tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69134512969465193032024-03-19T00:41:57.191-07:00Just What I've Always Wanted...Brittanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05082412330501083920noreply@blogger.comBlogger231125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6913451296946519303.post-22806925490052299512012-11-19T19:34:00.000-08:002012-11-19T19:34:03.584-08:00Tea PartyCarolina and I were invited to a tea party with our good friends Jessica and Lydia today. Jessica and I had been tossing the idea around for a while and she graciously offered to host. I'm so glad she did because she did such a good job. It was beautiful!<br />
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Jessica had the table set with fresh flowers and so many special touches. They had their own crowns and menus and placecards. The food looked so good and Jessica had worked on so many fun details-- down to the flower-shaped cheese bites. :) She also had dress-up outfits for them to change into and the girls couldn't wait to get them on.<br />
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Mike took Clay and Lydia's brothers out for a boys' day so we were able to enjoy a nice calm afternoon tea party while the boys got to have their own fun day. The girls drank out of adorable tea cups and they couldn't get enough of the "tea" (apple cider). They kept drinking their tea really fast so they could refill their cups.<br />
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Both girls ate their fruit the fastest and lingered a little on their sandwiches. Their conversation was so cute, "Lydia, do you like the pink dip with your strawberries?" They each ate a little of their sandwiches and then went upstairs to play.<br />
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Jessica and I were able to kick back and enjoy our meal while the girls ate and played. Jessica spoiled us with tea, three types of sandwiches, two kinds of quiches, homemade scones with clotted cream and a plateful of sweet treats. She had classical music playing and the girls were so quiet. It was definitely a change of pace from the normal kid parties we do (which we love). It was so much calmer! :) <br />
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The girls came down a couple of times to check in. They were so excited to try all of the cute little desserts. Eventually the boys came back and told us all about their adventures. Mike took them to Steak 'n Shake and Bass Pro Shops. They had a blast and didn't want to come home! I was so glad that they were able to have a special day too. <br />
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We are so grateful to have friends like Lydia and Jessica to share sweet tea time with. Carolina and Lydia play together so well and it's neat watching them do their girly things. :) We had such a fun time and we're looking forward to many more tea parties to come!<br />
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<br />Brittanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05082412330501083920noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6913451296946519303.post-30907606112252601872012-11-03T14:26:00.001-07:002012-11-03T14:26:37.972-07:00This Cute Girl...Just Got Cuter!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Carolina got her ears pierced! We were out running some errands yesterday and I noticed that there was an ear piercing store nearby. Mike and I have been talking about having her ears pierced since she was a baby but we just never got around to it. Yesterday was the day!!<br />
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We took her in and we talked about it a little with her. I wanted to be honest with her that it would hurt a little but that she would be brave. I will say the salesgirl could have done a little better job of selling it to her instead of saying she should only be a little scared. Not the term I would have used. :( <br />
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Carolina started getting really nervous but I knew if we left that she would never want to come back and get it done. Mike sat in the chair and held her and they gave her a teddy bear to hold. It was hard to watch her since she started shaking a little bit and kept saying, "I don't want to get my ears "piered" today."<br />
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She had a great cheering section since two pre-teen girls stood and watched. They showed her their earrings and encouraged her. Clay and I told her how big she would look when she was all done. <br />
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Apparently, I'm super picky mom when it comes to earring placement because the lady had to move the right dot three times. I wanted it centered on her ear lobe and she kept putting it really close to her head and telling me that if she moved it over too much it would look like a second piercing. She finally got it where I wanted. I hated to be a pain but I also didn't want to have to go through this again if it looked funny or have Carolina complaining about it in 10 years. <br />
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We had a good thing going until she got the first one done. Carolina lost it a little. The tears started rolling and she was done. It was hard to explain to her that she was already halfway there so we needed to finish the job. I think she thought that if we just walked out then that her ears wouldn't be pierced and it would all be over--and that was good with her. Poor girl. :( <br />
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Before she started, the salesgirl had talked to me about coming back on a weekend so there would be two people to do the earrings at the same time. I thought it would be no big deal. Hindsight's 20-20...<br />
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It took a while (a pretty good while) of convincing before the lady could do the second one.We told her we would get a surprise when it was done...nothing. We told her what a big girl she would be...nothing. We told her she would look like a pirate with only one earring...nothing. Every time the girl would come near her with the piercing gun, she would shrug her shoulder up and block her ear. Finally, I got a sucker out of the treat jar and it was just enough distract her to get the other earring in.<br />
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She was pretty sad for a couple of minutes after the piercing. It was the same kind of betrayed face we see after we take her to get shots. :(<br />
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Once we got to the car, she was a lot happier. She is very excited about them now. We have to clean and twist them 3 times a day and every time I do it she fusses at me about pulling her earrings out. She's so worried that they're just going to fall out.<br />
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She was very brave and we were so proud of her but we were also proud of her big brother. It is so neat to see him play the encourager. She got her ears done and got a sucker and he never said anything about getting something for himself. There's only 17 months between them so it could have been hard for him but he handled it so well. The lady did end up giving him a sucker but he didn't even ask for one. <br />
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When we got to the car, Clay reminded Carolina about holding the phone to her ear gently so she wouldn't hurt her ear. This morning when I said it was time to clean her ears, he jumped up and came in the bathroom with us. He didn't know we had done it a couple of times already and he was ready and willing to do the job himself. He got on the stool and got the bottle of solution out and grabbed a Q-tip. I had to tell him that I would do it but I <i>love</i> his servant/encouraging heart. <br />
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Carolina has looked in the mirror several times to check on her earrings. She's noticed cartoon characters that have them and she's drawn some pictures with earrings on herself. She's always asking me for the gray crayon because she thinks they're gray (they're teeny, tiny diamond studs).<br />
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So...we made it through one more rite of passage with our little girl. She looks beautiful with her little sparkly studs and she couldn't be prouder!<br />
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<br />Brittanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05082412330501083920noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6913451296946519303.post-73380573608045669352012-10-31T00:27:00.000-07:002012-10-31T00:27:44.429-07:00Clay and Our First Homegrown Watermelon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The kids have been watching the watermelon plant grow since the spring. A couple of days ago, the stem turned brown so we brought it in to see if it was any good. Surprisingly, it tastes great! (Not surprisingly, Carolina hates watermelon...)<br />
<br />Brittanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05082412330501083920noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6913451296946519303.post-45728867213499162452012-08-11T16:15:00.001-07:002012-08-11T16:15:41.318-07:00Bug CampThe kids had one of their best weeks ever this week. Each day they came home from Bug Camp exhausted and talking how they didn't have enough time at the house they were at that day. At their ages, it's VERY hard to get stories of interactions throughout the day or even what projects they did but thankfully, each mom sent a follow-up email to say what they had done, learned and what projects they made.<br />
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Day Two was at the Coleman's and it was Spider Day. From Leslie's rundown, I learned that the girls and boys played separately all day. They made a spider web craft with their fingerprints, crawled through spider web cave (AKA the closet under the stairs covered in cool webbing) and watched a Hermie movie about spiders.<br />
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I was able to get from Carolina that they had ding dongs at lunchtime which they made into spiders. Clay's not a chocolate man so he said he didn't eat his and Mike and I were not surprised at all. On Ladybug Day, he wouldn't eat a ladybug cupcake but couldn't get enough of the honeydew melon from the strawberry ladybugs. :)<br />
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They also made yarn spiders and watched capsules grow into foam insects in the water. They wrapped up the day by going outside and having a water gun fight and eating popsicles.<br />
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They brought home mechanical bug pencils and glow-in-the-dark bug stickers along with their crafts from the day. Clay told us over the course of the evening that a spider molts his skin because he gets too big for it and that every spider in the whole world has 8 eyes. I'm so glad he was listening! They had a great day and were ready for more the next day!<br />
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Day Three was Caterpillar Day at the Birchfield's. It was a rainy day so they stayed inside for the day. Their first activity was caterpillar jars. They cut and hole-punched food out of green paper for their caterpillars and then strung caterpillars out of Apple Jacks and dental floss.Jessica said they were very quiet and focused for this activity. :) <br />
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While they worked on caterpillars, Jessica pulled each one aside to work on bookmarks. Working with them individually was something each of us did and it helped so much with focus for the kids.<br />
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The kids ate a lunch with a caterpillar theme of PB&J crawlers, veggie straws, holey cheese, yogurt with strawberry butterflies and cherry limeades. They watched some educational videos about caterpillars while they ate. Most of us planned a book or movie while the kids ate and everyone had good eaters and a not-so-crazy lunch table.</div>
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They read <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/very-hungry-caterpillar-eric-carle/1100472822?ean=9780399213014">The Very Hungry Caterpillar</a> and <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/caterpillar-spring-butterfly-summer-susan-hood/1005539487?ean=9780794401498">Caterpillar Spring Butterfly Summer</a>. They played with balloons for a while that were left over from the caterpillar decor and then played follow-the-leader with hula hoops. I heard it was interesting with different heights and levels of understanding the instructions but a good time was had by all! </div>
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Jessica sat them down for another more in-depth lesson on butterflies and she said they were a very captive audience. Yay for 8 kids 5 and under listening quietly!! </div>
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Their final activity was to spin themselves into crepe paper cocoons and then burst out and fly around the room with imaginary butterfly wings. The kids wore butterfly headbands and Jessica said it was quite a sight to see the graceful flying--especially for our rough and tumble boys! The crepe paper quickly turned into mummies and ninjas, though. :) </div>
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They had a snack of banana-PB-grape-pretzel caterpillars. Cute! They brought home treat bags with a sugar cookie decorated to look like a green apple with a red worm crawling through it. Carolina asked Clay several times in the car if he was going to eat all of his. :) They also got slinky caterpillars, stickers and punching bags left over from the caterpillar decorations. </div>
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Jessica hasn't had the chance to upload pics from her day yet but I'm looking forward to some good pictures from that exciting day!<br />
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Day Four was Bug Day at the Keeney's. We were all a little nervous for Gretchen since she had the last day and we knew the crew would be tired from a big week. She said they did really well and were cooperative throughout the day. Good for them!<br />
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They made egg carton caterpillars and bug fingerprint pictures for their crafts.<br />
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They had caterpillar bread for lunch (a fun recipe with bread, sausage and shredded cheese), a cheese sticks grapes and dirt pudding with worms for dessert.<br />
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I absolutely love the picture above because it totally captures a little of my kids' spirits. Carolina is making funny faces at her friend and Clay has his arms crossed like he's too cool for school (although his silly side is just as big as hers). <br />
