Merry Christmas

Have a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year. Santa comes tonight and the boys are excited to see what he brings. I hope everyone has been NICE. Our little Elijah started crawling 2 weeks ago. He is now pulling up on everything and starting to walk along the furniture. He is 8 months old today. Happy Holidays to all and to all a good night.

Happy Birthday Scott/Merry Christmas Santa

On Saturday, at noon, we heard sirens that sounded SO close. We ran to the door and saw two Fire Trucks circling our cul'a sac, the last with Santa sitting on top, waving. A fire truck with sirens going + Santa waving = screaming boys. The fire truck was taking Santa to city hall for the party. We took the boys to the "Santa comes to town" party that the city does every year. It was very exciting for the boys. The boys got to sit with Santa, make ornaments, snowflakes, and color pictures, eat popcorn and watch "Polar Express." Sunday, we had a birthday party for Scott. David is working all week, so Sunday was the only day that we could have a family party. My family came over to celebrate with us. The kids made pipe cleaner artwork. Scott got some books, a Thomas the train cake and movie, and the "little Einsteins" Rocket. The boys are so excited for Christmas and this week, we actually got snow that looks like it will be around for a white Christmas. Merry Christmas to All.

Clumsy Me

I have fallen down steps four times in one month. This last time, I slipped on some ice on my sisters' front steps and down I went. We were at my nephew's birthday party and I forgot a present in the car. I went out to get it, slipped and fell down 4 steps. I bruised and scrapped both elbows and broke my tailbone. I didn't do much Sunday so it didn't feel any worse, but Monday, I was in so much pain I could hardly move. Tuesday morning, I went to the doctor. He gave me some pain pills and anti-inflammatory pills. He said it would be 4-6 weeks before it healed and I may have twinges of pain for a few months. That will teach me to watch my step. And this is the week that David started his internship. It has been hard because David's truck broke down last Thursday and we have not gotten the parts to fix it yet. I took him to work yesterday and today because I needed the van. The boys and I took him to work at 7:30am, then picked him up and took him straight to his internship at 4:30pm, then picked him up at 10:00pm and bring him home to sleep. At least, when we pick him up, we get to see him during the day. But this morning, after we dropped David off at work, I had to pull over on the side of the road and throw up, because my meds made me sick.

Saturday's Work

This was our Saturday project. We had cut down a tree on the side of our house and rented a chipper to chip up the branches. This last Saturday, the boys helped move the wood chips and spread them in their new play area. We moved the swing set and anchored it down. We got some new sand for the turtle sandbox. We put up the fence because we want to plant grass next spring, keep the boys and the dog out of the mud, and block a part of the fence that the old tree messed up. I think the boys will appreciate it more because they actually helped make it.

Halloween

We had a great Halloween. The boys had a lot of fun trick or treating. We went around our neighborhood, then to a trunk or treat at my parents church, then David and my sister's husband, John, took the kids trick or treating around their neighborhood while Shauna and I stayed at her house with the babies. We got home around 8:30pm. David went through the candy. He is very careful. He looks at and feels each candy. Anything suspicious, he throws away. We ended up with two grocery bags full of candy. And with the candy that we had left from what I bought to hand out, it was another bag full. I didn't expect to be gone all night. I thought we would go 2 hours or so. We were out for over 4 hours. The boys didn't get to bed until 10:00pm. I thought that they would sleep in the next morning, but no, they were up at 6:30am. I am glad we got to set the clocks back. We needed that extra hour. David has finals this week. This is his last semester. He just has his internship to do and he will have an associates degree in Criminal Justice. Wish him Luck! Today, I started watching my Nephew, Lucas. He is 2 months younger than Elijah. He is a cutie. So far, it is going great.

October fun

Our roof is finally done after 3 weeks. Between work, school, kids, and bad weather. David and my dad were able to finish our roof. It looks great and we feel so much more secure having a leak free roof. We got a water alarm for our basement, so the last four backups have not gotten past circle area around the basement drain. We are able to snake it and not have to clean up sewer water from our floors. Next spring, David and my dad are planning to get the permits and dig up the pipes to replace them. We are guessing that we will save about $2000 by doing it ourselves. The boys are doing great in school and soccer. Justin was Baptised on October 10Th at 12:00pm. David baptised him. Eli is now almost 6 months old and sitting by himself (for a few minutes). The boys are getting excited about Halloween. We will post Halloween costume pictures next week. They have wanted to wear their costumes all month.

