Bye Bye Bye

We've said lots of goodbyes lately. Some of the goodbyes were sad, but some of the goodbyes were necessary and a huge relief. I'm giddy to be done with: 1) The water feature 2) Diapers. 

1) Water Feature

The water feature in our new backyard has been the bane of my existence. We convinced ourselves that removing it would be an "easy fix." What an understatement that has been. Initially, we were going to wait to tackle this project, but I want a functional backyard for my kids stat.

When you hear the phrase, "water feature" I bet you're envisioning a quaint little pond with some rocks. If only it was. Instead, our water feature (ugh, I hate to claim it) is over 5 tons worth of massive rocks pilled on-top of each other. I imagine at one point it was nice, but it has been neglected by renters for at least 2 years. Needless to say, we decided to hire someone to remove the water feature. About halfway into the project, Alfredo, the man we hired, told us the rocks were too heavy and he couldn't proceed. (He didn't have equipment.) Booooo. We were back to square 1 with a large hole in our wallets and an unfinished project.

Look at this beauty

We attempted to sell the colossal rocks. Even after listing them multiple times, nobody was interested. Can you blame them? The rocks are so humongous you cannot lift them with 4 muscular men. Apparently, "you'll need to haul them yourself" was a turnoff. We were starting to feel desperate and eventually even listed the rocks for free. Our attempts were futile. 

The pics don't do it justice. Note how high up against the fence the rocks go.

In the meantime, we had some other bids to remove the rocks and one was over $7,000. Another bid that was lower, but not quite as low as we wanted (especially since we'd already had to pay Alfredo for doing half of the job). We decided to weigh our options and hold off for awhile. Someone knocked on our door and it was one of the contractors! He said he found a place that would take the rocks for cheaper and came down on the his original estimate. We decided to move forward with Paul and boy am I grateful we did.

The more rocks Paul took out, the bigger they got. We had considered renting some equipment to take this eye-sore of a water feature out ourselves, but decided against it. Thank heavens we didn't go that route. It has been quite the job. The rocks are so gargantuan that some of them could not fit in a Bobcat and Paul had to break the rocks. Imagine having a magnitude 10 earthquake in your backyard. This is what it felt like while he was breaking the rocks. I'm glad we can still hear.

Broken up. This puppy was huge.

We've also drawn a lot of attention to our home. Yes, we're the newbies and we've made sure everyone knows. The rocks were coned off in front of our home for several days, expensive and large equipment have been parked blocking the road, our fences were down, everyone experienced the said earthquake, chips of rocks were scattered, our grass is barely hanging onto life by a thread, and boards covered our grass (for the equipment to drive on).

I anticipated this project being a 1 or 2 day thing. Here we are, over 2 weeks into this mess and the rocks are FINALLY gone. Everything that could work against us did. The biggest rainstorm UT has seen in decades (over 5 inches in less than 2 days) made for a muddy mess, and the Bobcat broke not only once, but twice.

What a thing. Good riddance, ugly water feature. We didn't like you and I think our bank account agrees. We will be planting grass and replacing the useless water feature with something much more kid-friendly immediately. (Hello trampoline or swing-set!) Dirt has never looked so good.

2) Diapers

Isabelle is smart and mature for her age. She talks in full sentences. For awhile now, Izzy tells me right after she dirties her diaper and asks to be changed. She has also asked to go to the bathroom. I put off potty training because of the move. I don't have any excuses anymore, so I went for it. She was seriously SO easy to potty-train. She was definitely ready. She didn't want anything to do with her diapers after picking out special Minnie Mouse and Frozen underwear. 

The first day of potty-training was disastrous. I thought, "what was I thinking?" so many times. I eventually even put a diaper back on Isabelle. She hadn't had one success going in the potty and had only had accidents. She asked for her underwear to be put back on later in the afternoon and had a successful potty trip. All hope wasn't lost. She woke up the next morning and went #2 in the potty. Day 2 of potty-training was a whole different story. She caught onto the idea quickly and ran with it. I even took Izzy to a park, IKEA, etc, all within the first couple of days of potty-training and she kept her underwear dry and even used public restrooms. In my experience, potty-training a girl was definitely easier.

