Julianna Gets an Early Christmas Present!

My sister Amanda called me last week and told me that someone in Payson was giving away a piano for free on KSL. Well usually things like that are gone, but after some encouragement, I called. The guy said that others had called, and that we could not get it that night anyway, and to call back in the morning. I asked him how early I could call. He said about 8 am.




















Well I called him around 7:45, and he said that he was heading over to the storage place, and that the other guy had not made arangements yet, but whoever got there first got the piano. Ryan, who had the day off, and I went in the car and truck separately, since Mr. Safety thought Julianna would be the safest in the car. (Even a small piano will not fit into a Camry.) We drove to the storage unit, not even knowing if we had a chance to get it. As we pulled in, I saw to my dismay about 5 Ford F250's. I was not going to duke it out with those guys. Well I got out to talk to Ryan, and he said, "Wait, I don't think this is the right place" Sure enough, it was not. I did not know that Payson had so many storage facilities, but I guess that people like "stuff". Well we went a few more miles down the road, and what did we see but the correct place, with no sign of any trucks at all! We got out, and I see a guy in an SUV eyeing us in his rear-view mirror. He asks if "that guy" is with me, and I explained why we had 2 vehicles.

We followed him in, and he was even nice enough to help us load it in the truck-bed. We drove home, delighted, and Ryan was able to back the truck up right to the front door over the curb. He explained that he was doing this so to cause less damage to the grass, and to get a straight shot. (I think he just wanted to flex the Ranger's muscles. ) We got to flex out own muscles moving the instrument in. We did little damage to the house; only a small amount of paint was scraped off. The question was where to put Julianna's present. After moving around the livingroom furniture in various layouts, and then finally deciding we did not want to put anything else in the basement, we
finally decided our little girl just had to have a piano in her very own room.






Julianna is so thankful for Christmas miracles, and so are we!

Ryan the Fix-It Man

Well, I bought these pull-out drawer organizers, but they had been in the storage room. We could not decide where to put them, and they would not actually fit too many places. Well, just say the word "tool" and Ryan is there faster than a speeding bullet. We got the idea to cut out the middle brace in the cupboard so the pull-outs would work. Projects are always harder than you think, but Ryan was able to get it done with the help of his tiny side kick Juli-the-Jigsaw. (A jigsaw is a saw used for detailed cuts. Ryan does not have one yet.) He actually used this hand-saw instead. He did a great job, and now more things fit into the cupboard, and I can evrnfind them!

Helping Hand!

My nice sister Amy came home with us to help us out while Ryan has been home with his foot. She was very helpful with Juj. But Juli helped her with her math as I think you can see. Thanks Amy!

Yes, Amy thinks her niece is nearly as good looking as Edward!

Happy Girls! Juli loves when she is around "kids" and especially loves her aunts and cousins. She can say Amy quite well. She calls her "May-me". She also calls her other aunts, and even sometimes cousin Paige Amy as well!

Helping Daddy

Well, since Ryan has got to stay home with us for the past 2 weeks (and counting), it has been nice for Mommy to get some help with Daddy! Thanks Ju Ju! Julianna loves waking up and saying "Da da", and having him be here. We have sure enjoyed having him home with us. Too bad we can't find a way for someone to pay our bills why daddy is home! As you can see, Juli sure loves her belly button. We have to make sure it is covered most of the time, or she will poke it until it is red and sore!

Saving your house from sure destruction can be hard work!

Well on Monday around 11:00, Ryan got a chance to try out his firefighting skills. I was heating up some oil to make some onion rings, and left the room to make a phone call and look at something on the computer before I had to be to work. I was destracted, and so I did not even think about the oil until all of the firealarms were alarming. Ryan and I both came running out and to our horror we saw the pan (with lid still intact) on fire! The flames were climbing up over the pot onto the microwave to the cabinet on the side. Ryan yelled for me to open the back door so he could get the pan (still on fire) out the door. The pan had a metal handle and a glass lid on top, which were not to our advantage. I was opening the lock and deadbolt, when the nerveendings would not allow Ryan anymore to hold onto the hot pot handle. He dropped the pan, and flames whirled up toward us. A milk carton that I had next to the door to recycle began to catch on fire. Our rug in front of the door caught in a few small places as well. Ryan pushed the kitchen table out into the livingroom, while telling me to get out with the baby I ran to the front door, and Ryan asked me where the baby was. She was in her crib for a nap, and Ryan grabbed her to save her. Ryan handed me the baby and ran back in to get the fire under control. Ryan looking in the house saw that only the pot and milk carton were actually on fire now. He grabbed them both and chucked them out the door. The air was thick with greasy smoke. Luckily, with grease fires, if there is no other fuel for the fire, seem to burn themselves out. After running around, and opening all the windows to air out the house, he ran downstairs to get our large box fan to blow out the smell and smoke. All the while, he kept me and the baby outside, and would not allow me to help. Seeing that his fleece pants had burn holes, his eyebrows and eyelashes were much shorter than before and singed, and also I saw various burns over his body, I decided that it would be a good time to pay a visit to the Spanish Fork Clinic, where they have urgent care, for much less than an ER visit. I saw my older neighbor was outside in her garage, so I ran across the street and told her quickly what had happened, and also asked if she could watch my open house while I took Ryan to the clinic. She then offered a fan to help clear out the house. I called my sweet mother in law, and told her that her plans now did not include a nice lunch with a friend, but instead she got the pleasure of spending some time with my family. Did I mention that I was to be to work at noon? I took got Ryan and the baby in the car, and called en-route to the MD and told them we would be there. When we got there I filled out all of the paperwork and nagged at the office workers to get my husband back, and didn't they know that this was an emergency? Dr Takasaki did a great job debriding the wounds and fixing Ryan up and Louise took good care of my little family while I was freaking out and driving to work (it was after 12:00. I called the hospital and let them know I would be late. The reason Ryan was home from work, by the way, is that he had an important interview with UVU for the paramedic program and also a physical test. Good timing, right! Well I called the school and they said that he could do the interview and to bring his sweats just in case. Well he must have done well, all things considered, because being Ryan, he did the interview and the physical test, and not until the end did the tester say, "Oh now I can see why you had trouble threading the needle, you must be the guy who got burned today." He did well with all of the physical things, like running up the stairs, and whatever else, but I guess that it is important that a paramedic can sew a button on his shirt. Well all in all I think that we were very blessed. I am so glad that we were all safe!

More pictures of the cart lady. Notice that she is wearing her Aggie pajamas. (Yes you have to start them young to force them to like the same school that you do). Since Ryan and I both attended USU, we just had to get her a game day t-shirt and her p.j.'s. Thanks to grandma for the hand-me-down serving cart. I think it is her favorite toy yet, as well as mommy's to keep her busy!

Dinner is Served

The other day, Ryan and I were in our bed watching TV and we heard the sound of a cart being slowly rolled into our room. Who did we see but a cute little server bringing us what? Breakfast in bed of fresh milk in a sippy cup, toddler snacks and a book to read! She loves pushing things around, (and not just her parents) so today she was towing around her cart in the kitchen with some new additions. The kitchen table just kept getting in the way.

Julianna loves treats of any kind. She loves making a mess too! But she sure looks cute doing it.

Possibly her favorite treat of all is ice cream. She takes the cones out of the pantry and begs for one, but when she gets it seems a little disappointed when there is no actual ice cream on the cone. Notice the towel under the baby; an absolute must have for kids!

So we finally started a blog, since we have had many requests (which maby were all from the same source).