The Joys of Homeownership

It rained this morning and the ceiling in our bathroom started leaking. We knew that there was a leak there before we bought the house, but David and my Dad got up there and put tar around the vents and swamp cooler. When the previous owners re roofed, they put the shingles over the boots, so it pools and comes down into the attic. We thought it would be OK for 1 more year, but apparently not. David is taking Friday off to tear the old shingles off and replace rotten boards. Then on Saturday we will re roof. We have decided to put a band aid on the Plumbing problem, since we can not afford the $6,000 repair. The plumber is going to come back and cut out the roots and pore a chemical down there that is suppose to kill the roots and prevent grow back for 1 year. Then next spring after taxes, we will get the permits and dig it up and replace the pipes ourselves. We will probably do the water pipes at the same time and get that over with as well. We have been told that the pipes are the originals and will need to be replaced too and it would be easier to do it while we are down there. We do have some good news too. Justin is being baptized Oct 10Th at noon. He will be baptized with his cousin, Shilee. He is very excited. We also got Justin and Ben into Soccer. We signed up a little late, so they have missed 2 games, but they still have 5 more this fall and another 5 in spring. There were no opening in Adam's age group, so he is 7Th on the waiting list. Everyone is doing good at school. The boys at home are doing great. I am enjoying the funny things that come out of a 2-year-olds' mouth and Eli is rolling. David says that despite the problems we are running into, he is happy. That is all that matters.

Flooded basement

Our pipes backed up again this morning. We were getting ready for church and David went down to get me some clothes from the dryer. The whole west side of the basement was under 1 1/2 inches of water. This is the fourth time it has happened. We have been hoping that snaking it would solve the problem, but it looks like we will be calling a plumber tomorrow. We think that the front tree roots have busted the old pipes. If we can find the problem, we might be able to dig down and fix it with family help. We are grateful for our home, it is just hard to fix all the problems that come with an older home. We have replaced the carpet, painted, fixed some electrical problems, patched the leaky roof, fixed the swamp cooler three times, new furnace, and now plumbing and our water heater is on its last leg. Life is never dull, that's for sure.

Justin's 8th Birthday

Yesterday was Justin's 8th Birthday. Justin chose to go to Chuck E. Cheese for his birthday. He was told to chose between a big party at home with his friends and family, or a small party at Chuck E. Cheese with just his brothers. They had a blast. I can't believe he is already 8 years old, my sweet baby.

After School

Ben has been accepted into the after-school-program at his school. It is a monthly fee based program. They play games, do activities, go on field trips, as well as helping with homework. I am a little concerned about it being from the time he gets out of school until 5:30pm everyday, even on Early out Friday, but it is something that Ben needs. We hope it will help him stay up with his class and help him with concepts that he has not quite grasped yet. Adam has started his first full week. Last week was kindergarten testing. He is going 8:40am to 3:25pm. Justin already has friends in his class from our old ward, before we moved out of state. He has had no problems renewing those old friendships as well as making more. Scott is going through the "I am the Boss" and "I WANT" stage. He is turning into a Terror. Eli is rolling and turning in circles on the floor. I have to re-baby-proof the house. David has finished another semester of school with a cumulative 3.56 GPA. He will graduate at the end of this year.

1st Day of School

The boys were so excited to go to school. Here are their 1st day pictures. Of course, Scott didn't want to be left out.

Our littlest man

Time goes by so fast. Elijah will be 4 months next week. He loves to chat, especially at 5:00 am. Here is a video of his fun conversations. He is also starting to move around. He has rolled over once, but hasn't done it again.

Izzy's new kennel/End of Summer Vacation

We found a medium size kennel for Izzy on KSL.com for $30. She hates it. She has no problems at night, so we are not making her sleep in it. She just goes in when we are gone (church, store, etc.). We try to bring her with the family when we can, like to the park and friends/families houses, or if we are just going run a short errand. We are training her to bark at the doorbell and at a knock at the door. She barks at strangers and dogs on her walks, but when we are at home, she only barks at the TV. We want people who come to the house to know that we have a watchdog. That is one of the reasons that we wanted another dog so soon. It is strange to be in a house and not have Skip warn me when there is someone in the yard. Skip was very good at that. It is the end of summer vacation. Only one more week before school starts. The boys have had fun this summer. We have a park that is around the corner and we have been taking Izzy for walks in the morning and evening and letting the boys ride their bikes and play in the park. Adam had a swimming party for his birthday, but then came down with strep throat the next day, along with Justin and Scott. They love waking up and being able to go out to our fully fenced backyard and I don't have to worry about them and they don't have to wait until I am done with my work to go outside.

