My new kitchen!!!!
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
Monday, March 01, 2010
House
I've been reluctant to post because I just haven't been able to believe it, but we got a house!!!
We never even looked in Provo, but it turns out that is where we bought a house!
It is RIGHT on the border of Provo and Orem in the Grandview area.
It is a very nice neighborhood and the church and elementary school are only about a block and a half away.
The house is near the end of a cul-de-sac, which is always fantastic!
It is a bit older - built in 1999 and is VERY unique!
The kitchen is totally gourmet.
Double ovens.
Viking Range.
Sub zero Fridge and Freezer
Wood Fireplace with Pizza oven and indoor grill.
The kitchen, dining room and family room are large and they flow together to create a nice open space.
The kids will be in the basement and they will each have their own bedroom, bathroom, and playroom.
Lucky us for only having 2 kids!!!
We are going to see it again today and taking a lot of my family, so I am excited to go through it again. We've contacted our bank and locked in a great rate - 5% - and we will be having an inspector come in later this week.
Assuming the inspection goes well and nothing horrific happens with our financing, we should be in the house in the next 30-60 days......hopefully 30!
We have had such drama with this whole buying-a-new-house thing and it feels good just to have a place locked down!
We are praying and crossing our fingers that all goes well!!!
Yippee for us!!!
I will post pictures of the house soon!!
We never even looked in Provo, but it turns out that is where we bought a house!
It is RIGHT on the border of Provo and Orem in the Grandview area.
It is a very nice neighborhood and the church and elementary school are only about a block and a half away.
The house is near the end of a cul-de-sac, which is always fantastic!
It is a bit older - built in 1999 and is VERY unique!
The kitchen is totally gourmet.
Double ovens.
Viking Range.
Sub zero Fridge and Freezer
Wood Fireplace with Pizza oven and indoor grill.
The kitchen, dining room and family room are large and they flow together to create a nice open space.
The kids will be in the basement and they will each have their own bedroom, bathroom, and playroom.
Lucky us for only having 2 kids!!!
We are going to see it again today and taking a lot of my family, so I am excited to go through it again. We've contacted our bank and locked in a great rate - 5% - and we will be having an inspector come in later this week.
Assuming the inspection goes well and nothing horrific happens with our financing, we should be in the house in the next 30-60 days......hopefully 30!
We have had such drama with this whole buying-a-new-house thing and it feels good just to have a place locked down!
We are praying and crossing our fingers that all goes well!!!
Yippee for us!!!
I will post pictures of the house soon!!
Monday, February 22, 2010
A quick update
Alex:
Alex is....well.....Alex! He's such a DUDE! Honestly, if you know him, that's about the only way to describe him....DUDE! He is working very hard on his speech and is doing wonderful. He hardly stutters and his clarity is really getting better. My dad hasn't seen him for probably about a month and last night at dinner commented on how well he thought Alex is speaking. I am so proud of him! He likes preschool pretty well and enjoys going to both of his speech teachers. He is a hilarious kid who loves to play rough and encourages you to throw pillows at his face and tickle him until his face turns red! He is a lot of fun!
Samantha:
Today Samantha was doing addition! I didn't know they were working on that in school but she came home with some homework and was adding up groups of kids.......3 kids and 3 kids is 6 kids. I was a bit impressed! She is also working pretty hard on reading and writing. She ADORES art and loves to sit and draw. Her pictures are getting more detailed and colorful and beautiful. Lately she has been drawing a lot of houses (can you tell she's ready for a house of her own??). Samantha has a ton of friends at school and just loves to go to school everyday. When she is sick and can't go she cries and exclaims how much her friends will miss her!! I think it's probably true!
Kristi:
I finally finished my first independent study course through BYU and ended up with a final grade of a B!! I was quite happy seeing as how some assignments I got D's....and I completely flunked the midterm. And I quite literally mean FLUNKED!!! As in an E!!! It was a proud, proud moment! I am busy running kids back and forth from school and speech all while trying to find a new house. I have driven past more homes than I can count! It's getting ridiculous. We have an offer in on a house right now and the owner countered, then we countered, and now we are waiting to see if he will accept our final offer. In case he doesn't we have 4 homes lined up to see tomorrow. I am ready to have a home again.
Andy:
Andy works. He hasn't traveled much lately which has been nice for house hunting. I'm sure he'll have a few places he'll have to visit in the near future, but hopefully not until we are moved and settled. OH, and he's wicked excited for our Hawaii trip in 2 weeks! All of us are, but I think Andy the most. Hmmmmmm, that's about all with Andy I think. He's kind of boring now that he's done with school. We like it!
So, all in all, life is good. We are happy, healthy, and get along. We are loving teaching the kids about the Olympics and spending time together watching all the events. Good times!
Alex is....well.....Alex! He's such a DUDE! Honestly, if you know him, that's about the only way to describe him....DUDE! He is working very hard on his speech and is doing wonderful. He hardly stutters and his clarity is really getting better. My dad hasn't seen him for probably about a month and last night at dinner commented on how well he thought Alex is speaking. I am so proud of him! He likes preschool pretty well and enjoys going to both of his speech teachers. He is a hilarious kid who loves to play rough and encourages you to throw pillows at his face and tickle him until his face turns red! He is a lot of fun!
Samantha:
Today Samantha was doing addition! I didn't know they were working on that in school but she came home with some homework and was adding up groups of kids.......3 kids and 3 kids is 6 kids. I was a bit impressed! She is also working pretty hard on reading and writing. She ADORES art and loves to sit and draw. Her pictures are getting more detailed and colorful and beautiful. Lately she has been drawing a lot of houses (can you tell she's ready for a house of her own??). Samantha has a ton of friends at school and just loves to go to school everyday. When she is sick and can't go she cries and exclaims how much her friends will miss her!! I think it's probably true!
Kristi:
I finally finished my first independent study course through BYU and ended up with a final grade of a B!! I was quite happy seeing as how some assignments I got D's....and I completely flunked the midterm. And I quite literally mean FLUNKED!!! As in an E!!! It was a proud, proud moment! I am busy running kids back and forth from school and speech all while trying to find a new house. I have driven past more homes than I can count! It's getting ridiculous. We have an offer in on a house right now and the owner countered, then we countered, and now we are waiting to see if he will accept our final offer. In case he doesn't we have 4 homes lined up to see tomorrow. I am ready to have a home again.
Andy:
Andy works. He hasn't traveled much lately which has been nice for house hunting. I'm sure he'll have a few places he'll have to visit in the near future, but hopefully not until we are moved and settled. OH, and he's wicked excited for our Hawaii trip in 2 weeks! All of us are, but I think Andy the most. Hmmmmmm, that's about all with Andy I think. He's kind of boring now that he's done with school. We like it!
So, all in all, life is good. We are happy, healthy, and get along. We are loving teaching the kids about the Olympics and spending time together watching all the events. Good times!
