So you maybe looking at the name of this post and thinking to yourself, "wait a second, it's not Christmas yet, we still have a few days." For you, yes you are right, but not for the Legates family. See my husband has to work Christmas day, so we had it early (we did something similar for Thanksgiving, because my husband also had to work on that day) we had our Christmas on Sunday. IT WAS AWESOME! We opened presents, ate a big meal, and played games together.
The big thing that I got my youngest kids was the Tardis, and for my big kids, I got them Youth Digital Mod Design.
My two oldest are interested in learning code. My oldest in fact wants make a career out of it. This program teaches you how to make mods for Minecraft using Java, and it teaches you in a hands on way with videos. The kids, so far have made their own sword, and put it in the game. Jeremy and I also started to watch the videos, because we wanted to learn too.
As far as other gifts... Darien our oldest got some amiibos (which is nintendo figures, and you can use in some nintendo wii u games), a nintendo online game shop gift card, and the new Woolly Yoshi game. For Zachary, we got him an Ollie, a cool heat changing mug, a Dalek desk guarding thing, and a lego set. Nathaniel got a lego set and a bunch of Imaginext figures and play sets. Olivia got some princess dresses as well as some My Little Pony figure sets.
It was a really good Christmas, and I can't wait until next year. :)
Wednesday, December 23, 2015
How I built my kids a Tardis tent :)
Yes good news, I did not start the project only to give up building it in the end. No, I build it! Finished it months ago in fact, but I wanted to wait until after I gave it to my kids, to post it on here.
If you are thinking of doing the same thing, or if you are just curious as to how it was done, then just keep on reading.
First you need PVC pipe. I got the 3/4 size for the whole project. I needed 4 5ft poles and 8 3ft poles. The PVC is sold in 10ft poles so buy 5 of them. The Home Depot where I bought mine had someone who was back with the PVC pipes, and he was able to cut them for me. Actually he only cut the first pipe, but while he was doing that he showed my sons how to do it, and they cut the rest. Really cool! So yes you get 5 10ft pieces, 2 of them you cut in half and the others you cut 3 3ft pieces in each, and yes you will have some left over. The biggest left over piece became a sword at our house.
Here is everything you will need PVC wise.
Don't for get these things, so you can connect all of the pieces together. You'll need 8 of each.
They screw together like this.
It all fits together like this. It's easy, you're just making a cubed rectangle.
Next is the material. You'll need 8-9 yards. I know deep breathes right? Joann's has this fabric which you can buy in bulk online. Wal-mart also has the same fabric in their stores, and it's a bit cheaper.
This is basically what you are trying to do with your fabric. Also what I don't have shown here is that the front piece will need to have a slit cut down the middle (longways) to act as the door. Also while cutting and sewing the material give yourself an extra inch or two. This will make it much easier when putting the whole thing together.
I also got fabric paint to paint the windows and words.
While you are putting the tent together remember that you will be inserting the pipe through the loops in the material while attaching everything together. Also this tent, while together, does not fit through door ways (well not at the size I made it), so you are going to want to set it up in the room where you want it. Luckily taking it apart and putting it back together isn't that bad.
If you are thinking of doing the same thing, or if you are just curious as to how it was done, then just keep on reading.
First you need PVC pipe. I got the 3/4 size for the whole project. I needed 4 5ft poles and 8 3ft poles. The PVC is sold in 10ft poles so buy 5 of them. The Home Depot where I bought mine had someone who was back with the PVC pipes, and he was able to cut them for me. Actually he only cut the first pipe, but while he was doing that he showed my sons how to do it, and they cut the rest. Really cool! So yes you get 5 10ft pieces, 2 of them you cut in half and the others you cut 3 3ft pieces in each, and yes you will have some left over. The biggest left over piece became a sword at our house.
Here is everything you will need PVC wise.
Next is the material. You'll need 8-9 yards. I know deep breathes right? Joann's has this fabric which you can buy in bulk online. Wal-mart also has the same fabric in their stores, and it's a bit cheaper.
