There's No Place Like Home......

TODAY IS THE DAY!!!!!

What day?? September 20....the date I have been counting down for 2 whole months!!! We put a contract on this house July 20 & after much impatience on my part, we finally OWN IT!!! This morning we met with all those business people to sign the papers & they handed over the keys to us....what a great feeling!!

During that 2 months I made a paper chain & ceremoniously tore a link off every day until there was only ONE LINK LEFT - SEPTEMBER 20.

I had taken about 30 photos of the house & have been staring at photos every night, dreaming of each room for 2 whole months. I have spent hours wandering the aisles of Hobby Lobby, Marshalls & Pier 1 Imports,  imagining all the great decorations I could put in my home. I have made list after list of all the things I want to do to give the house my own touch.... plant trees in the back yard, build a clubhouse & sandbox for the kids, a big sectional couch in the family room, paint every room a different color, a big wreath on the front door, etc, etc.... 

So, I'm off to work making it all happen!!! If you need me, you know where to find me.....HOME!!!
 (but possibly Lowes or Home Depot too =)

Pulling out the "for sale" sign

I Blame Gender...

As I watch friends with their perfectly behaved little girls, I sometimes wonder "what am I doing wrong that makes my boys so wild?" I read a great article online today that made me feel better. Maybe I'm not doing anything wrong (yeah right), maybe it's just a gender thing.

And so I justify my boys' wild behavior.......


"Boys are also more physically aggressive and impulsive, as revealed by studies of their brains. The pleasure center of the brain actually lights up more for boys when they take risks. That's not to say that girls aren't active and risk-taking, only that on average boys are more so." (www.babycenter.com)

Up to no good....

You may ask what and where we've been for the past month since I haven't blogged the whole time....???  This summer has been the summer of traveling! Since going to SeaWorld in July we have also been to Oklahoma (twice) to visit Jason while he was working. We later DROVE the 23 hours to Utah where we visited friends, drove up to Bear Lake, Idaho for a family reunion, then Jackson Hole, Wyoming & Yellowstone Park. Last week we spent visiting with my sister's family in El Paso, Texas. Unfortunately summer is over and so is my leave of absence from work. I started working again & just finished my first week back. It's tough to go back to work at a new store & not know anyone. I miss my friends in Orem. This hasn't been my favorite week of work, but I'm trying to keep positive because I work full time to provide health insurance for my family. BTW, anyone have a great part-time job with health insurance that you can recommend to me??

Josiah enjoying his cousin's barbie car & helmet (which he wore on his head for HOURS every day!)

The boys are getting bigger, smarter and crazier every day. They are becoming more independent & opinionated every day.  I feel like I'm entering a tough age right now..I hate to call it the "terrible twos" because they're so cute, but more like the "do it myself, climb on furniture, i don't share, i'll hit you if i don't like it, cry/whine about everything" twos. Most days I just referee fights non-stop.  I just have to ask...did anyone else feel this way about their toddlers??

Josiah all dressed up as a cowboy with his holster, guns, hat & backpack (naked, of course)

 

Arlo's "I'm so cute" smile =)

 Between all their craziness, they are just the cutest and funniest little guys ever. They keep my laughing all the time (sometimes I have to laugh in the closet because if they see me laugh, it'll encourage their crazy behavior!!)  Josiah's new past time is undressing himself & changing back into his PJs. The other option is to just be naked all the time - Arlo loves that idea too! Arlo is turning out to be quite the comedian - he'll do anything for a laugh!! (then do it again, and again, and again!!)

After we went swimming in the lake, the boys took off before we could finish changing them!