'Boops' and the Chef Hat

Sometimes we get something we just love. It becomes our favorite thing! In the case of a child, they may want to wear this new found favorite item ALL THE TIME!

Mama Cindy got Lucy a chef hat (among other kitchen necessities) for her birthday back in September. The moment she got it she wanted the hat on. For weeks Lu would wear her hat around the house. It would be a fight to get her to take it off for naps and leaving the house.

'Boops' are a different story. (And yes in front of Lucy we ALWAYS say 'boops' because we don't want her to stop with the cute baby words). They haven't fizzled out and it has been months. I was noticing today that she won't be able to wear them for all that much longer as they are now her size. Anyone have any advice for a child who grows out of something they love?

The other day Lucy had on cute navy shoes to go with her outfit. Then she saw me put on my brown boots to leave and she freaked out that she couldn't wear her 'boops' too. We had to change her clothes and shoes because I am such a pushover of a mother! To church I usually stand my ground though, no 'boops' unless you are wearing a dress that they actually work with.

Side note: below is Lucy in timeout. Most kids hate time out. Why did I have to have the child that actually loves it and does things that will let her visit that corner? One time her cousin was over spending a few days with us and I sent him to timeout. Lucy cried and cried because I would not let her go to a corner for time out too. What is wrong with my child? Counting doesn't work either because she gets excited and starts to count with us. Sigh...

She asked for the leash I swear! And the no clothing in timeout and below? She didn't want to put her dress back on and it was warm so I said heck with it. Plus, isn't it kind of cute?

Pumpkin Patch

So I know I am in the wrong season, but my stister wanted to see new pictures and my mom wanted the first thing you see on my blog not to be about grandpa's funeral. I haven't uploaded pictures in awhile and never posted about Halloween.

One Saturday in October we went with the Battles' to several pumpkin patches around our area. We found one that not only had pumpkins, but had games, food, hay rides and a kiddy play place. It was a lot of fun and we found some great pumpkins. We carved pumpkins that night, but those are on my other camera that I haven't taken the pictures off yet. Maybe in a few months I will remember to show off our masterful pumpkins (oh you just wait, they really were awesome).

Getting ready to go on the hay ride The best family photo we could get

Lucy being very picky about what pumpkin she wanted

My two loves weighing our pumpkin choices. Aren't they both adorable!

Grandpa Hansen's Funeral

M. Keith Hansen's Funeral
Date: Friday, November 13, 2007
Place:
Mt. Hood Stake Center
12300 SE 312th
Boring, OR
Viewing: 9-10:25
Funeral: 11:00

Grandpa M. Keith Hansen

So two nights ago, November 3rd, I got a call from my parents at 10:00 letting me know that my Grandpa died. WHAT? We had a family dinner on Sunday and he wasn't there because he was vacationing in Hawaii. How could he possible be dead. We aren't sure what happened yet, but he was scuba diving with his wife Becky's son-in-law in Hawaii when something obviously went wrong.

You have to understand that my Grandpa was in great shape. He is the Stake Patriarch, they were planning on going on a mission pretty soon here and he was healthy enough to be scuba diving. He was only 76.

My Grandpa was such a wonderful man. I thought for sure he would live into at least his late 90's. How am I supposed to deal with a death that comes out of the blue? When both my grandma's died, we knew it was coming. We prepared ourselves, said our 'I love yous' and 'goodbye's.' But I didn't get to say goodbye to Grandpa Hansen. I left a message on his home phone Sunday, he is never going to hear it. It is so hard to think Lucy isn't going to grow up with 3 of my 4 grandparents. They were there my whole life, to support me and be my role models.

I don't think I quite get what happened, it hasn't hit me totally yet. But I do know I am sick, it is my birthday and I want my Grandpa. I am such a baby but it seems that sometimes life hits you hard and it can be a bit much to deal with.

I love you Grandpa and I will miss you more than you know! Thank you for being so wonderful and please say hello to Grandma for me!

By Baby is 2

I can't believe I have a two-year-old! It is just crazy. I miss the days when she was a cute chubby little baby that would let me hold her in her arms. Look at her cheeks in the picture above, she was so stinkin' adorable. She is even cuter now, but in a drama queen sort of way.

Want to know something funny about having a two-year-old? Well two days after her birthday I had someone tell me that it was time to get working on another one. Really? I thought that would be so predictable that nobody would mention it, but it actually happened anyway. More comments have been made this past week than the whole previous year about having another child.

