We made it!

Here we are in our new house with everything crazy.

Moving is never easy and things just don't go as you expect them to. We got to WA on Thursday. Alan came a few hours early and picked up our cars, then picked us up at the airport and drove around to see the area and ended up at our house. I love it....the kids love it. We then went and ate dinner and slept at our realtor's house.

The next day was the day they dropped off our stuff. It was madness. So far only a couple casualties have been found. I stayed away with the kids most of the day. We went and got their school stuff, then to Costco (of course!!). We then went home to eat with Alan. Then we got lost...literally. I did eventually find my way back, but it took us probably 1 1/2 hours to find our way. It was funny though, because when we went to dinner that night the kids wanted to go to a McDonald's with a play place. So far we hadn't seen one, and the kids began to explain to Alan that when we were lost they had seen one...so if we just got lost again we would find it!! Wouldn't be great if it truly worked that way!!

Saturday was just filled with unpacking boxes. The kids were completely bored. They had nothing to do. Joseph said that it was the most boring day EVER!! Hannah stayed in her room all day "unpacking" and "organizing" her room. Peter and Joseph helped me a couple of times unpacking boxes from the kitchen but then it got scary with paper flying everywhere and me not knowing where I was going to put things. Then a neighbor stopped by with her 4 year old son. She invited Joseph over to play for a little bit!! She could not have offered anything better!

We have been eating out or unhealthy since Friday. My body is feeling it, but what can you do when you don't have a fridge. It seems like everything that is good for you needs to be put in the fridge. We had ordered a fridge previously, but found out yesterday that it wasn't going to be delivered for another 2 weeks because it was on back order. Frustrating! We ended up finding one locally that will be delivered this Friday. Thank heavens, I never realized that you couldn't live well without a fridge.

We also just got our washer and dryer today. I am so excited about them! I have never had brand new ones. It shrinks our laundry room though. We thought we had all this room...not the case. But I would rather have a washer and dryer then more space.

The other thing that we have missed is a functioning kitchen sink. We didn't have a faucet or garbage disposal/drain pipes until this morning. Nothing like working out of one bathroom. It makes me wonder what the pioneers did. I guess I am just spoiled. But I think I will keep it that way! So we now have all of our showers installed and most of the bathroom sinks. Two of them had pedestal sinks and we decided that we wanted to have cabinets instead but we haven't picked them out yet. Alan also decided that he would install our toilets instead of paying a plumber to do it. It's easy enough....he has replaced every toilet we have ever owned except one....which was brand new.

I had a great picture shot that I thought I would get in the morning when there was more light....but the kids had it all cleaned up to surprise me by 7:30 in the morning. Sweet kids! I had filled...not just covered the ground...but FILLED my formal living room (which is empty) with 5 boxes and paper from those 5 boxes. It was amazing how much paper they used to wrap all of my china. I couldn't believe it. But my darling kids got those giant black leaf bags and filled those up until all the paper was gone. It would have been a perfect picture!!

All and all we are doing well and enjoying our new house and the area. It is beautiful and so far the weather has been perfect!!

Almost There!

On Monday, June 29 about 8:30 p.m. we got a call from our real estate agent. "They picked you! Even though you weren't the best offer, they picked you!"

We bought an airline ticket, and the next morning at 5:30 a.m. a friend picked me (Alan) up for a 7 a.m. flight. I spent Tuesday looking at the house (as well as other houses...we definitely got a GREAT deal), and then flew back home on Wednesday morning.

And...it has 3 skylights we didn't know about! Rebecca's perfect dream home!

One thing Rebecca hasn't mentioned in any previous blog is that for the last 13 years of marriage she has been talking about how her dream home would have the garage on the side of the house instead of the front...

...done madam! Anything for you!!!

Now we just need to make sure the financing goes through (very tricky on a foreclosure with a job offer but no income and a rental unit-Laurel house-across the country) and get the owners (the bank) to respond...

Hooray!

A cool view from upstairs.

Privacy

I'm going private.....Email me.

Updates

Well today is the day. It has been really weird...I haven’t felt an ounce of anxiety over this house that I have never seen. Yes, we have wanted to hear back, yes, we have been just giddy about it, but it has just been a calm and peaceful feeling.

Our realtor called with an update……They have not decided yet. She asked what she should tell her clients......"Hang in there, you are definitely one of the stronger candidates."

I hate to get my hopes up too high but it’s a little late for that. I know that if it is meant to be, it will be our home. Up to this point I feel like we have been led to it. It seems like a puzzle and all the pieces have fallen together just beautifully. I am still not worried...one more thing to lower my stress levels!!

Will I be sad and disappointed if we don’t get it? You bet I will be! In fact Alan said to me today, “I look at other houses and they just don’t compare.” And it’s true. When you look at what you deem to be close to perfect, it’s hard to look at something and not compare.

I know the right house for us is in Bothell we just have to find it! Hopefully we already have!!

What have we done??!!

Alan and I have done the craziest thing that we have ever done and we both feel good about it. Maybe that’s the crazy part.