This is basically what you are trying to do with your fabric. Also what I don't have shown here is that the front piece will need to have a slit cut down the middle (longways) to act as the door. Also while cutting and sewing the material give yourself an extra inch or two. This will make it much easier when putting the whole thing together.
I also got fabric paint to paint the windows and words.
While you are putting the tent together remember that you will be inserting the pipe through the loops in the material while attaching everything together. Also this tent, while together, does not fit through door ways (well not at the size I made it), so you are going to want to set it up in the room where you want it. Luckily taking it apart and putting it back together isn't that bad.
The good news is, the kids love it.
Thursday, October 22, 2015
Hot Springs, Harry Potter Party, and Etsy
Hey guys, yup once again I have a gap in post. Sorry about that. My head has just been a mess lately and I haven't been able to keep things as straight as I normally do. Yup it happens to all of us.
So Monday we went to the Fifth Water Hot Springs here in Utah, and it was pretty awesome, but tiring. It's only a 30 min drive for us, so it's great having something like that pretty close. The hike is long, or well long for us beginner hikers, but totally worth it in the end. It's 2.5 miles there, and yeah 2.5 miles back. I think it took us about an hour to hike up to the hot springs, and 45 min to hike back down.
So Monday we went to the Fifth Water Hot Springs here in Utah, and it was pretty awesome, but tiring. It's only a 30 min drive for us, so it's great having something like that pretty close. The hike is long, or well long for us beginner hikers, but totally worth it in the end. It's 2.5 miles there, and yeah 2.5 miles back. I think it took us about an hour to hike up to the hot springs, and 45 min to hike back down.
We had so much fun, and I feel like we picked a good day to go, because the temperature was great. Nathaniel took the lead on the hike up, and Darien took the lead on the hike back down. They both set a good pace and kept us going.
For all of you Harry Potter fans, our Harry Potter Party is in a few days. We are going to have it on the 25th, 26th, and 27th watching 3 movies a night (except for the last night). If you've been following this blog for a while you what we do, and what goes on, but for all of you newbies, I'll explain. We are big fans of Harry Potter, and we love to watch the movies, so every year around Halloween we have a Harry Potter Party, where we watch all of the movies. We usually change it up every year by how many we watch in a night, but we always make yummy Harry Potter themed snacks, and we always have games and trivia. If you want to know what we normally make I have it all laid out on last year's post.
If you are looking for any new ideas I do have a few links for that as well. I follow this YouTube baking channel called Nerdy Nummies (you need to follow it too), and since our party last year she has posted 3 new Harry Potter treats. Golden Snitch Caramel Apple Cider, Felix Felicis "Liquid Luck', and Pumpkin Pasties.
If your looking for trivia questions I do have the list from last year, and I am willing to e-mail it out to anyone how wants it, so just let me know.
I have opened a shop on Etsy called Thread Bed Head it has mostly beaded jewelry but I am going to put more crochet things on there as time goes on. So if you have some free time, or some money just laying around and taking up space, you should go check out my store and buy something (maybe), or share the link.
Thanks for reading everyone :)
Friday, October 2, 2015
Do You Wanna Build A Tardis?
So for Christmas I wanted to get my youngest two (Nathaniel and Olivia) a Tardis. They love the show Dr. Who, and Olivia has been asking for her very own Tardis, so I was thrilled when I found this on Think Geek. True at the time when I found it, it was sold out, but that was in August, and it had the whole "Est. 6-9 weeks" thing, so I thought I had nothing to worry about. I was even more thrilled when the "Est. 6-9 weeks" turned into "Est. 9/30". Naturally I marked the calendar, told the site to e-mail me once it came in, and checked it everyday just in case.
So on 9/30 (2 days ago), I woke up all excited and checked my e-mail... nothing from Think Geek... "Maybe it will be in later today" I think to myself. I go and check the site anyways, and to my great disappointment the "Est. 9/30" has turned back into "Est. 6-9 weeks"... ... *sad face ... ... *cry. A quick online search showed me that everyone who had ever carried this product is sold out, and has been sold out, so I do what any normal person who do, check eBay. They had one used one going for 40 BGP which is roughly $60. So I went for it. I put in the maximum bit that I was willing to spend on it (the shipping was $37, so I took that into account), and I was out bid... crap... The only known Tardis in the whole universe (or at least this galaxy), that's for sale, and I lost out on it.
