Hot Cocoa Stand

Being the money makers that they are Kamryn and her best friend in NM, Katie decided to have a hot cocoa stand. Like they always do, they made a lot of money. Like 15 bucks.

We sure will miss Katie. They were so much alike and had a lot of fun together.

Bitter Sweet Move

Went back to NM for a week to get things all packed up and ready to move. Doug needed to be in another state for work and joined us later on in the week. We really made some great friends in NM and we are sad to leave. We didn't love the schools and some things were really weird to us but the friends we made were just awesome.

It was a lot easier when we had a moving company and they just showed up and packed it all up and loaded it. I had some great help from my friend Kristi Bergsten and we enjoyed our time together. When the day came we asked for help from the ward (we have never asked for help with any of our 11 moves in the past but this was going to be hard with the upstairs.) The morning came and Doug had a 103 fever but we had to pack up anyway cause we already had the truck. Some really awesome men spent the whole day packing that truck up. Poor Doug tried to help but he just was very sick. His fever broke the next morning and we were able to leave. It was a nice 2 years there but we are happy to be back with family closer.

The pod was delivered right to our AZ house after being storage for a month and all we had to do was bring our stuff we couldn't fit (we left a lot too) in a trailer.

Back to NM to Pack UP

We left most of our things in NM so we needed to pack up. We had a downpour on our way back to NM. Lots of fun.

We had blizzard on the way back to AZ.

 I asked the kids who they wanted to ride with and the 2 girls said Dad so Derrik rode with me.  When Kamryn was getting in the truck she looked at Derrik and said mom has no heater in her truck... Sucker!!!. So funny.

Our House Miracle

 As much as we loved living with Doug's parents we wanted to find a place and get settled. Our realtor and I would go out and look every couple days but nothing was what we wanted. There were tons of foreclosures and short sales and it was definitely a buyers market but all the houses were trashed inside and needed tons of work. We hadn't even sold our NM house yet but got the itch and started looking. Selling was going to be a big obstacle as well.

After looking forever I was tired of looking but had 1 last house to look at. I had found it online and it sounded like what we wanted but the pictures didn't look good. It was a short sale and they can really be a pain to buy. When we finally found it (the direction were like in Eagar...after the 4th mailbox next to the red car is a sign to turn ect) I knew Doug would love it! He was away on business but would be home later that evening. Jamie (our friend and realtor) said she would show it to us when he got home. It is a 30 minute drive from Mesa. He got home late but she was sweet and said she would still drive out there and show us. When we walked in Doug was in love. It has a full basement and 1.5 acres of land. It is hidden back off the road and could have irrigation. Just what he wanted. Jamie called the listing agent and found out the house was going to auction THE NEXT DAY!  We had not even had an offer on our NM house but if we wanted this one we had to put in an offer right then! As we stood in the kitchen trying to figure out what to do I get a call on my cell phone. It was our NM realtor and he had a submitted offer on our NM house! Now that is what I call meant to be. We figured we could do a low ball offer (50K below asking price) just to stop the auction and buy us some time and just negotiate.

In the next few days we found out that they accepted our low ball offer! (It appraised so high that we had to get another appraisal to verify) We sold our NM house for what we owed and the short sale went off without much trouble in only 3 weeks. Unheard of. It had many contracts and offers over the 2 years it set empty but they all fell through. It was meant to be for our family for sure.  The yard needs lots of work but luckily my husband is a very hard worker.

Nanna's Visit

We had Cheyanna come over for a visit for a few days while her mom was out of town. Kamryn and her had a great time cooking and having fun.

Derrik's Shadows

 Occasionally we get Uncle Denton's kids, Carson and Taylor over for a few nights at Granny's house. 

 They love Derrik and are even willing to help him clean up his room. They follow him around like he is a super hero. 

When they get done Derrik will play the Wii with them so he can get them to do anything!

Heart Attack

Each year I heart attack the kids doors while they are away at school on Valentines Day. I write the things I love about each one of them on the hearts. Also got Granny and Grandad's Door. They love it. Sometimes I have to take the last years hearts down to do the current year.

Bake Sale

Granny Slade and Aunt Andrea were kind enough to help the girls earn some money and have a bake sale. The kids cooked and cooked. They each made $36. Pretty sure Granny didn't get a cut of the profits. What a good Granny.