And we have a roof!

June 11, 2010

Yesterday they added the trusses and today they put the plywood on the walls and roof.  That little window will actually be bigger… it’s a bay window, 5’ wide similar to the others on the front of the house.  No door or window on the west side of the house – too hot.
 

There is the door on the back side of the addition.

View from the inside --  what used to be the garage.

Outer walls are framed

Here's what we're doing:

BEFORE

And AFTER

Davis House Remodel, Phase One

So okay!  After a year’s worth of delays, Phase One of the remodeling project has begun!  In this phase, we are extending the garage out 13 feet and converting the whole thing into a pantry, a bedroom, and a game room for the kids, and a hall full of floor-to-ceiling cabinets!  Yay storage! :-)

Here’s how the garage looked on June 1st when we got back from Utah.
 
View from inside the house

 
And from outside.

The framing on the ground is where our new game room will be.

JUNE 7

Early this morning they poured the concrete.

New Stuff

So I got my new computer, and noticed that there’s a thing called “Windows Live Writer” that is supposed to be an easier way to update my blog. I’m trying it. We will see. At least it gives me something to do while I’m installing all my software and trying to convert everything from the old laptop to the new one.

The latest news is that our ward has been re-vamped… most of the organizations have new presidencies. Braden was released after serving for 3 years as the first counselor in the bishopric. He’s not loving his new calling as Ward Mission Leader, but I think he’ll grow into it. I was called as the Beehive Advisor, and I’m really excited about that. Cheyenne is too because she’s currently in that class. How fun it will be to work with her.

Braden & I went to Truth or Consequences, NM last weekend, and stayed in a place called “Blackstone Hot Springs.” It’s a little converted motor lodge that has been refurbished and is now really nice, with a big mineral hot spring tub in each room. It was quite relaxing… the town itself is pretty boring, there’s nothing to do there or anywhere near except browse gift shops and a museum. There is a lake nearby, and we drove by that, but didn’t stop because the weather was a little chilly. We ate breakfast the first morning at a little place called Turtleback…something. It’s a little corner market selling natural foods, with an area in the corner with a few little tables where they serve food. The kitchen is basically behind the store counter, smaller than my kitchen at home. The food was really good though. We also ate at Mexican restaurant on the hill called “La Cocina”, and at a nice modern Italian food restaurant a few blocks from from lodge, called “La Bella Luca.” Good food there too. It was an interesting place, kind of a throwback to the 70’s, but we had a nice time relaxing and spending time alone together.  The first night our room was called the “Roy Rogers Room” … but the second night was my favorite, the “Jetsons Room!”  Here are some pics.

This is the awesome mineral spring tub that was in our room.  It was huge.
 

The water came out of this amazing spout….
 

The Jetsons decor cracked me up.

MOVING ON….

The State Spelling Bee is this Saturday so Cheyenne is gearing up for that… I think we will all be glad when it’s over. We’re leaving for Phoenix tomorrow (taking the kids out of school) and will be home on Sunday.

(UPDATE on the State Spelling Bee: Cheyenne did the same as last year -- came in 11th place (which only means that she was the 16th one down). Pretty good! We're all very proud of her.)

SHE DID IT AGAIN!!

Yesterday Cheyenne competed in the Cochise County Spelling Bee, and won it for the second year in a row! It was actually her third competition at the county level--in 2008 (fifth grade) she came in 3rd place, last year she won it, and this year she won again. Here's how it went down:

Round 1: Cheyenne was #8. She spelled "Capricorn." 10 spellers were eliminated.

Round 2: Cheyenne spelled "acronym." 4 more were eliminated.

Round 3: Cheyenne spelled "clapboard." 2 spellers went out.

Round 4: Cheyenne spelled "adjacent." 5 more spellers down.

Round 5: Cheyenne spelled "kitsch." 2 more eliminated.

Round 6: Cheyenne spelled "vigilante." 1 speller down.

Round 7: Cheyenne spelled "cachet." 2 spellers went out, leaving only herself and an 8th grader.

The two of them went back and forth for 9 more rounds!! Cheyenne's words were "amicable," "barrio," "samurai," "ghoul," "peloton," "allegro,"
"impetuous," "epiphany," and "camphor." In the 16th Round, her opponent missed "azimuth." Cheyenne's final word was "precocious," and she spelled it right and won! She will go to the State Spelling Bee at ASU campus in Tempe on March 27. Last year she came in at #11--hopefully she'll do better this year.

The story was in the Sierra Vista Herald this morning--here it is.

By Adam Curtis
Herald/Review
SIERRA VISTA — After one of the most heated one-on-one battles in recent memory, a precocious smile widened across St. David seventh-grader Cheyenne Davis’ face as she heard the final word she would have to spell and realized that she was going to win the Cochise County Spelling Bee for the second year in a row.