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Gretchen read <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/very-busy-spider-eric-carle/1100043517?ean=9780399215926">The Very Busy Spider </a>over lunch and the kids got free play time for the afternoon.This crew LOVES to play so this was a great to finish out Day 4. She had coloring pages for them to do and also pattern blocks with bug patterns (fun!).<br />
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They had a snack of Ritz crackers in butterfly shaped packages and Gretchen read <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/very-quiet-cricket-eric-carle/1100058371?ean=9780399218859">The Very Quiet Cricket</a>.<br />
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Gretchen asked them some questions about the things they learned during
the week and she was impressed by how much they had retained. I know my
kids came home with several fun facts during the week that I learned
from, as well! They took their last group pictures of the week and called it a day!<br />
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On Friday night we had our end-of-camp celebration at the Birchfield's. The kids got to swim and the parents got to visit and eat dinner together. There were no pictures taken because we were all too tired from the week and too busy talking! Clay said last night was his favorite part of Bug Week, though.<br />
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Everyone had positive things to say about their day of hosting and I'm so thrilled. This was so much bigger and better than I expected when I threw out the idea of a friend camp. The mamas all went above and beyond my expections. I was really nervous to try and get any kind of guidelines for the week because I didn't want anyone to feel too much pressure or that it would be tons of work (even though taking care of 8 kids for 4 hours is tons of work as it turns out!). I also knew that this group of women is very creative and the kids would be happy doing anything any one of them planned. Each day was different and the kids had nothing but good things to say about the whole week. They enjoyed everything!<br />
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Jessica made each child a memory book folder to remember their week. Each day has a paper craft that they did or something from their day along with the synopsis about the day from the mom. Monday's is the Ladybug Quiz, Tuesday is a spider web with fingerprint spiders, Wednesday is a caterpillar page with a different kid's face for each lump and Thursday has fingerprints made into bugs. I love that the kids have something they can look back on and remember their week and since it's a folder, I can always add pages with the pictures from the week. <br />
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What a great week we had. The kids had a fun, educational week while the mamas got some free time (and precious memories of their day with the kids)--mission accomplished!Brittanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05082412330501083920noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6913451296946519303.post-48291124623452807502012-08-06T21:10:00.000-07:002012-08-07T07:43:58.910-07:00Ladybug Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A few months ago, I started looking into different summer camp options for the kids. I soon realized that either A) Carolina wouldn't be old enough for most of them B) They were really expensive or C) I wasn't sure the kids would love enough to do it the whole week.<br />
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I really wanted them to do some different things away from home and I knew that I would need some school planning time, as well. That's when I came up with the idea of a friend camp. I proposed the idea to a group of moms I love and trust and whose children are close friends with mine. Thankfully, they were on board for my crazy idea!<br />
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There are four of us and we decided to do one day at each house Monday-Thurday from 10-2. Our theme is "Bugs". Each mom does one day and then has three days to herself. Friday is our end-of-camp swim party celebration. <br />
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Today was Day One and we did Ladybug Land! Here are a few fun things from our day:<br />
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We started working on our first project at 10:30. We had eight kids so we divided them into two groups (youngest and oldest). They each painted a 4" clay pot with their favorite color.<br />
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We got the groups working and took lunch orders while they painted. They played for a little while and then came back for lunch at 11:30. I read <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Ladybug-Girl-Jacky-Davis/dp/0803731957/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1344309888&sr=8-1&keywords=ladybug+girl">"Ladybug Girl"</a> while the kids ate. It worked out nicely since they ate well and listened intently.<br />
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We finished lunch and had more playtime as we called the kids in one-by-one to do ladybug spots on their pots and make Ladybug Crowns. I measured heads while Mike monitored "spotting" at the table.<br />
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While they were eating their ladybug cupcake snack, I crowned each of them "Ladybug King" or "Ladybug Princess". It was totally on a whim but they loved it and couldn't wait for their turn.<br />
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We also read <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Ten-Little-Ladybugs-Melanie-Gerth/dp/1581175787/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1344310682&sr=1-1&keywords=10+little+ladybugs">"Ten Little Ladybugs"</a> during snack and they loved doing the counting. We wrapped up with a talk about the life cycles of ladybugs and I passed around a kid-sized laminated chart while I held up the larger poster. The kids also got to pass around the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Insect-Lore-Ladybug-Cycle-Stages/dp/B000OAEHUA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1344310900&sr=8-1&keywords=life+cycles+of+ladybugs">plastic figurines</a> of the life cycles. <br />
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The kids played for the last few minutes while I did a page for their scrapbooks for the week (another mom volunteered to make these :)).<br />
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When it was time to bring Ladybug Day to a close, we sent our friends home with some special memories of our day. They took home ladybug bubbles and a bug microscope necklace. The ladybug table decoration that I found was made up of treat boxes. I loved the double-duty decoration and so did the kids!<br />
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They also took home their handmade wind chimes and their ladybug crowns.<br />
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And the day wouldn't be complete without a snack for the road so everyone got a ladybug strawberry too!<br />
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We had the BEST day and my kids loved it. We are blessed that our friends were willing to share their little ones with us for the day and are willing to take ours for the next three!<br />
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Clay asked me at dinner tonight how we could learn more about ladybugs. I was thrilled to have piqued his interest! When I asked Carolina about her favorite part of the day, she told me she didn't have one because it wasn't long enough (her daddy disagrees ;)). Tomorrow is SPIDERS!!Brittanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05082412330501083920noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6913451296946519303.post-29046862107101338222012-05-25T15:20:00.001-07:002012-05-25T15:43:40.866-07:00Awana 2011-2012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The kids wrapped up their second year of Awana Club earlier this month. Each week, Clay would go to Cubbies and Carolina would go to Puggles. Clay has been a Cubbie for two years and Carolina has been a Puggle for two years.<br />
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When we started Awana last year, it was the first time we had ever dropped our kids off and left the building. It was tough on everyone. Well, maybe not Clay. Carolina screamed and hated it and they called us to come and get her the first couple of times last year. This year was better, although she was never <i>really</i> excited to go. <br />
<br />
Carolina had Buddy and Ally for teachers both years and we couldn't have loved them more. :) They are a young married couple who were super sweet to Carolina and just loved her. At the end of last year, I asked Buddy if they would be back and he said they were already looking forward to next year when their crew would be out of diapers and a little older. Buddy told me that they already knew what roles the kids would be playing next year (based on that year) and Carolina was the one in charge of the class. Guess they knew her pretty well!<br />
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Clay had to memorize a scripture each week and he did so well with it both years. He's very auditory so we would only have to review it a couple of times before he had it down. Mike would read from the Cubbie Bear book each Wednesday at dinner and then we would work on his verse.<br />
<br />
Clay wore his blue Cubbies vest proudly each week and made several new friends. Ampanee (AKA Anthony) and Clay became fast friends the first year and they were the same class again this year. Mike and I would go and have dinner and then come back and sit in the parking lot and watch as Clay's class would be on the playground. It was funny to see him in his element with his friends.<br />
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(Clay and his teachers from this year)<br />
<br />
Clay filled up his vest with patches each week and by the end of this year, it was full! He will be a Cubbie again next year (you graduate to the next group when you start kinder) and so will Carolina. While she was hesitant to go EVERY week this year, we're hoping she'll enjoy being a Cubbie with her brother next year.<br />
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Carolina's teachers, Buddy and Ally, moved a few weeks before the end of this year and Mike and I were definitely sad. She was almost two when she started Puggles and they were the first ones we trusted with our baby week after week. They were so sweet with her and we knew how much they cared for her. I got teary-eyed picking her up that last time from Buddy and he did too. :(<br />
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(Ally, Carolina and Buddy on Pajama Night)<br />
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Carolina did fuss every week about going but she would say to me when I was getting her dressed, "What's Sarah going to wear tonight?" or some other little girl. She was always playing when we looked in on her and listening to the story and singing songs. Even though it was hard to leave her when she was unhappy, she loved every week.<br />
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It was another great year at Awana and on the last week I was telling Mike I couldn't believe we were already finishing our second year. It felt like it had just started!<br />
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We're already looking forward to next year! Go Cubbies!<br />
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<br />Brittanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05082412330501083920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6913451296946519303.post-65213909396031696282012-05-24T13:30:00.000-07:002012-05-24T13:35:41.534-07:00Sea WorldThe day after Clay's birthday party, we headed off to Sea World! Mike
and I were very excited about taking the kids on their first trip to a
theme park. We kept it a surprise until just before we left. We talked
to them about it since they had no clue what Sea World is and I said,
"So, is everyone excited about going to Sea World??" Clay's reply was
"Can't we just go to the zoo?" Uh, no.<br />
<br />
We went on a
Thursday so we never had any problems with crowds or lines. The kids
started on the Shamu roller coaster and they loved it! I insisted on
Mike and I riding with them the first time in case anyone freaked out
but they thought it was awesome. Mike and I got off and they wanted to
ride again and again!<br />
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After
a couple of rides on Shamu, we went to the "spinny ride". It was a boat
kind of thing that went in circles and up and down. It was right up
mine and the kids' alleys--not Mike's. </div>
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I
wanted to make sure we balanced rides with shows so we went to the
Sesame Street 4-D show next. It was super cute and nice and cool. :)
Carolina got frustrated with a few of the things (not unusual) and Mike
was next to her so he was cracking up. "Who's frowing that water at
me?!" "Who's bwowing that air on me?!" Poor girl couldn't figure out
what was going on.<br />
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We
went back over to the ride area and while we were standing in line I
spotted some special characters. Clay's pretty shy but Carolina was all
about going up to meet the characters.<br />
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While we were gone, Clay and Mike made it to front of the line. I guess there must have been an extra spot because...<br />
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We
went to a sea lion show that was really cute. Carolina loved it when
the girl and guy characters fell in the water and she talked about it
all day. We also saw some alligators sleeping with turtles on their
backs which impressed us all!<br />
<br />
Both kids kept seeing the
big roller coasters and asking to go on. We knew Carolina wasn't tall
enough but we thought Clay might be. He and I went over to the line but
he was still a couple of inches short (he's 46" right now). He had been
super excited about going, even after seeing how really big it was up
close. I was so proud that he handled it so well when we figured out he
wasn't tall enough. You could tell he really wanted to cry but kept it
together. We talked about how he would probably be tall enough in the
fall and we could ride it then. Poor guy. :(<br />
<br />
The penguins
were really cute but Carolina was way more interested in being on the
people mover. Clay liked them and we all had fun playing with the
penguin stuff in the gift shop.<br />
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We
did the Shamu roller coaster a couple of more times. At one point, all
of the riders were seated with the seat belts on but Carolina wouldn't
get in her chair because it was wet. Apparently, the person who sat
there before her had been on a water ride. The two teenage girl ride
operators didn't know what to do with her so they just tried to clean
the water up with their hands. Carolina just stood there on the side
fussing until they got it to her satisfaction. Mike and I weren't riding
so we couldn't help them but I will say the girl knows what she wants.
