Weekend Happenings...

We spent this weekend hanging out together. We took a trip across town to check out the Computer History Museum. It was pretty cool to look at all the gaming systems, adding machines, etc and the best part is it's free.

Why do I bother with toys? Katelyn's satisfied nibbling on a milk caps.

Katelyn running to mommy because Daddy's coming to tackle her.

Sarah Flaunting her fat piece of cheese on fast sunday...

A home of our own...

Front of house

Playground in the backyard

Future art studio

This weekend Nate watched the girls while I flew to Utah to check out some house leads. I stayed with his parents because mine were in Baltimore for the Masters National track meet. The Starleys took me to the Joseph Smith Memorial Building for dinner at The Garden (so yummy!) and we walked along the Salt Lake Temple grounds (Nate and I were married there in 2002).

Saturday was a busy day. My mother-in-law, Colleen, walked through 8 houses with me and was a big help in pointing out pros and cons about each one. As we walked through one in particular it really seemed to fit the ticket. In fact, my in-laws are good friends with the owners. As we were leaving another couple came to walk through and my stomache just dropped. Colleen knew them as well (so popular). My realtor said the market has really changed and it's extrememly rare to be in a multiple buyer situation and feel comfortable taking my time going over everything with Nate.
Saturday night was filled with visiting the Wade's new baby girl Cassidy, prepping Anne for Prom (Nate's sister), and watching Twilight with my neice and sister.

Early Sunday morning as I was boarding my flight home, I received a call from my realtor. Bad news. The other couple put in an offer. A long story short today we put in our best offer and a few hours later the sellers accepted. We are in the process of buying a house. I am still in shock but feel very calm and peaceful. I am just so grateful that things seem to be positive and that our family on both sides have really rallied to guide us. I am even grateful to the awkward relationship with our neighbors below us because otherwise we wouldn't have had that extra nudge to plunge. I guess our trials really can be blessings. We're praying everything goes well in the next few months with closing protocols. We'll keep you posted on the developments.

Updates on the Girls:
**As we were climbing the steps to our apartment this morning Katelyn called up, "I'm coming to rescue you Mommy." I am not sure where she picked that line up from but it's nice to know my toddler has my back.
**Katelyn's experimenting with potty training and we spend a lot of time near the toilet. Sarah was so curious what the big deal was she pulled her little body up and was about to fall head first into the bowl...

**Baby dolls just seem to be the toy of choice these days. Sarah has loved them since birth and Katelyn has followed suit just recently. It does make life a little easier other than the days that they each want both dolls...
**Sarah emptying the measuring cup drawer, climbing in, and attempting to close the drawer while crouched inside...

Disneyland!

Last week my parents flew my siblings and all our families out to Disneyland. We were celebrating the big 30 for Nate, my brother Jeff, and sister-in-law Natalie (her birthday was the 7th). Happy Birthday Guys!

Sarah couldn't be happier!
Katelyn's Favorite ride was Alice in Wonderland Teacups and Sarah was rather elated during It's a Small World. My personal favorite is Space Mountain and you'll have to ask Nate which is his. Something tells me it wasn't waiting in line to meet Tinkerbell at Pixie Hollow but Katelyn sure loved it!

First of many Teacups Ride with Grandma and Mommy.

Who said Teacups are only for kids?

Chasing Birds

Hangin out with Uncle Marc

Can you tell Sarah was totally blowing me off...

The girls and I roughed the 6 hour car ride alone but it was great bonding time. Our portable DVD player went out in the first 10 minutes due to sticky fingers so we practiced our singing skills. I am not sure I followed the hands free law precisely with our GPS device but Sarah and Katelyn weren't quite ready for the navigating chair...
We arrived just in time to make the Ariel's Grotto feast with the Princesses. Let's just say we ate well on this trip. We had one breakfast w/ Minnie and Friends one morning, another in Goofy's Kitchen, and celebrated Natalie's 30th early at the Rainforest Cafe. We had a fancy dinner at a restaurant inside the Pirates of the Carribean ride called the Blue Bayou. Mmm...I recommend the Gumbo! At least we burned most of the extra calories by all the walking, carrying, and jostling we did in the parks.


Eyore

Goofy!

Meeting the first Princess, Ariel!

Sarah as the Princess

True Loves Kiss

True Loves Squeeze

Snow White

Katelyn wanted to show Cinderella her glass slipper sticker.

Belle with Katelyn

Belle with Sarah

"Bibbiddee Bobbeddee Boo" and I thought Fairy Godmother was a long name.
On our last night my parents took the youngest 6 granddaughters and sent us "adults" out for an evening. We took on the Tower of Terror and my 6 year old nephew Hunter was braver than I was! Jackie (my 12 neice) even went twice! Nate and I went to an amusement park on our first date and this trip brought back some fun nostalgia!

Thanks fam for the late night Trivial Pursuit, waterslides, and help with the girls!

Spelling Speeling Spelleeng

This morning I thought I would make a delish breakfast for everyone and I followed Tara Joyce's recipe for French Toast. I asked Nate to grab some cinnamon (not in the recipe) to sprinkle over the top. Apparantly the labels for our cinnamon spice and cumin spice are a little too similar. FYI, it's not that bad, maybe a little hotter. Unfortunately I didn't capture the expression on Nate's face as he realized what he was sprinkling on our tantalizing breakfast, but you can use your imagination...




***No innocent children were harmed during the taste testing experiments and Nate Starley approved this message.