in no particular order

Still no camera cord - where did we pack it?!?!  However, Derek found our card reader (or something like that - I have no idea what things are called) so we now have pictures.  Let's all shout Yippee!

I'm not even going to attempt to post things in order so sit back and enjoy the random postings that will be going on for the next while.

Let's start with this great shot...

This picture is from our old house where the boys had bunk beds.  For whatever reason the boys didn't like sleeping on the top bunk so they always ended up together on the bottom bunk. I can't imagine that it was ever very comfortable.  Would you want to sleep with your little brothers stinky foot on your mouth and nose?

Since moving we have separated their bunk bed into two twin beds.  They are both thrilled to be in their own bed and now that I think about it they hardly ever come into our bed in the middle of the night to sleep with us - hallelujah!  I bet they were sleeping with us because they were getting tired of feet in the mouth.

a private concert

Enjoying the evening...Derek and Dave (a friend from church) playing guitar and singing Jason Mraz songs while I sit upstairs and enjoy the music.  Life is good!

where oh where has my little cord gone?

Missing: one camera cord, needed to download months worth of family memories.

Last seen: hiding out in a box at our old house.

Reward if found:  seeing the last few months of our life in pictures on this blog - exciting, I know.

happy birthday

to our cute clothes wearing

music loving

beautiful, kind, funny, smart, spiritual, friendly, trust-worthy, loving daughter

(I could go on but really who wants to keep hearing how wonderful you are?!?!)

Happy 15th Birthday!

soft map

Maybe it's because we just moved into a new house but I keep finding new and different house accessories/furniture/etc. that I would love to put in our home.  Here is my latest find...

It is a Soft Map Blanket.  They are dupioni silk quilts that can be custom designed with a map of your town, the city you grew up in, where you met your spouse, where your baby was born, etc. What a cherished heirloom this would become.  

You can find these beautiful quilts at Haptic Lab.  I'm off to add this to my wish list.

our little "angel"

Our family was able to go the Angels game last night thanks to some tickets Derek scored from Oakley.  We hadn't been to a game in a while so the kids were excited.  When I picked up the boys from school Luke serenaded us with Take Me Out To The Ballgame over and over and over and over...  He seemed to be obsessing about the song and wanted to keep "practicing" it. Little did we know the song would bring us plenty of laughs later in the evening.

Conversation between me and Luke at the game...

Luke:  "So Mom, buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jacks."

Mom:  "How about some cotton candy?"

Luke:  "That's a better idea, I don't even know what Cracker Jacks are."

I wonder what he thought he was singing about all day.  A few times during his singing "practice" he would sing "buy me some peanuts and Apple Jacks"  I know he knows what those are.

Another conversation/comment from Luke as we were leaving the stadium after the 7th inning stretch (we knew we were going to leave early so kids could get in bed - we also knew we had to stay for Take Me Out To The Ballgame or Luke would have imploded)

Luke to Nathan after hearing some lady sing "the song" he had practiced all day:  "that lady stoled my career"

I guess Luke had been planning on singing his song at the game and was disappointed that his career dreams were crushed by some lady that was not nearly as good as he would have been :)

yes, please

I would like one of these.  

I love when people take the ordinary and make it extraordinary.  This keyboard is beautiful!

just look away derek

So I believe I have mentioned my sordid past before - Greenpeace, love of whales, etc.  Derek tries to ignore my Save the Whales past but I love to bring it up constantly to remind him that he married such a radical (yea, right)

Well, now he gets to hear about it even more often because of my new love...Whale Wars.

The show is about a crew of whale lovin' crazies sailing the Antarctic Ocean in search of Japanese whalers.  Once the whalers are found the Sea Shepherd crew totally messes with the Japanese crews and my Free Willy insides bubble over with giddyness.  Honestly, I love watching the chaos - stink bombs, trash talking, men overboard, and more.  

If you want to have some idea of how crazy some of these folks are look no further then the Captain of the ship.  He is one of the co-founders of Greenpeace but after so many years was voted out with a vote of 10 to 1, his vote being the dissenting vote.  If Greenpeace thinks you are too radical you  must be in the running for the mayor of crazy town.

All craziness aside, I do love that they are saving the whales.  Derek on the other hand...I'm guessing he is indifferent.  His comment to me, "When can we watch a show called Cow Wars?"

a feast for the eyes

I love the look and feel of this movie - you know what I mean? The sets, colors, cinematography - it reminds me of Penelope.

