Moving Madness

This temporary move into the rental has really shaken things up around here.  We boxed away everything we thought we could live without for a few months, and only have the necessities.  Rachel keeps asking for things like umbrellas, and I have no idea where they are (somewhere boxed away in the garage I assume).

I am surprised at how badly this move has jarred my life.  It was tough.  I still feel behind and unorganized.  Brandon was busy at work and couldn't take any extra time off, so we just did the best we could by ourselves in one short weekend.  I am thankful to the Elder's Quorum for the help with the big move - it was quick and pretty painless according to Brandon, who has a lot of experience with helping ward members move.  And I'm thankful to my mother-in-law who insisted on paying to have the old house cleaned, which was so super helpful.  There were other friends who watched the kids and brought in meals, and all that was very helpful and I am very appreciative.  One friend brought soda and treats the night before the move because she knew it was going to be a late night - it was spot on for us if you know us well.

And to think that we decided to do this twice to ourselves in one year!  It will be SO worth it, just hard to swallow at the moment.  We sold our home before buying another one because we didn't want to be stuck with two mortgages.  Now in retrospect (since it sold in one day), we may have been able to buy/sell simultaneously, but we can now see that the whole situation lead us to where we are supposed to be and we feel really good about how everything has gone.

The night we sold the house, we had an amazing epiphany and decided we needed to take advantage of the low housing rates and take most of the money we had wrapped up in our house, and use it to pay down some student loans that had higher interest rates.  So instead of putting down 20% on the the next house, we'll just be putting down 5% - of course we had to crunch lots of numbers and make sure it all made sense - I'm making this whole process sound so simple, but money never is simple and we wanted to make sure we were being careful.  Right after we closed, we paid down a big chunk of our student loans - something that we never saw coming - and it felt AMAZING!  I cried tears of joy, and I know that this was all part of the bigger plan for us.  We're basically bringing down our student loan monthly payment and increasing our mortgage payment (and now paying mortgage insurance), but I can't tell you how good it feels to get rid of some of those student loans.  It made me so, so happy.

Anyway, as soon as we sold we narrowed down our location and felt really good about it (location was something that I had been stressing about for months!) - Heavenly Father was good to reassure me at many points along the way, because this whole process really required a lot of faith on my part, and I really needed some reassurance.  Much to our surprise, we decided to build a home in a neighborhood called Lehi Crossing.  It's still right along the 202 fwy, just southwest of Val Vista & Thomas, which actually makes Brandon's commute about 5 minutes shorter (yay! we'll take it!).  The neighborhood has a great family-friendly feel and we're just a short walk away from a park and play area.  We are so excited about the location for our family!  We love the layout of the home, and think it will be a great fit for us - it even has a space for Brandon's woodworking tools and all of his sawdust and a loft for all the kid's messes!  It's on a much smaller lot than we had, but we found out that neither him or I love yardwork very much, so this might be better for us.  It does not have the mature trees that I was hoping for, but we are surrounded by a beautiful view of the valley and "mountains", and the sunsets are beautiful there.  The price was actually very affordable per square foot, and we were careful to only include upgrades that we knew we couldn't do ourselves.  It feels so nice to not have to worry about a fixer upper, and that we won't have to worry about major repairs (replacing things like a roof, A/C unit).  The home should be done in mid-September, and we are so excited and we drive by our lot often to see the progress.

Wagon Trail neighborhood - this is one of three neighborhoods that are being built up.  We are lot 401.  Lots 397-403 & 433-453 are basically built or almost finished.  They are beginning to work on some of the lots in the range of 404-411.  There will be lots of construction for awhile, but we're ok with that.   

Phase 1 - the foundation

Exterior / Elevation

Very part-time job

I forgot to mention that I got a little job thing-a-ma-jig.  A wonderful friend in our ward, Brenda Sibley, was talking to her neighbor who was looking for a stay-at-home mom who might be interested in doing some financial work for him.  She recommended me, and him and I talked and thought it would be a great fit for both of us.  I am grateful for the opportunity because I've wanted something like this for awhile, but wanted to make sure I could manage it and that the timing was right.  I can't say this came at the perfect time (right before our move), but I did not want to pass it up!  It's hard to put my finger on it, but I have missed working outside the home a little bit - I'm not sure if it was the sense of accomplishment, the problem-solving, working with colleagues, or contributing financially, but I really enjoyed working before I had children, and I have missed some aspects of it.  Of course I love being a stay-at-home mom, but I think this will be fun for me to explore.  I work for a couple, Kent and Kristine, on their personal finances, tax preparation, budgeting, forecasting, etc. for approximately 4 hours a week, and so far I think it's been a good experience.  However, I will say that I have had a hard time giving up 4 hours of my already limited "free time", and I have a new found appreciation for working mothers - wow!  Seriously, how do they do it?

