North Ogden

That is the city we will be officially moving to as the bid we put in on a house was accepted today after much haggling with people who didn't seem to realize that the market is freaking horrible.

Now we just have to close by June 30th. Our banker is doing everything he can to make that happen.

Here are some pics that Todd took and from the listing...

Front of the house:

View from front of house:

Kinda gives new meaning to the song lyric "Purple mountain majesties" doesn't it?

View from the deck at night:

View from the deck during the day:

Kitchen:

Dining room:

Kitchen dining area:

Great room:

Master bedroom is on the main floor just around the corner from the great room:

Master bathroom:

Bedroom #2. It's one of two bedrooms upstairs:

Bedroom #3:

Loft/den. It's also on the 2nd floor:

Upstairs bathroom:

Basement family room:

Basement "media room":

Bedroom #4...one of two in the basement:

Bedroom #5:

Basement bathroom:

Back deck and patio...notice the hot tub which will be staying!!!!:

Go right ahead and picture me in that hot tub, sipping a Pinot Grigio with a gentle snowfall all around me.LOL

Now, we just have to get our house sold here and we will be golden. We did actually have some traffic through it today, so keep your fingers crossed for us that it will happen soon.

Which reminds me...I gotta go bury that St. Joseph...

Schamal Family Going Away Party

On Saturday, my cousins Suzanne and Mary Jean hosted a going away party for Todd, me and the kids at Suzanne's house in WI. All of my aunts and uncles were there and almost all of my cousins and their families. Since their are 6 kids on my dad's side and 19 cousins, the party was HUGE! And so, so much fun.

We visited with everybody where Todd was able to talk to his heart's content about his new job and the area we are moving to. He loved it and it was so nice to see him happy and care-free. It's been a long, long time since that has happened.

The little kids all ran around and played together, and can I say here how glad I am that my kids are the ages they are because I was actually able to relax and have a good time without being overly-paranoid about what my kids were up to. They had fun with their "distant" cousins. It was so nice to see that generation of our family playing like we used to.

Below are some pics from the day...

Almost the entire Schamal family sans a few cousins:

My cousin Suzanne--who hosted the party--and me toasting to good family and good times:

Todd and me with my absolute favorite uncle Dave:

This next picture is so reflective of all of the memories I have of these parties. My parents and all of my aunts and uncles on my dad's side always laugh so much when they are together.
Front row: Aunt Flo (dad's sis), Mom, Aunt Marian (dad's sis), Aunt Mary, Aunt Margie (dad's sis), Aunt Millie (dad's sis)
Back row: Harold, Dad, Uncle Dave, Uncle Morris (dad's bro), Uncle Wally, Uncle Willie

It was difficult saying "good-bye" to everyone--moreso than I ever imagined. It hit me as we were leaving that it's probably the last time for a long time I will be able to attend one of these parties. For all their quirks, my family really is the best in the world and I am so grateful to them for loving me so much that they wanted to send me off in this way.

Really?

*sigh*

I am really, really about to go out back and yell at the sky, "Enough!"

Last night as I was serving dinner to LC, what I was serving fell off the spoon just as she was reaching across her plate. You guessed it--major burn to the back of her hand. One area blistered up immediately and popped, but it covers the entire back of her left hand. I called her doctor and he called in a script for Silvadene for us to the 24 hour Walgreens all the way in Round Lake. I got home, bandaged her up and then put all the kids to bed.

This AM, not only was there the area that had already blistered and burst, but now there were two other areas that had popped up pretty sizable blisters. Luckily, I had an appt. already for 10:30 for her 4 yr old vaccines. Instead, I had to take her in to get the burns to be debrided. She was a huge trooper, though, and sat there and watched Bernard fix her up and didn't even cry. I am going to have to do the same thing to her twice a day for the next week. UGHHH!!! Poor kid.

And like any other self-respecting mother who feels horribly guilty for injuring her child---we went to McD's for lunch and a shake.

Happy Mother's Day

And it definitely was.

Todd flew home on Friday for the first time in 6 weeks and to say that everyone was excited to see him is an understatement. Lc and I picked him up at O'Hare--which is a feat unto itself--and then it was on to pick up the boys. Instead of lining up in the circle, Todd walked up to the doors to get them. Henry ran up and immediately teared up, he was so happy to see his daddy. Wyatt was equally excited.

That night, friends of ours threw us a going away party and it was so nice. All the kids--16 of them--went swimming and played video games, while all us adults sat around drinking and talking until 1:00am. LC and Cal fell asleep on the couch together, but the others were still going strong and didn't want to leave. It was awesome to sit back and relax and enjoy some Pinot Grigio and visit with everyone. We made some wonderful friends here, and it is going to be so difficult to leave them. For both the kids and I.

Saturday was a day spent running the kids around to their different activities. Wyatt had baseball and Henry and LC had their last swim lesson with BJ--who cried when she found out we were leaving. She called Henry her big accomplishment because he has come so far since he started with her almost 4 years ago. It was hard for me to keep it together since this was the first of the good-byes we'll have in the coming month.

Today, Todd and I spent a lazy morning in bed discussing the future while the kids ran around and then decided to go get some lunch. We came home so Todd could spend some last hours with the kids and then we dropped him off at the airport. The goodbye this time was harder on the kids then the first one was, I think. But, he'll be home in 12 days for Memorial Day weekend, so they have that and another going away party to look forward to.

All in all, it was a great day. And a grateful day because Todd got to spend it with us.

Cue the Buffalo...

While we were out driving looking at houses and neighborhoods today, we came upon the entry to a state park called Antelope Island. It is unlike any other state park I have ever been to in my life. The above Buffalo were just lounging by the roadside enjoying the sun and scenery. Up the road a bit was an antelope laying around and eating. We were on our own Utahan safari, for cry-eyed.LOL

Here are a few more of the scenery. I hope I never get sick of looking at it...

Welcome to Utah...

I flew into SLC this AM to spend 5 days with Todd searching for an area to live and to find a house. He took me sight-seeing as soon as I got off the plane and let me sum it up in one word...

Awe-inspiring.

It is absolutely stunning to see mountains from every single angle surrounding you. And these are "real" mountains, unlike some other "mountains" I have visited that are really just big hills with trees but shall remain nameless *coughsmokymountainscough*. I even saw some watefalls and didn't have to go hiking for miles to see them.

Per Heather's request, I did something I hate doing and let Todd take some pictures of me posing. Let me just say that I felt naked not having the kids to hide behind.

Not a Toddler Anymore...

Lauren is 4 today.

A preschooler.

A little girl with a mind of her own.

Someone who claims she's not little anymore.

But still little enough to want to be carried, rocked at night, or cuddle up on the couch.

I hope you don't give those up anytime soon, baby girl.

Happy Birthday, Sweets!