night winds

Living this close to the canyon, we get a very strong, very localized wind every night.
Our neighbor told us it is because of the temperature difference between the valley and the canyon.

At first, I was pretty annoyed by that.  Crazy strong winds all night long every night.

But then, a few nights ago, we sat out by our firepit (we must get some firewood!) and we watched the sunset.

At 9:30-ish, the wind started. It starts out soft.
And it smelled like the mountains.  Pines, sagebrush, crisp fresh air.
And it was heavenly.  I love that mountain smell.  When we go camping, as soon as we get up in the canyon I like to roll down the car windows and just take a deep breath.  Ahh.

We've also noticed that the nightly winds are great for cooling off our house before we go to bed,
the wind keeps away the mosquitos and most of the flies,
and it doesn't start until after 9pm and it's over by about 5 am.

Not too bad at all.  Especially since it smells like the mountains.

"flappers"

97 cents at Walmart.

Perfect for feeling extra strong while helping Mommy make dinner.

A "golf-baller" (aka golfer) drove past our backyard that night while Nicholas and I were playing catch. 
He looked at Nicholas in his "flappers" and said to me,
"Uh, I don't think he's going to drown out here."

No, he's in no danger of drowning at our house. 
But they sure are fun to wear.

father's day interview with Nicholas

"First I need to go get my ball."
"Okay."
"Where's the questions for Daddy?"
"I'm getting them ready."


"How old is Daddy?"
"2!"


"Daddy is so strong. What could he carry?
"I don't know.  Maybe 2!"


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Soccer ball landed on keyboard...


"What's Daddy's favorite color?"
"Orange on the computer.  The orange right there" (publish button)


"What's Daddy's favorite food?"
"Green."
"That's not a food, Nicholas."
"Blue."
"No, what does Daddy like to eat?"
"Oh. Bamantas."


"What is something Daddy always says?"
"Cookie Monster....Uh, What?!"  (He's actually right about these-Kent does say that to Nicholas a lot.)


"What is Daddy good at?"
"3."
"What's he good at doing?"
"Doing stuff."


"Dad's job at work?"
"Stuff at the computer.  Uh huh. He does."


"What makes Daddy laugh?"
"Hahaha!  He laughs like that."


"Daddy loves what?"
"Nicholas!"


"Why do you like Daddy so much?"
"Cause he's cute."
Me laughing.  "Good answer."
"No, it's not laughing for it.  Daddy's cute and I love him.
"Thank you for asking for Daddy on the computer.  Thank you Mommy!
"K, I'm done with you. Goodbye Mommy."


Thank you, Kent, for being the Daddy that you are.  Your way with kids was one of the first things I loved about you and it's one of the biggest reasons I fall for you over and over again.

but I have a gas stove

 I may not have my pantry organized or my kitchen decorated (or completely unpacked for that matter),
but I have a gas stove, and oh how I love it!

 We may not have a huge yard with nice shady trees,
but this is what we see while we eat dinner. and breakfast. and lunch.  and while we play outside. and sit on the couch.

We may have lived in complete chaos this week

but as of right now, there's only one thing left at the townhouse (Ellie's crib) and everything else is finally all in one place.  

Our house is starting to feel like a home.  

Although actually, this house felt like home the very first night we came over and made dinner here.  It's something like a "we belong here" kind of feeling an it's so, so nice.

LOTS of space to run around.  I'm still getting used to the fact that he can be making mischief so far away that I can't hear him and he can't hear me.  It's going to take some adjustments.

We may not have the house looking like it does in my head or on my pinterest page,
but it is our home, and we are already very happy here.

We love the extra space,
the fresh night winds that cool off the house in seconds right before we go to bed,
having our own yard---with grass so soft we play on it barefoot,
meeting our very awesome new neighbors (one goes around edging and spraying weeds in everyone's yards just because he is retired and wants to),
planning Kent's movie room,
having family over with space to spare,
the quiet, oh the quiet (no sound of cars, police sirens, yappy dogs, screaming children--just birds, soft-voices of neighbors, and the occasional chatty golfer),
and having our own home again.


