Home Repair: Frozen Pipes

Two of our good friends (Forsyth's) had the opportunity to move to London for work for a couple of months. While they are gone we have moved into their townhouse to ‘house sit’ and ‘dog sit.’ Yes, dog sit! Ben and I are foster parenting a super well behaved black lab, Annie. We were a little nervous (neither of us being dog people and having a slightly negative dog-sitting life ratio) but it is going well and we love her. We moved in on Monday and are enjoying having our own place again; cooking meals, organizing and walking around in our underwear (which we totally DON’T do).

Last night we had our first ‘problem’ with the house. It has been getting colder and we were warned and have been cautious about the pipes but alas…the pipes froze. We tried space heaters, high powered blow-dryers, blankets, and having the water ‘running’ (with nothing coming out) all day. Both of us had to work (with me coming home every couple hours to make sure the house wasn’t flooded) and we both worried all day. So when Ben got off work he (and his brother Jesse) decided to make sure this never happened again. Here’s the home repair process…
   

They cleared everything out from under the sink, pulled out the bottom floor board and cut a hole in the ground to see where the pipes went.



Here is the hole. (About 4"x4")



Here is what they found.  The pipes were running next to the concrete foundation (which is cold) and therefore they were freezing in that one spot.  They stuck the blow-dryer in the hole aimed at that bend and wala, we had water. Now to PREVENT the problem.

They found some pipe insulation coveres- now the only trick is getting the pipe (which is in that little hole) covered!

He said "No Butt Shot!" So I shifted to the left. It was a little tight down there.



Finished Project- covered pipes!! Hopefully more insulated and freeze free!



1.1.11 11*

On the first day of the first month of the eleventh year it was eleven degrees and… it was BEN’S BIRTHDAY!!!  For Ben’s Birthday we had shrimp, cheese fondu, a yummy salad and chocolate raspberry trifle for dessert.  Ben got lost of cool presents (which we all enjoyed dangling dangerously over his head) and we had a great time with family.  HAPPY 28^TH BIRTHDAY BEN!!

Ben in his new PacMan SNUGGY!!

You know your getting old when your
cake sets off the fire alarm!

2010 TO 2011

New Years Eve we went to our friend’s, the Larsens, house.  We had fondu, played games and almost missed midnight we were having so much fun.  Here’s Welcoming in a Brand New Year!

Ice Skating with the Youth

 On Wednesday (Dec 29) we went ice skating with the Youth.  Louisville has a really cool outside pavilion that they turn into an outdoor rink. It was fun to go ice skating outside and it was a beautiful day!!

 

Merry Christmas to All and to All a Good Night!

Christmas has come and gone and it was great and full of Family fun and memories.  We spend Christmas Eve at the Newson’s with a traditional ham feast and concluded the night watching “A Muppet’s Christmas Carol” (one of my childhood favorites).  As always I could not sleep (waking up every hour from 2 o’clock on) but had made a deal that I would not wake Ben up till morning… which turned out to be around 6:45!  We sat around talking and getting excited for our day until 8:00 when we were invited upstairs (by the parentals) to begin the Christmas festivities.  Santa was so nice to us this year (we have learned that Ben/Santa really enjoys black Friday) and it was fun to see the tree overflowing with presents.  As always it was fun to have Jesse and Becky come over with the kids; there is something magic about watching kids on Christmas.  We all enjoyed lazily opening presents and then calling family on Skype (best invention ever) and talking to them about their Christmas mornings.  We got some great things including; I got a beautiful necklace that Nedra made me (that I love) and Ben is amazing and picked out cute cloths that actually fit me.  Ben got some nerf guns (to make up for the lack of a real gun) and some golf shoes. 

That afternoon we made our way over to the Stones- Abode to have appetizers and a relaxing afternoon with them… or so we thought.  Our relaxing afternoon turned into a riveting game of sardine’s in the basement (you may be surprised how many people can actually fit under on bench, on a window seal or into a closet).  It was really fun playing with nieces, nephews, cousins and siblings.  There was delicious food (as expected) and we did get a lot of relaxing and family togetherness. We got some great family gifts; including a picture book of our family reunion and stones logo shirts. But the big present of the day, we got a red kitchen aid!!  I am really excited to get a house of my own to settle this in and start baking.  I am really excited (I think Ben is too- even though he is a bosh lover).

We had a great Christmas and loved spending time and talking with our families.  We love you all and hope you all had a great holiday season!!

Crocs Holiday Party

Ben’s recently started working as an intern for Crocs and as one of the perks we got to go to the Holiday Party.  This year the holiday party was a semi formal held at a nice hotel in Broomfield, CO.  There was dinner, dancing, a live band, raffles and lots to do.  There were even some photo booths that you could squeeze into with your friends, look at all these pictures we took.  We had a blast.  It was a fun night and it was great to meet all of Ben’s co-workers.

Boulder Dinner Theater

With the holidays approaching and the stress from the past year I have been slightly scrooge- esk and super stressed out. Ben, my most loving husband, sensed this (or heard it quite literally every day multiple times) and so he decided to take a break and go on a special date. He wouldn’t tell me what we were doing he just told me to dress nice and to be ready at 5:15- so that’s what I did.


So it turned out that the most amazing husband in the world took me to the Boulder Dinner Theater to have dinner and see a play with some of our best friends, the Gibson’s. We got to see Hello Dolly, which is one of my all time favorite musicals. It was so great and made me want to sings, dance and act again. It was wonderful to see Danny and Amy, who live in California and were just visiting for the holidays. And in all going to the Boulder Dinner Theater is never a disappointment, it was amazing!! I love Ben- thank you!!

Ward Christmas Party

Every year people dread the church Christmas party- the bad food, tacky music, even tacky-er (if that’s even a word) decorations, kids running around (obviously an entire orphanage was invited- because it appears there are no parents) and then no one stays to clean up.

This year our ward Christmas party turned out great!! The decorations were so super cute. The music was kinda tacky BUT they had a dance floor and dancing- which was so much fun and right up my ally. Jesse (Ben’s brother) was in charge of the food and it was EXCELLENT. It was a full out turkey dinner, organized and served well. Well done Jesse!! There was a section of Christmas carols with guitar accompaniment. It was fun, short and entertaining. The kids were entertained with crafts in the back and just when things got a little too crazy, who showed up but the fat, jolly man himself- SANTA CLAUSE!! Some people even stayed to help clean up. It was a great night with friends, family, food, dancing, Santa…need I go on?

Maybe my Scrooge outlook on Ward Christmas parties is beginning to change.

The Festive Decor

Eric, Ben and Tim

Some of the Young Women with Santa

Attack of the Laugh

The other day Ben came upstairs laughing HISTERICALLY. He was trying to tell us why, a story about Nedra’s leg falling asleep, but he couldn’t get the story out without laughing. I tried to get it on camera but by the time I got the camera, got it on and shooting he made me stop. He laughed hard for over 5 straight minutes (none of us understanding why). It was so funny.


Here is the short clip I did manage to get…

Christmas Decorations

I love getting out the decorations for Christmas.  It helps me to get excited (like a little child) and really believe that Christmas is here.  This year I have had the chance to help decorate the Newson and the Stones houses for Christmas.  (The Pictures from the Newson's are when we were getting ready for Nedra's doll club- it turned out great!) Here are some of the beautiful decorations throughout these homes…