Just Kidding! The Contract Fell Through...

After getting our prospective house inspected, we found that it was "foreclosure quality," to quote the inspector. There was a laundry list of major repairs that needed to happen, and we gave the seller the chance to fix them, but he refused. Consequently, we are WALKING. We are scot-free, and thank goodness for home inspectors!
Here's what needed to be fixed:
-The entire septic system
-The stove
-the dishwasher
-the garage roof
-half of the windows
-concrete stairs on the porch
and
-needed a sump pump installed (after they clear out the 3 inches of standing water)

We assumed the house had been taken care of and maintained. If that were the case, the price would have been good. BUT, it turned out that we would have been over paying by $30,000 or more with all the repairs that needed done.

Whew! I'm glad we can walk away freely and get our earnest money back. It's back to the drawing board!

Easter

Last weekend was an unusually sweet Easter.  Friday (Good Friday) our stake performed a very nice musical production, Saturday after a fun egg hunt at Kelli's, Paul and I went to the Temple.  I put my own name on the prayer roll because I have had a very heavy heart as of late.  Then on  Sunday, I played a musical number in church and Paul spoke on the resurection.  Being there at church, taking the sacrament, was the beginning of a lightness of my heart.  I felt so much better returning from church than when I went.   I think this was an example of God's tender mercies.  Each day since Sunday I seem to feel a little better.  This will be an Easter I will always remember.  Happy Easter everyone from a mother who loves her family very much!

We're in Contract!

I think I told most of you, but we're in contract on a house! Woo Hoo! So, in a month from now we'll have our own little piece of world where we can be as eccentric as we want.:) I don't have any pictures right now, but I'll post them as soon as I take them.
Here are the specs:
*3 Bedrooms
*7 acres
*next door to a park
*no home owner's association
*close to the freeway
*over-sized garage
*above ground pool


I'll keep you all posted about the closing day and the move!

The Zoo Goes to the Zoo...with Pictures!

Left to Right:
1. Grandpa @ the aquarium with the kiddos. Look closely, you can see the daffodils the zoo gardener gave us.

2. Ben the Bear and a warthog. He doesn't seem to trust this one.
3. Anna the Elephant at the Elephant exhibit.
4. Kylie the Alligator at the reptile house.

 Christmas in St. Louis 2010

Green eggs and ham

visiting a rest home

I was invited by Lori Puterbaugh to play a  piano prelude for a Spring Fashion show at Dorothy Love retirement village.  The fashions came from the Once Around Shop there on the campus.  The ladies were quite excited.  There was even a Red Hat group that came in from town to attend the event.  I used the music in the Primary Songbook Prelude section.  It all went very well.  I was given potted flowers for a thank you gift.  I believe I would rather perform there than live there!

The Zoo Goes to the Zoo

I dressed the kids up like zoo animals and took them to the zoo to give the animals something to look at.:) Anna was an Elephant, Ben was a Bear, and Kylie was an Alligator. It kept them warm, and, more importantly, it was just plain fun.
And to make the day even better, the animals were actually out an about and interesting to look at. Like the Cranes, Tigers, and Bats. We saw a crane nesting her eggs. She stood up at just the right time, so we got a peek at the eggs. One of the Tigers were very interested in Kylie's Alligator costume. It stopped and tried to smell her through the glass, leaving a streak of Tiger saliva. (Eek!) I never realized how piercing Tiger's eyes are! When we saw the bats they all woke up and started grooming themselves. They're kinda cute. Apparently it was bath time for a lot of the animals when we were there. The monkeys were grooming each other too.
And to top it off, we even got a bag full of daffodils from a zoo gardener who was getting rid of them.
All in all a nice trip to the zoo.

Our house!

So!.... we are so excited about our house! Our offer was accepted Monday April 4th and we signed the contract yesterday and put some money down! They say we will close in 30 days so we are getting set to start packing. We really need to Spring clean in the process! LOL

Here are the pictures and info that were posted with the listing. Yes there are 7 bedrooms! 3 upstairs and 4 downstairs. The girls get their own rooms, Jesse gets his man cave and I get my craft/sewing room! I should probably learn to sew huh?...

Front of House

Back yard, we are going to enlarge the deck and make stairs going to yard and patio

Kitchen, we will end up changing counters and appliances

Side yard-patio

Dining room with fire place - The living room is on the other side of the wall with the fireplace, you can see it from both sides! Cool!

Family Room downstairs-door leads outside to the patio

Remarks:

Very nice home in nice residential neighborhood with access to playground/park. Partially finished walk-out basement. FHA Case #521-567891. This property is eligible for FHA/203k financing. Buyer to verify all information. Property sold in "as-is" conditi

Interior Features Include:

Closet-Walk-In, Gas Log, Master Bath, Vaulted Ceilings Air Cond: Central Air Electric Heating: Forced Air, Gas Central Floor Type: Carpet, Tile Basement: (95% Finished) Full

Exterior:

Patio, Porch Open, Sliding Glass, Brick, Stucco Lot: Corner Lot, Curb & Gutter, Fenced Part, Sprinkler - Auto-Part Landscape: Part Landscaping Roof: Asphalt Shingle Patio/Deck: 1 Patio 0 Deck Garage/Parking: Attached Garage Capacity: 2

Other Features Include:

Amenities: Electric Dryer Hookup Water: Culinary Sewer: Connected, Public

Local Schools (Nebo):

Elementary: Sage Creek Jr High: Springville Jr High School: Springville

Thank goodness for conference

I really enjoyed conference this April.  I have been steeped in the news lately so conference was a breath of fresh air.  It offered hope and comfort that can't be found elsewhere.  Now we have to wait 6 more months to hear our leaders again, it seems like such a long time till then!

Congratulations Team Utah!

So I heard that Jesse got a house, and David got an investor! Good news! Way to go Team Utah!
I'm proud of you guys! It's a busy week over there.
A few members of Team Ohio, namely Drew and I, hope to join you in your successes. We just put a bid in on a house, too! If it goes through, I'll let you all know.
Good luck with everything, everyone!

Rainy Days: A Good Excuse to Clean the House.

Today was raining cats and dogs, which meant that we couldn't go walking to the park. Shucks.
But, it meant that I could use my latest motivating tactic to get the house clean. Muahahaha.
#1. Pin-point a tempting reward for an able-bodied child.
#2. Dangle said reward over their said head on the condition they do 3 chores.
#3.Do the 3 chores, and enjoy reward!
So, 6 chores and 2 movies later, the house is clean! Rainy days have their up sides:)

The War of the Pickle Jar

About four years ago, Drew bought a GIGANTIC jar of pickles. That pickle jar sat in the fridge for roughly a year, eating up precious shelf space that could be used for milk, as he slooooowly ate one pickle at a time.
The pickle war continues, and Drew has called in a recruit. Benjamin has acquired a taste for pickles under the tutelage of his father. As an act of defiance, they drank an entire jar of pickle juice in front of me. EWWWW!!!!! The weirdest part is that they liked it!
I stand by my guns in saying that milk deserves shelf space over pickles any day.

From mom, to Mom

It was after I swiped a knife out of Benjamin's hand with my toes that I realized I had become a true Mom. Before that, I was simply a mom, with no capital M.
I was sitting on the couch nursing Anna, watching Kylie color, and I noticed Benjamin had a knife. I couldn't do much since my hands were tied up with the baby, so I reached out with my foot and took the knife in between my toes and yanked it out of Ben's hands and subsequently out of reach.
All of this went unnoticed by everyone, until I thought to myself, " I just did that with my TOES!" Then I decided I was promoted from mom, to Mom.