Right now Lucy is playing right next to me with her purse slung over her shoulder and talking away to her baby. Two minutes ago she tapped on my shoulder and said "My baby got hurt and cry mommy." This morning she talked about crying for the first time when I went into get her. She had been fake crying, stopping as soon as I opened the door, then looked at me and said "Ucy cry mommy, I cry," as she demonstrated where her tears were with both of her hands. She is a crack up for sure.

We went to the doctor yesterday and she had 3 different nurses and the doctor comment on how well she talked for a two-year-old. I told one of them that talking wasn't the problem, it is keeping quiet we were working on. Here are by baby's stats:

36" tall - 90%

27lbs 2oz - 50%

Lucy is tall and thin. My mom had me get my doctor's records out last night to compare Lucy to me at that age. I was a little bit shorter, and a little bit fatter. Go figure.

(I am now wearing her purse and holding her baby over my shoulder and keeping there with my chin. Oh the things we do as mothers)

I need to upload all my pictures because so much has happened that I want to blog about, but want the corresponding pictures to make it better. Pictures make every post better in my opinion. So coming up are posts about Lucy's Backyardigans Party, our new playroom and her first day of Ballet.

09.09.09

Last week was a tough one. We all spent a little time being sick. Lucy got it first on Sunday, Tuesday it was slow in coming, but I ended up going from feeling faint and nauseated to loving the toilet bowl by the end of the day. Tyler was on a business trip in Boise and spent the entire time in his bathroom, poor guy. He so got it the worse. Here is a picture of Lucy being pathetically sick on the couch. I think she looked adorably angelic with no energy!

(Whoever says these leashes are mean doesn't know what they are talking about. Does Lucy look like she hates it?)

Okay I know it is Wednesday, but I have been meaning to get online and blog about my weekend. I had so much fun with Tyler being home and us having his attention! Plus, we all felt so much better after being sick that week. Friday afternoon we went to the Oregon State Fair to meet up with a bunch of friends from work. Later that night we finally went to ride some rides (we promised Lucy a ride on the carousal) only to find out she was and inch or so too short. Come on, how in the heck could she hurt herself? Needless to say we did not have a happy camper so we had to distract her with the fish pond where she got a lovely turtle that she now totes around the house. She was happy and forgot all about the fish she won earlier from a duck pond!

After the fair we stopped by to play games with Jon and Amanda until almost 2 in the morning. I was so tired the next day, but Lucy slept in till after 9 which couldn't have worked out better.

Saturday Tyler spent the day working on Lucy's birthday present with his dad. We are giving the room above the garage a makeover with a full fledged stage and curtains. Look at the almost finished product below. You couldn't tell they are related or anything right?You should see it now, BEAUTIFUL! I spent the day cutting and sewing curtains. I am not done yet as I am figuring out how to sew as I go. Around five or so we a break to watch the BYU game...what a wonderful way to round out the day huh?!! Go Cougars!

On Sunday I ended up making a cake (Amanda made the frosting) and we went over to celebrate my wonderful mother-in-laws birthday. I feel so blessed to have someone so wonderful in my life. I hear all these horror stories of in-laws, but I feel so lucky to have gained another set of wonderful role models who are complete assets to my life! Happy Birthday Ane!

Monday, Labor Day, was anything but a rest from our labors. I made two trips to Lowe's and spent the entire day painting and taping off the play room. Tyler helped by painting most of the first coat of blue on the ceiling. Can you believe it took 1 1/2 gallons of paint for the first coat? I am in shock! We decided the playroom is bigger than we thought. I haven't started on the second coat or the yellow walls. One step at a time right?

MY BABY TURNS 2 ON SUNDAY. I THINK I AM GOING TO DIE OR SOMETHING BECAUSE SHE IS MY BABY, NOT A TODDLER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Grandma Bernice's Birthday

On June 3rd we celebrated my grandma's birthday by spending a day in the Columbia River Gorge. We drove up the Scenic Highway and it was more beautiful than I remember. We stopped at all the hot spots like Crown Point (picture below).Multnomah Falls

the dam

We also went to the fish hatchery, which who knew there were fish that were over 7' long. We had a picnic with some awesome fried chicken my mom made in honor of my grandma, she made the very best! It was the best picnic right down to the table cloth and yummy lemonade (mom you thought of everything).

