Sunday, October 23, 2011
October 2011
After the excitement of living in a foreign country, life seems to be a bit boring now. I am going to take a temporary break from posting.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
9/26/11-10/2/11
We continued our visitors streak with a visit from Rich and Sharon. They came down to see Amy off at the MTC. We enjoyed a family get together at the usual Cinegrill. After Amy left, they headed down to Mesquite to move back into their 2nd home.
Chris and I got to participate in our first junior high parent/teacher conference. We really needed to talk with the computers teacher because Morgan has really been struggling to keep up. Unfortunately for her, we didn't do computer classes while we were in Guateamala.....and it is showing! All of her other teachers raved about her behavior and her academics.
Laina got to go to a pizza party at her primary teachers house. I thought she'd be nervous, but she felt right at home and had a blast. She seems to be making friends and loves her teacher!
Alysa was excited to go on her first field trip. The class walked across the street to Smith's grocery store to go on a tour and learn how things work there. She was excited to see her mom and little sister who happened to go grocery shopping at the same time!!
Cole was supposed to have scouts, but his leader didn't call to confirm the time and wasn't home when I called her. She didn't answer our text either. I think he was a little disappointed, but at the same time relieved. He doesn't seem to like the group of boys as much as the ones in Idaho!
This weekend we got to watch general conference. We watched the first session at home on Saturday, and then Morgan, Chris and I drove into SLC to watch the second session in the Conference Center. It was our first time watching conference live, and it was really cool. My favorite part was when President Monson walked in and everybody stood and was completely silent! I've never heard a room go so silent so quickly! It was a great experience for all of us!
general conference
Chris and I got to participate in our first junior high parent/teacher conference. We really needed to talk with the computers teacher because Morgan has really been struggling to keep up. Unfortunately for her, we didn't do computer classes while we were in Guateamala.....and it is showing! All of her other teachers raved about her behavior and her academics.
Laina got to go to a pizza party at her primary teachers house. I thought she'd be nervous, but she felt right at home and had a blast. She seems to be making friends and loves her teacher!
Alysa was excited to go on her first field trip. The class walked across the street to Smith's grocery store to go on a tour and learn how things work there. She was excited to see her mom and little sister who happened to go grocery shopping at the same time!!
Cole was supposed to have scouts, but his leader didn't call to confirm the time and wasn't home when I called her. She didn't answer our text either. I think he was a little disappointed, but at the same time relieved. He doesn't seem to like the group of boys as much as the ones in Idaho!
This weekend we got to watch general conference. We watched the first session at home on Saturday, and then Morgan, Chris and I drove into SLC to watch the second session in the Conference Center. It was our first time watching conference live, and it was really cool. My favorite part was when President Monson walked in and everybody stood and was completely silent! I've never heard a room go so silent so quickly! It was a great experience for all of us!
general conference
9/19/11-9/25/11
The kids are adjusting well to being in school and are really enjoying having friends to play with.
Morgan has turned into a full on teenager since she started junior high! She is spending so much more time in the bathroom than she ever did before!! Her biggest struggle right now is using the computer. She hasn't had nearly as much computer exposure as the other kids, and it is showing! She really enjoys cooking and made apple leather using the apples off our tree. It was a lot of work for what she actually got to eat!
Cole has been playing kickball with all the boys at school. He also got to go to scouts for the first time here. He's not as impressed with the boys in our ward as he was with the ones in Idaho. He also learned how to mow the lawn this week. He is quite proud of himself.
Alysa is a completely different person. She is out of control and bouncing off the walls with excitement. She talks nonstop about all of the stuff she's been doing at school. I got her a bike this week and she is loving riding around the neighborhood with Cole.
Laina and I get to spend the mornings together. Her favorite activity is going to Smith's to go grocery shopping. She loves pushing the little carts. She also enjoys helping to clean and unpack. She is always a little timid when I take her to kindergarten, but she loves it.
We finally got internet and t.v. set up in the house. The previous owners left their projector and screen, so everybody is enjoying watching t.v. on the big huge screen. We had a fun little pizza party and watched a movie. We even took advantage of having the "little kitchen" as we call it. It's a dry bar and has a mini fridge. It is where I store all of the stuff that won't fit in the main kitchen.
We had our first visitors this weekend. Brittany, Ryley, Lance, Lucy, Meghan, and Siena came down from Idaho. Brittany, Meghan and I had a bridal shower to go to in SLC, so they stopped by to see our house and hang out for a little bit. It seemed like forever since I saw them, but it had only been two weeks!!
On Sunday, we had our next batch of visitors. Amy, Emily, and Teresa Novakovich joined us for church and the afternoon. Amy is leaving on her mission next week!!
Morgan has turned into a full on teenager since she started junior high! She is spending so much more time in the bathroom than she ever did before!! Her biggest struggle right now is using the computer. She hasn't had nearly as much computer exposure as the other kids, and it is showing! She really enjoys cooking and made apple leather using the apples off our tree. It was a lot of work for what she actually got to eat!
Cole has been playing kickball with all the boys at school. He also got to go to scouts for the first time here. He's not as impressed with the boys in our ward as he was with the ones in Idaho. He also learned how to mow the lawn this week. He is quite proud of himself.
Alysa is a completely different person. She is out of control and bouncing off the walls with excitement. She talks nonstop about all of the stuff she's been doing at school. I got her a bike this week and she is loving riding around the neighborhood with Cole.
Laina and I get to spend the mornings together. Her favorite activity is going to Smith's to go grocery shopping. She loves pushing the little carts. She also enjoys helping to clean and unpack. She is always a little timid when I take her to kindergarten, but she loves it.
We finally got internet and t.v. set up in the house. The previous owners left their projector and screen, so everybody is enjoying watching t.v. on the big huge screen. We had a fun little pizza party and watched a movie. We even took advantage of having the "little kitchen" as we call it. It's a dry bar and has a mini fridge. It is where I store all of the stuff that won't fit in the main kitchen.
We had our first visitors this weekend. Brittany, Ryley, Lance, Lucy, Meghan, and Siena came down from Idaho. Brittany, Meghan and I had a bridal shower to go to in SLC, so they stopped by to see our house and hang out for a little bit. It seemed like forever since I saw them, but it had only been two weeks!!
On Sunday, we had our next batch of visitors. Amy, Emily, and Teresa Novakovich joined us for church and the afternoon. Amy is leaving on her mission next week!!
