I know my first post on my blog after moving into our house should be all happy and full of joy, but my heart is quite sad at the moment.
Mostly for my little girl.
Tonight was Jordan's first Activity Days night with our new ward. When I told her she was going, her first question was if it was with "her" activity days. I told her it was with the new ward to which she replied "I don't want to go."
Of course we went, and when we walked in, it was quiet and all the girls just looked at her. I said "Hi, this is Jordan" and the leader just looked at me a bit confused. Well, I didn't find out until the end that she was the Mt. Vernon ward's leader.
I talked to a couple moms before they were done and met more sisters in the ward, so that was nice. When I got Jordan, she seemed to be talking to other girls, but then in the car, she told me she never wanted to go back and that she wanted to go to her old one.
I felt so sad.
Reality set in.
We aren't in Franconia Ward anymore. Even after going to church on Sunday, tonight in the car it just seemed to hit me like a ton of bricks, and I totally started crying. Jordan was crying, too. I'm crying right now. Pathetic, I know.
I felt so sad for her. I felt so sad for myself. I miss my friends, too.
It was the first time I wondered if I was selfish by (in my usual dramatic way) ripping my kids from the only thing they have ever known. The only ward they have ever gone to. The good thing is that the boys have TONS of boys in both of their classes, so they should be great. Jordan has 1 little girl in her class, and she isn't 8 yet, so she wasn't at activity days tonight. We need to have her over so Jordan can get to know her.
I know I'm probably being over dramatic, since it's been only 2 weeks, but I really love Franconia ward and miss it soo much already. I know we're in the same stake, but I feel so far away from so many people I love so much. It was pretty comforting knowing there was always someone I could call on within 5-10 minutes away if I needed something. We were there for 9 years and were pretty attached. It is really hard starting over again in a new ward. Gives me more respect for the military people I am friends with who have to do this every few years!!
So, I'm sad at the moment. I can't fall asleep, so I figured I would do a post about it to may be feel better. When I'm over it, and can move on, I'll do a post about the many, many, many awesome things I love about out new house!!!
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
The newest memeber!
Jordan is the newest member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in our family!
Jordan's baptism was this past Saturday. We were so excited for her. She has been preparing for a while and was super excited. She was able to get baptised the same day as her best friend Lizzie and her friend Ryan who is in her primary class. The other night we went to the church to get her baptism outfit. Friday night she and daddy practiced how she would be baptised. Daddy was nervous he wouldn't remember the prayer since he hasn't baptised anyone since his mission, and he could remember the prayer in Spanish clear as a bell.
We were excited to have the baptism at our chapel and not have to drive to Mt. Vernon. We were also super excited that Auntie Marion and Auntie Karin came for the special day. They arrived on Saturday and were with me when I picked the kids up. They had Ella the dog as well, so the kids were excited.
So Saturday came and we were running a bit late, but everyone got changed in time for the program to start. We took a few pictures before hand as well. I was a bit worried that there might be drama when Jordan saw Lizzie in her dress, because she cried when I told her Lizzie was wearing a dress, but she did very well. I think the excitement helped her. Plus the fact that the church provides little white "leotard" thing to wear under the jumpsuit. She loved that and asked for one for herself.
Jordan and daddy, as well as the other 4 kids and daddies were so brave-the hot water heater to the font was not functioning, so the water was freezing cold. I felt so bad for them all. But, I was super impressed with Jordan-she just walked right down into the water!!!! Darin said the prayer and baptised her perfectly. She did make a big gasp when she came out of the water-like when the pool is too cold. Then the sweet thing stood there freezing in her towel so she could watch her friends be baptised as well. Lizzie's feet came out of the water, so she had to be done twice, and Jonaton missed a word in the prayer and had to do Ryan twice as well. The witnesses were Bishop Stowers and Ken Cazier.
A few shots from the day
Jordan and daddy
Ahh, that face. How I love that face.
| Jordan and one proud mama! |  | |
Jordan and Lizzie with their best friend Karly Vallejo. She has been friends with the girls since kindergarten, and we were so excited that she came to see the girls get baptised. She is a great friend and we love her family!!
Our family after the baptism. The boys did start the day with ties...
And our family with Aunties. And of course, Ella. She spent the time in the car, so was happy to be out.
We did more pictures when we got home.
Kisses for the big girl!!
And one more of my sweet little girl.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Preschool Picassas-weeks 1 and 2
I have been teaching classes at the local Rec center and this session I was
able to add a new class to my list: Preschool Picassos.
It is an art class, this time for 2-3 year olds. I have taken this class with Jordan and Spencer, so was excited to be able to teach it.
I decided to try to find a book to read each week to base my project on.
