Difference between Vegas and Des Moines

So no photos of the house yet, its still not all put together. I'll post photos of the outside and our "view" later. We have been here almost 2 full weeks now. Chris is in school, and Will starts 1st grade tomorrow. We have his open house tonight. He is so ready to start school.

Jeffrey decided he wanted to see what Iowa's health care system was like so he tried out the urgent care last night. Chris said the Dr did not believe that he was only 3. I have been having a hard time lifting him lately so I agree with her on the one. But he broke his right radius. He has a soft cast on (ace bandage with a splint) and thinks its way cool. I guess this is how we will break his finger sucking habit.

So on to the differences

Vegas

HOT HOT HOT

Gym - crowded with unreal people

No eye contact made

rude drivers

small condo (it closed yesterday!!)

ward

Great friends

Des Moines

Playing outside daily

Gym - Very few people, very clean, and very real people

Cashiers telling you thier life story

Nice courteous drivers

nice sized house

Branch

no friends yet but someday soon I'm guessing

Over all this place has been great to us and so has Drake. I know I will miss Vegas weather in the winter but for now the playing outside and walks have been great! I plan on being a better blogger, I also plan on being a better house keeper too so we shall see.

video's

First off we got wonderful news yesterday. The bank accepted the offer for our short sale!!!! we will beable to sell our house before we move!!! such a wonderful blessing!!

So Jeffrey did this one day before we recorded this. He did it on his own. it was so funny to watch him do this. I must admit I am a little worried about him hitting his head. he does this over and over.

Anmmarie had her dance recital so long ago. She is on the far left. and was so happy to get to wear makeup.

3 1/2 weeks left!

I honestly cannot say I thought we were this close to moving. Chris has given his notice at work, we've rented the truck, packed lots of stuff (lots left to pack), and been released from our nursery calling (we are speaking in church next week too). To be honest I have to say that it is getting harder for me to leave. we have been so blessed here. I never thought I would ever live in Vegas let alone enjoy it.

The closer I get the sadder and more excited I get. I read a friends facebook post who when she was moving said she's not crying she just has allergies. So I'm totally copying that. I will not miss the 115 heat that has been around this week and looks to be here longer. But I will miss my wonderful friends. I have made some of the best friends ever here and It breaks my heart to leave them. We have the most wonderful ward in the world. I truly understand what the meaning of a ward family is. I could never say enough thank you's for the wonderful people you are and the great service you have provided for our family. We will miss the Valle Verde ward.

On the other hand we are excited to start a new adventure (as some wonderful people call it). We are excited to play in the snow, to enjoy some more outdoor time, and experience all new things in a few weeks. Hopefully I will get better in updating (time will tell right). we have our new address, email if you want it. Hopefully we will get a new phone number sometime in the next month or so.

So soon we are off on our brand new adventure! (this might call for a new blog title!)

Blessings

Typically I do this around thanksgiving but we have been blessed so much I had to write it down (I'm terrible at journals, so thanks blog!)

Chris went to Iowa this past weekend to look at Drake and find out more and hopefully find us a place to live. Long story short, he found a house 3 bedrooms, some yard, and best of all it is campus housing (off campus, this is not UT so We are very lucky to have found something that fits a family). They even lowered the rent $50 because they felt like they made Chris drive all over town. They will put in new carpets, and cabinets before we move in. I don't know what to do with myself. Plus Chris really enjoyed the school. He is excited but also a little nervous. I would be a lot more nervous if it were me, but hey its not.

I went and spent a few days with Kindy while Chris was gone. Oh how my kids love her house, or maybe the tramp or the cousins. Whatever it was they loved it. When we got home I showed Will a satellite photo of our "new" house in Iowa. He said where is the garage? I said there isn't one. then he asked where is the trampoline. Apparently if you live in a house you must have a trampoline.

Another blessing is Chris having a job still. In this economy this is huge.

Our condo has passed the initial approval from the bank for the sell. Now we are waiting on . . . I've got no clue but hopefully this is the last step. Another major blessing.

Jed goes into get scoped on Thursday. We are hope full that we will discover some reason for his throwing up, but if not we are really glad that we have had insurance, so we could see if we could find out if anything is wrong.

School is out and I am done babysitting. I have been so lucky to earn some money from home by babysitting, but I am so grateful that I have just my kids now. I feel like I'm a better mother and more willing to do things with my kids. because taking 6 kids to the store is crazy but 4 is really not all that bad.

There are many many more but we have been so blessed the last few months I am starting to get a little fearful of the coming month. Maybe it is the blessings before the trial of Law School, which I'm still OK about and not totally freaking out. I've started to pack. Mostly because there is a chance that the condo might sell before we have to move. WE don't really care we just want to sell this place and get out. Now off to look for a place to live for 1 1/2 months before we move to Iowa.

new photos

our "football" game. our rules, If I don't drop the ball its still yours, but this might mean you are tackled many many times.

Jed really enjoying an Ice cream sandwhich

Annmarie in her first dance costume. . . really pink and Orange? I even know they don't go.