Smarty pants Adam

The boys start school on August 24th. We got a call from the principal today. Because of his high testing and ability to learn quickly, Adam has been chosen as a role model for all-day-kindergarten. Basically, the school has one all day class, which a few exceptional children are chosen to be "role models" or "leaders" for the rest of the class, which is made up of children who would benefit from additional time. This is exciting (Adam is one of the youngest in his grade), but we are also worried. Not worried about Adam, we know he will be great. But we are worried about Ben, who is being surpassed by his younger brother. David and I agree that if they want Adam to skip a grade, we will not do it. Ben is already a timid guy and the fact that all last year, Adam was doing Ben's homework right along with him, has been rough on Ben's self-esteem. I can not work with Ben without Adam yelling out the answer. So to work with Ben, I have to be in the room alone with him. So, instead of 2 in school all day, I will have 3 in school all day and 2 at home. It makes getting the boys to and from school easier with all of them going at the same time. Right now, I am ready for school to start. The boys have been driving me a LITTLE CRAZY. Just a little, lol.

Izzy needs a Kennel

We came home from church yesterday to find that Izzy had chewed or clawed the front blinds trying to see out. She used our new couch to climb on, which we put in front of the window. Izzy has shown signs of separation anxiety before, with howling and whining and jumping at the door. But she usually calms down and lays by the door waiting for us to come back. But this time she had a couch to jump on and look out the window. Then later that day, we found her asleep on the couch, when we had been downstairs. She has never had a problem with getting on the furniture before. I think it is because the couches are new to our home and we put them in the once empty front room, which is where her bed is. David has told me to get a kennel for when we leave, or she will have to go outside on a chain. David is missing Skip more now. He has realized what a good dog Skip was and can't really see the dog Izzy could become with proper training. I don't think she will ever come close to Skip in David's eyes.

24th of July

In Utah, we get an extra holiday in July. The 24Th is Pioneer day. We get to have another parade, rodeos, and fireworks. I realized that I had not changed my background since Easter (opps). HAPPY JULY!!!

Stitches

After almost 8 years of active boys and no stitches, we were in the doctors office last night getting stitches. We had just finished swimming and everyone was wrapped in towels, heading into the kitchen for a yogurt. Scott was the last one in, slipped on the wet floor and fell head first into the edge of the kitchen chair. This happened at about 4:30. It bled for about 10 minutes. I was going to call the doctor to see if I should come in when David got home, took one look at it and said that I needed to take Scott in, he needed stitches. I got through to the clinic on the way there. Scott was very brave. They had a cotton ball with numbing liquid on it. They had me hold it on the cut while they got the instruments ready. Scott (who hadn't cried since before David got home) laid right on the table when they asked him to, didn't even flinch when they stuck the needle in three or four times (I on the other hand, couldn't look and still got faint). When it was numb, they put the cloth over his head with just the cut showing. I thought that Scott would at least have a problem with that, because he couldn't see me, but my brave boy laid there and let the doctor do what he needed to do. Scott got 4 stitches. When the doctor was done, Scott sat up, and I sat down. I was about to faint. They had me put my head between my legs. It took me a few minutes to get my color back. I gave Scott some tylenol when we got home so he wouldn't hurt so bad when the numbing wore off. The rest of the night was uneventful, but since this was not the first time the boys have slipped on a wet kitchen floor, I will make sure the kitchen floor is not wet or have the boys wear their slippers in the house from now on.

New grass

We finally got around to cleaning up the front yard. I made the front flower garden smaller and we planted new grass, in sections. The first section grew in great. Today, I planted the second section and Ben helped me plant some flowers and transplant some from around the front tree and other areas of the old flower bed. It looks better already. I also cleaned out the area around our front tree. We are getting rid of the rocks and planting grass all the way up to the tree. I still have the corner flower bed to clean up. We also have the side tree that is threatening to take out our fence. It is partially cut down and looks bad, but David hasn't had time for much. We still haven't got our shed up. Still a work in progress.

New baby in the family

My brother and Sister-in-law had their baby on June 25th. They had a boy, 7lb, 14oz, 20 1/2 in. His name is Lucas. The pictures are kind of late, but here they are. This is my parents holding Elijah and Lucas, with Justin and Ben not wanting to be left out.

