The Valley of the Sun

So, here's our new house! Sorry it's taken me so long to all of you who've been asking to see pictures. Of course, it's still empty so you'll have to use some imagination. We close on the 15th and all our stuff will be delivered the 18th.



The formal living room:

The dining room:
The office:

The kitchen:

The family room:The laundry room:
The loft (sorry it's a bad pic):One of the kids bedrooms:
Kids bathroom:

Master bedroom:
Master bath:
Backyard (notice the mountain view!):

I'll be sure to post more when I've decorated a little bit. Those of you who know me best know that I've already been unable to sleep most nights trying to figure out how I want to do everything!

Goodbye Red Brick House

(Title should be sung to the tune of Elton John's "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road")

So, I have big news to report. We have officially moved from Milwaukee and are in the process of moving to Phoenix, AZ!!!! Amazing, huh?!?!? Grant got a new job with PetSmart at their corporate offices in Phoenix buying dog food (yes, I'm serious). Once Grant accepted the job I had one week to move. Luckily, PetSmart paid for packers and movers, which obviously helped a lot, but there was still so many loose ends to tie up! This is why I haven't blogged in forever. Life's been very crazy. We are on vacation in Utah right now and will go to my family's house in Spokane afterwards. Grant starts his job July 28th and the kids and I will officially move to Phoenix on August 2. And we found a new house! It is SO amazing! The housing market there is one of the worst in the country, which means it's awesome for buyers, so we got quite the steal. I don't have any good pictures to post yet, but I will when we move their in August. I can't wait! I've been having a really hard time living in Milwaukee for a few years now (horribly depressing winters, far away from family, old homes, etc.) and so I could not be more excited about this new opportunity. It was really hard to say goodbye to friends, though. Our last Sunday I was a mess. And I will miss our little house. Don't get me wrong, I'm totally stoked to get a new huge home, but this house was our first home and where we started raising our little family, so it will always be special to me. Anyway, now you know what's going on in our lives!

Delicate

My stomach is in knots. The look in those big brown eyes. I can't stand for that look to be crushed. The sheer hope that lay deep within there...

My sweet girl told me that her friend said that they were going to have a playdate on Friday. She didn't ask me if she could have a playdate with her like she usually does, she told me that the friend had said it was going to happen. And that look in her eyes when she told me. It made my stomach twist with the insecurities of childhood. Did the friend really want her to come over? Or did she just casually toss the idea out and Claire clung on to it, so excited that she was being invited, accepted by this girl? Don't break my sweet girl's delicate heart. I've seen her at recess a few times, off by herself kicking rocks while all the other kids play around her. Is that just normal kindergartner behavior? Don't they all play by themselves sometimes?

Please don't hurt my baby.

How to Be

I've just realized, from a few different experiences, that I don't think of myself as a teacher to my children. I mean, generally, of course, I know I teach my children things, but when I think of my role and relationship with them I don't think of a teacher. I think of being someone who loves them and helps them, but not necessarily teaches them.  This strikes me as odd.  Isn't that an obvious role I should see myself in as a mother?  Especially when my mother was as much a teacher as she was a breather.  Shouldn't that be my obvious natural response when I find myself a mother, to be a teacher?  I guess not.  But, I definitely feel (and seem to have been prompted) that I need to be and view myself as more of a teacher for my children.  I don't necessarily think that means I need to teach them their ABCs and such, although that's part of it, but I need to teach them how to be, be a good person, be a kind person, be a smart person, be a righteous person.  Food for thought...

Zoo Walk

Claire's school had their EFW Walk/Run at the zoo a few weekends ago. Despite her athletic attire, Claire doesn't like to run and chose to walk, which was fine with me, of course. (I was telling my friend Shannon once that Claire doesn't like to hang out with a certain group of girls during recess because she says they run too much, to which Shannon replied, "Sounds like her mother!") So, we walked through the zoo, which was confusing to Cole. He kept asking us why we couldn't stop to see the animals. Claire had a sucker and was utterly devastated when she dropped it and it broke. In fact, that's about all we heard about for the rest of the walk. When we finished the walk, we rode the carousel to the absolute delight of the kids. They always ask to ride it and we never do, this was the first time. It definitely is a rip off, though. I think you pay around $2 per kid and I swear the ride only lasted like 2 minutes. Anyway, then we saw a few animals and went home. Ava LOVED the fish and I had a hard time getting her back in the stroller when we were done seeing them.









Grant kept making fun of me because we were at a "run" and I was wearing what he called heels. I wasn't planning on running, so why did I need running shoes on? Actually, the only real athletic shoes I have are from my senior year in high school. I've always hated wearing athletic shoes unless I'm working out and when do I do that? :)

I Dated David Cook

Ok, so he wasn't the same David Cook that just won American Idol, but I can still claim it since he had the same name, right?

