Ugh

My dryer broke yesterday morning, and I'm still waiting on the apartment maintenance man to come... I don't think they realize how much laundry I do. I had to steam Cody's shirt last night for work today after it was washed. So much for saving whites to do the day the dryer breaks... Ugh!

Update on house...

Today the title company sent the paperwork to the processor who has 24 hours to send it to the underwriter, who has 72 hours to get it back to us. Phew! That was a lot to get out. Fingers crossed that all continues to go well so we can close in just over a month!

Also, the house and the garage will be painted prior to closing, and the seller will be splitting the cost of it with us... Yay, and we get to choose the colors :).

We met with the painter after Cody got home from work, gave him our color choices (pony tail, creamy white, and pumpernickel) he'll also be painting the shutters and garage door. The main color is a light brownish tan, the trim and fascia will be the creamy white, and the shutters/garage door will be dark brown. He's starting tomorrow and will be done by Saturday.

P.S.- fencing costs A LOT of $$ ...who knew?!? Guess the inside flooring will have to wait a bit, cause fencing is a priority.

Swearing In

This morning we went with Cody to work to see him get sworn in as a "Deputy Attorney" for the Yavapai County Prosecutors Office. Sheila Polk did the honors, and it was fun getting to see Cody's office, and see him get his "Badge" - Which he is SO excited about. So is Brielle... she thinks it's her new wallet, and was so sad when she had to leave without it... which usually she'll cry for Cody, but today it was for "my wallet!" (disclaimer on the horrid photos... My good camera broke, so I had to revert to the one I gave the kids... Needless to say, they aren't the best picture, but at least I captured the moment!)

Congratulations Cody, we're so EXCITED!

New House

So we're in the process of buying a home in Chino Valley, AZ... (the town just north of Prescott). It has almost 2 acres, irrigation, and horse rights. Its an older home (built in 1977), and needs a lot of updating and tlc, but we are SO excited to make it our own... plus, we couldn't pass up on the steal of a deal we're getting. We are getting it for 124,500... even in this great market, it's a great deal. Cody is getting really excited to get his hands dirty and work on the house, and the outside... I think he's super excited about irrigation (all throughout our marriage, he's talked about owning a house with irrigation rights), and I know he has plans of putting in an arena. Of course I have plans of a huge garden, and future add on plans (if we stay long enough), but for now, the 3 bed, 2 bath, plus a detached mother in law suite, will suit me just fine :) Lots of yard work is needed (pruning, taking out vines/rose bushes/etc.), but hey, I grew up doing yard work :) It will be fun to have a small humble home that will allow us monetary room to have extra fun memories/vacations with our children.

Oh, I could just post a ton of pictures of the ideas I have for this house... I am really excited that the 2 wells passed inspection with flying colors, as did the home inspection (its just old, needs updating, etc). Now we are awaiting the appraisal to go through this week, and then its off to the underwriters.

We qualified for a heck of a lot more than we are spending on this house, but I am proud of us for doing this. It will give us room to make the home just how we want it (of course, it may take a while, but hey, I've learned to be patient :)), plus we'll be able to afford horses, etc.

A lot of people think Chino is super small, and it is... it doesn't even have a Walmart... but we will only be living 15-20 minutes away from all the major stores. It's beautiful country... I've already fallen in love with the land, and how everyone is so friendly. I've only heard good things about the "Territorial Ward", and I am excited to make new friends.

We have a closing date of September 3rd, but it's a holiday, so we'll be closing on September 4th. Since our lease ends September 30th, we'll be moving in slowly, hopefully getting new flooring and painting done before we officially move in, but we'll see :) ... we might be too excited, and just move in right away.

The address is:

274 South Road 1 East

Chino Valley, AZ 86323

This is part of the backyard and the land on the south side goes all the way to the fence (which you can't really see) and the land to the north is behind the camera... that's where the garage, stables, and arena are... well, the arena isn't there yet... but will be). There are fruit trees... like 5 crab apple trees, 2 apricot trees, and some cherry trees. We'll be taking out that wooden backyard fence and extending it by putting in a privacy fence for the kids to play in. Our land also goes further west (which is to the right of the pic) Gotta love realtors pictures... never does any justice!

Softball Playoffs

Cody is part of an attorney softball league. His team made it to the playoffs. They didn't expect to win the first game (it started at 6:30), since it was against the only team who has been undefeated, but they did! And good too! {15-8}. After the first game, we took the kids to get some dinner at Jack in the Box. Then we headed back for the championship game that started at 8:30pm. That game didn't go in our favor, but we took 2nd place in the league! Go "Just Practicing"! (that's their team name... pretty clever I think). Good job on your hits, homeruns, catches and throws Cody! We had lots of fun watching you, and the huge beetle during the championship game... oh, and Hailey learned to blow a bubble from gum :) The kids loved buying their own treats from the concession stand... we had a good time! But boy oh boy, getting home nearing 10pm,... the kids were SO tired!

We are looking forward to next season! Good Job Cody!!!

First time with 2 Birthdays

Today is a special day. Two of my miracles were born...one in 2009 and one in 2011. My youngest daughter, Brielle turned 3 today. My youngest son, Weston, turned 1 today. I hope as they grow older that they will continue to love sharing a birthday... Personally, I'm freaking out a little bit. How do I pull it off so they both feel how truly special they are as individuals? Luckily I have a few ideas, and they are still so young, so they don't mind at all. In fact, Brielle is quite excited that they share birthdays. This year the theme is Mickey and Minnie Mouse.

For Brielle, I hung streamers from her door and put pink balloons all in her room so she'd wake up to fun. I decorated the living and dining area, and made a strawberry cake with vanilla frosting (she picked it out... she loves PINK). We went to the store and she picked out strawberry ice cream and the movie "Barbie in A Mermaid Tale 2".

Weston is such a balloon boy. We blew up a ton of blue balloons and he's been playing in them whenever he's not down for a nap. He was so hard to take a picture of. I think it had to do with a fresh set of a teething episode... poor little guy!

When Cody came home, we opened presents, had dinner (chicken nuggets and steak fries... one of Brielle's favs), sang to Brielle with her cake, and then to Weston with his cake. Weston had a blast just smashing his cake (well technically it was a banana creme pie... he LOVES bananas). It got all over the walls. Brielle saw how much fun he was having, so she joined in. They ended up both in the tub. Thank you to Cody for cleaning them.

Brielle was so sweet opening her presents. My camera broke, so I could only take pictures with my iPad, but I didn't capture her face with her presents. It was utter joy and excitement. My Little Ponies, Barbies, a movie (my little pony)... she had lots of fun. We opened Westons... he seemed to really enjoy his new toy cars, but didn't care too much for the outfits I picked out for him, he just threw those :) ... I love birthdays. When all was said and done, it was a success. Brielle had a blast, and Weston loved smashing his cake/pie.

Now to take a breather before I worry about how I'm going to pull off next year...

July 4th

Well, it's independence day! We had a lot of fun just hanging out with our own little family, and doing the festivities here in the Prescott/Prescott Valley Area. Lots of food, fun, and fireworks :) It rained in the morning, so we were excited when it let up and we could still see the fireworks in the evening... we went to a 4 ward party and the kids had a blast... who knew that Weston LOVES watermelon!