So I got this super ugly dresser that had all the right curves..... It's upside down in this picture and you can only see 2 of the drawers because I had already started painting the other 3 drawers......
Loving our ever changing, crazy, fantastic life
Friday, August 25, 2017
Friday Fun Day - AKA I Did Another Project
So I got this super ugly dresser that had all the right curves..... It's upside down in this picture and you can only see 2 of the drawers because I had already started painting the other 3 drawers......
Sunday, August 20, 2017
The month of July
We had found out on around June 22nd that our house purchase wouldn't be happening until the 14th of July. This was a hard pill to swallow as we had planned out everything to a 'T' for the previous 3 weeks but hadn't seen another 3 weeks on top of that. It really took the wind out of my sails for 2-3 days. And then I made another plan. I split up the kids between a bedroom in my parents house and my parents tent trailer out by their shop. I slept out in the tent trailer next to Lochlan every night and had various bed mates, but mostly Mirren and Aftyn joined me in the other beds available in the tent trailer. Reed and Bronwy, who made frequent nightly bathroom trips and still does, slept inside on the guest bunkbed. We were grateful for the beds and accomodations we had and I tried to look on it as an adventure. Over the next 3 weeks, my sisters kids next door and my girls spent lots of time making lots of trouble outside at Grandpa's house. Glasses were lost, tree branches were used as weapons, and canal covers were even disassembled and luckily their parts were found so they could be put back together. It was quite an eventful few weeks. We had our weekly trip to the laundromat to make it even more fun. Or not. It was pretty obvious each week as I crammed all our clean clothes back into the hamper that had been full of dirty clothes that I was just surviving. I laughed as I watched people meticulously fold their clothes and mine were just being sorted and divvied back up to the right person back at home. We had more important things to think of than wrinkled clothes.
With my bathroom projects, I painted 7 bathroom walls, 2 sets of bathroom cupboards, and all the trimwork, replaced 1 light fixture, helped mount a new medicine cabinet/mirror, put up 2 sets of towel hooks, created artwork for the walls, and replaced 2 electrical outlets and 1 light switch so that they would be bright white instead of nasty yellow. I wish I had taken pictures because those bathrooms look AMAZING!! I'm so glad I could use all my extra energy to make those bathrooms more beautiful for my parents.
There were lots of fun things we planned to help the time go more quickly, like the 2 times we went to the movies as a family and watched Beauty and the Beast and Despicable Me 3. I can't remember the last time I took all the kids to a movie but on the whole it was fun. Mirren got a little scared in both movies and Lochlan only cared about the popcorn and once that ran out, he was basically done. Bringing a blanket and binkie for him to cuddle with helped a lot in one of the movies, so there's a good idea for later. I also took Aftyn who earned a free ticket to Roaring Springs and Bronwyn who we gave a ticket to for her main birthday present to Roaring Springs on July 3rd. It was a madhouse but it was fun! We took my niece Mia with us since she too had a ticket and she was the only one in her family who had one and it needed to be used before it expired. She brought a friend and we had all the making of a fun day! We split up at Roaring Springs and the girls and I had a blast, except for that time I almost drowned Bronwyn in the Lazy River by putting my weight on the side of her tube. :( That was scary!! But we learned and that didn't happen again. We also ran into our friends from our ward, Brayli and Broxon and their mom. That was a fun surprise! Best part was that no one got a sunburn because we were very thorough in our sunscreening except for on my back where Aftyn applied it for me and missed a couple of spots. But none of the kids got sunburns so I was totally okay with that. One day we also went to the church orchard and got our favorite Ranier cherries. We ate those for a few days and then I cut up the rest and chucked them in the freezer, to be moved with us so I could use them in later in my favorite cherry recipe: fruit smoothies! We went to lots of garage sales and got clothes for the kids and furniture for our deck at the house we would eventually be moving into.
