Our new home

Tasha

So, I like to call Tasha a stupid dog. That's mainly because my dad called all of our dogs stupid when we were growing up...it just flows...."stupid dog"...try it. Well, Tasha is 8 years old now and has been through 5 places of living with us. We are new into this home, and the handles on the doors are horizontal (not your traditional door knobs). Well, Tasha has now let herself out of our room at least twice (that we've witnessed). She gets her nose up there and opens the door. Yes, the doors pull toward her - yes, this is crazy - but yes, it's true. Our stupid dog isn't so stupid.

Proof

 

 

 

 

We feel very blessed to have such a lovely home. Thanks again to all those who helped us yesterday.

New Home 2

 

Dining Area with door out to deck.

 

The "Pit". This is a huge rec room.

 

This is the other part of the bottom floor other than the Pit. It will someday be Steve's lab and a theater room.

 

This is the "guest" quarters...yet to be finished.

New home

 

This is the front porch - and not all of it. There is a huge, long porch. Steve didn't get a full-on front view - we'll post that later. When he went to take it, the sun was in the wrong spot and it didn't come out.

 

This is the view off the deck. We look out at Utah Lake and Mount Timpanogos.

 

Kitchen.

 

This is looking into the family room from the hallway by the master bedroom. The front door is to the right, and the kitchen and dining area are to the left.

Moved in

We're all moved in. We still have some stuff at mom & dad's to bring up, but we slept here last night. We have internet, but no phone or TV yet. (But we've got our blue-ray player up and running!) My office isn't moved yet, so I'll be commuting to work (haven't done that for a while!). We had a TON of help yesterday and a big THANK YOU goes out to those who came to help. The kids' rooms are all unpacked, as is the kitchen, living room, and laundry room. Steve even hung our big clock and a couple of sconses on the wall. It feels like home already. We still have quite a few boxes in our bedroom/bathroom and in the bonus room upstairs. We've got a boat and 1 car in the garage, and when my brother comes and picks up the boxes and packing material (they anticipate moving and are taking our supplies), we'll get the other car in. The kids are loving their "space" and each spent a fair amount of time alone today enjoying the new place. Kenneth sat reading on his bed a lot, and he also made a cake and some cookies (unassisted). Daniel played games in the bonus room, and Caitlin played in her room. Kenneth and Patrick share a room and Daniel and Caitlin share a room. We have yet to unpack the fitted sheet and matress protector for our bed, but we're mostly functional. There isn't a single blind on the entire house, so we're open to the world, but we'll get there. I hung a blanket over the window in the master bathroom. Tasha seems to enjoy the new place. She especially likes the deck off of the kitchen. She kept wanting to go out on it all day today. Leapeth is still with my folks, but we'll get him/her up here soon enough. Steve took the kids (3 older ones) to the park down the street and had them walk to my folks' to get his car. He was anticipating being able to cut across the golf course, but there were lots of golfers and they had to walk around. It is a long walk that way - probably at least a mile and a half or 2 miles. (just guessing) They are all sleeping soundly. :)

Cutie Pie

 

Looking back....

 

 

 

 

I just thought you might like to see some old photos of my cute little girl!!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss! Daniel came home wearing a red/white striped "hat" he had colored at school and he was passionate that we have green eggs and ham for dinner. So we did. Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss! (I also served guacamole)

Update

Patrick will be 4 months in 10 days. Time is just flying. He couldn't be any cuter. I had a nephew born on Saturday, and he's cute and darling, but I wouldn't trade Patrick's smiles for the world. He smiles all the time. He's starting to blow raspberries (maybe I said that in a previous post?) and he's drooling a LOT. Holy. Cow.

Our closing date has been pushed back, but we're still set to get the house. The kids are counting down (so are mom & dad). :) We are so grateful to have had a lovely, comfortable place to stay, but we are missing our "things" and our "family time". I'm missing my bed.

Update

Kenneth competed at the district level (280 science projects) yesterday afternoon/evening, and his project was ranked in the top 100. Yay Kenneth! He got a medal and a certificate. He was sad I made him wear his suit, but he looked fabulous and, as it turns out, many other boys were dressed up as well.

We should close on our new home in the next 2 weeks. We are very excited!

Patrick is changing every day. He's a very peaceful baby and has a happy spirit. He smiles a LOT now, and laughs occaisonally. He has severe reflux, and we can definitely tell when he doesn't get his medicine, but he's so easy going, as soon as I give it to him he is happy again.