Monday, September 26, 2011
9/12/11-9/18/11
Monday, September 12, 2011
We were finally able to get the kids registered for school after what seemed like an eternity. The kids are a little nervous to start school tomorrow, but I am more than ready! I was also very disappointed to find out that kindergarten is half day and that Laina could only get in the afternoon class. On a more positive note, her teacher is in our ward and we met her yesterday at church. There is also another girl from primary that is in her class.
What little time that we had left over, we spent unpacking and shopping for hangers. The two bedrooms downstairs do not have ANY closet organizers, not even a hanging rack. We are going to have to get creative until we get a permanent solution put in place.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
AHHHHH, the first day of school. As excited as I was, it was also pretty tough to see the kids go. I took Morgan to junior high first. Yesterday, she had gotten to walk around the school to find out where her classes were and to get her locker figured out, but she was still very hesitant. She asked if I would go in with her. I thought that junior high kids were too embarrassed to have their parents around! We got to her locker, she opened it, and then a girl screamed down the hall, "Morgan!!" It was a girl that she had met the previous day at Young Women's. They talked for a minute before I asked Morgan if I could go. She said I could. I whispered if it was appropriate to hug her or if that would embarrass her and she said no hugs. We both got a good laugh out of it.
Then, on to elementary school. Both Cole and Alysa were really nervous. They did not want to leave my side. I was supposed to go early so they could meet their teachers, but neither of the teachers were in their rooms. We ended up going back to Alysa's class and found her teacher. Alysa was trying so hard to be brave. We stayed with her until the teacher took her out to get the rest of the class. We then sprinted out to the portable to find Cole's teacher. The class had just started so I couldn't really talk much. Cole also looked like a deer in the headlights, but he went and sat down.
Laina and I walked back home by ourselves. It was the longest walk ever! She had to stop and look at every little thing. She sure enjoys chasing grasshoppers!
Laina discovered the mini shopping carts at Smiths and is now wanting to go grocery shopping EVERY DAY! We are still trying to restock the kitchen, so we headed to Smiths. We loaded up on a bunch of lunch meat and cheese. While there, I met a lady buying the same stuff. We got to talking and she said that she had just finished picking peaches. I said that I really needed to get to know somebody with a peach tree because the grocery store prices were so expensive! She said that if we checked out at the same time, she'd grab me a bag from her car. We went our separate ways and I forgot all about it until we were loading up the van and a car drove over, stopped, and she jumped out with a bag of peaches for me. How nice was that?? They were delicious!!
A little while later, it was time to take Laina to class. She was bouncing off the walls until we got to the school and she freaked out! She would not let go of me for anything. I ended up staying and being the parent volunteer for the day. Her teacher is great and put me right to work instead of making me feel awkward about not leaving! It also really helped Laina to calm down and get used to things. After a little while she looked at me and said, "It's o.k. for you to go now Mommy." And that was it.
I had a nice quiet walk back home just in time to get the van and drive back to the junior high to pick up Morgan. She had a great day and only got lost once. Her schedule had a room number error on it so it wasn't even her fault. She ended up going to the office to get help. She had girls from church sit with her at lunch and she was smiling when she got in the car. I think she is going to really enjoy being in junior high.
At 3:25, I had end of the first day of school overload! I was walking all 3 kids home and they were talking nonstop! Cole got to play kickball. Alysa finally has new friends and got to go to dance class. Laina had two kids both wanting to be her recess partner, etc. By the time we got home, my head was spinning with all the news. We attempted to figure out the homework schedule all at the same time. We are really going to have to come up with a better plan of attack for after school!
Our sanity was saved when the Elders Quorum president showed up with ice cream and root beer for us to make root beer floats for dessert! YUM!
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
We have been trying to figure out the bus schedule for Morgan and finally found out what bus number she is supposed to be on. She is scared to death of riding the bus though!
I walked Alysa and Cole just to the main cross walk and then let them go the rest of the way by themselves. It was so sad watching Alysa looking around not really sure where she was supposed to be. After school she told me that she had cried. Poor girl! She now knows where to go though!
We have had somebody from the new ward visit us each day this week. Tonight was the big one though. The RS President and counselor came by. They brought me a bag of peaches and veggies from their garden! We had a nice chat and got to know them better. Immediately after them, the entire bishopric showed up!! What a nice bunch of people. Our ward seems like it is going to be great.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Just mentioning Morgan riding the bus today sent her into tears. This isn't going to be pretty! Yup, I ended up driving her again!
Cole got to go to a stake scout activity. It was for all the boys that will be turning 11 and going into Boy Scouts next year. Chris took him and said that he was holding back a little but still willing to participate. I really hope that he has a good scout group....especially after how wonderful the group was in Idaho!
Friday, September 16, 2011
Chris took the day off so he got to go with us to take Morgan to her bus stop and make sure she got on
o.k. She has heard so many horror stories about junior high and buses that she is really freaked out!
After Morgan left, then Chris got to walk the other kids to school. He called me worried that Alysa was in the wrong place. He was more worried about them than they were!
We broke down today and got a Costco membership. Laina had to be at school at 11:25 so we all enjoyed a nutritious lunch of Costco pizza before heading back to the school.
Chris and I picked the 3 kids up from school and then waited for Morgan to come home. I was so worried that she'd get on the wrong bus or miss her stop, but she did fine. She came home with a great big grin and said that riding the bus might be more fun than driving with me! I should be insulted, but I'm not!!
Saturday, September 17, 2011
It's getting closer to fall which means the end of garage sale season so we're trying to make the most out of it as we can. Laina and Morgan joined me this week. We ended up with a desk for Morgan and a dresser for Cole. Cole is still upset that his old dresser is now being used by the girls! I promised him that I'd repaint it eventually.
The rest of the day again was filled with unpacking, cleaning, and just trying to put our lives in order! I looked at my watch and realized it was 6:15 and I hadn't even thought about dinner. I thought I'd do something different and walk to Papa Johns to grab a pizza real quick. Laina and Alysa joined me. While we were waiting, we went over to Smith to get some drinks. I got a little carried away and realized after we had bought a cart full of stuff that I didn't have the car!! Oops!! I had to call Chris and have him send Morgan and Cole to help carry groceries home!
Sunday, September 18, 2011
This ward doesn't waste time!! Our records are already here and we were officially welcomed into the ward. Not only that, but Chris was given a calling after church!! I still have a little time to relax before I am put to work!
Nope, still no pictures of the house. Someday I will get around to it.
We were finally able to get the kids registered for school after what seemed like an eternity. The kids are a little nervous to start school tomorrow, but I am more than ready! I was also very disappointed to find out that kindergarten is half day and that Laina could only get in the afternoon class. On a more positive note, her teacher is in our ward and we met her yesterday at church. There is also another girl from primary that is in her class.