“I knew that word, I studied that one really hard, so it’s just kind of funny I got that one,” Davis said. The final word was “precocious,” an appropriate description for a student who exhibited a competitive maturity beyond her years by outlasting San Simon Middle School eighth-grader Cody Nguyen in a 17-round marathon at Buena High School on Saturday.

After beating out the largest field of competitors in the last four years, the two young spellers nailed eight words each before Nguyen finally found his match in the word, “azimuth.” “I never heard of azimuth. I don’t think I even studied it,” Nguyen said. He had been poring over 50 words a day for the past month in preparation for the competition, though he admitted the homonyms were the trickiest part because he did not study the definitions closely.

His brother, Justin, placed third in the county spelling bee last year, even though he only had one week to study because he was his school’s runner up and the winner dropped out shortly before the competition, said Christine Nguyen, their mother. Cody did most of the work on his own and had to learn a list of between 1,200 and 1,500 words for the spelling bee. “He did an excellent job,” Christine said. “I feel that he had some very long words with many letters throughout the entire competition.”

Cody did a fantastic job, making an always nerve-racking experience even more intense, said Braden Davis, Cheyenne’s father. “When it came down to those two, I thought it could go either way.”

“I can’t breathe when she’s up there, I just hold my breath until she’s done,” said Melanie Davis, Cheyenne’s mother. She could tell Cody had studied a lot and ultimately luck plays a big factor, especially when it’s that close.

Melanie had made her flash cards that she studied throughout the day as she walked around, Cheyenne said. She placed 11th out of 27 at the state competition last year and plans on studying a little more so she can do even better this year when she competes in Phoenix on March 27. “She spells much better than me, that’s for sure,” Braden said. “We sometimes have little spelling competitions at home and she creams us.”

There were several words he would have misspelled on Saturday but his daughter was ready, Braden said. “Kitsch, I would have missed that one.” That was a word Cheyenne actually kept misspelling at home because she kept adding an “e” to the end of it, she said.

“We’re extremely proud of her,” Braden said. “Being around spelling bees for awhile, since she’s been doing this, I find myself rooting for everybody, I don’t want anybody to miss a word that they know.” It’s all right if they miss a word that just "kicks their tail" but he feels bad if they know the word but just miss it because their nerves get to them, Braden said.

Cheyenne had to beat out her younger sister to get the county bee this year and will face her in her school competition again next year.

Up to Date

Okay... I've posted a few different entries (most recent on top), and I'll use this one to try and catch up. If you want to read them chronologically, just scroll down (might have to click on "older posts") and start with the first (bottom) Feb. 1 entry.


The holidays were fun as usual... lots of time with family. I love my family. :) It was a little weird and sad without Grandpa here, but I know that if it is possible, he was definitely with us at our family gatherings, watching the grandkids and enjoying every minute just like before. It was fun having Brittany and Joe here for Christmas... Brittany even helped us play "Santa." She and I built a train around the Christmas tree while Braden assembled Cheyenne's new drum set. I always sleep a little easier when they're here--it's such a blessing to have my family together under one roof now and then.



For New Years, Braden & I went to San Diego with Teri & Tracy (my sister & brother-in-law). We went to the Holiday Bowl and watched the UofA Wildcats get annihilated by the Nebraska Huskers... while sitting in a light drizzly rain throughout the whole game. It was fun though, and I LOVE San Diego! I already have a San Diego trip planned for our family this summer, hopefully Brittany & Joe can come too.



Then the kids went back to school. It was hard to start back again--the vacation didn't seem long enough for me. They weren't all too happy either. But it's been a month now and so far so good.


Oh I forgot... before the holidays, Logan was on a basketball team! At this age they don't keep score, but they did really well. At one game, Logan even made a tie-breaking basket right as the buzzer signaled the end of the game! Very exciting. He currently goes to a neighbor's house for basketball lessons after school on Mondays and Tuesdays, and he's gearing up for baseball (coach pitch) in a couple of months. It's so fun to see him play so many different sports at such a young age.



Okay I think that's all the high points of the last several months... I will try to keep this more current. Just for you, Shalyn! heehee :)

Rest In Peace, Dad.... Herman P. Young, 2/13/24 - 9/13/09

The next entry isn't very happy.. my dad passed away on September 13 of last year. He died at home, apparently of a massive heart attack or possibly a stroke, we're still not really sure. It was hard at first -- Braden and I were there when it happened (he had fallen and Mom called to have us come help him), and my brother Steve was there too. They were trying to help him up but that's when his heart stopped and he was gone. They tried CPR, and when the ambulance came they tried for a while too, but it was over. I don't like to re-live that afternoon so I'll skip over it, other than to say it was overwhelming how many people came to help and give love and support that evening and the following few days. All our family was together that week and we all drew closer, and the funeral was perfect. It was actually a nice reunion, with family and friends we hadn't seen in a long long time. We all miss my dad, but we're so grateful for the knowledge we have that we will see him again and that he is in a better place, watching over all of us.