Izzy

This is our new dog, Izzy. We got her on Saturday. She is purebred Beagle, 14months old. She knows how to "sit, come, shake, and speak". We are teaching her "go home" whenever we go into the house, and I am taking her on morning and evening walks to teach her how to "heel", and it is giving me the exercise that I REALLY need. I am going to take her for morning walks inbetween changing the water on the lawn (we do not have automatic sprinklers) and with the kids in the evening while David is at school. I am hoping that I will keep it up and not get out of the habit. She is still getting settled in and whines whenever she is left alone, that includes when we shut the door to the bedroom or bathroom. But she is getting better. She used to whine when we put her outside alone. We are keeping the name given to her by her previous owner because it is a nice name for a dog and she is already trained and responds to Izzy. When she gets out the front door, she will come when called. We plan on going to dog training/obedience classes when she gets settled into our family. We want Izzy to be happy and obedient, even when not on a leash or in the fence. I am starting on "roll over" as well, to keep her learning and occupied. Beagles will dig and run away if they are not given enough attention. So far Izzy is a good dog and we have had no problems, but we do not expect it to be a smooth ride, she is still a young dog. The boys love her and they wear each other out.

Still here

We are still here. We have been so busy these past few weeks. Eli's blessing was fun. We had family come down from CDA, Idaho and all my family here in Utah came to enjoy the afternoon with us. We had over 40 people in our little home, eating cookies and having lemonade. The morning started out with a rain storm when we found out that the roof leaked. My dad and David had to get on the roof in the poring rain and tar the leak around the swamp cooler. later that day, the rain stopped and it turned into a beautiful day. The Thunderbirds were at HAFB that weekend. We watched their show from our front yard. David had finals for school the next week. He got two A's and an A-. I am so proud of him. We started potty training with Scott. He is getting the hang of it. My brother and his wife had their first child. They had a boy 7lb 14oz, 20.5 inches long and named him Lucas. We finally tried putting the 10X12 shed together that we bought the week after we closed on the house. We didn't get too far. We are planning on finishing it this Saturday. David has two papers to write for school before the weekend. He just turned in two 3-page papers on Monday and Wednesday. It is the second week of this semester and he will have written four papers already, and he has just two classes. We are renting a wood-chipper to get rid of a pile of dried wood on the side of our house. There was a big tree on the side of the house that was lifting the sidewalk and looked like it was infested and going to fall on the house at any time. We are going to use the wood chips in my front flower garden. My birthday was Sunday. Last Monday, David got me a 6 week old border collie/Australian shepherd puppy. We named her Lexie. I wanted a dog for the boys and me, since our sweet dog died in April. But I could not handle a puppy with my five boys. David couldn't understand at first. I wanted a dog that was house trained and good with kids and already mostly trained. I didn't have time to train a puppy. The week that we had Lexie, my post-pardum depression reared its ugly head and I broke down in tears twice a day. David realized that the puppy was too much for me to handle at this point and I couldn't give the puppy the time she needed and the boys the time that they needed (and Myself the time I needed!). He tried to help me as much as possible that week by helping with the boys and making dinner, but he had to work and go to school full time and I knew that I couldn't train a puppy, nurse a 2-month old, potty train a 2-year old and get our new house organized and the yard cleaned up the way we wanted it. We put her on ksl.com and sold her to a nice women just a few streets over. We are planning on getting another dog, 1-5 years old, around August or September. I want to have the backyard cleaned up, our gate completed and maybe the older boys in school too so I will have the time to give a new addition to our family. So it has been a busy month and we are looking forward to the 4Th of July.

Eli's Blessing

We will be blessing Eli on Sunday, June 7th, at 12:50. After the meeting we will be going back to our house for Cookies and lemonaide. You are welcome to bring your favorite kind of cookie to share with everyone.

Our New House

Wallace Home

David and I are finally closing on our home today at 4:00pm. We will get the key Friday evening. We still can't move right in, there are repairs and cleaning to do. We are ripping out all the carpet, building a wall, painting, and recarpeting, plus some other little things. We hope to move in next weekend, but with David working full time and going to school, repairs will go slow, especially since I am still recovering from my C-section and now have a sinus infection.

