IT'S OFFICIAL!!!!!

What a whirlwind of a day we've had! We were told yesterday that the papers would be ready any minute and to be ready to come sign them. Never happened. Then this morning at 8:30, the escrow agent called and said she had the papers and wanted us to come in at 10. We went and signed everything, and we were told we'd have the keys by 4:30. Throughout the day, as we were running a million errands, we kept getting phone calls from our realtor and lender. Each time they called, they'd tell us something different -- we might not close after all, we were on track to close and would have keys by 1:00ish, we'd have keys by 5:00......We just had no idea what was going on! Finally our realtor called around 2:30 and asked us to meet her at our house at 3:30. She didn't tell us why, but we assumed it was to get the keys -- and we were right! I don't know if it's hit me yet that it's really and truly ours. It's just been a rollercoaster ride these past few weeks, so it might take a bit to sink in. We bought our dining room table this afternoon and a few other things and are just so super excited to get all moved in this weekend!!

Here we are in front of our house, the key is in Derk's hand!
The kids look kinda goofy -- Cambria's mid-cough, Kyrie's eyes are closed, and Asher's like "what do we need ANOTHER picture for, Mom?!", but you get the idea. :)

HERE IS OUR NEW ADDRESS:
6317 E. 43rd Place
Yuma, AZ 85365

Gettin' fatter -- Week 7

Here's our pretty kitty, very pregnant -- only about 2 weeks left! All she does now is eat and sleep. And shed. Man, does she shed. I'm not sure if it's because of the pregnancy or because it's getting so hot already. Or a combination of both. But I have to brush her once a day, otherwise her hair is everywhere. The kids are beyond excited for the arrival of the kittens, and Derk's already resigned to the fact that all of us will want to keep one. He knows he's just as much a sucker for cute kittens as the rest of us are. :)

Bowling

With all we've had going on lately, it seemed like we hadn't done much with the kids. So we decided to take them bowling. They were so excited to go! Asher and Bri had never been before, but they both caught right on and had a great time. And *I* was glad the kids were there because that gave me an excuse to bowl with the bumpers. :)

Over the course of the evening, we made a few discoveries:

#1. Bowling is definitely not my forte (as if the previous bumper comment left you wondering...), and I can prove it -- Kyrie and I were only about 3 points away from each other by the end of the night. :)

#2. Kyrie really enjoys the fact that she can bowl better than her Mommy. Not like that's saying much for her skills.... ;)

#3. Asher discovered a new way to freak me out. He became obsessed with the ball return and kept trying to stick his hands and his face down inside to watch for the balls.

#4. Derk bowls funny. He doesn't put his fingers in the holes at all, just holds the ball in the crook of his arm.

#5. Derk doesn't appreciate being teased about the way he bowls. :)

My turn!

Derk has been begging me to grow my hair out for a long time. I tried my best, really I did. But I have no time to style long hair, and I always ended up putting it up into a messy bun or some other "up-do". Wearing my hair like that makes me look even younger than I already do, and I was sick of that, too. I want to look 26, darn it.

So yesterday was the last straw. I was so sick of not having any time to have cute hair. I was done with people making rude comments about how young I look, how I'm too young to be a mother (yes, people actually say that to me!). So today I decided I was getting it cut. It's sooooOOOOOooooo much nicer having all that weight gone! The stylist was drying my hair, and it took her less than 10 minutes from start to finish when it used to take me 1 HOUR!

I'm not sure if I actually DO look my age now or not, but hopefully it added a few years!

In honor of Mother's Day.....

I saw this on my sister-in-law's blog and thought it would be cute to do! I sure had fun hearing their answers! :)

Kyrie's answers:

1. What is something mom always says to you?
It's time to go to bed now, Sweetie.

2. What makes mom happy?
When I listen.

3. What makes mom sad?
When I disobey.

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
She tickles me.

5. What did your mom like to do when she was a child?
Go to her friend's house.

6. How old is your mom?
27. (Nope, 26)

7. How tall is your mom?
42 inches. (61, thank you very much!)

8. What is her favorite thing to watch on TV?
Rachael Ray.

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
Go on errands.

10. What is your mom really good at?
Cleaning the house.

11. What is your mom not very good at?
Drawing. (She got THAT right!)

12. What does your mom do for her job?
Stays home and cleans the house. (Hmm, I'm noticing a common theme here....)

13. What is your mom's favorite food?
Homemade stuff.

14. What makes you proud of your mom?
When she cleans the whole house. (Again with the cleaning?)

15. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Minnie Mouse. (lol!)

16. What do you and your mom do together?
We go out for ice cream.

17. How are you and your mom the same?
Our hair.

18. How are you and your mom different?
Our skin.

19. How do you know your mom loves you?
Because she takes care of me.

20. What does your mom like most about your dad?
That he annoys her. (HILARIOUS!!)

21. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
Target.