What little time that we had left over, we spent unpacking and shopping for hangers. The two bedrooms downstairs do not have ANY closet organizers, not even a hanging rack. We are going to have to get creative until we get a permanent solution put in place.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
AHHHHH, the first day of school. As excited as I was, it was also pretty tough to see the kids go. I took Morgan to junior high first. Yesterday, she had gotten to walk around the school to find out where her classes were and to get her locker figured out, but she was still very hesitant. She asked if I would go in with her. I thought that junior high kids were too embarrassed to have their parents around! We got to her locker, she opened it, and then a girl screamed down the hall, "Morgan!!" It was a girl that she had met the previous day at Young Women's. They talked for a minute before I asked Morgan if I could go. She said I could. I whispered if it was appropriate to hug her or if that would embarrass her and she said no hugs. We both got a good laugh out of it.
Then, on to elementary school. Both Cole and Alysa were really nervous. They did not want to leave my side. I was supposed to go early so they could meet their teachers, but neither of the teachers were in their rooms. We ended up going back to Alysa's class and found her teacher. Alysa was trying so hard to be brave. We stayed with her until the teacher took her out to get the rest of the class. We then sprinted out to the portable to find Cole's teacher. The class had just started so I couldn't really talk much. Cole also looked like a deer in the headlights, but he went and sat down.
Laina and I walked back home by ourselves. It was the longest walk ever! She had to stop and look at every little thing. She sure enjoys chasing grasshoppers!
Laina discovered the mini shopping carts at Smiths and is now wanting to go grocery shopping EVERY DAY! We are still trying to restock the kitchen, so we headed to Smiths. We loaded up on a bunch of lunch meat and cheese. While there, I met a lady buying the same stuff. We got to talking and she said that she had just finished picking peaches. I said that I really needed to get to know somebody with a peach tree because the grocery store prices were so expensive! She said that if we checked out at the same time, she'd grab me a bag from her car. We went our separate ways and I forgot all about it until we were loading up the van and a car drove over, stopped, and she jumped out with a bag of peaches for me. How nice was that?? They were delicious!!
A little while later, it was time to take Laina to class. She was bouncing off the walls until we got to the school and she freaked out! She would not let go of me for anything. I ended up staying and being the parent volunteer for the day. Her teacher is great and put me right to work instead of making me feel awkward about not leaving! It also really helped Laina to calm down and get used to things. After a little while she looked at me and said, "It's o.k. for you to go now Mommy." And that was it.
I had a nice quiet walk back home just in time to get the van and drive back to the junior high to pick up Morgan. She had a great day and only got lost once. Her schedule had a room number error on it so it wasn't even her fault. She ended up going to the office to get help. She had girls from church sit with her at lunch and she was smiling when she got in the car. I think she is going to really enjoy being in junior high.
At 3:25, I had end of the first day of school overload! I was walking all 3 kids home and they were talking nonstop! Cole got to play kickball. Alysa finally has new friends and got to go to dance class. Laina had two kids both wanting to be her recess partner, etc. By the time we got home, my head was spinning with all the news. We attempted to figure out the homework schedule all at the same time. We are really going to have to come up with a better plan of attack for after school!
Our sanity was saved when the Elders Quorum president showed up with ice cream and root beer for us to make root beer floats for dessert! YUM!
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
We have been trying to figure out the bus schedule for Morgan and finally found out what bus number she is supposed to be on. She is scared to death of riding the bus though!
I walked Alysa and Cole just to the main cross walk and then let them go the rest of the way by themselves. It was so sad watching Alysa looking around not really sure where she was supposed to be. After school she told me that she had cried. Poor girl! She now knows where to go though!
We have had somebody from the new ward visit us each day this week. Tonight was the big one though. The RS President and counselor came by. They brought me a bag of peaches and veggies from their garden! We had a nice chat and got to know them better. Immediately after them, the entire bishopric showed up!! What a nice bunch of people. Our ward seems like it is going to be great.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Just mentioning Morgan riding the bus today sent her into tears. This isn't going to be pretty! Yup, I ended up driving her again!
Cole got to go to a stake scout activity. It was for all the boys that will be turning 11 and going into Boy Scouts next year. Chris took him and said that he was holding back a little but still willing to participate. I really hope that he has a good scout group....especially after how wonderful the group was in Idaho!
Friday, September 16, 2011
Chris took the day off so he got to go with us to take Morgan to her bus stop and make sure she got on
o.k. She has heard so many horror stories about junior high and buses that she is really freaked out!
After Morgan left, then Chris got to walk the other kids to school. He called me worried that Alysa was in the wrong place. He was more worried about them than they were!
We broke down today and got a Costco membership. Laina had to be at school at 11:25 so we all enjoyed a nutritious lunch of Costco pizza before heading back to the school.
Chris and I picked the 3 kids up from school and then waited for Morgan to come home. I was so worried that she'd get on the wrong bus or miss her stop, but she did fine. She came home with a great big grin and said that riding the bus might be more fun than driving with me! I should be insulted, but I'm not!!
Saturday, September 17, 2011
It's getting closer to fall which means the end of garage sale season so we're trying to make the most out of it as we can. Laina and Morgan joined me this week. We ended up with a desk for Morgan and a dresser for Cole. Cole is still upset that his old dresser is now being used by the girls! I promised him that I'd repaint it eventually.
The rest of the day again was filled with unpacking, cleaning, and just trying to put our lives in order! I looked at my watch and realized it was 6:15 and I hadn't even thought about dinner. I thought I'd do something different and walk to Papa Johns to grab a pizza real quick. Laina and Alysa joined me. While we were waiting, we went over to Smith to get some drinks. I got a little carried away and realized after we had bought a cart full of stuff that I didn't have the car!! Oops!! I had to call Chris and have him send Morgan and Cole to help carry groceries home!
Sunday, September 18, 2011
This ward doesn't waste time!! Our records are already here and we were officially welcomed into the ward. Not only that, but Chris was given a calling after church!! I still have a little time to relax before I am put to work!
Nope, still no pictures of the house. Someday I will get around to it.
9/5/11-9/11/11
Monday, September 5, 2011
Chris and I drove to Las Vegas today. We tried something new and took a different highway that goes straight down from Twin Falls to Vegas going through Nevada. We usually take the I-15 through Utah, but this way is much shorter. It was a nice drive and so quiet without any kids! We drove by our old house, neighborhood, etc. We also stopped at the storage unit, and were greatly relieved that our stuff was still in there!! I had a huge fear that the storage unit had accidently auctioned off our storage unit. (I guess I've been watching too many episodes of 'Storage Wars'.
