The little pump who didn't...grrrrr!

Sometime over the weekend, I subconsciously thought that the floor (a wood laminate) in our hallway felt strange on my bare feet...maybe like it was a little warped or something, but it was more of a passing thought that I left float out of my head as quickly as it came. Then this morning I was laying on our couch facing toward the hall/kitchen while talking to Dalan and I noticed that the floor looked a little warped. Dalan came over and stood and it, and it felt squishy. Not good. We stood on another section, and there was clearly water under the floor boards. Really not good.

We then opened the doors to where the furnace, water heater, and air conditioner are located, and Dalan saw immediately that the pump that takes condensation and water from the air conditioner was not working, and had been leaking for who knows how long. GRRRRRR! We got the pump replaced and the water from that space cleaned up quickly.

Old, leaky pump! The cause of our problems...

The new pump!

Next, Dalan started taking up the floor boards to see how far the water had gotten. It turned into an all day project, and was not an easy task. Molding had to come off, and some of the boards did not easily unsnap from their neighbors. Dalan got all the hall up, with one broken board. I was feeling ok about this because we have some extra in our stoarge room. Also the floor boards in the hall were installed running north to south, rather than east to west like the living room and kitchen, and we were excited at the idea of getting to put them in the right way.

Dalan, as the hallway project begins

One board up....little did we know how many more to go!

Off with the molding!

The hall is almost done....

Finally, Dalan pulled up the one board in the kitchen that we thought may have water under it too. Unfortunately, it turns out several of the boards have water under them. Dalan got through a good part of the kitchen, and we hope now we are at the point where only two more boards have water under them. Now, I am a little worried that we won't have enough boards in storage to replace broken/warped boards. Not good. I looked online, and apparently the company that made our flooring went out of business in 2001, so there is not a lot of hope in finding exact replacements. Really not good. I am annoyed. We want to replace all the flooring upstairs in the future, but like our flooring downstairs. I don't want to blow our flooring budget on the flooring I actually like!

On to the kitchen....little do we really know how much more work is to be done!

Chunk of missing floor....grrrr!

I am just hoping Dalan can get the job done over the next few days, and it is easy and inexpensive. Wish us luck!

Super fun weekend!

This last weekend was so busy and so fun that it actually started on Wednesday evening for me. It was also so jammed packed with awesome things that I forgot to document any of it with photographic evidence. Oh well. I will paint a picture with my words.

On Wednesday night, I went with Ali and my mom up to my Nana's to help her put together some patio furniture and eat some grilled cheese sandwiches. It was a fun girl's night, that included a quick visit from McKay when he came up to fix my Nana's toilet. Surprise, surprise, but we got a little giggly when we were all together, and I even played a trick concerning the Bush Baked Beans' dog (who my dad hates) on my dad later that evening when we got back from Nana's. I was laughing hard the whole time, but got him to believe that I really do love those commercials with the dog.

On Thursday, I got to hang out with Hilary and her adorable girls. What a blast! I love how Annie is a shopping expert at age three, who insists on carrying two pairs of sunglasses with her into every store. I love how Ellie growled at the dinos in the toy aisle, and then was obsessed with the pictures of the dogs and cats in the pet food aisle. I also cracked up at 18 pound Ellie pushing our huge cart through Target. I enjoyed my conversation with Hilary, and love the fact that we have been such wonderful friends for the last 15 years! There was a whole lot of love on that shopping trip!

That evening I got to hang out with Julia for her 30th birthday! Hooray for most of my beloved friends entering their thirties in the last 10 months or so. Julia came over and we went swimming in our pool. It was a nice evening, and swimming totally cooled us off. Later that evening we went and met Sierra and Scott at the Gallivan Center to see Sonic Youth. It was a great show, and although it was crowded, we had a good spot and I never felt too boxed in. Then Julia and I went to grab a late dinner. We had a great conversation and it was nice to just hang out with her on her special day. It was a little nerve racking though, because the next day, Julia's sister, mom, and boyfriend were having a surprise party for her, and I had to bite my tongue several times to not blab about all the party!

On Friday, Ali came over and she, Dalan, and I ran some errands together. I went back to Target for the second time in two days. So much for my goal to reduce the amount of times I run to the same store (or type of store) multiple times in a week. We also got some Taco Time. Yum! We had not been there forever.

That evening, we went over to Julia's sister's house for the surprise party! Julia was totally shocked and surprised, which was perfect! I love birthdays and birthday parties. It was so fun to hang out with my friends on a summer evening. It was a great night.