House update

We have an update about our house. We had to increase our bid by $1,000 for the bank to extend the deadline of the foreclosure. But we got it pushed out to Thursday the 14th. We hope to have everything ready to close by Tuesday or Wednesday. Fingers crossed. We will not be able to move in right away though. We need to do some repairs, painting, new carpet, etc. But we hope to be moved in by the end of the month.

Closing Deadline

The deadline for closing on our home is getting closer and our loan is still in underwriting, with no definite answer that they will be done by Friday. We have to close on this house by Friday or it will foreclose and we will lose it, along with the $2,000 of FHA required impovements that we have done! So we need all the prayers we can get. It feels like we are jinked, with all that we have been through this year. Please pray for us. We love and miss all of our family.

Bad first days

We have had a bad few first days home. Eli was circumcised on Monday afternoon and stopped breathing on the table, turned purple! Thankfully, David was there and quickly picked Eli up, cleared his throat and gave him cpr. When we got home, David called an elder in the ward and they gave Eli a blessing. After a histeric cry that my son is still alive, we said a family prayer of thanks and felt the Lords love and peace. Then Tuesday night, after doing too much the day before, I popped a stitch from my c-section. I saw my Docter Wednesday and she said it still looked fine, but chewed me out for not taking it easy. Now David is even more protective, calling every hour to make sure I am in bed. I am lucky to have my dad here in the morning, and my mom is taking half days at work to be here when my dad has to leave for work. My sister lives close and she is taking my older boys to school and picking them up for me. She has also watched the boys for me this week. We got some good news about our house though. We have been accepted and the other side wants to close May 8th. So we are rushing to complete improvements on the property so it will pass FHA and getting our loan pushed through as fast as possible. Cross your fingers.

Homecoming

We are home after a relaxing three days in the hospital. Our four older boys stayed with Granny and PaPa. It is good to be home with them again (even though Scott is the only one home from school). Here are some pictures of our new addition, Elijah Ray.

New Baby at the Wallace Home

7:58 am Apr 24, 2009
7 lbs 4 oz
20 in

Big Day

Tomorrow is the big day. We are going to the Hospital at 6am Friday morning. The Cesarean is scheduled for 7:30am. The baby will have to be in a warmer for 1 hour, then, hopefully everything else will be fine and our baby will be with us. My sister, Shauna, will be posting baby pictures on my blog for me later that afternoon. Family will get calls from David after we have had a chance to recover and bond with our baby.

Easter

The Easter weekend was busy and fun. Saturday morning, the boys went to the church with David and participated in the Easter egg hunt there. Saturday afternoon, my Dad's family came over for a family dinner and Easter egg hunt. The rain actually held off until we started the egg hunt, then it rained just long enough for the kids to run around finding the eggs. We had our Easter bunny come Saturday Night. The boys got more candy and one toy each. Justin, Ben and Adam got talking Space hero figures and Scott got a talking Leo from Little Einsteins. Sunday morning at 7:00, we started out to David's sister Holly's house in Idaho with David's sister, her husband, and David's brother following in another car. It took us about 3 hours to get there. We visited, the boys had a blast playing with their cousins. Then we flew some kites. The conditions there are great for kite flying, very windy. David and Justin tried out Holly's Wii system. They both got into it. We are planning on getting a Wii as a housewarming gift to ourselves when we finally get our house. We started driving home at 5:00 and got here just in time for the boys to play in the last of the sunlight and go to bed. They went back to school on Monday, after 3 weeks off track and spring break. We put an offer on another house on Monday. The house is big and has lots of potential. It just needs to be cleaned really good and needs some paint. We hope to find out about either this house or the Sunset property before we go in on the 24th to have our baby!!

New Blessing Day

We will be blessing our baby on June 7th rather than May 3rd. We decided that I would not be recovered enough from my cesection and we also do not have our own home yet.

Skip Wallace

Skip, 3/20/2009

Skip (aka Skippers) came into our family in September of 2004. He was 9 months old. He was smart, sweet, always good with the boys.

Skip and Adam would always lay down together. Adam would pet Skip and Skip would just curl up next to him. I think if we allowed Skip on the beds, that he would have slept with Adam every night.

Skip loved to count (by barking the number of fingers). He loved to run and play fetch and run after cats.

Skip passed away on March 23rd 2009 at 5:10pm. He had been paralysed from the middle of his back, unable to move his back legs, unable to control his bowels. He was in pain, panting and shivering in his bed. We went to the animal shelter as a family and explained to the boys what was going on. David talked to the vet and they came out and took Skip inside on a stretcher. I was able to keep it together in the car, but when we got home, the boys went upstairs and I stay downstairs and cried. We got the call at 5:10 that he had passed away quietly.

