Imagine Dragons

John took the kids to their first concert on Saturday.  We bought the tickets a while ago and I laughed when Owen asked which song the band was going to play.  He was thrilled when he learned they would play like 20 songs. At that point he determined that he was going to learn all of Imagine Dragon's songs.  And I think he may have done it.  He carried around his ipod in his pocked nearly all the time listening to their songs.  Needless to say when the time finally arrived he was a little more than excited to go.

And as luck would have it they ended up being only a few rows away from their good friends!  Lucky kids!

The report I got that night (from all 3 concert attendees) was that the concert was amazing!  And literally the best one they had ever been to.  Which wasn't saying much for Owen and Ains but it was for John!  They couldn't stop talking about it!  I was glad they loved it.  And maybe next year I'll find a sitter for Emmie and join them!

Escape from Reality

After all that happened with our house I told John that I needed to get away. And more specifically that I needed to get away to somewhere where I had no cell service.  (I had become obsessed with the worry that I was going to get a new message or email about a new disaster.)

So on a the Sunday night after everything had calmed down a bit we started planning a camping trip for that Thursday.  And as luck would have it one of my favorite friends, Brooke, texted at the very moment about getting together that week. It was destiny.  And a fabulous little getaway ensued.

We reserved a spot at literally one of the only campgrounds that had availability online.  I was nervous about what we would find when we got there.  But I was pleasantly surprised.  The only thing worth mentioning in the campground was about a dozen awesome climbing rocks.  But it was shaded and private and just what I needed.  I'm going again next year.  To Helende site #3, if anyone wants to join me they are welcome.

We were about 4 miles a way from Kirkham hotsprings.  It was a short little hike down to awesome warm pools right on the side of the freezing river.

And there was a perfect rock for jumping into the river and then a warm "shower" coming off the mountain to warm you up after the icy plunge.  The first time my kids jumped in I was terrified.  And then when I saw they survived I thought it was awesome.  They probably each jumped like 20 times.

Brooke's frog jump was my favorite!

I stuck with the boring pencil dive with nose plugged.

A conversation with a stranger led us to a perfect beach area the next day. He actually gave us another tip too...he instructed us to go the hot springs at night and lay with your ears submerged.  Apparently if you do that while watching the stars and hum your favorite song the stars start to appear to come toward you.  I'm guessing its like being on drugs without being on drugs....or maybe he just forgot to tell us that drugs were actually needed for the full effect?  We may never know because we didn't make it back to the hotsprings at midnight.  Maybe next year :)

Anyways, his beach recommendation was spot on!  It was a perfect little bend in the river with a huge rocky area and a soft sandy area.  The best news of the day was that I skipped my first rock.  Ever!  It was awesome.  My high for the day was 3 or 4 skips.  I can't remember.  Either way I'm very proud of myself.

Notice the cool rock towers....

The men and Ains and Owen jumped in the icy river and swam across.  Another terrified mother moment.  But they did it.  And I'm sure it was empowering for them.  So I guess I'll allow it.  Even though I'd rather keep them safe with me at all times.

The weekend was full of treats, fires, laughter, talking, dutch ovens, relaxing, a bit of arguing(darn kids), and just enough icecream.  It was perfect and just what I needed.  There's something about being out in nature that rejuvenates me.  I love it.

And then things got really stressful...

A few days after we got home from our wonderful trek experience we were slammed with the stress of our rental.  Once again.  I try to remind myself that I'm grateful that I was able to rent out our old home and move into a house that would fit our family.  But I REALLY, REALLY, want to sell that house!!!! 

We got access to the home on the night of the 15th and our new tenants were anxious to move in the next night.  I knew that the condition of the home had deteriorated over the last 6-12 months but I wasn't prepared for what was ahead of me. 

I hired 2 people to help me clean on the morning of the 16th.  And clean we did.  And clean.  And clean.  And clean.  There was a thick layer of dust and dog hair on the walls.  It was nearly impossible to get it all off.  I spent an entire hour wiping down walls, windows, and blinds in one room and it still felt dirty. 

My helpers stayed until around 1:00 and then had to leave. I continued to clean.  John came home from work early and worked in the yard.  My amazing carpet cleaners showed up that afternoon and worked for hours trying to get the stains out of the carpet and worked out a plan to repair damaged sections. And they actually got the stains out!  I was very impressed.

We also spent a fair amount of time taking pictures to document the damage.  It wasn't depressing at all.

 

 

 

There was just a little taste for ya!

 

After meeting with the new renters we were feeling hopeful.  They wanted to repaint the bedrooms.  (The bedrooms needed it.)  They wanted to repaint the pantry and the closets.  They wanted to replace base boards. They asked if they could put borders up around trees that had become overgrown.  To all of this I said...YES!  I was just happy to have someone in the home that wanted to do some work to it.  And as our new renter is an employee of tru green, he is attacking the lawn and going to bring it back to life.  And they want to do all of this because it's their home now.  I loved hearing that! 

 

Anyways, we left them keys and headed on our way.  And then that night we got a call.  They came back to the house after it had been closed up for a few hours and the smell was terrible.  They had gone to Lowe's hoping to find a solution on their own, but to no avail. John and I headed over and were welcomed by a blast for urine smell.  It was horrible.  It took just a few minutes to determine that the carpets had to go. And so we pulled them out right then and there.  And this is what we found...

The carpets were covered in pet stains.  The subfloor reeked of urine.  There was even mold on the subfloor...apparently the dog had a favorite pee spot.  All of this damage caused by a small Chihuahua that was supposed to be kenneled while inside.  I'm guessing there was no kennel.  But that's just a hunch. 

The next morning new carpet was picked out.  I spent time over the next few days helping with the paint.  The bedrooms are now the most beautiful shade of grey.  Our renters were troopers and had to wait another 5 days to move in.  And now there is nice new carpet and sealed subfloor. 

We have sent a bill of over $2000 to our previous renter to cover the damages that her deposit didn't cover.  Honestly I'm not planning on getting a dime from her.  I guess time will tell and we'll have to decide if it's worth taking her to small claims court.  She was also kind enough to ask us to take her last months rent out of her deposit and to not pay her last water bill.  She's super thoughtful.

And on that note...at this point I'm hopeful that the silver lining in all of the stress and money lost this summer is that our home will be ready to sell within a year.  Maybe our new renters will even want to buy the house?!  It's newly recarpeted after all.