Here is my first choice.
We did lots of painting and talking about colors. I have a good group of parents and kids, 8 total, and they all seemed to really enjoy it.
Week 2 The Rainbow Fish
I love this book and thought it would be awesome to teach about sharing and to do a cute project.
Landon helping me make my example to show the class.
And my finished product. A bit childlike, but then again, I am teaching toddlers:) The class went well and the kiddos loved working on it.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
tires and fairies
Arggg.....I love this new way to get pictures on my blog-it's so fast, but I hate the way you do the text. So forgive the big spaces and annoying layout.
Today's family outing was a total and complete rip off from a friend's blog. Well, I asked if we could copy, and she didn't mind. So thanks Sarah, for the awesome idea!
The pics are in opposite order of the day, but I'm not in the mood to fix them. So here we are at the second stop for the day. Ann Marie Sculpture Garden. (and I'm too lazy to put in the link as well-just google it and you'll find it:) I had wanted to go a couple weeks earlier, but things got in the way, so we finally made it. Problem was, there was a HUGE art festival going on, so it was packed. Plus it was rainy. Darin wasn't too thrilled, and even after I said we could leave, he said no. We hadn't driven over an hour to go home.
So it had a display of fairy houses I wanted Jordan to see. The kids all really loved it. I wanted to take longer and really look, but we had scheduled a time with Steve to go look at houses and had to go back by a certain time, which I thought was an hour later than it really was. So we had to hurry.
Anyhow, the kids really had fun seeing the houses. Some of them were pretty cool-extremely ornate.
We really loved this place. I was thinking that I wished I had packed a lunch. We for sure want to go back on a day that we can spend more time. There's also a really nice hike to the beach and there's a place where you can do some fossil hunting as well.
The tire swing was pretty fun, although Darin got a bit excited pushing us and I got a bit dizzy. So fun, though.
Today's family outing was a total and complete rip off from a friend's blog. Well, I asked if we could copy, and she didn't mind. So thanks Sarah, for the awesome idea!
The pics are in opposite order of the day, but I'm not in the mood to fix them. So here we are at the second stop for the day. Ann Marie Sculpture Garden. (and I'm too lazy to put in the link as well-just google it and you'll find it:) I had wanted to go a couple weeks earlier, but things got in the way, so we finally made it. Problem was, there was a HUGE art festival going on, so it was packed. Plus it was rainy. Darin wasn't too thrilled, and even after I said we could leave, he said no. We hadn't driven over an hour to go home.
So it had a display of fairy houses I wanted Jordan to see. The kids all really loved it. I wanted to take longer and really look, but we had scheduled a time with Steve to go look at houses and had to go back by a certain time, which I thought was an hour later than it really was. So we had to hurry.
Anyhow, the kids really had fun seeing the houses. Some of them were pretty cool-extremely ornate.
Kids looking at some houses
One of Jordan's favorites
This was my favorite. The Safari fairy house
more house and a funky sculpture I liked
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Here we are at the actual first stop of the day. Calvert Cliffs State Park, in Maryland. It was about an hour and 20 minutes from our house. I thought it was a bit closer, but it wasn't too bad. I was worried it was going to rain the whole time, but it only sprinkled, then was fine. When the kids saw the park, they got out and went running. |  |
The all the play stuff was made from recycled tires. It was great. There was lots of climbing, running, and swinging. Even Darin and I got in on the action.
The tire swing was pretty fun, although Darin got a bit excited pushing us and I got a bit dizzy. So fun, though.
House update
Things are going along very well. We had the inspection of the house last Monday. It went well, generally speaking. There are a lot of little things that need to be done-like outlet covers, wires covered up, etc. The house is in great shape overall. Nothing structural to deal with. About the only major problem is the windows in the basement are not large enough to meet code for proper "egress" which means that a fireman needs to be able to get in the windows in full gear if there were a fire. Guess the kids won't be using those rooms as a bedroom for a while.
When we were there with the inspector, we inadvertently flipped a switch that had something do with the air conditioner, so it didn't work properly. The owner called and invited us to go over and she would teach us how to use the system. So after work Friday, Darin and Steve went over. The owner was super nice and explained the whole system to Darin. She said they interviewed a bunch of HVAC companies before putting the system in and that it is probably over done, but it works well.
She also filled Darin in on all the neighbors. There is one with a 1 year old, a high schooler who is a great babysitter, a family with a kindergartner and first grader, the sellers agent who lives next door has an 8 year old girl, and the one last house has kids as well. I'm super excited that there will be so many kids close. It may make me rethink my idea to keep the kids at Rose Hill to the end of the year-I may want to do it half way through. I just have to figure out how it would work with preschool and Brownies.
