Auld Lang Syne

I have been wanting to do a "year in review" blog post on the last day of 2008, and then tonight when Jason and I were hanging out with our friends, Dan and Jess Hardy, we were talking about the dumb things people blog and twitter about, and how even though they are dumb, other people read about them... I think this post might fit into the category. But Jess said she likes reading stuff like this, so... at least one person might enjoy it!

January
We came back from our fun-filled vacation (cruise to the Bahamas, visiting with family in Tennessee and Utah) to dreary, snowy, windy, yucky old Laramie. Jason had to go back to school and I entered the uber-uncomfortable third trimester.

February
Tempe had her first (and only, so far) asthma attack; we went to Build A Bear to make a teddy bear for "Baby Sister"; Jason bought me a $40 cheesecake for Valentine's Day.

March
Uncomfortable, uncomfortable, uncomfortable... then... PAIN... then Helena Louise Anderson!

April
I tried to get used to caring for two demanding children while getting ready for our move to Utah; Jason tried to prepare for graduation.

May
Jason graduated from Law school!!! We moved to Utah to live with Jason's parents.

June
Bar Prep classes and studying for Jason; bicycling with Tempe and Helena all over Bountiful for me.

July
The girls and I visit Tennessee; Jason finishes up his Bar prep and takes the Bar.

August
Nothing really happened this month.

September
We begin house-hunting this month; Tempe turns two!

October
All kinds of fun activities this month: playing in the leaves, picking out pumpkins, getting ready for Halloween.... We make our first offer on a house this month (it was rejected). Plus, Jason was admitted to the Bar this month!

November
Visit to Tennessee to welcome Tyler home from his mission! We put an offer on our "dream house" this month.

December
Waiting, waiting, waiting.... then... finally! An acceptance! Christmas came one week early for us when our offer on our dream house was finally accepted.

So... that was the watered down version of this year.

Chesnuts Roasting

Merry Christmas!

We had such a fun Christmas here at the Anderson home. On Christmas Eve, we went to Jason's grandma's house--a family tradition. We ate, sang some great songs ("Jing, Jing-a-Ling" and "Six White Boomers", among others), played White Elephant, and just enjoyed each other's company. When we got home, Jason and I helped Tempe and Helena open their Christmas Eve pajamas (a tradition from my side of the family) and put them to bed. Then we did those secretive things that Moms and Dads do on Christmas Eve after the kids are in bed :)


I thought that I was a grown-up, but I must still be a little childish, because I had such a hard time sleeping on Christmas Eve! When it was finally morning, we all got up at about 8:30 and went downstairs to see what Santa had brought. He brought Tempe a really cute dollhouse (and a racecar in her stocking) and he brought Helena a fun pink ride-on pony. After we all played with our Santa presents for a few minutes, it was time to open the rest of the presents.


We had quite a haul this year! It was very fun helping Tempe open her presents. She would get so excited about whatever she was opening that she would completely lose interest in the rest of the presents. Some of her favorites include some My Little Ponies and a Lightning McQueen pillow and blanket. Helena likes her two new books, her animal stacking rings, and her bead toy. Jason's doesn't choose favorites. Maybe he didn't like any of them. And as for me... well, it's hard to choose! I got the food processor that I wanted to make baby food, so that was good. My mom made me the cutest apron I have ever seen, and I love that! Jason framed a large family portrait to hang over our fireplace, and I love that too.... I don't know. It was pretty darn good. Most of all, it was nice to spend so much time with our family, just relaxing and playing together.

Tempe and Helena in their Christmas dresses on the Sunday before Christmas.

Tempe and Helena opening their presents

Helena loves riding her new pony!

Helena got into a chocolate bar when I wasn't paying enough attention to her. She was very, very excited! And Austin didn't mind because he didn't like the kind of chocolate it was.

Only a dead bird

This morning we had our house inspected. Quick, huh? I was glad to get it over with. I came at the very end of the inspection so he could show me everything, and when I got there, a realtor and his two clients were just coming out after their showing. Yep, their showing. I wasn't too happy, especially because they tracked snow all over my brand new carpet!
Anyway, everything was fine. Nothing pressing for us to take care of, but we do have a short list of repairs we will need to work on. The worst thing he found was a dead bird in the crawl space. I don't know how it got down there, because the only access to the crawl space is through the house--there's no outside access.
And it's no longer on the MLS site! It's ours!!!!
I loved it even more today. Everything except the mirror wall. I hated that even more. Does anyone have any ideason what to do about that? We would love to get rid of it, but in the meantime what can I do to improve the appearance?

It's a Festivus Miracle!

Ok, maybe I am jumping the gun here, but I can't hold back.... Judy the realtor called me today to tell me that we have an accepted offer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We have been waiting to hear for six weeks now, and I was getting pretty antsy and nervous, so her phone call was very welcome. I truly believe it was an answer to prayer.

Our inspection is tomorrow morning, and after that, I think I will be able to really relax and not worry. I know from my parents' experience that it's not a sure thing until the closing papers are actually signed. I don't want to get my hopes up too much, but it's hard not to when my dreams are coming true!