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Day 23
I'm grateful for Presidents! And the day off that we get to "celebrate". (Actually, Andy believes the holiday was invented so rich kids could have a ski holiday. I think he's right!)
Monday was supposed to be a lovely day with sunshine and warm temperatures.
It rained. And was a bit cold.
But that didn't stop the Highams!!!
We took the kids to the zoo, brunch, then up to Park City to shop for summer clothes for Hawaii!
All of our summer clothes are in the depths of the storage unit so we have to buy new.
Oh darn!
It turned out to be a really fun day even though we were a bit wet and chilled.
My raincoat didn't have a hood so I had to buy this lovely umbrella. Seriously, it IS as ugly as it seems.
Alex on the carousel.
Samantha on the carousel.
3 monkeys.
Samantha wrote a recipe of her own one day and her sweet daddy thought it would be a good idea to try it out. Ice cream, berries, apples, grapes and chocolate sauce. Andy convinced her to leave out the chocolate sauce (thank you) and it actually was quite tasty!
It rained. And was a bit cold.
But that didn't stop the Highams!!!
We took the kids to the zoo, brunch, then up to Park City to shop for summer clothes for Hawaii!
All of our summer clothes are in the depths of the storage unit so we have to buy new.
Oh darn!
It turned out to be a really fun day even though we were a bit wet and chilled.
My raincoat didn't have a hood so I had to buy this lovely umbrella. Seriously, it IS as ugly as it seems.
Alex on the carousel.
Samantha on the carousel.
3 monkeys.
Samantha wrote a recipe of her own one day and her sweet daddy thought it would be a good idea to try it out. Ice cream, berries, apples, grapes and chocolate sauce. Andy convinced her to leave out the chocolate sauce (thank you) and it actually was quite tasty! Saturday, February 13, 2010
Never want to do that again!
We went to the mall today to buy something exciting!! SOCKS!! (totally not part of the story, I just wanted to show you how pathetic we are.)
As we walked into the mall we saw a little boy running around crying looking like he lost his family.
So we stopped him and tried to help. He couldn't find his mom and wasn't listening to me very well and kept running off. I stuck with him and tried to take him to the information desk, but finally he spotted his family and ran off.
PHEW!
I thought it would be a good opportunity to sit down with the kids and talk to them about what to do if they ever get lost at the mall.
We sat down in the food court and told them to find a mall worker and tell them that they lost their family and not to panic and run around like that little boy was.
We then practiced memorizing mommy's telephone number so they could tell the information desk the number to call.
Then, something ridiculous and scary happened.
We lost Samantha!!!!
We took the kids to the treehouse to play which is right next to Payless Shoes. Andy and I went into Payless and after about 2 minutes I asked Andy to go check on the kids. He did, he saw them both and chatted with them and then came back to the store. About 2 minutes later I asked Andy to get Alex so I could try some shoes on him. Alex came running and I proceeded to attempt fitting shoes on him (NOT the easiest thing to do!). I noticed Andy pacing back and forth by the treehouse with a worried look. He came into the store and told me he couldn't see Samantha. I left him to pay for the shoes and I went into the women's restroom to check for her. Nothing. We went into a couple of stores. Nothing. Searched all over the treehouse again. No Samantha.
So, we started to freak out a bit.
Andy ran down to the last store we had been at and called me to say she wasn't in there. Then he saw her - sitting on the counter at the information desk. No tears, just sitting calmly.
As Alex and I made our way down to them I got on the floor with her and asked her what happened. I guess we forgot to mention to her that we were just in the shoe store close by and when she couldn't see us or Alex, she figured she was lost! Like a good little girl she found a mom and told her she was lost. The mom helped take her to the information desk where Andy found her a minute later.
Ummmmm, SCARY!!!
It was awful but she did SO great and did exactly what we told her to do, so I was proud. She wanted me to carry her around the rest of the time which I was just fine with!! My sweet princess!
Then we went for pizza and ice cream.
All was fine after that.
As we walked into the mall we saw a little boy running around crying looking like he lost his family.
So we stopped him and tried to help. He couldn't find his mom and wasn't listening to me very well and kept running off. I stuck with him and tried to take him to the information desk, but finally he spotted his family and ran off.
PHEW!
I thought it would be a good opportunity to sit down with the kids and talk to them about what to do if they ever get lost at the mall.
We sat down in the food court and told them to find a mall worker and tell them that they lost their family and not to panic and run around like that little boy was.
We then practiced memorizing mommy's telephone number so they could tell the information desk the number to call.
Then, something ridiculous and scary happened.
We lost Samantha!!!!
We took the kids to the treehouse to play which is right next to Payless Shoes. Andy and I went into Payless and after about 2 minutes I asked Andy to go check on the kids. He did, he saw them both and chatted with them and then came back to the store. About 2 minutes later I asked Andy to get Alex so I could try some shoes on him. Alex came running and I proceeded to attempt fitting shoes on him (NOT the easiest thing to do!). I noticed Andy pacing back and forth by the treehouse with a worried look. He came into the store and told me he couldn't see Samantha. I left him to pay for the shoes and I went into the women's restroom to check for her. Nothing. We went into a couple of stores. Nothing. Searched all over the treehouse again. No Samantha.
So, we started to freak out a bit.
Andy ran down to the last store we had been at and called me to say she wasn't in there. Then he saw her - sitting on the counter at the information desk. No tears, just sitting calmly.
As Alex and I made our way down to them I got on the floor with her and asked her what happened. I guess we forgot to mention to her that we were just in the shoe store close by and when she couldn't see us or Alex, she figured she was lost! Like a good little girl she found a mom and told her she was lost. The mom helped take her to the information desk where Andy found her a minute later.
Ummmmm, SCARY!!!
It was awful but she did SO great and did exactly what we told her to do, so I was proud. She wanted me to carry her around the rest of the time which I was just fine with!! My sweet princess!
Then we went for pizza and ice cream.
All was fine after that.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Day 22
I love that Alex asked to wash dishes the other day.
I'm not going to say no......I'm not stupid!!
And he did a pretty decent job too!
And he did a pretty decent job too!
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
Day 21
I am grateful today for the church magazine, The Friend.
You see, we didn't get the house that we've wanted and waited for for 4 months!!
Not the end of the world, I know. We just sort of got our hearts set on it and we were under the impression that the bank had signed a contract with us......so we thought we were set.
Those damn short sales.
Those damn banks.
So I've been thinking a lot lately about prayers and how prayers are answered.
Sometimes they aren't answered how we want.
But I KNOW they are answered.
Sometimes not in our time frame.
But the Lord's time frame.
This one is definitely going on the Lord's time frame. I was hoping to be in a home by now.
I was hoping to be in "OUR" home by now.
I love my "stuff". It is comforting to me to be surrounded by the things that I love that we have collected throughout the years.
It's been a bit hard on me not to have those things around me.
Honestly though, we are SOOOOO blessed to have this beautiful home to live in while we look for our home. Andy's parents are angels!!