On Saturday, we went kayaking down the Weber River with Sierra and Scott. We rented a two man inflatable raft from REI, and off we went. It was great. The river is only about an hour away from Salt Lake, and you get to ride over some fun little rapids. It took some time for Dalan and I to get our rhythm down in our tandem kayak, but once we did, it was a blast. We went under a railroad bridge while a train went over us. It was nerve racking for me, and totally Dalan's favorite part. I thought the train would drop things down on our heads or something! We also loved going over the rapids, although that made me a little nervous too! However, we totally can't wait to do it again. I did get a little sunburned while on the river, including the weirdest sunburn/scratches/rash while on the river. I do have pictures of that....let me know what you think it is....see the part that looks like a railroad track down by my ankle....weird!



Later that evening, we went to a wedding reception for a girl I used to work with at ARTEC. We had a lot of fun hanging out with Becca and Dave, and got to see Tristine and her family. It was fun to catch up with some of the ARTEC girls. We also went to dinner with Becca and Dave. The four of us always have such a good time together. We laughed so hard throughout the night! Finally, we stopped by Jason and Becca's (a different Becca, obviously) house. It was good to catch up with them and see their new house. Jason is so funny, and we had a good time listening to all his crazy bartending stories.

Today, we took it a little easier! We just went to Costco with my mom, sister, and McKay, ate some McDonalds, and took a nap. Later in the evening, I went to my parents' house, and ate a delicious dinner made by Ali and McKay. I also had to help Ali record a video for her ASL class. Luckily, after the first take I controlled my giggling, and Ali and I actually made a video without excessive laughter in it!

Wow! We were busy, but it was wonderful to see so many of the people we love!

Ali's School Spirit

Ali remembers every word of our school song from elementary school. She made up a little dance to go with it, and let us record it....it is hilarious. And she is completely sober. You will have to excuse all my laughing in the background. I could not help myself. Enjoy!

How do you deal with the heat?

Piper loves the heat! One of her favorite things to do is lay outside in some dirt or on the concrete and just sun herself. It can be 60 degrees or 103 degrees out there, and she is in heaven either way as long as she is in the sun!



Dalan, on the other hand, hates the heat. He basically ends up shirtless on the couch with the air conditioner blasting. Oh, and he whines about the heat. My favorite rant was one he posted on facebook recently, "I'M HOT! I AM LIKE A LITTLE PIG, I HAVE NO WAY TO COOL MYSELF, AND I MIGHT DIE!!!!! I'M HOT, AND NO ONE CARES. I HAVE BEEN HOT SINCE BIRTH! IT'S TRUE. THEY THOUGHT I WAS DISEASED, BUT I WAS JUST HOT!!!! I'M HOT!" How dramatic can he be when it comes to the heat? However, it is true that he was sweating when he was born, they thought he might have cystic fibrosis, but all the tested proved that he was just hot. Once they unswaddled his ten pound body (yes, he weighed ten pounds at birth), he was a happier little guy!

Boat Comparison

On a boat in (Vancouver/Victoria) Canada in 2007. We were so happy that we had made it onto the ferry, and did not have to delay our trip into Seattle.

On a boat in (Montreal) Canada, 2009. We were so happy to be on our belated honeymoon.

Samesies:
*Dalan is wearing the same jacket.
*I am wearing the same sunglasses.
(I had no idea I had the ability to keep sunglasses for more than a season!)
*Dalan is also wearing the same sunglasses. That is neat.
(However, his are on his head in the first picture.)
*We have a covering of our heads that is made of metal and plexi-glass.
(Although, we are only partially under it in the second picture.)

Differences:
*I have no sweater in the second picture.
*We are containing are excitement in the second picture, as a complete stranger, not Becca/Dave, is taking our picture.
*There are people in the back ground in the second picture, the first picture is strictly the Jessi and Dalan Show!

What are your observations? Samesies? Or are they too different to even compare?

We're on a boat!

For our fifth and final full day in Montreal, the sun came out, and stayed out. HOORAY! We even had to put sunscreen on, and I still got a little pink. It was by no means the 100 degree weather we came back to the next day, but it was in the high seventies, and it was so pleasant!

We decided to take a boat tour of Montreal on the St. Lawrence River. We bought our tickets, and were told boarding would start in about 25 minutes. 20 minutes later we walked down to the pier, and the boat was all ready full. We did not get a seat, and had to stand for the ride, which was not ideal, but ok. Plus most of the other people on the tour were senior citizens, so better they have a seat, than us. The tour was very interesting, and so pretty. I love being on the water, and this was the perfect day to enjoy the river!

Waiting for the boat.

Dalan on the boat, with Old Montreal behind him.

Dalan...he's on a boat!

Me on the boat!

We have another picture....almost exactly like this from the last time we were on a boat in Canada.

Since, we were back in Old Montreal, we got some more gelato, and then decided to try one more time to see the inside of the Cathedral of Notre Dame, since we had been foiled every time we had tried to go there before, and we finally got in. It was beautiful inside. It had beautiful stained glass windows, and unbelievable statues and decor inside. Amazing.