Maybe that will come in handy someday...<br />
<br />
Our last stop of
the day was the Shamu show. This is always a highlight of Sea World
when I was a kid so I was super excited to take my kids. We got them
seated and the show started but it was kind of slow. The whales were
doing their tricks (not as good as they used to be) and a couple of
minutes in Carolina turns around and says, "When is the show going to
stawt??". See, it was that good.<br />
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<br />
Overall, it was a really
fun day. Carolina got tired of walking and fussed (but she also missed
her nap). Clay never got tired. We got to do some really fun things and
share a special family fun day. :)Brittanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05082412330501083920noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6913451296946519303.post-49086272010868558772012-05-24T13:29:00.000-07:002012-05-24T13:29:09.639-07:00San Antonio Trip May, 2012We just got back from a trip to San Antonio and everyone had SO much fun. The kids went down a little early so I could attend a homeschool conference and then Mike and I joined them a couple of days later. They had a great time with Nana and Papa and got to spend some time with their cousins and aunts and uncles at Grandma Susie's and Aunt Nancy's, as well.<br />
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(Clay and Matthew)<br />
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(Carolina, Kasey, Kylie, Clay)<br />
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(Mikayla, Carolina & Jordan) <br />
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Once Mike and I got into town, we had a family dinner and birthday party for Clay. We got the party room at EZ's and it was a really special night for Clay. Since it was his 2nd of 3 birthday parties, I let him choose whatever cake, plate and napkins he wanted. :) He chose Spiderman. He was pretty shy with the adults most of the night (he always is) but he was very excited about his gifts. Aunt Stacy got him his first big water gun and he and Carolina had a blast shooting everyone.<br />
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One of the best parts about this trip to Nana and Papa's were the kittens. One of their stray cats had four 6-week-old kittens and another stray had one that had been born on Clay's birthday so it was one-day-old when the kids arrived. They were SO sweet and we all fell in love (but not in love enough to take one home :)). <br />
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One night we got to have a celebration dinner with my dad and brother. We all had birthdays this month, my dad finished his last round of chemo the day before and my brother graduated from college the week before. Exciting stuff! <br />
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For a couple of days, Mike and I got to take a parents' getaway to the Menger. We spent two nights there and had some wonderful food and quiet time. We try to do this every trip to San Antonio and it is always a blessing. Clay had some trouble each time we were separated this trip so it was a little harder but Nana and Papa take such good care of our kids so it's a worry-free time away. <br />
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We wrapped up our time away and I met Nana and the kids at the Magik Theater to see Knuffle Bunny.<br />
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Anita (AKA Nana) has been reading to them from the series on each of their trips so it was only natural that we see the play. Nana had even bought the kids their own Knuffle Bunnies! The kids were glued to the performance and had a lot of good things to say about it. It's fun that the book came alive for them! It was Carolina's first theater show and she did so well. Atta girl...cause truth be told mama was sweatin' it! <br />
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We left town that night to come home and get ready for another special event--Clay's Knight Birthday Party. We still have a couple of days to get ready before it's party time. What a great trip we had!<br />
<br />Brittanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05082412330501083920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6913451296946519303.post-70619101348725823222011-11-12T21:12:00.001-08:002011-11-12T21:33:12.217-08:00Little EarsMike came home tonight and he was telling us a story over dinner about the chase he had been on. Mike's pretty set on work being work and home being home so we don't hear many stories about what he does during the day.<br /><br />Apparently, though, today there had been a chase of a young kid who stole some stuff from a store and led Mike and his fellow officers on quite the adventure through town. They eventually caught the kid and Mike got pretty animated at the table telling me all about it. Throughout the dinner, I noticed the kids were quiet but seemed to be off in their own little worlds (quiet at our dinner table is <span style="font-style: italic;">very</span> rare).<br /><br />I didn't think too much of all the quiet until Mike got up from the table. Clay looks at me and then almost <span style="font-style: italic;">verbatim </span>repeats the story that Mike had just told. He had Mike's mannerisms down, he had his tone down, he formed his fingers walking on the table representing people just like Mike had and he showed me exactly how the bad guy had hidden and run away. The best part, though, was that it was all told first-person--he changed out Mike and all the officers to be himself and his little friends!<br /><br />I had NO idea that Clay was even listening to the story- much less processing and memorizing it! Mike and I were cracking up! We're absolutely loving watching his imagination unfold and hearing the stories he tells.Brittanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05082412330501083920noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6913451296946519303.post-61197017714326135152011-11-12T21:07:00.000-08:002011-11-12T21:11:07.269-08:00Oink, Oink<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwmwy_wqbCQ4-Rnn5aUC6TXDNieuBwkvJoDH5Wd1wcLbr_P4ijjrdu0DYevZElIzuDg1PqPHP8xDY_M-x7LACGetdnoG2s4HHNdKmdQuUj32nJxH3lVJsBZFjPWrr8p7YdjCtSUG0Rw1J9/s1600/prod_nur_cute-pig-portrait_-bp0304-p-71.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 255px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwmwy_wqbCQ4-Rnn5aUC6TXDNieuBwkvJoDH5Wd1wcLbr_P4ijjrdu0DYevZElIzuDg1PqPHP8xDY_M-x7LACGetdnoG2s4HHNdKmdQuUj32nJxH3lVJsBZFjPWrr8p7YdjCtSUG0Rw1J9/s320/prod_nur_cute-pig-portrait_-bp0304-p-71.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5674343345791390706" border="0" /></a><br />Clay: I want a real pig for Christmas. How is Santa going to make <span style="font-style:italic;">that</span>?Brittanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05082412330501083920noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6913451296946519303.post-21718317978079079412011-10-26T19:17:00.000-07:002011-10-27T13:24:41.468-07:00Fall-ing for these Cuties<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8XVA7GlRpt8Ko8KoXgau8LMFZASmu1Nug_5SElVl2yyHfDo1PDi3i_nQkVtahkND8kCUlXenubGogkBHWlA4XFyd-C4D3q3I-83Wee5hje7weytzXWxp-sfvKhgHBCvMdNfakrqFLo9pW/s1600/DSCF1107.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8XVA7GlRpt8Ko8KoXgau8LMFZASmu1Nug_5SElVl2yyHfDo1PDi3i_nQkVtahkND8kCUlXenubGogkBHWlA4XFyd-C4D3q3I-83Wee5hje7weytzXWxp-sfvKhgHBCvMdNfakrqFLo9pW/s320/DSCF1107.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668270125606033810" /></a>Brittanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05082412330501083920noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6913451296946519303.post-635693344790061152011-09-15T14:49:00.000-07:002011-09-15T14:59:10.370-07:00Baseball, Golf and a Little Sass on the SideClay comes into the room with a baseball bat and an ice scraper.<br /><br />Me: What's that?<br />Clay: It's my baseball bat and my baseball.<br />Me: I don't think so.<br /><br />A few minutes later...<br /><br />Clay: Mom, where are those rocks?<br />Me: What rocks?<br />Clay: The ones that were in the bathroom sink.<br />Me: Daddy took them somewhere. We don't keep rocks in the house.<br />Clay: But Mo-om, I needed those rocks to be my golf balls! I'm gonna count to 3 and you need to call Daddy and tell him that you don't take away children's rocks.<br /><br />Side note: He probably had more to say but this is when I interrupted him to remind him of the rules in the house and who does the counting around here. Needless to say, he won't be playing baseball with ice scrapers or golf with rocks in the living room (or anywhere else) anytime soon.Brittanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05082412330501083920noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6913451296946519303.post-17506304762203524562011-07-18T20:41:00.000-07:002011-07-19T06:38:13.639-07:00SchoolworkClay and I work on "schoolwork" each night after Carolina goes to bed (he's a night owl). I am so proud of the progress he has made and I love watching him work hard each night. I've given him a little grace over the years--I'm totally guilty of wanting him to just enjoy being a little boy and not pushing school until he was ready. He's totally ready now and so motivated, too!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT3rcqlgL__aa-de8PTKMHkfT8ypn0G-CTD0Nj0zKQHxgZMWwxpW4bBVU0vtfR6xb6FuerzIqDFVJwQpIcMbmmwB6mlv0_l5DsSK_Su2xe3vWMYJ47NvH3PNmhdXSF3P9rRcQPYdwRrwpO/s1600/104_0354.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5630903773304786162" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 245px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT3rcqlgL__aa-de8PTKMHkfT8ypn0G-CTD0Nj0zKQHxgZMWwxpW4bBVU0vtfR6xb6FuerzIqDFVJwQpIcMbmmwB6mlv0_l5DsSK_Su2xe3vWMYJ47NvH3PNmhdXSF3P9rRcQPYdwRrwpO/s320/104_0354.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We were working on this upper/lowercase letter sheet tonight for the first time and he did the "A" and the "E" first. I was cracking up when he connected the "O" and the "U". He very deliberately drew all the way around and told me, "I just don't want the line to crash into the other lines." Works for me.<br /><br />The other page was our last page of the night (hence the sloppiness on the lines) and I asked him to write his name at the bottom of the page. I loved watching him think about each letter and getting each one right and so "pretty" on the paper. The best part, though, was the HUGE smile on his face when he realized that he had done it all by himself without my help. Of course I was making a big deal about it, too, but there's nothing like pride in your work and oh boy, did he have it!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJUhEQ-fuxiDiQl8Lqu2CuvTZX964f2rQCP0X08vhCpmsDs25ux64sf3-egI3Wwr4-OgYT8aeUelVWNuGeuKt4RxNE3x5j9W23tlI44X4_pDfh_TCS82ltNPNOxJDdmWrqJJXrmP0JlhFx/s1600/104_0353.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5630903757773421490" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJUhEQ-fuxiDiQl8Lqu2CuvTZX964f2rQCP0X08vhCpmsDs25ux64sf3-egI3Wwr4-OgYT8aeUelVWNuGeuKt4RxNE3x5j9W23tlI44X4_pDfh_TCS82ltNPNOxJDdmWrqJJXrmP0JlhFx/s320/104_0353.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div><br /><div></div>Brittanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05082412330501083920noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6913451296946519303.post-79452170709750071812011-07-06T11:48:00.000-07:002011-07-06T11:53:08.936-07:00Busy...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpSnq-r9n0iBboTWVH-x9BlxQZjBZ2gESaOcngz2HG2k2MZ5Xd0m_f3AK3G-CBQgLmyEjY6DC9omibfB4yvgs2XIGrwaW71ydeGjg1Jm-jeBnY7i3hgd_I5tpPbbQjxmjuRlwQS6iwNmG8/s1600/104_0335.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpSnq-r9n0iBboTWVH-x9BlxQZjBZ2gESaOcngz2HG2k2MZ5Xd0m_f3AK3G-CBQgLmyEjY6DC9omibfB4yvgs2XIGrwaW71ydeGjg1Jm-jeBnY7i3hgd_I5tpPbbQjxmjuRlwQS6iwNmG8/s320/104_0335.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5626313237884989442" border="0" /></a>...but quiet. It's a moment every mom can love.Brittanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05082412330501083920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6913451296946519303.post-49351791761551072892011-07-06T11:22:00.000-07:002011-07-06T11:31:54.448-07:00Tiny DancerCarolina's been taking dance/gymnastic combo classes this summer. I'll have to get some pics of her in her class on here soon but I have to say, it doesn't get much cuter than this!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq1ZCivVYMFnonJGvR-WeSzRDVkZYo9dPkKgSdm8YrfePv9E9SyBrJkMoSVYyQragDW_SX2QJtQh9LX2AHuajKj4AAqeASyPx_jg-7OxHSiLDcCUvyszmBxqPOkydvYw3033DfuxT5kMTd/s1600/104_0333.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 199px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq1ZCivVYMFnonJGvR-WeSzRDVkZYo9dPkKgSdm8YrfePv9E9SyBrJkMoSVYyQragDW_SX2QJtQh9LX2AHuajKj4AAqeASyPx_jg-7OxHSiLDcCUvyszmBxqPOkydvYw3033DfuxT5kMTd/s320/104_0333.