We stayed the night in the Aliante Station. It was a big casino that opened up by our old house while we were there. It was pretty nice and only a fraction of the cost of the not-so-nice hotel in Jackson Hole!
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
What a day! Chris and I spent the entire day packing up the Uhaul. There were many moments where we weren't thinking that everything was going to fit. I was quite surprised that neither of us wanted to strangle the other at any point in the process!! (Well, at least not on my part. Chris might have felt differently!) We got everything taken care of, except for the piano, which a worker in the storage unit office came out and helped us with. I am quite proud of ourselves!
The kids were jealous that they didn't get to go through everything, but they had a fun time playing with their cousins in Idaho!
Once the storage unit was completely empty and the Uhaul was packed, we were exhausted!! We did have enough energy to go buy my all time most favorite chips in the world. I have only found them in Vegas, so I stocked up! They are the Blazin' Buffalo and Ranch Doritos!! DELICIOUS!!
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
We started the day relatively early since we were planning to drive all the way back to Idaho. I drove the car and followed behind Chris in the Uhaul. We made a stop at the Bottema's house in St. George. It was great to see them again. We will always have a great bond from our time in Guatemala!
The Uhaul was bouncing everywhere, but we made it to Salt Lake without any incidents. We left the car in Salt Lake and continued on to Twin Falls for a late night arrival. The kids were still up trying to finish their Harry Potter marathon!
Thursday, September 8, 2011
We had so much stuff in Idaho that we ended up renting a trailer for the back of the Uhaul to take all of it back down to Utah. We spent another day packing and we're ready to head down to Utah in the morning. Our loan papers are supposed to be signed tomorrow, so hopefully everything will go smoothly!
Friday, September 9, 2011
UGH! The loan person isn't working today. The previous owners have agreed to let us rent the house until the papers/funding go through. They were supposed to be out in the morning, but they weren't even close when we arrived around 12:00!
We left the Uhaul/trailer in Farmington and drove down to Claudia's to pick up Chris's car and all of his stuff that had left there. I can't believe how much stuff we have when we put it all together!
On our way back to Farmington, we got a call that the loan papers were actually going to be ready to sign and to come straight there. There isn't much that I dislike more than having to sign my name repeatedly. Each signature got progressively worse!
After signing the papers, the previous owners were still in the house!! It wasn't cleaned even close to what we had expected, and there was still stuff in just about every closet that they had forgotten! They were very apologetic and ordered pizzas for us for dinner though.
We spent the evening unloading as much as we could. While working, a couple walked by and offered to come help us in the morning. They are from our new ward and were very willing to help. What a nice way to start a new life!
The kids were as happy as could be to eat pizza on a blanket, helping to unload, pick their rooms, and try to find some bedding in all of the chaos before going to sleep!
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Priorities, priorities....bright and early, Morgan and I took off to go to garage sales. My allergies were soooo bad that I ended up stopping at Walgreens to get some medicine.
While we were gone, the guy that stopped by last night came and helped Chris unload all of the heavy stuff that we'd left in the truck. They discovered that the doorway downstairs is just too small to fit our couches through. So, for the time being we have our monsterous sectional taking up the entire upstairs living room!
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Church was great today. We met so many people. The kids even went to their primary classes without much trouble. Laina was a little hesitant, but apparently she's got the best teacher in the primary and ended up loving it!
We got a copy of the ward directory that has a map on it also. It has every single house in the ward boundaries labelled with the address and family name or in the rare cases of a nonmember, it says 'neighbor'. I would say that about 90% of our ward boundary are members! After church, we drove around the boundaries and discovered that it goes up into the mountains where the houses are HUGE! We are the second to last house on the other end of the boundaries.
Chris and I drove to Las Vegas today. We tried something new and took a different highway that goes straight down from Twin Falls to Vegas going through Nevada. We usually take the I-15 through Utah, but this way is much shorter. It was a nice drive and so quiet without any kids! We drove by our old house, neighborhood, etc. We also stopped at the storage unit, and were greatly relieved that our stuff was still in there!! I had a huge fear that the storage unit had accidently auctioned off our storage unit. (I guess I've been watching too many episodes of 'Storage Wars'.
We stayed the night in the Aliante Station. It was a big casino that opened up by our old house while we were there. It was pretty nice and only a fraction of the cost of the not-so-nice hotel in Jackson Hole!
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
What a day! Chris and I spent the entire day packing up the Uhaul. There were many moments where we weren't thinking that everything was going to fit. I was quite surprised that neither of us wanted to strangle the other at any point in the process!! (Well, at least not on my part. Chris might have felt differently!) We got everything taken care of, except for the piano, which a worker in the storage unit office came out and helped us with. I am quite proud of ourselves!
The kids were jealous that they didn't get to go through everything, but they had a fun time playing with their cousins in Idaho!
Once the storage unit was completely empty and the Uhaul was packed, we were exhausted!! We did have enough energy to go buy my all time most favorite chips in the world. I have only found them in Vegas, so I stocked up! They are the Blazin' Buffalo and Ranch Doritos!! DELICIOUS!!
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
We started the day relatively early since we were planning to drive all the way back to Idaho. I drove the car and followed behind Chris in the Uhaul. We made a stop at the Bottema's house in St. George. It was great to see them again. We will always have a great bond from our time in Guatemala!
The Uhaul was bouncing everywhere, but we made it to Salt Lake without any incidents. We left the car in Salt Lake and continued on to Twin Falls for a late night arrival. The kids were still up trying to finish their Harry Potter marathon!
Thursday, September 8, 2011
We had so much stuff in Idaho that we ended up renting a trailer for the back of the Uhaul to take all of it back down to Utah. We spent another day packing and we're ready to head down to Utah in the morning. Our loan papers are supposed to be signed tomorrow, so hopefully everything will go smoothly!
Friday, September 9, 2011
UGH! The loan person isn't working today. The previous owners have agreed to let us rent the house until the papers/funding go through. They were supposed to be out in the morning, but they weren't even close when we arrived around 12:00!
We left the Uhaul/trailer in Farmington and drove down to Claudia's to pick up Chris's car and all of his stuff that had left there. I can't believe how much stuff we have when we put it all together!
On our way back to Farmington, we got a call that the loan papers were actually going to be ready to sign and to come straight there. There isn't much that I dislike more than having to sign my name repeatedly. Each signature got progressively worse!