Alan and I were talking Monday night after tucking the kids into bed. There is never a lack of conversation lately with so many decisions to make. Alan had email open and the subject of looking for a house in WA came up. He clicked on a link that brought up a home our real estate agent had sent us on our virtual house hunt. I told him that I loved the house and the way that it looked but that there is just not enough of a backyard to even own a lawn mower! He continued to scroll down and we saw a list of houses for sale in close proximity. I saw one that I hadn’t seen before, and it was in our price range. I had him click on it.

That was the end. From the moment we saw it we knew this was our house. We read all the stats, looked at all the pictures, and we were sold. We immediately called our realtor. After telling her that we found our house, she said that she had emailed it to us. But somehow it never came, we had never seen it before. She called the agent for the house and found out that he was gathering all the offers tonight and presenting them to the bank at 10 a.m. the next morning. So far there were 5 other offers, so ours would make 6. The bank wants to close quickly and said that they would take the best offer. We sent her over to look at the house and to take pictures. We got an audio tour as she and her husband were describing it over the phone. We decided to put our bid in with the others. Both Alan and I were sold on this house, and we felt like there was a divine guidance involved. We both felt really good about this decision. We stayed up until 5:00a.m. filling out paperwork and writing up the offer.

The best thing about this house is that it meets all of our "needs," and all of our "gee, that would be nice," and even most of our "WOW, that would be great" characteristics. In fact, the only thing it doesn’t have is skylights. And heck, I can live without skylights, especially in this house! Another thing we really like about this house is that both the Elementary School and Jr. High School is 2 houses away. I will have my kids within arms reach for another 5 years (for Hannah) to 10 years (for Joseph, Eden, Miriam)!! That makes me very happy!

The next morning we still felt good about our decision. We are suppose to hear by Friday whether or not we got it.

Last day of School

This was a hard day. As Hannah put it, “I already don’t like the last day of school...but moving makes it worse.” It was a very mixed emotions day. The last day of 4th, 1st, and Pre-K. But also the last day at Bond Mill Elementary. I went in to take pictures of the kids with their friends and teachers.

Joseph has loved school this year, especially his teachers and friends! Joseph decided he wanted to go home with me. So I told him that after I went to Hannah's and Peter’s classes I would come back for him. He gave Mrs. Scepura a great big hug and said good bye. As we walked out hand in hand he was kind of quiet. I asked him if he was sad. He said, "Yeah, kind of." "Do you want to give your teacher one last hug?" He just shook his head yes. I watched as he ran back in and threw his little arms around her legs. Of course I was trying to wipe away the tears as quickly as they came so he wouldn’t be embarrassed.

Peter is such a quiet child who doesn’t share many emotions. He didn’t really want a picture of anyone except his 1st grade teacher, Mrs. Moran, and Matthew, his best friend. Unfortunately Matthew had already left. But we did get a picture of him with Mrs. Hunter, his old Kindergarten teacher. He had a huge crush on her last year and I think it has remained this year. He loves her! She was sad that he was leaving because she wanted him to be in her 2nd grade class next year! I would of loved that and so would have Peter!

Hannah was hard. She wanted a picture of everyone!! I don’t blame her in the least bit. She has had the same little group of friends for 5 years. What a great group of girls, I have been so grateful for them, for making Hannah feel loved and included. I am sure it has only increased the talking problems that she has had throughout her school career but I wouldn’t trade it.
Hannah wanted to ride the bus home one last time. When she got home she was sobbing, and just cried for a long time telling me that she just can’t hold the tears in any more. It broke my heart in two. I remember moving from Washington to Utah as a kid about her age feeling the same way. It’s ironic that we are now moving to Washington with my daughter feeling the same way that I did. My hope is that because of modern technology she will be able to keep in touch with the friends that she has made in Maryland a lot easier than I could when I moved. One thing that I didn’t think about was how upset her friends would be. I knew Hannah would be sad but it didn’t hit me about her friends until I talked to a mom who said that they would be planning her daughter's birthday party around Hannah so she could come one last time. Or when Hannah got a special invitation to a going away BBQ where she would be the guest of honor. Both of these mom’s said that their girls came home from school crying and upset that Hannah was moving. It breaks my heart that they have to feel the sting as well...that it is not just us. The unfortunate thing is that this is just the beginning. So many goodbyes. So many tears. So much heartache when it comes to leaving a place and people you love.

Happy BIRTHDAY!!

HAPPY 7th BIRTHDAY PETER!!!
I sure love you! What a wonderful little, I mean BIG, boy you are! I worry that it won’t be too long until you are looking down at me. What happened to my little Peter? At least you are still as sweet as you have always been.

For Peter’s Birthday this year we started the day right: with donuts and chocolate milk!! We decided that since his cousins on the Boss side were here we would have a cousin Star Wars party! After breakfast all the kids became Padawan Learners. We learned how to use our light sabers. Then we got to try it out on Darth Vader. It was awesome! David, Alan’s younger brother, dressed up as Vader and the kids all attacked him!! Fun times. We then played a game and opened presents. We waited to have more sugar (cake and ice cream) until after lunch! It was a lot of fun. Peter loved it!

