Handy Manny he is not.....

What should have been a simple project turned into a nightmare project that finally found it's conclusion on Tuesday when the nice professional arrived to fix it! Let me start at the beginning....Saturday we had to run to Lowes to pick a part to fix the heater. While there Gregg asked if I wanted o get new handles for the shower(the ones in there just needed a little update), I said sure, and why didn't we just replace the shower head and spout as well while we were at it. After looking for a few minutes we settled on a nice Moen set ($82) and also decided to purchase new faucet sets for the two sinks in that same bathroom. $175 later we head home! We quickly fix the heater, and it is still working today, and decide to wait until we get home from Taylor's basketball game to work on the bathroom. We get home around 4:30, this is where the nightmare starts....first Gregg took the old spout off and got ready to put the new one on,this should be simple, it shouldjust screw right on, no, it will only go about 1 turn...what the heck? After trying for about an hour he decides that somethibg is wrong with the threads, so i take it back to lowe's where they inform me, with visual aid, that there is nothing wrong with the threads...back home i go. So when I get home I say to Gregg, "Why don't we just box it all back up and return it and we will just get new handles and be done with it?" No, he says, he is sure that he can get it on... and to his defense he knows this is what I want and he is jsut trying to make me happy. So for the next two hours, yes two hours, he tries to get this stupid spout on. Basicly he is making new threads in the new fitting....finally he just needs about a quarter of a turn and he will have it, and this is when it happens, the fitting breaks and the faucet,not on andnot off is stuck. I don't mean stuck a little and we eventually can get it off, it is stuck to the point that a hack saw is required to get it off! We are done for the day! Sunday we start fresh just planning to put the new shower head on and the new handles. We get the water shut off and beign....the shower head goes on with no major crisis, Yeah! It does not take us long to realize that the handles will not work on the current pipes that we have, the pipes that are buried in the wall behind the shower. Universal handles here we come, so for a recap, basiclly we have a new shower head that cost $80. I go to Lowe's and get new handles and we get the adapters on and turn the water on to make sure we are all set to install the handles and this is when it happens, a leak,not the kind that you can ignore and just move on,the kind that has to be fixed before we can install the new handles. At this point it isalmost 3:00 and he has to go out of town for the whole week, he is done. He looks at me and says call a plumber and just get this fixed. It is fixed now and I am happy to say that now I have the handles that I wanted and I also have a new lovely hole in my wall. And all of this for the bargin Price of $250. The moral of the story is...if it sounds too easy to be true, it probably is.

Cupcakes, Cold and Catchup....

It is so cold here, YUCK! I hate winter and all that comes with it. We are stuck inside and the kids are getting a little stir crazy. The one thing good about the cold is it makes me want to bake. Right now my house is filled with the smell of cherry cupcakes baking. The yummy scent of almond and cherry is wonderful.
I am planning to frost them with chocolate, can't wait!
We have been busy with basketball, Taylor is finishing up his season. He has been playing in a tournament in Marshfield this week and will finish it up tonight. Next week we have the COC in Willard. Tucker has started his league in republic, they have won the first two games...not by much but they have at least won.
I am definately feeling the need for a trip to the beach. June can not get here soon enough. I need to scrapbook our trip to the beach from last summer, maybe I will drag those pictures out and try and get warm just by looking at those.
Have a great day and try to stay warm!

Looking back....

Just a few of my favorites from the year.
March 2008
Thanksgiving
Labor Day
Dillon, Joey, and Taylor
Viola September 2008

Croppin' for a Cure
Ice Storm, Jan. 2008...We were without power for 6 days!

Go Bears!

Just a fun picture of all the kids in their Bear wear from Grandma!

hAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Hope everyone is welcoming in the new year healthy and happy. We celebrated last night with friends at our house, playing games and snacking...losts of fun. The blys each had a friend spend the night and were up until about 5:00am playing games and waching movies. They were quiet after Gregg and I went to sleep so we did't care. This afternoon we might pay for that decision, Tucker will crash about 5:00 and when he goes sown it won't be pretty! The boys are outside right now have an airsoft war with their buddies. It's pretty cold outside, but they don't seem to mind. I probably need to get up and put some hot chocolate on, because they will need a warm up when they head back in! Happy New Year! Enjoy the last few days before school starts back!