Maybe in a few years I'll have the boxes unpacked and the decorations up and you can all come visit.

what good boys do

Nicholas has been so happy, so cooperative, such a joy lately.

We are loving every minute of it (and hoping the move to our new house this week won't mess him up too much).

Today, he was all about telling us "what good boys do."

Good boys:

wear their Church clothes (he usually throws a fit when I try to dress him for Church)

sit quietly during Sacrament meeting

go to Nursery class

play with friends (he's been pretty shy in Nursery so far, but today the teachers said he talked to everyone)
wait patiently when Mommy is busy

help Mom make "corn and pea soup" for dinner

dump their corn and pea soup in the sink

eat their chicken and rice and peas and corn

eat three cookies
play the piano with Mommy

stop screaming and running when Mom tells them to

get ready for bed when it's getting dark outside

and tonight, after Nicholas said his bedtime prayer (he's finally coming out of his recent "no pray!" phase) Kent told him that it was an excellent prayer.  

We said "goodnight" and then as we left the room Nicholas whispered happily

"Good boys say excellent prayers."

Thanks for being a good boy today Nicholas!

we bought a house

Yesterday we bought a house.  

Today it was finalized.  It's ours!   

When we first started looking (waaay back in December), it was going to cost the same to build or to buy. So we thought,

of course let's build.

But as the months went on and the offers fell through again and again,

prices rose, and

it ended up being more expensive to build.  So we started from the beginning and

looked at existing homes.

 This house is in the same area as one of our favorite lots that we wanted, it has an excellent (rated 9 out of 10) school for the kids, and it's a gorgeous neighborhood with friendly people.

And the moment I saw the view this house has, I was sold.

And then I saw that it already has a gas range in the kitchen.  (If you've ever used one you know why that is so awesome.)

And so we went that afternoon and put in an offer.

And today, a month later,

the house is officially our own home, and we're going to move over there for good a week from Saturday.

Now, prepare yourself for the barrage of pictures.

Us yesterday after closing.  It was pretty cold yesterday, but today when we were up there it was beautiful.

The view.  Backyard, golf course, mountains.

I never could have guessed that we'd move to Utah and get a house with a smaller backyard than we had in Texas...but that's less yardwork, right?

Nicholas loves the "big house" and he wants to see his bedroom over and over again when we're there.

Kent showing off his future "movie room" in the basement.

 

 The house has five bedrooms.  Three upstairs and two in the basement.  One of the basement rooms, though, is going to become Kent's movie room.

Ellie tests out the future playroom upstairs.

The master bedroom.  This picture does not convey how HUGE it is.  You could easily fit three queen size beds in there.

I have high hopes of someday making all those cupboards white. We'll see how soon that happens.

The wall of windows from my living and dining rooms.

We drove over tonight to take our first carload of boxes.  Nicholas fell asleep in the car and stayed asleep when we got there.

 I am not looking forward to moving again,

but it is upon us. Sigh.  Thank you Mom, Jonah, Sarah, and Nathan for your help today!

Our townhouse has been turned inside out and my living room is full of half-full boxes and I'm sitting on one of Nicholas's tiny chairs right now because that's all I could fit between the boxes and the computer desk...

By the end of next week, though, we'll be done and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this one is going to last a long, long time.

"I like everythings!"

"Take a picture of my foot, Mommy."

 The dictionary of Nicholas*:

"Packick" (n) A sturdy bag with straps used to carry books to school

"Bumbo" (n) A ribbon, flower, or other article worn in Ellie's hair

"Whasir" (n) The clear liquid composed of two hydrogens and an oxygen that sustains life on this planet

"Bamanta" or "Mata" (n) Yellow fruit that grows in a bunch on a tree. A favorite of monkeys and little boys.

"Doind" (n) Daddy's favorite cellular phone operating system.  Also the sound Daddy's phone makes when he gets a text message.

