A New Chapter

A new chapter has begun in our lives. I can't believe that we have actually moved. I miss San Diego, but mostly I miss all the important people we left behind.

The kids have all started school and seem to be off on a good start. Each of their classrooms have no more that 18 students, so they should get some decent attention form their teachers!

I wanted to share some photos of the new house and maybe my good friends from San Diego can give me some pointers on arranging my furniture.... hint, hint Heather, Cara, and Julie!

The closets in this house are unbelievable....if I ever fill them up, I'm in big trouble. Here is some pictures of my closet James has his own closet!.

This is our new bedroom. Do you like my picture of the temple....I love it (Thanks Cara and Heather). I didn't have anything for our tv to go on so I went to my new favorite store (Real Deal's) and got this new table.

Our Family room which the kids love!

Our Living Room

Olivia's Room and her ginormous closet.

Ethan's room

Elijah's Room

The Front Entry

And here is a picture of my kid's favorite part....The Sports Court with a drinking fountain!

The house is more than I can ever imagine, I am so lucky to have my family here! They have helped me so much get settled in. I just wish I had all my friends with me!

A Sad, Sad, Day!

Last night some of the dearest friends I will ever have, had a party for me. We all got together and ate away our troubles. They all brought the best food. There was chicken cranberry Gouda sandwiches, real cheesecake, angel food cake with strawberries, and raspberries, and enough candy to make the dentist a fat happy man!

I paid off all my friends with a little candy bar and a pair of earrings each. I know it will never be enough to pay them back for the kindness they have shown me. They really have been my best friends and each one of them will always hold a special place in my heart!

Another Special Visitor

Today I dragged the kids to Stake Conference against their wills, but what a blessing we went. Elder Ballard was there! What a treat it was for my children to sit in the second row of our chapel and hear one of the twelve apostles speak. The kids couldn't have been any better and were fully alert and listening! His message was sweet and he completed a wonderful meeting.

We're Expecting a Visitor!

We have exciting news......Olivia lost her front tooth this morning.....Yeah! This is huge because she can't remember losing her first front tooth. When she was two, she got very angry with her brother Elijah and bite him on the nose. Although Elijah had a small mark on his nose, Olivia's tooth became darker and darker each day. The dentist pulled her tooth and she has had only one front tooth for the past four + years.....until today.

Needless to say, we are excited about a certain visitor tonight. Olivia asked me if I thought the tooth fairy would bring her $40,000 for one tooth, I said that if that was the case I am ready for dentures!

Tourist in Our Town

We had a wonderful weekend together. We spent every second together and it was great. We were able to take the kids to Old Town and explore. Surprisingly I have been there several times, but never took the time to look around. We visited the school house, the general store, the candy shop (of course where we bought salt water taffy), to a small compound, mineral and fossil store, and so much more. If you haven't been there, it is a definite must.

Ethan has been begging us to buy him a dinosaur fossil, and we just so happened to find a store in Old Town that sold a small collection of fossils. He was so excited he could hardly stand it. James told him that he had to pay for it himself and gave him his credit card. The lady at the counter asked him for a picture ID and he gave her James' drivers license. She said he looked so much older and he told her that when he gets old that is what he will look like and that he didn't mind. I thought that was so cute. These kids love their Dad so much, it's crazy to see their adoration towards him.

The Worst Phone Call in my Life!

I just have to vent, because I can't stop crying. I got a call (from an automated service) about 20 minutes ago from my kid's school saying that Ethan wasn't at school. I just freaked out and called the school and told them that he went to school this morning. They put me on hold for what seemed like eternity and came back on the line and told me that they were still checking! I told them that I couldn't wait and that I was on my way to the school, they told me to hold on, that it was best just to stay on the line. It took them awhile to come back and tell me that he was in the library with his class and that they had accidentally marked him absent. The teacher just called me and told me she was sorry. What a nice way to start the day.

Time to Catch Our Breath!!!

It's been awhile since our last post and much has been happening. Over the Christmas Break we have experienced many things from our pet fishing dying (yet another funeral), to going to New Mexico for nearly two weeks, to our latest the annual Pinewood derby. Here are a few of our pictures.......

This has to be one of the funniest, I'm sorry for saying it, but funniest stories of our New Mexico trip. Poor Ethan slept on my Grannie's sofa and woke up the next morning screaming. He has slept with his neck kinked and was screaming with pain. After yelling at him to stop yelling, it took me a couple of Tylenol and half an hour of rubbing his neck before he could partial move it. Later that night, we went to the mall and saw this little lady giving massages. James actually paid $20.00 for her to rub Ethan's neck for 10 minutes. What a great Dad....now if I can only complain of a back problem maybe he will get me a massage...I doubt it.James and Kevin took the kids sledding while we were in New Mex and although the snow was melting rather fast, they were able to get a couple of good runs, with some great crashes.

We had fun playing with the cousins and of course playing Guitar Hero...Olivia is a born rocker!The trip was great, but went way to fast. We can't wait to get out there again and soon. We came home to a house that needed much attention and many hours of man work. I, yes that is singular as in me, re stained the deck. It might not be up to James' approval, but I did it and I think that it turned out great!

And to finish this post, here are two last pictures from tonight's Pinewood Derby. I was way to busy talking to my friends Cara and Amy to take pictures......insert "Great Mother Award" here, but here they are.....

From what I gathered, in between breaths, Oliver came in 4th.....Ethan came in 8th. Thanks Poppy for helping Ethan with his car, we couldn't have done it without you......James has yet been able to do 1! We love you though James.