Poor Carter

Yesterday was Carters Birthday. Poor baby!! I felt really bad for how lame his day was. I woke up early and dashed out of the house on my way to a meeting at the gym. Brady had to go to a job site, so we dropped Carter off with a friend to play for the morning and go to school with him. After my meeting I ran around trying to find something off his list and in my budget. This little boy has expensive taste. He wants a ride in car, the HUGE remote control dinosaur, and a DS. Hmmm.... So after a long search I found this....

An electronic drum set! He loves to play drums on rock band, so I thought his own set would be nice. He loves it. He can even hook his ipod to it and it plays the music so he can BEAT along with it.

He's been planning this birthday for a long time, problem was, I wasn't!! oops... Suddenly it was the 27th and Tuesday night I got home from work and Katrina and Carter were decorating with paper clip chains and home made signs. Carter excitedly told me he had invited all his friends over and had given them our number. So we compromised with plans to have Grandma and Grandpa Bush, and Corey and McKenzie over. Aunt Meg and Eliz are out of town, and Allen works nights, but we did get ahold of Ben.

Then Wednesday, Grandma was sick, and Kenzie had to work. So plan B- "how bout we go to dinner... any were you want?" He started to cry, "but Trina told me this would be the BEST birthday ever, and it's not!!" His teacher hadn't been at school, so no one had sung to him, and now he wasn't getting a party!! OUCH!! So we picked a restaurant near his best friend from Lindon and I called to arrange to have him come to dinner with us. We went to Carters favorite Mexican Place and they sang to him, made him stand on his chair, and gave him a huge ice cream!

We opened his presents there which consisted of a new outfit, hoodie, and his drum set!! he loved them. Then we came home and had his cake. By the end of the night I was regretting the purchase of the drum set but he informed me it was a GREAT birthday and "Thanks for being so good mommy!!" I guess I can put up with the banging a while longer.

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Fasting!

I know we have fasted as a family before, but today is much harder. I think because we have always had 9 am church so they are off and distracted before they realise they are hungry. But today we have afternoon church and my children are STARVING!!!!

We are fasting for Baby Abigail today. Those of you who might not know, she is my niece who is VERY sick. She is currently in ICU at Seattle's Children Hospital. (to read more http://bsymomof9.blogspot.com/ ) So I was woken this morning by Tyler saying, "I am SOOOOO hungry!" We called everyone together and had prayer to dedicate our fast and ask that the children be comforted and strong. For the last hour I have been bombarded with questions about fasting. "If we can't eat, can we drink? Can I have a slim fast?" I think was my favorite. But now they are drawing pictures and making cards for her at the kitchen table, and Tyler is writing her a song on his guitar.

I finally told them the great thing about fasting it is a personal decision. They have to decide which is more important. The hunger they are feeling or the blessings their sacrifice will bring Baby Abigail. That was when Carter said, "I love Baby Abigail more!! It's OK that I'm hungry." My heart swelled. Maybe we are teaching them something.

In the mean time, I am having a major asthma attack and can't catch my breath so I am off to take my nebulizer.

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Seriously??? We are doing this again?

I can't tell you how much I don't want to start packing again!! I need to consolidate. We have WAY TO MUCH stuff! I called the other day for prices on a dumpster, I have decided it is all going. We are selling all our large pieces that won't fit and getting rid of everything in our storage rooms.

And lets make this even more interesting. I told Brady I was going to look online for free moving boxes, his response... "No cardboard boxes! I don't want the garage full of boxes again. I will figure something else out." -um... ok? How do you even respond to this?

I took Megs and Eliz to the new house. Apparently by the pictures and driving by they had their doubts. They had the same response Mom had.... "It certainly doesn't scream Amanda and Brady live here." But they said they were surprised by the amount of space and how updated and bright it is inside. When we get moved in we are going to have a party!! I am really excited about being somewhere permanent.

Well I need to go do some laundry and clean up the house. I need to get the house cleaned up and Christmas put away if I am going to start packing.

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Sick Day

We are having a sick day. Last night on the way home from work the kids and I stopped at Costco for a couple things, and decided to just grab dinner there. Katrina a Carter opted for Pizza, Ty and I had hot dogs. I was woken at 1:30 am to Tyler calling for me from the bathroom. He had thrown up all over his room and was bent over the toilet. As I stood in the bathroom door trying to wake up I realised I wasn't feeling well either. But then , who does when they are watching that? So I got him cleaned up, got a a huge stock pot from the kitchen and tucked him in to my bed. As I was doing this I started feeling more and more nauseated. Then I realised this wasn't sympathy pains, I was sick too. So I crawled into bed next to him and tried to fall asleep. Poor Tyler was up most of the night, back and forth to the bathroom. He finally fell to sleep around 5:30am. So he's feeling better today, but very tired. He's up napping right now, and I am still really nauseous. Everyone is home, I didn't have the energy to get anyone off this morning, and Brady is out of town again. Vegas this time. So I am all on my own. Isn't this why we get married? So we don't have to deal with puke by ourselves?