Finally the week came that we were going to get our house! We had our signing day all set but unfortunately our realtor and her office were, frankly, having communication issues and when signing day came around I was freaking out. I called our realtor, her assistant, our realtor again, her assistant again and finally got ahold of her assistant to finally get some of my concerns talked about. We ended up being about 20-30 minutes late to our signing because I was not signing papers for a house we weren't even sure everything had been taken care of like it needed to be by the sellers. I was literally crying as we walked into Title One. And I vowed never to use my realtor in Idaho Falls again, sadly. So don't ask for a referral, I haven't got one. Now the realtor I sold my house with in Nampa, I would use over and over again. Loved him. I would totally refer him. Anyhow, the lady who helped us at Title One helped calm me tremendously as she explained everything exactly the way I needed to hear it, so we signed. And then on the way home, found out that the sellers were not signing until the next day. So even though we had planned on driving up that day with all our stuff packed into our moving van and our family's van, we had nowhere to stay that night. Our realtor's assistant even tried to ask the buyers if we could just stay in the house that night, which admittedly I would never allow for a house I was selling, but we were desperate. And not surprisingly, they said no. And we figured this all out about 30 minutes before we were going to be arriving in Idaho Falls with all our stuff. So luckily my awesome sister Wendy let us stay at her house, just like I knew she would. I was an emotional basket case. Really. What a day it had been. The best part of the day was that my nephew had just received his mission call so we were just in time to be there for when he opened it up. That was a great surprise!
The next day was just a waiting game since we didn't know when the sellers were signing, and time was just ticking away. I was feeling so impatient, just wanting a dang house to live in!! To kill time, I took the kids to go see a movie again, since that's a great way to just think about nothing for about an hour and a half. We went and saw Despicable Me 3 again. What can I say, it was funny! Reed stayed at my sisters house and worked. Literally, as soon as the movie ended, I got a text saying that my realtor's assistant had our keys in her office and I could come pick them up. So I did! I was so excited!! Until the assistant told me that I couldn't actually go to the house until they received payment from the bank and the house was officially ours. *Sigh* Are you seeing a pattern here? I swear, it was just one hurdle to jump after another. But finally, after Reed took the kids to go get us lunch, I got the phone call that we could go move into the house. Hallelujah!!! It was Friday, the 14th of July, exactly 3 weeks from when we were supposed to move into the house originally. That night my sister Wendy, her husband Jeff, and her kids Jake and Dillon all showed up at our house on a warm night to sweat our way through unloading our moving truck. Never have I been more grateful to have a house to move our things into. Really. We met our next door neighbors that night who happen to have 2 little girls Bronwyn and Aftyn's ages, and they are also members of the LDS church which is neat. The next 2 weeks were a blur of unpacking boxes, setting up bedrooms, getting the internet (which is another funny story) and slowly getting settled in to our new house.
With my bathroom projects, I painted 7 bathroom walls, 2 sets of bathroom cupboards, and all the trimwork, replaced 1 light fixture, helped mount a new medicine cabinet/mirror, put up 2 sets of towel hooks, created artwork for the walls, and replaced 2 electrical outlets and 1 light switch so that they would be bright white instead of nasty yellow. I wish I had taken pictures because those bathrooms look AMAZING!! I'm so glad I could use all my extra energy to make those bathrooms more beautiful for my parents.
There were lots of fun things we planned to help the time go more quickly, like the 2 times we went to the movies as a family and watched Beauty and the Beast and Despicable Me 3. I can't remember the last time I took all the kids to a movie but on the whole it was fun. Mirren got a little scared in both movies and Lochlan only cared about the popcorn and once that ran out, he was basically done. Bringing a blanket and binkie for him to cuddle with helped a lot in one of the movies, so there's a good idea for later. I also took Aftyn who earned a free ticket to Roaring Springs and Bronwyn who we gave a ticket to for her main birthday present to Roaring Springs on July 3rd. It was a madhouse but it was fun! We took my niece Mia with us since she too had a ticket and she was the only one in her family who had one and it needed to be used before it expired. She brought a friend and we had all the making of a fun day! We split up at Roaring Springs and the girls and I had a blast, except for that time I almost drowned Bronwyn in the Lazy River by putting my weight on the side of her tube. :( That was scary!! But we learned and that didn't happen again. We also ran into our friends from our ward, Brayli and Broxon and their mom. That was a fun surprise! Best part was that no one got a sunburn because we were very thorough in our sunscreening except for on my back where Aftyn applied it for me and missed a couple of spots. But none of the kids got sunburns so I was totally okay with that. One day we also went to the church orchard and got our favorite Ranier cherries. We ate those for a few days and then I cut up the rest and chucked them in the freezer, to be moved with us so I could use them in later in my favorite cherry recipe: fruit smoothies! We went to lots of garage sales and got clothes for the kids and furniture for our deck at the house we would eventually be moving into.