There was an article in The Friend with some thoughts by Richard G. Scott. I particularly liked this one:
"Be thankful that sometimes God lets you struggle for a long time before the answer comes. Your character will grow; your faith will increase."
I just LOVE that!!
And I'm feeling it!! I will continue to pray for guidance as we look for a new home for our family. And, in the meanwhile, I will be grateful for the wonderful circumstances that we are in right now and how comfortable we are.
I was talking to my sister, Richele, yesterday and she was saying that someday I will look back on this time and I will be settled and happy in a home and I will be grateful my prayers weren't answered and we didn't get the home we wanted at first.
She and Greg thought their life was over when their attempts at in-vitro didn't work. They were so disappointed that their prayers weren't answered.
But guess what??
If their prayers had been answered the way THEY wanted, then we probably wouldn't have sweet Nicole-Baby in our family!!!! Ohhhhh......and how much do we LOVE her!!!!
I have faith. Things will work out like they are supposed to. Heavenly Father will help us find the right home, in the right neighborhood, where the kids can have wonderful friends and grow up right!
I just need to be more patient.
Lessons learned!!
You see, we didn't get the house that we've wanted and waited for for 4 months!!
Not the end of the world, I know. We just sort of got our hearts set on it and we were under the impression that the bank had signed a contract with us......so we thought we were set.
Those damn short sales.
Those damn banks.
So I've been thinking a lot lately about prayers and how prayers are answered.
Sometimes they aren't answered how we want.
But I KNOW they are answered.
Sometimes not in our time frame.
But the Lord's time frame.
This one is definitely going on the Lord's time frame. I was hoping to be in a home by now.
I was hoping to be in "OUR" home by now.
I love my "stuff". It is comforting to me to be surrounded by the things that I love that we have collected throughout the years.
It's been a bit hard on me not to have those things around me.
Honestly though, we are SOOOOO blessed to have this beautiful home to live in while we look for our home. Andy's parents are angels!!
There was an article in The Friend with some thoughts by Richard G. Scott. I particularly liked this one:
"Be thankful that sometimes God lets you struggle for a long time before the answer comes. Your character will grow; your faith will increase."
I just LOVE that!!
And I'm feeling it!! I will continue to pray for guidance as we look for a new home for our family. And, in the meanwhile, I will be grateful for the wonderful circumstances that we are in right now and how comfortable we are.
I was talking to my sister, Richele, yesterday and she was saying that someday I will look back on this time and I will be settled and happy in a home and I will be grateful my prayers weren't answered and we didn't get the home we wanted at first.
She and Greg thought their life was over when their attempts at in-vitro didn't work. They were so disappointed that their prayers weren't answered.
But guess what??
If their prayers had been answered the way THEY wanted, then we probably wouldn't have sweet Nicole-Baby in our family!!!! Ohhhhh......and how much do we LOVE her!!!!
I have faith. Things will work out like they are supposed to. Heavenly Father will help us find the right home, in the right neighborhood, where the kids can have wonderful friends and grow up right!
I just need to be more patient.
Lessons learned!!
Monday, February 08, 2010
Day 20
I'm grateful for Girls Night Out!!
Samantha and I went to the salon on Saturday for haircuts and then to dinner!
We were goofing off in the car while the car was drinking gas.
Samantha and I went to the salon on Saturday for haircuts and then to dinner!
We were goofing off in the car while the car was drinking gas.
Getting her hair washed!!
She sat SO still and was quite serious the whole time. What an angel!
The finished product! I think she looks so much older with her hair blown straight......which is why I plan on keeping it curly most of the time!!
She chose Arctic Circle for dinner. High end, I know!!!
We had a fun night together while the boys were at home having their own fun. I think Andy took pictures of their night, so I'll have to post those another time.
Love you baby girl! Thanks for the fun date!
Saturday, February 06, 2010
Day 19
My 3 little ragamuffins playing Uno on a Saturday morning......almost Saturday afternoon.
In their PJs.
Isn't that what awful-weather Saturdays are for?
I also think Saturday mornings are for watching Michael Jackson's This is It.
Which we did this morning.
And Alex exclaimed, "Is Michael Jackson a boy or a girl?".
Perceptive little guy.
Oh, and the kids ROCKED out to MJ. Samantha was pulling some serious moves.
Hilarious and adorable.
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
Day 18
Alex firmly believes these days that he is a rock star. And for some reason he has a bit of an obsession with Michael Jackson. Not that it's a bad thing - he was the King of Pop, after all!
We have been listening to the Glee soundtracks in the car lately and the kids
are memorizing every song and Alex's favorite lately - though
I sort of hate to admit it, is the Barbara Streisand song Rain on my Parade.
What 4 year old likes a Barbara Streisand song??
Scary, I know.
This was Alex in the car yesterday playing his guitar. I think he needs lessons
By the way, I was at a very LONG stop light, and as soon as it turned green I turned off the camera. Safety first!
We have been listening to the Glee soundtracks in the car lately and the kids
are memorizing every song and Alex's favorite lately - though
I sort of hate to admit it, is the Barbara Streisand song Rain on my Parade.
What 4 year old likes a Barbara Streisand song??
Scary, I know.
This was Alex in the car yesterday playing his guitar. I think he needs lessons
By the way, I was at a very LONG stop light, and as soon as it turned green I turned off the camera. Safety first!
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Day 17
I am grateful that even though Samantha's birthday is in the summer, her teacher is smart enough to celebrate 1/2 birthdays! Friday was Samantha's half birthday and she was WAY more excited for this than she ever has been for her real birthday!
I think she was just really excited to share it with her school friends and wear the birthday crown and have me come to her school.
I was able to go spend some time at school with her and share her favorite book with her class. We also made a poster with some pictures of her from the past 5 1/2 years. It was so cute to see her cute smiles especially while the class sang happy birthday to her.
Alex loved being there too! He really wanted to stay with his sister all day. Frankly, I wanted him to stay too!
I think she was just really excited to share it with her school friends and wear the birthday crown and have me come to her school.
I was able to go spend some time at school with her and share her favorite book with her class. We also made a poster with some pictures of her from the past 5 1/2 years. It was so cute to see her cute smiles especially while the class sang happy birthday to her.
Alex loved being there too! He really wanted to stay with his sister all day. Frankly, I wanted him to stay too!
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Day 16
(kind of an old picture, but I just adore her little face in this)I am grateful for a super insanely sweet little girl who yesterday told me that she wants to go to Haiti to help all the people there.
We have been keeping the kids up-to-date on what has been happening there and every prayer my sweet babies pray "for Haiti". I think it is a great learning experience for them in compassion and helping as much as we can.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Cozy
Do you want to know what I was thinking about this morning? Do ya? (Yeah, probably not, but I know that you are hooked now! I know that you are so curious as to what has been stewing in my mind that you just can't turn away now! Try it, I dare ya! You can't! HA! THAT, my friends, is called an excellent climate-set opening! Learned that in my BYU course! So there!)
