Rick, Deanne, DJ, Carter, and Morgan Ericksen Family Blog

Morgan making a funny face while sitting on her cousin Audrey's lap just before watching the Stadium of Fire fireworks display in Provo July 4.

Morgan holding her first sparkler. Finally found something as sparkly as her eyes and personality!

The two ladies resting before the explosives light up the night air.

Mom and Dad giving Morgan attention (not that it is so rare anyways).

Note...

At the request of Rick's Mom, who goes on this Blog all the time, frequently disappointed that it is rarely updated, the picture of the snake has been removed. If you are curious and know our email address, we can send you some pictures at your request.

A few from the Family Reunion in Provo

This is Deanne's new favorite picture of Morgan. So funny!

DJ had a blast on the pontoon boat that Grandpa and Grandma Metcalf rented. Wind-blown hair and everything.

Look at the size of Rick's forehead. Ever-expanding. But at least he has a good looking woman at his side.

Carter just adores Morgan, and vice-versa.

Morgan Kicking Back after Church

Morgan loves to be in the spotlight and smiling. It is hard to imagine her NOT smiling. After church last Sunday, Morgan came in and sat on the chair and just was adorable and we had to catch it on camera. This really isn't staged or rehearsed. She is a NATURAL CUTIE PIE!

Carter is sure a happy kid as he gets ready to venture out into the frozen Utah County tundra.

Sleepy. This Christmas thing really gets me tired.

The 4 Ericksen's (Dan, April, Rick, and Deanne) at the top of the mountain at Brighton Resort in Big Cottonwood Canyon near Salt Lake City.

Deanne and Rick took it to the VERY top at Brighton. From here, you could actually see clouds BELOW you.

Morgan had to try this frozen treat. She's lucky it didn't freeze to it like the kid on "A Christmas Story".

Pretty in Pink, Morgan loves to spend time with her big brothers. See Exhibit A above and Exibit B below.

Believe it or not, Morgan actually sleeps with her bottom up. Hilarious!

Christmas Pictures #2

This present from Grandpa Ericksen to Carter was sooo big that it was almost as tall as Carter (who is the tallest Kindergartener in his school).

An aspiring artist, Carter was thrilled that he got a sketchpad that he can connect to the computer and make fantastic art for other people.

Morgan loves her kitty. It purrs and slurps when you put the bottle near her face. Funny thing is that we have a cat that likes to hang out by our back door and the real cat gets jealous that Morgan's kitty gets to stay in the warm house.

The shoes are a little too big, but they are the same size as Morgan's smile. Very noisy walking on our floors...

DJ was the first kid up on Christmas Day, of course. Here he is eating mint M&M's for breakfast. Great parenting, right?

Morgan's uncles got her a crib for her babies. Before it was even put together, she wanted to give it a try. Just to make sure it was safe for her babies.

Grandma and Grandpa Metcalf got Morgan a shopping cart full of fake food. Morgan was sure excited to give her big baby, Emma, a ride.

Morgan loved spending some girl time with her Aunt April, who was in Utah for the first time ever.

Pandora Radio - Listen to Free Internet Radio, Find New Music

Carter was Stitch from the Disney Channel show "Lilo and Stitch." Here he is sitting in the hallway at his school waiting for the Halloween parade to begin.

This little creature is actually Morgan the Ladybug. No bug is cuter than a ladybug.

Two of our Trick-or-Treaters ready to embark on a candy hunting expedition. They knocked on doors for about an hour and 15 minutes, then Carter complained that he was getting tired and wanted to come home. Morgan wasn't tired, because her Daddy carried her most of the time. She tried to say "trick or treat" but was scared most of the time by all of the mutant children roaming our neighborhood streets.

Basement Status

Just an update to the basement that I am working on finishing...

All of the walls are now up, with the exception of a wall that I have decided to frame in the storage room so that I have somewhere to build shelves for storage (Deanne wants to make this a craft/exercise room too, but we will see). I made the HUGE closet in DJ's room about 1/3 of the size I originally had it by cutting and moving part of one wall, because a kid really just tosses clothes on the floor anyway and never uses the closet. It is still pretty large, however.

All of the electrical is just about finished. I am waiting to install lighting in the bathroom until we decide on fixtures and whatnot but there is an outlet already functioning in the bathroom. I had added 5 - 20 amp circuits, plus another 20 amp GCFI arc protected circuit to my service panel. I struggled a bit with the wiring on the first circuit, but after talking with my Dad and buying a voltometer, I have had no problems. There are 8 can lights in the family room - 6 controlled by one 3-way system, and 2 controlled by another 3-way system (we didn't want DJ to have to turn on all of the lights in the middle of the night when he needs to relieve his bladder). I also added 2 lights in the storage room and another can light in Carter's room that he can use as a work/art area. He loves to draw, just like his old man did years ago!

This week, we hope to buy the drywall and drywall screws, as well as the 4 interior doors. I would like to hire someone to put up the drywall and mud, but we have to look at our finances after getting some bids. I may end up doing it myself. My poor back.

I still have a goal to have the entire project done by Christmas. Originally, we had someone estimate the cost of finishing the basement at around $35,000-$45,000 to have it all professionally completed. At this point, we have spent a little over $1,300. Doing the work sure saves money, which is good because we don't have much. Haha!

Overall, this has been a good stress relieving project for me. I thought it would make more stress, but I really like spending time working on projects with my mind and with my hands. Plus, I get tools. No man will run from a project that allows him to justify the purchase of tools to his wife, right!?!

KEEP AN EYE ON THE BLOG FOR BIRTHDAY UPDATE FOR MORGAN. SHE WILL BE 2 YEARS OLD NEXT WEEK! AND STILL SUPER DOOPER CUTE!

A Few Pictures of the Basement in Progress

Deanne from the East Side! Word up!

The guy on the right is a lucky dude. He met this movie star of a girl and they hooked up and sailed the 7 seas together.

Morgan Video

Wanna see Morgan talking? SOOO CUTE.

Grandpa's visit

Grandpa Ericksen drove all of the way from Texas to see us and our new house. We are very lucky to have Grandpa here, especially so that he could read our little bookworm some stories.