After picking myself up off the parenthood floor, I got the idea that maybe I could make one. I see the Mythbusters make things out of PVC pipe all of the time, and it looks do-a-ble, and I thought PVC pipe would be perfect for the frame. Here is what I came up with...
So on 9/30 (2 days ago), I woke up all excited and checked my e-mail... nothing from Think Geek... "Maybe it will be in later today" I think to myself. I go and check the site anyways, and to my great disappointment the "Est. 9/30" has turned back into "Est. 6-9 weeks"... ... *sad face ... ... *cry. A quick online search showed me that everyone who had ever carried this product is sold out, and has been sold out, so I do what any normal person who do, check eBay. They had one used one going for 40 BGP which is roughly $60. So I went for it. I put in the maximum bit that I was willing to spend on it (the shipping was $37, so I took that into account), and I was out bid... crap... The only known Tardis in the whole universe (or at least this galaxy), that's for sale, and I lost out on it.
After picking myself up off the parenthood floor, I got the idea that maybe I could make one. I see the Mythbusters make things out of PVC pipe all of the time, and it looks do-a-ble, and I thought PVC pipe would be perfect for the frame. Here is what I came up with...
List of things I'm going to need
as far as sewing goes this is my plan
Well wish me luck, and if this gets off the ground I will post more about it.
Saturday, August 22, 2015
Crafty Classroom and Currently Sewing
I wanted to share my latest projects to all of you crafty moms out there. They're not perfect but I like them a lot, and don't consider them a waste of my time. The first and the second I made for our homeschool classroom. The idea for the first one was from a picture a friend of mine posted on Facebook.
My friend Melanie posted the one on the right, and I loved it. The thought that is was awesome, and I just had to make my own. What I like most about it is, that it reminds the kids (and well anyone), that you can be whatever you put your mind to, and that possibilities are endless.
My friend Melanie posted the one on the right, and I loved it. The thought that is was awesome, and I just had to make my own. What I like most about it is, that it reminds the kids (and well anyone), that you can be whatever you put your mind to, and that possibilities are endless.
This was my second project. I thought of the idea a few weeks ago, but didn't have anything big enough to paint it on (or so I thought). I was going to go to the craft store and get a canvas, until a brilliant idea popped into my head. As you guys know we just moved, and thanks to that we have a lot of boxes just sitting around. So I found a nice sized box and cut it apart. All of us are Dr Who fans, and I like having a reminder of why reading is so awesome. This project was just a late night with a bunch of paint and Relient K playing in the background. IT WAS AWESOME!!
So onto sewing?
My daughter had grown out of her Minnie mouse dress, or what we called her Minnie mouse dress, and her Tinkerbell dress had been reduced to rugs (which is really no surprise since it was a cheap costume). I was having a hard time finding replacements for the two, because of how cheaply made costumes are these days, so I just made her two dresses. I got the material and the pattern (they are made from the same pattern) from Joanns. I LOVE FABRIC STORS :) They were very easy and she loves them, so that's whats important. I figure if we do get to go back to Disney World (we are hoping for a trip next year) that these would be great for that, and will actually last until then, and way beyond. This was my first time following a store bought pattern, and it was very easy to follow, and the instructions were thorough.
I think they look good, and as long as people don't get to close, they won't notice all of the mistakes ;)
I think they look good, and as long as people don't get to close, they won't notice all of the mistakes ;)
Thanks for reading my post. I hope this inspires all of you crafty moms, to get out there and make something beautiful. :)
Thursday, August 20, 2015
It's School Time Again... What??
Hey everyone! I know its been a while.
