International Days

This weekend is International days in Price. Thursday they had free swimming at the wave pool. So we took advantage.  Seth and Carter loved their water wings. Carter kept telling me deeper, deeper. Which is a huge difference from a few months ago when he would not even enter the water.

I had to drag the boys out of the water when it was time to go home. 

We had a great afternoon and they went to bed early because they were so warn out.

I had to drag the boys out of the water when it was time to go home. 

We had a great afternoon and they went to bed early because they were so warn out.

These boys love their water wings.

Little thumb.

Last week Thomas had the boys with him working at one of his parent rentals, while I went visiting teaching. When I got there this is one of the first things I saw. I thought that it was just so cute. 

Seth told me that he had pulled a knife out of Cater's hand and it had cut Carter's thumb, but that it was Daddy and Carter's fault (Thomas' fault for leaving the knife down and Carter's fault for playing with knives). 

Thomas applied presser to Carter's thumb for about 5 mins. Then he cut a rag and wrapped  it with the only tape he had, Painters tape. He then sat Carter on the counter and told him to keep his hand up in the cabinet to slow/stop the bleeding.  Then he cleaned the blood up off the kitchen floor.

Luckily Thomas found some hard, stale licorice for him to eat.  Since he had to suck on the licorice rather than chew it,  it kept him occupied a while.   He sat there with his hand up in the cupboard  for over an hour. What a good boy!  


We treated it each day with Neosporin and a fresh band aid.  Now it is nearly healed.  It barely even slowed him down.

Band aids or Electrical Tape

Little boys get plenty of bumps and bruises.  They think that everything needs a band aid.  They would go through a box of bandages in just a few days.  One time Thomas put some electrical tape on Seth's owie and  now we save the bandages for real cuts.  My dad gave us some blue electrical tape and it works great.  This morning Seth whacked his head and Carter just had to have his head taped too.

Cutting Out a Window

We needed a larger window in our basement bedroom.   It was quite a process to cut the foundation and get everything put back together. 

The small window was 12 inches tall and 30 inches wide.  Not nearly big enough to go out in case of a fire.  I bought a good sized window, 36 inches tall and 48 inches wide.  One good thing about cutting your own hole is that you can make it perfect for any size window.

Here I am after I made my first cut on the outside.  Then I measured and set up for the next cut.  The circular saw and diamond blade tore right through those cinder blocks.  I did not have to cut the top.  I just lined it up with the top of the old window and smashed out the thin extensions with a sledge hammer.

Second cut.  Very dusty.  Everything was going smoothly.  

Third and final cut on the outside.  My legs got tired from squatting down.  Every cut was a nice straight line.   Circular saws tend to cut straight, that made my job easier when it came time to install things later.  

This mask made this job bearable.  These masks are so much better than those other masks with the little bit of metal on the bridge of the nose.  These block 100% of the dust.  I felt great, even after a long day in a cloud of dust.

After I cut the inside edges, I used a sledge hammer to remove all the cinder block.  It was quite enjoyable.  It really let a lot of light into the room. 

After all the edges were cleaned with a chisel, I framed in a header.  All the boards fit snug and tight.  My dad gave me some house wrap to waterproof the window edges.  Tar and caulk will also help to keep all the water out.

Jennifer was a big help.  She kept the boys occupied while I worked.  She brought we water and miscellaneous tools.  She also took pictures to help me document the whole job.  

Here is the finished window.  I have one more little window to cut out.  I will do that one sometime later.  I am hoping to finish this bedroom before Jennifer has baby Keenan, so Seth and Carter can move downstairs.  This was one large step.  I now need to run a water line through the ceiling to the back of the house and a AC cooler line through the ceiling as well.  Then all it will need will be some sheet rock, paint and carpet.  Hopefully everything goes according to plan.

Piñata

We had the annual Jenson reunion in Price this year (again).  Mark and Linda were in charge and they did an awesome job.  We usually make the piñata based on that year's theme.  This year's theme was a carnival.    Here is the piñata that Jennifer made.  Silly clown.  She did a great job.  The kids loved beating this clown senseless.

Community Fireworks

This year, with all the fires across the state, Carbon County decided to NOT allow fireworks in residential areas.  They designated one location in the entire county where fireworks were allowed.  They had us go to Durrant Field and set them off on Veteran's Lane; between Durrant field and Price city cemetery. 

They had the road divided into section for different types of fireworks.  Two sections on either end for sparklers and ground fireworks.  The middle section was for aerials.  We heard from others that there was a 30 minute wait to launch off your aerials.  At first I thought that it was kind of a bother to have so many people around.  We kind of had to wait our turn to light our fireworks.  Then I realized it was a great thing to have all these people and their fireworks being lit where my kids could see them.  Other people paid and I got to enjoy them for free.  I mostly bought flowers and some crackling surprises.  We spent $10 in all, but had hundreds of dollars worth of fun.

Seth held his first sparkler.  He was not wanting to hold a sparkler in his hand when he first saw it.  Who can blame this kid?  Those things burn at 3000 degrees F.  Then when he saw other kids with them, he decided to give it a try.  He wrote his name in the air.  Then he wrote Dad and Mom.  Then Carter and then he attempted to write Keenan; we have not practiced that one yet.  

Price City Police were there.  Price City Fire Department was there with its firetrucks ready to put out any fires.  They were directing where different types of fireworks were to be lit.  A few times people lit aerials in the ground fireworks section and the firefighters got after them and told them not to do that again.  

Seth and Carter were a little scared of the fireworks at first, but soon found them to be fun.  We had a great time.