So, where was I? Oh yeah, my asinine thoughts, that's right.
This morning I was thinking about pajamas. I wear pajamas a lot. LOVE THEM! Every year for Christmas Eve Andy buys me a new pair of pajamas. For the past 6 or 7 years he has chosen pajamas from Victoria's Secret. I am convinced that his thoughts were as follows:
"Oh la la! Look how lovely these buxom ladies look in their pajamas! Kristi isn't QUITE that stacked, but she does have nice feet.....maybe, JUST maybe, if I buy her these pajamas she will transform into Heidi Klum. Let's give it a shot! CLICK, purchase!"
He must have been massively disappointed the past 7 years.
This year I got pajamas from Costco.
They are very soft though.
(Authors note: These ramblings are the ramblings of a crazy woman and do NOT reflect the attitude or opinions expressed by Andrew C. Higham. At least I don't think so. Do they Andy? DO THEY?????)
So, where was I? Oh yeah, my asinine thoughts, that's right.
This morning I was thinking about pajamas. I wear pajamas a lot. LOVE THEM! Every year for Christmas Eve Andy buys me a new pair of pajamas. For the past 6 or 7 years he has chosen pajamas from Victoria's Secret. I am convinced that his thoughts were as follows:
"Oh la la! Look how lovely these buxom ladies look in their pajamas! Kristi isn't QUITE that stacked, but she does have nice feet.....maybe, JUST maybe, if I buy her these pajamas she will transform into Heidi Klum. Let's give it a shot! CLICK, purchase!"
He must have been massively disappointed the past 7 years.
This year I got pajamas from Costco.
They are very soft though.
(Authors note: These ramblings are the ramblings of a crazy woman and do NOT reflect the attitude or opinions expressed by Andrew C. Higham. At least I don't think so. Do they Andy? DO THEY?????)
Friday, January 22, 2010
Day 15
I am SOOOOO grateful for really stupid people. Tears are running down my face! Haven't laughed like this in ages!!
Thank you www.failbooking.com!
Thank you www.failbooking.com!
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Day 14
I am grateful that Alex decided to help his daddy fold laundry today while his sister is SCREAMING HER HEAD OFF in time-out.
At least one is acting semi-decent right now.
Thanks buddy!!
At least one is acting semi-decent right now.
Thanks buddy!!
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Day 13
This morning Alex came into bed with me to snuggle at 7.15am. He started rubbing my face and my arm and neck. He then exclaimed, "Mom, I'm going to start calling you Buttercup because your skin is soft like butter."!! Really, I have no idea where he came up with that, but it sure did put me in a good mood for the morning!
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Day 12
I don't have a picture....but right now I am loving listening to my mother-in-law busting a gut while watching Home Alone 2. She is FAR more entertaining than the movie. And she is laughing WAY more than the kids do. Comic relief for a Sunday night.
I'm off to do more homework.....sigh.
I'm off to do more homework.....sigh.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Day 11
I am grateful I got to babysit this little peanut yesterday (my nephew Caleb)! He is such a sweet baby!
And OH SO good!! He is so laid back which makes him quite the easy baby to babysit.
His hair looks magnificently red in these pictures, but it isn't quite that red in person.
Yes, I do have to resist nibbling on his cheeks 24/7!!
And OH SO good!! He is so laid back which makes him quite the easy baby to babysit.
His hair looks magnificently red in these pictures, but it isn't quite that red in person.
Yes, I do have to resist nibbling on his cheeks 24/7!!
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Day 10
I am grateful my daughter can spend a whole week at school learning about penguins.......
Oh wait.....no I'm not!!!
Seriously....a whole week.....learning about penguins!!
Aren't there more important things to learn about?
Like letters? Numbers? Whales?
Well, at least she brings home cute pictures.
And the other day she was eating something I told her it looked good....
She then told me that she could spit it in my mouth like a penguin and feed me.
Nasty, but clever.
MOSTLY though, I am grateful today we decided to just GO FOR IT and bought tickets to Hawaii!!!!
We are going to Maui in March for a week.
The kids have never been and I'm sure they'll love it!
I love it. Andy loves it.
I'm going to drink POG until I turn orange.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Day 9
I am grateful for Andy. AND I love him! It's a double for the day!
Andy has been such a prince lately in helping me finish my independent study class.
I know he doesn't enjoy it. But he does it to make me happy.
How great is that!?!
Thanks babe! Only a little bit left to go!
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Day 8
We LOVE fresh juice! This morning we had grapefruit, Cara-Cara oranges, and Blood Oranges in our juice.
Usually we don't have the blood oranges, but we bought some at Sunflower Market yesterday and love the way they taste and the color they add to the juice.
In my opinion, Cara-Cara oranges are the best oranges for juice. We buy them in huge bags at Costco and go through them very quickly.
The kids can drink 2 glasses of the juice each and so we have to make a lot to satiate everyone.
Fresh, healthy, delicious! Oh, and beautiful!
Saturday, January 09, 2010
Thursday, January 07, 2010
Day 6
I am not terribly happy that the kids disobeyed me when I told them it was bath time, but I did think it was adorable that they turned off all the lights, got snuggly blankets, and curled up for an impromptu movie night. I only let them watch for about 15 minutes, but they seemed to enjoy it and they looked mighty cute laying there.
Notice how Alex folds his arms behind his head.
He ALWAYS does that. He does it in the car, in bed, on the couch, anywhere he lays down.
I love it.
Wednesday, January 06, 2010
Day 5
I know, I know. Today is the 6th but only day 5 of me writing. Too bad - get used to it! I imagine there will be a lot of days I will miss.
I am having a rough time figuring out something to be grateful for today. It's been one of those days! So, I'm going to go for something simple that, even though it's been a couple of years, I am still grateful for every day......I am grateful that both of my children are potty trained!!!!!! NO MORE DIAPERS!! EVER!!! What a great feeling that is! And, both of my children were relatively easy to potty train (unlike my stink of a niece, Nicole). Alex is a "straight shot" and hardly ever makes a mess in the bathroom (unlike my firehose nephews). So, as it goes in the potty world, we are lucky!
I don't have access to all of my old pictures to find one of them in diapers, and I'm certainly not going to post a picture of them on the toilet, so here is a cute old movie of them in swim diapers.
I am having a rough time figuring out something to be grateful for today. It's been one of those days! So, I'm going to go for something simple that, even though it's been a couple of years, I am still grateful for every day......I am grateful that both of my children are potty trained!!!!!! NO MORE DIAPERS!! EVER!!! What a great feeling that is! And, both of my children were relatively easy to potty train (unlike my stink of a niece, Nicole). Alex is a "straight shot" and hardly ever makes a mess in the bathroom (unlike my firehose nephews). So, as it goes in the potty world, we are lucky!
I don't have access to all of my old pictures to find one of them in diapers, and I'm certainly not going to post a picture of them on the toilet, so here is a cute old movie of them in swim diapers.