April Happenings

Rachel loses her second tooth.  The toothfairy brought her 4 quarters (one had sparkles on it), and she shared two of them with Andrew, so that they could both go to the Dollar Store to pick out a prize.  Nice gesture ... not sure the math works there, but Andrew got to tap into the tooth fairy excitement.

Rachel won March Madness bracket and mom won 2nd place.  Rachel's $10 winnings in the mail meant for a special piggy bank from Deseret Book and a lesson on saving vs. spending.  We broke the $10 down to dollar bills, and she immediately gave half of them to Andrew.

Swim Lessons start (3 times a week for 4 weeks).  Andrew cried for one week, but then earned an ice cream for not crying by the 3rd or 4th lesson.  Rachel was extra supportive that first week because if he didn't cry, she got an ice cream too.  Now Andrew has a crush on Miss Allison and loves to go under the water.  Rachel is a fish and swims better than I ever have - really, she does.  Andrew is much more comfortable in the water.  His favorite parts were diving for rings and jumping off the diving board.  Kendall enjoyed watching big brother and sister poolside.

Andrew's first trip to the dentist was a success!  The dentist said he had perfect teeth - let's hope we can keep that up.  Hopefully he got his daddy's teeth and not his mommy's!

One Saturday, Brandon took the kids on a hike to Wind Cave (ward activity), and I stayed home with Kendall while she slept.  I got a little bit of packing done.  All month, we packed and organized.  And it still wasn't as organized as I would have liked for the actual move.

Easter came and went and I can't remember a darn thing about it.  In fact, now that I think about it, that was March anyway.  I know we did a couple Easter egg hunts and other Easter-ish activities.  One of the hunts was with Mandy's family near the Salt River on the night that we put our house on the market.  We got the call about the full-price offer when we were there with them - it was a memorable moment.  On Easter Sunday, I do remember that Brandon taught the combined RS/EQ lesson on the Atonement and did amazing!!  I skipped out on nursery to go hear - I just love hearing him teach.  I remembered another Easter activity we did ... we had an Easter Egg Hunt & Potluck with a group of Brandon's co-workers and their families.  I was kind of nervous about it, but it was really fun and I enjoy hanging out with them.

Andrew's sleeping issues are still challenging.  We set some nighttime rules and review them EVERY night:  1.  Stay in bed  2.  Only one diaper  3.  Fall back asleep by yourself  4.  Stay in room until the owl turns green.  He does good now at only one diaper and staying in bed and not calling for us to come lay by him, so he must be doing a better job falling back asleep when he wakes up in the middle of the night.  We have an owl that turns green at 6am, indicating that it's ok for him to wake up.  Most mornings, he comes in our room before 6am asking if he can be awake.  Lately, I've been putting him back in his bed and he'll stay there until 6:10a or so - not sure if he has fallen back asleep or not.  His internal alarm clock is crazy - it doesn't matter what time he goes to bed, he always wakes up by 6a.  Waking up early, means that he needs a nap, BUT if he does fall asleep during the day, if he sleeps for longer than 30 minutes then he can't fall asleep until 9p, then up by 6a again ... grumpy ... it's a vicious, miserable cycle.  We do better if he doesn't have a nap (if I can stand it and if he doesn't fall asleep in some random place), and then try to put him in bed by 7:30p and then he wakes up about 5:45a.  Sometimes I wish these small children would have the teenager sleeping-in talent!  And I never understood the parents who had pictures of their children sleeping on the floor and in random places - now I do.  If I've learned anything as a parent, it is to never say never.

Free for all parenting this month!!  Beenies and boots in 90 degree weather - no problem!  Just let me get some packing and cleaning done.  :)

Thank you, Brandon, for capturing a rare moment!  (All three kids listening to the same story)

Making the bed has never been so fun - she's my little helper.  

Andrew falling asleep one afternoon on the couch.

Cute easter picture - failed!

Best attempt - new Easter clothes

We met our new cousin Colson!  Chris & Kacie were in Arizona on vacation with her family (adults only, but Cole was an exception since he was so young).  It was fun to get with them on Chris' birthday for a BBQ.  Kendall - 6 months & Cole - 4 months.  

So fresh & so clean!

Swimming at Jim's pool (lives across the street)

I think Katherine told me not to post this anywhere.  :)  Katherine, this is a private blog, so no worries!  We met up with the Shumway's one morning while they were in Phoenix for a conference.  They now live in Show Low, AZ.  We knew them from law school and lived in the same building.  During our 3rd year of law school, when Rachel was a baby, I could run to Katherine's apartment for a visit without even going outside!

