Snowy Spring

I'm not sure I've seen the ground this Spring. It's driving me crazy. This would be a beautiful scene in December or January, but c'mon... it's almost April! The sun does help with the cheerful factor and with melting away the snow on the driveways and sidewalks. I'm not sure, however, how much more I can take. Bob and I always joke about taking what little money we have and running away to Mexico, but it's seems to be less and less of a joke these days. If I don't post for a while, you'll know what happened.

Sixteen Days (and counting)

I scheduled the movers for April 11th. I sure hope we have a certificate of occupancy by then or else we'll have to camp out in the backyard aka "the mud pit". Here is what the home looks like today. Our phantom siders have struck again and yet we have not seen them for days.



Here's a peek at the garage doors.



The bathrooms are coming along...




And here is our bedroom fireplace...



And closet...



I think my favorite is the shower...



Still lots to do though. It's rather unexciting but time consuming. We have the stairs to go in, electric has to finish, and our cooktop is expected in tomorrow which allow the countertops to finish. It will be a nail biter (as usual!).

Easter Wrap Up

Easter went down to the wire this year. We started eggs just minutes before bedtime and had to dig out the baskets at 11pm on Easter Eve. We rushed around the next day to be presentable while the kids enjoyed their traditional breakfast of hard boiled eggs and candy...don't mess with tradition. I was mad at myself for not taking more pictures but remembered to get the camera out to show what we need to do to get a dress on Allie. She can't stand it until we put some leggings on her. Here's Bobby helping her with socks.


She finally managed a smile.


Here are the boys with their Webkinz before heading to Aunt Mary's for lunch. I know, they all need haircuts.

Allie did not want to be a part of the picture. She was mad all morning about the dress.

I have some house pictures to post. I'll try to do that tomorrow.... it's getting close.

Pennies from Heaven

The Lenten season is wrapping up. Around here Good Friday is called Fish Fry Friday and all the local pizzerias will be packed with their fish orders. There are even local rankings of the best fish fry. There is so much hype about fish fry that I've considered getting a fish fry for lunch or dinner tonight, and I don't even like fish. This area is quite Catholic so it's hard not to get caught up in the excitement. I even gave up something for Lent although not required by my church. We have enough restrictions, we don't need any more imposed upon us. This year I gave up pennies. There are many reasons to give up pennies. While I can't give up money altogether, not dealing with pennies is my way of focusing less on money, along that line, I gave up my $100 dollar bills as well. Another reason is one of hygiene. Pennies are found in the scariest areas; in the gutters, on bathroom floors, in my four-year-old hands... I think I've even ingested a few pennies during a coin swallowing phase I went through when I was a child. I shudder to think if any of those coins are in circulation. At first it was hard, rounding up to the nearest nickel and then putting the pennies directly in the "take a penny, leave a penny" jar, but then I wizened up and just used my debit card. It was a sacrifice still and one I'll never forget. I feel I'm a better person for experiencing this Lenten season. I must go and eat my traditional Good Friday breakfast which consists of Cadbury Mini Eggs. Happy Easter everyone!

Grom

I know people have enjoyed reading "Life as a Courtier" over and over again but figured it was time to post something new. I'm starting to become my sister Beth who I believe has three posts this year (don't give me the "I'm 10 months pregnant excuse" Beth, you are on bed rest, you can type) =). Life has been really busy lately and I'm usually found either at a Lowe's or a Home Depot (they know me by name at the Home Depot). Real estate has picked up too. It's a double marathon I'm running here and if anyone has ever seen me run, they know that's not a pretty sight.

I have lots of updates but for now I wanted to post the pictures of something my kids love.... Grom club. We have a skate park in the area called Xtreme Wheels. It's a really cool place, I wish I had something like this when I was a kid. Anyhoo... once a month they have Grom Club where they close the skate park to the public and allow kids thirteen years old and under to skate for free. They also hand out prizes and have free food and drinks. This last Saturday was Grom Club. Pete looks forward to it all month. Here's a couple pictures of the park... there are lots of different ramps that you can't really see from the pictures but it's accessible for all levels of skill.