Finally the week came that we were going to get our house! We had our signing day all set but unfortunately our realtor and her office were, frankly, having communication issues and when signing day came around I was freaking out. I called our realtor, her assistant, our realtor again, her assistant again and finally got ahold of her assistant to finally get some of my concerns talked about. We ended up being about 20-30 minutes late to our signing because I was not signing papers for a house we weren't even sure everything had been taken care of like it needed to be by the sellers. I was literally crying as we walked into Title One. And I vowed never to use my realtor in Idaho Falls again, sadly. So don't ask for a referral, I haven't got one. Now the realtor I sold my house with in Nampa, I would use over and over again. Loved him. I would totally refer him. Anyhow, the lady who helped us at Title One helped calm me tremendously as she explained everything exactly the way I needed to hear it, so we signed. And then on the way home, found out that the sellers were not signing until the next day. So even though we had planned on driving up that day with all our stuff packed into our moving van and our family's van, we had nowhere to stay that night. Our realtor's assistant even tried to ask the buyers if we could just stay in the house that night, which admittedly I would never allow for a house I was selling, but we were desperate. And not surprisingly, they said no. And we figured this all out about 30 minutes before we were going to be arriving in Idaho Falls with all our stuff. So luckily my awesome sister Wendy let us stay at her house, just like I knew she would. I was an emotional basket case. Really. What a day it had been. The best part of the day was that my nephew had just received his mission call so we were just in time to be there for when he opened it up. That was a great surprise!
The next day was just a waiting game since we didn't know when the sellers were signing, and time was just ticking away. I was feeling so impatient, just wanting a dang house to live in!! To kill time, I took the kids to go see a movie again, since that's a great way to just think about nothing for about an hour and a half. We went and saw Despicable Me 3 again. What can I say, it was funny! Reed stayed at my sisters house and worked. Literally, as soon as the movie ended, I got a text saying that my realtor's assistant had our keys in her office and I could come pick them up. So I did! I was so excited!! Until the assistant told me that I couldn't actually go to the house until they received payment from the bank and the house was officially ours. *Sigh* Are you seeing a pattern here? I swear, it was just one hurdle to jump after another. But finally, after Reed took the kids to go get us lunch, I got the phone call that we could go move into the house. Hallelujah!!! It was Friday, the 14th of July, exactly 3 weeks from when we were supposed to move into the house originally. That night my sister Wendy, her husband Jeff, and her kids Jake and Dillon all showed up at our house on a warm night to sweat our way through unloading our moving truck. Never have I been more grateful to have a house to move our things into. Really. We met our next door neighbors that night who happen to have 2 little girls Bronwyn and Aftyn's ages, and they are also members of the LDS church which is neat. The next 2 weeks were a blur of unpacking boxes, setting up bedrooms, getting the internet (which is another funny story) and slowly getting settled in to our new house.
Tuesday, August 8, 2017
A letter to me
Dear Alysa,
Here you sit, at the beginning of another busy day. Running the kids to swimming lessons, making breakfasts, lunches, washing and drying laundry, the list for your day when it's all written out seems quite daunting.
And yet, every day you tackle a list that looks different but has just as many things on it and you accomplish it. You are amazing! You are tireless and also tired. You push forward even when you don't want to. You hug, and kiss and snuggle. You make the time to tell your kids that you love them because you know it's important for you and for them. You do your girls hair so cute because it helps you feel proud of the sweet little girls that they are. It helps to remind you of their inner beauty and that they are daughters of God with beautiful hearts full of love for each other, even if they don't always act like they do.
