House of Horrors

On the outside looks can be deceiving:

I might be a bit dramamtic with the "horror", but that maroon wall and sunflower yellow kitchen IS pretty scary no? Other than those 2 colors, the tan wall in the family room the rest of the house was a blah sort of off-white. If you know me, (which you should if you are reading) I likey some color, so almost the whole house got painted.

So here is our new house, PRE paiting mind you. I will put up the after pictures one day if I can ever finish things and manage to keep the dang thing clean for more than an hour!

I know you covet that border!

First Day of School Fools

just like 3 weeks late. They both like their teachers and things are going pretty good for them at school.

For me: It's been a long, hard month. That's what she said. Seriously though. We got "approval" from both banks on August 18th... then for the next 2 weeks the retardo banks went back and forth because they had different numbers. They finally agreed (after we came up 5 thousand... then another $1100). REally, they wanted another measly $1100 dollars. At that point we were like totally saying "just whatever man, we want the house". Okay, maybe not like that. We don't smoke pot. Then these past 2 weeks the agent has promised almost everyday "it will be tomorrow... it will be friday.... oh, it's going to be monday for sure.... no Tuesday" And every single time I would get my hopes up, just to have them crushed! Tuesday was pretty bad. I lost it. I was letting some undesirable words fly outta my mouth. Mostly about their agent. And some may or may not have started with "f". I know! I know! And then the swears were followed by lots of crying. It was been 5 months. 5 months of being basement dwellers with no life. It's not at glamorous as it sounds. We've looked at almost 50 houses along the way. Put in 4 different offers. This was THEE house. It just was. So, we have kept waiting. And waiting. All the while the agent kept stringing us along with promises of "it's almost done, it's almost done".

Well, yesterday we got the bank approval letter from the bank and it's FINALLY a go! Appraisal was done today and we are getting the home inspection tomorrow. We should be able to close by the end of the month. I'm so ecstatic, but I keep thinking it's not really going to happen. Something will go wrong. It won't and we will be in our house in less than a month. A freakin month! And to put a cherry on top, we might be on House Hunters! That's another story, but if it happens ya'll best be tuning to HGTV to watch our acting skillz.

Pineview in August

It was only about 5 weeks ago, but it seems like a long time ago. We went with the Webbs, VanNess', Bates, Leflers, Shannons, Smiths, and Hales. It was a lot of fun and now Sean and I want jet skis! yeah, that'll happen!

She's got freckles on her BUT we love her!

Anyone remembers Mr. Summers singing this song in the Hallways of Orchard Elementary? Remember, too, how he was the teacher EVERYONE wanted? Well, I never had him as a teacher at orchard elem, but I did have him as a stake president. Complete 360! I was not fond of his "style". I was in young womens at the time and he cut Oakcrest. He said the girls had YW camp and that was all they needed. I guess the fact that the boy scouts go camping ALL the time is different. I thought it was lame. He was just SO serious. It was weird. Even more weird; He remembers everyone! Even kids that never had him as a teacher.

Daphne FINALLY lost a tooth. Sheesh. She's a slow one. Faye had already lost 4 at this point. She is, however, fast at thinking. She cracks me up.

The other day Nellie left a lego house on my bed (she and eric came to cut out a pinewood derby car with Sean's dad wood-working shtuff). Daphne was wowed by Nellie's lego skills and said "MOM, how did she get humans INSIDE the house?" what kid says humans. Why not just people.

Then a bit later Faye said "I know, she left that house as good luck so that WE will get the house"... my kids are weirdos. Though maybe I should adopt Faye's positive outlook.

Today I let Daphne know we (IF they were good) are going to Lagoon next week. She immediately said "WHAT?! We are cheating on 7 peaks!" I don't even know how or why she understands this phrase, but I laughed really loud and she was pleased with herself.

So, yes, we are still waiting... ugh. We went out last week and looked at 6 houses. People, yet again, are disgusting. 2 houses smelled like cat and dog pee... not short sales. I repeat, NOT short sales! One house felt like a double wide trailer on the inside... except i've seen NICER doublewides. The nicest house was just too big. It really was. 4200 sq ft. is just way too much for us. Plus the backyard wasn't done and it wasn't all the way fenced. The neighborhood was weird too. Every size of house. 2 houses away was a siding split entry, what? Not that I have anything against split entry's... well, yes, yes I do. They are terrible! but it was starter homes, medium-sized houses and really big houses just all mixed. It just felt weird to us.

Phoebe's 4th party

a month later... I usually let my girls invite a friend or 2 to go do "something" for their birthday. I figured it was actually cheaper just to do a little party, and if you know me, I always prefer the cheap route. Plus, I saw these cute ideas and wanted to use them. They made Pascal party blowers, played pin the frying pan on Flynn and they got glitter nails. Fancy, fancy. Rapunzel=Phoebe, Ariel= Madyson, Fairy= Gwen and Aurora= Chloe.

Pretty, pretty princesses huh?

Burning down the house!

