A few weeks ago I came across a quote that said  "the bank will give you a loan once you prove to them that you don't really need it" -Bob Hope. Between that and buying a house from Fannie Mae this has been a real experience. But I am happy to say we finally closed on the house last Wednesday and it is officially ours.
So what did we do? What any other family would do, we started painting.

I have to be honest I climbed up the ladder to the top and kind of freaked out. Which is so crazy because I painted our last house in the entry way with those tall ceilings and didn't even mind. So Mike took one for the team and went up the 20 foot ladder and got it all taped.  Just FYI he hates heights. So I spent the next few days getting so mad at myself until I just got up there and worked it out and am back to doing the painting.

 That must be a very nice mom that lets her kids graffiti the walls.

We have been working on it for almost a week and we are half done, half moved in and half crazy!

 We have had a few days of rain which is not fun for playing soccer. Unless you are Whitney and a few of her friends who thought it was a blast. So fun in fact at the end of their game they decided to slide in the mud puddle. Anyone know how to get mud out of a white uniform?

Basketball

Landon and Teegan are playing basketball this season

Looking Back 
     2010
~Trip to Hawaii
~Mike turned 40
~Teegan got baptised
~Big move to Texas

Looking Forward
       2011
~Move into a new house
~Landon turns 12 and gets the priesthood
~Whitney gets her learners driving permit
~???

If you would have told me in January of 2010 that I would be living in Texas by January of 2011, I would have not believed you. It just goes to show you you never know where life is going to take you.
Each year I try to come up with some sort of saying or quote for our family theme. Although we usually forget it by February, it is fun to come up with. Last year Mike and I thought and thought about it. It was while sitting in a youth trek fireside when a quote was said that Mike and I both turned to each other and said "that's it".          Keep moving forward 
                     and enjoy the journey was soon adopted as our 2010 family theme.  The saying was adopted from stories of great pioneers who although faced many trials, they keep moving forward.
The saying came to us so inspirationaly that I thought a lot about it. I distinctly remember thinking "I am not sure how this applies to our lives" and I even thought "I hope this doesn't mean something bad is around the corner". :0) Looking back now I see just how fitting our theme was for 2010. And while we are still adjusting to life out here we should probably keep that saying close for 2011. 
But a new moto has come to me that I think is perfect for 2011
"we become so caught up in the busy-ness of our lives. Were we to step back, however, and take a good look at what we're doing, we may find that we have immersed ourselves in the 'thick of thin things.' In other words, too often we spend most of our time taking care of the things which do not really matter much at all in the grand scheme of things, neglecting these more important causes." -President Thomas S Monson

 

As we get pulled and pushed so many different directions I want to make sure we aren't getting stuck in the think of thin things and we remember what is really important. 

Memories

One year ago today we were sitting in sunny Hawaii. It is crazy to think a year has gone by. We had such a great time and made some great memories.
Here are a few pictures I never posted.

Christmas Vacation

 


Christmas vacation is over, the kids are back to school (which is always sad for me) and we are back to the realities of life.
The good news is our closing date got moved back so we did not move while the kids and I were still in Utah. At this point we are set to close Jan 13th, one week from today. I have started gathering a few things and putting  them in boxes but I am really dragging my feet. I can't believe we are moving again. Since it is only up the street and we have sometime (until June to be exact) before we have to be out of the duplex we are thinking we will just move everything slowly. Ya know just pile things in the car and then unload and do again (and again, and again). I know it is the painful way but I think we are going to give it a try. I am still hoping to be able to paint all the main area's before we move in. We are hoping to find replacement renters and have everything moved by February 1st.

We had a great time in Utah visiting family and friends. We flew out the evening of Dec 20th. We were having a very warm day here in the high 70's  and my kids were in shorts and insisted they wear them to Utah. We came in with a storm and they were so excited to play in the snow. In fact they jumped out of the car and right into it.

One of the things we had promised when we were moving is that we would bring Teegan back to be baptised at Christmas. So Wed Dec 22nd we had a very nice meeting where Teegan was baptised and confirmed by his dad. Whitney, Landon and Grandma Susan spoke and then the Bishop asked me to share my testimony. There was a nice spirit there.

Afterward we all went up to Melissa and Deno's for dinner

Thursday night Whitney and my nephew Quinn had some friends over for a party

 

I didn't want to embarrass Whit so I didn't take very many pictures but I think they had a great time.
Christmas Eve  we spent doing some last minute shopping and then had dinner at Grandma and Grandpa Maxfield's.

Christmas morning

The kids got some coal in their socks again this year. Santa seems to leave just a little every year just to remind them to obey.




















Christmas Day with the Maxfield clan

 Grandma and Grandpa go overboard on gifts as usual. They sure know how to spoil all the grand kids :).

The aftermath.














Next up Dinner and presents at the Brown family party.

 Marissa's gift was so big it took 3 kids to hold it up. There is one happy girl.

 Cute idea for boys who asked for money toward an ipod.

It had been a great day but a LONG day and a very long week. We were pooped!
The next day Mike and Whitney were on there way home. Whitney had to be back from high school soccer practice.




The boys and I spent the next few days visiting and playing with cousins. Another big storm hit the day before we left and they go to go sledding.

The boys and I ended up spending a few unexpected hours in Denver on New Years Eve and were anxious to get home.



















Thanks everyone for making it a great Holiday Season.

Christmas Band Concert