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Slide show of the house

I found more pictures of the new house. This is the front. The 2 windows you see are the kitchen and dining room. Above them is the master loft, over the carport is the master bedroom.

Master bedroom... Take note. There are no flat walls to put our furniture against.

Great room and spiral stairs to master suite.

Patio at end of Carport with deck off to left that wraps around back of house.

This is a link to the Property Tour online from the MLS listing.

http://homesite.obeo.com/viewer/unbranded.aspx?tourid=484797&refURL=&locale=en-US

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We did it!!

We signed the papers yesterday on our new home in Springville. The kids are kinda excited but Tyler is struggling. He LOVES his friends here and doesn't want to start over again. We have moved them too much already, so this has to be the last time. Every time someone mentions the new house he tears up and it breaks my heart. Brady talked to him the other day about how important it is that we find somewhere we can afford, that we can stay in for a long time, and that we are really lucky we are all together. He's trying so hard to be strong. His friend Dawson means the world to him ad he can't imagine not having him around all the time. This kills me!! I am crying just thinking about it. Brady says it goes back to my own childhood when we moved so much and there was always so much uncertainty. Maybe- I don't remember having a problem with all the moving we did. It was just life.

One of my biggest worries about moving to Springville is my job at the Legacy Center. I just took on a new management position and love what I am doing. So I really don't want to quit, but I couldn't figure out the logistics of it. Then Mom pointed out I could always have Eliz babysit for me. BRILLIANT!!! She lives right next to the school, so on the days I am at the gym, they can walk to her house after school. I also think I appeased Tyler by telling him that we will work something out that once a week he can come with me to the gym and we'll have Dawson meet us there and they can play basketball together or run the track or something. He was very excited. Now I just have to call Dawson's mom and talk to her about it.

Anyway, looks like the plan is to start the move in mid February. So I guess I need to start figuring out what we are gong to do will ALL our stuff. We have filled almost every room in our 4500+ sq ft 5 car garage home. the new one is 3200+ no garage!!! Yikes. Guess it's time to rent a dumpster!!

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Our Weekend Getaway!!!

Brady surprised me this weekend with a getaway to Mesquite, Nevada. It was fabulous!! we were planning on leaving town on Friday, but just had too much to do, so instead we left on Saturday. We drove down to Mesquite, (about 4 1/2 hours south) It was a beautiful 60*!! We stayed at this great little place called Highland Estates. It's not a casino!! Which was so nice. I hate always smelling like cigarette smoke!! The room was a studio with a kitchen, living room/bedroom. And was very reasonably priced.

We had dinner at the Casablanca Buffet, prime rib, shrimp, and cooked to order fillet. Then did our token gambling. -We have a system for gambling. We each get x amount of $$'s, this time it was $20. Then you put it in a machine and turn it into change. You put all that change in one bucket, and then you get a second bucket. That bucket is for you winnings. You play from you $20 bucket and all winnings go into the other bucket. When Bucket #1 is empty, the fun is over and you leave with bucket #2. We almost always leave even or up a few bucks.

Well apparently the gaming commission is onto us. They no longer give out the money. Every thing is done electronically so there is really no easy way to track what you've won. So this time we simply played til the money was gone. Actually when we quit Brady still had $10 that he bought breakfast with.

The next morning we got up and worked out, then had breakfast at the Eureka. Then we went to the Casablanca for our spa package. Brady had made reservations for a couples massage. Casablanca has an awesome spa, and it you ever have the chance to go JUMP ON IT, but don't forget your bathing suit. What they don't tell you in the brochure, is while you are there you have full access to the mineral pool and hot tub, the relaxation room and the steam room. They have really nice robes for you to wear, a juice machine and bottled water at every turn.

The massage was fabulous!! Then we spent some time in the steam room, breathing the eucalyptus steam, then sat by the pool and soaked our feet... we didn't bring our swim suits. It was so wonderful to reconnect with each other. We are together ALL the time since Brady works from home, but this was different. It was just us. No kids, bills, clients, sisters, landlords, FBI (lol.) On our way home he promised me we would do this more often. We realised it has been 3 years since we went away together and that is just too long.

Anytime we talk about getting away it always seems so expensive and time consuming. But it turns out 36 hours and a couple hundred dollars was all we really needed!!!

***By the way, special thanks to Megan, Ben and Sandy for making this possible by watching our children and dealing the vomit at Boondocks! That was way above and beyond!! And it was fabulous to come home to a clean house with all the laundry done. I can't tell you thank you enough!!!