Here's Pete about to drop into a ramp. Whenever I tried to get a picture of him on the ramp, the camera was having a hard time focusing and it did not work out too well.

Here's Sammy on a ramp. It's tough to see him, but he's the little spec with the gray hood in the middle of the ramp.

Matt is selective about which ramps he likes to use and the one he really likes was being used a lot so he decided to skate on the flat areas.

He also wanted me to take a picture of him doing one of his favorite tricks.... popcorn. I know anyone who has ever skateboarded would get a grin out of this one.

Here are the kids lined up for their tickets for the prize drawing. Everyone gets a prize. They range from hats, t-shirts, stickers, posters, and candy to some more crazy prizes like jars of pickles and facial soap. They have a booby prize for the person who has the last prize drawn. The kids love it.

Normally the little guys would stay home with Bobby, but he was out of town this past weekend so they came with me. They seemed to enjoy the pizza, cookies, and drinks.

Here's the next skater chick of the family.

Life as a Courtier

I just finished reading "The Other Boleyn Girl" by Philippa Gregory. It was a pretty good light read. The only problem was that I only had a few days to read 650+ pages as I was borrowing it from a friend who had it on loan from the library (we are a cheapskate book club, we don't buy... we borrow). So for three days, I was immersed in life in the court of Henry the VIII. That's the way I read anyway, I can't put the book down once it's started. Now I am talking and phrasing things as it was in the book. It's seems a bit better today, but yesterday I caught myself using words like "finding favor" and "longing". I even made reference to an attorney's "gullet". I feel like Madonna when she picked up her fake British accent. I hope it passes soon, it's bothering me to no end.

Snow, Snow, Snow

I know much of my recent posts are either weather, house, or toilet related. Such a glamorous life, I know. Just be glad it's not your reality. =) With the amount of snow there is on the ground, it's hard to believe that we are ten days away from spring. This snow came down late Friday and early Saturday and left us with a couple feet of snow. Church was canceled (which is a big deal for Mormons- we have to live up to the image of pioneers trudging across the frozen plains to get to their haven of worship) and I got my car stuck in the driveway trying to get out late in the afternoon to get to a real estate showing. It took one hour and three of our neighbors helping Bob and me to get the car unstuck (It was so embarrassing! I have to make some "thank you" cookies for them today). The snow is pretty though, it has yet to turn muddy brown near the street and there's lots of it to play in. I was watching House Hunters International last night and they were showing a house hunt in Nicaragua. I must say even with the threat of an unstable government, etc., it was quite appealing. The beautiful beaches and weather fill me with such longing. Why do I live here again? I think I need to start snowboarding again to get me enthusiastic about the snow.

Are We There Yet?

Perhaps the only person in life more impatient than me is Bobby. We make quite a pair! The last few weeks have been difficult as we are getting closer to finishing up. It seemed as soon as the drywall is up and painted we should have been good to go. I guess we might want some lighting and plumbing fixtures in there too but that should only take a day or two... right? Oh well. There is some progress and I figured I'd post them to remind myself of that fact. *serenity now* *serenity now*

The siding is going up. This would be more exciting except this wall is all that is done so far. The rest of the home is still Tyvek. We do expect our front and overhead doors on soon.


Here's the bathtub that is being tiled. It still needs to be grouted but is plugging along I suppose.


Our fireplaces are installed with the covers and everything. I guess that's progress too.



I think the turn of the weather has me a bit blue. Blast you Spring! Where are you?!?!?!

Not Far From the Tree

Allie's getting more particular about her clothes and she's not too keen on dresses. Here she is yesterday with her compromise on; a dress over her "pretty" shirt and pants. I wonder where she gets her loathing of dresses from? =)

The Move of a Million Van Loads.....

....begins with one box. I spent part of the weekend packing. I figured I should document this happy, but daunting, occasion. In truth, I didn't have too many boxes so I wasn't as busy as I had hoped. Tommy saw me grab the camera, and wanted in on the fun.

Here's pose #1....well... let's try again.


Oh boy. It's going from bad to worse.


Phew. Third time is the charm. I was afraid the old wive's tales were coming true.