If all goes well (meaning it passes inspection and our loan gets pushed through quickly) we will probably close the week after Christmas. That means we will be in our own home in early January. My own kitchen, my own furniture, my own bedroom, my own giant walk-in closet without a baby sleeping in it, my own yard, my own deck and storage shed.... well. Mine and Jason's :)

House # I forgot how many we have seen now

On Saturday, I (Jason stayed home with the girls because it was snowing and we didn't want to take them out) went to see a house that I thought I would love. And I was right! I did love it!

The house is a 100-year-old craftsman bungalow in the heart of Bountiful, just a block south of the Tabernacle. I have always loved that style of home and always wanted to live in that sort of neighborhood--old homes with plenty of character, near shops and other downtown amenities. It would completely solve our transportation dilemma, because I could walk to the library, post office, grocery store, park, and all kinds of cute shops. So those are two things that really attracted me to this house.

The other thing that made me really want to go see it was the bathroom. IT HAS A CLAW FOOT TUB. Can you believe it?? A claw foot tub! What more could you ask for?? Not only does it have a claw foot tub, but it also has one of those sinks that is like a bowl set on the counter (I like those), which is granite, I might add. It's absolutely gorgeous.

The house has a front porch with a swing, a large lot with mature trees and landscaping, a formal living room with built in bookshelves, 10 foot coved ceilings upstairs, a basement family room, the aforementioned gorgeous full bath + a 3/4 bath in the basement, a master bedroom with sitting room, a mudroom, a giant updated Pottery Barn-esque kitchen with bar, a built in desk, and two other rooms that would work well as bedrooms for the girls (one is in the basement and one is off the master sitting room, but it doesn't have a closet so it can't be considered a bedroom). Click on the picture to see pictures of the interior of the house. Whew! Needless to say, I was walking around in awe, as was my realtor (it was her first time going to this house). I was ready to sit down and pull our other offer and write a new one for this house.

And then we went down to the basement.

Ok, I'm not very tall. I'm not even 5'1. And my head was about four inches lower than the ceiling in the basement. I'm serious; my realtor, who is about 5'9, Jason's height, almost had to duck her head to walk around.

It was so disappointing! Unless it dropped about $30,000, we wouldn't want to risk losing money trying to (someday) sell a house that lots of people couldn't even stand up straight in.

I've been thinking about it all day and yearning for it. That's right, yearning. I want it. I loved it so much, and if it weren't for the resale value, I would still want to buy it.

In other house news, today is our official deadline. Can you believe six weeks has gone by? But we aren't going to hear anything today; the listing agent says ours is the only offer they have but it isn't ready yet. He swears it will be signed by the end of the week. He said that last week, too. Our agent told him that she has taken us to several other houses and that we're starting to get impatient. I don't think that will help any. The bank is just going to take their time, and what are we going to do about it? Nothing. If we tried threatening them and saying we'll walk away, they would say "Fine. Walk away. We already lost money, we'll just keep trying." And we have nothing to walk away to, so for now, we are stuck.

And this is my 100th entry.

Lena Lou

Last night I was nursing Lena in bed, and when she was done eating, she just cuddled up against me, cooing and smiling. She is such a cuddly girl, and I love taking the opportunity to just snuggle with her every once in a while. It's so nice to hold her and see how happy and safe she feels in my arms. I'm so grateful that I have such a sweet, loving little baby!

Lena is learning how to scoot around on her tummy now. She doesn't get up on her hands and knees yet, but she army-crawls across the floor. She also has her first tooth now! I can't believe how big she is getting. She will be a year old before I know it!

Jason and I took the girls to the Festival of Trees last night, and it was another opportunity for me to think about how blessed I am to have a happy, healthy family. For those of you who don't know, the Festival of Trees is a charity event that benefits Primary Children's Hospital. All of the trees are decorated in honor of someone and are sold at auction to raise money. The trees are all gorgeous, but it's pretty sad when you think about why they are there. I kept hugging Lena closer and thinking how lucky I am that I have healthy children. I hope that they always are!

Tempe Jo

Yesterday I focused on Jason, and today I want to focus on Tempe (tomorrow will be Lena's turn). Every day that I spend with Tempe, I love her more. I am so proud of the little girl she is becoming. She is spunky, smart, independent, considerate, and loving. The most rewarding part of motherhood is watching her play "mommy"--I must be doing something right if she wants to be like me! Today we were finger painting. I use an old shirt of mine for a smock, and when we were done, she wouldn't let me take it off. She is still wearing it and saying "Tempe is Mommy!" every few minutes.

She has just started saying "I love you", and nothing warms my heart more than hearing her say "I wuv you, Mommy!"

JC

Blue Run Farm, June 2005

Vedauvoo, September 2005

Snorkeling in the Bahamas, December 2005

BYU-UCLA game, September 2008

Hiking in Bountiful, October 2008

Today I was thinking about my great husband Jason. I've always known I'm pretty lucky, but sometimes I get distracted with screaming kids, BYU financial aid circular logic, and intense budgeting. It's easy to focus on all the hard things about life and not think about what I have, but I hope to change my ways. Instead I am going to focus on embarrassing Jason more often.

