Another big move...

After moving to South Ogden, we decided we really liked the area, but the house was just too big.  It was big, and it was expensive.  We missed our little North Ogden house that was just the right size for all of us.  We also missed the people in North Ogden.  Everyone was so nice up there.  Where we were in South Ogden, people were "nice", but we really never seemed to get to know anyone very well.  People were difficult to get to know.  Basically, we didn't love it, so it wasn't worth the price to us.  Why spend so much money on something we didn't absolutely love?  So, we decided to put our South Ogden house up for sale and look for something to build.  There were a few lots we looked at, but in order to keep the kids in the same school and not move them again, we decided that once we sold our house, we would buy a lot in Washington Terrace.  Shawn and I both felt really good about the decision to put the house up for sale.

It took awhile to sell our house.  And showing it was a nightmare.  It took such a long time to clean, and with three messy kids it was nearly impossible to keep it looking just right to show.  We were finally able to sell it to a family who had just moved here from Canada - the Muhammads.  The Muhammads were quite particular about the house, and made us fix what seemed like a million things before they moved in, but it was worth it!  After we sold the house, Shawn and I both had a huge sense of relief.  I felt so free!  We were free!  We could live anywhere we wanted!  It was such an exciting feeling!

Because we wanted to build, we needed to find a place to rent for awhile.  We had originally found a house to rent in Washington Terrace that was perfect!  It had enough bedrooms, was redone inside, and had a ton of storage space.  As I got out of my car to walk through it for the first time, I had the distinct thought come into my mind to "check the sex offender registry."  I thought, "Hmmm.  That's weird.  Okay, I'll do it when I get home."  I walked through the house, showed Shawn around, and we decided it was just right for us.  But then I went home, checked  the address of the rental on the sex offender registry, and there were FIVE sex offenders within a few houses away from that rental.  I about died.  It made me sick.  They were not petty sex crimes, either.  Big ones.  I know I was prompted to check that registry, because we would have moved into that rental without question.  After that experience, we were able to find a nice little rental home near Shawn's friend Dustin Hawkins on Crestwood Drive in South Ogden.  It is about 500 yards from the Ogden Athletic Club.  The pictures looked a little bleak on the website, but when we walked through, we realized it had been almost 100% refinished inside!  It was perfect!  It was also in the kids' school district, so we wouldn't have to deal with boundary exceptions.  It was such a blessing.  I'm so grateful for promptings that help us to keep our family safe!!

Now that everything was going to plan, we decided to buy the lot in Washington Terrace.  However, much to our surprise, we could not get a loan!  Ever since the housing market crash in 2007-2008, property loans are now nearly next to impossible to get - especially for a self-employed person!  Which is Shawn!  We were so discouraged.  Shawn even made up a song called "Stuck on Crestwood."  We would sing it every time we realized our dream of building our own house was going down in flames.  As we would sing it we would laugh.  Personally, I kinda like being "stuck on Crestwood".  The size of house is just fine; we all have just enough space.  I also like the location.  Anyway, we were able to beg, borrow, and steal to get enough money to purchase the lot in Washington Terrace without utilizing a bank loan.  I feel really blessed that we had the help and managed to do that.  Now we are working on picking out a house plan and figuring out what we want to build.  We do not anything too big or out of control.  Just something that is easy to afford and allows us to spend money on travel and other things we enjoy doing.  We have really learned a lot!

West is 4 years old!

We had a little birthday party for West at the Treehouse Museum for his 4th birthday.  I bought some Cars plates, napkins, etc. but the room was decorated so cute already that we didn't really need them.  The kids ran around wild at the Treehouse and participated in the little play that they put on.  I think everyone had a fun time!  Grandma Debbie gave West a really cool race track that West and Drew play all the time!  We gave him a Cars scooter and a Cars blanket.  West is so easy going, he's happy with about anything he has.  It's so nice!  

First day of fourth and sixth grades!

My mom sent me a few snapshots of when I was my kids' age.  I put them side by side to see if there was any resemblance.  Chance commented that I looked just like him, but with long hair!

Hannah's dance mania...

Now that Hannah is dancing on a competition team at Energy Dance Co., she is super busy with dance!  She dances two days per week for 2 1/2 hours per day.  On top of that, she learns an extra dance and performs as a solo.  She always does so well on stage, and her facials are hilarious!

At one of the competitions, Hannah entered a dance-off.  You had to pay an entry fee, then the best dancer to improvise and make up dances won everybody's entry fee.  I told Shawn not to let Hannah enter because I did not think she would win and I thought it would be a waste of money.  Well..... of course I was not there, and Hannah won the whole contest!!  Hilarious!!  She was thrilled!

As part of the dance competitions, I entered Hannah's picture into the cover girl competition.  Same as last year.  There were six winners who got their names printed in the program, and Hannah was the sixth!  She's such a cutie.  She was also put on the cover of Energy's dance advertisement along with her friend Trinity Citte!

This year, Hannah performed her solo to Let it Go!  from Frozen.  She never placed queen in the solo competitions, but I thought she did a wonderful job.  I love watching her dance!!  She is really improving and getting good at tumbling too!  I'm so proud of her and her hard work.

This year, we also took a trip down to Tuachan in St. George where the Energy teams attended dance workshops and performed.  We had a nice dinner each night, and then saw a play each night.  We saw The Little Mermaid and The Wizard of Oz.  The plays were amazing!!  I had a fun mother-daughter trip with Miss Hannah.

Father's Day 2014

We love our Dad!  Happy Father' Day!!

West and his "mischievous" face, rubbing his hands together like he is conjuring up an evil plan...

Cowboy Chance

Chance's friend Kale had been riding his horse, Red, at Weber County posse.  Chance expressed an interest in riding a horse as well, so we called up our horse expert - Grandpa Brad.  Grandpa put Chance on one of his old horses, Spots, and did quite well!  There were times that Chance's basketball practice conflicted with posse, so he was not able to do the parades and performances because he missed a few posse meetings.  But all in all, I think Chance enjoyed his taste of being a cowboy.  Chance commented that one of his favorite parts of posse was spending time with Grandpa.

Mom and kids

I saw an ad to have some "mom & me" pictures taken around Mother's Day.  I thought it would be kind of fun to have some pictures done with just me and the kids, and then we gave one to Shawn for Father's Day for his office.  My kiddos mean so much to me, and I'm so happy I have them to make me laugh every day!!