Brad and I went to the drive in theater to watch Batman vs. Superman. I was completely lost the whole time and slept through half the movie. It was so dark and serious; just not my style. I like Marvel movies a lot better.
Playgroup was at my house so I decided to try a different way of making cinnamon rolls; a way to eat them for breakfast without having to wake up at 5am. I made them the night before just like I normally would, except instead of putting them in the oven I put them in the freezer. The next morning I popped them straight from the freezer to the oven and it worked great. I'm excited do that in the future with all kinds of foods: pizza dough, dinner rolls, and anything I can prepare ahead of time to make it easier the day I need it.
Our friends ordered a haul of craw fish and had it shipped from Louisina so they could have a big broil at the park. They cooked them with potatoes, onions, sausage and corn with yummy seasoning. They just laid a tablecloth down on a table and poured it all on there. Everyone brought a side dish to share and it was a fun experience. The kids went to the playground nearby and we got to try a new food. The meat is similar to shrimp but it was hard for me to get it out of the tail intact.
Taylor waddled into the office with this fake flower she found somewhere in the house.
Most of one Saturday we spent in Idaho Falls filming a video for Brad and Trevor's first product, the Buckle Away. I spent the morning baking cookies and getting the kids ready. Brad had already left to prep filming stuff. As we drove there I realized how gorgeous the day was; not a cloud in the sky. I brought all sorts of extra clothes and coats thinking it would be cold. We ended up getting sunburned! Good thing Grandma grows Aloe Vera plants downstairs.
Our friends ordered a haul of craw fish and had it shipped from Louisina so they could have a big broil at the park. They cooked them with potatoes, onions, sausage and corn with yummy seasoning. They just laid a tablecloth down on a table and poured it all on there. Everyone brought a side dish to share and it was a fun experience. The kids went to the playground nearby and we got to try a new food. The meat is similar to shrimp but it was hard for me to get it out of the tail intact.
Taylor waddled into the office with this fake flower she found somewhere in the house.
Most of one Saturday we spent in Idaho Falls filming a video for Brad and Trevor's first product, the Buckle Away. I spent the morning baking cookies and getting the kids ready. Brad had already left to prep filming stuff. As we drove there I realized how gorgeous the day was; not a cloud in the sky. I brought all sorts of extra clothes and coats thinking it would be cold. We ended up getting sunburned! Good thing Grandma grows Aloe Vera plants downstairs.
 |
| I looked out the window and what did I see? Popcorn popping on the apricot tree! |
In the middle of filming Brad surprised me with cupcakes and flowers for my birthday. And even though the only nap the kids got was in the car, there was not a single meltdown. Everything went surprisingly well.
Today we got to watch General Conference. I finally decided to get a good old fashioned notebook and pen to take notes and it really helped me to pay attention and really study the talks.
Family walk to the ropes course
We went back to Idaho Falls a week later to film the last few shots for the Buckle Away video. This time it was way cooler outside so some of us were putting on and taking off jackets the whole time. It wasn't really that cold but I'm still wimpy after living in Florida. This time filming only took two hours so we went to Reed's Dairy for ice cream cones on our way home. I told Brad to remind me next time to only get one scoop. Their ice cream is so rich and creamy that anything more than one scoop makes me WAY too full. The kind of full where I don't want to say, "I'm so glad I ate that!"
Well, we are building a house.
This is the story of how it all came about. It's long but this is basically my journal and I want to write it down before I forget. Six months ago we had no idea this would be happening. Nine months ago we still thought we'd be moving to Boise after living with Brad's parents. I knew I wanted to live in a house next but I figured we'd rent or buy one. I was kind of scared to settle down though because I didn't know anything about houses or what I wanted in a house.
But for some reason this past winter I started thinking. First I wondered what it'd be like to buy Brad's grandpa's house. He died a few years ago so Brad's parents bought the house and now rent it out. However, I remembered they've talked about selling their house and moving into Grandpa's house themselves. So then I started wondering what it'd be like to buy my in-laws' house; where we're living right now. What it would look like with all of our furniture and stuff in it?
It became an obsession for awhile. Anytime I wasn't actively getting something done I was staring at the room around me imagining it as if I owned it. Brad and I started discussing whether or not staying in Rexburg was even possible. When we moved here from Florida we told his employer we planned to move to Boise within a year.