The first time I noticed Jason was at a ward mix-and-mingle. We were all supposed to bring something that "represented" ourselves and talk about it. I brought my lion cookie jar that roared when you opened its mouth. When Jason stood up, he said, very seriously, "I don't feel comfortable sharing things about myself." I thought he was hilarious. In fact, that incident is what prompted me to invite him hiking at Bridal Veil falls, which in turn prompted me to cuddle with him during the movie later and eventually ask him out on our first date. I was so smitten that I didn't even let our age difference (5 years felt huge when I was only 19 and he was 24!) scare me off.

The best thing about him is that he still makes me laugh all the time. We haven't run out of things to say to each other, even after 4 whole years! I know, amazing, right?

I'm so grateful that I found him, and even more grateful that someone else didn't find him first :)

Argh!!!

Del Espinosa, the listing agent of our dream house, told our agent that we would have an answer by the end of November. But now he says it will be another 2-3 weeks.
ARGH!
I guess I should be grateful that they are taking so long, because that means we will just have that much more money in savings. Our agent asked if it was worth it to us to keep waiting. I said yeah, it is, since there's literally no other house we are interested in making an offer on.
So we just have to be patient for a few more weeks...

I admit it

Today I am very discouraged. It seems like no matter how hard I work, I never get closer to my goal of graduating from college. I have 26 credits left and it feels like it will take a lifetime to finish them! If we had more money I would be able to finish those remaining credits in two or three years; but right now we are not in a financial position to contribute any money to my education. I have been so blessed to receive several scholarships in the past year and a Pell Grant, and I have been depending on those to pay for some of my classes. Unfortunately, there are very complicated guidelines concerning Pell Grants for BGS students (that's me) and I'm not sure I will be able to access all of the money that I was awarded.
It's frustrating. So far, I have had a hard time finding someone at BYU that is familiar both with Pell Grants and with the BGS program, so I haven't gotten any real answers. I have a phone appointment with a financial aid counselor on Monday and I hope that she will be able to help me. If not, I think I might scream.

The 4th Tag

Tag! I'm it. Margaret tagged me with the "4th tag", where you post the 4th picture in the 4th folder on your computer. Here's mine! It's from July 29th, 2006--my baby shower when I was pregnant with Tempe. I think I'm holding up a pack of onesies in this picture. My good friend Amanda took pictures of me opening my presents. I was so happy that she was able to come! We lived with Jason's parents that summer, and most of my friends from BYU weren't around for the summer. I didn't really know anyone in the ward here, so my baby shower was all Jason's relatives + Amanda.
I tag Rachel W., Jeanne S., Amanda D., and Kristy S.

Houses #19, 20, 21, 22, and 23

It's been a while since we went to see any houses, but today we went to quite a few. There were a few that we might keep our eyes on, but nothing that jumped out at us.

House #19 was a 3 bedroom, almost 2 bathroom home in Centerville, just a few streets north of the house we have an offer in on. We liked a lot of things about it: the layout was exactly what we are looking for, it has an unfinished room in the basement that could potentially be a 4th bedroom, and it has a huge backyard. But it doesn't have a master bathroom and besides, it's at least $15,000 more than we can afford. If it drops $20,000 we would probably be really interested! In the meantime, I think I'm going to send my brother-in-law and his wife over there to see it.

House #20 is a new construction short sale (feel sorry for the builder!) in Centerville, with 3 bedrooms and 2 1/2 bathrooms. It was ok. It had no backyard, and not really any potential for a backyard, and I thought some of the materials used looked a little cheap, like the kitchen counters. They were made to look like they were marble, but they very obviously weren't. I didn't like that at all. The master bathroom and walk-in closet was too big--a waste of space.

House #21 was in the same development as #20, and had almost the same floorplan. However, this one had a much bigger lot and although it was unfenced, it has the potential for a decent backyard. We liked the layout a little bit better. The master bedroom still had a nice big walk-in closet and a nice master bathroom, but it wasn't oversized. And in the master bedroom, there was a sort of nook off to the side that was just the right size for a crib someday! We really liked that. I guess this could be an option to fall back on.

Doesn't this house look like two houses that collided and got stuck together? House #22 is a short sale in West Bountiful, with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. It was a mess inside, with half finished tile in the entryway, stained and worn carpet throughout, a half finished shower in the master bathroom, and soft spots on the floor. The layout was really nice and it's in a nice neighborhood, but at $10,000 over our budget and needing another $10,000 put into it, it's a no-go for us.

House #23 is another new construction in Foxboro. We've already seen a house in Foxboro (house #16) and we really didn't like it, but we want to look at all of our options. I liked the layout of this house a lot, but it had no backyard at all yet--meaning dirt and rocks behind the house, that's it. The builder came to it with us, and he said it would be about $3,000 to put in the sod and fence. Besides that, it's in Foxboro, which is just so out of the way. So we will probably scratch this one off our list.

Still holding out for #18... we should find out next week if they accept our offer. If they do, the bank wants to close soon after. Who knows, we may even be in our own house by Christmas!