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5626306467466727506" border="0" /></a>Brittanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05082412330501083920noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6913451296946519303.post-81447549436740490762011-06-27T21:15:00.000-07:002011-06-27T21:36:58.635-07:00Funny GuyHere are a couple of things we've heard from Clay lately:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr8i6DN8SKM4BLwTCgzOvyzHkhje1EynpNx7_swMxUQljHLiLceuRtZT6BL0gF0zTcbnr2aMSE5jf9s9ri3nhM7fTF6cPShVU7jQhbJbEC-0-Iu7k_HXw7DhjTZWUpaW-eCpUAfn5aLTgN/s1600/104_0208.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 222px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr8i6DN8SKM4BLwTCgzOvyzHkhje1EynpNx7_swMxUQljHLiLceuRtZT6BL0gF0zTcbnr2aMSE5jf9s9ri3nhM7fTF6cPShVU7jQhbJbEC-0-Iu7k_HXw7DhjTZWUpaW-eCpUAfn5aLTgN/s320/104_0208.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623119528390921442" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);">Me</span>: Do you want to watch The Berenstein Bears or the Wild Kratts?<br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">Clay</span>: I want to watch that one--the Holy Craps.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Mike</span>: Clay, you need to clean up the Mr. Potato Head stuff in the living room.<br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">Clay</span>: But I didn't play with it.<br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Mike</span>: Yes, you did. I was in the room when you were doing it.<br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">Clay</span>: But you didn't <span style="font-style: italic;">see </span>me playing with it!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXqhTtNYeyWkZyiISI880WwZSqN_DIjFMXU6Fy4BMm20vnQNy9ZisiFLS-WK4NXWBrSlzb6meHi2Pgl6hHjwBm3rgQnVlg8F32uZeVwu11cNq15s2idDtyovNResoQnY-tv2FJKcFlyhJt/s1600/104_0004.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXqhTtNYeyWkZyiISI880WwZSqN_DIjFMXU6Fy4BMm20vnQNy9ZisiFLS-WK4NXWBrSlzb6meHi2Pgl6hHjwBm3rgQnVlg8F32uZeVwu11cNq15s2idDtyovNResoQnY-tv2FJKcFlyhJt/s320/104_0004.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623119535828644866" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);">Me</span>: Clay you need to tell Carolina sorry for pulling her off my lap and onto the floor.<br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">Clay</span>: It was an <span style="font-style: italic;">accident</span>. Honey, <span style="font-style: italic;">you</span> know that!<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">Clay</span>: (first thing when he sits down at the breakfast table in the morning): So, how do we get our <span style="font-style: italic;">own</span> baby?<br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);">Me</span>: No comment.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">Clay</span>: When you have another baby, is Jesus going to take him out?<br />(FYI, we're not having another baby)<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">Clay</span>: Daddy, if Mommy has another baby how is it going to get in her belly? Her mouth is <span style="font-style: italic;">really</span> small!<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">Clay</span>: Mama, if we have another baby, do we have to give Carolina to another family?<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">Clay</span>: I want to have another snack.<br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);">Me</span>: We'll get one when this show is over in a couple of minutes.<br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">Clay</span>: A couple of minutes is a long time, honey.<br /><br />We went to a gender reveal party where we had to wear pink or blue according to our guess on the baby's gender. I was explaining to Clay that when they cut the cake we will see whether it's a boy or a girl.<br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">Clay</span>: If the cake is pink, do I have to go home and change my shirt??<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNU3j98DAhVn_gKg5OXLIVhOxXSSkZKvXj1Cf65BnKnQBm5aAvDkQzLF7em0DuTznAhFR9vF6EhuaYPIvRhiTFmsre41hoyOy7_sUr7wwzySvYUqZxk6fwzfG8J__zDg9W5PtLLYXGYOIg/s1600/104_0009.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 212px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNU3j98DAhVn_gKg5OXLIVhOxXSSkZKvXj1Cf65BnKnQBm5aAvDkQzLF7em0DuTznAhFR9vF6EhuaYPIvRhiTFmsre41hoyOy7_sUr7wwzySvYUqZxk6fwzfG8J__zDg9W5PtLLYXGYOIg/s320/104_0009.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623122744680772770" border="0" /></a>I wish I wrote down all the things this little guy says on a daily basis. He is so smart and inquisitive (especially about our non-existent baby) and we love to hear what he has to say!Brittanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05082412330501083920noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6913451296946519303.post-71863581756079765772011-06-27T20:42:00.000-07:002011-06-27T21:07:54.875-07:00CrittermanSo it turns out that our small town library has some pretty fun people come through in the summer and we got to meet one of them...Critterman! He's not <span style="font-style: italic;">that</span> exciting but given that it was just up the road and it was free- that meets some of my criteria for a good outing!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMO24xM0bCllnqAieYE_5LKP2Nhum2SiFZy3zlVSuLjgvqNZcB6prC6Ivh63YF5zutG-Iela-mxjiiage2ouEMkjP1THg53RoU4TM1LfeAJtd24ahm-jHYnlZt-cHQSLbpK10BTf9NjfnD/s1600/104_0204.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMO24xM0bCllnqAieYE_5LKP2Nhum2SiFZy3zlVSuLjgvqNZcB6prC6Ivh63YF5zutG-Iela-mxjiiage2ouEMkjP1THg53RoU4TM1LfeAJtd24ahm-jHYnlZt-cHQSLbpK10BTf9NjfnD/s320/104_0204.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623115366487228722" border="0" /></a><br />We got there right on time and we still got to sit on the floor in the front row. My crew is not quite ready to sit by themselves so I got a close-up seat for all the critters, too. (Yay.) The room filled quickly with daycares and other kids and pretty soon it was standing room only. Again, I was surprised at the crowd for our small town!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlUHwQoWrYxA7IhyNN0EI4Tiic2fjaMwPvtBQj3zXCLXPvd2XBMaYSb3Uj3Q4rvQYZz2IhJX1e7MgAUD9bTIjpIit-DLbYKMAWDk7HJt3fRZ_SRAPduDt02F-sBcQ7YLsgJpjVg72PnaRi/s1600/104_0200.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlUHwQoWrYxA7IhyNN0EI4Tiic2fjaMwPvtBQj3zXCLXPvd2XBMaYSb3Uj3Q4rvQYZz2IhJX1e7MgAUD9bTIjpIit-DLbYKMAWDk7HJt3fRZ_SRAPduDt02F-sBcQ7YLsgJpjVg72PnaRi/s320/104_0200.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623115375111280434" border="0" /></a><br />Critterman came out and was really personable and funny. He told lots of kid jokes that were just a little above my kids' heads but Clay laughed anyway. He brought out lots of animals and told us what part of the world they were from and about their habits.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZfB8Y_N3g5IE4PYZh5KZLlvvf-r_rKvFthvClVS3x4eWUl_pjXNBvxFGs61PML-uXuXKNMAlXvUQ1U3pk601KTtIC8nP0ChyphenhyphenWs4X14seqfon0cDQJLqypHalCiEIJZT3wk7VGznDOTp_h/s1600/104_0207.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZfB8Y_N3g5IE4PYZh5KZLlvvf-r_rKvFthvClVS3x4eWUl_pjXNBvxFGs61PML-uXuXKNMAlXvUQ1U3pk601KTtIC8nP0ChyphenhyphenWs4X14seqfon0cDQJLqypHalCiEIJZT3wk7VGznDOTp_h/s320/104_0207.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623115364148520882" border="0" /></a><br />It was really educational and neat to see the animals but it was almost an hour and so it was a little bit long for my little ones. There were lots of wiggles and talking and reminders about good manners (from me, not Critterman) but I think that's all part of the experience at this age. The kids got to see lots of fun creatures and "people-watch" all the other kids.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5qtIBvndVG_LhAs3LF0X0iyucxEawvvo-g32cwpM-W9VoSjoE6brgJqzInMmUJMPYdbulmKbO6s3vxSwS9MzgDF11y_OU1oFyRfCkLRZb0M4wnKvucLBq27V3iPxke1j6OB01K49Pdujx/s1600/104_0199.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5qtIBvndVG_LhAs3LF0X0iyucxEawvvo-g32cwpM-W9VoSjoE6brgJqzInMmUJMPYdbulmKbO6s3vxSwS9MzgDF11y_OU1oFyRfCkLRZb0M4wnKvucLBq27V3iPxke1j6OB01K49Pdujx/s320/104_0199.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623115380708317906" border="0" /></a><br />Critterman brought out about 10 animals (Madagascar hissing cockroach, sugar glider, tortoise, opossom) and it was fun to see what he would pull out of the cage next. He ended the presentation with a bunny that he let all the kids come up and pet. The line was pretty crazy and disorganized so we waited until last and the kids got a nice long turn.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO-mWIqjmCYLF7KzxvuY8mKdJUMZdksi0JBzfHYsOdpIz93EQ8zIusjLrfbS5dkFc6jvDFM4Ff9YRmhbaWBpt_W4CDAfMXs6VnHhBLbfdrzUx2K6K6vT6lNSrfixvVoN9kTamJnGEoJx4x/s1600/104_0213.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO-mWIqjmCYLF7KzxvuY8mKdJUMZdksi0JBzfHYsOdpIz93EQ8zIusjLrfbS5dkFc6jvDFM4Ff9YRmhbaWBpt_W4CDAfMXs6VnHhBLbfdrzUx2K6K6vT6lNSrfixvVoN9kTamJnGEoJx4x/s320/104_0213.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623115364498614754" border="0" /></a><br />It was really cute and I'm so glad that we got to go and see some neat animals and learn a few things, too! Now if only I could get Clay to stop asking for a pet rabbit every day since...Brittanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05082412330501083920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6913451296946519303.post-46570186142445221522011-06-24T19:52:00.001-07:002011-06-24T20:34:18.379-07:00Water FunMike reminded me that there was a cute little aquatic park nearby that we hadn't been to yet. I am so glad we tried it because we had the best time! The kids were SO excited when we got there and Mike and I loved it because it was a great size for kids but just small enough where we could see both kids at all times.<br /><br />Clay went straight for the water slide and Carolina went for the water itself. She is quite the mama's girl so she was pretty big on sitting on the edge with me, too.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyHhM7XjFM8ZCkfXy3VX3kNH7pKB0heM5rhXfgnDFH_tnYqPAkOst4HJ3H860U9QHrKoVWVpoez8JrxKTh8_R_LbLgkrtaJMNM8YB61HAndvfr9_RmtF6R9iTqvld0K6-88Od7RdgYqHnr/s1600/104_0181.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyHhM7XjFM8ZCkfXy3VX3kNH7pKB0heM5rhXfgnDFH_tnYqPAkOst4HJ3H860U9QHrKoVWVpoez8JrxKTh8_R_LbLgkrtaJMNM8YB61HAndvfr9_RmtF6R9iTqvld0K6-88Od7RdgYqHnr/s320/104_0181.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5621989628093176386" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1PEZ_OtpztUbzaZYo8qksAgEF9BF_6IRDzeG2P8AbMjzIu6h8n2cAMUejRMBiVgfvjASPBFquOrzElwq2vrxSQoCzQI88TypRloN_OP63PeTR4CHs5eWJRY3N4Yz9Vq6Nwt8faaBoZ4c7/s1600/104_0174.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1PEZ_OtpztUbzaZYo8qksAgEF9BF_6IRDzeG2P8AbMjzIu6h8n2cAMUejRMBiVgfvjASPBFquOrzElwq2vrxSQoCzQI88TypRloN_OP63PeTR4CHs5eWJRY3N4Yz9Vq6Nwt8faaBoZ4c7/s320/104_0174.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5621988640472064242" border="0" /></a><br />As much as the kids play together at home, they almost always go in completely opposite directions when we're in public. It's not surprising given their opposite personalities but it does make it harder to track them!<br /><br />The water was a perfect depth for the kids. It was just tall enough where they were wet but not tall enough where floaties were necessary. Clay did the slide a bunch but he also worked on putting his face in the water and trying to swim. The kids have never had any type of swim lessons but Clay is quite the fish! I'm sure some lessons are in the near future.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk44CEKycAUrgp0thZ1a-Debu4qATlir0GXyOuVmJ1BZqQNV3AWJCZGoIMkHY4q1BRlhjAe51QW1XzOdVDHRbFbZyUFv95i1J4go2C_x12apJ4iPxD_ScwVNcg6IUJuX8PZNXVqgeJdF7g/s1600/104_0195.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk44CEKycAUrgp0thZ1a-Debu4qATlir0GXyOuVmJ1BZqQNV3AWJCZGoIMkHY4q1BRlhjAe51QW1XzOdVDHRbFbZyUFv95i1J4go2C_x12apJ4iPxD_ScwVNcg6IUJuX8PZNXVqgeJdF7g/s320/104_0195.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5621990283186126978" border="0" /></a>Carolina loved running in the fountains and jumping up and down in the water. She cracked us up because this was the first time she's worn a bathing suit with a skirt for the bottoms and she kept pulling it up and yelling to me, "Mama! My baving soup's fawwing off!" Poor girl thought she was losing her bottoms for the first hour we were there. Thank goodness she got used to it!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBF5MtHgmk6VZzb23CQnkpcIGU7nEMkMaPUZjqMTL0m8GJI39jk0AQXfUQXzMkSBDou2mxrvniWmNpMZdceni7YT7BnlKHBdgVBPMW3uXSsRSaE-qOiYM3LhLc8TOim3P42v3eaUmCf4-b/s1600/104_0175.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBF5MtHgmk6VZzb23CQnkpcIGU7nEMkMaPUZjqMTL0m8GJI39jk0AQXfUQXzMkSBDou2mxrvniWmNpMZdceni7YT7BnlKHBdgVBPMW3uXSsRSaE-qOiYM3LhLc8TOim3P42v3eaUmCf4-b/s320/104_0175.