I have actually been thinking about my grandma so much lately, I have never missed a single person more in my life! I have to cry just thinking about her, we are coming up on a year without her with us. Tyler reminds me that I am so lucky to have had her so close to me all these years. How lucky I was to have a grandma that was such a wonderful, kind and hilarius person to help shape me into the woman I am. I feel so blessed, but at the same time I want her in my life still. I want Lucy to know her and it makes me so sad to think how much she would have loved to have seen Lucy grow up. To hold her so tight. Grandma always said that Lucy felt so good in her arms.

I miss her and want her back, but how thankful I am to have the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life. To know that I will be with her again. It helps, but it still makes me cry to not to be able to play games with her (oh the memories), or to call her about the latest thing Lucy said or did (she would have loved and looked forward to the frequent calls). I can't tell you how many times I have thought, 'oh I should call grandma,' only to realize that she won't be picking up the phone any time soon. I don't undertand why it hasn't totally registered in my brain that she is no longer with us. I still feel the pain in my heart, I wish it would just go away!

Sunny Summer

Me and Lucy have had so much fun this summer. It is amazing what you can do with a toddler. We have enjoyed everything from Disney World and multiple trips to the Oregon Coast, to the duck pond across the street, the Zoo, parks, our back deck, OMSI, playgrounds and so much more.
Just today we were at Bridgeport before dropping Tyler off at the airport. As a family we ate great food outside, got a balloon and watched Lucy play on the play structure. The simple pleasures of a child! I have almost as much fun as she does while watching how much fun a little pebble on the ground can be. Why can't adult life be that simplistic? I believe I need to get back the basics. I need to think more about my child than I do myself. Take care of my self yes, but do more for her and Tyler than I currently do. I have a NEED to see her smiling face and hear her cute giggle a whole lot more!

Mom's getaway

So two weeks ago I got a little mommy getaway. It was wonderful! I left on my own Thursday night to San Diego and was met by my lovely, pregnant friends Beth and Carla. We stayed up till after 4 talking. I haven't stayed up that late in forever! We talked about our time as roommates and all the fun we had. By the end of the weekend we concluded that while we LOVED our single life of 'seduction,' chick flicks and shopping for ourselves, we so wouldn't go back. Being married is so much better for us at this point in time. But if you are still single, live up the life for sure!

We got together for Kristen's wedding and boy was she a blushing bride. I have never seen her so girly and gorgeous! We were able to spend her last night as a single woman with her and had so much fun, and yes, more memories were shared.

Have any of you ever been to a busy day of weddings at the Las Angeles temple? Oh my goodness was that an experience. There were 15 weddings that day, but I swear they all happened at the same time. We had to wait HOURS for Kristen and Matt's names to be announced on the back stairs to make their first appearance as husband and wife. But don't worry, we made the best of our time. We would judge the brides maids dresses and guess what kind of girl picked it out. We even waited for one more bride to come out after Kristen because we had to see the girl that hated her best friends. I so wish I had taken a picture of the hot pink bondage strips that made the skinny girls look fat. We weren't disappointed with the bride, she was as we imagined:)

I came home Sunday night and was so happy to see my hubby and adorable angel Lucy. I feel trips away from them make me be a better wife and mom.

Oh, and I chopped off my hair right before I went. I love it, but think I will go even shorter next time. Tyler finally realized that I look better with a short bob than long hair that I never cared to blow dry. Now it's 4 minutes from wet to styled. What more can a mom ask for? (sometimes a wet pony tail but I am dealing)

Hornibrook Updates

1. We signed our lives away a couple of weeks ago and got the keys to our first home. I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!

2. Our family and ward helped us move in Saturday and our house is full of boxes. I don't remember purchasing this much stuff, but I am happy we for sure have enough room for it all in our home!

3. Today I had one of these baby's visit my house.

To make a really long story short, I went to take the trash out into our garage and the door locked behind me. With wet hair and no make up or shoes on, I knocked on neighbors doors, broke a few screens, cried a lot, prayed a lot on my knees in my back yard, tracked a lady down at the park across the street and called 911. 3 men came to my rescue--my hero's for sure! Lucy was oblivious of the situation as she slept away in her crib.