"Go on up to your crib... I mean, your big girl bed!"

This week I found a great toddler bed + mattress on Craigslist for only $75! I think it was a steal, because toddler beds go fast, and this one is really cute. Tempe learned how to climb out of her crib (also this week), so it was perfect timing.

I can't believe that my baby is sleeping in a big girl bed!! She has done fabulously. She sleeps in her bed without wandering around the room or playing after we leave. She hasn't even fallen out yet! She is really growing up.

In other Tempe news, she pooped in the tub today... ugh. Maybe the worst part about being a parent. When Jason came home from work, she ran to him to tell him the story:

"Yucky poo-poo, bathtub, oh yuck! And Mommy, Mommy, oh oh, Mommy! [said with her hand to her mouth as if calling someone] Uh-oh!"

"Then what did Mommy do?" Daddy prompts.

"Oh, that's ok! Mommy [unintelligible chatter] moose poop, yuck, clean it up!"

She said something about moose poop because once when we were at the cabin, a moose had pooped out by the swing set. It made a big impression on her.

Tennessee--finallee!! (haha)

I am finally blogging about our recent trip to Tennessee. We went to welcome my brother back from his mission, and it was so great to spend some quality time with him and with the rest of the family. We had a lot of fun playing games, eating dinner as a family, and catching Tyler up on The Office and LOST.

There's a pretty funny story about Tyler's actual homecoming--funny, and sort of sad. We arrived at the airport about 20 minutes before his flight was supposed to land, armed with cameras and welcome home signs, and got all settled in where the passengers come out. We waited, and waited, and waited, and kept checking his flight status. Finally, my dad started asking people what flight they were coming from, and none of them were from Tyler's flight! About 15 minutes after his flight landed, my dad's cell phone rang. He answered, and to our dismay, it was Tyler--downstairs at the baggage claim and wondering where we all were! We had, unfortunately, neglected to see if Delta came out at the same place as the other airlines (they don't). So we all rushed down to baggage claim and ran to him. Poor Tyler!! He said his stomach was full of butterflies and he was so excited to see us again, and then he walked out and.... nothing! We were no where in sight! Luckily, he had met some members on his flight, so he found them at baggage claim and asked to borrow their cell phone to call Dad. I just think it's amazing that he could remember Dad's number after 2 years!

Kelsey and Jeff waiting for Tyler's flight to land!

Elder Allan in front of our homemade banner.

While we were in Tennessee, we were able to meet up with our friends from law school, the Smiths. They live in Huntsville, Alabama, so we met at an awesome children's museum in Murfreesboro. I love that Tempe and Caleb are holding hands and looking at each other in this picture!

Tempe loved being at Grandma Lisa's house again. The weather wasn't great, but we took advantage of it when we could, playing in the yard and going for walks or to the park as a family. I'm so glad that Tempe and Helena are able to see their grandparents as often as we do, even though we live so far apart! I hope we continue to be able to see each other regularly.

Still waiting for our dream house...

We've got some more information about our dream house--house #18. While we were in Tennessee last week, my brother-in-law's realtor tried to take him and his wife to our house. They said they couldn't go see it because we have an offer on it, and their realtor said "Oh yeah, they said there was an offer on it but they're hoping for something better." Umm, hello, our offer is only $4,000 less than the asking price! I think that's a pretty good offer.
But the house is also officially in foreclosure, with a sale date set for the end of the month. So we should know by then. One of three things will happen:

1. Ours is the best offer and the bank accepts it to avoid foreclosure.
2. A better offer is made and the bank accepts it to avoid foreclosure.
3. The bank doesn't accept an offer and goes into foreclosure.

If option 3 happens, I will be so mad. Foreclosure is expensive for the bank, so they probably still wouldn't end up with what they're owed (which is $222,000). If a better offer is made there is obviously nothing we can do about it, so we just have to keep praying that no one else will want it as much as we do!

I am trying to prepare myself for rejection, but it's hard. We are so ready to have our own place again, especially since Tempe has learned how to climb out of her crib. Everyone keep their fingers crossed for us!

7 random facts about me

Well, I've been tagged by my cute friend Jen, so here are 7 random things about me!!

1. I spend a lot of time thinking "conversations" in my head... um, yeah, that sounds weirder than it really is. I just mean I think of what I would say to certain people, and what they would say to me, and how our conversations would go from there.
2. Between the years of 2000 and 2005, I lived in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Utah, Tennessee, and Wyoming.
3. I use Facebook to spy on people.
4. My go-to snack at bedtime is toast with peanut butter and a big glass of milk.
5. Bad grammar and poor spelling drive me crazy (so I use spell check all the time).
6. I started writing our Christmas letter way before Halloween.
7. I went to two different high schools.... crazy!!!!

Ok, now I tag... Kristy S., Rachel A., Rachel W., Cari P., Jaida H., Christie B., and Mary H.!