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5621988644109132386" border="0" /></a>She would go to the entrance of the water (there were no stairs, it just gradually got deeper) and call over to Mike and me to walk out of the pool to her--and then immediately we would walk back in. It was completely pointless but that's what she wanted and she has a <span style="font-style: italic;">little</span> bossy streak. She would call, "Mama, come <span style="font-style: italic;">here</span>" until I complied and then we would do it all over again a few minutes later.<br /><br />Ever since she was itty-bitty, I would tell Mike that I thought she would be one of the kids that was always hanging out with the adults instead of the kids and that's exactly how she is. She would much rather Mike and I be her playmates than any of the kids wherever we are. It works for us right now but I'm hoping she'll branch out a little as she gets older (she did play with some little girls at Chick-Fil-a yesterday after I led her over to them and told them her name and it was the cutest thing).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIQxlVwrFjKo395wqlm7uySveCfl8A6SI4OhL8J2LaJvF6pRNfdrXU0WDSxmAslgI56eA7Kmt4JhXV7R_QV1acg91mmhpArtXTfu5mBMPnyyGG9otN_o0cLWOGR1SBP9wNgV0p-WU1n2kS/s1600/104_0184.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIQxlVwrFjKo395wqlm7uySveCfl8A6SI4OhL8J2LaJvF6pRNfdrXU0WDSxmAslgI56eA7Kmt4JhXV7R_QV1acg91mmhpArtXTfu5mBMPnyyGG9otN_o0cLWOGR1SBP9wNgV0p-WU1n2kS/s320/104_0184.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5621988649773947746" border="0" /><br /></a>Clay, on the other hand, was completely content doing his own thing. He found a little girl to play with toward the end and they followed each other around. He loves to find a friend to play with but he also wants us to be watching everything he does. When Mike and Carolina and I got out to dry off, he kept telling us to come back in the water until I came and stood close to him in the water. He's happiest when we're right there with him (and that's where we want to be!).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnIcuN_AhqY4KwZYC1lm1MUAcJqAW_8YWBRB2cAOjbdarpcjMRj55Huz_1ceUntw2sB1nbpGmSb9p-HpwAGLRw92BkZTeK46rf9Qu11WxZkDt9zKtYASbhYjAz29PjIZ8v_nJGHwg3NuQv/s1600/104_0176.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnIcuN_AhqY4KwZYC1lm1MUAcJqAW_8YWBRB2cAOjbdarpcjMRj55Huz_1ceUntw2sB1nbpGmSb9p-HpwAGLRw92BkZTeK46rf9Qu11WxZkDt9zKtYASbhYjAz29PjIZ8v_nJGHwg3NuQv/s320/104_0176.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5621995121691150178" border="0" /></a>Carolina thought she was big stuff hanging out on the lounge chair with her cover-up on. She had a couple of kids her age come up and talk to her and you would have thought she was the queen on her throne!<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-6xsJgdM9cgxlIVNwv8PYI33ibKToSKTLiP52FrDkVYO9-pAUXe6iGNH8lK-Ic82Bd1qgSrv_RwcSLjvBka5oxM7uGUl0M8RnZmLANORQAwbZ5IDS1IXmLvTWn1CK-Vic1ZtLEp-zLbQ0/s1600/104_0193.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-6xsJgdM9cgxlIVNwv8PYI33ibKToSKTLiP52FrDkVYO9-pAUXe6iGNH8lK-Ic82Bd1qgSrv_RwcSLjvBka5oxM7uGUl0M8RnZmLANORQAwbZ5IDS1IXmLvTWn1CK-Vic1ZtLEp-zLbQ0/s320/104_0193.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5621988657893616930" border="0" /></a><br />We had such a great time playing in the water and watching the kids. We're loving getting in the water this summer so we'll definitely be heading back!Brittanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05082412330501083920noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6913451296946519303.post-3090909389084078982011-06-04T15:53:00.000-07:002011-09-15T15:01:34.926-07:00Nash FarmYesterday we had a fun playdate planned at Nash Farm. We met up with Clay's best friend, Cody, and his mom, Leslie. Cody and Clay could play together for hours (and normally do).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzdUr-brGFy3PrZaadggQIROP9-4QnyyMTm3KaPx12wBcIChRm225RpCxzGzvK_CrHDge5HzGPYYWuFTuWFFEKzUVTGxlHoDdC_5T0BFQLAwsY7fGyXtvA7Ii71ulPxCtwvekJHiTJShfA/s1600/104_0105.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzdUr-brGFy3PrZaadggQIROP9-4QnyyMTm3KaPx12wBcIChRm225RpCxzGzvK_CrHDge5HzGPYYWuFTuWFFEKzUVTGxlHoDdC_5T0BFQLAwsY7fGyXtvA7Ii71ulPxCtwvekJHiTJShfA/s320/104_0105.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5614506206363520946" border="0" /></a><br />The kids were immediately drawn to the tractor that pulls the wagon ride. They were climbing all over it and they were thrilled when the man came over and offered to take us on a ride. The man tried to tell us about all of the things that were planted on the farm and all the equipment but the tractor was so loud it was kind of hard to hear.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOE7Uh-F099YcSMqXgG02TwZMpSalbLzwgTD2wxRFwn9LPBazLgBHUA2rzVi7vDw5JzRrvxqQtXHHGulz1StUtXWwgJ6TKUf0upWEipPCh1sNPP-Pt9Av12cgtKCcmK_3hVA8GD0_MMmUz/s1600/104_0115.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 254px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOE7Uh-F099YcSMqXgG02TwZMpSalbLzwgTD2wxRFwn9LPBazLgBHUA2rzVi7vDw5JzRrvxqQtXHHGulz1StUtXWwgJ6TKUf0upWEipPCh1sNPP-Pt9Av12cgtKCcmK_3hVA8GD0_MMmUz/s320/104_0115.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5614505981902477122" border="0" /></a>It was super sunny and hot but the kids thought it was hilarious when we would go over bumps in the road. It was a fun ride but we were all glad to get back in the shade!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqNbq214cp4KZX7JCOeVKvMVbTNGKvePAjf8cPqZMnFaL_23vsqcnE91IEMeUm4A15LYhWhXuYrMbe7T4CddTGWnK89YyJlm46l_5oxkxk1Yxizg8JrUnM-jGN6WXunNK4pM3HtWpEon3b/s1600/104_0109-1.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 258px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqNbq214cp4KZX7JCOeVKvMVbTNGKvePAjf8cPqZMnFaL_23vsqcnE91IEMeUm4A15LYhWhXuYrMbe7T4CddTGWnK89YyJlm46l_5oxkxk1Yxizg8JrUnM-jGN6WXunNK4pM3HtWpEon3b/s320/104_0109-1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5614505981883391266" border="0" /></a><br />They had tables with toy tractors set up and other tractors to climb on so it was fun for the kids to get to be hands-on with it all.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS4DluW-7HMSw-sZEb-SMglcIpxopckAjwx33KQKX3P81RByzbbNilBPDzVaPCiHL1S9bof3MKs0_eaXEqJ2U3EVyYMl0UM8w56ALpCh7Eoy5R5tfaGnJvUgsOSz4IZJ7WOkkS9iuVl6ZS/s1600/104_0121.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS4DluW-7HMSw-sZEb-SMglcIpxopckAjwx33KQKX3P81RByzbbNilBPDzVaPCiHL1S9bof3MKs0_eaXEqJ2U3EVyYMl0UM8w56ALpCh7Eoy5R5tfaGnJvUgsOSz4IZJ7WOkkS9iuVl6ZS/s320/104_0121.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5614505238591357426" border="0" /></a><br />We went into a barn and saw a some little kittens and the kids thought that was great. When Mike asked Carolina about her day she told him about the kittens. So cute. They also had some old-fashioned games and the kids played and played with them. Clay asked me several times if we could take them home!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLOkPPvi4XUtFQPDWsZGmJQSULL96WNL2mjpCwojJgDW5tKUWhvafBNvcU0xR9w4GqC-jN8uiVujlqaYwGS678FMNDE-PkeAu0UWFZ9eMB3Gr6hudPph4NLZ_B2hXJTFjivevKWScl2T7o/s1600/104_0126.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLOkPPvi4XUtFQPDWsZGmJQSULL96WNL2mjpCwojJgDW5tKUWhvafBNvcU0xR9w4GqC-jN8uiVujlqaYwGS678FMNDE-PkeAu0UWFZ9eMB3Gr6hudPph4NLZ_B2hXJTFjivevKWScl2T7o/s320/104_0126.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5614505240060053042" border="0" /></a><br />It started to get super hot so we wrapped up our time there with a trip to the garden. The kids thought they were big stuff when they were watering the plants. Carolina watered her clothes several times but who could blame her? It was hot!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSJB_2sa_9bwPkibWrdllXUD69-EInAwRmGMJ1EUW5DNDaXlMXVRLmcEoyOV2gHQs1DDPDNY-tEGWXeGNMJTl1dPhnrF9VPf85Qute96nHpnO9smxfqlH84aJghlDMQhFdhBqw8ymZqhxO/s1600/104_0129.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 254px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSJB_2sa_9bwPkibWrdllXUD69-EInAwRmGMJ1EUW5DNDaXlMXVRLmcEoyOV2gHQs1DDPDNY-tEGWXeGNMJTl1dPhnrF9VPf85Qute96nHpnO9smxfqlH84aJghlDMQhFdhBqw8ymZqhxO/s320/104_0129.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5614505035388485314" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnfI7xhHNkJzQwu-2fHJ2FN3J1qs3DZkvFw5StTGFP_QRxyK30XQcu9BDjgwITmNDrOwAFNeVp-PUB2Xy-Oh-lnBUzC91ySFq4sRsF_wyr0rz5XHFJdmfq6azueyGYeQjOJPEdnsNx_KXR/s1600/104_0127.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 191px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnfI7xhHNkJzQwu-2fHJ2FN3J1qs3DZkvFw5StTGFP_QRxyK30XQcu9BDjgwITmNDrOwAFNeVp-PUB2Xy-Oh-lnBUzC91ySFq4sRsF_wyr0rz5XHFJdmfq6azueyGYeQjOJPEdnsNx_KXR/s320/104_0127.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5614505038580066226" border="0" /></a><br />After Nash Farm we went to a local park that was super shady but even there the kids were really red and their hair was dripping. Summer is here! We wrapped up our day with lunch and an INDOOR playground. Yay for air conditioning! It was a fun, fun day!Brittanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05082412330501083920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6913451296946519303.post-36924965405838497322011-06-04T15:24:00.000-07:002011-06-04T15:41:51.092-07:00Embarrassing Carolina<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6DqqrB6yzV3LlZG0dCkNPqWK4SA94DDjtIYR2a8XlB1q6tP5hUNrP0zb-s-1OLgtMKJHmxwCJRgGdo3kiAuoVBwBQNDweK5HErhjP5QiosYqCDisP5FgzXV3Ovg6zqG4MWH3VP_j58_EV/s1600/104_0157.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6DqqrB6yzV3LlZG0dCkNPqWK4SA94DDjtIYR2a8XlB1q6tP5hUNrP0zb-s-1OLgtMKJHmxwCJRgGdo3kiAuoVBwBQNDweK5HErhjP5QiosYqCDisP5FgzXV3Ovg6zqG4MWH3VP_j58_EV/s320/104_0157.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5614497723180914402" border="0" /></a><br />We went to a festival today which was held in the town where Mike works. We talked to Mike on the way there and since it is in his area, he told us that he would swing by.<br /><br />We got to the festival and I was talking the the ticket lady when Carolina TOOK OFF running. I could hear her screaming, "Daddy! Daddy!" but she couldn't hear me yelling after her, "Carolina! STOP! That's NOT Daddy!".<br /><br />She reached the officer who was in a uniform just like Daddy's, standing next to a car just like Daddy's. She grabbed his leg, looked up at him and RAN back to me!<br /><br />She never said anything about it to me but when we saw Mike a couple of hours later at lunch (he never made it to the festival) and he tried to take her out of her carseat, she screamed and cried for me. That's never happened before so I think she might have been a little spooked by the Daddy mishap. Oops.<br /><br />We had barely been in the festival for 10 minutes when we had our next embarrassing moment.<br /><br />Our first stop was the bounce house and all the kids were playing in it while the parents were talking. It was one of those bounce houses with the big climbing wall inside where they get to the top and slide down. I knew they were safely playing inside and I could hear the kids laughing as we talked. But at one point, Carolina came running out fussing about hitting her head. I picked her up to hold her and comfort her and then realized- she had been playing in the bounce house with her dress on and no diaper!<br /><br />I'm positive that I had just changed her and put a diaper on her before we left the house and I'm <span style="font-style:italic;">pretty</span> sure that I couldn't have buckled her and unbuckled her in her car seat without noticing her lack of a diaper (could I?!). What happened to her diaper between me changing it and her playing in the bounce house is another story. When I asked her where her diaper was, she said, "At home." Hmmm.<br /><br />I was SO embarrassed that she had been bare bottom in the bounce house but luckily I did have a diaper in the bag I had next to me. Phew! She's been taking her diapers off all the time at home now when she's wet or dirty so I think today was a big push to potty-train. Big push.<br /><br />There's never a dull moment with that girl.Brittanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05082412330501083920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6913451296946519303.post-74332184084710645632011-06-04T14:20:00.000-07:002011-06-04T15:24:06.360-07:00Super Hero FestivalToday we got to hang out with some super special people- super heroes! It was a local festival that was being held for the first time. Some of our friends were also there so it was really fun to get to hang out with them, too.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirJRdPubmB6Xk0gl8QwGpa8lDKWUmx20rW5w1_HcmkN2FYq7l2ozGAL5mANpuQqDZf2J7eKQdT7Xqwa8C8a5E07LJc4Mgim5_raY4VBx9Jes4IojUsRqesbsbAoFz3hi7u1QfMnMe2w4ic/s1600/104_0148.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirJRdPubmB6Xk0gl8QwGpa8lDKWUmx20rW5w1_HcmkN2FYq7l2ozGAL5mANpuQqDZf2J7eKQdT7Xqwa8C8a5E07LJc4Mgim5_raY4VBx9Jes4IojUsRqesbsbAoFz3hi7u1QfMnMe2w4ic/s320/104_0148.