We Are In

We moved in August 14th. Our phone # is the same. If you want our address, just leave a comment & I'll email you.

The move went great. We had so much help! (I think there were at least 20 guys!) A sweet friend picked our craziest day to bring my favorite meal...Chipotle. What a treat & relief not to think about dinner! Another friend brought a load of yummy bread & jam. It had a note that said: We hope your new ward is like this bread, so incredibly wonderful that you don't even notice the crummy parts. How cute is that!

My parents & brother agreed to my last minute request for their help & came out the following day. My mom watched the kids while the men loaded & uploaded the truck, then my dad & brother did all the installs I directed them too. It was great!

Since the 14th I have been working like a mad women. Whenever I think life can't possibly get any busier...it does. I think back to when Ty was an infant & I would be home playing with him, watching the Price is Right & Oprah...I can hardly imagine having that much time.

We love having a bigger home. The kids love the stairs (my least favorite part!). I love being able to do noisy things like unload the dishwasher while the kids are asleep.

NOW THE KID UPDATES:

Ty started at his new preschool. His teacher is fabulous. He has made new friends & gets to ride a little bus with a few other pre-schooler on it. They have a green/yellow/red card system. So far he has had a green card every time. Jeff & I expected that. The little monster only comes out when Sydney is around.

We had rain the other night & tons of lightening. Ty was saying "I'm scared of the rain". So together we watched to storm, oo'd & ah'd for about 15 minutes. Well, now every night at bedtime Sydney has wanted to mimic Ty's fear & says that she is scared of the rainbow. I guess we get a lot more rainbows than rain, so that is what she knows. Another thing she does is say her prayers. She says, "Heaven Father, Thank you for this day. You're welcome."

I'll post pictures as projects are done. For right now just imagine walls the color of 70's avocado green Tupperware. :-)

We Got It!!

The Seller agreed to come down $15k, so our bank is willing to finance it. How crazy eh? What a blessing & relief! Things should get wrapped up in underwritting during the next few days and then we will know for sure. We should be moving in 11 days...guess I don't have time to make the 2 blankets I had planned for tonight. That's ok though, it's hardly blanket weather around here!

New Home Update

When we bought our 1st home is was so simple. We walked in, picked a model, a lot, filled out a few papers & moved in 6 months later. I totally took that for granted!

This process of getting a 2nd home has been a huge headache (like throw-up migraines, yeah bad!). Seems like everyday there is a new problem. The latest problem is that the appraisal came in $15k under our purchase price. Yikes! Of course the lending bank doesn't want to be bottom-up in a new mortgage, SO either the seller goes down $15k OR we lose the home.

This could be a HUGE blessing. To get a home that much cheaper than we already are getting it would be amazing. However all the packing, painting (more neutral for renters), lease set-up, etc, could be for nothing. I'll keep you updated on the crazy mess.

First Nightmare

Sydney had her first notable nightmare. Can you guess what terrifying creature played the starring role.....











none other than Chuck E Cheese

On our way to San Diego we stopped at every kids favorite play place. Sydney was having a great time until HE came out. She couldn't take her eyes off him & was so afraid he would get her. How could you not laugh at that?

So last night just before bedtime Jeff remembered & teased Sydney by asking her about the mouse. She started getting nervous about it again.

Then 1am she woke up calling me. When I got in the room she was repeatedly saying, "Oh no Mouse!" I told her there was no mouse, to go back to bed & she responded, "Oh, ok Mom."

Aren't those your favorite pictures though, of you or your kids crying on Santa's lap, or standing in total fear next to the Easter bunny? Yet it's a good thing when they sneak into your home while you sleep, leaving presents and candy. Such a funny concept!

Tucson and Possible Trouble in Paradise

We just returned from the Tucson conference...I mean my birthday trip. There were no near-drownings or lost children this time. This resort was all about its pools. Ty & Sydney had just finished another round of swim lessons a week ago. It was so nice to have Ty be comfortable in the water & be able to swim for short distances.