Or should I say field.... we started a fire with fireworks last saturday night. Yep, we are those idiots. Let me restate that I clearly said "um, that dry grass if awefully close and worries me a little"... however I didn't do must protesting as they lit them off anway. In a backyard. With dry grass surrounding the whole cement pad. AND with a field of dry grass 10 feet away. Hey, these boys did grow up in Magna ;). Nellie and Eric came over to Jon and Pat's while Heather was here to do smores and fireworks. We only did about 4 or 5 when one tipped over, shot at the kids, burned Faye's leg, Sean kicked it, it lands right in the said dry grass and started a fire. We all scrambled, got the kids outta the way and the guys ran to get hoses. It was getting bigger so I called 911. I turned into one of those people who wasn't answering the questions right! Mostly becuase I couldn't hear the guy with kids and people yelling and screaming all around. The flames got about 8 feet ghigh and burned an area about 6x6 feet. They got it out pretty quick, but those 3 or 4 minutes felt like forever! The fire dept had to come anyway just to make sure. He said we did everything right and that it's surprising how many people they see that just panic and sit there and watch the joint burn!

We also went to the Zoo last week. We loved the new dinosaur additions! Well, not PHoebe. She hated them and kept a distance of at least 25 feet when ever we came upon on. Forgot the camera.

Then that night the girls were in the Bountiful parade. I, too, got to be in it. Yay, for me.... if you had any kids under 6 they wanted you to walk along the side. It was just the stake float (the stake I didn't even know the name of), but the girls really wanted to be in the parade. They all wore signs with the names of missionaries in the stake and got to wave the flag of the country(or state) they were serving. pheebs rode in the trailer and the other 2 walked with me. Daphne was picking up candy the other paraders had dropped and was throwing it out to people. She thought it was swell. She was smiling, waving her flag and hand at everyone. Just when I think she's sort of shy, she surprises me. Again, forgot the camera... in the car. What a lame mom I am. I think it's much more fun to watch and not BE in the parade.

I am struggling. Big time. This short sell business is testing my patience. Which I already know I am short on. We have now been waiting 3 and 1/2 months! They got the approval on the first mtg 2 weeks ago and the agent says we are close on the 2nd. Bah! We even found a crazy nice HUD home just up the street, put in an offer, but were outbid :( That's when I hit bottom and bawled. I'm so bored out of my mind. I can only go to 7 Peaks and the park so many times. Without a house, I am truly lost. A house is what I do. I have really come to realize this. Not only what I do, but what I LOVE to do. Clean, cook, yardwork and my favorite is doing the decor. I always have some project or another (or several reallY) going. When it's not your house (and when they are renting themselves) it's just a whole different world. There is yard work here, it's a HUGE yard, but since Sean's dad is retired, besides his woodwork, it's all he really has to do. I can't take that from him! The ward here is nice, but no one really talks to us. And I completely understand. I'm sure they don't want to put forth any effort since they know we are moving again (someday). They did put us both in primary to help out with classes that needed a 3rd teacher for subbing and what not. It's nice to feel I have some sort of obligations. But again, i'm in with the sunbeams, which means I will need to fill my own spiritual needs. (let's be honest, that's what happens when you're in primary).

And now, here we are 3 1/2 weeks from school starting again. I really thought we'd be in a house, getting settled and ready for school. I guess our move up north went so smoothly and easy, I think everything should be that way. The move back has not been as slick, but really, I should count how good things have gone; We got a good price for our home (unheard of right now), they paid cash which saved us thousands!, and now we get this time to really find what we want. That's what I have to remind myself when I get so bored with life right now. I should be so grateful we get this time and weren't rushed into just buying whatever we could find in the short amount of time between the offer and the closing of our house. We looked too, and there was nothing we liked... that wasn't bank owned or a short sale. I'm thinking good thoughts and the girls say often in their prayers "please let the 2nd bank let us get the house"... they listen more than I know!

Let down yer hair!

Poor Amy and Phoebe. Always get fireworks for their birthdays! (family inside joke). Amy's bday is the 3rd and Phoebe's is the 5th. Just makes since to celebrate on the 4th when everyone is already together.

I made another Rapunzel cake, but this time found the whole gang to go on the cake. Phoebe was most happy to have Max and Pascal. I was most happy to have Flynn! (sorry, Eugene, as Phoebe would correct me).

Redneck Parade

What's not to love at the Magna Parade? After the rain subsided (rain on the 4th of july really!?!) then we enjoyed the show. Anyone can be in this parade. Just enter and you're in. There are like 3 floats. BUT the true entertainment factor is the people watching. Nuff said.

Orlando Magic and now this

Our Florida vacation was so much fun... as seen in pictures. The first day were were starved after just peanuts and Lorna doones, so we went to a buffet! oh yeah, buffet, baby! It was also 4:30. You know what that means? 4:30+buffet= old people! Hey, we were in Florida. It was a fajita buffet and it was gewd. Shrimp fajita, chicken, steak, pulled pork... ahhh. But the best thing ever: Buffalo shrimp! Where has these been all my life? That night we went to downtown disney and just walked around. It was fun enough, but I don't see the fun in Disney without your kids.