It's official

Last night we made an official offer on our "dream house" in Centerville. Because it's a short sale, the offer goes to the bank, not the seller, and they take much, much longer to accept or reject than a normal seller would, so we won't know for quite a while. We offered $200,000, which was $9,000 less than the asking price last night... but today the price dropped to $204,000! So our offer was only $4,000 less than the asking price.
This makes me both happy and sad. Happy because maybe the bank will realize we made a great offer and accept, maybe even sooner than the December 15th deadline we gave them!
Sad because maybe somebody else will come along and offer what they're asking and snatch it away from us :(
I guess all we can do is cross our fingers and pray.

Autumn fun

Officially an ABA wife

**I forgot to blog about this last week. I also forgot to take my camera to the ceremony, so there are no pictures with this post**
Since we've been married, I've been a law wife and an ABA candidate wife... and now I am officially an ABA wife! That's right, Jason was officially admitted to the Bar last Thursday. I took the girls to the ceremony (luckily his parents were there to help me with them) and we were all so proud of him after he took the oath! Tempe raised her right hand when she saw all the new attorneys do it--it was pretty cute!
Afterwards we went to Rodizio's, which was absolutely amazing. If you haven't been, you should go!

Ahh, the good old days!

Jason and I just spent a few minutes with an old friend of ours: Homestar Runner! We used to go there all the time when we were dating and engaged, but I don't think I've seen any Homestar Runner since then. That means it's been four years (because tomorrow is our four-year-engagement anniversary!)

That silly marshmallow guy just made me feel really happy and nostalgic.

House #18--My dream house!

We saw my dream house tonight. As an added bonus for everyone, I made the picture into a link so you can go see the virtual tour and interior pictures. But they don't do it justice. It was so fabulous inside, with wonderful details that really turn a house into a home--windowseats, built in bookshelves, two gorgeous fireplaces, a distressed wood floor, slate panels in the dining room floor...
Here are the specifics: 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1750 square feet, wonderful location in a family neighborhood in Centerville, short sale listed at $209,000. This house, believe it or not, has been listed for 393 days. 393!!! We can't pay what they are asking, but are hoping that since it is a short sale and it's been on the market for so long, the bank will just cut their losses, and take a lower offer. Our realtor is going to talk to the listing agent and see if he is anticipating a price cut, since it hasn't gone down in price for 2 1/2 months. And after we hear back from her, I think we will make a low offer and just cross our fingers.
I'm overwhelmed. It was so perfect.

House #17

We saw house #17 last night: 5 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2,110 square feet, listed just this week at $195,000. It's in Woods Cross, and what we could see of the neighborhood looked nice, but it was dark when we saw it, so who knows?

The house is a great value (only $92/square foot) and it's all in liveable condition, but it's pretty outdated. There was wallpaper in almost every room. And not just wallpaper, which I would prime and paint over easily, but textured wallpaper. There was new carpet in several rooms, and the old carpet was still in good condition. The kitchen cabinets were nice, but a bit outdated, and the countertop was pretty old. The basement was awesome, with a large family room, two big bedrooms, a storage room, a 3/4 bathroom, and a wet bar. The backyard also looked pretty nice: big, grassy, shady, and fully fenced.

Overall, it was a nice house.

My bad habit

I have a bad habit. It's getting out of control,and it makes me feel sick to my stomach.
I look at houses that are out of our price range--not so much out of our price range that I know it's impossible, but enough that it's improbable, which makes it worse. I found one tonight that I am in love with, even without going to see it in person. It's $20,000 more than we would like to spend and $10,000 more than we can afford to spend. But it's been on the market for over a year, so maybe they will take $15,000 less than the asking price...
I wish I hadn't seen it. I'm afraid to go to a showing because I know I will love it so much....
For those of you who knew that we made an offer on a house last night: the seller countered, but only went down $2,000. The house is not worth even that, so we are crossing it off our list.

Grateful Kate

I sometimes find myself thinking so much about what I want or feel like I deserve or need that I am not grateful for all of the things that I have. Or, as Conor Oberst says, "My mind races with all my longings, but can't keep up with what I've got." So I have decided to focus more on my blessings and being appreciative of what I have by keeping a daily blog of what I am grateful for: www.grateful-kate.blogspot.com.

"Pam, I have ideas on a daily basis, I know I do..."

Just like Michael Scott, I, too, have great ideas (maybe not on a daily basis, but pretty often). If I had any idea of how to manufacture things or run a business, I could probably make a lot of money. Unfortunately, I don't know what to do with my ideas other than have them. So here are some of my brilliant ideas:

• Triangular crayons. Who else is tired of crayons rolling off tables all the time?
• A washing machine/dryer combination. Wouldn't it be great if you didn't have to wait for your laundry to finish so you could switch it? You would just put it in one machine, and several hours later come back to washed AND dried clothes. Edited to add: Found this listing on Craigslist... darn.
• The Re-Gifting Store. I put this in bold because it is the best idea yet. Anyone who has gotten married would appreciate this. All couples get a dozen blenders, but no toasters, or nine knife sets, but no cutlery, or whatever. For us, it was Foreman grills. We got about five. But food processors? None! Some of the excess gifts are returnable, but some of them you get stuck with. So, you take them to The Re-Gifting Store where you are paid 30% of the value in cash, or get 40% of the value in store credit. Then the new, unused gifts are sold for 75% of their value. So if you have a dozen blenders but no toasters, you can sell your blenders to the store and then buy a new toaster. Everyone wins!!!! The more I think about it, the more I think it's an absolutely brilliant idea.