Adding this to my list of movies to see.

birthday boy

Happy 10th birthday Nate!  We love you a ton and are so glad that you are a part of our family.

whistle while you work

We have an endless list of things to get done in the house and that is what keeps us busy these days.  

The biggest project is painting the whole house.  It is slow going considering it seems to be taking two coats of primer to get good coverage over the dark existing paint.  I'm hoping it will only take one coat of color but we'll have to wait and see since we haven't even gotten to that part.  I'm hoping to write a blog post in a couple weeks that says we're done painting but at the rate we're going it may be Christmas before it all gets done.

Derek's favorite new toy in the house is this beauty....

The existing water heater was rusty and leaking and needed to be replaced so we installed a tankless water heater.  The size difference is amazing - I love not having the big old cylinder water heater.  We are excited about not running out of hot water (which has already happened once while the old heater was still in) and we are anxious to see if it effects our gas bill much since it is not constantly heating up water.

The other new home gadget we are loving is this...
a keyless garage door entry.  No more keys going missing because they have been "misplaced" by Megan.  No more stress when I realize that I am still 15 minutes from home and my girls are being dropped off after an activity and have no way to get into the house.  No more calling Derek at work to ask him to come home because I've locked myself out of the house.  No worries when we are half way to Utah and we think we left the iron on but our neighbors have no way to get into our house to check.  

Beyond painting and new home gadgets we still have unpacking to do (some of it can't be done until painting is done)  We need to replace some light fixtures and see if we can't get overhead lights in the kids rooms.  There are no lights in 4 of the 5 bedrooms and it makes me crazy.  The kids are relying on little desk lamps that don't really provide much light.  We'd like to replace the carpet but have to see what the cost for that would be - we're hoping  it can be worked into our budget but if not we'll be on hold with it.

I better stop the blogging and get back to painting.  The updates here may be sporadic as we try to get everything done.  I have been taking pictures of the process and plan to post pictures here if I can ever find the camera cord needed to download pictures - oh the joys have living in boxes!

a personal thank you

Dear Brenda,

You are far too kind and thoughtful.  I can't begin to tell you how much I love the housewarming gift.  You could not have given me anything better.  I love, love, love it!

Thank you for thinking of me - you made my day!

I can't wait to get the walls painted so that I can find a place of honor for my fantastic "B"

Many, many thanks!

Denise

what a great way to capture your family

check it out!

house warming gift

As if buying me a house wasn't enough my sweet husband just bought me this.  I have been eyeing it since December but was sure I would only enjoy it's beauty through the computer screen.

Thanks Derek - I absolutely love it.  Now if I could just decide on a paint color and get the house painted I might actually have a place to hang the gift when it gets here.

finally!

We signed paperwork for the house today (well, technically yesterday since it's about 1:40am)  All I can say is finally!

this makes me happy

really? you've got to be kidding

Oh how I wish I was kidding when I say that we have yet to sign loan documents.  This whole process has been beyond frustrating.  The hold up with the bank has me pulling my hair out (and yes, it's attractive)

We are still crossing our fingers that we might be in our new home by Friday but we thought we'd be in it last week.

wild thing

October release date - can't wait!

april fools ideas

Not really feeling the Aprils Fools spirit even if it is one of my favorite days.  

For those of you that are getting into it and looking for ideas take a look at our Fools Feast from last year.

You can find lots of great ideas at Family Fun if you need more ideas.

quick update

Still no house - we no longer own our home of 12+ years (said with tears flowing) and we don't have a new house to move into as of yet (said with much bitterness and anger towards the bank) We should have been moving into the new home this week but an appraisal issue has us in limbo and has me in a state of nearly constant panic attacks.  

To help take my mind off of all the house garbage I have become a bread making maniac.  We have enjoyed nearly daily loaves of whole wheat goodness.  I have found relief in the bread making process.  Last night I even made home made hamburger buns.  Yes, you heard me - homemade hamburger buns, I'm feeling very Amish :)

I've also spent some time reading to try and help me not think about my homeless state.  I just finished Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver.  I found it very interesting.

Well there you have it...my incredibly upbeat post - yeah, right.  

Say a prayer for us that this all gets resolved soon, really soon!