It's Official!!!

It's official, we own a house!!!! I am so excited!!! Now I just have to pack up everything we own and move it. I just keep telling myself, it is the last time for many years. I am really sick of moving. I picked up the keys this morning and tried them all out and had mail in my mailbox already. It was very exciting. We had to go up to Scottsdale yesterday to the title company which remarkably only took about an hour. Our U-Haul is set for Friday and then I just have to clean this house from top to bottom and I am done! Woohoo!!!

Louisiana Allergies

I literally got off of the plane in Dallas and was fine. The minute we crossed the LA border, I started sneezing and snotting and coughing and my nose is all stuffed up...seriously! Manda has been so good to me and has let me sleep in and take naps, when I am supposed to be here to help her. I hope that Randy will let me come back. We have been having so much fun and it is so nice here. I truly thought I would die from the humidity, but it is a lot cooler than Phoenix and hasn't bothered me as much as I thought it would. I have been loving spending time with Manda and her two adorable kids! It reminds me of when we were in high school and would stay up all night talking and giggling, we just didn't have kids then. We even got in trouble during church today for talking and giggling in Young Women's. Manda is the YW President, but wasn't teaching, and for the record we were actually talking about the lesson, so.... whatever. I am excited to go to the boardwalk and shop tomorrow and go and see the gators. I love gators!! I am so excited to see them! We might have already gone shopping once, but the kids got tired and we came home. He he he... then it is home on tuesday and back to reality and responsibility. I am excited to move into our house though, I do admit! Hooray! Hopefully, we will see the Todd's at our house sooner rather than later.

Pictures for the last little while

Dress Rehearsal
How Much is that Doggie in the Window
The Cutest Little Feet
Auntie Mira and Cat

We Pledge Allegiance

So long

Okay, so it has been forever so I am going to do a couple of different posts for the different pictures that accompany things that have happened. We did go to the cemetery and put flags on graves. The girls tried to be reverent, but there were flowers to smell and touch and sometimes pick everywhere. They did a great job putting all of their flags on graves that had military listings. Then, Miranda came and visited from San Francisco for almost a week and we had so much fun loving on her and being loved by her. The girls ask for her constantly. Then a day after she left, my sister Laurie and her family came to stay overnight before continuing on their way to California. It was nice to see my nephews, they are getting so big! Then, Auntie Suzi came for Cat's ballet recital which was absolutely adorable! Catherine did such a great job! She got flowers, which I will post pictures of later, they are on my computer at home...which leads me into the fact that we are in Louisiana right now visiting my sister-in-law, Amanda, and her two adorable kids. Kate and Cat are having so much fun playing! Luke has been a little bit sick and I have been too. Sarah is happy playing with whoever or nobody at all so that is nice. I will try to post pictures when I get home, but I only have a couple of days before we sign on our house and then plenty of packing, moving and cleaning to keep me occupied. We are well...

Memorial Day

Catherine-Memorial Day 2004, age 2

We are so thankful to all of the men and women who have served our country! Memorial Day is one of the first holidays that we have formed a family tradition for. We take those little flags and go to the cemetery and put them in veterans graves. I have the cutest picture of Catherine, who had just turned two, with her hand on her heart carrying the flag. I will put it up. We will take some pictures today and I will post them. We appreciate those in our family who have served and especially who still serve. Also, their loving wives who have to live without them for long periods of time! Manda and Angela, you are amazing women! We love you!

The New Pad

The Front

Our Realtor, Lena, in the Kitchen

Looking Upstairs from the Family Room

Looking into the Family Room from the Formal Living Room

Here are some pictures of our new house, pre-move in. We are so excited to have our very own place for the first time EVER!!!! Will post more after we move in. Hope you like...

Vote!!

I just added a poll. Please vote for Team Edward or Team Jacob.

Jam Packed!

We are so poopin excited for Auntie Mira to come this evening! We will get to go after naps and pick her up! The girls are so excited to have company and love to read the books that she has given us for their birthdays and Christmas. I am so happy to see her, I have not gotten to see her face to face since right before I found out I was having Sarah. Then, after Auntie Mira leaves on Saturday, the Ghigleri's come on Monday for a day. Then it's Cat's recital and we are off to Louisiana to visit Manda, Kate and Luke. Jam packed!!! Then we come home and close on our house and I get to move.....again. Probably the last for a couple of years. Hooray!!! If you want to see our floor plan go to www.drhorton.com and click on Phoenix, Az. Then, click on Queen Creek and a group of 4 little orange houses will be near the middle. They each have a name, click on Waverly at Pecan Creek. Then, the second page of floor plans has the Cunningham, which is ours. I am so excited that we found a house so quickly. It was a spec house, so it was already built and ready to move in. It saved us a lot of time, since our lease is up July 1st. I am excited to start painting and decorating. I finally get to paint!!!

Swimming, Drowning with Flair...whatever you want to call it!

Sarah after a full day of lessons

Cat after being dunked

Blowing Bubbles

Debbie, Sarah and Cat

As stated earlier, we started swimming lessons this week. I was very pleased with Catherine on Monday. She didn't fuss or act timid like she normally does and Tuesday was the monsoon so we didn't have lessons. Wednesday she fussed and cried and actually screamed bloody murder, not the best day we have ever had. Yesterday, went really well again. Sarah had only been making it about 5-10 minutes before she got to cold and got out, but yesterday she got back in and learned with the other kids how to fall in, turn around, kick to the wall and climb out of the pool ( she had help, we didn't let her do it by herself). Debbie really wanted them to do this so if they ever did fall in, they know how to get out, since most of them won't completely be able to swim after lessons are over. I am hopeful that Cat will be close though and by the end of the summer will be comfortable. Today, we have our makeup lesson from Tuesday, so we will see what today brings. Wish my poor girls luck, it has been pretty chilly!

Blasts from the Past

We started swimming lessons on Monday and had to take yesterday off due to a monsoon. I love monsoon season, it is one of my favorite parts of living in the desert! It is so beautiful to watch as a storm rolls across the valley and then hits. The rain is intense and the thunder is so loud! Yesterday, both Cat and Sarah got a little scared when the house shook and a huge clap of thunder roared outside. I love it. We always went outside and sat on the porch to watch the thunder and lightning when I was growing up. It was part of my Mom's summer routine. We would sit in the dark and ooh and aah over it. I loved sleeping upstairs in the summer, with the fans blowing and it still slightly light out at 10p, looking out my window until I fell asleep. Or the sound of rain on our tin roof, and the smell of the lilacs outside my window. It seems peaceful to remember, but at the time I am sure it wasn't. It is a shame that everything looks better in retrospect. I have been reading "Pride and Prejudice for like the billionth time, and watching it on our DVR (we recorded the Kiera Knightly version). I love it! It appeals to my sappy romantic nature I suppose. I love the soundtrack too and am going to get it. I have the song Dawn on my playlist, check it out. Also, a friend of mine had some CD's that are a playlist that Stephenie Meyers made for herself when she was writing each of her books in the Twilight series. I love them and borrowed them to make myself a DVD. I am loving listening to the lyrics and thinking about all the books and the characters and the relationships and how really good songs perhaps played a part in her writing what she did. It also is a really great way to pass the time when you are cleaning your floors. I would love for anyone to leave a book list or a song list for me to read and listen to.