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5614490151949212418" border="0" /></a><br />It was a pretty simple set-up (which is great for my crew) with a bounce house, snow cones and games. The kids loved jumping in the jump house and could've played for hours!<br /><br />We reluctantly left playing in the bounce house to play some games with the super heroes. All the kids were divided into teams and my kids were on Bat Girl's team. She was super sweet and Carolina just loved her.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKiB73Pf9AsE7_bWKjE7tsCZT_PxmgjEV4CZajI4bajAPKEoeHyWBuachB2oHtwJ6-jkLjLndFBjD0QCEC9uxCyWCw5XKdQVJhAXVnr_4y9zcseQkSGOw-tLYI1YYaILHr-3oMDoKR0PMV/s1600/104_0138.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 251px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKiB73Pf9AsE7_bWKjE7tsCZT_PxmgjEV4CZajI4bajAPKEoeHyWBuachB2oHtwJ6-jkLjLndFBjD0QCEC9uxCyWCw5XKdQVJhAXVnr_4y9zcseQkSGOw-tLYI1YYaILHr-3oMDoKR0PMV/s320/104_0138.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5614486394244390146" border="0" /></a><br />The kids did sack races and I was so impressed by how mine listened and stayed in their spots like they were supposed to. They came in total last place but hey, they got Honorable Mention ribbons and couldn't have been more thrilled!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoX7xQk5x550SJyNeiP5bNfvxVD-SIB0sxxlFYcqRpBf7kZjnueCHA4WwAf6-qpCbuN-jHrW3F7IM-Fhi3Sm7Y1WSOUt9zwYo0BhMHf3p5UwAGTnb15XGoqYBYZrNEv0dAJmc8aT7YIQ6-/s1600/104_0143.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoX7xQk5x550SJyNeiP5bNfvxVD-SIB0sxxlFYcqRpBf7kZjnueCHA4WwAf6-qpCbuN-jHrW3F7IM-Fhi3Sm7Y1WSOUt9zwYo0BhMHf3p5UwAGTnb15XGoqYBYZrNEv0dAJmc8aT7YIQ6-/s320/104_0143.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5614486396233525970" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipp4K-c-cKfbZinJdGz_Uwf3DfeJePGH_6VJU7dNvqug2cb2Cahc3W3bjAj9lNT5X3TCDvMeCymaS5KjYYQa1tsGfoLTRvc8IGkOzlH3lxYPeJV9UfYOTepU5i24TSYYcAEQqhTCQi8_gq/s1600/104_0144.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipp4K-c-cKfbZinJdGz_Uwf3DfeJePGH_6VJU7dNvqug2cb2Cahc3W3bjAj9lNT5X3TCDvMeCymaS5KjYYQa1tsGfoLTRvc8IGkOzlH3lxYPeJV9UfYOTepU5i24TSYYcAEQqhTCQi8_gq/s320/104_0144.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5614490144857360354" border="0" /></a><br />What's the best way to cool off from a sack race?? Snow cones! Clay and Carolina and their little friends all thoroughly enjoyed their purple snow cones. The mamas will worry about the purple laundry later!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiey-qxEbSRATdlza2wpbiJIu80aFDslewenByc-6xD3LC1Aaqgoef400XWY8b6OOT6xNGccMEOBYY3TkV2X5TZPYCXR7x9F4_27xfrjdyFah35peZTfgP8s4JEcCgwvDzaG1aD0yJRURIl/s1600/104_0155.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiey-qxEbSRATdlza2wpbiJIu80aFDslewenByc-6xD3LC1Aaqgoef400XWY8b6OOT6xNGccMEOBYY3TkV2X5TZPYCXR7x9F4_27xfrjdyFah35peZTfgP8s4JEcCgwvDzaG1aD0yJRURIl/s320/104_0155.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5614490157667671778" border="0" /></a><br />We did more bouncing on the bounce houses and headed for lunch with Daddy. It was really neat to get to see some super heroes up close and get to talk to them, too. Clay is still pretty shy about pictures with characters but Carolina was all in!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiey-qxEbSRATdlza2wpbiJIu80aFDslewenByc-6xD3LC1Aaqgoef400XWY8b6OOT6xNGccMEOBYY3TkV2X5TZPYCXR7x9F4_27xfrjdyFah35peZTfgP8s4JEcCgwvDzaG1aD0yJRURIl/s1600/104_0155.JPG"><br /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM80FfdJYqX3IIEozznN1f6HuzoV9q_VZ1okKMGAbYBaEIQCqS5CTGcRckHqzOPV1QOJPStuH-HCswH9mqfb-0OX6MLiuVPE1Rd6TyIsHR68Ew3ucUbfJSvYnW89H0sjMjAy4SqWdXZwgz/s1600/104_0149.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 259px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM80FfdJYqX3IIEozznN1f6HuzoV9q_VZ1okKMGAbYBaEIQCqS5CTGcRckHqzOPV1QOJPStuH-HCswH9mqfb-0OX6MLiuVPE1Rd6TyIsHR68Ew3ucUbfJSvYnW89H0sjMjAy4SqWdXZwgz/s320/104_0149.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5614490154897531250" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji3NVdofxCAZCpoMBxkBRDw3iKi5aAaWxaEMVT_QHWoXcHhWlsy1UL_I7ypXXQZlSIJOi1QB1u_OjEwMR6APV0Z9A4TTszepNr-pmvkjZZmd7-kv3g6m-kjdLcl_4jaRdrLOtQ9ehRu4yN/s1600/104_0159.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 229px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji3NVdofxCAZCpoMBxkBRDw3iKi5aAaWxaEMVT_QHWoXcHhWlsy1UL_I7ypXXQZlSIJOi1QB1u_OjEwMR6APV0Z9A4TTszepNr-pmvkjZZmd7-kv3g6m-kjdLcl_4jaRdrLOtQ9ehRu4yN/s320/104_0159.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5614490166819198034" border="0" /></a>I think we'll definitely be back next year.Brittanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05082412330501083920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6913451296946519303.post-83226017311248873502011-05-30T21:28:00.000-07:002011-05-30T21:34:49.707-07:00Happy Memorial Day!Mike was telling me today that even<span style="font-style:italic;"> he</span> is getting emails about me updating the blog so I will have to make some time soon to update! We have lots to talk about- including Clay's Pirate Party! In the meantime, here's a pic from today of the two people keeping me busy:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqrTRs3dxJ0AVbV1F6mI251Gl9P9tcXfQgnhqUBpGAkdA5AyzYCvJ4PA94AtuvjjtNbfCXMihKuEdUihEEGPIZUGERsgCT-pQL4MASCxxC8JlnOZkM2VF6IzWvwzCr7bH3EpHGzQmXQwdo/s1600/104_0083.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 229px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqrTRs3dxJ0AVbV1F6mI251Gl9P9tcXfQgnhqUBpGAkdA5AyzYCvJ4PA94AtuvjjtNbfCXMihKuEdUihEEGPIZUGERsgCT-pQL4MASCxxC8JlnOZkM2VF6IzWvwzCr7bH3EpHGzQmXQwdo/s320/104_0083.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5612732587991701186" border="0" /></a>Brittanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05082412330501083920noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6913451296946519303.post-8629420598419875102011-02-26T20:09:00.001-08:002011-02-26T20:45:32.630-08:00House Hunting: Moving in and PicsMoving. One of the least favorite words of all in the Skloss house. We hadn't packed anything, not even one box, when we closed. Thankfully, two people we like to call Nana and Papa came in to rescue us!<br /><br />I can't even begin to imagine the thoughts that crossed their mind when they stepped into our apartment. We had been in limbo for the past couple of weeks and you could definitely tell by the looks of our apartment. It was Monday and we had people scheduled to help move all the big stuff on Friday so we definitely had our work cut out for us.<br /><br />We worked really hard that week. It was such a tough week but we really couldn't have done it without Mike's parents. I think Bobby about went into shock several times when he would think he had seen all there was to pack and Mike would show him one more closet (or the garage!). Bobby and Anita both walked through the week with us calmly and patiently helping us through all of the work that needed to be done.<br /><br />Anita and Bobby stayed at the new house starting on Monday while Mike and I kept the kids at the apartment until the move was complete. Each day Mike and Bobby would pack the Expedition up and Bobby's truck up and unload them at the new house. The goal was to have all the small stuff out of the way when the guys came to help with the big stuff on Friday. The boys worked SO hard going up and down the stairs so many times during the week (without complaining). Anita was on Nana-duty and I was on packing. It was LONG!<br /><br />Friday came and most everything was moved out. The guys moved all the big stuff and apartment was looking pretty empty. At least it seemed empty until Mike and his dad had to make about six more trips to finish it up! It was definitely one of the hardest working weeks we've had as a family but we all worked together and it was really neat on Friday when we got to sleep in our house for the first time.<br /><br />Once again, Anita and Bobby stepped up and offered to help us through the next week as we unpacked and got settled. We got a lot done and we were so excited to have so much space to move around!<br /><br />Over the next couple of weeks, we celebrated our first Thanksgiving in our house and then Christmas. We have been moving right along unpacking but we're still waiting to hang anything up. Each week we have new goals and I'm happy with the progress we've made so far.<br /><br />Clay's birthday is coming up in May and we're hosting his first ever birthday party with friends. I'll be spending the next couple of months getting everything in order for us to finally have guests!<br /><br />Since it's been such a dry spell of pictures on the last couple of posts, here's a few of the house before we moved in. Hopefully, in the next couple of months I can post some updated ones with all of our furniture and decor.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQtq5RTgRId1BGj1xSRton5UoVLJIzty0B-XP3nnLhmZW_9UwSHYUVBNHsnVtCWzO1HLJKnG3R4Ud15mDOZ9u7TrDqoYb9pjpxwCP3aF5gnNyo7PwwrCCMYt4Aqc8jnfWTmgX5JafIRniX/s1600/picture-uh%253D8dca28e958ebd88e2ae3c73bfe49f5-ps%253D8f8ab723b7a15fe7f93cfd90c1c28c.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQtq5RTgRId1BGj1xSRton5UoVLJIzty0B-XP3nnLhmZW_9UwSHYUVBNHsnVtCWzO1HLJKnG3R4Ud15mDOZ9u7TrDqoYb9pjpxwCP3aF5gnNyo7PwwrCCMYt4Aqc8jnfWTmgX5JafIRniX/s320/picture-uh%253D8dca28e958ebd88e2ae3c73bfe49f5-ps%253D8f8ab723b7a15fe7f93cfd90c1c28c.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578218846079077266" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJd60hEcI5b8G40ee5x6BlR_l_k1W0jqZrdV6l2YFm0XyhOQuuObKaS5avmNMxfcRaxMEwPEf5pL8SasQRz7Xf04lWA85969R_tcR9xt1gxQHckne1X3VgGt4qN267CcDsndCpXYSkhgi2/s1600/picture-uh%253D89f08a67f29d30cedaf722f6ce124b4-ps%253D4c57ab33c7943475613ff765af1673.jpg"><br /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigaoCPyuS_YunKrmo8_yk8O0jGlm1MVuLgwTTsbNeJ59iUwkbB65bnI-YdRgtQDwhP5z26Q67dVHXe1X716zj3Cx5KjJNmQw34OWEt7IpDM_mNX4iAhiF0tQ4MmOHTQQwR-6sng4rVAgWO/s1600/picture-uh%253D47a4576bf287cf27b0cc2a31507b6f-ps%253D7cdb4014514a41fd4da39afbfa8531a.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigaoCPyuS_YunKrmo8_yk8O0jGlm1MVuLgwTTsbNeJ59iUwkbB65bnI-YdRgtQDwhP5z26Q67dVHXe1X716zj3Cx5KjJNmQw34OWEt7IpDM_mNX4iAhiF0tQ4MmOHTQQwR-6sng4rVAgWO/s320/picture-uh%253D47a4576bf287cf27b0cc2a31507b6f-ps%253D7cdb4014514a41fd4da39afbfa8531a.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578218269166606322" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeVMSBKi7PDFa02L9d0nKK5YdH_qL_9tefGTA9GYZ7MZ2x28NoguGWg2qe4hum-iJkWctyeDdTTUCT4T7886xA9Qx7Z91mzA06PZYl-bwhgjUrWimv_6rEYUsfdCXWBkmsTKk_nrS8r2Af/s1600/picture-uh%253D89f08a67f29d30cedaf722f6ce124b4-ps%253D4c57ab33c7943475613ff765af1673.jpg"><br /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrwqQ7E-Ne_xZXPjb5WWCBNiXRMNQf8pUOjPux0ZyCCM2J9WFWrnnej5ukZaAcdEVB8afwAOTKUE4x01rhudbuuAEvnkmGKXzSNvLcaHIO6CNpKABR5OYZdGCtfU6YKqpS4CqG-E-PDmTA/s1600/picture-uh%253D2d75d99de6669f1619aedc1ac57f45e-ps%253D5698692750acb4479d5c2950f74bdf0.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrwqQ7E-Ne_xZXPjb5WWCBNiXRMNQf8pUOjPux0ZyCCM2J9WFWrnnej5ukZaAcdEVB8afwAOTKUE4x01rhudbuuAEvnkmGKXzSNvLcaHIO6CNpKABR5OYZdGCtfU6YKqpS4CqG-E-PDmTA/s320/picture-uh%253D2d75d99de6669f1619aedc1ac57f45e-ps%253D5698692750acb4479d5c2950f74bdf0.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578218074762052450" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjidr_BM00Og3fKozgg6zaKFhEw1ssNPJOUxlIzYgV_VKHvj_9V-gi_S5ko_jLeK4oX6j7VXJosID6olEHWvPmaNIjGNAb3cveKND8eQbDlVg9FX7MhNNnbZdiK_X9Polb7ykZ_lFoSU1FS/s1600/picture-uh%253D214dbb4b1f539aeecf7d42c5ab6ee919-ps%253D5f8fe8c9581da2633bf5eaad36dea.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjidr_BM00Og3fKozgg6zaKFhEw1ssNPJOUxlIzYgV_VKHvj_9V-gi_S5ko_jLeK4oX6j7VXJosID6olEHWvPmaNIjGNAb3cveKND8eQbDlVg9FX7MhNNnbZdiK_X9Polb7ykZ_lFoSU1FS/s320/picture-uh%253D214dbb4b1f539aeecf7d42c5ab6ee919-ps%253D5f8fe8c9581da2633bf5eaad36dea.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578218071486169682" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDtvXWaEZraAYjrLFhJHjclk7d4FYANJhq9DcCZfSmZvz7WUsIxIb0WH8TWvgNsX1mtU5dlISnIjQHmVeFqcT3nfxk0uvEVQ2PMVHZ80RBacGE5hI9SOv1PQ2fLdnQqKjgcVNVge8Q_t5y/s1600/picture-uh%253D63fb2e68df434253eee9162beca34bcc-ps%253Dddba806793a9bcdfd88b474dc38e.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDtvXWaEZraAYjrLFhJHjclk7d4FYANJhq9DcCZfSmZvz7WUsIxIb0WH8TWvgNsX1mtU5dlISnIjQHmVeFqcT3nfxk0uvEVQ2PMVHZ80RBacGE5hI9SOv1PQ2fLdnQqKjgcVNVge8Q_t5y/s320/picture-uh%253D63fb2e68df434253eee9162beca34bcc-ps%253Dddba806793a9bcdfd88b474dc38e.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578217878328599250" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I'm so glad to be done with all the posting about the house hunt but really glad that I took the time to write it all out- it's therapeutic! It all seems so long ago and it wasn't that long ago at all. We are still grateful every day for this blessing!Brittanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05082412330501083920noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6913451296946519303.post-19039842792411065582011-02-26T18:15:00.001-08:002011-02-26T20:05:51.822-08:00House Hunting: Contract #5- Closing the DealAfter we finally made a decision to go with the new house, we put in a call to the builder's agent. We called, our realtor called and we got no response for several days. We were SO frustrated but we just assumed that the house was under contract and he would not be returning our calls.