We got the House!

We close on May 6th! We may take a week or so to paint and a couple other things. If anyone wants to help, I am sure we could use it. Thanks! I love ya all! April

Life is good!

I am going to New York City on Thursday night! I cannot tell you how excited I am! This will be my first airplane trip, and this is the #1 place in the world I always wanted to visit. All the best ballet companies and schools in the world are in NY. I want to go visit the School of American Ballet (the school from the movie Center Stage) and maybe the Joffrey ballet. We are going to see 2, maybe 3 Broadway plays (The Little Mermaid, Mama Mia, and maybe Wicked), the Statue of Liberty, Ground Zero, Times Square, etc... I am so excited! I was telling Alan last night that yes, I am so excited to go to New York, but I am just as excited to be my own person for four days. I will only have to take care of myself, no diapers to change, no bread to make, no multiple sets of teeth to brush etc... I love taking care of my kids, but a break is much needed, especially before baby #4 arrives. I am so grateful that Tracie let me tag along on her Dance Co. trip, Thanks Tracie!

Also, we put an offer on a house in Orem that we really like. It is not a short sale, so there is a really good possibility that it will go through. We made them an offer on Saturday night and they got back to us this morning saying our offer was too low, so we counter offered there asking price. They are supposed to get back to us today again. This house was built in 1973 and is a split entry. 6 bedrooms and 2 bath. The best part is, is that it has a separate mother in law apartment with separate entrance completely finished and being rented out right now. The family wants to stay if we will let them (score!) This is actually the only way we could afford a house right now, so we really hope we get it. Other things it has are: a fenced and finished back yard, 4 or 5 mature trees, a two car garage, and a full sprinkler system.

If any of you know us well, you know that we have never really been that good with money. We have been working hard to change that. I am in charge of the budget, and I must say, I am so proud of what we have accomplished. One thing that Alan and I have always struggled with is spending miscellaneous amounts of money on random not budgeted for things. So I came up with the idea to give he and I get a $25 allowance every time he gets paid. We can spend this money how ever we want, no questions asked. This has helped us the most! It has taken us a long time to get our finances under control after the studio. I know we have been commanded to get out of all unnecessary debt, and I know when Heavenly Father commands us to do something, he also provides a way for us to accomplish it. I feel like in almost every part of our lives this is true. We are so blessed and I am grateful.

One more thing! Our friends the Wilkerson's need help! They recently found out that they need to get invetro fertilization to be able to conceive another baby (they have been trying for over 5 years). They don't have the money they need to pay for this expensive procedure. Lyndee has come up with a way to earn money to pay for it on their own. She makes the most adorable knitted hats has dedicated a blog to selling these hats to raise money for their baby. Please just take a second and check out her blog. www.wilkersonivffund.blogspot.com

April

Life is good!

I apologize, I know this picture is terrible! I took it through a window, so this is the best one I got.
Last Week Victoria passed of all of the requirements for Level 1 gymnastics. Tomorrow is her first day of Level 2, and she is so excited. Brady turned 5, so we moved him to Level 1 boys Gymnastics from the 3 and 4 year old class. He also is so excited to be part of the big boy class. I am so proud of Victoria and Brayden, they have both done so well and are so talented. Hopefully they can find that special talent that they love as much as I loved Ballet, whether it be gymnastics or whatever. I love my cute kids!

Happy Birthday Brady, Heidi, and Heather!

Brady got a Leapster2 for his birthday (educational video games), and he played it all day long with pretty much the same look on his face!

We held a triple birthday party at Aunt Heather's house (Heidi, Heather, and Brayden), and the cousins had such a blast playing with each other. Left to Right: Victoria, Brady, Dallin, and Austin.

The daycare at the gym I go to painted Brady's face as a lion.

Victoria decided she wanted to dress Brady up as a girl. He is wearing her clothes and boots, and they found my old drill team wig to finish the look. He even talking in a girl voice, it was pretty cute.

Happy Birthday Brady! Brady is such a fun boy, his personality is allot like his dad's and man oh man does he give the best bear hugs ever! I love how his eyes get all squinty when he smiles and how he always loves to snuggle in the morning. He turned 5 years old on March 2ND, which means he will start kindergarten in the fall. Crazy!



Happy Birthday Heidi and Heather! They turned 32 (I hope that's right), on March 1st. I have the best sister's, I feel so lucky to have sisters that care so much about me and my family. I love you guys and hope you have a great year!



Biggest loser people:


These are the people that I think are interested in doing a "Biggest Loser Contest":

Heidi, Heather, Alan, Laura and Kathrin.

Did I miss anyone?

If you are interested let us know, we would love to have more!

OK, if you are participating I would like you to comment on this post with the following things;

Any idea's or rules you may want to have in the contest. Once everyone has commented, we will decide on rules and start. Also, when you want to start and end.

April and Alan's ideas:

1. You have to use the same scale throughout the contest.

2. Could have Biggest loser blog, so we can do a weekly post on our progress, OR we can do it through email.

3. Open a bank account at a bank that is easily accessible to everyone participating. Everyone can deposit entry fee ($50) into account before contest starts. Every week you gain (any) weight you will need to deposit $5 to $10 dollars into the account. Whoever looses the biggest percentage of weight by the last weigh in takes all the money!

4. 3 months long, end June 15Th.

5. Everyone has to set a goal weight loss or percentage before it starts. If we know each others goals, we can help support them.

Please post your idea's!

April

I Hate Wal-Mart!

I already knew that I hate going to Wal-mart, but tonight I reaffirmed that hate and promised myself I will never go there again! It is always so crowded, there produce is usually yucky, you always have to wait in a long line and there lines always move SO slow. Wow, this sounds really pessimistic! Anyway, I went tonight and I waited in line for over an hour (I am not exaggerating), I had Audrey with me and it was tough to keep her entertained and she was so tired. I am sorry if some of you are Wal-Mart lovers, but I myself am a Target lover!
OK, sleep is good, I must go! April

The Bestest Day Ever!

On Friday when I went to pick up Victoria from school, I was waiting in the van when I saw her skipping with a smile towards the van! She got in and explained that her teacher let her class have a break and they didn't have any homework that night. Victoria shouted over and over "I'm Free, I'm Free, I'm Free!" I laughed and informed her that I had two surprises for her and Brady. She got a big smile on her face (again), and I said "We get to go to the Library right now and tonight you get to sleep over at Grandma's house!" She said "This is the Bestest Day Ever!" Later we had to stop at the bank and we went inside. I got the kids some sucker's while they waited for me. Victoria asked me to help her with the wrapper on her sucker, so I did then handed it to her. She said "Mom, this is the Bestest Day Ever!" The guy that was helping me busted up laughing and said " Wow, I have never heard anyone react like that before!" I said "She has been saying it over and over since I picked her up from school." He said "Wow, that must have been one good day at school!" I said "Well, she doesn't have any homework!" He started laughing again and said "I understand that!"
I am so glad Victoria was so grateful for everything she got that day!
April