He said that the owners were moving sooner than they they thought-they are moving next door to the grandma. Darin told her to not get upset over the inspection report, but she said there were a lot of things they were still meaning to do to the house but were moving sooner than they expected. So hopefully they will fix everything without a problem. The appraisal was done yesterday, so I am curious to see how that goes. We also are supposed to look up the washer and dryer we want and let them know, and they will look up one they want, and they would probably meet in the middle. I don't care if we get the exact same ones I have at home now. I just want them shortly after moving in.
Do, things are looking good!! I love looking at the pictures to try to figure out where we are going to put things. We will certainly need new furniture, but we can take our time and get our things put away and thing figure out what we need.
Darin hired movers for Nov. 3rd. I collected boxes from 2 people on craigslist yesterday. I can't believe it is actually getting closer. We have a month left, and two of those weeks Darin will be in Europe. I plan to pack and get lots of stuff upstairs from the basement to save time that the movers have to be here. The less time it takes them, the less we have to pay. They are coming a day the kids are in school, so we should be in the house by the time they get home from school, then it is just putting things away, but at least they will be able to play outside while I unpack!!!
When we were there with the inspector, we inadvertently flipped a switch that had something do with the air conditioner, so it didn't work properly. The owner called and invited us to go over and she would teach us how to use the system. So after work Friday, Darin and Steve went over. The owner was super nice and explained the whole system to Darin. She said they interviewed a bunch of HVAC companies before putting the system in and that it is probably over done, but it works well.
She also filled Darin in on all the neighbors. There is one with a 1 year old, a high schooler who is a great babysitter, a family with a kindergartner and first grader, the sellers agent who lives next door has an 8 year old girl, and the one last house has kids as well. I'm super excited that there will be so many kids close. It may make me rethink my idea to keep the kids at Rose Hill to the end of the year-I may want to do it half way through. I just have to figure out how it would work with preschool and Brownies.
He said that the owners were moving sooner than they they thought-they are moving next door to the grandma. Darin told her to not get upset over the inspection report, but she said there were a lot of things they were still meaning to do to the house but were moving sooner than they expected. So hopefully they will fix everything without a problem. The appraisal was done yesterday, so I am curious to see how that goes. We also are supposed to look up the washer and dryer we want and let them know, and they will look up one they want, and they would probably meet in the middle. I don't care if we get the exact same ones I have at home now. I just want them shortly after moving in.
Do, things are looking good!! I love looking at the pictures to try to figure out where we are going to put things. We will certainly need new furniture, but we can take our time and get our things put away and thing figure out what we need.
Darin hired movers for Nov. 3rd. I collected boxes from 2 people on craigslist yesterday. I can't believe it is actually getting closer. We have a month left, and two of those weeks Darin will be in Europe. I plan to pack and get lots of stuff upstairs from the basement to save time that the movers have to be here. The less time it takes them, the less we have to pay. They are coming a day the kids are in school, so we should be in the house by the time they get home from school, then it is just putting things away, but at least they will be able to play outside while I unpack!!!
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
A great day!
I just had to document a great day!!! I had a list of things to do and have accomplished most of them. It helped that Landon didn't have school, so I didn't have to leave the house. While I was getting the kids motivated to get up, I was folding clothes and put some of them away.
Landon and I took our time to get ready, eat, and get out the door. We went to the bank first. I've had a check from Ms. Laura for like a month, so figured I better get it deposited. Landon is always thrilled to go since he gets a lollipop. Next we went to Michaels. I wanted to find something for the project I'm doing with the kids tomorrow. I am going to read the book The Rainbow fish, then we are making fishies out of paper plates. I got glitter foam sheets and cut out fish fins.
Next we went to the school to have lunch with Jordan and Spencer. We stopped to get him a slushie, so he was thrilled. Everyone kept telling me that Landon looks just like Spencer. He resembles him for sure, but I can see differences. Spence was thrilled to have us there, but Landon was antsy. He kept putting his hands over his ears. I don't htink he likes a lot of noise and stimuli. He kept saying "I want to go home." HOpefully that isn't a problem for when he is in kindergarten
We then had lunch with Jordan. She is always happy to see us. I got her a chocolate milk, so she was happy. We left before her lunch was over since Landon had enough.
When we got home, I sat down to do my project for tomorrow. Landon was right at the table with me and made a few of his own fishies. I need to do stuff like that more often. I used to do way more with Jordan and Spence hwen they were littler.