<br /><br />Just when we decided to wait for a few months to start looking again, the guy finally called back. He told Mike that the other buyers that were supposed to sign papers that morning had stood him up so if we wanted to go to the house and pick up their contract that it was waiting in the kitchen cabinet. We got in the car and went.<br /><br />We were kind of surprised that their "contract" was one sheet of legal paper with some numbers on it and a final sales price (that didn't even add up to the right number). We took the paper, signed it and called their finance company to set up our pre-approval before we signed our paperwork.<br /><br />Because of the very attractive incentives that they had offered through their lender, we knew we would need to stick with them. Now we had <span style="font-style: italic;">loved</span> our lender on the house before. He was super informative and always returned phone calls promptly and was so kind to us so we were so sad to have to move on from him.<br /><br />We had worked with many lenders in the past couple of months with different Officer Next Door houses (HUD requires that you use certain lenders for specific houses), and then different lenders with the first home we were going to build and the latest contract that we had been under.<br /><br />We had never had any problems with a pre-approval. We had just come out of a contract for almost exactly the same sales price so we knew financing wouldn't be an issue. I called their financing people immediately after we picked up the contract and gave them all of our info for the pre-approval. It was early in the day so I figured they would have plenty of time to get the pre-approval done before we went in to sign documents that night and give them our earnest money. The longest we'd ever waited for a pre-approval was a couple of hours. Huh.<br /><br />I called the lender several times throughout the day and she kept saying she was working on it. I called the sales guy to tell him that we wouldn't be handing over our earnest money without a pre-approval letter. He didn't seem concerned. So that evening, with no pre-approval letter, we<br />drove over to the sales office.<br /><br />This was our first meeting with their sales rep. Since the sales office was just minutes away from our apartment, we took separate cars and Mike took the kids to Chick-Fil-A while I did the first signing and then we would switch and I would take the kids home.<br /><br />In the first couple of minutes of meeting us, the sales agent starts telling the realtor and me cop stories. Now our realtor is a police officer and I'm married to a police officer so you would think these stories would be favorable toward cops but no, no. Not this guy. He starts asking our realtor to try and get him out of some tickets he got in another city. I was leery but we moved on.<br /><br />When we sat down I started asking him questions about the neighborhood. He said he wasn't the original agent for the neighborhood so he didn't know anything about it. There was no offering to call and check on it. Just a flat, "I don't know".<br /><br />We got through about three pages of the paperwork (out of about forty) and I asked him a couple of questions about the energy efficiency of the house. We had been to visit enough builders throughout the process that I knew that they usually hand you some type of folder or pamphlet that tells you all about how they go above and beyond the government expectations for efficiency. I had gone to their website and wasn't able to pull up anything about that house or the neighborhood (all homes were done by the same builder) as far as energy efficiency. So here I am to ask the sales guy about this house and nothing. No pamphlet, no folder, nothing. This builder's salesman knew nothing about the energy efficiency of the house.<br /><br />At this point I say, "Okay, well then sell it to me. Tell me why I should buy this house." His response: "Well, it's a little late now, isn't it??" Not really. I had only signed three papers and Mike hadn't signed anything. We hadn't given them a check or anything else. The guy was a total smart mouth and completely arrogant. I had been pretty patient through all of the home buying up until then but he was talking to someone who was VERY done with buying houses and had NO patience left (and Mike was feeling the same way).<br /><br />We got to the end of the signing and they asked for our earnest money check. I reiterated that we didn't want to hand over our earnest money without a pre-approval. He said that was fine and we could bring it in the morning. I wasn't sure what was going on with the pre-approval and I asked him if he thought the deal was secure. His response, "I might have to do a little dance in front of my superiors but (pointing to the wall of awards behind him) I'm pretty good at dancing." Like I said, arrogant.<br /><br />The next morning rolled around and still no pre-approval. Mike and I decided that we were done looking at houses and we wanted to try and make this work. Since they said it should be fine and we had signed paperwork stating we would get our check back if the pre-approval didn't work, we just decided to take them the check and hope for the best.<br /><br />The next couple of weeks were brutal. For the first week, each day I would call and ask the lender about the pre-approval and each day her response was the same, "I'm working on it but can you send me..." I sent her every piece of financial paperwork from my whole life and Mike's in the first two days.<br /><br />She did tell me that there had been three other buyers who had tried to get approval for the same house in the last week but they had all been denied. It explained all of the people who were in the house each time we were there but I can't say that gave me much hope. There was nothing more to send paperwork-wise but she would come up with one more reason why she couldn't get the pre-approval done. It was the end of the month so it was busy, then it was the beginning of the month so it was busy, she had too many projects, they had given her too many loans to complete and every other excuse you could think of.<br /><br />We went in at one point to talk to the sales guy and ask him what he could do to move the situation along. After telling us some more fun cop stories about how he likes to be rude to officers who pull him over (he freely admits that he doesn't have a front license plate and likes to go over 100), he told us "I can't just go tap-dance on her desk and make her do work." I was having a really hard time holding my tongue. He was totally rude and never willing to do anything to move the deal along at all.<br /><br />We had already canceled our contract with the other house so this was the only house we were working with. It was this one or no house for a few months. We were just at a point where we wanted to get some answers so we could move on.<br /><br />Our closing was set 1 month from the day we signed the paperwork and it had already been a week with no pre-approval (again, the longest we had ever waited was a couple of hours). I just wasn't sure whether this company would ever be able to get their act together long enough to make our loan go through if they couldn't even get a simple pre-approval done.<br /><br />At that point, I scheduled our trip to Great Wolf Lodge. We were so burned out on the house stuff and I just wanted to get away with the kids and not feel like I was sitting by the phone waiting for it to ring. I was hoping that maybe if I just gave the lender a couple of days with no phone calls that maybe she could get it all wrapped up. I'm so, so glad we did that trip. It was such<span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"> </span>a great decision to go and we came back rejuvenated.<br /><br />While we were away, they finally got the pre-approval letter for us. It had been two weeks. That meant we still had several other things to take care of. The sales guy threw a huge fit for Mike about wanting to have an inspection done. "It's a brand-new house! Why would you want to waste your money inspecting a brand-new house??"<br /><br />It got to the point where we would only talk to him through our realtor. Mike's normally pretty passive but at one point he told me that he's arrested people who were more cooperative than the sales guy. I believe it. Between the sales guy and the lender, there was a lot of stress in our apartment in those weeks.<br /><br />The inspector came and (big surprise!) there were some things that needed to be fixed before we moved in. Our a/c had been run with no filters for a couple of months and the system needed to be cleaned out, plus some cracked brick and some outlets that needed to be fixed. We were glad to have "wasted" our money on an inspector.<br /><br />So now that our pre-approval had been done and the inspection had been done, we still had to wait for the final approval. We were supposed to close in 1 month and it had already been 3 weeks. I really, really tried to be patient and not call the lender every day but our closing date was a week away and I had not packed one box.<br /><br />I had scheduled the kids to make a trip to Mike's parents when we set our closing date originally so that I could take some time and pack without helpers. The trip came and the kids left but we still had no word on a final approval. We were so frustrated and overwhelmed.<br /><br />Our closing date was set for Friday, October 30. Monday came but we had decided the week before that we were done playing on their terms. We had told them from day one that both Mike and our realtor had to work late that Friday and that we would need to reschedule closing but it really seemed pointless to reschedule since we didn't have the final approval yet anyway. And still, no boxes were packed.<br /><br />Tuesday and Wednesday came with no word and finally on Thursday we heard from the lender. The loan was approved! We were so done at that point and we told them that there was no way we were closing the next day and they would have to wait until Monday (when Mike and our realtor were off from work).<br /><br />Mike and our realtor got one call after another from the sales guy who was suddenly interested in our business. Even though it would have been entirely possible for Mike to go to the firm for closing right after work (it was just a couple of miles away), we still wanted to wait until Monday when we could get someone to look after the kids and we could focus on our paperwork. But it was the end of the month and the sales guy needed to make numbers. It was time to make a deal.<br /><br />I have to admit I was still a little torn knowing the sales guy's numbers would benefit from us closing in October but when he offered us an oversized stainless steel refrigerator that matched our other appliances, I was ready to be done and sign those papers!<br /><br />Our closing was at 6:30 and we had our two little companions to keep us company. The people doing the closing were very nice and very gracious about the kids. Before we left we were cleaning up a whole thing of paperclips on the floor, a bag of goldfish (crumbs and all) on the floor, a crazy amount of Dum-Dum wrappers, the coffee that came out when Clay put his hand up to the coffee maker and so,so many more messes. It was a long night (3 hours) and we were all so ready for it all to be over so we could have our keys.<br /><br />Even now thinking back, it was so much fun getting those keys. The homebuying process was tough- so much tougher than I ever expected. There were so many times when we were ready to throw in the towel but I am so glad we stuck it out and stuck to what we wanted.<br /><br />We totally feel that this is the house God wanted us to have from the beginning. We know that He used the process to help make our marriage stronger, our finances better and to help us grow as a family. We know He was faithful to us each step of the way and we praise Him daily for the blessing that we finally can call HOME.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ1uf7MJazzAWKxwyQFbPE0FCAqyBQ1g5AzbrRJIdWMIvofg3GpePkh0h9z9Jb5Es4656mSZeb1Gi6aAw1JHtX06Iz2LadBjFEy3S0DEaPwho1OcJKUJ7tKPDc3enlNyAGCiC9bi7CeOs-/s1600/HBMLG_11286127.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ1uf7MJazzAWKxwyQFbPE0FCAqyBQ1g5AzbrRJIdWMIvofg3GpePkh0h9z9Jb5Es4656mSZeb1Gi6aAw1JHtX06Iz2LadBjFEy3S0DEaPwho1OcJKUJ7tKPDc3enlNyAGCiC9bi7CeOs-/s320/HBMLG_11286127.