Day 2: The second day started out with a buffet breakfast, followed by interogations for 2 hours. We said "yes" to a tour and info about the time share where we stayed... BAD IDEA?... nah, not too bad. They gave us an awesome deal on our universal/wetNwild tickets and we already knew we weren't going to do it. They pulled out the big guns though and the "deal" for the timeshare somehow keeps going down in price the longer you say "no". After all the negotiations were done, (which there were NONE!) we were off to Universal. It was so fun. I think i'll be saying that word a LOT in this post! Highlights were: the Mummy ride with all the sweet pyrotechnics, jaws is still a classic (well, a first for me, classic for everyone else for the past 30 years), the creepy gun on the Men in Black ride that looked like a "personal massager"... , The Simpsons ride where Maggie grows like King Kong after being exposed to radiaton and sucks on you like a binky (and you even smell her baby powder), and the Rock It Coaster. That thing went on FOReVER. You got to pick your genre of music, then the artist, I went with Beastie Boys "Sabotage!"... Have I said FUN yet? That night dinner at Bubba Gumps. MMM, deelish.

Day 3: Boggy creek airboat ride... or as Marie kept calling it Soggy Bottom airboat rides... but not on purpose, she could never remember the name. There were love bugs getting busy all over the place, but once the boat started going, they were gone. We saw a whole nest of babie gators and mom was only about 15 feet from the boat! There were also some gorgeous blue herons. Our Boat tour guide kept saying "ya'll" and all sorts of redneck talk. I liked it. He also kept asking if "anyone knew what this was or that was" and Sean knew every answer and then some. He asked if Sean was after his job... for some reason Sean remembers every animal show detail he's every seen. After is was over we got to hold a baby gator. As much as they freak me out, it was actually kind of cute. Really. Just felt like a big lizard... duh, I guess it is, but the biggins I do NOT like. We then headed out to Cocoa beach. It was such a nice beach! the water so calm, clean, blue and pretty! California, your ocean sucks! It took up so long to get out to the beach and we had to be back for our Luau dinner at Sea world, sadly we were only at the beach a little over an hour. The dinner at the luau was just a'ight, but the dancing and entertainment was fantastic! (when is it not?) Marie and I went up and learned to hula and Jason went up and did some drumming. The big papa poly kept calling him "Utah"... pretty sure he's got some relatives living here. The fire dancing (see slideshow) was better than any i've seen! Plus the dancer was HOT! literally ;)

Day 4: Back to universal, but the Island of adventure side this time. SO much fun! better than the other side if you like rides and... HARRY POTTER! Butterbeer is divine! butterscotch icee with a creamy frothy topping. The attention to detail was so amazing, even down to the plants. The Harry potter and the forbidden journey ride is THE best ride i've ever been on! I'm going to be super dorky here and and say- It was magical! It really was. The dementors freaked me out and I screamed... like 3 times. But what's new, I always scream. We got the girls the Bernie Bots every Flavor beans...and vomit flavor wasn't my favorite. So gross. I will just leave all the rest of it at merry, witty, pleasant, boisterous and downright enjoyable! The hulk coaster was insane with corkscrews left and right. That night we went to the Blue Man Group. I had no idea what to expect, all I knew was they hit drums with paint on them. It was hilarious and definitely entertaining and super LOUD! Louder than some concerts i've been to. We had a late dinner at the Latin Quarter. Sean got some sauce with his dinner that was a cilantro, basil, oregano, olive oil mixture of pure heaven! We then went to the karaoke bar and it was super high tech fancy with back up singer and all that jive, BUT there was about 8 people in the whole place. We got to see the dude who was the Jaws ride person (whatever they are called) do a Killers song, and he was really good. But he was there alone. Where he works. After he was off work. Kind of sad really. Then there was a whole string of weird looking people who turned out to be really good singers. Just like the Voice... but no chubby Christina Aguilera.

Day 5: Wet N Wild waterpark! If you ever go to Orlando, go in May. We went on everything here in less than 2 hours. Just walked right up to each slide. I think my favorite was the brainwash. it's a 4 person tube ride. It's really dark and there's falshing lights. You go up and down the sides of it, all while you are INDSIDE the thing. Trippy dude. I also got a not-asked-for-colon-cleansing. FOR REAL! Went down one of those super steep slides, un-crossed my legs for a split second... BOOM, enema! There's more to the story, but it's long and kind of crappy... Once I got my leaky bum under control, we went on a few more slides and then the wave pool. Their wave pool was pretty tame and therefore pretty lame. That night dinner at Pat O'Brians new orleans style food. I had shrimp jambalaya and a muffeletta sandwich. Man, I really like food.

Day 6: gathering our wits, went to the Mermaid store, the wizard store, got gassed and headed out. Our trip was half roller coasters, half food. Go, go, go and fun, fun, fun. I'm pretty sure Jason was worn out after day 2. Vacation means different things to different people. Vacation to us is not laying about like a slob. To me, just not having to worry about kids was pure relaxation! I want to do and see everything time permits, and then some. I could have stayed another week. Oh, how I miss the 93 degree weather, the humidity and having curly hair.....

Now back to life and waiting... and waiting. I don't know how people can rent, you seriously have nothing to do. i'm going CRAZY!