Gifted Veterans' Program

Last Wednesday, Katie, Jared, and Tyler participated in a wonderful program for veterans at their school.  All three kids said their lines perfectly.  A friend photographed Tyler for me.  He looked so cute!

The kindergarten - 2nd grade class placed a tribute at the "Vietnam Wall" and said a poem.  Jared's 3rd grade class did a presentation about how many soldiers lost their lives during each of the wars our nation has entered.  Katie's 4th grade class did three tribute cadences and she called one of them.  I didn't bring my camera, so my friend Kim got a few pics of Tyler for me.

Operation Negotiation

The bank countered our offer already.  I thought they'd move fast, but I'm really surprised it was so quick!  Unfortunately, they only dropped the price $2k :(  We'll see what we can work out.

Our realtor just called back and it sounds like the bank will approve our counter at $1k over our original offer.  YAY!  I should know pretty quick.  Troy and the seller have to sign the updated price.

Now it's been almost a week and we haven't heard anything...  I'll post again when we do.

Alyssa's 1st Temple Trip

This past week the youth in our ward went to the temple and Alyssa was thrilled to go for the first time.  We are blessed to have a temple only 30 minutes away so the youth go regularly.

House Pics

Hopefully this will be our next house!

View from dining room toward front entry way

Formal living room

Dining room

Desk in kitchen

Half of kitchen

View from kitchen sink

Sliding door in kitchen

DOUBLE HUGE PANTRY

Intercom system

2nd sink/serving area

Family room with exit to back porch

Downstairs bedroom

Downstairs bathroom

Downstairs shower

Laundry room

3 car garage :)

UPSTAIRS

Master shower

Master tub

Master bath

His closet

Her closet

Master bedroom

Bedroom with sliding doors to balcony

Upstairs bathroom

I didn't take a picture of the bonus room over the garage.  I'll have to get one next time we go through the house.

View from balcony

Back yard

We Have a Signed Contract!!!!!

I have been using my nervous energy to get my house clean today while waiting to hear from my realtor.  So now that I know it is done I can relax and hopefully nap.  As soon as the offer is accepted by the bank, I'm going to go over to the house again make plans.  I can't wait for the kids to get a chance to see it.

I Hope I Get an Answer Soon!

After our original offer on the rambler was countered, we were very disappointed that they weren't willing to send it to the bank to decide.  They countered back $10k below the listing price, so we countered $20k below the listing price and they told our realtor today that they would accept our last offer...

However, while we were waiting on them to decide what they would do, another house became an active listing again because the buyer decided to "think about it" long enough to let the contract lapse.  Our realtor was great to come show us the house within a few hours of it being active again.  We wrote up the offer before leaving the house last night so we wouldn't miss out on it.  It isn't a rambler, but almost everything else about the house is better.  It is 4100 SF with .3 acres in a beautiful area at the end of a cul de sac in our neighborhood.  The only thing it needs is a screen for the back deck and some lights in the bedrooms.  Alyssa has been really upset at the thought of moving, but even she is excited about the new house.  The crazy thing is that we can buy this house for about what the other one would have cost us after replacing windows and the lawn, and its resale value should be much higher.  We should hear back on our offer tonight or tomorrow morning and the waiting is driving me nuts!  I could hardly sleep last night and have been getting more excited by the minute.

House Hunting :)

We have decided to start our search for a home here in Orlando and I'm pretty excited.  We are going to try to purchase a short sale home and we'll see how that goes.  We have toured 8 homes already and narrowed it down to one depending on the bank's willingness to meet our offer.  We are hoping to get a rambler and stay in our elementary school zone and current neighborhood, so that severely limits the possible candidates.

Tyler Started Gifted on Tuesday

After passing all of the requirements for gifted last fall, this week Tyler was staffed in the 1st/2nd grade class that meets on Tuesdays.  He is the only Kindergarten student in the class of 10 kids.  His teacher emailed me during the day to let me know how he was doing.  He really enjoyed the hands on activities. He also was given a part in the Veteran's Ceremony that the gifted classes are putting on in a couple weeks.  I am excited for him to have such a great opportunity and I know his gifted teacher will be wonderful.  Katie and Jared are in separate gifted classes too.  Katie's meets on Thursdays and Jared's meets on Fridays.  Jared gets really sad when vacation days occur on Fridays because he loves the class so much.