Monday, January 04, 2010
Day 4
Right now I am grateful for technology and my fancy dancy phone that lets me post this from bed. I'm too lazy to get up and didn't want to miss a day so early on in the year. Yea for laziness!!
BE STILL MY HEART!!!!!
I believe I would have the most lovely earlobes in the world if these earrings were attached to me!! You really do NOT want to know the price of these!
Sunday, January 03, 2010
Day 3
As much as I am NOT enjoying homework again (there should be an age limit for that), I am GRATEFUL that I can "go back to school" and try to finish my degree.
I am taking just one small class through BYU and I thought it would be easier. It's not. It's hard. And I'm old. It's a bad combination.
But, I am trying to be a good example to my children and teach them that a college degree is important.
What better way to teach than by example.
I wish Andy's MBA would cover me too, but I think I probably need my own.
Sigh...I have a long road ahead of me.
Saturday, January 02, 2010
Day 2
Not the greatest picture, but I LOVE it when Samantha eats a great dinner (curry turkey with potatoes) and then gets to eat dessert and watch a show for a while before bed.
Alex, did NOT eat his dinner, so he went to bed early.
Samantha got to eat some Joe-Joes and watch Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with me and daddy. The old movie, not the new Johnny Depp one.
We had a good time!
And now she's too hyper for bed.Friday, January 01, 2010
New Year, New Blog Posts
An old high-school friend of mine, Kim, did something great on her blog this past year. Every day she wrote about something she loved or was grateful for. I think it is a great idea and I am going to give it a shot this year! I think doing this will force me to be as positive as I can be and hopefully a whole lot more grateful for everything that I have. I also plan to include a picture for each day. We'll see if I can actually stick to that.....but I'm going to give it my best. I think more pictures documenting my day-to-day life would be swell. That's right, I just said swell!! So.....here goes day number one!!
Today I am grateful for and LOVE the fact that my family loves having brinner (breakfast for dinner). Tonight Andy bought an orange and blueberry loaf of bread and we made french toast out of them. In an attempt to add some sort of nutritional value to our meal we also had berries and yogurt. It was all very delicious and I just think brinner is the best meal EVER!
Today I am grateful for and LOVE the fact that my family loves having brinner (breakfast for dinner). Tonight Andy bought an orange and blueberry loaf of bread and we made french toast out of them. In an attempt to add some sort of nutritional value to our meal we also had berries and yogurt. It was all very delicious and I just think brinner is the best meal EVER!
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
CAUTION: Only look if you are prepared to handle the cuteness!!!!!!
SERIOUSLY??? HAVE YOU EVER IN YOUR LIFE SEEN A CUTER FACE?????
This, my friends, is my freakishly adorable husband when he was 3 1/2.
I fell in love with this picture as soon as I saw it and I can't stop looking at it!!
So, I thought I'd share it with everyone so they can take part of this precious face. I love his sweet expression and how he is holding Sylvester! I wish I could go back in time and snorgle his little face to death!!!
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Christmas Day 2009
MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE HIGHAMS
AND FROM RICHELE....
(Hey, if she is going to take a picture like that with my camera, it's going to get posted!!)
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Merry Christmas!
We fell behind this year, so I guess this is our excuse that we are "keeping up with the times" and taking our Christmas card electronic.
Merry Christmas! We hope you are enjoying the season as much as we are. It took a while to get the Christmas lights on the house working (busted outlet outside), but once we did, the kids faces just lit up! We were under a lot of pressure, as all of the neighbors’ lights were up and running, but now we are keeping up with the Joneses.
The kids have loved the snow so far this year. Even though it’s all crusty and frozen right now, they head out every day. Last night when they came in, Samantha’s mittens were totally soaked through - you know that means they had a good time. Or we need to buy better mittens. Speaking of which, the kids’ snow outfits are hilarious. They finally outgrew their last set, though we managed to squeeze 3 good winters out of them. Trying to build on our past success, their new snow clothes are about 3 sizes too big. Snow stuff is already pretty bulky, so it’s pretty shocking that they can move.
Samantha started Kindergarten this fall, and loves it. She also loves her teacher Mrs. Lemon, and thinks that it’s hilarious that she has the same name as a piece of fruit. Her teachers say that she is a perfect angel in class. We’d be a bit suspicious about that, but Kristi was her primary teacher for a while, and she was always quiet, attentive, and did a great job at participating. It’s a lot of fun to help her with her homework. It’s marvelous to see the joy in her face as she figures out how to sound out a new word. She does get easily frustrated, especially when she’s tired, so at those times it’s best to just move on to something else, but she loves finding her sight words everywhere we go, and is obsessed with counting things. It’s amazing what kind of knowledge she can bring home from school. The other night while daddy was watching Food Network (SHOCKING), someone was making a Yule Log. “What’s that?” Samantha asked? “It’s a Yule Log,” daddy replied. Samantha then launched into a lecture about the history of the Yule Log and its German origin! She threw it out very casually. Not surprisingly, we’re probably in a lot of trouble in the future – Kristi has seen the boys on the playground absolutely mooning after Samantha as she arrives at school. “Hiiii, Samantha.”
Alex started pre-school at the same place that Samantha went last year. He already loved Teacher Nicole from having met her many times he had met her before, so he had no trouble fitting right in. He is less than an inch shorter than Samantha, and depending on the day, might outweigh her by a pound or two. With a September birthday, he’s just about the oldest kid in class, and he towers over some of the kids by a full head. (We STILL get asked if they are twins – we thought it was just the double stroller they used to ride in.) Alex will undoubtedly be a better student than Samantha. I’m sure a lot of it is the benefit that he gains from the fact that she is constantly practicing, so he can pick up that residual knowledge, but he just absorbs things faster. While Samantha was practicing her reading (most of the sentences were repetitive), she struggled to read one of the new words in each sentence. On the second try, as she was working to get it out, Alex prompted her with the right word, kindly not vocalizing the “duh” that was plain in his tone. Alex struggles to speak a bit, in terms of clarity and enunciation, so he goes to speech therapy twice a week. Once is at the public school (free – yay!), and the other time is with a local speech pathologist (pricey – boo!). After his first trip to the speech pathologist (Paige), he was talking about what he thought of paper. “Paper?” daddy asked. “Yes, Paper.” Read through that a couple of times (out loud might help), and you’ll crack up when it clicks.
Kristi is happy (Alert – Extreme Understatement detected!) to have both kids in school, even if the stars only align for a couple of hours at a time a couple of times a week. She’s taken advantage of Andy’s amazing corporate discount at Gold’s Gym, you can now find her in the Cardio Cinema on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. She is currently practicing to be a taxi driver as she shuttles the kids to pre-school/school/’peech (one of Alex’s struggles is words that start with “S”)/whatever. We managed to sell our home in Pleasant Grove in October, and Andy’s parents have been kind enough to loan us their home in Orem until we can find a new home. Not knowing where we’ll end up, we’ve chosen to keep Samantha and Alex in their same schools, so Kristi’s schlepping kids around the valley a little further than you might normally expect. Too bad Orem is awful at clearing snow from the roads. To make sure that she doesn’t have too much free time, Kristi has decided to start a cookie catering business. She’s perfected her own cookie recipe, and there’s just enough action to keep her busy, between her local customers and some fans as far away as New York (it’s amazing how well those vacuum sealer things work).