Summer vacation is over... Can you believe it? And so is our first week of school (well almost). It's going well for the most part. I was joking on the phone with my best friend last week about how the first week of school you have all of these ambitions and you're doing everything thing right, and grading papers right away. You are starting every day with a smile on your face and a peppy attitude, then by week two reality has set in, and you grade your papers at the end of the week, and your attitude is more like "oh just get your work done and stop complaining!" Yeah, it makes me laugh just thinking about it.
I also feel that the kids' ambitions about the new school year are pretty similar. They seem enthusiastic about studying and learning. They are confident that they can turn all of their work in on time, and without a hitch. We all know that doesn't last either. I guess the moral of all of this is, no we are not perfect. What a relief right?
So yes the first week of school. Well I must say that teaching Olivia was a bit easier than I thought it would be. She gave me a much harder time during summer vacation. I guess it helps having her brothers in the room and learning as well. Zachary and Nathaniel are still struggling to get their work done on time on our math and language days, but as of right now it isn't as bad as last year. Darien is still getting done early, even though I gave him a lot more work this year. Yes some things never change. The good news is they did study this week. They put time into their work, and I feel like they are doing well. I feel like I have finally instilled in them the importance of learning and I'm proud of them, no matter how crazy they make me. Do you get like that too? You know the whole "why don't you remember this?" or "Why can't you read this word?" or "What do you mean you don't know what an antonym is?" This is when the hulk inside of me comes out, and all of my kids start to tip-toe around and whisper to each other "she's the mom hulk right now, you may want to leave her alone."
I'm sure all of us moms homeschooling or not, are very crucial of our children, and when they don't know or remember something it's like a failure for us more then them, and it's hard. So all of you moms out there make sure you pat yourself on the back this week, and take deep breaths. You're doing the best you can, and it's going to be alright.
P.s. since the first week of school is almost over, we now have one game review up on our game review blog and will have more in a few days if you would like to check them out :)
Summer vacation is over... Can you believe it? And so is our first week of school (well almost). It's going well for the most part. I was joking on the phone with my best friend last week about how the first week of school you have all of these ambitions and you're doing everything thing right, and grading papers right away. You are starting every day with a smile on your face and a peppy attitude, then by week two reality has set in, and you grade your papers at the end of the week, and your attitude is more like "oh just get your work done and stop complaining!" Yeah, it makes me laugh just thinking about it.
I also feel that the kids' ambitions about the new school year are pretty similar. They seem enthusiastic about studying and learning. They are confident that they can turn all of their work in on time, and without a hitch. We all know that doesn't last either. I guess the moral of all of this is, no we are not perfect. What a relief right?
So yes the first week of school. Well I must say that teaching Olivia was a bit easier than I thought it would be. She gave me a much harder time during summer vacation. I guess it helps having her brothers in the room and learning as well. Zachary and Nathaniel are still struggling to get their work done on time on our math and language days, but as of right now it isn't as bad as last year. Darien is still getting done early, even though I gave him a lot more work this year. Yes some things never change. The good news is they did study this week. They put time into their work, and I feel like they are doing well. I feel like I have finally instilled in them the importance of learning and I'm proud of them, no matter how crazy they make me. Do you get like that too? You know the whole "why don't you remember this?" or "Why can't you read this word?" or "What do you mean you don't know what an antonym is?" This is when the hulk inside of me comes out, and all of my kids start to tip-toe around and whisper to each other "she's the mom hulk right now, you may want to leave her alone."
I'm sure all of us moms homeschooling or not, are very crucial of our children, and when they don't know or remember something it's like a failure for us more then them, and it's hard. So all of you moms out there make sure you pat yourself on the back this week, and take deep breaths. You're doing the best you can, and it's going to be alright.
P.s. since the first week of school is almost over, we now have one game review up on our game review blog and will have more in a few days if you would like to check them out :)
Sunday, July 12, 2015
School work is all planned... The books are all order... School work starts in 5 weeks
Yeah I know, just 5 weeks. I'm wondering where the summer went, which is really saying something since our summer started in May. Oh and we do start our school work in August in case anyone is wondering.
