Happy Early Easter

My son asked me to buy him bunny ears. We found them at Target. They aren't the most masculine thing ever, but who cares. Old bunny is in the front.

If you notice the couch in the back is a different shade than normal. We got a used sectional from a friend. Why anyone would get a used sectional to move across two states is beyond me. But yet it sort of felt like a tithing blessing. We have too many other things to buy, to buy a second couch, but yet our TV will be in the basement. Luckily there is a slip cover that goes on top of it. Yes, it does feel like a blessing, because a slip cover alone cost more than I want to spend on a couch right now. I know some people wouldn't move crappy used furniture 11 hours. (Lets be honest in a moving truck, 11 is a goal.) Is my crappy used furniture even worth anything? I don't know but I know I wouldn't be able to replace it all right away, so its worth it to move, because my husband isn't about to get rid of our books and bookcases.  Not to mention our TV, and computers, are worth moving. Plus we have a lot of food storage. So if we are moving all that, I want to bring the boxed up baby clothes, now our moving bill is already up, which means its cost effective to move my furniture. Lets not forget our beds which weren't used when we bought them.
This was suppose to be a Happy Early Easter Post, not a guilty conscious post.

Stuff

We have way too much stuff.
Like seriously, I'm packing packing packing, wondering why I'm bringing it all.  But yet I keep packing most of it.  That's not entirely true, we have gotten rid of TON, but not nearly enough.  I hope to never shop again once I move.

Wyoming

We spent a lot of time driving through Wyoming this past weekend.  I have no recollection of driving through Wyoming in my lifetime.  But anytime I hear of people driving through Wyoming to get to Utah I think of the Mormon pioneers.  That along with Alisa's blog posts about Nauvoo made me really think about the Pioneers this weekend.
Here are my jumbled thoughts about Pioneers:

• I'm pretty sure Wyoming is mostly the same was it was when the Pioneer crossed it, minus the Interstate, telephone wires and windmills, take those away and add buffalo herds. Thank goodness for fast food, cars, and toilets.  Although the almost eradication of the buffalo herds seems a shame.  Brent and I always try to imagine what they would look like when we are in the middle of nowhere western United States.
• If Brent and I were born a 150 years earlier, I'm pretty sure I would have had to cross mostly by myself.  Not that I think that Brent is a deadbeat, not that at all, he just always seems to be gone, for Church, work, or school, so he probably would have already been in Utah, with those scouting missions, or with some Battalion, or on a mission. I don't really know that much about Pioneers so maybe I have my history mixed up.  But I'm pretty sure if I was a pioneer I would have had to do a lot on my own, while he would be off being a Priesthood leader.  That just seems to be our life.  I can't picture being a pioneer with Brent around, but instead I can only imagine being with my kids waiting to hear something. Then again that is pretty much our life now, we just get have him check in more often, thank goodness.  I can't tell if that is sad, or good that I think my husband is so capable.
• Years ago I told Brent I could have never been a pioneer I just couldn't endure that.  He said of course you could have, you do what you have to do, and get it done.  I still remember that because it was nice to have his vote of confidence.
• In one of her posts, Alisa, wrote, "Hostility had followed the Mormons into Illinois.  In June 1844, Joseph Smith, their prophet and leader, was martyred in nearby Carthage.  After the murder of Joseph Smith, agitation against the Mormons continued, until the Latter-day Saints finally fled, leaving behind their homes and the newly constructed temple.  Many families had just barely moved into their brick homes, looking forward to a peaceful life on the flats and bluffs above the River--only to find themselves crossing that River in the frigid winter, never to return." I thought about that a lot on our drive back to Utah in Wyoming.  I thought about all those poor women with their children in heavy cotton clothing, that was hot in the summer and cold in the winter, crossing Wyoming.  In some ways I could really relate to the Pioneers, and in some ways I'm glad I can't.  Brent and I have moved a lot over the last 6 years, in fact 9 times.  That is not counting, the three moves we both made individually after we met before we got married.  We never moved because we were getting kicked out but I can related to no stability, and just up and moving. Packing up everything you own and moving a week later, when you had no idea you were going to move a month previous.  I can relate to plans that went awry and canceling hopes and instead moving. But now after all those moves, we are moving, to a nice big house, three stories, bedrooms for all, big kitchen.  We have the hope of stability, the hope that we will be in our big house for at least 5 years, if forever.  (I don't think we will, but its weird to know the first house we ever bought would fit us for the rest of our lives.) It would really quite be terrible, if within the year, after we got all settled, if we had to move, and shut the door and never return, leaving behind almost everything.  
• Overall my heart bled for those poor pioneers who had to cross the plains.  Leave the green lush east, for the Utah desert. But I guess that was the point, it was so far away and so secluded no one would try to take it away when once they made the ground fertile.  Which they did gardening is so much easier in Utah that in many places, and it has great soil.
• Lastly, has nothing to do with Pioneers.  I love the big sky that Wyoming has, but is is COLD up there.  I think I'll skip Wyoming in future places to live. I'm a big fan of big skies.  That's why I'm excited for Colorado, big skies and mountains. Thats pretty much all I want out of life. But Wyoming has bigger skies, so I'm happy to drive through it.