You tirelessly chase your toddler around, making sure he is safe and not getting himself hurt or harming other's things. I know it is exhausting! I also know it has its payoffs, with his sweet smiles and his little voice saying "Mama!". You love the feel of his little body in the safety of your arms as he comes for cuddles and hugs.
Being a mom may not be or look like what you thought it would be as a little girl when you dreamed of the day you would be a mommy. It's a lot harder. But it's also a lot more rewarding. Rewarding like watching your 8 year old who loves to read, telling you how much she loves the book you just got her and how she's just read it for the 2nd time. Rewarding like your 6 year old who loves the school clothes you just bought her for her first year of school. How she looks to you for guidance and help if she can't figure it out herself, which is a lot of the time. Rewarding in seeing your almost 4 year old finally being able to do something for herself that she's struggled with for years now.
You are a great mom. You are more than you think you are, and never as unimportant as you think you might be to them. You are your childrens everything. Never discount your importance. You are their role model. They want to be like you!! You can see that in the trust they place in you, how they come to you for help before anyone else. They know that you are always there and will always be there. You are truly amazing. Don't get bogged down in the little stuff. Keep the little stuff little.
Love,
me
Here you sit, at the beginning of another busy day. Running the kids to swimming lessons, making breakfasts, lunches, washing and drying laundry, the list for your day when it's all written out seems quite daunting.
And yet, every day you tackle a list that looks different but has just as many things on it and you accomplish it. You are amazing! You are tireless and also tired. You push forward even when you don't want to. You hug, and kiss and snuggle. You make the time to tell your kids that you love them because you know it's important for you and for them. You do your girls hair so cute because it helps you feel proud of the sweet little girls that they are. It helps to remind you of their inner beauty and that they are daughters of God with beautiful hearts full of love for each other, even if they don't always act like they do.
You tirelessly chase your toddler around, making sure he is safe and not getting himself hurt or harming other's things. I know it is exhausting! I also know it has its payoffs, with his sweet smiles and his little voice saying "Mama!". You love the feel of his little body in the safety of your arms as he comes for cuddles and hugs.
Being a mom may not be or look like what you thought it would be as a little girl when you dreamed of the day you would be a mommy. It's a lot harder. But it's also a lot more rewarding. Rewarding like watching your 8 year old who loves to read, telling you how much she loves the book you just got her and how she's just read it for the 2nd time. Rewarding like your 6 year old who loves the school clothes you just bought her for her first year of school. How she looks to you for guidance and help if she can't figure it out herself, which is a lot of the time. Rewarding in seeing your almost 4 year old finally being able to do something for herself that she's struggled with for years now.
You are a great mom. You are more than you think you are, and never as unimportant as you think you might be to them. You are your childrens everything. Never discount your importance. You are their role model. They want to be like you!! You can see that in the trust they place in you, how they come to you for help before anyone else. They know that you are always there and will always be there. You are truly amazing. Don't get bogged down in the little stuff. Keep the little stuff little.
Love,
me
Tuesday, August 1, 2017
The month of June
3 days after moving out of our house, Aftyn was baptized by Reed and became a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It was a long awaited day and she was so excited. We had lots of family that were able to come and we were grateful for that. There was lots of family that couldn't come and we sure missed them. Aftyn had had baptism pictures taken by my sister Alyson and I'd created a book from them for people to write their testimonies in for Aftyn. She absolutely loves that book and it is really special to her.
At that point, we were staying with my parents in their tent trailer and we stayed there for about 5 days. Just for a fun on the 4th we went and stayed 10 days at Grandma and Grandpa Bishop's house and that was an adventure as well. Grandpa rented a backhoe to do some fun projects around their house, including putting up a power pole using ropes and a backhoe and the kids loved watching Grandpa maneuver that big machine around their property. Grandma didn't find it quite as fun and was pretty stressed about a lot of Grandpa's endeavors. Lochlan loved to watch Grandpa move the bucket all around and drive all over. After our 10 days there that included Aunt Cindy and cousin Cooper who was in town working to save money for his mission, we moved back to my parents house for just a few nights and then we accompanied Reed to a show for his work up in Sun Valley. We had a house rented and we stayed there for 2 nights I think. We had a lot of fun and made some fun memories, specifically when we went up to Redfish Lake and played in the water and had lunch. The kids had a blast and we just enjoyed a quick and fun day trip playing in the water and sand. Sometime during this month, we also needed to go to Idaho Falls for an eye appointment for Mirren and Aftyn so while we were at it, the kids and I got to go and see our house for the first time. We loved it and were SO excited that it was going to be ours!