After signing the papers, the previous owners were still in the house!! It wasn't cleaned even close to what we had expected, and there was still stuff in just about every closet that they had forgotten! They were very apologetic and ordered pizzas for us for dinner though.
We spent the evening unloading as much as we could. While working, a couple walked by and offered to come help us in the morning. They are from our new ward and were very willing to help. What a nice way to start a new life!
The kids were as happy as could be to eat pizza on a blanket, helping to unload, pick their rooms, and try to find some bedding in all of the chaos before going to sleep!
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Priorities, priorities....bright and early, Morgan and I took off to go to garage sales. My allergies were soooo bad that I ended up stopping at Walgreens to get some medicine.
While we were gone, the guy that stopped by last night came and helped Chris unload all of the heavy stuff that we'd left in the truck. They discovered that the doorway downstairs is just too small to fit our couches through. So, for the time being we have our monsterous sectional taking up the entire upstairs living room!
The rest of the day was spent unpacking and trying to figure out where to put stuff. The house is kind of screwy and definitely will be seeing some remodeling projects! I haven't even taken any pictures because we've been so busy.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Church was great today. We met so many people. The kids even went to their primary classes without much trouble. Laina was a little hesitant, but apparently she's got the best teacher in the primary and ended up loving it!
We got a copy of the ward directory that has a map on it also. It has every single house in the ward boundaries labelled with the address and family name or in the rare cases of a nonmember, it says 'neighbor'. I would say that about 90% of our ward boundary are members! After church, we drove around the boundaries and discovered that it goes up into the mountains where the houses are HUGE! We are the second to last house on the other end of the boundaries.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
8/29/11-9/4/11
Monday, August 29, 2011
Since Chris is taking a couple of weeks off, I figured we should probably do something instead of sitting around my sisters' houses. We decided to go on a quick road trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming and Yellowstone National Park. It was only about a four hour drive to get there. The kids were happy since they were watching Redbox movies the whole way!
Once we got there, we walked around the town for a while and realized how incredibly touristy it is!
In the evening they had a shoot out. The kids really liked it. Morgan said that she wants to be an actress and do something crazy like that.
After being in the car for so long, we decided to head back. It was pretty late and we had to get up early for a float trip the next morning!
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Today was a rough day. I can not wait until the next 1 1/2 weeks are done. I am so ready to be in our house and to have a normal life again!
Friday, September 2, 2011
I finished up some projects that I had promised I'd help my sisters with. Not much. I feel like we are just killing time right now!
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Cole got to dog sit again this weekend. He's being so responsible!
Sunday, September 4, 2011
This was our last Sunday in Idaho. The kids are sad to go since they have made so many friends and have really become part of the ward here!
We are so exhausted in every way!
Since Chris is taking a couple of weeks off, I figured we should probably do something instead of sitting around my sisters' houses. We decided to go on a quick road trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming and Yellowstone National Park. It was only about a four hour drive to get there. The kids were happy since they were watching Redbox movies the whole way!
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| Central Park area of Jackson Hole. |
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
We left Jackson Hole in the morning and drove through Grand Teton National Park. There was something in the air and we were all suffering from allergies. At one of the lakes that we went to, we ended up having to leave because I was sneezing so much. It was beautiful there though.
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| Grand Tetons |
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| Messing around with the timer. Not bad other than Morgan being in the shadows. |
We continued on to Yellowstone. The scenery was very similar to Alaska. We didn't see any wildlife but it was still really fun. The kids wanted to see Old Faithful, so that was the highest thing on our to do list.
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| Old Faithful Geyser |
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| Our only wildlife. |
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
The float trip ended up being a little boring, but it was still fun. I was so worried that we were going to freeze. It had been so cold the previous morning, but today it was pleasant. We ended up just wearing one sweatshirt on the boat. We saw an immature eagle up close. We also saw a bald eagle flying.
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| Hot air balloons in the back. |
The kids were really anxious to get back to Twin Falls so they could go to their activities. Cole had a service project for scouts, and Morgan had a stake youth swim party. They weren't disappointed!
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Today was a rough day. I can not wait until the next 1 1/2 weeks are done. I am so ready to be in our house and to have a normal life again!
Friday, September 2, 2011
I finished up some projects that I had promised I'd help my sisters with. Not much. I feel like we are just killing time right now!
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Cole got to dog sit again this weekend. He's being so responsible!
Sunday, September 4, 2011
This was our last Sunday in Idaho. The kids are sad to go since they have made so many friends and have really become part of the ward here!
We are so exhausted in every way!
8/22/11-8/28/11
So, we finally put an offer in on a house. It is the "Smith" house. The more I think about it, the better I feel.
We weren't sure if I needed to be there to sign papers, so the kids and I hung out in SLC waiting to hear. We went to see Kung Fu Panda 2 at the dollar theatre, got Morgan a shirt for her birthday, had lunch with Chris, drove by the kids new school, (today was the first day of school!) and then headed back to Idaho. Now we get to play the waiting game to see if the offer is accepted and when we can move.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Our offer was countered and we accepted it! Let the paperwork begin! We are anticipated a close date of September 8th.
We still have bananas coming out of our ears here! Today we made banana pancakes, banana bread, and banana chips. I am surprised that nobody has thrown up from eating too many bananas!
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Looked for moving quotes. Overwhelming!
Thursday, August 25, 2011
To add to our plethora of bananas, we went and picked apricots. There were 7 kids and 2 adults picking apricots on a huge tree. We ended up with so many apricots but it didn't even seem to make a dent in the amount on the tree! The kids really had fun climbing the tree and racing to fill up their buckets.
Afterwards, we cooled off by going to the community pool. The kids really like it there and are getting much more comfortable in the water. As we were getting ready to leave, Brittany called to tell me that the scout activity for that night was for the entire family at the community pool. I thought it was just for Cole or I wouldn't have taken everybody over during the day!!
Cole earned his aquanaut badge. He has been working really hard to do this and has made amazing improvements! Just think that less than a year ago, he couldn't swim at all!
Friday, August 26, 2011
Brittany and Meghan are both completely out of freezer space, so I talked them into canning apricots today. I found some jars at a garage sale this morning and Brittany's mother in law lent us her canner and helped us out. We ended up bottling 28 jars of apricots!
Another job opportunity has come up that doesn't involve having to travel to Hawaii, so Chris is going to change jobs!! He is also going to get to take two weeks of vacation time to hang out with us, get into the house, and then start the new position!! Good news!!