Well, I know I have had other great ideas, but I can't remember them. I guess that's another way I'm like Michael Scott.

Edited to add: I remembered another one. This is something that you don't have to actually buy or make, you can just do. If I wash something that isn't supposed to go in the dryer, I have a hard time remembering NOT to put it in the dryer, so I use a dry erase marker to write on the washing machine "Black dress" or "Sweater" or whatever to remind myself when I am changing the laundry.

October 13-17: Pumpkins

This week we have been learning about pumpkins. We couldn't find a single book about pumpkins at the library, so we haven't read anything about them, but we've still done some fun things. We made pumpkin pudding (which Tempe didn't like) and we played "Ring around the Pumpkin". We also took two "field trips" to see pumpkins: to the Farmers' Market and to a garden store that is having a giant pumpkin contest. Tempe and Helena really liked seeing the giant pumpkins, especially because there was a perfect little spot to sit on one of them. Today is a beautiful day, so we are going to go outside and make a fingerprint pumpkin patch, and tomorrow night we are going to go to a pumpkin festival with Daddy.

Thrifty

I am really trying to find ways to cut down on our spending and free up some money to save each month--especially after we buy a house. So here is what I've come up with so far:

• Got the girls on CHIP and bought private insurance for myself instead of going with the company plan--saves us $600-1200/year.
• Switched auto insurance to AAA. We save around $10/month AND we got a AAA membership.
• Make my own baby food. I haven't started this yet, so I'm not sure exactly how much it will save, but I'm guessing it will save $20/month (maybe more!)
• If I get really desperate I can either potty train Tempe or switch to cloth diapers.... yuck :(
• Pay more attention to store ads and plan my menus according to what is on sale.
• Start couponing. Yikes. This is so complicated. I don't know where to start! If anyone has any tips, please let me know.
• Buy clothes secondhand (I've been doing this for years).
• Shop for Christmas/birthdays throughout the year when things are on sale.
• Use Coinstar machines to get Amazon giftcards to use for gifts (something else I've done for years).

That's all I can think of now. It doesn't seem like much... What I really need is ideas on how to save on our grocery bill when we move out. Everyone, add your ideas/tips as a comment!

Houses #13, 14, 15, and 16

House #13 was yet another "yucky house", as Tempe says. I figured there was something wrong with it, because it is on the east hill in Bountiful (a very desirable area) and it was actually in our price range. It had gross carpet, old linoleum, holes and cracks in the walls (and ceiling), and other gross things. We didn't even look at the backyard.

House #14. Isn't it cute? We really liked this one--both of us!! It is in North Salt Lake and it has 4 bedroom and 1 1/2 baths. The living room has nice laminate flooring (if I hadn't told you that, you would have thought it was hardwood!) and the entire upstairs is very nice and would only need some paint. The basement needs a little more work, but has great potential and is very livable until we are able to do some of the projects. The best part about the house is that in the basement, there are 2 unfinished rooms that are fairly large--large enough for an office or craft room. The biggest downside of this house is that there is no garage or carport, but since we have never had a garage or carport, we think we could live with that. The backyard is very big, even with the huge gravel driveway that someone put in. There is plenty of grass and shade and there is a storage shed. We would probably want to either take the gravel out or pave it and add a garage, but that's all down the road. House #14 is one we will definitely think about and maybe make an offer on.

House #15. Nothing special. Needed more work than we want to do. Giant tree. 'Nuff said.

House #16 is in Foxboro, which is a new planned community west of I-15 and near Legacy Highway. The house itself was very nice, except for the hole in the living room floor that a previous owner had cut to make a laundry chute (why would you do that?). The backyard was huge, but unfenced and very blah with nary a tree in sight. But the biggest reason I didn't like this one was location. I just don't see us living in a cookie-cutter planned community. I can't picture it. I don't like Foxboro.

I feel very encouraged!!

BFFU reunion 2008!!!!

On Saturday Jason and I went down to Provo so we could go to my "BFFU Reunion". It was a reunion of most of my very good friends from my freshman year at BYU--Josh and his wife Jessica, James, Spencer, Kyle, Katie, and Carly and her husband Jared. I haven't seen most of them in several years and it was so fun to catch up! We all had so much fun together when we were freshman in Helaman Halls and we reminisced by watching a horrible movie we made one evening in the fall of 2004. It was pretty embarrassing, but it got us all laughing. The only thing that could have made our reunion better is if Amanda, Cari, and Jaida could have been there :(
The very best thing about living in Utah is that we often get to see friends who have scattered across the country--most Mormons have ties to Utah, and so they all come back eventually! Just since May, when we moved back, we have been able to see Rachel Whitchurch from Laramie, the Cheneys from Laramie, Dan and Jess Hardy from San Fransisco, Christina and her husband from Idaho, the Blacks from Arizona, and now my big reunion. It's been really fun to catch up with people, some of whom we haven't seen for several years. So if anyone is planning a trip to Utah, be sure to look us up!