Boss Family Reunion 2009

This week we had the Boss Family Reunion here in DC. We rented a very large house in Silver Spring (only 15 minutes from our house) that we fit 21 people in comfortably. We tried to only do one outing per day so that kids could still possibly take naps or run around and play with their cousins.

On Thursday, June 11th we went to Great Falls, VA after an unintentional tour of downtown DC! We had a picnic lunch and then walked around a bit.

That evening some of the group went to the Baltimore Orioles game...it was against the Seattle Mariners...who to cheer for??On Friday we had a devotional and talked about the Book of Revelations. Then that afternoon we had two brave college girls from our ward (Jen Lougee and Marissa Neilsen...thanks gals!) come and watch the 11 children ranging from age 9 to 3 months, with all but 2 of them under the age of 5. They did quite well considering we were a lot longer than we expected to be. We went to the Washington DC Temple, and then out to dinner at Sukura’s. It was fun to be able to sit down as adults and talk and enjoy one another without kids constantly need something. Saturday we went up to Baltimore to Fort McHenry (this is one of my favorite pictures from the reunion) and then walked around the Inner Harbor for a bit and had dinner. Sunday we went to church and then took the day off!!

Monday most of the family took a trolley tour around DC. I happily stayed at home and watched the three youngest (two of the three being my own).

Tuesday we split up. Some stayed home and played with the kids while others went to the National Cryptologic Museum. Those that went really enjoyed it!! That afternoon we had a relaxed photo shoot for the whole group!

I love this last one....the only one missing is Eden, she was being a little turkey!! We will have to find another one for Alan's office.

Tuesday evening we had a FHE where grandma and grandpa got to tell stories from their past and we got to sing and enjoy everyone’s company. Wednesday we had Peter’s Birthday Party (Happy Birthday PETER!!), packed up and bid each other good bye. What a fabulous time we had!!

Miriam's getting....

...older and wiser!

She is now 3 months old. I can't believe it, but at the same time so much has happened in our lives since she was born. About a week ago she started sleeping through the night! (Always a plus.) She seems to become more and more content as the world opens up to her. She is full of smiles and little happy sounds. She loves her brothers and sisters and enjoys getting their attention. Miriam has continued to be Eden's baby! Eden is always concerned about or wants to be with Miriam.Miriam is always looking at her Daddy when he is close. The other day Alan got her to laugh when he was tickling her. It was so cute! What a precious little girl!

This week we also got to meet our Aunt Erin, who she was named after: Miriam Erin. The picture couldn't be more perfect!!

Quote of the day

This is how I feel as we are trying to get this house ready to sell or rent and move.

You don't get anything clean

without getting something else dirty.

- Cecil Baxter

Blonde Moment

Today Joseph and Peter went to a birthday party at a park near our home. We had brought our wagon for one of the games. When we left I set my keys down so that I could put the wagon in the trunk. After I shut the trunk and got into the car with the boys, I realized that my keys were inside the trunk.

I humbly walked back to the party and asked if someone could give me a ride home to get another key.

While walking to a friend's car, he mentioned that in some cars it is possible to get into the trunk through the back seat. I thought, "Of course! Why didn't I think of that?!?" We opened the secret compartment in the back seat and I had Peter digging around in the trunk to try to find my keys. Peter, of course, came out the hero with the keys. Then my friend asked, "Don't you have a lever inside the car to open the trunk?"

I just started to laugh as I turned very red and couldn't believe what I had just done. I have only been driving that car for 9 years!! I have never done anything that blonde before.

It reminded me of the Blonde Star commercial. The last part is cut off. It says, "BlondeStar. Always on. 'Cause you're always Blonde."

We're moving....

to the Seattle area, Bothell to be exact. Alan got an excellent offer at the University of Washington Bothell. He will be teaching and doing research. Out of everywhere that Alan applied to we could not be more happy with the end result. We wanted somewhere were we could live close to campus to cut out a long commute. We wanted to live in a destination, more visitors that way. (You are all welcome to come stay with us!!) We wanted to be close to a Temple so that we could attend regularly. We have been spoiled here and will continue to be there! We wanted a place where we could raise our family and create many fun memories. I lived south of Seattle for a while as a kid and have so many happy memories that take place there. I can't wait to share that with my kids! It was also important to live close to an airport since we don't live close to family, we have to live close to the mode of transportation to see them. Alan really liked it while he was there interviewing. He really enjoyed the area and how beautiful it is, he thought highly of the people he will be working with, and felt that he could be happy there. It's amazing how every desire that we had for the area we wanted to live was met. Even down to being close to the ocean....not that it is the type that you can go soak up some sun but it is still the ocean.

The only thing is........this will be the hardest of the 9 moves that we have made in our 12 1/2 years together. I am excited but at times I think my heart will burst because of the hurt that is associated with moving away from my home. Not that Washington couldn't be my home. But from the moment I crossed the state line, I felt that Maryland was home. And that was before I saw my house, met my neighbors, sent my oldest daughter to school, and grew to love the people here. Thanks to all of you who have made a difference in our lives. So much has happened over the last 5 years and I will be forever happy that, as my neighbor said, "that we came to Gales Street."