We did a little swap of families today. Chris came up from Utah and the Billings went down to Farmington to go to Lagoon. We kept Siena so it would be a little easier for Meghan and Tyler to enjoy their trip with Trey.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
The day began with Morgan and Cole walking down the street to go to a garage sale. They couldn't wait for me to get going. I was a little slow moving after my first night with a baby in a long time!
Tyler's office all went to Lagoon. One of the other physical therapist's family asked Cole to dog sit for them while they were gone. He was SOOOO excited to have his first real job! He had to go over to their house twice today to let the dogs out and to check their water. I was quite proud of him and his work ethic. He cleaned up everything after the dogs! I think most kids would have been tempted to just leave stuff!
We visited Shoshone Falls for a little while today. It is about 5 minutes from Meghan's house but we'd never gone. It was pretty cool to see.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
We took Siena to church with us. I forgot how much work little kids are! She was saying "hi" to everybody. She cracks me up! She finally got so tired that she fell asleep with Chris holding her!
As much as our kids want us to have another child, and as cute and fun as Siena is, I think I am done having little babies! They are so much work!!
8/15/11-8/21/11
Monday, August 15, 2011 through Sunday, August 21, 2011
The kids are starting to get a little bored and wanting to have some of their own space. They have done really well with all of the changes, but they are ready to start school and get settled. I don't blame them because I feel the same way!
I got to participate in Brittany's ward's service auction. I won a basket of school supplies, and somebody else won the orange rolls that I made. It was a lot of fun, and a nice change of pace for me.
Brittany got 4 cases of bananas (170#) for $8 today. The produce manager called her and told her that he had some "old" ones. They were better than a lot that were on the shelf for sale at the regular price!! Everybody has been eating bananas like crazy. We've frozen tons of them also. We still need to make banana chips and banana bread!
Brittany and I took all the kids to the community pool. It was great to get them out of the house. Cole was working really hard to prepare for his aquanauts scouting badge next week. Alysa learned how to put her face in the water without plugging her nose and Morgan passed the swim test so that she could go into the deep end. She really wanted to go off the diving board, but couldn't quite get the nerve up. Laina was content bouncing around in the kiddie pool with baby Lucy in her floaty.
This week has been a little discouraging. Chris is frustrated with work and lonely without the family. I've been wondering if we'll ever find a house that we like. I sure hope we find one soon because school starts next Monday and we don't seem to be making any progress.
On Friday, all the kids went with me to Utah. Chris flew all night from Hawaii, so he was asleep when we got there. After he got up, we drove around forever looking at different areas. We even drove out towards Tooele. It was once again a day of frustration. I just wish we could find what we want!
We continued to look at houses on Saturday with Brad. We finally found 2 houses that might be possibilities. One was the house that the kids and I looked at last weekend right after looking at the house we really liked. We called it the "Smith house" because it is right behind a Smith's grocery store. The other is the "single guy house".
We decided to go to church at one of the wards that the two houses are in. One ward started at 9 and the other at 11:30. Since we didn't even get up until almost 9, we opted to go to the 11:30 church. Not a single person said hi to us until after the meeting. I was getting very nervous that it was going to be a stuck up ward, but they seemed friendly enough. We think that the owners of the Smith house were the ones that spoke!!
The rest of the day was spent at the park and relaxing at Claudia's while discussing the pros and cons of the two houses.
What a stressful time it is!
The kids are starting to get a little bored and wanting to have some of their own space. They have done really well with all of the changes, but they are ready to start school and get settled. I don't blame them because I feel the same way!
Chris went to Hawaii for the first time this week. It was pretty rough with a really long flight schedule and a four hour time difference. He took some really pretty pictures from his hotel and brought back macadamia nuts and a hula skirt.
I got to participate in Brittany's ward's service auction. I won a basket of school supplies, and somebody else won the orange rolls that I made. It was a lot of fun, and a nice change of pace for me.
Brittany got 4 cases of bananas (170#) for $8 today. The produce manager called her and told her that he had some "old" ones. They were better than a lot that were on the shelf for sale at the regular price!! Everybody has been eating bananas like crazy. We've frozen tons of them also. We still need to make banana chips and banana bread!
Brittany and I took all the kids to the community pool. It was great to get them out of the house. Cole was working really hard to prepare for his aquanauts scouting badge next week. Alysa learned how to put her face in the water without plugging her nose and Morgan passed the swim test so that she could go into the deep end. She really wanted to go off the diving board, but couldn't quite get the nerve up. Laina was content bouncing around in the kiddie pool with baby Lucy in her floaty.
This week has been a little discouraging. Chris is frustrated with work and lonely without the family. I've been wondering if we'll ever find a house that we like. I sure hope we find one soon because school starts next Monday and we don't seem to be making any progress.
On Friday, all the kids went with me to Utah. Chris flew all night from Hawaii, so he was asleep when we got there. After he got up, we drove around forever looking at different areas. We even drove out towards Tooele. It was once again a day of frustration. I just wish we could find what we want!
We continued to look at houses on Saturday with Brad. We finally found 2 houses that might be possibilities. One was the house that the kids and I looked at last weekend right after looking at the house we really liked. We called it the "Smith house" because it is right behind a Smith's grocery store. The other is the "single guy house".
We decided to go to church at one of the wards that the two houses are in. One ward started at 9 and the other at 11:30. Since we didn't even get up until almost 9, we opted to go to the 11:30 church. Not a single person said hi to us until after the meeting. I was getting very nervous that it was going to be a stuck up ward, but they seemed friendly enough. We think that the owners of the Smith house were the ones that spoke!!
The rest of the day was spent at the park and relaxing at Claudia's while discussing the pros and cons of the two houses.
What a stressful time it is!
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
8/8/11-8/14/11
Monday, August 8, 2011 through Sunday, August 14, 2011
This week hasn't been overly productive. The kids have continued to play with their cousins. They have been helping to "babysit" some bunnies. I think they just like to go over because there is a trampoline to play on!
Cole has really been enjoying scouts and Morgan loves Young Women's. I think they are happy to be back in the states! I've been working to help Brittany and Meghan organize some stuff and also trying to keep up with making bread.....not such an easy task here.
Chris was able to get a new car. That is one major thing to check off the to do list! He ended up with a silver (or is it gray??) VW Jetta. I am looking forward to its great gas mileage with all the commuting we've been doing!
We have decided to buy a house rather than rent. Now we just need to get qualified and find one that we like. The real estate agent sent us an 86 page list of houses to look through. We narrowed it down to 28 before Cole, Alysa, Morgan, and I drove to Utah for the weekend. We drove through the areas and narrowed the list down to 16.