My big girl. Thanks mandiraephotography

Here are some of my potty-training tips. I'm no expert and truly think the timing and child play into this process far more than the teacher:

• Read lots of stories beforehand about going to the bathroom. 
• I did not teach Isabelle to go to the bathroom using a small-sized toilet. From the get-go, I put her on the normal sized potty without an additional seat. I learned with James that using a toddler sized toilet added another step and transitioning to a regular sized toilet was tricky.
• I used lots of skittles to reward success and I bought my favorite kind because I deserved a skittle just as much as Izzy did. Potty-training is no joke. 
• Be positive. Compliment any possible thing you can. "Thanks for stopping your pee and putting the rest in the potty!" Don't ever react negatively. Izzy felt really bad every time she peed on herself and would cry. She didn't need any additional comments to make her feel worse.
• Plan a time to get out and leave, so your partner gets the chance to tackle potty-training with your child. Potty-training took about every ounce of patience my body has.

ADIOS DIAPERS. You will not be missed.

Soon, we'll be saying yet another farewell. Can it be September 27th already? We're delighted to say bye to our jagged tile and the carpet that lies up against our kitchen island. The 72 boxes of vinyl are patiently awaiting their install. I'm getting good at goodbyes.

I'll Laugh About This Later

We've all heard the phrase, "you'll laugh about this later." I'm definitely not at the "laughing" point yet with our recent weekend experience. (And truthfully, I don't know that I ever will be.)

Allow me to start from the beginning. For Christmas in 2019, I gave Andrew a gift-card to Tuacahn. We booked tickets to see "Count of Monte Cristo" for the summer of 2020 with friends. Covid-19 cancelled those plans. We tried our luck and booked tickets once more with some other friends for Saturday, August 7, 2021.

Nothing tops a weekend without kids. We were especially eager to leave behind smoky Salt Lake. The smog was extra bad thanks to a massive fire in CA named, "The Dixie Fire." A couple of hours into our drive, we saw blue skies. We were thrilled. Unfortunately, those blue skies were short-lived. We woke up Saturday morning to a sheet of smoke filling the sky.

I checked my email constantly Saturday seeking an update from Tuacahn about whether or not the show would go on. The air quality was bad enough that it was considered "unhealthy" to be outside for everyone-- not just sensitive groups. The fact that I know this terminology is quite sad. The air quality in UT is yucky fairly consistently. In fact, recently, Salt Lake's air was considered the worst in the world-- not something any city wants to be known for.

After radio-silence from Tuacahn, we made our way to the amphitheater only to find out that yes indeed, the play had been cancelled. What! Why was this not communicated beforehand? Nobody knows. To say we were disappointed is an understatement. I had even done my homework and viewed the movie "Count of Monte Cristo" the prior weekend. This made matters worse because it made me even more excited to see it. I guess I can always read the book since seeing the play didn't happen.

How did we cope with the news? By eating our feelings of course. We quickly made our way to "Sweet Rolled Tacos" to get out of the picturesque scenery that was so close to being the backdrop for our entertainment.  As if we needed any other letdowns, it took over an hour for us to get our dessert order. This was not a sit down restaurant and we were told the line would maybe take 25 minutes. At this point, we were trying not to scream. Becca graciously asked for a refund and succeeded. I will say that I nearly peed my pants giggling after daring Becca to go offer to help the workers. She did and even mentioned that she has an up-to-date food-handler's permit. I wish you could have seen the look of astonishment on the cashiers face when Becca offered. Was the ice cream worth over an hour wait? No.

Let's leave the play out of this. Here's how we spent the rest of our time:

• Games. So many games. Did you know Grandpa Beck made a new version of "Cover Your Assets?" 
• Food. We even went out for breakfast! For dinner, we splurged and went to Magleby's which I'd recommend. Avoid the "All American Diner" in Cedar City at all costs.
• Snacks. Nick and Becca brought all the goodies and drinks anyone could ever want. 
• "Black Widow." I was pleased Andrew had someone else to watch it with while I peacefully slept.
• We got to swim for maybe 30 minutes before needing to escape the disgusting air. 
• Becca and I went shopping at the outlets. 
• Sleep. We didn't have a wake-up call, but we were still up early. Being up at dawn is typical for me, but when Andrew's awake, you know something is up. Our old, creaky bed was loud if you moved or rolled over at all.
• Time to talk in the car. A four-hour drive each way felt pretty tranquil without children. Andrew and I could chat without constant interruptions! 
• Quality reading time. However, I don't think "The Boy Who Followed His Father into Auschwitz" was the best vacation pick. I finally gave up 168 pages in. I didn't need added gloominess in addition to Tuacahn.
• Pictures and kid updates. They were in good hands. When I asked James if he missed us, his response without hesitation was, "No, not at all!" Thanks, Nana!

Guess what? We can exchange our "Count of Monte Cristo" tickets for another date. Are we going to? Absolutely not. After 2 attempts to see the play, we learned the tickets must be cursed. We're happy to be refunded and rid of them. Sometimes even crummy situations cause laughter, but maybe not this time?