Wallace Baby

We have had some family asking about our plans for the baby blessing so that they can plan to be here. Our baby is scheduled to be delivered by ce-section on April 24th. We are planning the baby blessing two weeks later on the first Sunday in May. We are hoping to hear something this week about a home, so we have our own home for family to stay with us that weekend, but it is not looking very likely.

Skip's scare

We had a scare with our dog, Skip, this morning. He is a sweet Beagle/Bassett Hound Mix. He has been acting sick since Tuesday, but yesterday he was acting more like himself, so I thought he was fine. This morning, he didn't get out of his bed until I made him go outside before I took the kids to school. He got up wobbly and staggered out the door, almost falling down the stairs. He couldn't stand while he did his business and had to be helped back in the house. After I took the boys to school, I took Skip to the vet. He has Intervertebral Disk Disease, which means one of the soft disks between his vertebrae has pushed up against his spinal cord and inflamed it. We could either pay $3000 to get him a surgery that may or may not repair it, or put him on Steroids and muscle relaxers and keep him confined for 3 weeks. We definitely can't afford a surgery, so we are trying the drugs. We have to carry him up and down the stairs, which is hard because you have to go down stairs to get out of the house both in front and in back to let him go to the bathroom. And being carried is painful for him as well (Plus, picking up a 40 pound dog while 8 months pregnant is a challenge). We are keeping him in one room and trying to keep him put. He doesn't like it because he is a very social dog and wants to follow me all over the house. If he is not kept confined the disk could slip and paralyse him. We don't want to think about that happening. The kids are understanding that skip is sick and can't play with them until Easter. They love him so much. We are also getting ready for Ben's 6th birthday. He as asked for heelys or skates and his own computer. I think we are going to go with the skates. And still no resolve to the housing dilemma. It has been a stressful week and the boys are now off track for 3 weeks. Hopefully the good weather will hold up, after this small storm that is coming Sunday and Monday. Getting out will do us all good.

Here we go again

So, here we go again. We have 2 more bids out on, yet again, 2 more short sales. They seem to be the only thing out there for us. We just pray that one of these gets back to us with SOME KIND of answer. To be left wondering with no news like last time would be painful for us. We are already not sleeping well and David is probably getting an ulcer. Please remember us in your prayers again and maybe we will have somewhere to call our own.

House Hunt again!!!

No go on both bids we put in. Back to square one, with only 6 weeks till Baby and 2 months till our savings grant expires. Depressing, I know. I wish I had some good news to share.

Our house hunting

I think I might be crazy after this house buying process. I would not have expected it to be so stressful when we started looking in December. But they say all short sales are like this. We had been waiting since the middle of January to hear anything from the other side. Friday, we found out that the other offer that had been submitted with ours dropped out. The bank foreclosure date on the property is March 10th. Which means that they will do one of three things: Accept or Counter our offer, Extend out the date and make us wait longer, or decline our offer, foreclose and try their luck at the court house steps for auction. David is releived that the other offer dropped and feels confident that we will get the house. I, on the other hand, am stressing even more as the date gets closer and the fickleness of the Bank decides our fate. Please keep praying for us. Thank you everyone for all your support.

Wallace Baby

Our c-section has been moved up from May 1st to April 24th. This is still a estimated date. We will not schedule the c-section until April. But I have a pregnancy condition that drops my platlet count. I had it with Ben and with Scott. I am still praying that we will have our house before this baby. Things are getting very stressful with the waiting and the boys are picking up on it. We just want to be able to move on, instead of being stuck in without knowing what is going on.

Picture Tag

The boys love the zoo, especially this elephant. We could spent 20 minutes just playing here. It plays music and squirts water. When we moved back, we got a annual membership.

Waiting Waiting Waiting

We are still waiting for an answer on the short sale property that we put a bid on in January. February used to be a short month, but it is dragging so long. We have looked at other homes while we are waiting and have put another bid on another short sale property, just in case, as a 2nd option. We have not found anything else that we like, so we are just WAITING! We are still praying that we get the first home. It is just right for our family. Please pray for us.