The kids and I met with Brad, the real estate agent, on Friday to look through a bunch of houses. We found one that we all LOVED! We looked at another afterwards but nothing was going to be as fun as the other one! After finishing up looking at houses, the kids and I headed back to Idaho. Chris finished up work and met Brad to look at the house. Unfortunately, he didn't agree with our assessment of the house. Apparently it wasn't the highest quality house and he feared that it would fall apart. I guess that's what happens when you build houses for 9 years.....you notice the little things! So, no go on the house. The house that we looked at last was really close to the house that Chris didn't like so Brad drove him by it just to see the outside. Chris really liked the neighborhood and wants to look at it on the inside.
Chris finished looking at houses and joined us up in Idaho. The kids were so happy to have him there....and I was pretty happy also! I don't know how families do the long distance stuff. This is killing us.
At church on Sunday, a couple spoke that was leaving to serve in the El Salvador Temple presidency. They seemed a little nervous about their safety so Chris and I talked to them for a little bit afterwards to share our thoughts on it. It seems like it was a lifetime ago that we were there even though it was only a couple weeks!
Sunday afternoon, Chris headed back to Utah and the kids and I prepared for another week. I can not wait to get settled in our place. I am extremely grateful to my sisters (and especially their husbands!) for putting up with us for so long. I don't think we could have survived this time if it wasn't for them!!
This week hasn't been overly productive. The kids have continued to play with their cousins. They have been helping to "babysit" some bunnies. I think they just like to go over because there is a trampoline to play on!
Cole has really been enjoying scouts and Morgan loves Young Women's. I think they are happy to be back in the states! I've been working to help Brittany and Meghan organize some stuff and also trying to keep up with making bread.....not such an easy task here.
Chris was able to get a new car. That is one major thing to check off the to do list! He ended up with a silver (or is it gray??) VW Jetta. I am looking forward to its great gas mileage with all the commuting we've been doing!
We have decided to buy a house rather than rent. Now we just need to get qualified and find one that we like. The real estate agent sent us an 86 page list of houses to look through. We narrowed it down to 28 before Cole, Alysa, Morgan, and I drove to Utah for the weekend. We drove through the areas and narrowed the list down to 16.
The kids and I met with Brad, the real estate agent, on Friday to look through a bunch of houses. We found one that we all LOVED! We looked at another afterwards but nothing was going to be as fun as the other one! After finishing up looking at houses, the kids and I headed back to Idaho. Chris finished up work and met Brad to look at the house. Unfortunately, he didn't agree with our assessment of the house. Apparently it wasn't the highest quality house and he feared that it would fall apart. I guess that's what happens when you build houses for 9 years.....you notice the little things! So, no go on the house. The house that we looked at last was really close to the house that Chris didn't like so Brad drove him by it just to see the outside. Chris really liked the neighborhood and wants to look at it on the inside.
Chris finished looking at houses and joined us up in Idaho. The kids were so happy to have him there....and I was pretty happy also! I don't know how families do the long distance stuff. This is killing us.
At church on Sunday, a couple spoke that was leaving to serve in the El Salvador Temple presidency. They seemed a little nervous about their safety so Chris and I talked to them for a little bit afterwards to share our thoughts on it. It seems like it was a lifetime ago that we were there even though it was only a couple weeks!
Sunday afternoon, Chris headed back to Utah and the kids and I prepared for another week. I can not wait to get settled in our place. I am extremely grateful to my sisters (and especially their husbands!) for putting up with us for so long. I don't think we could have survived this time if it wasn't for them!!
Thursday, August 11, 2011
8/1/11-8/7/11
Monday, August 1, 2011
We are all getting in on the back to school sales. Today Meghan and I took 4 kids and we each got 2 boxes of crayons and two rulers for $.01 each. Meghan is working very hard to get me back into my old ways of deal shopping!
Another difference that I have noticed here is that milk has a long time before its expiration! In Guatemala it was about 4 days if you were lucky. Here it is about two weeks!!
All the kids have been begging to sleep at the Moffitts with their cousins. Last night I ended up having to pick up Laina at 11:00 because she forgot her pink blankey and couldn't sleep.
Chris flew back in to SLC tonight! His only communication was an email that said, "I'm exhausted. I'll talk to you tomorrow." Poor guy. It was a whirlwind week!
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
The three families went on a little trip to Steadman Ranch. It is a farm where they have build some giant slip and slide type things. It also had a zip line, trampoline, swing sets, sandbox, and covered picnic benches.
I don't think we were even parked before the kids all took off. Except for one very hesitant Alysa. She took quite a while to get up her nerve to go but once she did, there was no stopping her. Laina enjoyed playing on the trampoline quite a bit also. There were a few crashes with scrapes and bumps but nothing too major.
Meghan discovered some little tiny blow up donut that was really fast. She wanted to go down with Tyler on one also. Unfortunately, he took one step too close to the edge and completely biffed it. He just happened to land on the donut and it exploded! Everybody got a good laugh at his expense.
On the way home, most of the smaller kids all fell asleep. I was so glad that I didn't have to drive!
While we were all having a great time, Chris was having his first day of his new job. He has once again been thrown into something new without any direction and not really knowing what to do. They are also telling him that he has to get a new car instead of using the company truck. Not to mention that we need to find a place to live! So much all at once is a little overwhelming!!
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
I am learning how to text. Brittany and Meghan are giving me a crash course. I am so far behind the times!
Morgan, Cole, and Drew walked to the church for mutual and scouts tonight. Cole really is enjoying the scout group. He got to sign off 3 things tonight. Morgan also enjoyed Young Women's.
Laina made a new friend today. Before I left Brittany's house she asked if she could invite the girl over tomorrow. I told her that I wouldn't be there and that she'd have to ask Brittany. She is really excited!
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Cole, Alysa, and I drove to Utah to see Chris and to look for a house to rent. We drove all over looking at rentals, but not finding anything that we really liked. The kids didn't mind because they got to watch movies in the van. We met up with Chris and got to see his new office. It is definitely nicer than his office in Guatemala! We got to look for a new phone for me and a new car for Chris. It really feels like we are starting our lives completely over from scratch! There is no way that we could survive this without the support of our family!
Friday, August 5, 2011
We had a real estate agent recommended to us by two completely different sources. He was out of town, and had another person that was going to help us look for a house. He couldn't meet with us until 4:00, so we spent the morning driving around some more. We both really like the Farmington area.