This was just as bad as the time I let Lucy hold the keys to our car as I strapped her into the car seat. I shut the door and went to put her stroller in the back and heard that dreaded locking sound. While it was a super hot car and by then end she had turned red and was rather wet, she thought it was a funny game. Lucy kept pushing the lock button over and over again making the car honk for everyone to enjoy, but never once pushed the unlock button. My mom and I sang her songs and played peek-a-boo with her through the windows till AAA came to our rescue. It seems all these unnecessary and very scary things happen to me, but I PROMISE I learn from my mistakes.

Moral of the story is don't lock yourself out, or let your child lock you out of the house or car.

4. Tyler has been working so hard and has only spent two nights in our new house. Fortunately my dad took him and my brother Dane to a golf school/camp this week in Arizona. Tyler called today and said his game has improved already and he is having a great time. The camp goes through Thursday and my lover deserves every minute of it to take a break from the stresses of work. (even though he has to work on his computer and make calls all night to manage his territory, he gets to relax and do something he loves during the day).

5. In less than two weeks I get to go see some of my very best girlfriends in California for Kristen's wedding. I am so so so excited to see them and have a girls weekend!

COLORS

I have been working on colors for a month or so with Lucy. Most everything we talk about has a color involved. "This book is blue" or "Find the purple two," but it never seemed to help her get the concept. The other day at IKEA I was buckling Lu into her car seat and she kept saying 'yellow, buuu' over and over again. I couldn't really understand her but she was quite persistent as she pointed and said it over and over again. Finally I looked to see what she was pointing at and it was the building. The 'Yellow and Blue' building, all of the sudden her words became very clear. I was so happy and exclaimed how proud of her I was. Ever since our experience last Thursday, EVERYTHING has a color involved. She knows Purple, Yellow, Blue, Green, Red and Orange quite well.

Today Lucy was eating Fruit Loops and she had to tell me the colors of each one before it went in her mouth. My excitement in the colors has worn off, but it still makes me a proud mom to know that when I talk about things long enough, it all pays off. One day the information just clicks in their little brains and it is a wonderful thing. I am absolutely amazed how much their brain resembles a sponge, soaking up everything around them!

Escape Artist

This morning Lucy woke up at 7:30, which today was a little early for me (I'm still tired from staying up till after 4 two nights ago). So I went in and laid her back down with a pacifier, blanket and bunny. This usually keeps her happy for an hour to an hour and a half whether she goes back to sleep or just reads in her crib. She's such a happy little girl, I feel rather lucky it works more often than not. Around 8 I heard her whining so I got up to start our day. I walked down the hall and opened Lucy's door and was shocked to say the very least. I hit Lucy with the door. That's right, I hit my child, not softly mind you, with her bedroom door. Somehow that little girl of mine got out of her crib and was at the door waiting for me to come get her. WHAT? There isn't even any furniture close enough to her crib for her to climb on. Are her muscles really that strong? I have heard of lots of mom's saying their kids escape, but I never thought it would happen with me, at least not with Lucy.
So there you have it, I have an escape artist on my hands and have no clue where to go from here. I am SO not ready to have her in a big girls bed. I like having her contained in her crib. But now that she can possibly get out (it may have been a fluke), she could really get hurt in the process.
If you want to know my deepest feelings on the subject, I am not ready for her to grow up. I tried the potty training thing and she's ready, but I'm not. I read somewhere that it is a child's first step to really growing up. And then to have to put her in a real bed, what does she think she is doing to me? She is only 22 months old, that is not a big girl yet, it is still a baby in my book. How do I get this through her head? Sigh...

The Half-Blood Prince

What were you doing at 12:01 this morning? I happened to be clapping away as the theater went dark and my good friend Harry was soon to appear on the big screen. Ever since I saw 'Yes Man' I have wanted to go to some kind of fanatic party. I really wanted to be totally decked out for the Harry Potter midnight showing, but I had to settle for the glasses and a eyeliner scar drawn by my mother.
We got to the theater 2 1/2 hours early and went strait in (shocking). We scored some great seats and began our waiting. Amy downed 1 1/2 ginormous diet cokes and had to go to the bathroom 3 times, once 20 minutes into the movie. We made a friend sitting next to us (she had been there for hours before us), downed many calories of junk and got super excited for the show to begin.

