Ta da!

It begins.



They really started building the house today! By the end of the day we have this report:



Footings about half dug.



Forms about a fourth put in place.



Large chunk of patio concrete carted away! The reports that they may have actually poured concrete for the footings were just wild rumors. Oh well.



YAY!

No princesses allowed!

Goldilocks was banished for a few weeks more. Poor kid. She's just too good at getting her petticoats all muddy.

Spring snow and rain produce mud, and we've had a lot of it! For a few weeks now the goal has been to dry out the property so the footings can be put in, and the weather has not cooperated. My parents spent hours and hours and hours and... well, a lot of mud-filled hours, shoveling snow and vacuuming out water and mud off a huge tarp that they made to fit the footprint of the house.

My kids and Ben & Carrie's kids went and helped a few times.

Their favorite part was dumping the muddy water down the driveway.

Hunter got so muddy that his shoes were soaked through. He wanted to throw away his socks, but I assured him they could be washed. I've seen worse.

It was hard work, and some water still leaked under the tarp (water is good at doing that sort of thing) but it saved a lot more from soaking in to the ground where it would just make more mud and further delay construction.

Delays=bad. Exercise=good. Arthritis=bad. Someone needs to tell my parents they are old. They won't believe you, but it will give them an opportunity to explain why their knees hurt. My knees hurt, too, but I can't use that excuse with them around.

Finally the weather has dried up enough that Dennis says he may be able to put in the footings tomorrow - Thursday, March 15th. No one is holding their breath, but we're all still hoping.

Ants!

It's not a movie, but we wish it were. Our little rental home has been invaded by carpenter ants. The exterminator says their nest could be anywhere within 200 feet yards of the house - which means it could be two several houses away! He put a lot of poisoned ant honey all over and says the ants will eat it, take it back to feed the queen, and it will kill the nest. We hope they all die very, very, soon. Painful deaths that match the horror of finding an ant crawling across your lip in the middle of the night. Die ants! Die!

Why we are grateful

This is where we pause and give thanks that all we have to worry about is mud, storage bills, and burned furniture.

Deseret Morning News
Explosion kills 2: Gas leak blamed for fiery blast
Story by Sara Israelsen and Alison Snyder
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Two people were killed Tuesday in an earth-rattling explosion that sparked a roaring blaze at a home ...(story here)