There were a couple other kinks that may prevent us from getting a house. In one or two ways it seemed like a horrible time to do it. But for some reason I suddenly wanted it SO bad. If for no other reason than for fun, we started looking at houses for sale. There's a fairly new neighborhood in my in-laws' ward that still has many empty lots and most of the houses there were built by Kartchner Homes. They have two or three empty spec houses that we checked out and that's how be became familiar with the possibility of building.
We looked at all their floor plans, lot sizes, costs, and neighborhoods. We walked through every empty house Kartchner had. We compared, contrasted, prayed, asked family members for advice, decided we wanted a particular floor plan but then did it all again and changed our minds. And changed again. And again.
We looked into another builder and became familiar with all of their floor plans, etc etc. I was so exhausted with all the details and the options. I was really emotional too. After we settled on a final floor plan it was hard to pray about this because I wanted it so bad. I didn't know how to get past my desires in order to recognize what God's plan is for us. I also felt guilty for wanting it so much and for being so sad if it didn't work out. At one point we thought it might not be the right time and it was really hard for me; even harder than I thought it would be trying to accept that it was all over for awhile. We decided to go to the temple and make our decision by the time we left.
While we were there I kept thinking back to when I first started dreaming about houses. It was really random because before that day I didn't have a single thought about it and then suddenly I was obsessed. This seemed odd. It also occurred to me that if building a house was the right thing to do it would actually take a leap of faith because from an outsider's perspective it's a risky time for us do this. But praying about something important takes faith. We can't expect God to simply tell us what to do. We need to make a decision and go forward with our plan and then pray that God will help us recognize whether or not it was the right decision.
When Brad asked me how I felt, I told him all of this and he replied, "You know Lindley, I think God answers most of your prayers this way. When you look back at all the steps that brought you to make this decision you recognize what God's plan is and how He guided you in that direction."
I couldn't believe I hadn't realized that before. It's so true. Right away I knew what we were supposed to do. We both knew. Immediately I was at peace. I'm sure much of that was simply joy that the right thing was actually the same thing we wanted. But that one emotional day we thought it wasn't going to happen wasn't just hard because I was disappointed. It was hard because I didn't feel right about it.
So we went ahead and asked Kartchner to build us a house. We signed lots of paperwork, picked out colors and materials (which was a lot harder than I thought it would be!), tweaked our house plans to our liking (as much as we can afford), we waited...
We had our pre construction meeting and it started feeling a little more real but then we had to wait again to find out when they start actually BUILDING our house. They told us a possible day but it got closer and closer and we didn't hear anything. The Friday before this possible date I texted our Kartchner guy and said, "...so I'm assuming we won't be digging on Monday since I haven't heard anything?"
---"Actually I just found out this morning we're all set to go on Monday!"
Woo hoo!
April 25th was:
Dig day!
Day 2
Week 1
This past week on a morning nothing was planned I took the kids to the garden to help Grandma. I didn't know what condition the garden was in or what exactly I'd be doing but I knew the kids would play nearby. Taylor did alright but whined about half the time. Between lathering on sunscreen, potty breaks and assuring the kids the cat chasing them is nice, I was able to help some but not a lot. When the kids were entertaining themselves I got deep into the raspberry bushes to clear out dead twigs. It felt SO good to be on my hands and knees in the dirt with sun shining above. It also felt great to wear a thin long sleeve shirt instead of sticky sunscreen.
On the day Kallie's future elementary school had Kindergarten registration I thought about it that morning and planned to take Kallie later in the afternoon while her sisters nap. However, I usually don't leave the house during that time it's easy to forget plans that are out-of-the-norm. After we ate lunch I put the younger girls down, got some stuff done and took a power nap myself like I always do. I completely forgot about the school stuff.
Luckily there was one hour later in the week I had another chance to do it. Right now Brad works from home and we're living with my in-laws so there's usually someone that can be here with the kids if I need to leave. But on this day they were both gone so I had to take all 3 kids with me to the school in the middle of naptime. I was worried they'd be super cranky and miss the naptime window but it thankfully ended up alright. They were fine while we were out and still took a later nap when we got home.