(my stissy with her coke straw wand)

My brilliant sister also won the Harry Potter trivia game at the front of the movie theater. She answered questions only a Harry Potter freak would know. Like the words for certain spells, who knows that crap? Anyway, she won tickets which she forgot to pick up. I was super enthusiastic the whole time, yelling things like 'that's my sister.' I got lots of strange looks, but hey, I was wearing Harry Potter glasses and an eyeliner scar, I deserved it!

Let's just say that Harry did not disappoint. The movie was actually fantastic, and because I haven't read the book in years, I didn't catch all the differences. I did notice certain huge omissions, but they didn't bother me as much as they did Amy. But overall, we both loved it and will for sure be seeing it again soon.

What did disappoint were the lack of Harry Potter enthusiasts. I did see about a dozen or so fully dressed fans, but that was it! Some puffy painted t-shirts or Hogwarts ties/scarfs and such, but really, where were all the full fledged freaks? I wanted my picture with them because secretly I want to be just like them (for a night only)!

November 2010 can't come soon enough!

Coldplay

Last Friday, thanks to a good friend, me and Tyler got to spend the evening enjoying the music of Coldplay. We went to their Viva la Vida concert and honestly had such a good time! First off, Chris Martin is not only an amazing singer, but it is a treat to watch him preform. He put on a good show, interacted with the crowd and showed more enthusiasm than is seen by most artists. We loved it!

I tried to get a few clips of the show, but I just had my little camera so the footage and sound aren't real good. Their were dozes of those yellow balloons flying around and Chris kept hitting the ones that would fly up on stage with his guitar and tons of confetti would fly out. It was awesome to watch!

If you like their music even a little bit, they would be a good band to see in concert!

On a different note, Lucy LOVES getting her picture taken. She hasn't always been like this, but over the last two months she can't get enough. She will say some form of the word picture, then 'cheeeeeeessse' (you can tell that is what she is saying out loud in this picture), then look at the picture taken and say 'aaahhhh cute.' It is then back to wanting to take another picture. Here is one of the 25+ I snapped last week. She looks so homely, but I still think she is adorable!

Potty Training Advice

So if you have been around Lucy recently, you may have noticed that any time someone mentions the bathroom or potty, she gets so excited and wants to go potty too. This consists of her sitting down on the toilet (lid down), getting toilet paper, wiping herself, getting off the toilet seat, opening the lid, throwing in the toilet paper, flushing the toilet and saying "bye bye pee pee." She does this all with very very little help on my part. SO...I have decided that i would take the opportunity to try to potty train her.

I went out today and got her a seat to put over our toilet, a step stool, fun soap and pull-ups. I already have the treats. I am not very excited about this because she is not even 22 months old yet but how can I pass up all the interest she is showing? I was planning on starting this process at 2 1/2.

Any tips from you moms? I know nothing, so any advice will help!

Three Years

Happy Anniversary Lover

I told you already, but it never hurts to say it again, I love you! You make me so happy and I love knowing we will always be together! Thanks for being the best husband a girl could ever ask for! Thank you for being a wonderful provider, a good daddy to Lucy, patient, forgiving, understanding, motivational, my best friend, and the hottest man alive!

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For Journaling Purposes:

July 2nd Tyler took me out for our anniversary. It was actually one of the best nights we have had together in such a long time. He works so much which means he is gone most nights of the week in various locations. This week he left on Sunday to Boise and comes home on Thursday night, only to drive to Grants Pass on Friday.

Mark and Ane watched Lucy over night which is always the best treat! Our date started out at See's Chocolates where we picked out a pound of chocolates (mostly key lime). Tyler then took me to the Pearl District in Portland because the 3rd anniversary is the year of the pearl or leather because of the marriages durability. We ate at Friteli's which has amazing Italian food. It was different, but a good kind of different. I highly recommend it. Then it was '1st Thursday' which is where every 1st Thursday of the month, a few streets are closed off in the Pearl District and local artists gather to sell their work. There is such a wide variety of things like paintings, photography, furniture, bags, jewelery, wire art, blown glass, wood work, you name it and it was there! And boy did it have a very Portland feel. I felt rather preppy walking down the street. But we had so much fun listening to the local music artists and Tyler bought me a pearl ring.

We then rented a movie at a movie store which is a big deal for us Red Box fans. Can you believe they still charge 4.99 for a new release? I am wondering when those stores will go out of business! Anyway, it was nice to have more choices. We chose the one about they guy who invented the intermittent wipers, I forgot the name. The movie was okay. But I loved the chocolates and had a wonderful time with my sweetheart. We slept till 10 the next day which was so nice. The whole date reminded me once again why I fell in love with Tyler to begin with. He is such a wonderful husband and my very best friend!