We went back to my parents house after our Sun Valley getaway, planning on only being there for about 3 or 4 more nights and then moving into our new house. Thanks to an appraiser who has problems and wouldn't fix his original appraisal in spite of being giving a whole dang lot of comps and being given a list that showed all the things he left off of his appraisal, we were granted another 3 week wait before we could move into our house. We were heartbroken to say the least. But since we really had no other choice, my parents and sister who lives with them and Reed and the kids and I just picked ourselves up and prepared for another 3 weeks together. My parents and sister are saints. Oh and it helped that I had started re-doing my parents bathrooms at their house for them with my mothers blessing so that gave me something to keep my mind and body busy while we were just waiting for a house of our own.
At that point, we were staying with my parents in their tent trailer and we stayed there for about 5 days. Just for a fun on the 4th we went and stayed 10 days at Grandma and Grandpa Bishop's house and that was an adventure as well. Grandpa rented a backhoe to do some fun projects around their house, including putting up a power pole using ropes and a backhoe and the kids loved watching Grandpa maneuver that big machine around their property. Grandma didn't find it quite as fun and was pretty stressed about a lot of Grandpa's endeavors. Lochlan loved to watch Grandpa move the bucket all around and drive all over. After our 10 days there that included Aunt Cindy and cousin Cooper who was in town working to save money for his mission, we moved back to my parents house for just a few nights and then we accompanied Reed to a show for his work up in Sun Valley. We had a house rented and we stayed there for 2 nights I think. We had a lot of fun and made some fun memories, specifically when we went up to Redfish Lake and played in the water and had lunch. The kids had a blast and we just enjoyed a quick and fun day trip playing in the water and sand. Sometime during this month, we also needed to go to Idaho Falls for an eye appointment for Mirren and Aftyn so while we were at it, the kids and I got to go and see our house for the first time. We loved it and were SO excited that it was going to be ours!
We went back to my parents house after our Sun Valley getaway, planning on only being there for about 3 or 4 more nights and then moving into our new house. Thanks to an appraiser who has problems and wouldn't fix his original appraisal in spite of being giving a whole dang lot of comps and being given a list that showed all the things he left off of his appraisal, we were granted another 3 week wait before we could move into our house. We were heartbroken to say the least. But since we really had no other choice, my parents and sister who lives with them and Reed and the kids and I just picked ourselves up and prepared for another 3 weeks together. My parents and sister are saints. Oh and it helped that I had started re-doing my parents bathrooms at their house for them with my mothers blessing so that gave me something to keep my mind and body busy while we were just waiting for a house of our own.
The Month of May
The month of May was a blur in our lives. We had just spent all of April preparing our house to put on the market to sell. We had worked so hard in hopes that we could make a good profit and then continue on with our plans to move to Idaho Falls.
We put our house on the market at 5 pm on May 1st and had someone call that very night and show it to a client. We were very apprehensive and excited that this day we had long waited for was finally here! The real estate agent and client showed up before we had left, so out we ran so that they could come in and admire our home, or so we hoped.
The next day around 1 pm our real estate agent called to ask if I had seen his email, which included an offer from the agent the night before. An offer that was better than our asking price. I was dumbfounded and kind of shocked that the whole experience could already be over! Dare I say it, I might have even been a tad disappointed. Ha ha ha!! We accepted that offer and decided instead to be grateful we didn't have to keep our house in tip top condition all the time and instead could focus on finding our future home.