Andrew & Sam

Ella & Rachel

THROWBACK - here's Ella & Rachel back in 2009  :)  

Duck Drama

All 9 of the ducks hatched two days before we were moving and five days before we were closing.  I am not a big animal person, so these ducks STRESSED me out (plus I was a little afraid of the mama duck).  The kids wanted to be outside all the time with the ducks.  I felt like I needed to be right there so that none were squished, dropped or stepped on.  Andrew & Rachel got comfortable enough grabbing them out of their nest to play with them (the mama duck was not always happy about it, but she liked the kids much better than she liked me).  The baby ducks chased around the kids and let them hold them - it was pretty amazing - and I was thrilled my kids got this opportunity, even if it only was for a few days.

It was time to tell the new owners, so I called Kacey and Karl we talked through the different options.  We were worried about letting them out of the backyard for fear that they'd never make it to a pond and we also worried about transporting them to a pond because we heard that the other ducks who live there can be territorial and uninviting to newcomers.  Thankfully the new owners are animal lovers and wanted to keep them.  Phew!  We had enough stress trying to move out and get the house ready for close.  I did not want to have to worry about the ducks too.  I got some duck feed for them for the week, just in case mama duck wasn't bringing them enough food, and called it good.  We then stayed up most the night getting ready for the big move in the morning.

The morning of the move, I was careful to inform all the helpers about the baby ducks in the backyard and to keep the gate closed.  A couple hours after the move, the kids were begging to go back to the old  house to visit the ducks.  We went back and someone had left the gate open, even despite my pleas, although I'm sure it was just an accident.  But now there weren't any ducks in the backyard!  I panicked, and didn't know what to do.  I had Andrew and Rachel with me and we began looking for them.  The next door neighbor's house was empty and being renovated, and they always left their gate open because workers were always in and out.  We checked there first, and sure enough we saw some ducks in their pool (apparently our kiddie pool was not good enough).  The mama duck was sitting on the side, and I quickly started counting ducks - there were only 4 in the pool and 1 was dead in the pool.  With a new family of ducks, the babies need a ramp to get in/out of the pool, and you'd have to turn off the filter.  We searched the yard, and could NOT find the other 4.  I knew they wouldn't leave their mom's side, so we kept looking.  I finally had the thought to check the filter, and sure enough, the other 4 ducks had been sucked into the little flapper, and drowned in the filter area.  It was terrible.  My kids were comforting me as I sat and cried.  I felt horrible, and I'm surprised my kids held up so well.  I only liked the little things because my kids loved them so much.  Anyway, THANKFULLY there was someone working at the house who helped me pull out all the dead ducks ("helped" meaning he removed all of them for me) and the kids and I grabbed the 4 baby ducks who were alive.  The worker was also kind enough to grab the mom duck for us, and we put them all back in our backyard safe and sound.  Then I had to call Kacey and tell her what happened and that there were only 4.

We went back to our rental, and I was exhausted - both emotionally (from the ducks) and physically (from the move).  I felt awful about the whole thing.  Later that night (still only Saturday), my dear friend, Kasey Perkinson came by to drop off some goodies. She said that earlier, she had stopped by our other house seeing if we were there, and she had seen the mama duck trying to get her babies to squeeze under our gate to get out.  That had been a few hours before, so I quickly ran over to the house with a flashlight since it was 9:30p searching for the ducks.  The gate was closed, but they weren't in our backyard.  I ran to the neighbors with the pool, and sure enough there they were swimming (since they couldn't get out) and I counted all 4.  What was this mama duck thinking going right back there?!  I called a friend's husband who knew about pools and he helped me turn the filter off (since it was a Saturday night, I knew workers weren't going to be there until Monday morning).  Then we put our ramp from our yard in the pool so they could get in/out and then scooped them out and put them by their mom who was resting on the side for the night.  I decided the best thing to do for the time being was to shut them into the neighbor's backyard until I could figure out what to do with them.  On Sunday, I checked on them multiple times throughout the day and even once during church.  At one point, the mom was trying to get them outside of the backyard and through small openings in back wall of the neighbor's yard.  This was getting so exhausting, it was ridiculous!  Unfortunately, there isn't any Duck 911 or else I would have called in reinforcements.  At this point, I knew they wanted to be out on their own, but I wanted to get them to a safe place.  We thought we found a home (farm) for them while we were talking to some friends at church, but they changed their mind and we were back to square one.  During the afternoon when I went to check on them, the babies were by themselves while the mama duck had gone somewhere, so I chased and scooped them up and put them back in our backyard at their nest.  Then I secured the gate and really covered all the tiny holes, and decided I'd let the new owners deal with the situation.  I bet the mama duck was ticked at me when she found them back at their nest.  Luckily, they stayed in our backyard until it closed!  Yay!!

The new owners are the sweetest people, and they really enjoyed the ducks.  That is, until the baby ducks started dying.  This is not a joke.  I have to assume they died of natural causes, she didn't really give me many details.  The remaining 4 died within a week.  At least those ones didn't happen under my care.  This was enough duck drama to last me a lifetime.  And I failed miserably at taking care of them (although I think the mama duck should take most of the blame!).  This was so much stress for me, I hope we don't get a pet for a long time!!