I Love to See the Temple

During the last General Conference Elder Gary E. Stevenson's talk, Sacred Homes, Sacred Temples, really touched me. The whole thing was wonderful! I won't give you a recap because most of you are LDS and have access to the transcript, but I will share the parts that I can't get through without the Spirit touching my heart (translation: tears in my eyes).

Elder Stevenson talked about how President Monson counseled, "As we touch the temple the temple will touch us." How we need to take our small children to the temple grounds and let them actually touch the temple. In two weeks our primary is going to go to the temple together. Not all come from the best of circumstances and opportunities like this are new to them. I can't wait to share my testimony with them on the beautiful temple grounds. I can't wait to let them touch the temple, let them feel the power of the Spirit, and recognize the sacredness of the holy building.

How blessed we are to have such a Holy place only 30 minutes away. I feel even more blessed to know that our homes are the only places that compare to our temples. My home growing up always felt different from most of my friends homes. I always thought it was because it was mine, you always feel more comfortable in your own home. But now I know that it was the Spirit that made the difference. My mom worked so hard to make our home a holy place. I want to have Lucy and Tyler feel the same way.

I don't know why I always feel it is a burden to do the laundry, make dinner, tidy up, or vacuum the house for the 7th day in a row. I should feel honored as a woman, as the nurturer and homemaker of our family, I get to make our home a temple, a home for our Savior. I have the responsibility to make our home a place where our Lord will feel welcome and comfortable. A place where our family can feel the Holy Ghost present. A place where we can learn and grow together in ways that will lead us back to our Savior Jesus Christ. I want nothing more than to have my whole family together in the eternities, living in the presence of God. At this moment, I can't think of a better job in the whole world than to do whatever I can to not only make our home 'special,' but to make it a place to teach our children the gospel.

Mom, thank you so much for being such a great example. I have always known you were superwoman, time only makes this more and more clear to me. You worked so hard, day after day to make our home clean, a place of refuge. A place where the Spirit wanted to be. Then you used this to your advantage and you and dad taught me the gospel there. I don't know where I would be without that knowledge and blessing of the gospel. Of the temple. Thank you for being so diligent in fulfilling your sacred duties on this earth. Mother I love you and owe you everything! In return, I will try my hardest to follow your example and raise your grandchildren in a clean and loving home, teaching them the gospel.

"No no no no!"

The other day I was cleaning up in our front room when I heard "no no no no, (pause), no no no no, (another pause), no no no no,...." well you get the picture. The little voice was coming from the kitchen so I thought I would go check it out.
I found Lucy pointing to each drawing on the cabinets/fridge and saying no. Apparently this is what I sounded like two weeks ago when she had made the art pieces. I tried to get her to do it again (saying no, not making more art) after I grabbed my camera but it didn't quite do it justice.

Happy Daddy Day

"Happy Daddy Day" is what we taught Lucy to say this morning.

I just wanted to give a shout out to the fantastic dad's in my life. I have pretty much the best dad ever! I also have the best father-in-law a girl could ever ask for! And did I mention that my husband is an amazing dad as well? Then there are my two grandpa's who did a phenomenal job raising my parents and were my second & third (in no particular order) dad's growing up.

How did I get so lucky to have all the best dad's in the world in my life?

I LOVE YOU ALL!

Overreaction

I have been known to overreact before I have all the facts. I actually do it on a regular basis. Everything from losing my keys (still in my purse and not hanging up where they should be) to running late for Church and freaking out because I can't find Lucy's shoes (already set them out the night before so of course they wouldn't be in her shoe drawer). There are bigger examples, but I am trying to let you know that it is a common occurrence in the Hornibrook Home.
I just wanted to let everyone know that according to Tyler, I overreacted about our closing costs. Yesterday we got everything all sorted out, quite easily mind you. Since I am new to the home buying process, I had no clue they added in your down payment to the bottom of the 'good faith estimate.' It was a sheet all about closing costs and never once mentions the down payment. I am just happy I was wrong and they were right about how much we needed to have at closing! Can you imagine what was going through my head though, having to pay the down payment amount twice, plus closing costs? So we are happy and excited to get the inspection tomorrow. July 15th is still looking pretty good!

