We Moved!

Finally! Things have been really busy and a little stressful so I haven't posted anything for a long time. We were planning on moving into our new home the middle of May. We were packed and ready. We had renters ready to move into to our house. Our new home was finished and waiting for us to close and move in. Well, that is a lot easier said than done. It may be a great time to buy a house but it is definitely not a good time to get a loan. We were put off day after day and then week after week. It seems strange to me that it took 7 months to build our house and we met with the loan company at the beginning and started the process but when it came time to getting the final approval for our loan it took almost 5 weeks. They originally told us it would be 3-5 business days. I can't even begin to explain all the dumb things we had to do. It was a very frustrating month.
Our renters were being so patient and were willing to wait for a week or two but it finally came time to let them move in. We begged and pleaded to get our loan done in time so we didn't have to move everything twice, and go stay in a hotel for awhile. And this whole time our house is done and just sitting empty.
We moved out of our house last Friday. The day before we moved we were told we had final approval. It was good news but the frustration had kind of taken the fun out of it. Geoff went by that night and made sure the back door was unlocked and actually took a small load of stuff over. We knew it would fund in the morning. We had signed all the paperwork and just had to wait for that phone call to say we could have the keys and start moving in. We felt we had been inconvenienced enough and decided to just move in that morning while we had help and trucks. Our renters were starting to move in that night and I had to get the carpets cleaned sometime between. The builders did get upset with us but we justified it and everything did work out. They got paid and we got the house.
So I just had to document all that we went through to finally get to move in but I also want to say that we are loving out new home. There is still much to be done and we don't really feel put together yet but that will all come soon. It is a great feeling to finally be here!

Madelyn turns 2!

Little Maddie has turned two! She is getting so big and we loved celebrating this day with her.

She loves everything Elmo these days. Her Grammy Jo made this cute cake for her.

She wasn't sure what was going on at this point.

Now she understands what to do.

She got a walking, talking, dancing Elmo and she LOVES it! I thought she might be a little afraid of it, but she was laughing so hard. It was fun to watch her play with it.

Opening present at this age just isn't fun. The older kids did more opening than she did. She seemed to have a fun day. I love these birthday when they are so little and so easy to please.

Sunday Mornings

It doesn't really matter how much I try and prepare for Sundays, I always am running around like crazy getting ready for church. We have 9:00 church so it isn't too early but I can't seem to get it all together in time. I don't really want to be yelling at everyone and ready to lose it at any second and then say, "let's go to church and feel the Spirit." Yea! Last Sunday, I had all the kids dressed and was working on Nicole's hair. We were doing good and on schedule until I turned around and saw this....

At least she had soft hands at church.

My Beautiful Girls!

I know every mother thinks her children are wonderful and beautiful. I am no different. My girls are such beauties on the inside and out. I am so happy to have these girls in my life. They are growing so fast and I just want to enjoy all the ups and downs watching them grow.

I love you girls!

Look what we found

The kids kept coming in telling us that there was something in the bushes in the backyard. I was telling them it was probably the wind blowing the leaves around. Geoff finally went out to check and he said there really was something in there. The mother cat wasn't around that we could see, just three tiny kittens.

Maddie was so excited, she could hardly contain herself. We need to practice touching things softly.

This little one wasn't so friendly and just hissed at us.

After we put the kittens back the kids played all afternoon outside. It is starting to heat up and we won't have too many more of these days outside.

Maddie loves to sing. Old McDonald is her favorite right now.

E-I-E-I-O!

Yea!

The End!

Easter

Easter was full of the usual activities this year. Coloring eggs is always a favorite for the kids.

Maddie was especially loving it. She is talking so much now and saying new words all the time. She was learning to say her colors, but her favorite color she told us over and over again was "puuurple."

We had Easter dinner at the Johnson's. Grandma and Kara had an egg hunt for the kids. I miss the days of the Linda Circle Easter egg hunt that my mom did every year. There was always over 50 kids at it. She was still doing it when Nicole was a baby but the kids never got to experience it when they were old enough to remember.

Maddie showing Grandma her find. She loved finding eggs. At first she didn't want to but once she discovered the prize inside she was so excited. She loves the candy.

Joey and his chocolate bunny.

The girls in their Easter dresses.

The Easter bunny hides the kids baskets. They love waking up and looking for their baskets. It never takes them long. The Easter bunny needs to find some better hiding places.

Maddie loves her little bunny.

Joey finds his basket.

Conference Weekend

We decided to make a last minute trip to the cabin for conference weekend. We had no problem getting there this time. No snow! Yea! That is until later that night. It started to snow around bedtime and in the morning snow was covering everything. I think it caused a little anxiety for Geoff. Bad memories of the last cabin trip. It was very cold and windy the next day but no more snow and it did all melt before we left.

I didn't have warm enough clothes for Maddie. She has out grown all her winter clothes and I didn't want to buy her more for a few days. Plus, I had no idea it would be that cold. We kept her wrapped in blankets and scarfs.

Maddie getting a little kiss from Coco.

Joey trying to stay warm in the wind.

We went fishing but didn't last too long. Except for Nicole. She was not willing to leave until she had caught something, no matter how frozen she was. I don't know where she gets her love for fishing and all things outdoors.

Katie going for a little ride. (not really)

Nicole can drive the quad now. She took Katie for little rides around the cabin.

Joey holding his capture.

We did watch conference too, and it was wonderful. I am so grateful to have prophets and get the guidance we so need. I loved it.