New Year's Getaway to St. Augustine with the Family

For our last trip of the year, we decided to go to St. Augustine since Troy had a rare Friday off work.  He took the kids to see Tron while I finished getting ready for our drive.  Thankfully this one was only 2 hours and the kids were fascinated by The City of Sparks book on CD (the second book after The City of Ember).

We went straight to the Renaissance World Golf Resort to check in before heading into town for the evening.  Everyone was so impressed with how lovely the hotel was and having a free night was wonderful.  Since I had a Gold level Marriott membership, I was given a free breakfast buffet and free internet too - so nice!  The grounds had an outdoor pool and jacuzzi and a playground for the kids.  Inside was a gym with a sauna.  They had apples and water for snacks in the gym.

After getting some energy out, we grabbed some dinner at El Potro and were very disappointed with our food overall.  However, Alyssa discovered a mashed potato quesadilla.  I have a feeling that variety will be requested next time I make them :)

We drove out to the beach and found a parking spot so we could make it to the fireworks at the pier.  The weather was very pleasant and the clear skies made it perfect for viewing the show.  They started shooting fireworks at 8:30 and went for 20 minutes with at least 6 sections that seemed like it had to be the finale.  I couldn't believe how many fireworks they had!  

Then we headed back to our hotel and everyone but Troy fell asleep before midnight...  So we had our sparkling cider the next morning for breakfast :)  I had brought breakfast items because I knew they didn't include it at Renaissance hotels, so the rest of the family ate that and I got to go downstairs for the free buffet since Troy's not so into breakfast and such a wonderful husband!  It was the most amazing food!  They normally charge $11.95 and I'd totally pay it if we stay there again. 

I emailed myself a list of the foods they offered:

Omelet station with red onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, spinach, bell peppers, bacon, ham, sausage, Cheddar cheese, pepper Jack, and feta cheese Strawberries, pineapple, cantaloupe, and honeydew Veggies like tomatoes, asparagus, carrots, squash, bell peppers, and celery with dip Yogurt Granola Pastries like croissants, cheese filled, raspberry filled, and chocolate filled Bagels, bread, and muffins Oatmeal and grits Scrambled and hard boiled eggs French toast and pancakes Make your own waffles Corned beef hash Biscuits and gravy Bacon and sausage (links and patties) Oranges, apples, Asian pears, and bananas Milk and chocolate milk Cold cereal Breakfast potatoes Cheese cubes and ham cubes I ate enough to last me until my ice cream for dinner ;) Then I took the kids to the jacuzzi and pool.  It felt wonderful to just relax!  We didn't check out of the hotel until 1 pm because we were enjoying it so much.   We stopped at the lighthouse on our way to Winter Wonderland at the St. Augustine Ampitheatre.  It is the 10th tallest in the country.  We looked around the gift shop for a little while and learned more about the lighthouse.  The boys really wanted to climb to the top, but neither Troy or I was up to that.  Katie found a tree to climb though.  The walls of the fence are made of shells in concrete. There is an area where you can drive along St. Augustine Beach. View ahead of us

View to the left

View to the right

Our last stop before heading home was St. George Street for ice cream - Troy's favorite!  We stopped at Kilwin's and were given free samples of their yummy fudge while we waited in the long line to get our cones.  We saw a wood park downtown that the kids want to visit next time...  I'm sure we'll be back.

Alyssa's 12th Birthday

I can't believe my first baby is 12 already!  I am so blessed to have her for a daughter.  I don't know what I would do without her help and her ability to comfort others.  She truly has a compassionate heart and wants to make life better for others.  She loves attending the high school this year and doesn't want to move away from this gated subdivision.  Her grades are better than they've ever been and she is realizing that she is smarter than she thought she was.  I hope with the Lord's help I can make it through the teenage years that are quickly approaching.  Time is speeding by and I want to enjoy where she is today.