Holy Cow

This evening we received the first of the 'million papers' to sign that I was talking about earlier. All I can say is "ouch," that hurts! If you have ever bought a house, did you gasp when you saw the closing costs? Seriously, way more than our down payment? I have spent the last few hours doing everything I can to find more money in our budget. I have called and canceled our cable, made a list of clothing to return where the tags are still on (why I always buy things that sit in my closet I don't know), and moved everything around that I could to find some wiggle room. I have changed the Father's Day gift I had planned on and made a list of meals I can make using the food in our pantry. My friend is getting married in August, and while I am still planning on finding a way to go, I can't buy my tickets until this all gets sorted out. Any other ideas you can think of to find more money in our budget?
Really anything may help! We are going to try to talk down the closing costs because even my parents, whose house was a lot more, didn't have to pay this much. Really wish us luck sorting out this whole process! We hope their is a mistake, even our realtor doesn't think it looks right and is making us call tomorrow for a second opinion. And if by chance it is right, we can kiss our dream home goodbye! I probably should have waited to post my last entry online. I would take it off but I haven't lost hope quite yet! This is my journal as well as my blog right?!!

EXCITING NEWS!!!

On July 15th we will be getting the keys to

OUR FIRST HOME!

That's right, just an hour or so ago we accepted a counter offer on the most beautiful home! We have been looking for awhile and we found the perfect place to make memories in! It was love at first sight. I mean look at the pictures, how could you not like this house?

Above is the front of the house. It is on a corner lot heading into a flat cultasac.This picture is of the side of the house...don't you just love the wrap around front porch? Can we say a beautiful porch swing is in our future? And to make the porch more enjoyable...

this is what we will be looking at on the said swing. This is Orchard Lake and is directly across the street. All Lucy ever talks about anymore are the 'ducks' at the lake. There is a path that goes around the lake and about 30+ ducks that are not by any means afraid of people. There are also geese but these are even more scary (as tall as Lu) than the beloved ducks. While she can't stop saying "duck, duck, duck, touch duck," when they come near she is not a happy camper. Kids are funny aren't they?

So while there are still a million papers to sign and an inspection and all that, I couldn't keep it in. I am way too excited. Pray nothing goes wrong okay?!!

The house is in Damascus and will be in our same ward. The ward boundaries are HUGE! We hear the schools are excellent (Oregon Trail Elementary, Sunrise Middle School, and Clackamas High School). It is just 5 minutes off the 205, 15 minutes from my parents, and about 20 minutes from Tyler's parents. How perfect can it get? I will keep you posted and take more pictures of the inside. It has 3 bedrooms, an office, a big play room over the garage (my favorite part of the house), a dining room/living room area, family room and a fenced in backyard.

I am so excited!!!

Disney World

We had an AMAZING vacation as a family. It was so much fun to spend a whole week with those you love most. Thanks mom and dad for making it happen! The Hansen Family
Dad, Lucy, Mom, Amy, Tyler, me, Ashleigh, Dane, Rafe, and Berkley down in front.

My two loves!

Lucy playing outside of Minnie Mouse's house. She is now obsessed with Mickey and Minnie. All I hear every morning is "ma mouse ha house peese" over and over again. Translation: "Mickey Mouse Club House Please."

Toon Town

Yet another Dumbo like ride. Lucy loved every one of them!

Getting ready to ride the train at Magic Kingdom, "choo choo" goes the train.

Lucy is showing us her instrument. There were all these African drummer guys teaching all the kids (and adults) different beats, then we all played them together. It was actually a ton of fun!

Getting ready to go into the coolest 3D show I have seen. It is a bugs life show at Animal Kingdom. Go if you ever get the chance! Stylin' boys! Don't you love the face my dad is making:)

At Epcot

We love Crush from Nemo!

In front of the Everest ride at Animal Kingdom. Way cool ride. In my opinion it is one of the best in the Disney theme parks.

Grandpa trying to get Lucy to look at the camera:)

Lucy inside Bruce's mouth after the Finding Nemo ride at Epcot.

Making the most of Florida rain/thunder storm!

The ride ended...poor Lucy!

Lucy saying "moooooo" like a cow.

Lucy's favorite, Dumbo.

After the firework show.

Lucy at the Dallas airport. How smart it is to have a kids place to play!