Winner

Kenneth's science project was chosen as a winner and he was asked to compete on the district level. Way to go, Kenneth!

.25 birthday

Patrick is 3 months old today. The time has really gone fast, and he's still the angel baby of the world. He is so sweet and easy going. He is very smiley and he rarely fusses. He is still getting up twice in the night, but he just eats and goes right back to sleep (sometimes getting his diaper changed as well). He is truly a blessing, and we are grateful for him every day.

Solar Powered Desalination

Kenneth's science project this year was on Solar Powered Desalination. Here is a photo of his presentation board. Tomorrow he practices his oral report, and the science fair is on the 11th. Good Luck, Kenneth! You did a great job, bud.

Weekend Update

We sent our 2 nieces back to California on Saturday. We also had a basketball game, 2 ice hockey games, and family in town! It was busy and fun. Steve made some incredible meals, as only he can - thanks, babe. We made another offer on another house, and Steve & I both came down with colds. It was an eventful weekend. I am feeling better; Steve is still battling.

Happy Birthday to me

Yesterday was my 33rd birthday, and although it started out like any other day, it ended splendidly. I enjoyed going out to both lunch & dinner, and I appreciate all the special calls and emails I received to make my day great. Thanks for remembering me. Here's to another wonderful year!

Patrick Growth Statistics

I took Patrick in on January 13, 2010 for his 2 month check up. He weighed in at 12 lb. 12 oz (72%), and his head circ. was 41 cm (73%), and his length was 22.5 in (30%). I'm not convinced the length is accurate, but we'll see how he measures up in a couple of months.

Update

Our hearts are heavy as we've lost a member of our family. Our brother-in-law passed away very unexpectedly last Saturday. He was just here visiting Utah and we were blessed to spend some fun time with him and his family 2 weeks ago. Steve has gone to CA for the services, and he took Patrick with him. So, I am holding down the fort here with 2 of our neices who are visiting for 2 weeks while their brother has a major surgery. Milo is doing well, and if you'd like to check on him, you can visit his site here. I was in Southern CA last week for 2 days and 2 nights catching up with a client, and I had a wonderful time. Every time I visit I wonder why we don't live there. It is just so lovely - especially in January when it is so cold most other places. I'm glad I missed the crazy rain!!

Busy season is definitely living up to its name, as it does every year. We continue to house hunt, amidst the craziness of life. We've made offers on 2 homes and we're still looking.

Thankfully, we are all healthy.

Steve's mom is back in her home after a lengthy stint in a rehab facility following her leg surgery. She is glad to be home, but she's fighting an infection at the incision site.

Obviously these days we're praying for many, including those people suffering so much loss in Haiti.

What a great play!

Daniel is the one who has the ball at the beginning of the clip.

Update

Well, this week was our first week "on schedule" in Utah. The older boys both opted to enroll in Elementary School here, so they are both students at Saratoga Shores Elementary School. So far they are both enjoying it. The principal is extraordinarily nice. Kenneth is in the A.L.L. (accelerated learning lab) class. His teacher is out having twins, so he arrived the same day as the substitute and had a great day since he knew just as much as the teacher! Daniel was very frustrated that he didn't know everyone else's names the first day, but he has set a goal to learn one person's name each day and he is keeping up with his goal. Caitlin started pre-school at a house down the street on Wednesday and she is loving it. Both boys had basketball practice this week and a game, and it was fun to see them play. Daniel's game wasn't much more advanced than last year (lots of un-called traveling, etc.), but Kenneth's game was really exciting. He surprised us with his shooting skills and he is still able to run down anybody on the court. He scored 4 baskets (8 points) and his team won 22-10. It is nice to start out with a win. Every boy on his team made a basket except one, and they played really well together considering they had only had one practice.

I got to attend a "girl's night out" with a couple of girls from high school and I had a great time. Steve took us all to a movie yesterday afternoon - the 2nd Chipmonk's movie - and that was great fun. Then we went to Ben's ice hockey game. It always amazes me how physical that game is. Ben is 6 feet tall and not a small boy, and they body check him like he weighs 20 pounds! Wowee.

The baby had a milestone last night - he only woke up twice! Once at 1am and once at 5am. The unfortunate thing was that after the 5am feeding, he thought it would be good to be awake for the day. :( Steve was a champ and got him back to sleep after I wrestled with him for 45 minutes. He's just so darned cute, though, it's impossible to get mad at him when he's smiling at you!

We are all doing well, despite the FREEZING weather.