Andy finished his MBA in August, and is just glad to not have to worry about it anymore. Work hasn’t changed much – he’s writing this on a flight to New York. Thank goodness for his tiny netbook and complimentary upgrades on Delta. It appears that he is in danger of beginning to refer to himself in the 3rd person – perhaps he’ll have to try to make the jump to professional sports. Andy is very grateful to have such a wonderful family, and generous parents who are letting us crash in their home until we can get a bank to finally move on a short sale. He won’t tell you too much about what he think about banks, as this isn’t really the place, and he happens to work for one, but suffice it to say we won’t be sending them any of Kristi’s cookies at Christmas. The good news is that we have a bank considering our offer on a home in American fork, and we are supposed to find out if they have accepted it in5 weeks or so. The bad news is that by writing that sentence, he has now totally jinxed the deal.
Have a Merry Christmas!
Andy, Kristi, Samantha & Alex
Merry Christmas! We hope you are enjoying the season as much as we are. It took a while to get the Christmas lights on the house working (busted outlet outside), but once we did, the kids faces just lit up! We were under a lot of pressure, as all of the neighbors’ lights were up and running, but now we are keeping up with the Joneses.
The kids have loved the snow so far this year. Even though it’s all crusty and frozen right now, they head out every day. Last night when they came in, Samantha’s mittens were totally soaked through - you know that means they had a good time. Or we need to buy better mittens. Speaking of which, the kids’ snow outfits are hilarious. They finally outgrew their last set, though we managed to squeeze 3 good winters out of them. Trying to build on our past success, their new snow clothes are about 3 sizes too big. Snow stuff is already pretty bulky, so it’s pretty shocking that they can move.
Samantha started Kindergarten this fall, and loves it. She also loves her teacher Mrs. Lemon, and thinks that it’s hilarious that she has the same name as a piece of fruit. Her teachers say that she is a perfect angel in class. We’d be a bit suspicious about that, but Kristi was her primary teacher for a while, and she was always quiet, attentive, and did a great job at participating. It’s a lot of fun to help her with her homework. It’s marvelous to see the joy in her face as she figures out how to sound out a new word. She does get easily frustrated, especially when she’s tired, so at those times it’s best to just move on to something else, but she loves finding her sight words everywhere we go, and is obsessed with counting things. It’s amazing what kind of knowledge she can bring home from school. The other night while daddy was watching Food Network (SHOCKING), someone was making a Yule Log. “What’s that?” Samantha asked? “It’s a Yule Log,” daddy replied. Samantha then launched into a lecture about the history of the Yule Log and its German origin! She threw it out very casually. Not surprisingly, we’re probably in a lot of trouble in the future – Kristi has seen the boys on the playground absolutely mooning after Samantha as she arrives at school. “Hiiii, Samantha.”
Alex started pre-school at the same place that Samantha went last year. He already loved Teacher Nicole from having met her many times he had met her before, so he had no trouble fitting right in. He is less than an inch shorter than Samantha, and depending on the day, might outweigh her by a pound or two. With a September birthday, he’s just about the oldest kid in class, and he towers over some of the kids by a full head. (We STILL get asked if they are twins – we thought it was just the double stroller they used to ride in.) Alex will undoubtedly be a better student than Samantha. I’m sure a lot of it is the benefit that he gains from the fact that she is constantly practicing, so he can pick up that residual knowledge, but he just absorbs things faster. While Samantha was practicing her reading (most of the sentences were repetitive), she struggled to read one of the new words in each sentence. On the second try, as she was working to get it out, Alex prompted her with the right word, kindly not vocalizing the “duh” that was plain in his tone. Alex struggles to speak a bit, in terms of clarity and enunciation, so he goes to speech therapy twice a week. Once is at the public school (free – yay!), and the other time is with a local speech pathologist (pricey – boo!). After his first trip to the speech pathologist (Paige), he was talking about what he thought of paper. “Paper?” daddy asked. “Yes, Paper.” Read through that a couple of times (out loud might help), and you’ll crack up when it clicks.
Kristi is happy (Alert – Extreme Understatement detected!) to have both kids in school, even if the stars only align for a couple of hours at a time a couple of times a week. She’s taken advantage of Andy’s amazing corporate discount at Gold’s Gym, you can now find her in the Cardio Cinema on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. She is currently practicing to be a taxi driver as she shuttles the kids to pre-school/school/’peech (one of Alex’s struggles is words that start with “S”)/whatever. We managed to sell our home in Pleasant Grove in October, and Andy’s parents have been kind enough to loan us their home in Orem until we can find a new home. Not knowing where we’ll end up, we’ve chosen to keep Samantha and Alex in their same schools, so Kristi’s schlepping kids around the valley a little further than you might normally expect. Too bad Orem is awful at clearing snow from the roads. To make sure that she doesn’t have too much free time, Kristi has decided to start a cookie catering business. She’s perfected her own cookie recipe, and there’s just enough action to keep her busy, between her local customers and some fans as far away as New York (it’s amazing how well those vacuum sealer things work).
Andy finished his MBA in August, and is just glad to not have to worry about it anymore. Work hasn’t changed much – he’s writing this on a flight to New York. Thank goodness for his tiny netbook and complimentary upgrades on Delta. It appears that he is in danger of beginning to refer to himself in the 3rd person – perhaps he’ll have to try to make the jump to professional sports. Andy is very grateful to have such a wonderful family, and generous parents who are letting us crash in their home until we can get a bank to finally move on a short sale. He won’t tell you too much about what he think about banks, as this isn’t really the place, and he happens to work for one, but suffice it to say we won’t be sending them any of Kristi’s cookies at Christmas. The good news is that we have a bank considering our offer on a home in American fork, and we are supposed to find out if they have accepted it in5 weeks or so. The bad news is that by writing that sentence, he has now totally jinxed the deal.
Have a Merry Christmas!
Andy, Kristi, Samantha & Alex
Monday, December 21, 2009
Yum
Saturday night we got together with friends at Forage Restaurant. Let me just say, I haven't stayed up that late in YEARS!!!!! But it was totally worth it to hang out with friends we rarely see and eat amazing food. The whole meal took us 3 1/2 hours to eat and then we hung out and chatted with the chef for a while. Lucky for us, the incredible chef, Bowman Brown is the brother-in-law of our friends and so we had around 13 courses of delicious food. It was a lot to experience and I ate many new things. I've never had rabbit before.....who knew it was so good!!??!! Brandon, Claire, Matt, and Angela were in town for their sister's wedding and their older brother Nathan also joined us. This was the first time we met Angela and we were so happy to be able to get to know her before she marries Matt in January! It's good she passed approval because we adore Matt and want the best for him!! Now we get to firm up plans to go to San Francisco for the wedding in January! Yippee! I'm not the brightest and totally forgot to take a picture of all of us, but trust me, we looked good!
