Moving On!

Yup, that's right we are MOVING!!!!  Exciting, scary, and LOTS of work!  We purchased it from a very sweet elderly couple who we had the pleasure of meeting.  You can tell they loved and cared for this home.
 I am going to attempt to document as much as possible of all the changes we are making to the house.  In two weeks I hope there is a great transformation!

Yesterday, after I got the keys I started removing nails and screws and patching any holes.  

The place is filthy, just years of grime mixed with dust.  YUCK!

This is the LAUNDRY ROOM....where clean clothes come out!  The shelving has been completely removed and will be GONE.  Again, YUCK.

I can tell you it was very difficult to really see the space when we viewed the home.  Cluttered and FULL.

When David joined me yesterday we removed the cabinet section hanging from the ceiling in the kitchen, but of course I forgot a before photo!  It already has opened up the space and I can't wait to see how the light comes through now.  David did discover a ceiling mounted electrical socket.  Ugh.  Not ideal, but brainstorming about it now.  I wonder if they make those pull down outlets, like they have in industrial kitchens or garages, but pretty for a home.  Hmmmmm.

We will be out of the house for a few days while our AMAZING handyman is removing all the lovely popcorn ceilings. Then, he paints!!!  I. Can't. Wait.  The house needs clean, fresh, paint....and trim that is WHITE.  

We will most likely stop by Sunday, when our Handyman is off, and remove the master carpet and maybe the other 2 bedrooms flooring as well.  Some other destruction and then a dip in our new pool!  

Thank you Holly

My two big girls finished all levels of swim at Lifetime Fitness!!!! It is great to see how confident they are in the water now and I can't wait to watch them swim and play all summer. 

Thanks to their sweet teacher Holly. She was a perfect match for their personalities. 

Me and mom

My mom invited me out to the botanical gardens in Phoenix to see the beautiful glass art on display.

It was interesting art and as the sun went down some of the pieces seemed to come to life a bit more.

Here are a few of my favorites!

The fire ball before the sun went down 

The fire ball!!

I called this asparagus!

My girls saw this with nanny too....and apparently had snack all over the park! 

Pat's Run 2014

It's hard to think that a year ago this was my first ever real run. My supportive husband ran the entire 4.2 mile run at my pace and I finished in just over 51 minutes. I was just so excited to be under one hour and I ran (really it was a jog) the entire course. 

I have been running consistently since last fall. I am not where I want to be but I am inching my way there, something I could not do without my amazing husband encouraging me and giving me tips along with my four cheerleaders!!! One of those cheerleaders has the itch to run as well. She joined us for the run this year and walk/jogged it with her daddy and Scott. They finished at 1:05:07 and I cried as they ran over the finish line together. Honestly, this run is so emotional anyway knowing who we are running for (pat Tillman gave his life for this country) and seeing current military running, wounded warrior project, those representing fallen soldiers, along with countless other patriotic people and sights.

As for me I finished in 45:37. Averaging a 10:52 mile, which would have been a little better had I not got stuck in a crowd at the end. My goal was an eleven minute mile consistently for 4.2 miles. I do not train with inclines and there are a couple doozies on this course! 

Big Changes

It's official....we have no more cribs in this house! In fact we have no more baby anything. It Is bittersweet. I have no desire to be pregnant again or lose sleep for months, but I do love our babies. However, four is a good number for us.

Emma is sleeping on a fold out mattress for now and she loves it! 

Easter 2014

A little preeaster fun at Walmart saying hi to a Easter bunny. We have never done much involving this furry guy but the girls wanted to day hi to him, well all but sweet Emma. She was "cared" (scared) of him! 

Easter baskets are simple in our house but full of things each girl would like. Chiara loved her scarf and new hairbrush, mayah was happy to get a new hello kitty watch, Leah freaked over her angry bird necklace and earring holder, and Emma loves anything purple! We bought each girl their own box of band aids....trust me on this parenting idea!!! And if course each one got glow sticks for our trip to Alpine in July!!!! (Can't wait!!)

We go to Easter service Saturday night with my parents so we can enjoy this time together Sunday as a family. Our girls are only young for a little while and trying to have a joy filled Easter morning while rushing to get ready for church seems ridiculous! We live watching them hi around the house looking for eggs in their pjs. Emma had no memory of last Easter so this was her first time all over again!!! She saw the first eggs when we all came down the stairs and said,"this is awkward!" So cute! 

Of course when nanny,grampy, great grandparents, and "uncle" Scott (or cot) get here we egg hunt outside! Scott and I hide these eggs and we try to make it a big more challenging.

Then gifts from nanny and grampy to top it all off.....

The most exciting was that nanny was taking her four girls to a little production of Aladdin!!!

Our sweet mayah spent most of the day in bed with a fever (she was diagnosed with strep the following day). She was such a trooper to come out of bed to egg hunt and enjoy a couple parts of the day. 

Another wonderful family holiday!!!

Scientifically speaking

Another trip to the Phoenix science center, though this one was a bit shorter than normal for us. It was a major school field trip day. If David and I were not already convinced to homeschool our girls for the duration of their schooling this trip would have pushed us there. 

It was not only the behavior of the children but the lack of involvement and correction from the adults supervising them. 

Due to the hectic nature of the exhibits we took in a show in the planetarium that no schools were seeing. It was the Arizona skies show and all four girls enjoyed it! We learned a lot about the constellations and planets. Of course there was talk of Big Bang and such but it just provided good conversation after about what the bible saysverses scientific   theories. My girls get it and I love that we are there to have these conversations with them.

After our time at the science center David treated us all to lunch. And we can't go to the Cheesecake Factory without also going to the pet store....where we found chiara!!!! It was another great family fun day!!!