The Joys of Home Ownership...

Our dishwasher was installed incorrectly and it has been steadily leaking since the day we moved in - drip, drip, drip, drip - you get the picture. We don't have a lot of need for our basement and the room that it was leaking into is a soundproofed room with extra layers of drywall in insulation. Needless to say, it has been dripping for a little more than two months and we have never noticed. Some friends came to visit on Saturday and commented about the bubble in our ceiling. We'd never seen it but we are really glad that it was discovered before we left on our vacation.
This mess, pulled from our ceiling, is some of the wet drywall and insulation that has been getting more and more wet over the last two months.
This is the "carefully" cut whole made in our ceiling by the plumber in an attempt to find the problem.
Doesn't it look like he was careful?
And this is just some of the mess that he left for us to clean up and also the point that I stopped taking pictures. We had to put the camera away when the ceiling started to rain and pour because at that point it wasn't just about a good story and a little fun - it was a FREAKING disaster.

Several hours of cleaning and re-cleaning have passed and we have given the plumber $240 to fix the problem - too bad that doesn't fix the sopping carpet, the drenched pad, the hole in the ceiling or the insulation.

But it does mean that we can leave on our trip without worrying about a leak in our home and that we will come home to a dry basement. The other stuff will just have to wait...

And we own this...

And now, we own this too! We have now have no car payment which is so exciting and I love that feeling!

Maybe one day we'll own our degrees too...I don't know what we'll do with ourselves when we aren't paying student loans but I can tell you this we will be taking a trip to celebrate! Little by little we're chipping away at that too...

For the first time....I feel....WICKED!

Yep - we saw it!
Yep - it was amazing!
No - it wasn't our first time!
No - I didn't kill mr. wiggles in front of me (even though I really really wanted to)!
Yep - we love Missy for getting our tickets!
Yep - we recommend you see it!

I really think they should have a Wicked sing-a-long that we can all go to because I can barely force myself to sing in my head when I see Wicked! You too, huh?

He's Home

You can bet that we were really excited to pick Elder Hansen up from the airport this past Friday. He served faithfully for two years in South Korea. He is our youngest brother and we love him and are so glad that he is home! Mom was probably the most excited and glad that he was coming home...We picked up these balloons at Granite Bakery when we were picking up all the goodies to have at that house when he got home. We painted, laid new carpet, cleaned and cleaned and cleaned to get ready for his arrival. This was our first glimpse of the cutest missionary ever! Mom and son ran into each other's arms...
Then dad greeted him...
And he was so glad that Grandpa and Grandma made it to welcome him home!
And the brothers have now all finished faithfully serving their missions! The last of the three - home at last.
Mom and Dad with Nick.
We really are so glad that he has returned and he is just the same as he has always been. He is funny, telling jokes and the boys have already been chasing each other through the house like he had never been gone. He is glad to have ice, peanut butter, cereal and ice cream. He is having a hard time sitting on the couches and sleeping in his bed.
Conference weekend is a good weekend for him to come home. He is surrounded by family and friends and will have a spiritual weekend. Also, he met a Korean couple in the airport and it was fun to watch him bow and hear a little Korean.
Welcome Home Nick - we sure are glad you have returned!