"Mo-mo" (n) A mechanical yard tool that trims grass as you push it across the lawn.

"Short pants" (n) Well, pants that are short.  A.K.A. "shorts."
"Sun suit" (n) Short pants worn while swimming.
"quirt bottle" (n) Item that can entertain Nicholas for up to three hours at a time.
"Candy jars" (n) Granola Bars.
"Chockik Nohk" (n)  Beverage that Nicholas asks for approximately 12.7 times a day.  Chocolate Milk.
"Nouth" : Mouth
"swoh my nose": blow his nose . He does this often--just taking teeny tiny pieces of toilet paper, wiping his nose and then tossing them into the toilet.
"Mason" (n) Nicholas's uncle. Not the uncle that is actually named Mason.  The uncle named Nathan.  The uncle whose name is actually Mason Nicholas calls Sammy.  Yeah, figure that one out.
"swooshi" (n) Delicacy made with raw fish and rice and seaweed.  
"Mukick" (n) Sounds with rhythm and melody combined.
"Oh-pwane" (n) Vehicle that provides air transportation.

Some funny stuff from lately: 

On the way to Church today.  I was trying to comb his hair (for the fifth time in two minutes).

"But I don't want to be handsome!"

In the bathtub a few nights ago. Nicholas noticed something black on his fingernail. 
"What's that on my finger?!  Oh, it's stupid sauce."

In the car.  I was singing primary songs. I sang "I am like a star shining brightly."

A few minutes later, Nicholas piped up, "I am like a starfish!"

He walked in on me getting out of the shower... "Woah, Mom. Your bum is giant!"  (Awesome. Thanks.)

He was throwing an epic tantrum in the car and was so mad that he began just making stuff up to be mad about.  Kent and I just started laughing as we realized some of the things he was yelling about.
"My hair is soft!!  It's growing!" 

"I need my clothes off!"

"I don't want to be anywhere!"

And finally, a few of his common sayings:

"I can't know about it!"  when he is trying to say something but can't remember the words

"It's taking for a long time!"

"Daddy is finishing his homework." when Kent is at work during the day

"Talk to me about it" (or talk to Ellie or Daddy or anyone)  when he wants me to explain/discipline him or someone else. 

*Thank you, Katy, for the idea!

kindred spirits

Ellie-girl adores her great-grandpa.  (Kent's Grandpa Blain)

The two of them just make each other smile.  

Ellie sits on his lap, cuddles up against his plaid shirt, and sings and coos and grins.

It's like they can't get enough of each other.  

It's one of the most precious things I've ever seen.

sunday sweets

Kent and I met at a thing called "sweet swap" in our student ward at BYU-Idaho.

Two apartments (one boys' one girls') were assigned to meet together Sunday night and discuss the Sunday School lesson.

And share treats.

As you can guess, it pretty much became all treat-sharing and not much lesson-discussing.

Kent's apartment came over to ours the second Sunday in January 2007.  I was wearing white pants with pink and green stripes on them.  Kent stood next to the fridge in our apartment and told us all that he could type 12 wpm with his tongue.

Talk about a first impression.

After they left, my roommates and I (naturally) discussed the guys.  We all thought Kent was cute, but none of us could remember his name. "Kyle?" "Trent?"  

Almost every Sunday there are two things that I can count on Kent doing:

1. Planning a dream vacation.  He researches VRBO, compiles pricing spreadsheets, finds the cheapest flights, everything.  We've got all the info for trips to Bora Bora, Cancun, St. John, Portugal, Utila...you get the idea.  He's even been known to make power point presentations and inviting friends over to try and convince them to come with us.

2. Trying to make a dessert.  And finding out we are missing at least one ingredient.  And it's Sunday, so we can't go and get whatever it is he needs.  

In the end, he either compromises and makes something else, substitutes for the missing ingredient, invents his own recipe, or ends up drooling over recipe pictures online and making nothing at all.

Tonight we are having chocolate chip cookies, minus the chocolate chips.

Happy Sunday!