Saturday Fun

The boys and I went to the children's museum on Saturday, while David went paint balling with Albert. The boys had a blast (the big boys too). It was a nice, but windy, day. This morning, we woke up to SNOW SNOW SNOW. And it hasn't stopped. All the snow from January had melted and I thought we would get an early spring, but I guess the groundhog was right. It is suppose to snow all week. Congratulations to my cousin. She is pregnant with their second child.

Paintball Crazy

David has been wanting to go paintballing all month. He and his brother have been looking forward to the Aliens in the Rockies 2009, but when we tried to register this weekend, we found that the site is down. I am hoping we can get some information soon, or I will be living with a sulking man. I have to beg him to stay away from Badass Paintball for now and spend time with the boys. Ben has been begging to go bowling and Justin wants to go to Chucky Cheese. We have only been there once since they opened the resturant in our area, and the boys LOVED it. We are still waiting to hear about the home, and could be waiting for another month. It is frustrating. Which makes David want to go paintballing even more to burn off steam.

Okay, here are the rules for this tag:1: Each player must copy and paste this list in your own blog. Bold all of the things you have done and then post it.2: At the end of the post you need to choose 5 people to get tagged and list their names. 1. Started your own blog. 2. Slept under the stars 3. Played in a band 4. Visited Hawaii (I would love to!!) 5. Watched a meteor shower 6. Given more than you can afford to charity 7. Been to Disneyland 8. Climbed a mountain 9. Held a praying mantis 10. Been to Canada 11. Bungee jumped (Again, why would I want to) 12. Worked at an Amusement Park 13. Watched a lightning storm at sea 14. Taught yourself an art from scratch 15. Adopted a child 16. Had food poisoning 17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty 18. Grown your own vegetables 19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France 20. Slept on an overnight train 21. Had a pillow fight 22. Hitch hiked 23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill (For shame!) 24. Built a snow fort 25. Held a lamb 26. Gone skinny dipping 27. Run a Marathon 28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice 29. Seen a total eclipse 30. Watched a sunrise or sunset 31. Hit a home run 32. Been on a cruise (It's on the list) 33. Seen Niagara Falls in person 34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors 35. Seen an Amish community 36. Taught yourself a new language 37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied 38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person 39. Gone rock climbing 40. Seen Michelangelo’s David 41. Sung karaoke 42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt 43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant 44. Visited Africa 45. Walked on a beach by moonlight 46. Been transported in an ambulance 47. Had your portrait painted 48. Gone deep sea fishing 49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person 50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris 51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling 52. Kissed in the rain 53. Played in the mud 54. Gone to a drive-in theater 55. Been in a movie 56. Visited the Great Wall of China 57. Started a business 58. Taken a martial arts class 59. Visited Russia 60. Served at a soup kitchen 61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies 62. Gone whale watching 63. Got flowers for no reason 64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma (They won't let me) 65. Gone sky diving 66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp 67. Bounced a check 68. Flown in a helicopter 69. Saved a favorite childhood toy 70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial 71. Eaten Caviar 72. Pieced a quilt 73. Stood in Times Square 74. Toured the Everglades 75. Been fired from a job 76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London 77. Broken a bone 78. Been on a speeding motorcycle 79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person 80. Published a book 81. Visited the Vatican 82. Bought a brand new car 83. Walked in Jerusalem 84. Had your picture in the newspaper 85. Read the entire Bible (working on it) 86. Visited the White House 87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating 88. Had chickenpox 89. Saved someone’s life 90. Sat on a jury 91. Met someone famous 92. Joined a book club 93. Lost a loved one 94. Had a baby 95. Seen the Alamo in person 96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake 97. Been involved in a law suit 98. Owned a cell phone 99. Been stung by a bee 100. Seen Mount Rushmore in person 101. Learned to play an instrument Cindy Arnold, Holly Lippy, Sara Frank, Aimee Miller, Kathy Wallace

Home

We have put a bid on a short sale home. The seller has approved our bid, but it goes to the bank now, and they can take up to 50 days to return an answer. During that time, they may also get other offers. We are asking everyone to pray for a swift and positive answer from the bank. The home is close to Aunt Jacqie's house. Just behind the Smiths.

House hunting

We did not get the house we wanted, so the search continues.

House hunting

We have started the house hunting process. We found a home in Ogden that we like and have put a bid in. However, it is a bank owned property and they are taking forever to get back to us. And since Monday is a holiday, we have to wait until Tuesday before we can find out anything. Keep your fingers crossed for us.