Just Chillaxin'

Tempos

The performer in Bryson was very excited about the opportunity to be in the 4th/5th grade 'Tempos' choir.  From the first time he heard the song 'Cranberries', he knew he wanted to be a lead in it- one of the 'doo-wop' boys.  He practiced the song and dance moves for weeks and was super excited to wear daddy's sunglasses.

At the end, each of the girls sat on the knee of one of the boys- it was adorable.

Happy Birthday Eli!

In all the chaos of moving, I also had to plan a birthday party!  It was a little crazy, but it all worked out. I decided to have it at a fun little pizza place that had been converted from a train- it's super legit and the kids love it.  They have an xbox set up for playing and the engine is complete with a whistle... 

I had a few activities planned, but the kids had a ton of fun just playing on the train, which made it pretty easy for me.

Eli is such a fun loving little man- he almost always has a smile on his face and is quite the charmer.  His teacher at school says he's got most of the girls in class chasing him, which is pretty much the same report I had from his preschool teacher- we'll have to keep an eye on him!  He is my snuggle bug, its so easy to cuddle with him because he just curls up into a little ball, I love it.

Eli's favorites at age six- 

Favorite Color: Yellow
Favorite Restaurant: McDonalds Playland because I love 'thar' {their} chicken nuggets
Favorite Food: Besides butter? It would be french toast with 'henly' {heavenly} syrup
Favorite Drink: orange soda
Favorite thing to do: play with Dallin
Best Friend: Emerson and Dallin and Megan
Favorite Movie: The Lego Movie 
Favorite TV Show:  Pokemon
Favorite Toy: the Legos that I got for my birthday
Favorite Animal: a dog
Favorite Book: The Diaries of Robin's Toys (a series he got for Christmas)
What he wants to be when he grows up: be a dentist

Whirlwind

So I haven't really discussed much on trying to sell our house... after a really busy first week on the market at the end of June, we left for a month and I was sure I would be coming home to pack up and move!  But we only had ONE showing the entire time we were gone- grrrr!  All that time with our house in pristine show-ready condition and only ONE showing!  Things picked up a little near the end of August and we actually had an offer... we just weren't willing to drop the price as much as they needed us to!  We kept the house listed with our realtor until mid-November, and then let the listing expire and relisted it 'by-owner'... we had a little interest in December, but the first week of January things really picked up!  The first Saturday we had 3 showings with a cash offer that night!  They wanted to close in 2 weeks- crazy!  We were beyond excited, but the excitement waned as time passed and the buyers just kept missing deadlines and appointments with their realtor and not following through.  We were pretty disappointed.

The week after we were supposed to close, we had several more showings and another offer- we had been excited about the amount of the prior offer, and this one was even better!  We were so happy with the sweet family that was buying the house too *grin*  Since the prior offer didn't materialize beyond the signed offer, I hadn't gotten into packing too much, but I had packed non-essentials... so with our *real* offer, I was already mentally prepared, which was a blessing since we ended up closing just 3 weeks after signing the offer!

Cleaning my empty house for the last time was so bittersweet- I was surprised when tears started to flow as I cleaned hand prints and the traces of my family from the home that we built and brought three babies home to... first days of school, Christmas morning, birthday parties, potty training... so many memories.  But in the end, it's just a house.  I get to take all of the important things with me *grin*

So now, we're living the dream in my parents basement!  Really, it couldn't be a better situation, we have plenty of space and my parents are awesome.  But it's a basement, and it's February, so it's f.r.e.e.z.i.n.g down here *sigh*

The kids have adjusted well, in fact, after we had moved, I had to go to our old house to get a few more things, and Hailee was mad because she wanted to go back to Mimi's!  The boys favorite thing in the world is riding the bus- even though we have to be out the door 30 minutes earlier than before, my boys are up and ready so early because they can't wait to get on the bus- our mornings have been running so much smoother!

Hard to tell, but the boys are happily waiting (in the freezing cold!) for the bus... they do NOT want to wait in the car!

I'm so thankful for the timing of Heavenly Father and that he is in control.  I was so sure that our house was going to sell right away last summer, and very confident that we were READY!  And unfortunately, I grew quite impatient when it didn't sell right away.  But honestly, if it had sold quickly, we likely would have bought a house that I don't think we would have been happy with long term... I keep learning over and over to be patient with the Lord and trust in His plan, instead of my crazy ideas- His ways are certainly better than my ways.  Maybe one of these days that whole concept will actually stick.

A Rarity

Hailee got a baby Cinderella doll for Christmas.  She saw it at Costco early in December and was transfixed by it... I, of course, seeing that she was interested in something (anything!) girly jumped at it and couldn't wait for her to open it on Christmas morning.  With each subsequent visit to Costco during the Christmas season, I strategically passed by the dolls and each time, Hailee was just as smitten by the "yigh boo" one (light blue one).... and then Christmas came and she couldn't have really cared any less about it that day and every day since.

Not sure what happened here, but today, I found her taking a spontaneous nap with the doll!  

I had to take a picture for proof...

Snow Day

Jace and Hailee had a hey day in the backyard... he lasted way longer than she did =) Impervious to the cold I guess!