Houses #11 and 12

House #11 was a 3 bedroom, 2 bath home in Woods Cross. I can't say much about this one, because we didn't even look at the whole house... I never thought we would find another as bad as the first house we saw but this one was. The owner was like the crazy cat lady on The Simpsons, but he was a man. We counted 8 cat food bowls in the kitchen + a bird. The carpet was filthy and it smelled so bad! The basement wasn't even finished. Not only was the house a mess (a $200,000 mess), but it also backed up to a municipal airport. We didn't think that would be a huge issue, but the realtor said that a lady down the street is selling her house because the airport is so loud. I guess we got the only honest realtor in the world.


Ahhhhh, house #12. So far, this house is the only house we have seen that does not need major work or back up to an airport, refinery, freeway, or traintracks. I really liked it. The shutters and doors are kind of a strange color that clashes with the house, but they are brand new and just need to be stripped and restained. Inside, there is a nice living room with a gorgeous fireplace and a bay window, a large dining area, a decent kitchen, 3 bedrooms (painted!), 2 bathrooms (one with a jetted tub!), and a large family room downstairs. The backyard is fenced in with a covered patio, and it backs up to a huge park. The street is a nice street with nicely maintained houses and "Slow down--children at play" signs. The problem? It's priced about $20,000 higher than what we can spend. But it's been on the market without a price change for 5 months and it's vacant, so maybe the seller is getting desperate (and if they are holding out for prices to go back up, they are stupid).
There were some things we would need to change: I didn't like the color of the shutters, door, or mantel over the fireplace--the fireplace would really clash with our cherry furniture. The family room had hardwood floors, and the living room had carpet, which I thought was weird and would someday want to change. The refrigerator was not included. The yard needed seed.
But overall, it had a lot of potential, and I really liked it.

October 6-10: Leaves

{I really feel like structure is important for children--and for me! I do much better when I have a specific plan and my time is structured. That, with my background as a preschool teacher and my belief that children learn through play, has led me to start doing a home-based "play school" with Tempe (and Helena, too). We don't do much, but it gives us a little something every day that is planned and it really helps me get through these long weeks without a car or much to do}

This week we have been studying leaves. We went to the library and checked out as many books about leaves and trees as we could find--Tempe has enjoyed reading them all week! Some of our activities have included going for a walk and looking at the different colors (especially at the cabin over the weekend) and collecting leaves, acorns, pine needles, and different seeds. We used the leaves and other things we collected in two projects: first, Tempe made a collage by sticking everything to clear contact paper (which I then closed with another piece of clear contact paper and masking tape) and then we did leaf rubbings. We also baked leaf shaped sugar cookies with cousins Maddy and Libby, and have eaten leaf shaped foods at lunch every day: toast, sandwiches, and tortillas.

I found quite a few songs about leaves online, and made a few up on my own. Our favorite is sung to the tune of "The Farmer in the Dell" and is really easy to make up new verses:

The leaves are turning brown,

the leaves are turning brown.

The leaves are turning red and brown,

the leaves are turning brown.

The leaves are falling down,

the leaves are falling down.

The leaves are falling to the ground!

The leaves are falling down.

We rake them in a pile,

we rake them in a pile.

We rake the leaves into a pile!

We rake them in a pile.

We jump into the leaves,

we jump into the leaves.

We jump into the pile of leaves!

We jump into the leaves.

And so on and so forth.

So that was this week's "lesson plan"! Next week: pumpkins.

This is why I am undecided...

Scary Anthony Cooper of LOST...

Republican nominee John McCain...

Does anyone else think that John McCain and Kevin Tighe (Anthony Cooper/Mr. Sawyer of LOST) have a striking resemblance? I always knew that John McCain gave me the jibblies, but it took me until tonight to figure out why.

The many faces of Tempe

My talents

26%

Ohhh... darn.

But....

I Scored a 93%!

So I wouldn't survive a zombie attack, but my spelling is 93% perfect.

My hope chest is lacking

I know I just posted, but... well... I'm posting again.
Today I was perusing Craigslist, looking for things that might be useful when we buy a house, because there is quite a bit that we either gave away when we moved or didn't have in the first place... anyway, I found this ad for a twin mattress and I thought it was funny. Enjoy!

8 Things

Yay!!!! I've been tagged again! I loooooove being tagged. So here goes:

8 tv shows that I love to watch

1. LOST (#1 by far)
2. The Office
3. The Soup
4. Jon and Kate Plus 8 (I like watching it on days when my two kids are driving me crazy, because it really makes me feel better about what I have to deal with...)
5. A Baby Story/Bringing Home Baby/pretty much anything on TLC
6. My Super Sweet 16/Exiled
7. Best Week Ever
8. I Love the 80s/90s

8 favorite restaurants

1. Zupas
2. IHOP (How could you not love pancakes?)
3. The Gateway Grille (In Kamas... ok, so I've only been there once. But I had a phenomenal salad when I went.)
4. TGIFridays
5. Catered wedding food (especially the Joseph Smith Memorial Building)
6. The MOA Cafe/The Pendulum Court at BYU
7. Ummm..... The Cougar Club tent at BYU games?? (I'm running out of ideas...)
8. Anywhere with good salads and sandwiches (and desserts)