Sydney was the center of attention with her little noodle. She could swim, jump, spin. I even had one mother concerned about her sons development because tiny little Sydney was jumping in & swimming to the edge so well. She's our little over-achiever. Luckily hours & hours in the pool led to good naps from both kids & early bed-times.

This water slide was a total hit. Jeff & I kept hoping it would be our turn to go up with Ty. It's kind of awkward to be 30ish & go up a slide w/o a kid in tow.

Luckily we didn't see this "little" beauty until we were on our way out. That would have made sleeping a bit difficult. *To the family we are trying to drag out West: We have never seen tarantulas within 20 miles of where we live.
The stress-free vacation-mode ended quickly. At home waiting was a phone call from our mortgage company. Apparently the 10% down & 2 month reserves on both homes is now not enough. They now need 6 months reserves on both homes, yikes! We are trying to think outside the box, knowing if its right it'll work out & if not, then no. It's just incredibly frustrating!

Our New House & More

Here are pictures of our new house. I was at girl's camp when we got the call, so Jeff surprised me with the good news. We looked at so many homes I forgot which one it was. It was a foreclosed home, but is very nice inside. I just can't wait to paint it! I'll take some inside pictures once it's ours...Aug 14th. We already have renters lined up for our small home, so things seem to be working out! (phew) It's just about 3 miles West of where we are now, but it does put us in another ward. :-( Don't be hatin, BUT we'll owe less on it than our current 1251 sq foot home that we puchased when this area was 1st dirt cheap.

I am short on time these days, but here are some quick updates.

1. Girl's Camp was totally awesome. If there are any incriminating photos of me dancing on tables please destroy them. It was so fun to see the people I know & love go totally wild. I only love them more. I am completely addicted & hope I get invited back.
2. My cousin got married in San Diego. After Camp I was home for 1 hour, then started the drive to San Diego. The wedding was so nice, my cousin looked absolutely beautiful. While we were there, we went to the SD Zoo, (Audra-those dung beetles are awesome :-) The new Elephant exhibit was way cool. We also enjoyed the beach. Jeff & my dad swam with hundreds of leopard-sharks. I had a blast on the boogie board (it's been years!). Ty loved the sand & jumping in the waves. While the men were away shark watching I was sitting with Ty. I told him I was going to grab the sand toy just a few steps up shore. I went toward the toys, turned around...Ty was gone! Totally gone! I looked up the beach, down, everywhere. It was a good 3 min when I was in full panic & was headed to the near lifeguard tower. Just then my dad & Jeff saw my panic & I screamed "he's gone." We split 3 directions & in a matter of seconds he was found walking too close to the board walk. I think with the rising tide, he got disoriented. My few steps to our stuff had previously been a long distance from the water. He said the sand was burning his feet & he couldn't find me anywhere. So Sad! Poor Guy. I think I should rename this blog The Tales of a Bad Mom. Luckily my mom was willing to keep Sydney home for a nap. It was so nice to enjoy the beach without little miss destructo....and 1 less kid to lose. Thanks Mom!

I came home to a billion orders. We are leaving for another trip this weekend, then off to FL to meet my new baby nephew right after that. It's certainly been a summer of working hard & playing even harder. Anybody want to come pack my house for me???

Happy 4th of July!

The last few years we've spent July 4th in flight (to CT), in a storm (here- weather cancelled the celebration), in traffic (D.C.- best fireworks ever, but with the dang trees everywhere we couldn't see a thing.)

This is her firecracker hair-do.

This year was really the 1st that we've been able to be together to enjoy the day & night with our children.

I feel the need to explain Sydney's outfit...this was one of my favorite outfits my niece wore, back in the 90's. Where we went...lets just say the folks around there are a little outdated. She got so many compliments. One family even said to call them when we have a yard sale. Ahhh, too funny!

The kids loved the jumpers. It was $5 for the unlimited jumps wrist band. Ty refuses to take his wrist band off, or get it wet. He said he's even willing to give-up swim lessons & hand washing in order to keep the wrist band looking like new.

They both loved the fireworks, but Ty had his hands over his ears the entire time.

Hope you all had a great celebration as well.