Dalan in the church. This picture only shows a small part of the beauty.

In the church. I am being blessed by God's light or Dalan should have told me to move out of the light for a better picture. You be the judge.

The Sellers!

As we went to leave Montreal, and go explore the island properly that we had been on in the dark and pouring rain during the fireworks, we saw a bunch of men dressed up in red coats. It looked like they were going to be part of a Revolutionary War reenactment. I know Canada was not part of the Revolutionary War, but that is the best thing I can compare it to, also I know that when the British invaded Montreal in the late 1700's, the citizens of Montreal did not put up a fight, and just let them, so we were unsure of what exactly they were going to reenact. So, we followed them, but they kind of just disappeared into the crowd. We headed back toward the metro station, when we saw a bunch of blue coats marching, so we followed them thinking that there would be some sort of show for sure. Instead, they just marched down the pier, and were no where close to where the red coats had gone. Dalan asked me if we should point them in the right direction or something! Instead, we ended up coming upon a street performance of the Cirque Du Soleil, or something similar. It was cool, and a pleasant surprise to get to watch.

We finally made it to the metro station, and headed off the our little island to do some more exploring. I cannot remember its name right now, and could look it up, but I am feeling too lazy. It is a cool island, with a lot of recreation and a big park. We walked around the park, and guess who we saw? The blue coats! We were now directly across the river from Old Montreal, and I am not sure if they took a boat to the island when they went down the pier, or if it was another group of blue coated men, but it was still a strange coincidence. We walked down to the water front, and sat and enjoyed the nice weather and the water. Eventually, we walked down to a dock to get closer to the water. It made me nervous, because the river is so big, and there were speed boats going up and down the river and it would make the dock rock back and forth. Dalan was brave, and walked to the end of the dock, but I wouldn't. I was too scared to fall in!

Dalan on the water front. Old Montreal is in the background.

Enjoying the sun and the water!

Dalan being brave on the dock...ha, ha, ha! Isn't it beautiful? The City, not Dalan's bravery!

We then headed back to our hotel, packed up, and went to dinner. There was a Greek restaurant by our house that was always crowded and looked delicious that we had been wanting to try. We showed up, and were the only people in the restaurant for most of our meal. Go figure. It was yummy, and we enjoyed ourselves, so that is all that matters. We headed to bed early that night as we had to get up at 4:45 the next morning to catch our flight home. It was a wonderful honeymoon/vacation, and we were very sad to say au revoir to Montreal!

Shopping, swimming, and sluggers

First of all, I have no pictures of our fourth full day in Montreal. I know, I know. I realized half way through the day, and then Dalan kindly requested that this be a no-picture day. I granted his wish, because he had been a good sport about the picture taking for the most part, and it was our day of relaxing, rather than sight seeing, so there would have been limited pictures anyway.

We got up early and went down and ate breakfast, instead of hustling off to our first adventure, we decided to go back to bed. It was nice to get a chance to sleep in our vacation. We got up about an hour later, got ready, and headed to the shopping district of Montreal. I also like to go shopping in bigger cities, because you get a chance to go to stores that we do not have in Salt Lake. I also like going into all the high end stores and looking at all the pretty things, like purses, that I can't afford, but would like to own. I ended up buying some things on shopping excursion, Dalan did not, but what can you do. We also saw Club Super Sexe, which Nghia had told us to check out. We did not go in, but at least we found it.

We got back to our hotel later that afternoon, and got ready to go swimming at our hotel. Swimming on vacation is one of my favorite things to do, although in general, I am not a big swimmer. It just reminds of me of vacations when I was growing up. Our hotel had its swimming pool on the top floor, and I had expected the pool to be heated, however, it was not. Dalan and I did still get into the pool, and managed to stay in the pool for about 45 minutes. The pool had really good acoustics, and I thought we should do a little performance of Jessi and Dalan sing their greatest French hits. Dalan was not so into it, and I discovered I only know a few lines of Alouettes, and Faire des Jacques...obviously we were the only ones in the pool.

Later that evening, we walked down to a sports bar and grill by our hotel to watch the MLB all star game. On our way to the bar, we saw a homeless man peeing/masturbating in the corner. We crossed the street a little early. We were excited to watch the game, eat some food, and have some beer. The bar was really fun, and an alarm went off every time someone got on base. It was also nice to be able to have a couple of beers with Dalan and not worry about who was going to drive home. I also got to share some of the "facts" I learned from reading the worse book ever, Juiced, by Jose Canseco. I am fascinated with steroid use and major league baseball, but Jose's book was more of him bragging, and less about the actual facts of the issue.