We're Back :(

J had his last day of preschool last Thursday.  Yes, its two weeks before we leave, but its a long story a mother's decision, and it involves spring break.

Then we got in the car and drove to our new house.  It was the first time the kids got to see and they love it.  It was in better shape than I remember, and now that I own it I have fell madly in love with it.  (Before I was trying to stay unemotional, trying to make a financial decision, not an emotional plea.) 

We went out to make sure it was still there, and clean it.  We now have a garage door opener!

I still think the outside of the house is dated but as Brent wisely pointed out, it is.  Apparently it was the first one built on the street. 

The whole interior needs to be repainted, and they hung more pictures and anchored more things, than I would think was possible, and this is saying something coming from me, I loves wall hangings. The house is 12 years old, and other than a few really bad paint jobs, it hasn't been painted since it was built, which means the walls looks very sad.

First thing we bought as silly has it sounds was a TV stand at walmart. Its all set up and waiting.  Eventhough our TV is mounted on the wall.

We bought a fridge, we went back and forth between finding one on Craigslist and buying one new.  We ended up buying one new.

We bought pergo for our dining room.  Ideally we would have matched our dining room floor with our kitchen floor since they are really the same room, but that would have been an extra $1000, and so we decided to save that for another date if we decided.

We also bought a bathroom vanity for our master bathroom, because that really was dated and I hated it, and my husband was being nice.  Not to mention there is a big hole in the bathroom linoleum so we figured if we are going to replace, we are going to replace, we have tile to match. 

We got enough tile to replace the tile in the kid's bathroom while we're at it.  There vanity isn't hideous and dated, but the wood is water damaged.  I don't know if we'll buy a new one or not.  Ideally we would put the wood of our vanity with their counter top, but I'm not sure things work like that. 

We checked out ward.  And now we are back to finish packing and such.  Brent also has a few finals.  I want to go home.  I miss my house :(

Separating Posts- The Dog

This story is a repeat, but I took it out of the previous blog post to added these pictures.

Ever since my daughter was about 4 months old my husband and I have joked she is a dog whisperer.  Dogs really love her, and she loves them.  But she is quite jumpy and easily startled by their jumpy behavior. Lately every time my daughter has to say good bye to a dog she cries.  So a few days ago I asked her if she thought her daddy would ever buy her a dog.  She calmly said "no" and then started crying again.

Wet Phone

Two Saturdays ago I dropped my phone in the toilet.  Which is totally lame.  It worked fine for a day, but then it slowly got worse.  Soon I couldn't hang up, I just had to wait for the phone to disconnect from the call.  A friend suggested that I take out the battery and put both the phone and the battery in a sealed bag of rice.  So tried it, unfortunately the on off switch was the same as the hang up button.  Which means I couldn't turn my phone back on.  I was a little worried, when I couldn't turn it back on, Brent was already at work and I don't have a house phone.  I started googling how much phones cost.
When I thought go phones, they take sim cards just the same as any phone and are around $10.
So I have a new phone, it cost $12, I miss not having a camera, but other than that I like it better than my previous phone.  Would have thought?
My broken phone was a full touch screen with no number buttons.  Turns out I'm old fashion, I hated not having buttons.  When we got our phones a year and half ago, they were suppose to be pretty awesome for not paying for a data plan.  But I hated our phones, and they are heavy. So I'm quite happy with my lightweight go phone.  If only had a camera.  This is the first time I've ever owned a cell phone without a camera, my first phone back in 2003 had a camera, and MP3s.  This is also my first phone without music.  But I'm so much happier with this phone, I either want to stay with cheap phones or get a blackberry.  I know that is so like pre-iphone era.  But I really have no desire for an iphone, and my husband plans on one day getting an android, but I think I would much rather the keys of a blackberry.  But that is just me.
By the way there is a good chance if your number has changed in the last two years and you want me to call you, I don't have your number. Along with all the downfalls of my previous phone, apparently I was not saving my numbers on the SIM card.

Another Story

In January, I told my husband one year, and that is it.  I can only handle one more year in this apartment.  We toyed around with the idea of long we could stay in our apartment after he finished school, how much money we could save in the apartment without tuition due. I had decided one year.  Six months until school was out and six months of saving, at the most.  That would mean in July we could sign a 6 month lease.  I told him, come summer I am meeting with a new realtor.  I said I don't care if we buy a house, but nothing changes if nothing changes and so we have to go look at house before we can decided if we should buy or rent a house. The only way I know to make that decision is to go look at what we can buy.  Because at this point after school is over, and tuition payments are over, living in this state, there is no reason to live in apartment with two kids based on the cost of housing and our income. Or even a rent a townhouse, I don't care, but I'm not staying in this apartment for more than a year. Then two months later we bought a house out of state.
Go figure. When I made the ultimatum, I didn't expect to move out of state.
But I'm not sure we would have found the opportunity to move if we wasn't ready for change.