We are here!

We are here in Salt Lake! It's been quite the production, requiring

3 days

660 miles

16 driving hours

18 volunteer movers

1-26' U-haul truck with car trailer

100+ boxes

1 storage unit

1 1000 sq-ft., three-bedroom apartment

A big thank you to those who came and helped us move out and in (and to those wives whose husbands came and helped).

The apartment is full of boxes, but we are moved in. Unpacking is tomorrow's task... wish me luck...

Merry Christmas!!

May your Christmas this year be extra warm and very bright!!

All Porter wants for Christmas...

is his two front teeth...

and the ones on the bottom,

and a replacement for the one he just lost the other day.

So, Santa -

we're asking you, begging you -

bring this kid some teeth!!

It's Official!!

We're officially up for sale. See?

(Anyone want to buy a great house in Albuquerque??)

Checklist

Replace garbage disposal (Rhett) - check
Fix wall corners - check
Fix hole from front doorknob - check
Paint repaired walls - check
Paint stair-well and loft - check

De-clutter kitchen - check
De-clutter and clean boys’ rooms - check

Clean my room - check

De-clutter and reorganize our closet - check

Clean all blinds, baseboards and walls - check

Box up all extra stuff for storage - check
Replace ceiling fan in Andrew’s room - check
Put boys’ closet doors back on - check
Put boys’ bunkbeds back together - check
Clean and de-clutter computer/craft room – check

Tear out HUGE bush in front yard (Rhett) - check
Clean bathrooms (all 2 ½ of them) - check
Vacuum house - check
Clean kitchen floor on hands & knees (including under and behind fridge, oven and washer and dryer) - check
Shampoo family room carpet - check

Wash inside of all windows – check
Talk with Realtor and start the process of putting the house on the market – check
Have a day of sleeping in and relaxing – check!!

(Have I mentioned that we are moving to Salt Lake after Christmas with the intention of being in Vernal, UT by the summer?!?)

Snow Day

We had our first snow day of the school year today. It snowed all day yesterday (we got a whole inch!!) and by evening they schools were reported to be on 2-hour delay, but by this morning, they were closed. YIPEE!! That meant I got to sleep in and we didn't have anywhere urgent to go, so we did whatever we wanted all day! The boys were begging to play in the snow by 9:00, so they bundled up and went outside to throw snowballs at each other. They came in a while later, asking for hot chocolate because they were so cold. Unfortunately, Andrew was ready to go out at this time, and it wasn't long before he was back in (snow's no fun when there's no one to play with). By the time they had finished their hot chocolate, the neighbors asked if they would come out front and play in the snow, so the coats, hats, and gloves went back on and they were outside again for more snowball throwing (and not much hitting). Once they were cold again, it was back inside for the peeling of the layers.

Birthday Boy!

We have a 7-year old! Can you believe it?!?! We can't... Saturday was Porter's birthday and he was so excited that it was here. He spent the day playing with friends and Wii, then in the evening we had pizza at Dion's (we're going to miss Dion's when we move) and went bowling. His choice of cake this year was a dinosaur ice cream cake - and of course I delivered. Turned out delicious if I don't say so myself. It was a great birthday!

Thanksgiving

We traveled to California to spend Thanksgiving with my parents and Uncle Dan. We tried to head out Tuesday, but after some car trouble, a tow, an evening at Pep Boys, and a rental the next day, we were on our way. We spent Thursday at Disneyland where we had a blast on all the rides, Star Tours and Buzz Lightyear being the boys' favorites. They got to make their own light sabers and had a wonderul time - we didn't leave the park until midnight!

We had Thanksgiving dinner on Friday, after mom and I did a little holiday shopping. We had plans to go to 3 different stores, but our plans changed after we spent 1 hour and 20 minutes in line at Kohl's. Saturday, Rhett went to the USC/Notre Dame game with my Uncle Ken, and the rest of us went bowling and out for pizza. We left CA Sunday afternoon and stopped in Phoenix to see my sister and her family, then came the rest of the way home on Monday.

Now it's back to normal life and it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. I got out the Christmas decorations today and remember how much I like Christmas time.

By the way - for those who asked what I thought of Twilight, it was o.k.. I thought it was very choppy and it barely skimmed the top of the detail in the book, but I guess it was to be expected; that's what most movies-from-books are like. I didn't agree with some of their casting decisions; however, I will see the next one when it comes out.