For her birthday, Tyler and I took her to Sea World for the day and let her choose what we would do the whole time.  She and I took turns riding Manta since Tyler is too small.  I seriously need to remember a ponytail holder!  That roller coaster positions you face down while you ride and my hair is quite a problem.  The rest of the day was spent seeing A'lure! twice, touring the shark exhibit, the penguin exhibit and watching the Christmas Clyde and Seamore show.

By seven, we were exhausted and ready for dinner.  We tried Kobe since they sent Alyssa $15 off for her birthday.  It was delicious and I couldn't believe how much food we were given.  I took most of mine home to share with the rest of the family.  Alyssa had a 4 oz. Filet Mignon steak that was so good she wished she had a larger serving.  After the meal, the staff brought her a cupcake and a tall hat and sang to her.  I loved seeing her so happy.

Alyssa's Latest Surgery at Shriner's

Monday December 20th we drove up to Shriner's in Salt Lake for surgery.  Alyssa's legs differ in length by 3 cm right now, so for this latest surgery the doctor inserted 2 8-plates into her longer tibia's growth plates to allow the shorter leg to catch up while the growth in the long leg stops.  She is about 5'3" now, so even if she never gets any taller that will be fine.  The doctor also inserted an 8-plate into the inner side of the shorter femur's growth plate to allow the other side to grow more and rotate the leg under her body more.  Some old unnecessary hardware was removed at the same time.  I love that they don't insert the IV until she is asleep from breathing through a mask.  That helps with her stress levels.

Silly from the medicine in the pre-op room

When she woke up, they let her choose a blanket to take home with her before bringing her back to her room.  She recovered quickly from the anesthesia and was eating a full meal within 2 hours of waking up.  I stayed overnight with her to make sure she was doing okay and had her pain under control before we left.  She enjoyed listening to music on her MP3 player and painting a wooden hummingbird.  When they came around with Uncrustables and milk for the nighttime snack, she even ate seconds!  She kept explaining that since she missed breakfast and lunch, she needed to catch up on her food intake :)  The staff at the hospital are always very sweet with her and make her feel so comfortable.  They even remember her from previous stays.

After a red popsicle, she got red Jell-O

Each night they have a craft for the kids - Alyssa loved it!

On Tuesday, Troy brought the kids up to visit since they couldn't make it up the canyon to go skiing due to the snowstorm.  They enjoyed playing with all of the fun toys in the playroom.  Troy played pool with Alyssa in her wheelchair too.  A friend from our Lindon ward came up with her boys to visit Alyssa and brought her a game.  Alyssa was so happy that she had visitors!  During the afternoon, a magician came to put on a show and he was great.  Troy and the 3 youngest kids helped with some of the tricks.  We headed home before the traffic got bad and stopped to pick up cupcakes and cakebites from the Sweet Tooth Fairy in Draper - YUM!

The kids all loved the service dog and want one of their own

Jared's Baptism and Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert

Saturday December 18th, Jared was baptized at our stake center in Lindon.  He was so excited to have his baptism where his extended family could participate.  The musical number Jared requested was I am a Child of God which Doug accompanied.  Janell spoke on baptism and I gave the talk on the gift of the Holy Ghost.  Some of the Lindon 12th ward members came too :)   Thanks Bishop and Sister Mickelsen and all of our family and friends who helped support Jared!

That evening Jared, Alyssa, and their cousin Rebecca went with us to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's Christmas concert at Temple Square while Tyler and Katie went to a UVU basketball game with Scott.  We had tickets to the North Visitor's Center and enjoyed getting the chance to watch David Archuleta and all the other performers.  If you didn't get a chance to watch Music and the Spoken Word from December 19th, try to do that.  Next year the concert will be on DVD and they announced they were taping it for future airing on PBS.  After the concert, we walked around to see the Christus statue and the lights before heading home.

Spending time near the temple was the perfect way to end Jared's special day!  I am thankful for the Savior and his love for us.  We have the chance to be together as a family forever due to His atonement.  I have been blessed and I'm grateful for the chance to repent and change my life for the better.