22. What is one thing you wish you could change about your mom?
Nothing.

23. What would your mom do with a million dollars?
Spend it on stuff for our new house. (Heck yes!)

24. What do you wish you could go and do with your mom?
Go buy a bunch of stuff for me and her.

25. What is one thing you hope never changes about your mom?
That she loves me.

Asher's answers:

1. What is something mom always says to you?
We have to go to the store and pick Kyrie up.

2. What makes mom happy?
She loves me so much.

3. What makes mom sad?
When I don't give her a kiss.

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
You tickle me and I laugh. But when you bother me, then I get mad.

5. What did your mom like to do when she was a child?
Watch me play a video game. (Ha ha)

6. How old is your mom?
4 like Daddy.

7. How tall is your mom?
10.

8. What is her favorite thing to watch on TV?
Aristocats.

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
Plays with Daddy in my room. (

10. What is your mom really good at?
Playing video games with Kyrie and Daddy. (So not true, I'm horrible at video games!)

11. What is your mom not very good at?
Playing airplane games.

12. What does your mom do for her job?
Watch movies. (I wish!)

13. What is your mom's favorite food?
People food. (HA HA!!)

14. What makes you proud of your mom?
When she lays by me.

15. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Still my mama.

16. What do you and your mom do together?
Watch a movie.

17. How are you and your mom the same?
We be kind to each other.

18. How are you and your mom different?
We're nice to different people.

19. How do you know your mom loves you?
Because she gives me kisses.

20. What does your mom like most about your dad?
He gives her kisses.

21. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
Chinese food.

22. What is one thing you wish you could change about your mom?
That she would watch me play more video games.

23. What would your mom do with a million dollars?
Buy a speed racer girl car. (lol)

24. What do you wish you could go and do with your mom?
Play a video game downstairs.

25. What is one thing you hope never changes about your mom?
That we don't stop playing with each other.

Gettin' fatter -- Week 4

At first I wasn't sure if Isis was pregnant or not. But now, 4 weeks later, it's very obvious she is. It's actually interesting how similar pregnant cats are to pregnant women -- sleeping a lot, eating a lot, shedding, mood swings....Seriously, she's moody! It's pretty funny. She spends literally all day hiding from the kids (Cambria) under our bed. Then she'll come out after we've got them down for the night, jump up on our bed and sleep some more.

Even though she's not as tolerant of Cambria these days, that still doesn't deter Cambria from loving on her just as much! Isis will put up a good fight if Bri picks her up (because Bri picks her up around her stomach usually), so Cambria's now taken to just cuddling with her on the floor. Isis would be rolling her eyes in this picture if she could. :) But Cambria still just loves her kitty and is really excited about the babies coming. It's going to be so fun trying to keep Cambria away from Isis after the babies are born! Yikes.

Our new house!!!!!!

I cannot even tell you how excited we are!!!!!!! We've been waiting for this for the past 7 years, and it's finally happening!!! We close on May 21st! Here are the stats -- it's about a year old, 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2140 square feet, 3 car attached garage, 1/2 acre lot, formal living room and family room, laundry room, walk-in pantry. We had the home inspection today, and everything checked out perfectly!

We've got a few updates to do. The main one is replacing the linoleum in the kitchen and the carpet in the dining room with laminate flooring. We're also going to remodel the entire master bedroom and bathroom (you'll see why). Like seriously, we're reconfiguring the entire room, including moving the french doors (getting rid of them completely, moving them to the other wall, or just turning them into a window, we're not sure yet). We've got extensive plans. But I'll spare you the boring details there. We need ceiling fans, a light fixture for the dining room, lots of little stuff. The yards also need some TLC, and the back will need sprinklers (the front already has them installed and wired -- woo!!).

Anyway, I'll just stop blabbering and show you the pictures! :)

Front
(Those are 4 rose bushes up by the house.)


3 car garage

Huge back patio

Half of the back yard

The other half
(This is where my garden will go -- my kitchen window above my sink overlooks this part of the yard, which will almost make doing dishes enjoyable. Almost.)


Double front doors
(I've always wanted double front doors!)


Kids' bathroom


Kitchen
(The laundry room is straight ahead.)


The laundry room and huge walk-in pantry
(Don't mind the inspector's ladder.
The pantry is opposite the washer/dryer.)


The master
(Now you can see why we're remodeling the entire thing! lol
But seriously, this was the ONLY compromise we made in the entire house,
so we couldn't pass it up!)


The sunken formal living room
(The arched doorway leads to the family room.)


Family room view from the dining room
(Sorry about my weird shadow in the picture -- I accidentally had the flash off!
Notice the fireplace? In Yuma. Seriously?! But I love the french doors!!)


Dining room view from family room
(To the left is the kitchen, to the right is the entry/formal living room.)

SO. EXCITED!!!!!