3 little monkeys swinging on the bed. . .

For Mothers day Chris had all the boys looking like Payne Stewart! Loved it.

Will's solo

OK so this did not get posted last week.

So today Chris and I went to watch Will's Kindergarten performance. He did awesome. He spent so much time staring at us, in stead of the music teacher but hey he's 5 what can we expect. He had a solo as taped above. He did not tell us. He did great. Sadly we didn't tape the funniest song, it was the 3 little bears. Here are some photos of the event. Bella has the best papa bear face ever!

Later we went back to the classroom and each kid needed to tell Ms. Hundley what their favorite thing about kindergarten was. Will said Singing with the other little girl. Our Friend Jenn E says that she thinks Will likes her. Guess that just confirmed it.

whats new

Photos first.

Annmarie with her curly hair. She loves those sponge rollers. She has her first dance recital the first of June she is so excited! Costumes and all.

Here is what really goes on at our house. incase anyone wondered.

Jeffrey's 3 yr old photos.

Jed's 18 months photos

Wow where has the time gone! As 2 of my boys are partaking in their favorite past time (a hot shower) I figured it might be time to sit down and let you all know what’s going on in our lives. The last few months have flown by. Will has enjoyed every part of school and is learning so much. It is amazing to sit down and read to him but have him read most of the words to me. I love it! Annmarie tries so hard to read too, it is so cute. Jeffrey turned 3. It seems like this he should have been 3 a long time ago since he is such a big big boy. I love to hear him actually form somewhat correct sentences. Jed is picking up on everything. He is talking talking talking. He is a very good Parrot with the exception of milk. He refuses to say that word. He even says GI Joe. Not exactly the right way but it is soooo cute.

In April Chris and I joined 4 of my sisters 2 brother in laws and 6 almost family (now) running in the LA Ragnar. We ran about 200 miles (between 12 people) and had a blast. The worst part of the whole race was. . . we were in different cars. One of the best parts was I got to see an old pageant friends Tara. It has been years since we have seen each other, but it still seemed the same. We will be running another one in mid June up in Utah. We are much more nervous of this one since there is a huge altitude difference. Then there is a one in Vegas in October which we are “captains” of we still need a few runners if anyone wants to join us.

We did something I swore I would never do. We got rid of our dish and DVR. It has been a hard transition but thanks to Netflix, hulu, and cbs.com we still get the 3 shows we still like to watch. It is amazing how many shows we have stopped watching. Now some may ask why we got rid of dish. Let’s just say Chris has been a little nervous about his job security here in Vegas the last 6 months to a year. After some wonderful blessings we decided that Chris should go to law school. We tried 2 years ago, but due to a multitude of things we chose not to go. Well we are going! At this moment the plan is to go to Drake University in August. We are on the waitlist at UNLV. We are planning on moving but should UNLV decide they really do want Chris there we might reconsider. The amazing blessings we have had the last few months are amazing. The willingness of the Lord to let us know that Chris’s job is less stable now than ever before, paying off debt, and possibly selling our condo. Also we are in good health! Hopefully this continues. I have been amazed at the amount of peace in our lives thanks to this decision the peace is overwhelming.

Jed has been undergoing testing lately to see if we can determine the cause of his way to frequent throwing up. Nothing yet, but we are hoping to find something out sometime in his life.
Overall life is great and we could not ask for more. We are so blessed, and sometimes I wonder if we really deserve it. But I am so grateful for it. Here’s to the dream that I will update a little more often. oh yeah, we also have a camera now!!! So no more excuses on that front.

An update

An update on the family. Still no photos because still no Camera

Will - still loves school. He started taking Tennis lessons through the city. He loves them. plus there are only 3 kids in class so it is totally worth it. He is getting so big so fast!

Annmarie - Started Dance again. she loves it. There is actually a big performance this time with costumes and everything. I'm not sure I'm gonna like this. She went to a birthday party and got a pink makeup bag with 5 things of "lipstick" (lip gloss) in it. She is in heaven!!

Jeffrey - Wow what to say. His potty training is getting much better. I can see a light at the end of the tunnel. He is 2 . . . what more should I say.

Jed - he has been going through a rough patch. He had some crazy allergy that had bumps on his face and wrists. No clue what it was but we took him to the Dr and found out he had a double ear infection. There was no sign of that. Then he is getting into this screaming stage. He wakes up at 5 and screams and screams!! if he actually went to sleep at 7 when he is put to bed. He usually is up in his bed until 8:30! Hopefully this is a stage and he is done with it by . . .tonight!

Chris - is back in school. He is taking 2 classes this semester. I think he's liking it. The county is deciding on if They are going to keep Chris's department in the next few weeks. Hopefully they will but if not it gives us opportunities to try new things.

Karen - I've been busy. I run to the gym at least once a week, unlike Chris I hate to run on the treadmill. I've been working hard on keeping the house clean. We put it back on the market last week. I have been good at keeping it tidy. hopefully this lasts and hopefully our condo will sell. It would be so nice to have more than 2 bedrooms, and possibly a backyard.