8 things that happened yesterday

1. I rode my bike (towing my trailer and Tempe and Helena and an umbrella stroller) to our storage unit and then to Walmart.
2. I ate a Twix bar because I felt a little dizzy after riding my bike (towing my trailer and Tempe and Helena and an umbrella stroller) to our storage unit and then to Walmart.
3. I contemplated buying a Halloween onesie for Helena, and decided against it.
4. I spent all of naptime (2 hours!) coming up with themed activities to do with Tempe for the next 3 months.
5. Jason and I took the kiddos (+ Corinne) to the park.
6. I spent way too long watching tv after the kids were in bed.
7. I ran around the sport court after watching way too much tv to try and shake the stiff tv feeling I had, but I just felt sick instead.
8. I woke Helena up to make sure she was still breathing at 11 pm and she didn't go back to sleep for an hour :(

8 things I'm looking forward to

1. Buying a house!
2. Buying a second car!
3. Jason's Bar admission ceremony!
4. Helena learning to crawl!
5. Graduating from college (in like 6 years)!
6. Taking our family to Disneyland (probably in like 6 years as well)!
7. Halloween!
8. My BYU get together next weekend!

8 things on my wish list

1. A second car.
2. A house with 4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 bathrooms, an updated kitchen, a living room AND a family room, a shady, fenced in backyard, and a location that is NOT next to a refinery, airport, train tracks, or interstate.
3. A Pell Grant.
4. Affordable health insurance.
5. Baby #3 (in at least 2 years).
6. Baby #4 (in at least 4 years).
7. Enough money to not have to worry about money (that's probably more than I think it is...)
8. My family living in Utah.

8 people I tag

1. Cari P.
2. Amanda D.
3. Janice H.
4. Jen C.
5. Jeanne S.
6. Kristy S.
7. Mary H.
8. Denise F.

Houses #7, 8, 9, and 10

House #7 was a townhouse in Centerville with 3 bedrooms and 1 1/2 bathrooms. It had a very large backyard (for a townhouse, that is) and it backed up to a large common area with a playground. While we were there, we thought it was really nice and were very excited. But after we saw the next one, it didn't look like anything special...


House #8 was another townhouse with 3 bedrooms and 1 1/2 bathrooms in Centerville, this time in a development called Pheasantbrook. It was so beautiful! The townhouse itself was very nice, with a sunken living room with a fireplace and built in bookshelves. The kitchen had hunter green cabinets, which sounds so strange but was very nice. The patio, while smaller than the backyard at the first townhouse, was beautiful, with creeping ivy, rosebushes, and a grapevine. But the best part of this home was the development! It had ponds and streams with wooden bridges, trees everywhere, and ducks wandering around. I think it would be a great place to live with little children because it would be like living at the park. We are definitely keeping this one on our list!


House #9 was a 5 bedroom, 1 3/4 bath rambler in Woods Cross. It was pretty nice, and it had a great backyard with a firepit, playground, and several trees, but there were a few downsides: it's directly across the street from the train tracks, and it had an obvious slope in the front rooms. You could feel it as you walked across the room, and see it if you looked at the ceiling closely. We didn't see any cracks, but it is still concerning to me. The train was very, very loud when we were outside, but inside the house, you could barely hear it. I think we would get used to having the trains right there, but I would be afraid it would turn off a lot of buyers when we are ready to sell.

The last house we saw was another house in Woods Cross, with 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. This one had a basement, which we really liked and would like to have. Jason thought it looked a little like a hotel when we first went in, but I didn't get that. The house didn't have much personality--no paint except in the basement--but that is easily fixed. I really liked the front porch and all the trees. The strange thing about this house is that there's no backyard. Instead, there is a 2 car garage in the back with a common driveway, and the side yard is fenced in. It's still a pretty big private yard, and since this house is on the corner, the yard isn't sandwiched between 2 houses. This house is also directly across the street from a very nice neighborhood park, which would be nice. The downside? The train tracks are right behind the park, so this house is again right across from the train. I think we will still keep this one on our list as well.

So we have now seen 10 houses, and found a few that we want to consider. There are still a few more that we want to see as well. I am confident that we will be able to find something that works for us--I just have to be patient until we do!

Fall in Mueller Park

Now that it's officially Autumn, we can see beautiful reds and yellows up on the mountainside, but down in the valley, the leaves are still mostly green. Yesterday Jason had the great idea of going to Mueller Park in Bountiful to see the leaves and go for a walk. It was such a beautiful afternoon! It was pretty warm where we live (in the 80s) but once we got up into the canyon, the temperature dropped to 75. We had fun walking along the trails and collecting leaves, watching bugs crawl around, and running on the bridges. We even found a great photo location for Margaret to use!

Tempe, Helena, and I climbed this "tree trunk".

Tempe liked throwing rocks in the water.

Me and Jason :)

Tempe and Helena's favorite part of the whole day was running across the wooden bridges.

Finally, we found some red leaves!