I am doing things a bit different this year. I have written up the week to week plans a bit different. If you have been following this blog for a while, you may remember this...
And there was nothing wrong with this plan, but I just wanted to go more in depth, and also make time for homework (yes I know, it's all homework, because it's all from home), and study time. So now it's this...
You may have noticed that every ones week plan is tailored to what they are able to complete, and that each subject (math, history, ....) is done on certain days of the week. We do it like that because it flows better that way (for us it does). My kids do a lot better when we start the week off with the subjects that we are going to need to study the most in, and take the most notes in.
You may have also noticed that on the schedule I have over time work and a Saturday penalty. That's because there are two boys who live in this house that sometimes have a hard time keeping their mind on their work. I also have a boy who always gets done early no matter how much work I throw at him.
For anyone who is curious we do 36 weeks of school (if I tell myself 36 weeks, then it makes it really easy to schedule breaks for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter), We usually start the 3rd week in August and finish the 3rd week in May (or that's the plan, it's not unusual for us to finish earlier).
I'm happy to announce that all of the homeschool books for this year are either here already or on their way, and should be arriving tomorrow.
The school books can get a little expensive, but I'm so happy that my 3 big money savers exist and really came through for me this year, Ebay, Amazon, and the legendary Curriculum Sale (where local HS moms sell the books they don't need anymore).
After making up the list of books we needed this year (not counting the ones we already owned) it was going to be about $500 brand new from ABEKA (which is our choice curriculum). Well we only ended up spending half of that, when it was all said and done. :) This is something I really look forward to every year, the making of the list, hunting for the books at discount, and having them arrive. I'm not sure if other HS moms feel that way as well, but if I were to guess I would say that yeah they do.
Oh and I also have the reading / book report list for anyone who wanted to see...
Reading List 2015-2016 Homeschool Year
Darien
Walt Disney - Saving America’s Lost Generation
Animal Farm
The Princess Bride
The Time Machine
Bloody Jack
Earthrise: My Adventures as an Apollo 14 Astronaut
The Paper Magician
The Glass Magician
Zachary
Lily Renee, Escape Artist: From Holocaust Survivor to Comic Book Pioneer
Leonardo da Vinci: The Amazing Genius Inventor and Artist
Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Six Napoleons
Abraham Lincoln For Kids
The Jungle Book
Mary Poppins
Half Magic
The 13th Warning
Nathaniel
Star Wars The Clone Wars: Operation Huttlet
A True Book: Volcanoes
Detective Dinosaur
Grasshopper on the Road
Star Wars The Clone Wars: Yoda in Action
Penguins
Scooby-Doo: The Haunted Hallowen Party
Super Twins Meet the Bad Dogs From Space
Darien is going to be an 8th grader this year, Zach is 6th, and Nathaniel is 3rd.
Olivia is going to be in Kindergarten, so yeah no reading / book report list for her, even though I'm sure we will be doing a lot of reading.
With my list I tried to do (well with the older two anyways) some non-fictions, and some classics. I also included things that I knew they would enjoy, and my husband helped with the list.
The book reports are just a part of all of the writing they are going to be doing this year. They will have one writing assignment every week, and it will either be a game review, where they pick a board game or video game and write a review on it (I will be posting all reviews on this new blog I made for them), an Essay like a personal narrative, fan fiction, or research report, and of course the books reports are thrown in there on certain weeks. This is my attempt to improve their handwriting, spelling and grammar.
Lets hope it works :)
Oh and filing my Intent To Homeschool here in Utah was super easy. I had already found the paper work I needed to fill out for filing online (it was one page), and I got the address for the school district building. Before I left I pulled a folder with the kids' birth certificates, shot records, and prof of homeschooling for the previous years, and I didn't need to bring any of it. The school district building was the nicest one I have ever seen. Most of the time, they are in an old school building that are pasted their expiration date, and they smell funny. No not this one. It looked like an historic town building from the outside, and a fancy office building from the inside. Yeah WOW! Maybe the Mormon church is funding the school district or something. :)
So yes 5 weeks... Well here's to trying to enjoy the rest of the summer. Thanks for reading everyone.
