Productive

Chloe made a comment to me that this has been our most productive week ever. I don't know about that (we did work really hard when we first moved here), but we have got our butts in gear and accomplished many things last week. We got our smoke alarms, carbon monoxide detectors, and fire extinguisher installed so we can now feel safe. Finished the master bedroom, and got it all cleaned up and put back together. Finished the last little bit Sophie's room needed, where her door got messed up. We got Chloe's fan back (from our house in Centerville -- more on that in a minute), so that is now installed, finished putting up her stars and planets. She hung up her giant poster (now her room feels REALLY small). We even got her moldings put up, but I haven't got them painted yet. The stairs are almost ready for painting (I said almost). I got several boxes cleaned out of the guest room. Lots of little things, as you can see, but they add up. I think we may get there yet.

So, yeah, we had to go to Centerville to check our tenant out (he finally got married), and get the new guy moved in. Of course, they were doing it at the same time! It was a mess. We made sure the new tenant knew that he was not going to get Chloe's ceiling fan. That was a big mistake we made last time. We forgot, so we promised her we'd get it when he moved out. We couldn't have used it in Lehi anyway, so all is well. But here's a funny story. When we pulled up to "our" house, there were some kids playing in the front yard. They quickly disappeared. I thought they had gone inside, but no one would answer the door when we knocked. Not wanting to barge into "our" house, we decided to start our inspection outside. As we walked around a strange lady comes up to us and introduces herself. Then she says, "And you are the Nicholls!" Not used to people telling me who I am, but also not surprised that she knows who owns the house -- but then she says, "You are famous." Really? She asked me, "You're a photographer, aren't you?" Yeeess (say that really slow). "I've seen your work." Oh. Now I feel like I should just be flattered.

Brandon had a birthday. We squeezed in a little celebration. This was the best year yet. As always, the topic of Halloween came up. I told Sophie I got to have my sugar free year, so now that she's seen it both ways it was up to her to choose. She decided at first she wanted to reuse a costume we had so we wouldn't have to buy a new one, and just go to a few houses on our street. Then she came back one day and said she'd like to find out what our friends do who don't eat sugar. So, we went and asked them. No surprise, they do nothing. It's about more than sugar. She takes her family away from it all. And ever since then Sophie lost all interest. As a mom I do all I can to teach my kids correct principles, but it is amazing what only one other person can do to reinforce those teachings and really make it stick. I've seen it time and time again. So, we had a birthday celebration and that was enough. Brandon had picked a restaurant he wanted to go to, but when we got there they were closed. No sign or explanation why. There is another one in Orem, so we decided it would be worth it to drive down there. They were closed too, but they left a note stating that they closed early for Halloween. So, we ended up at his second choice. When we got there it was so dark we thought they had closed too, but they just had shades drawn. We got some food (really late), and then went home to a cake that Chloe had made.



This past weekend I took Sophie to a mother/daughter retreat for homeschoolers up at Bear Lake. Chloe didn't want to come (for those wondering). I think she was looking forward to some alone time with her dad. They are a good team and got much accomplished while we were gone. Soph and I just hung out together. We met a few new people, but mostly played lots of pool, ping pong, and basketball. Then we went to visit my grandma on our way home, and stopped to see Melanie.



My husband has been in San Francisco all week, but he comes home today. We've enjoyed sleeping in, but we've missed him a lot. Now I have to go get everything in order to welcome him home.