Thanks for the invite Richards clan! We love you guys!
Thanks for the invite Richards clan! We love you guys!
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Who dat?
I'm not quite sure what has happened to me. I sometimes don't even recognize myself in the mirror. I used to be a happy and optimistic person with bright eyes and a great outlook on the future. I can't find that person anymore. She has vanished. In her place is a woman with a few gray hairs and wrinkles around the eyes and a crabby disposition. I think it's motherhood. I am, by nature, a peacemaker. I can't STAND to fight with Andy and if we do have a little fight, it is resolved very quickly. So why am I constantly yelling and fighting with my children? Why do they get on my nerves SO very quickly? Where did they learn what buttons to push with me?? Because they are the only two people on this earth who can really push me over the edge. I despise yelling at them. I despise disciplining them. Yet most of my days are filled with reprimands and punishings and a very unhappy momma.
How hard is it to get shoes on and get buckled in the car? Why must I ask 10 times?
Am I your cruise director or your mom? Why do you expect me to tap dance for you 24/7?
You make the mess - you clean it up!
Is it just me? Is it just my house that sounds like this? Will I ever get my sanity and sunny disposition back? Will Andy let me get Botox around my eyes?
I will admit though, the one shining star I have in my life is my marriage. THANKFULLY, I married a dreamboat who adores me and takes such good care of me. He understands when I need a break and is ready and willing to step in to allow me that break. When the house seems to crumble in on me I can look forward to him coming through the door and hugging me and, in that moment, all is right.
Except right now......he is in New York on business. I need a hug.
How hard is it to get shoes on and get buckled in the car? Why must I ask 10 times?
Am I your cruise director or your mom? Why do you expect me to tap dance for you 24/7?
You make the mess - you clean it up!
Is it just me? Is it just my house that sounds like this? Will I ever get my sanity and sunny disposition back? Will Andy let me get Botox around my eyes?
I will admit though, the one shining star I have in my life is my marriage. THANKFULLY, I married a dreamboat who adores me and takes such good care of me. He understands when I need a break and is ready and willing to step in to allow me that break. When the house seems to crumble in on me I can look forward to him coming through the door and hugging me and, in that moment, all is right.
Except right now......he is in New York on business. I need a hug.
Thursday, December 03, 2009
Wherein I spew much information nobody cares about.
House update:
We have 2 offers into the bank on 2 great homes. If the bank could just hurry it up then we could get working on the papers and get into a home....but that just isn't how short sales work these days!! One home is in American Fork just 1 block south of the Mt. Timpanogos Temple. It is huge and lovely! It is located in a cul-de-sac and the kitchen is RIDICULOUSLY large--which is great for us! It only has 3 bedrooms and 2.5 bath (in 5000 sq ft!), but that is enough for us for now and someday we could finish the basement. We are really hoping for this house. Overall, it is our favorite.
The other home is in Orem just off of 1600 North. It is in a great Ivory Homes subdivision. The kitchen is really weak, but the basement isn't finished and we could possibly build another kitchen downstairs for me and my cookies. We love the upstairs of this home which includes a HUGE loft, 3 bedrooms and a bathroom. It is perfect for the kids area. The master bedroom is on the main floor so the upstairs could be dedicated just to the kids!
There is good and bad to both homes and both areas, but right now I think we'd be happy with anything!! We are going through them both again tomorrow with the expert eyes of my mom and dad to help us envision things and/or point out issues etc. I am looking forward to seeing both homes again.
Kid update:
Kids are here. They are growing. They throw tantrums. They make me laugh. They make me cry. They are excited for Christmas. They talk A LOT! And they sure are learning a bunch at school. They are smart little munchkins!
Kristi update:
The cookie business is going fairly well--considering I don't advertise and haven't updated the website like I want. I just don't have the time to do any of that and I really don't want to do too much until we get into our own home and I can really set up the business. Plus, I'm wicked busy right now trying to finish up my BYU course. I really SHOULD NOT have signed up for this class. Lesson learned, now let's just get it over with!!!
Andy update:
Andy is a enjoying his shorter commute. Not that it was horrible before, but now that he lives and works in Orem it can sometimes only take him 6 minutes to get to work! I LOVE it because if I have an issue like, say, oh, a screaming tantrum little girl, I can call him and he can help me deal with it. AND he brings me lunch! What a champion! I am certain he is still enjoying his freedom from school and sits down to play video games to celebrate. He has a couple of business trips coming up and a possible trip to Israel to visit a new client in January. I wish the kids and I could come along! I love Israel!
Pet update:
I flushed Merrie the fish last week. He was looking uber sick and I didn't want him to suffer any longer. And I got sick of taking care of him. The kids waved good-bye as he swirled down the toilet. If you can't tell, we weren't too broken up about it. Phil--the free carnival fish--is alive and kicking and creates a lot of dirty water for me to clean. Chewy still keeps me happy! I love that little bird. He cracks me up and is a good little pet for me. No one else really likes him too much, but that's because he bites everyone but me. Little stink!
Life is good. We are grateful to have a nice home to live in while we house hunt. We are looking forward to Christmas and spending time with family. Andy's family won't be coming out this year but we did get to see them at Thanksgiving.
I just got a new gym membership and now I plan on working out twice a week when both kids are in school and I am very excited! I worked out for 2 hours today and it felt really good. I probably won't feel so good tonight.....but oh well!
We have 2 offers into the bank on 2 great homes. If the bank could just hurry it up then we could get working on the papers and get into a home....but that just isn't how short sales work these days!! One home is in American Fork just 1 block south of the Mt. Timpanogos Temple. It is huge and lovely! It is located in a cul-de-sac and the kitchen is RIDICULOUSLY large--which is great for us! It only has 3 bedrooms and 2.5 bath (in 5000 sq ft!), but that is enough for us for now and someday we could finish the basement. We are really hoping for this house. Overall, it is our favorite.
The other home is in Orem just off of 1600 North. It is in a great Ivory Homes subdivision. The kitchen is really weak, but the basement isn't finished and we could possibly build another kitchen downstairs for me and my cookies. We love the upstairs of this home which includes a HUGE loft, 3 bedrooms and a bathroom. It is perfect for the kids area. The master bedroom is on the main floor so the upstairs could be dedicated just to the kids!
There is good and bad to both homes and both areas, but right now I think we'd be happy with anything!! We are going through them both again tomorrow with the expert eyes of my mom and dad to help us envision things and/or point out issues etc. I am looking forward to seeing both homes again.