Thursday, June 18, 2015
True friendship is a beautiful gift from God :)
Once again I was lucky enough to see my friend Jessica, yes she visited me back in February, when we were still in Washington. Well this time she came here to Utah, for a whole week. It was wonderful.
You know when you have someone, someone who knows a lot about you, who loves and accepts you just the way that you are? For me that's Jessica. The most beautiful thing about it is, we don't always agree on everything and we like different things, but we don't care. That must be true friendship, because if it isn't, than I don't know what is.
So what did we do all week? Well... We did some hiking, played some minecraft (she's not to bad for a beginner), watched some Anime, went to the water park, did some shopping, watched some Mythbusters (because they are awesome), and sometimes we just hung out and talked.
I didn't find out she was able to come until two weeks ago. Once I found out I was of course over the moon, but not just because my best friend/sister was coming, no that wasn't all, she was going to be here in just a week, and she was staying for a week. The jumps for joy and the running around the house shouting "Aunt Jessie is coming", were just the beginning of my expressions of delight. I think I may have driven my husband nuts all of that week, but at least he came home to a clean house near the end of it.
I got to drive to Salt Lake city airport for the first time, and it was very easy to get to. I really love it when that happens. From the map it looks like it's laid out very similar to Sea-Tac, but when you actually get there, you realize it's not. That's okay though, I was only lost in the airport for a minute until I got where I needed to be to meet her. Once her plane had landed I told the kids, that the first one to spot her wins. Darien won :P, but not by much. We nearly knocked her over, but I don't think she minded.
Having her here was just like the good old days back in San Diego. The inside jokes, the helping hand that insisted on doing something, the awesome conversations, and the discussing and watching of our shared interests (Anime, Star Trek, Dr Who, Mythbusters... you know all of the good stuff).
Dropping her back off at the end of the week was hard, but not as hard as I thought it would be. I know (but mostly hope) that it won't be long until I see here again.
All in all, you are awesome Jessica! Don't you ever change!
You know when you have someone, someone who knows a lot about you, who loves and accepts you just the way that you are? For me that's Jessica. The most beautiful thing about it is, we don't always agree on everything and we like different things, but we don't care. That must be true friendship, because if it isn't, than I don't know what is.
So what did we do all week? Well... We did some hiking, played some minecraft (she's not to bad for a beginner), watched some Anime, went to the water park, did some shopping, watched some Mythbusters (because they are awesome), and sometimes we just hung out and talked.
I didn't find out she was able to come until two weeks ago. Once I found out I was of course over the moon, but not just because my best friend/sister was coming, no that wasn't all, she was going to be here in just a week, and she was staying for a week. The jumps for joy and the running around the house shouting "Aunt Jessie is coming", were just the beginning of my expressions of delight. I think I may have driven my husband nuts all of that week, but at least he came home to a clean house near the end of it.
I got to drive to Salt Lake city airport for the first time, and it was very easy to get to. I really love it when that happens. From the map it looks like it's laid out very similar to Sea-Tac, but when you actually get there, you realize it's not. That's okay though, I was only lost in the airport for a minute until I got where I needed to be to meet her. Once her plane had landed I told the kids, that the first one to spot her wins. Darien won :P, but not by much. We nearly knocked her over, but I don't think she minded.
Having her here was just like the good old days back in San Diego. The inside jokes, the helping hand that insisted on doing something, the awesome conversations, and the discussing and watching of our shared interests (Anime, Star Trek, Dr Who, Mythbusters... you know all of the good stuff).
Dropping her back off at the end of the week was hard, but not as hard as I thought it would be. I know (but mostly hope) that it won't be long until I see here again.
All in all, you are awesome Jessica! Don't you ever change!