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We may have found our new home

We have been trying to decide where to go from here. I DON'T WANT TO MOVE AGAIN. But it appears I have no choice. So Brady and I decided we would just start looking. I have my idea of what I want- Brand new- (least newer) big great room, fun subdivision with lots of kids, large laundry room, central air, pool (I can wish), large master w/on suite bath, granite counter tops in large kitchen with center island, walk in closets, 5 bedrooms plus and office, and a craft room. Then reality sets in... uh, we are on a budget!!! I hate that word. So here is Brady list... Cheap, theater, and character. Oh, and I want to go back to Lindon so the kids don't have to change to a brand new school again. For as much as I don't want to move again...our kids REALLY don't want to move. More Ty than anyone else. He loves school and he loves his friends. He is our social one who really connects with his friends.

So we have been out looking, and as we have been looking, I told Brady we need to really figure out what we are looking for. He told me, we both know what we want, when we find the right one we will both know it. So yesterday, we went to Springville (Brady's home town) to look at 5 places. No luck- some were too small (a 10x10 family room? Who are they trying to fool?) and some where just weird. We saw a 5000 sq foot rambler... with 2 basements!!! Have you ever heard of such a thing? The main floor was about 1500 sq ft, standard small ramble with 3 bedrooms (small) 2 baths (small) and a little kitchen/great room, then you go down stairs to the family room and 3 more bedrooms, then you go down again, to the basement? unfinished with 1/4 basketball court... inside! So we decide to head home, but first stop at LaCasita for lunch.

Brady and I met in Springville, working at Bona Signs. So 13 years ago, usually on payday, so we had money... we would go to eat at LaCasita, and splurge on #11 and a mt dew. So for old times sake... it has seriously been since before Katrina was born that we have been there, we decided to stop in for lunch. I think I have become a snob. The food was just as good as I remember, but the place is really kinda yucky. (am I too old to use that word?) Anyway, back to the story, while eating I got a call from a house we had been trying to get ahold of. (also in springville) They said we could come by. We pulled up to the house and Brady says, "this is it!" It's a 1970's A-frame cabin in the trees just below Hobble Creek Canyon. I answered..."um ok" a bit hesitant. But then we walked in and were greeted by the views out the back of the house, and the trees, mountains and valley below the home. WOW!!! And I had just this feeling of peace and comfort in the house.

The house is super cute and cozy, but huge at the same time. The main floor has a brand new kitchen, dining and great room, as well as a 1/2 bath and large entry. The upstairs has a small master bedroom, with open loft and huge master bath with dual rain heads.(spiral stairs lead up from the main floor to the master retreat.)

The front driveway....

Playset:

Basement Family Room

There are 3 bedrooms in the basement with another huge bathroom, small laundry and shop. So does it have all our wish list items? Not really. There is no theater, not garage, no central air, not new, not in a subdivision, not in Lindon, only 4 bedrooms, and no office...but we both really love it. Is that strange? The house is for sale or lease so we meet with the guy today to see if we can work out something long term because I dont want to move again!! We'll keep you posted.

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The week of law enforcement.

Last week on one of our one lazy mornings of sleeping in, we were woken to a knock at the door. I answered the door in my robe to find 2 men standing on my front porch. "Hello, I am special Agent Something with the FBI, and this is Special Agent Someone Else. We would like to ask you a couple questions about your home." So I invited them in, and ran up to get dressed and wake my still sleeping husband with, "Get out of bed, the FBI is here." Turns out Special agent someone else was with the criminal investigation division of the IRS, and they are investigating our landlord, and our home is in foreclosure. After further investigation, we find out the bank takes owner ship at the end of February. So we aren't sure right now what that means for us.

This morning I am off bright and early to Traffic Court. I got a ticket back in September, got my notice of court date, and just figured if I didn't show that would just be a plead guilty and I could pay my ticket. Well apparently not, and I found out a week later that there was a warrant out for my arrest. I called to pay my fine, they said I had to appear before a judge and in the mean time post a $500 bail. To post my bail bond, I needed someone who owns their own home, lives in Utah and has been employed full time at the same place for over a year. Have you met my family? I don't know anyone like that!!!! So my dear friend Carma and her husband agreed to help me out.

So that is what Carter and I are ding this morning. Can you take kids to traffic court? It is snowing out side, and has been for about 12 hours. There is over a foot of snow in my driveway, I hope I can get out. (We don't shovel) My hubby believes it is a waste of time. This from the guy who drives a huge 4 wheel drive. I should have made him take the van today. You think if I get stuck they ll excuse me from court?

Well anyway, that's all for now.

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