. We did it, we did it, and it is done! A sense of accomplishment even like unto graduating college. Unfortunately, I did not have my camera to take pictures of the work in progress, but I do hope to post some pre-tile pictures from when we bought our house and some post-tile pictures. The difference is amazing and beautiful. While not perfect, (and I am a perfectionist), we did a good job. While we both cleared and cleaned the existing floor area (yucky linoleum), Kevin became the expert in tiling, and I became the expert in cutting tile using a wet-saw. (I did feel cool mastering my first real power tool.) It just took practice and a even touch. If anyone ever thinks about tiling themselves, we would both say do it, while also giving some helpful quick tips. I learned that it is valuable to wear a hat while using a wet-saw or you will spend a good 30-40 minutes combing tiny pieces of tile out of your hair before you take a shower. And, it is important to wear junk clothes, maybe even a plastic apron, as the saw covers you in clay colored mist that goes through your shirt onto your underclothes. I also learned that when using the saw outside in the sun, cover your neck... (my first real sunburn of the season). I think Kevin would say that it is important to mix your mortar really well so there are no lumps and it is nice and smooth. He may even recommend using a power drill with a mixing paddle attachment (which we did not have). I believe he also mentioned that it is important not to lay too much mortar, because it may make your tile stick up higher than other tiles. Really, it is just important to be consistent in how your doing things.

We are sooooooo grateful for the many people that stopped by to help us and give us a boost of encouragement: Brandon for getting us started, Aaron for helping clean mortar and giving Kevin someone more interesting to talk too, John for figuring out a nifty way to measure tiles for cutting, GR and Bob for getting us moving and providing moral support, Matt for learning how to grout for the first time while my mom was looking over his shoulder, Rob for making sure that we were doing everything right, and finally my mom who had the energy to clean the grout off the tiles so well that we only needed to clean them 1 extra time ourselves AND David my brother (who just moved in from Albuquerque) who pretty much sealed all the grout and came up with time-saving, nifty hair tools to do it with. We also want to thank Irina for making us a full home-cooked spread. (We certainly got tired of microwave food.) We couldn't have done it without them. (Well, I guess we could of, but it would have taken us about a month instead of one week....)

All in all, tiling is VERY tedious and HARD work. We spent many nights up until 2 or 4 am finishing something so we could move forward the next day. As long as you know that and resign yourselves to it without hard feelings, it can certainly be accomplished. (I also know that my prayers for strength and energy were often answered.) I have even noticed a great patience for tedium I picked up because of this project. You can imagine how handy that patience becomes in everyday life, waiting in lines, big piles of laundry to sort/fold, piles of dishes, organizing garages, and sometimes a greater patience in steering William, though at times tiredness took over and there was little room for error... :) (It even helped me in Girl's Camp.) So, 280 sq. ft down, 75 to go. Easy sailing from here. We are still planning on tiling our 2 bathrooms to match, and then hopefully we can take a breather. Who knows, maybe a back splash someday... (but, maybe not...).

Well, I'll have to save Girl's Camp for tomorrow. I actually get a little time to spend with my hubby, and I better take it. We have only had minutes here and there this past week, and without a little time together we both tend to get grumpy. So see you soon.

Gaia

Oh, yeah. And, after going to bed at 11:30 on the 4th, the kids and I got up the next morning and went berry picking with our playgroup at 9:30. (We even left a little bit before Kevin...) We were a little tired (when it was planned we kind of forgot about the 4th), but it's the only picking we get this year because of early frosts. We can't believe it, but there will be NO apple picking in the fall, or any other fruit for that matter. It's sad since we have made it kind of a tradition the last 2 years or so to go as a family. At least we'll still have the pumpkin patch, I think...

And, not only did we go berry picking, but we got to talking about swimming while we were sweating like pigs picking berries in the sun. So, later that evening, minus Kevin who was out with the missionaries, we all went to the indoor pool with Kelly, Eric, Chris, Lori, and kids. We had a blast. William LOVES his uncle Eric helping to teach him how to swim, Kate LOVES swimming in the water (I even dunked her a few times), and Ava had fun catching Kate at the bottom of the kiddy slide. It really is so nice to be able to get our families together. While at times I think I am ready to be done with Lawrence and move on, at other times I think of what we would be missing having our kids grow up together. Already, they love playing with each other and are fast friends (granted they are still learning how to share). It's fun to imagine how they will be when they are older.

Anyway, that really is everything I think. We are having a busy summer, but loads of fun. And, I want to be sure William gets to do all these fun things before it's time to go to school in August. He will be going to the all day kindergarten in just a little more than a month (Wow, I can't believe it will be so soon.) I am so reluctant to let him go off and grow up, but I know he is ready and he wants to. I will work hard at making sure the school keeps up with him, and that he is continually progressing. We will give it a go. As much as I will miss him, I know he is ready to go out into the (kindergarten) world and make a difference. I am not easy on him, and he is a good son. He is loving and kind at heart and loves the gospel. He can easily be polite and well-mannered. He will probably be even more so for his teachers at school. We love him dearly, and he is a great big brother. It's hard to ask for more.

Again, I know the gospel is true. The peace in our life is real and lasting. I am so thankful to have that light in our lives.

Gaia

I am sooooo tired today. We have either been having too much fun or doing too much work without taking time in between. It's turning out that July is my least favorite month because it has too many fun things to do. :) (Luckily, it is all worth it.)

To begin with, William had swimming lessons for 2 weeks straight at the end of June. He loved it, and I loved that he got to get out every day, even playing at the park most days afterwards. (So far, the weather while hot at times has not been killer. Overall, it has been a mild and wet summer.) He took Level 1 and is really comfortable going underwater and jumping in the pool now. He begged me to sign him up for Level 2, but classes downtown were full, and I didn't think I could take another 2 weeks of being gone every morning. (The house definitely missed me...)

Continuing on, our ward had a church BBQ with contests and games June 23. We had a 4th of July breakfast, with Kevin in charge of making pancakes, 4th of July dinner with the Schellman's at our house, 4th of July fireworks at GR's, (He has a commercial license, and it was AWESOME.), and we got together with a big group of friends from church and rented out the Baldwin swimming pool July 7th (Also awesome. I even got to do practice a little springboard diving from my past).

Now, amidst all this fun, some friends and I had planned a garage sale on June 30. We went all out, borrowed tables, put an ad in the paper, and organized all our stuff neatly to sell off. We stayed up late and got up early, only to find that it was raining, and continued to rain the entire day. We didn't give up though, and held our garage sale inside the garage and were surprised at how many people actually did come, many before we were actually open. Things died out eventually though, and we decided to leave everything where it was and have a sale the following weekend (yesterday). The weather was beautiful (getting warmer though!), and we did well selling off many of our things. We packed things up, sending leftovers to various families or goodwill, and I finally got to clean up and put my car back in the garage. (I have always said that if we can't fit our cars in the garage, we have too much stuff). Afterwards, we headed off to our pool party.

So, it has been a FUN and tiring few weeks. We are also officially tiling our house starting this weekend, definitely tons of work, but I know it will be beautiful. I also feel great getting things marked off our big to do list. While we LOVE our home, it is work to keep up with the house. Next, it will be on to painting the outside... :)