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578209051144767250" border="0" /></a>Brittanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05082412330501083920noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6913451296946519303.post-63240386784568558482011-02-26T13:39:00.000-08:002011-02-26T18:14:56.799-08:00House Hunting: A Final Officer Next Door Bid and Contract #4I keep looking at the blog with it's lack of pictures on the last couple of posts and it looks so boring! So, sorry for the lack of pictures (I stuck one in here just for fun) and all the little details but it's a part of our story and the only way I'll ever remember all these little things to share with the kids someday when they go to buy their first houses!<br /><br />Well, we picked up and moved on quickly after seeing that the contract on the new home wasn't going to work out. While we knew we could have probably worked it all out and made it to closing, we just didn't have the sense of peace that we really needed to have on our first house.<br /><br />Our realtor came into town and when he did, boy did I ever have a list for him! It was a little crazy since we knew we would have the kids with us and we really wanted to give each house a good look. I had done all the homework to make sure our list was narrowed, even calling realtors to make sure homes were still available before I put them on our list so we wouldn't waste anyone's time.<br /><br />I'm not 100% but I'm pretty sure that first day we looked at 17. If the house was occupied, Mike would sit in the car with the kids while I ran in with our realtor. If I gave it the thumbs up, we switched and then we would compare notes. We knew what we wanted so we were in and out pretty quickly!<br /><br />We looked at a few sets of houses and I <span style="font-style: italic;">wanted</span> to love them all (I really wanted to find something!) but we would scratch things off our list for one reason or another. I thought it was so funny how Mike and I have lived together for years but what we love in a house and decorating is so different! He hated houses with red dining rooms (I like it), I like houses with lots of hallways and closets and unique features (he couldn't care less), I thought renovating would be fun (he thought it would be work) and the list goes on and on. It's amazing we ever agreed on a house (and yet we did several times!).<br /><br />As we were looking at houses, we still kept trying at Officer Next Door. It was a little complicated because our focus was all over the place. After we spent several trips out looking at houses, a really good house popped up on Officer Next Door. It was exactly what we were looking for in our search but normally it would have been way out of our price range (without the 50% off). The price was right and it was on a golf course. Mike loved it! Awesome houses are pretty rare on Officer Next Door so we checked it out.<br /><br />Each time we would consider an OND house, it was such an emotional process. We spent a lot of time praying about each house and we were always torn about whether it was God's plan for us or not. Clearly, none of them were but with this house I think we felt like we had been led there more than any others. It had so much of what we were looking for that had it been closer to Mike's work, we probably would have bid on it if it was on the market.<br /><br />It was quite a distance away but we drove the area several times and thought it would be a great opportunity. When the bids came back, we hadn't won again. After so many no's on OND and the 3rd contract not working out, we were a little gun shy about getting excited with any more houses.<br /><br />We did keep looking, though, and we found another home that we loved. It was in the same city where Mike worked, built in 1998, was a great price and the whole kitchen had been recently remodeled. I loved the exterior and the layout and I could immediately picture us having Christmas mornings in that house (and I hadn't felt that with any of the others).<br /><br />On our first tour of the house, I told our realtor I was sold. I loved so much about it. There were some issues, though. When we arrived during our appointment window to see the house our realtor couldn't get his key to work. When we came back to see it, the owner was home.<br /><br />I was able to talk with him in the yard while Mike toured the house and he told me all about their situation. He was self-employed and his income had dropped significantly in the last year. They couldn't afford their house anymore and had to do a short-sale (where the bank agrees to take less than is owed on the house).<br /><br />When Mike came back, we both agreed that we wanted to make an offer. The price was way below the comparables for the neighborhood and had just recently dropped (it wasn't in our price range before). We wanted to get the house before someone else did!<br /><br />Our realtor told us all about the short sale (he was buying a short sale at time, too!). We had done some research on our own and based on that and our realtor's experience with buying a short sale, we were prepared to put it in our bid and wait months for a response. Our response was back within a week and our bid was accepted!<br /><br />We were thrilled but also really nervous. We thought we would have time to let it all sink in and months before anything would happen but it moved so quickly. We started doing all of our documents but there was a wrinkle in the seller's financing. They had taken out a 2nd lien on the house to pay for all of the kitchen remodeling and the 2nd lien holder wasn't willing to settle.<br /><br />Our closing date kept moving back again and again but Mike and I were fine with it. We were grateful to have more time and we were excited that our bid had been accepted. We had an inspection done and everything was fine. The homeowner was home for the inspection (kind of weird!) and he took Mike and I through the house and told us about all of the things that he had done for upkeep. You could tell from talking to him that he was super compulsive about the house and had records for every little thing that had been done.<br /><br />The homeowner also went through all of the things that he was going to leave for us since they had moved to an apartment. He would leave ALL of the lawn equipment, all the paint for the interior and exterior, all the shelving in the garage plus a tall storage cabinet, a refrigerator in the garage and a desk in the office. There was a fancy gazebo spa in the backyard and he even offered to come over and do the first cleaning with Mike and leave all the chemicals. He made a list and signed it in front of Mike and told him that he would fax it to his bank to show that he would be leaving those items with the sale of the house. We were thrilled!<br /><br />Things were looking good and we even took the kids over to take a picture in front of their new house. Through the whole process, Mike and I had kept our home search to ourselves and didn't mention anything (except an Officer Next Door house or two) to our families and friends. We were excited to finally share our good news!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7tPoP2N6q6H1DHoM8iYaU-6V-AARQHoPj9S14qEwuN_f98wU8yzSGPbJLp5Z8jX09XqSOy6iJFRBghUM1n173Gu4zP5H4cMoJrTVyFeuizBuyUbWOEBWZdItA7eqkzEUJvL88Qj3JiwWE/s1600/103_9083.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7tPoP2N6q6H1DHoM8iYaU-6V-AARQHoPj9S14qEwuN_f98wU8yzSGPbJLp5Z8jX09XqSOy6iJFRBghUM1n173Gu4zP5H4cMoJrTVyFeuizBuyUbWOEBWZdItA7eqkzEUJvL88Qj3JiwWE/s320/103_9083.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578134487041628866" border="0" /></a>But as time went on, the 2nd lien just wasn't going anywhere. Mike and I were both getting antsy and as adding an addendum to change our closing date approached again (for the 3rd time), I started thinking about looking at other homes. If the 2nd lien wasn't settled in time for our lender to complete the paperwork, we wouldn't be penalized for not closing and could be released from our contract with no further obligation.<br /><br />I had really taken a break from looking at houses since we were under contract and it had been months so there was a new crop of houses this time around. I would look at them and then get overwhelmed at starting over. It's such a big process evaluating it all!<br /><br />Each time we would look, we would reevaluate and go between wanting to look at houses on land to wondering if we should spend less to make our budget more comfortable to how far were we really willing to drive to get more bang for our buck and on and on...<br /><br />I put together another group of houses for us to look through (some we were seeing for the 2nd time). We set out with our realtor and made another day of it. We trudged through houses but ultimately decided that we liked the one we were under contract with as we toured each one. We were a little discouraged throughout the day but then at the end of the day was a house that had never been on our printouts before. It had recently been reduced and it was being sold by the builder.<br /><br />Our realtor talked to the selling agent and he said several offers had already been put in on the house but we could still see it since it wasn't under contract yet. We'd all heard this line before so we were pretty cynical but we went to tour it anyway. When we got there, we had to sit in the car because there was already another family touring the house. It was then that we realized that they did have other offers.<br /><br />The neighborhood was brand-new and this house was the last house left to be sold. The price was great and it seemed too good to be true. The house had granite, stainless steel, 5 bedrooms (bigger than most any house we'd seen) and it was a great layout. I was a little disappointed because it was a more open floor plan than I prefer but it did have a lot of great stuff that I loved.<br /><br />We toured the house several times and always saw other people there. We were pretty beat down from all of the negotiations with our current contract and we didn't want a big hassle of going back and forth on yet another contract (and we didn't want it messing with our budget). Our spirits were pretty low and we were seriously considering just not extending our contract for another closing date and waiting until after the holidays to pick up the home search again.<br /><br />The brand-new house didn't go under contract in the next week and Mike's parents were coming in so we decided to take them along and show them both houses. As we toured them both, I made it really clear that I loved the one we were under contract with. I felt like it had so much character and I loved that it was in the same city where Mike works. Mike, on the other hand, loved the new house we had seen. I agreed that it was really great but I was also really nervous knowing that so many other people were interested in it. I was definitely interested in getting opinions from fresh eyes (Mike's parents).<br /><br />So as we toured both houses with Mike's parents, I was just sure that they would see it my way. They didn't- they were all in favor of the new house.<br /><br />I really wanted to like the new house but I was just really nervous about all the contract details again and some of the things about the house. The floor plan was a little more open on the downstairs than I would have preferred and I didn't love the color choices of the kitchen (cabinets, granite, floors) like I did with the other house. The master closet was a little small and the master bedroom was a lot smaller than the other house, too. They weren't major things but I knew we would be in the house for quite a while and I didn't want buyer's regret.<br /><br />While we were touring the contract house, though, we noticed that several things had changed. All of the furniture had been cleared out and it was clear that furniture had been strategically placed for the showings to cover large patches in the carpet. My favorite was the office. The office was a forest green color...until they moved all the furniture and paintings out and we realized that they hadn't moved anything when they painted over the original red paint. It was forest green and red patchwork walls!<br /><br />Many of the items that the seller had told us he would leave (and would be faxing over addendums to the contract to reflect it) weren't there. The fridge, desk and large storage cabinet were all gone. He said his wife had sold them all in a garage sale and he couldn't control it. We were disappointed about the condition of the house (and the additional costs the carpeting and paint would mean for us) and that the seller hadn't kept his word about leaving the extra things in the house or adding them into the contract.<br /><br />We were really torn about what to do. I was leaning more and more toward the new house and Mike was totally leaning that way. We knew there were a lot of people in and out of the new house so we had to act fast if we wanted it. And after a lot of thought, prayer and consideration, we decided to go with the new house.<br /><br />So...we canceled contract #4 and started on contract #5!Brittanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05082412330501083920noreply@blogger.com0