Kallie had her first soccer practice and game on Saturday. It was a cooold Rexburg morning and Kallie had a few minutes of feeling shy and scared to put on her uniform and try soccer but it only lasted a bit. I think she's remembering now that she tends to feel that way toward new things but always ends up having fun. I feel very proud of her leaning into her fear of trying new things and enjoying it.
One of the neighbor girls came to the house with a Krispy Kreme fundraiser. Of course I bought a dozen (to support the schools of course). Brad asked if we were gonna freeze half of them. I laughed because I knew they'd never make it to the freezer. They were gone within 24 hours.
First lost tooth!
One day I picked up the girls from preschool and in Jayda's cubby I found a mason jar with a goldfish. The teachers said the kids get to bring one home. I was like, "Uh...ok."
After having it at home for awhile...I wish we hadn't brought it home. Fish are like furniture or decor but with lots of maintenance. After a few weeks we convinced the girls to bring "Goldie" to the pond and set him free.
Kallie's end-of-the-year music recital
At the Rexburg tabernacle
The horrible life of a toddler.
Family walk to the ropes course
We went back to Idaho Falls a week later to film the last few shots for the Buckle Away video. This time it was way cooler outside so some of us were putting on and taking off jackets the whole time. It wasn't really that cold but I'm still wimpy after living in Florida. This time filming only took two hours so we went to Reed's Dairy for ice cream cones on our way home. I told Brad to remind me next time to only get one scoop. Their ice cream is so rich and creamy that anything more than one scoop makes me WAY too full. The kind of full where I don't want to say, "I'm so glad I ate that!"
Well, we are building a house.
This is the story of how it all came about. It's long but this is basically my journal and I want to write it down before I forget. Six months ago we had no idea this would be happening. Nine months ago we still thought we'd be moving to Boise after living with Brad's parents. I knew I wanted to live in a house next but I figured we'd rent or buy one. I was kind of scared to settle down though because I didn't know anything about houses or what I wanted in a house.
But for some reason this past winter I started thinking. First I wondered what it'd be like to buy Brad's grandpa's house. He died a few years ago so Brad's parents bought the house and now rent it out. However, I remembered they've talked about selling their house and moving into Grandpa's house themselves. So then I started wondering what it'd be like to buy my in-laws' house; where we're living right now. What it would look like with all of our furniture and stuff in it?
It became an obsession for awhile. Anytime I wasn't actively getting something done I was staring at the room around me imagining it as if I owned it. Brad and I started discussing whether or not staying in Rexburg was even possible. When we moved here from Florida we told his employer we planned to move to Boise within a year.
There were a couple other kinks that may prevent us from getting a house. In one or two ways it seemed like a horrible time to do it. But for some reason I suddenly wanted it SO bad. If for no other reason than for fun, we started looking at houses for sale. There's a fairly new neighborhood in my in-laws' ward that still has many empty lots and most of the houses there were built by Kartchner Homes. They have two or three empty spec houses that we checked out and that's how be became familiar with the possibility of building.
We looked at all their floor plans, lot sizes, costs, and neighborhoods. We walked through every empty house Kartchner had. We compared, contrasted, prayed, asked family members for advice, decided we wanted a particular floor plan but then did it all again and changed our minds. And changed again. And again.
We looked into another builder and became familiar with all of their floor plans, etc etc. I was so exhausted with all the details and the options. I was really emotional too. After we settled on a final floor plan it was hard to pray about this because I wanted it so bad. I didn't know how to get past my desires in order to recognize what God's plan is for us. I also felt guilty for wanting it so much and for being so sad if it didn't work out. At one point we thought it might not be the right time and it was really hard for me; even harder than I thought it would be trying to accept that it was all over for awhile. We decided to go to the temple and make our decision by the time we left.
While we were there I kept thinking back to when I first started dreaming about houses. It was really random because before that day I didn't have a single thought about it and then suddenly I was obsessed. This seemed odd. It also occurred to me that if building a house was the right thing to do it would actually take a leap of faith because from an outsider's perspective it's a risky time for us do this. But praying about something important takes faith. We can't expect God to simply tell us what to do. We need to make a decision and go forward with our plan and then pray that God will help us recognize whether or not it was the right decision.