We spent the next 2 weekends driving to Idaho Falls and viewing way too many homes, and none of them were quite right. We looked at homes for about 7 hours that first Saturday! We offered on one house, only to have the owner unwilling to come down $3,000 even though we had come up $5,000. I'm so glad we walked away from that one. My sister Wendy and her family were amazing and helped us so much by watching our kids for us so we were free to go and look at houses without the kiddos in tow. The kids would have died of boredom.
After the 2nd weekend of no luck looking for a new house, with our impending closing date only 2 weeks away, we decided to just figure out a plan B and focus on moving out and then finding our home. Over that 2 week period we had my sister Wendy who lives in Idaho Falls looking at houses for us and we tried again to offer on one house but this time without having seen it. Yeah, that one didn't end up working out either. We were working on so many things at once, getting everything boxed up, helping Aftyn finish up her school year which ended on June 2nd and getting prepared for her baptism on the 3rd, and making plans of where and who we would be living with while we were without a home. It was a crazy month. Oh and we had 3 birthdays and mothers day all thrown in there as well. Yep, it was crazy busy.
In our last week at our house, Reed managed to go to Idaho Falls for work and saw a couple houses. He found one that he absolutely loved and had my sister Wendy go and see that one too. Based off of both of their feedback, we decided to offer on this house because it sounded perfect! And I hadn't even seen it! Haha!!! On the same day we closed on our house, we walked out of Title One in Nampa and I said to Reed, "Well, we are officially homeless. I wish we could hear back on that offer soon so I could know if we have a future home somewhere." Fateful words. 20-ish minutes later, we had a call from our other realtor that our offer had been accepted and we had a house! Woohoo!!
We drove back home, with no home to live in and hope for the day we could move into our new house in Idaho Falls.
We put our house on the market at 5 pm on May 1st and had someone call that very night and show it to a client. We were very apprehensive and excited that this day we had long waited for was finally here! The real estate agent and client showed up before we had left, so out we ran so that they could come in and admire our home, or so we hoped.
The next day around 1 pm our real estate agent called to ask if I had seen his email, which included an offer from the agent the night before. An offer that was better than our asking price. I was dumbfounded and kind of shocked that the whole experience could already be over! Dare I say it, I might have even been a tad disappointed. Ha ha ha!! We accepted that offer and decided instead to be grateful we didn't have to keep our house in tip top condition all the time and instead could focus on finding our future home.
We spent the next 2 weekends driving to Idaho Falls and viewing way too many homes, and none of them were quite right. We looked at homes for about 7 hours that first Saturday! We offered on one house, only to have the owner unwilling to come down $3,000 even though we had come up $5,000. I'm so glad we walked away from that one. My sister Wendy and her family were amazing and helped us so much by watching our kids for us so we were free to go and look at houses without the kiddos in tow. The kids would have died of boredom.
After the 2nd weekend of no luck looking for a new house, with our impending closing date only 2 weeks away, we decided to just figure out a plan B and focus on moving out and then finding our home. Over that 2 week period we had my sister Wendy who lives in Idaho Falls looking at houses for us and we tried again to offer on one house but this time without having seen it. Yeah, that one didn't end up working out either. We were working on so many things at once, getting everything boxed up, helping Aftyn finish up her school year which ended on June 2nd and getting prepared for her baptism on the 3rd, and making plans of where and who we would be living with while we were without a home. It was a crazy month. Oh and we had 3 birthdays and mothers day all thrown in there as well. Yep, it was crazy busy.
In our last week at our house, Reed managed to go to Idaho Falls for work and saw a couple houses. He found one that he absolutely loved and had my sister Wendy go and see that one too. Based off of both of their feedback, we decided to offer on this house because it sounded perfect! And I hadn't even seen it! Haha!!! On the same day we closed on our house, we walked out of Title One in Nampa and I said to Reed, "Well, we are officially homeless. I wish we could hear back on that offer soon so I could know if we have a future home somewhere." Fateful words. 20-ish minutes later, we had a call from our other realtor that our offer had been accepted and we had a house! Woohoo!!
We drove back home, with no home to live in and hope for the day we could move into our new house in Idaho Falls.
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