Next up was to put a roast in the oven. I'm trying to go through all the food in the freezer and cook it all before our move. I don't want to have a ton of fridge and freezer stuff to move. I cooked a roast and it was pretty old, but I turned out excellent, if I do say so myself!!! I haven't made a meal that tasty in a long time, and Darin loved it. I always love it when he really loves the meals I make.
I got ahead of myself-before we actually had dinner, I took the kids to the library. The actually did really well. Landon is a bit too loud, but he didn't yell at the top of his lungs for me like he did last time-that's a whole other story. We got new books and tapes to listen to in the car. The worst part about the library trip is when I am checking the books out. It takes a while and the boys get so antsy. They go outside and want to climb on the walls. I told them not to today, so they didn't.
When Darin got home, I had to sign a billion pieces of paper for the mortgage. My hand hurt by the end, and he said it was only half the packet!!! But I was pretty excited because we got an awesome interest rate-3.625% I think. We also went over the inspection report. There are mostly little piddly things that need to be done. We aren't going to ask for all of it, we don't want to make it seem like we are asking for too much and make them not want to fix anything, so we are asking for the most important things. We are having the appraisal of the house on Saturday, so I'm very curious to see how it comes out. Our buyers did their appraisal on the townhouse the other day, so I'm interested in that one as well.
I've been working on my blog book as well, but it is a horrible program. I'm doing it on blurb and I do not like it at all. I've been told of a couple other places that I am going to try next. I have to get it done and ordered by Oct. 5th so I don't lose out on my coupon! I'm over half done, so I want to get a bunch done tonight.
Landon and I took our time to get ready, eat, and get out the door. We went to the bank first. I've had a check from Ms. Laura for like a month, so figured I better get it deposited. Landon is always thrilled to go since he gets a lollipop. Next we went to Michaels. I wanted to find something for the project I'm doing with the kids tomorrow. I am going to read the book The Rainbow fish, then we are making fishies out of paper plates. I got glitter foam sheets and cut out fish fins.
Next we went to the school to have lunch with Jordan and Spencer. We stopped to get him a slushie, so he was thrilled. Everyone kept telling me that Landon looks just like Spencer. He resembles him for sure, but I can see differences. Spence was thrilled to have us there, but Landon was antsy. He kept putting his hands over his ears. I don't htink he likes a lot of noise and stimuli. He kept saying "I want to go home." HOpefully that isn't a problem for when he is in kindergarten
We then had lunch with Jordan. She is always happy to see us. I got her a chocolate milk, so she was happy. We left before her lunch was over since Landon had enough.
When we got home, I sat down to do my project for tomorrow. Landon was right at the table with me and made a few of his own fishies. I need to do stuff like that more often. I used to do way more with Jordan and Spence hwen they were littler.
Next up was to put a roast in the oven. I'm trying to go through all the food in the freezer and cook it all before our move. I don't want to have a ton of fridge and freezer stuff to move. I cooked a roast and it was pretty old, but I turned out excellent, if I do say so myself!!! I haven't made a meal that tasty in a long time, and Darin loved it. I always love it when he really loves the meals I make.
I got ahead of myself-before we actually had dinner, I took the kids to the library. The actually did really well. Landon is a bit too loud, but he didn't yell at the top of his lungs for me like he did last time-that's a whole other story. We got new books and tapes to listen to in the car. The worst part about the library trip is when I am checking the books out. It takes a while and the boys get so antsy. They go outside and want to climb on the walls. I told them not to today, so they didn't.
When Darin got home, I had to sign a billion pieces of paper for the mortgage. My hand hurt by the end, and he said it was only half the packet!!! But I was pretty excited because we got an awesome interest rate-3.625% I think. We also went over the inspection report. There are mostly little piddly things that need to be done. We aren't going to ask for all of it, we don't want to make it seem like we are asking for too much and make them not want to fix anything, so we are asking for the most important things. We are having the appraisal of the house on Saturday, so I'm very curious to see how it comes out. Our buyers did their appraisal on the townhouse the other day, so I'm interested in that one as well.
I've been working on my blog book as well, but it is a horrible program. I'm doing it on blurb and I do not like it at all. I've been told of a couple other places that I am going to try next. I have to get it done and ordered by Oct. 5th so I don't lose out on my coupon! I'm over half done, so I want to get a bunch done tonight.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
We have a "Panda" in the house!
Landon started preschool a couple weeks ago. He goes to Lee District Rec Center Preschool. It is his second year at this preschool. We really love it and are excited for one more year.
Landon is a "Panda" with Ms. Kelly and Ms. Lori. It was hard to convince him that he wasn't
a dolphin anymore and that he didn't have Ms. Watson again. We LOVED his teacher last year, but
so far we love Ms. Kelly as well.
Smiley boy on the first day.
and the backpack shot.
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