When Brad asked me how I felt, I told him all of this and he replied, "You know Lindley, I think God answers most of your prayers this way. When you look back at all the steps that brought you to make this decision you recognize what God's plan is and how He guided you in that direction."
I couldn't believe I hadn't realized that before. It's so true. Right away I knew what we were supposed to do. We both knew. Immediately I was at peace. I'm sure much of that was simply joy that the right thing was actually the same thing we wanted. But that one emotional day we thought it wasn't going to happen wasn't just hard because I was disappointed. It was hard because I didn't feel right about it.
So we went ahead and asked Kartchner to build us a house. We signed lots of paperwork, picked out colors and materials (which was a lot harder than I thought it would be!), tweaked our house plans to our liking (as much as we can afford), we waited...
We had our pre construction meeting and it started feeling a little more real but then we had to wait again to find out when they start actually BUILDING our house. They told us a possible day but it got closer and closer and we didn't hear anything. The Friday before this possible date I texted our Kartchner guy and said, "...so I'm assuming we won't be digging on Monday since I haven't heard anything?"
---"Actually I just found out this morning we're all set to go on Monday!"
Woo hoo!
April 25th was:
Dig day!
Day 2
Week 1
This past week on a morning nothing was planned I took the kids to the garden to help Grandma. I didn't know what condition the garden was in or what exactly I'd be doing but I knew the kids would play nearby. Taylor did alright but whined about half the time. Between lathering on sunscreen, potty breaks and assuring the kids the cat chasing them is nice, I was able to help some but not a lot. When the kids were entertaining themselves I got deep into the raspberry bushes to clear out dead twigs. It felt SO good to be on my hands and knees in the dirt with sun shining above. It also felt great to wear a thin long sleeve shirt instead of sticky sunscreen.
On the day Kallie's future elementary school had Kindergarten registration I thought about it that morning and planned to take Kallie later in the afternoon while her sisters nap. However, I usually don't leave the house during that time it's easy to forget plans that are out-of-the-norm. After we ate lunch I put the younger girls down, got some stuff done and took a power nap myself like I always do. I completely forgot about the school stuff.
Luckily there was one hour later in the week I had another chance to do it. Right now Brad works from home and we're living with my in-laws so there's usually someone that can be here with the kids if I need to leave. But on this day they were both gone so I had to take all 3 kids with me to the school in the middle of naptime. I was worried they'd be super cranky and miss the naptime window but it thankfully ended up alright. They were fine while we were out and still took a later nap when we got home.
Kallie had her first soccer practice and game on Saturday. It was a cooold Rexburg morning and Kallie had a few minutes of feeling shy and scared to put on her uniform and try soccer but it only lasted a bit. I think she's remembering now that she tends to feel that way toward new things but always ends up having fun. I feel very proud of her leaning into her fear of trying new things and enjoying it.
One of the neighbor girls came to the house with a Krispy Kreme fundraiser. Of course I bought a dozen (to support the schools of course). Brad asked if we were gonna freeze half of them. I laughed because I knew they'd never make it to the freezer. They were gone within 24 hours.
First lost tooth!
One day I picked up the girls from preschool and in Jayda's cubby I found a mason jar with a goldfish. The teachers said the kids get to bring one home. I was like, "Uh...ok."
After having it at home for awhile...I wish we hadn't brought it home. Fish are like furniture or decor but with lots of maintenance. After a few weeks we convinced the girls to bring "Goldie" to the pond and set him free.
One of Taylor's predicaments.
I felt like Kallie's hair was getting so long that it just looked ratty and tangly most of the time. Let's face it, I'm not the kind of mom that does intricate hair styles on my girls every single morning. I think they're adorable and it would indeed keep their hair from looking homely but I just don't care to spend the time doing it. I usually end up frustrated when I try fancy styles because their hair is so soft and silky it falls right out.
So I gave her a haircut.
Now Kallie and Jayda's hair is about the same length.
Kallie's end-of-the-year music recital
I know, I'm a cheesy sappy mom that can't stop smiling at her kid's performance.
Jayda selfie session
The horrible life of a toddler.
Kallie with cousin Sawyer
More fun with cousins during Great Grandpa McGary's visit
Jayda proudly took this picture of her Grandpa and Great-Grandpa McGary
Jayda: Marshows
(marshmallows)