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
Summer Vacation Has Started And There's about To Be A Teenager In The House
Well school is officially out for the Legates family. I'm so glad, as I'm sure you can imagine. We finished almost two weeks ago on the 8th. It always feels great to finish a school year. I however have only gained a little more free time, because I still have to get Olivia fully ready for kindergarten. Yeah, that's always tons of fun (not really). My daughter is really smart and catches on to things quick, but she is also stubborn (joy). Well you can't have everything, and if there is one thing that I have learned during this whole teaching my children experience is that you have to adapt. Wish me luck with that.
So now for some good news. I am starting my YouTube hair tutorials back up. So you can expect the next one this Sunday. I am also going to be doing a bonus video once a month with an unboxing. I got Jeremy a subscription to Loot Crate for father's day, and he got me a subscription to Geek Fuel for mother's day. Our first boxes should be coming in a few days, and I was going to make a video showing what was in each box, and kind of do a "Geek Fuel VS Loot Crate which box is better?" sort of thing. It should be fun, and I am really looking forward to getting my first box.
My oldest so is about to turn 13. Wow! The years have gone by quick. The good news is he's a great kid, and I doubt that turning 13 will change that. He's awesome at being a helping hand around the house, and is starting to show a lot of responsibility. Yes I'm proud, and that's okay. From a mom's point of view I'm just glad I didn't mess him up some how. He was my first, and I had to learn how to do everything. It doesn't seem so bad now looking back, but I know there was a lot of sleepless nights and a lot of tears. Yes they were all worth it.
Thanks for reading, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY DARIEN!
So now for some good news. I am starting my YouTube hair tutorials back up. So you can expect the next one this Sunday. I am also going to be doing a bonus video once a month with an unboxing. I got Jeremy a subscription to Loot Crate for father's day, and he got me a subscription to Geek Fuel for mother's day. Our first boxes should be coming in a few days, and I was going to make a video showing what was in each box, and kind of do a "Geek Fuel VS Loot Crate which box is better?" sort of thing. It should be fun, and I am really looking forward to getting my first box.
My oldest so is about to turn 13. Wow! The years have gone by quick. The good news is he's a great kid, and I doubt that turning 13 will change that. He's awesome at being a helping hand around the house, and is starting to show a lot of responsibility. Yes I'm proud, and that's okay. From a mom's point of view I'm just glad I didn't mess him up some how. He was my first, and I had to learn how to do everything. It doesn't seem so bad now looking back, but I know there was a lot of sleepless nights and a lot of tears. Yes they were all worth it.
Thanks for reading, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY DARIEN!
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
Currently In Utah And Loving It
Yes we are all here safe and sound, and yes like always it was an interesting journey.
The packers came last Monday. Most of the time when movers come it is very stressful, and that is mostly because you are trying to keep your children entertained and out of every ones way. My husband however, was nice enough to take the kids out on that day. They went to the park, then to play mini golf, and lastly to watch the Cinderella movie. The best part was he thought I was doing him a favor by dealing with the movers (because he doesn't like to do that at all), but in reality he was doing me a favor. It's awesome when things work out like that.
The loaders came the next day, which was last Tuesday, on that day we just spent most of the day in the backyard kicking a Hello Kitty ball around. Both the packers and loaders moved pretty fast, and were done around 3pm on both days. Tuesday was sunny for most of the day, until about 2pm, when it started to hail like crazy. Yes it was hailing while the movers were there. Those poor guys.
Wednesday was our final inspection on our military house, and right after that was taken care of, we hit the road. Our goal for that day was to make it as far as Twin Falls, ID. We thought it was only going to be a nine hour drive The drive turned out to be more like eleven. That may have been because of the snow we hit in the mountains. We got to the hotel around 9pm, and yes we still went to the pool. We kind of had to, we promised the kids, and considering that they had put up with that drive with patience and grace, keeping our promise was no big deal. Yes before you ask the cats came too. Both of them were in my mini van, with the younger kids while the older boys were in my husband's car. Link our oldest cat was a big cry baby for almost the whole trip (he hates cat carriers), and Zazzles was just chilling.