Just had to say I'm excited that David Cook won. I felt bad for David Archuleta and thought he'd win cuz he did so awesome Tuesday night, but I've been a David Cook fan from the beginning and thought he had the most overall talent. So, way to go David Cook!!!!!

Reflection

I have not, up to this point, done many reflective entries on my blog. Aside from the birthday ones in which I've said what I love about the birthday person, I've mostly deemed my blog a photo album with explanations of the pictures. But, in reading many other blogs by people who do use them to record their more reflective and personal feelings, I've decided that I'd like to take a gander at this idea. I'm not promising much. Usually I'm lucky to have even blogged at all. But, I'd like to try.

I have really been feeling the need to be a better mother. I know this is a common theme for mothers and I've felt it before, but lately it's been pretty painful. Maybe it's because my kids have been out of town at my parents' house for almost a week and I'm missing them so much it hurts, but I want to them to know how much I love them. I want to enjoy them, to have fun with them, to hold on to the few years that I have with them while they are young. I want to savor their innocence, their energy, their all-forgiving love. I want to see their world, have them change my perception, learn from them. I don't think I've done a good job of this. I haven't been a bad mom, I know that. Overall, I think I've been a good mom. But, I want to be better. Maybe better is the wrong word. I want to be a different mom than I've been. I want to enjoy my kids. Not survive them, but enjoy them.

President Hinckley said the following in November 2000 General Conference: "Teach your children when they are very young and small and never quit.  As long as they are in your home, let them be your primary interest....Do not trade your birthright as a mother for some bauble of passing value.  Let your interest be in your home.  The baby you hold in your arms will grow as the sunrise and the sunset of the rushing days....You have nothing in this world more precious than your children.  When you grow old, when your hair turns white and your body grows weary, when you are prone to sit in a rocker and meditate on the things of your life, nothing will be so important as the question of how your children have turned out."

My Granty

(Grant's home-taught a family in our ward for over three years and their girl-Elena Coons-calls Grant "my Granty." I think it's absolutely adorable and since my kids can't really call him that I have adopted it as my pet name for him.)

Grant's 30th birthday was May 2nd. We had a birthday bash at our house with some Kohl's friends. Grant's big present was a gas grill, so we had a grilling party. The only problem was it was cold and raining that day (of course). I'd been praying that it wouldn't rain, despite what the forecast predicted, mostly because I'd bought some great decorations for outside. The weather forecasters never know what they're talking about, right? Wrong. I finally gave up on my vision of balloons and chinese lanterns hanging from the tree in our backyard and begrudgingly hung them up instead throughout the house. It didn't look NEARLY as good as it would've outside. Oh, well. We still used the grill, but everyone gathered and ate inside. And it was really fun, even if it didn't look as good.

Now for all the things I love about Grant.

I love how kind and thoughtful and considerate of everyone Grant is. I've never known of a single person who did not like Grant. He's so easy and fun to be around and he makes people feel at ease. I love his honesty and that he is a hard worker. I love that he cannot be mean to anyone. I don't know that I've ever heard him say a mean thing about someone, even in our private conversations. I love that he will do almost anything for someone who needs his help. I love how goofy and silly he is and how much he loves to make people laugh. I love how simple he keeps things. I tend to analyze and complicate life way too much, and Grant always brings me back to what matters. I love how amazing he is with kids. And I really mean amazing. Anyone who has ever seen him in a ward nursery with 8-10 kids gathered around him as he makes animal sounds can attest to this. This obviously makes him a fabulous father, which is one of the things I love most about him. He is definitely the "fun parent" and is always coming up with fun games for the kids. He builds forts, wrestles, makes space models, rides bikes, throws balls, plays animals, and does basically anything the kids or he can come up with. I love it when he dances for the kids - the goofier the dance the better. The kids will laugh and laugh and usually end up joining in with him. I love how much Grant loves our children. He will drop almost anything he's doing if one of them wants him to play or read a book or get them a drink. I love how much he worries about them and wants them to be happy. I love that he always asks them about their day and wants to know what they did, saw, read, felt. I am always in awe at how patient he is with them. I will be at my wits end and Grant will be able to remain calm and loving. I very literally cannot imagine a better father for my children. I also love how much Grant loves me. I love when he brings me flowers or tries to cheer me up with his goofy smile or holds me when I'm sad. I love how much he wants me to be happy. I love the times that I've seen tears in his eyes. And, most of all, I love his goodness. That is why I fell in love with him. He is good to the core.

I love you, Grant. Thank you for being such a wonderful person and husband. Happy Birthday!

(By the way, the pictures are not in the order I'd like. For some reason, my computer won't let me change this. So, enjoy this first picture of Grant. What a great face!)

Wilson

No, not the volleyball in Cast Away, but my sister's new puppy. He's so cute he doesn't look real. Here they are:

Go Speed Racer, Go!

93 words

Speed test