At 4:00, we went into the office to find out that the guy had car problems and wouldn't make it. We wasted the whole entire day waiting to meet with this guy. UGH! We sat down with another person in the office, but ended up leaving without a single ray of hope. We didn't receive any information or any possibilities for a house. It was a very depressing and discouraging day!
Saturday, August 6, 2011
We looked at a couple more houses on our way back to Idaho. Chris got to go also! The other families were waiting for us to get back to go to The Drops. It is a canal that you float down. Nobody had ever gone before and we didn't really know what to expect. The first group to go was the dads and the bigger kids. The rest of us were going to wait for them to get back and report. For some reason that excellent plan didn't work out and the moms and younger kids got pressured to go. Brittany took Alysa, I had Laina, and Meghan had Trey. I thought somebody was going to die and it was probably going to be me! After the initial shock of getting swept away under the water and not plugging our noses, we all recovered. We were very thankful that Chris and Mitch heard us giggling so loud that they came running back to show us where to get out of the water and to help us get the kids who were trying to strangle us!
Sunday, August 7, 2011
A friend of mine put this as her facebook status. "That which does not kill us, will make us stronger!!! Yeah...but how close to deaths door do we ahve to get before this new found strength will kick in???" This whole house situation is really making me feel like that! I am ready for this particular decision to be done!
Laina has had a really loose tooth and it just won't come out. The permanent tooth has already come in behind it. We finally got her to agree to pull it out, but she would only do it if Uncle Mitch did it. He tied a string around the tooth and around a water bottle and then threw it over the railing down the stairs. The first time didn't work because the string came off but the second time was a success.
We are all getting in on the back to school sales. Today Meghan and I took 4 kids and we each got 2 boxes of crayons and two rulers for $.01 each. Meghan is working very hard to get me back into my old ways of deal shopping!
Another difference that I have noticed here is that milk has a long time before its expiration! In Guatemala it was about 4 days if you were lucky. Here it is about two weeks!!
All the kids have been begging to sleep at the Moffitts with their cousins. Last night I ended up having to pick up Laina at 11:00 because she forgot her pink blankey and couldn't sleep.
Chris flew back in to SLC tonight! His only communication was an email that said, "I'm exhausted. I'll talk to you tomorrow." Poor guy. It was a whirlwind week!
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
The three families went on a little trip to Steadman Ranch. It is a farm where they have build some giant slip and slide type things. It also had a zip line, trampoline, swing sets, sandbox, and covered picnic benches.
I don't think we were even parked before the kids all took off. Except for one very hesitant Alysa. She took quite a while to get up her nerve to go but once she did, there was no stopping her. Laina enjoyed playing on the trampoline quite a bit also. There were a few crashes with scrapes and bumps but nothing too major.
Meghan discovered some little tiny blow up donut that was really fast. She wanted to go down with Tyler on one also. Unfortunately, he took one step too close to the edge and completely biffed it. He just happened to land on the donut and it exploded! Everybody got a good laugh at his expense.
On the way home, most of the smaller kids all fell asleep. I was so glad that I didn't have to drive!
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| I love the farm land in the back. |
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| Uncle Tyler was definitely a big kid today! |
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| Morgan, Aunt Meghan, Ryler, Uncle Tyler, Lance, Drew |
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| Lance, Cole, Uncle Tyler, Drew, Ryley |
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| Alysa's first trip down the slide. |
While we were all having a great time, Chris was having his first day of his new job. He has once again been thrown into something new without any direction and not really knowing what to do. They are also telling him that he has to get a new car instead of using the company truck. Not to mention that we need to find a place to live! So much all at once is a little overwhelming!!
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
I am learning how to text. Brittany and Meghan are giving me a crash course. I am so far behind the times!
Morgan, Cole, and Drew walked to the church for mutual and scouts tonight. Cole really is enjoying the scout group. He got to sign off 3 things tonight. Morgan also enjoyed Young Women's.
Laina made a new friend today. Before I left Brittany's house she asked if she could invite the girl over tomorrow. I told her that I wouldn't be there and that she'd have to ask Brittany. She is really excited!
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Cole, Alysa, and I drove to Utah to see Chris and to look for a house to rent. We drove all over looking at rentals, but not finding anything that we really liked. The kids didn't mind because they got to watch movies in the van. We met up with Chris and got to see his new office. It is definitely nicer than his office in Guatemala! We got to look for a new phone for me and a new car for Chris. It really feels like we are starting our lives completely over from scratch! There is no way that we could survive this without the support of our family!
Friday, August 5, 2011
We had a real estate agent recommended to us by two completely different sources. He was out of town, and had another person that was going to help us look for a house. He couldn't meet with us until 4:00, so we spent the morning driving around some more. We both really like the Farmington area.
At 4:00, we went into the office to find out that the guy had car problems and wouldn't make it. We wasted the whole entire day waiting to meet with this guy. UGH! We sat down with another person in the office, but ended up leaving without a single ray of hope. We didn't receive any information or any possibilities for a house. It was a very depressing and discouraging day!
Saturday, August 6, 2011
We looked at a couple more houses on our way back to Idaho. Chris got to go also! The other families were waiting for us to get back to go to The Drops. It is a canal that you float down. Nobody had ever gone before and we didn't really know what to expect. The first group to go was the dads and the bigger kids. The rest of us were going to wait for them to get back and report. For some reason that excellent plan didn't work out and the moms and younger kids got pressured to go. Brittany took Alysa, I had Laina, and Meghan had Trey. I thought somebody was going to die and it was probably going to be me! After the initial shock of getting swept away under the water and not plugging our noses, we all recovered. We were very thankful that Chris and Mitch heard us giggling so loud that they came running back to show us where to get out of the water and to help us get the kids who were trying to strangle us!
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| The Moffitts, Billings, and Whitneys |
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| Kaiya mid jump. |
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| Mitch and Lance having a blast! |
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| Brittany and Meghan going off the wall. |
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| Chris, Morgan, and Cole |
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| Alysa and Laina |
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| Laina liked climbing the rocks more than going in the water. |
A friend of mine put this as her facebook status. "That which does not kill us, will make us stronger!!! Yeah...but how close to deaths door do we ahve to get before this new found strength will kick in???" This whole house situation is really making me feel like that! I am ready for this particular decision to be done!
Laina has had a really loose tooth and it just won't come out. The permanent tooth has already come in behind it. We finally got her to agree to pull it out, but she would only do it if Uncle Mitch did it. He tied a string around the tooth and around a water bottle and then threw it over the railing down the stairs. The first time didn't work because the string came off but the second time was a success.
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