Thursday we made it to Utah. I wanted to shout with joy when we crossed the state border, but my kids were asleep in the car at the time. I resorted to telling them with an enthused voice when they woke up. About 30 mins before we reached our final destination, which was the house we were going to rent, I get a call from the company that owns the house, saying the rent and deposit checks never came in. Great... Yes and we had sent them over a week before... Great... and they were casher's checks... Great. So we had to go and get money orders before we could move it. Yes something always has to go wrong, that's just life. You fix it, you learn from it, and you move on.
Once we finally payed for and made it to the house, it was wonderful. It was what we wanted and more. It's the perfect size and has everything we need. Every window has a view of snow caped mountains, and every room has a walk-in closet. The best part is that we have enough room for a school room.
While waiting for our stuff to arrive, we explored the area a bit. We when to the aquarium and Ikea. We checked out the mall and drove around just to see what they had here. There's a lot to do here, and as far as stores go, they have almost everything. Yes big improvement from Bremerton, WA.
Our stuff arrived on Monday (two days ago). They unloaded the truck and had everything put in the correct room in only three and a half hours. That's super fast, that fastest I've ever seen it done.
The good news is, we are almost done unpacking. We have a few boxes just setting round. The great news is that this house looks even better with our stuff in it.
I want to thank everyone who has prayed for our family during all of this. I'm so grateful for every ones kind words and prayers.
The packers came last Monday. Most of the time when movers come it is very stressful, and that is mostly because you are trying to keep your children entertained and out of every ones way. My husband however, was nice enough to take the kids out on that day. They went to the park, then to play mini golf, and lastly to watch the Cinderella movie. The best part was he thought I was doing him a favor by dealing with the movers (because he doesn't like to do that at all), but in reality he was doing me a favor. It's awesome when things work out like that.
The loaders came the next day, which was last Tuesday, on that day we just spent most of the day in the backyard kicking a Hello Kitty ball around. Both the packers and loaders moved pretty fast, and were done around 3pm on both days. Tuesday was sunny for most of the day, until about 2pm, when it started to hail like crazy. Yes it was hailing while the movers were there. Those poor guys.
Wednesday was our final inspection on our military house, and right after that was taken care of, we hit the road. Our goal for that day was to make it as far as Twin Falls, ID. We thought it was only going to be a nine hour drive The drive turned out to be more like eleven. That may have been because of the snow we hit in the mountains. We got to the hotel around 9pm, and yes we still went to the pool. We kind of had to, we promised the kids, and considering that they had put up with that drive with patience and grace, keeping our promise was no big deal. Yes before you ask the cats came too. Both of them were in my mini van, with the younger kids while the older boys were in my husband's car. Link our oldest cat was a big cry baby for almost the whole trip (he hates cat carriers), and Zazzles was just chilling.
Thursday we made it to Utah. I wanted to shout with joy when we crossed the state border, but my kids were asleep in the car at the time. I resorted to telling them with an enthused voice when they woke up. About 30 mins before we reached our final destination, which was the house we were going to rent, I get a call from the company that owns the house, saying the rent and deposit checks never came in. Great... Yes and we had sent them over a week before... Great... and they were casher's checks... Great. So we had to go and get money orders before we could move it. Yes something always has to go wrong, that's just life. You fix it, you learn from it, and you move on.
Once we finally payed for and made it to the house, it was wonderful. It was what we wanted and more. It's the perfect size and has everything we need. Every window has a view of snow caped mountains, and every room has a walk-in closet. The best part is that we have enough room for a school room.
While waiting for our stuff to arrive, we explored the area a bit. We when to the aquarium and Ikea. We checked out the mall and drove around just to see what they had here. There's a lot to do here, and as far as stores go, they have almost everything. Yes big improvement from Bremerton, WA.
Our stuff arrived on Monday (two days ago). They unloaded the truck and had everything put in the correct room in only three and a half hours. That's super fast, that fastest I've ever seen it done.
The good news is, we are almost done unpacking. We have a few boxes just setting round. The great news is that this house looks even better with our stuff in it.
I want to thank everyone who has prayed for our family during all of this. I'm so grateful for every ones kind words and prayers.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)