Kid update:
Kids are here. They are growing. They throw tantrums. They make me laugh. They make me cry. They are excited for Christmas. They talk A LOT! And they sure are learning a bunch at school. They are smart little munchkins!
Kristi update:
The cookie business is going fairly well--considering I don't advertise and haven't updated the website like I want. I just don't have the time to do any of that and I really don't want to do too much until we get into our own home and I can really set up the business. Plus, I'm wicked busy right now trying to finish up my BYU course. I really SHOULD NOT have signed up for this class. Lesson learned, now let's just get it over with!!!
Andy update:
Andy is a enjoying his shorter commute. Not that it was horrible before, but now that he lives and works in Orem it can sometimes only take him 6 minutes to get to work! I LOVE it because if I have an issue like, say, oh, a screaming tantrum little girl, I can call him and he can help me deal with it. AND he brings me lunch! What a champion! I am certain he is still enjoying his freedom from school and sits down to play video games to celebrate. He has a couple of business trips coming up and a possible trip to Israel to visit a new client in January. I wish the kids and I could come along! I love Israel!
Pet update:
I flushed Merrie the fish last week. He was looking uber sick and I didn't want him to suffer any longer. And I got sick of taking care of him. The kids waved good-bye as he swirled down the toilet. If you can't tell, we weren't too broken up about it. Phil--the free carnival fish--is alive and kicking and creates a lot of dirty water for me to clean. Chewy still keeps me happy! I love that little bird. He cracks me up and is a good little pet for me. No one else really likes him too much, but that's because he bites everyone but me. Little stink!
Life is good. We are grateful to have a nice home to live in while we house hunt. We are looking forward to Christmas and spending time with family. Andy's family won't be coming out this year but we did get to see them at Thanksgiving.
I just got a new gym membership and now I plan on working out twice a week when both kids are in school and I am very excited! I worked out for 2 hours today and it felt really good. I probably won't feel so good tonight.....but oh well!
I LOVE MY FAMILY!
(and I love this hideous picture of us on a Sunday drive!)
(and I love this hideous picture of us on a Sunday drive!)
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
A few things I'm thankful for.....
I'm thankful for my family.....
and for the free country I live in.
and for the free country I live in.
More Video Silliness
The Muppets take on Bohemian Rhapsody, apparently in preparation for the new Queen album that is about to come out. Not quite sure what to make of that....
Monday, November 23, 2009
Disney Princesses on Ice
Samantha and I went with Richele, Greg, Nicole and Grampy to Disney Barf Me on Ice. Oh....I mean, Disney Princess on Ice.
Samantha had a lovely time and was so excited about all of it. Nicole, on the other hand, was so confused by all of it! She had never been to anything like this before and she had no idea what to make of it. She had this look of, "What the hell is going on here??" the whole time. In fact, that was the same look Grampy and Greg had too!!!
Samantha and I had a great time together and Alex and Andy went to a movie and to lunch together, so it was a grand day overall!!
Monday, November 16, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
October in review - not in order....cuz I'm lazy
My 2 kids at a corn maze for a field trip....accompanied by 2 random children who wouldn't move.
Not sure which is more frightening...the kids faces or the pumpkins?
Proud Alex.
Weenie roast at the Cook pumpkin patch.
The crew at the pumpkin patch.
Checkin' out the buffalo that belong to the crazy, old, rich dude.
The last picture of us as a family in our old house!! I love this photo!
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
Another random update
So, let's see....where to begin....Ahhhhh, yes, sickness! Samantha and Alex have been sick for like 2 weeks and we have all just about had it!! Samantha still has the annoying, lingering cough, but is feeling much better overall. Alex still had a fever this morning (his 3rd day of fever) but is napping right now and I'm fairly confident that he'll wake up feeling better. If he still has a fever tomorrow morning I am going to take him into the doctor. They are sweet little troopers though!
The house hunting is still in full swing. We have offers out on 5 homes, all of which are short sales. Of course, we haven't heard back on any of them yet, but it is comforting just to know we have some options out there trying to do something!! We are going to see 3 more homes today and the kids are dreading it!! I think they will be super excited when we finally get locked on a home. For now though we are doing well at Grandma and Grandpa's. The kids are enjoying the space and it really feels like home for now.
I just discovered that I need to take my midterm for my Independent Study course in a testing center and that angers me! It means the test is closed book and I will really have to study! What's up with that??? I am also really wanting to expand my cookie business and really go for it, but honestly, I don't have the time right now! I'm not sure why I think it's a good idea, but the "project" part of it sounds like a lot of fun! I will probably do a little here and there but not fully go for it until we are settled in the new house. Whenever that may be!!!
I'm pretty sure Andy is still basking in the wonderfulness of being out of school!! I sure love it! He is keeping busy finding homes for us to look at and playing video games when he can. And dreaming of a family vacation next year. Good luck to that!!!
That's about all I can think of right now. I am looking forward to the next week when we find out if Kami is having a boy or a girl. We keep calling the baby "she" in the hopes that if it is a boy, the penis will drop off. Not that we don't love boys, because we do, but another girl would rock! Kami needs to share in the joy of the female hormones just like me and Richele!!
I love this picture of all of the kiddos at the pumpkin patch. Plus one extra - Corbin who is Nicole's 2nd cousin. (is that right, second cousin??)
The house hunting is still in full swing. We have offers out on 5 homes, all of which are short sales. Of course, we haven't heard back on any of them yet, but it is comforting just to know we have some options out there trying to do something!! We are going to see 3 more homes today and the kids are dreading it!! I think they will be super excited when we finally get locked on a home. For now though we are doing well at Grandma and Grandpa's. The kids are enjoying the space and it really feels like home for now.
I just discovered that I need to take my midterm for my Independent Study course in a testing center and that angers me! It means the test is closed book and I will really have to study! What's up with that??? I am also really wanting to expand my cookie business and really go for it, but honestly, I don't have the time right now! I'm not sure why I think it's a good idea, but the "project" part of it sounds like a lot of fun! I will probably do a little here and there but not fully go for it until we are settled in the new house. Whenever that may be!!!
I'm pretty sure Andy is still basking in the wonderfulness of being out of school!! I sure love it! He is keeping busy finding homes for us to look at and playing video games when he can. And dreaming of a family vacation next year. Good luck to that!!!
That's about all I can think of right now. I am looking forward to the next week when we find out if Kami is having a boy or a girl. We keep calling the baby "she" in the hopes that if it is a boy, the penis will drop off. Not that we don't love boys, because we do, but another girl would rock! Kami needs to share in the joy of the female hormones just like me and Richele!!
I love this picture of all of the kiddos at the pumpkin patch. Plus one extra - Corbin who is Nicole's 2nd cousin. (is that right, second cousin??)
Sunday, November 01, 2009
Halloween - Mario Brothers Style!
Samantha as Luigi, Nicole as Snow White
Mario and Wario - making peace for just one night of candy
Mario and Luigi from behind.
Mario, Luigi, Wario and Waluigi
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