Sea World!

News on the Homefront

It sure is interesting how the Lord works. On Mother's Day weekend we made an offer on another home on Lechuga Way (yes, it means lettuce in Spanish, hence the green font). We ended up getting outbid. So then we decided to wait it out on Versailles again, and I felt okay about it. Well, Melanie my realtor called Tuesday and said that the buyers for Lechuga weren't going to work anymore so we could have Lechuga. So then I had to make a huge decision--go with the house we have waited for for 3 months, or go with this other one that could be ours now! Of course I had to look at both houses one more time to see how I felt. And the craziest thing happened--I walked into Versailles again, the home I have loved since the first time I saw it, and I felt absolutely nothing! Nothing! Then I walked into the Lechuga home, and the spirit was so strong. It was overwhelming! So I knew that we had to go with Lechuga and walk away from Versailles. And I haven't regretted it at all. So that's the big news--we are going with a different home in a different part of town, but I think we will be very happy. Here are some pics of the home (funny that I never got pics of the other one):

It has a bigger backyard, which will be very fun to landscape, nice clean carpet and white walls, nice quiet street, closer to work for Joel. So anyway, that's our news for now! We hope to move in soon so we can put this whole home-buying process behind us after 7 months! Yeah for Lechuga!

Some updates

Julianna posing in my sunglasses.

The next American Idol.
I love getting them new pajamas!

Blake using the lawnmower. (I took this through the screen on the window).

He likes to wear Joel's socks now. So funny.

Well, I can't believe it's been almost 2 weeks since I've posted. The house situation is sort of at a stand-still--after about 1 1/2 weeks in escrow, the bank is saying they need up to 2 weeks to approve our loan we want to use. It's been a week so far. After we heard this news about another wait from the bank, I went to look at some more homes, and found one I really liked. So we made an offer, and in the end we were outbid. Needless to say, it seems like we are really supposed to have this house we've been waiting for. And to me, it is worth waiting for! I really like it, although it will take some work to make it how I want it.

Here's what's new with each of us:

Me: I finally got on the sub system for Hemet District. I had my first day on Tuesday at the new Tahquitz high school. Half the day I subbed English, which I loved! And the other half was dance. I enjoyed being with the students. I will sub just once a week and get to try out all different grade levels.

Joel: Almost done with his second year at Canyon Springs High School. Looking forward to his summer break! He just started his Research Seminar class at CBU to start working on his thesis.

Julianna: She is becoming quite the big sister--always letting me know when Blake is doing something wrong. She always says: "What's Blake doing, Mommy?" Then I know I need to check on Blake. I am always on some kind of quest to get her the best help out there--currently I'm looking into a diagnostic center in LA through the school district. She definitely keeps me busy!

Blake: Starting to talk a lot more now. I think he might actually be up to 20+ words. He's 18 months tomorrow. Now he says Mommy and Daddy, not Mama and Dada; Nana for banana and Julianna; Ay-ker for "Blaker," his nickname; Whale, tiger, doggie, and many more. He just started talking like crazy this week and tries to repeat anything we say, especially what Julianna says. He even copies her when she does her hand biting, which I am hoping won't last! And of course he's obsessed with the Wiggles!

Well, that's all for now. Hopefully by the next time I post I'll know our move-in date!

Tax Rebate!

I was so excited about finding this out that I thought I'd share with all of you blog friends--I found the direct number for the IRS that tells you when you get your stimulus check and how much (the stimulus hotline). Here it is:

1 866 234 2942

Now I know we're getting our check on Friday. Yeah! Hope this helps some of you out.

Blake's in Nursery!

Well, even though Blake doesn't officially turn 18 months for a few weeks, we were able to take him to nursery for the first time today. The primary pres. said since he's on the roll for May, he could go. And I said, alright! So he went, and we just got two new nursery leaders who are GREAT, and he did just fine by himself! We never heard anything from the leaders, so I guess he did well. And let me just say...it is SO nice! Of course we love our little guy, but he is a handful! So we appreciate being able to take him there. And I think the Primary pres was waiting for him to be in there, because today I got a new calling--Valiant 9 class teacher. It's good because I already do activity days, so now I can teach them on Sundays, too. So, I'll be back in Primary starting this Sunday. AHH! No, I think it will be good. That's all the news from us. When I get pics of the house, I will post them.

A Happy Ending...

Well, turns out we do have a happy ending to the bug story...we finally got a house! After waiting for 2 months, we got the house we really wanted. We both love it--perfect location and neighborhood, low taxes, nice quiet street, close to shopping and gym and walking trails. It couldn't be better! We originally made the offer in February, right after Valentine's day. We had no idea it would take so long to get an answer. But our patience paid off. Now you might be wondering why we didn't look for another house in those two months. Well, I just never felt the need to, for some reason, until this past Wed., I looked at some homes, but the only one I liked already had multiple offers. So, this house was meant to be for us. It's 4 bedrooms, 2 bath, 1872 square feet, 3-car garage, landscaped backyard, and only 5 years old. So anyway, we can ditch the bugs in a few weeks and finally have the space we need. That's our big news for now. I'll post pictures of the house soon.

Beware of Bugs

If they make a "beware of bugs" sign (instead of beware of dog), I need to get one. For those of you that have seen King Kong, you might remember the scene where they are attached by huge, disgusting bugs. Well, maybe Peter Jackson should check out our backyard because he could film King Kong 2 here--I'm not kidding. The last few weeks we have had an infestation of bugs in our tiny backyard. It started with these tiny, hovering flies with yellow stripes. They just hover over the grass by the hundreds. Then came these ugly little beetles with orange stripes. Then came the caterpillars crawling everywhere, and then came even uglier, big, fat black ones. On Monday our manager knocked on our door and asked if we've been getting these big black caterpillars (that turn into moths, not butterflies) in our house, and at that point, we hadn't. She said my next-door neighbor has been getting them on her stairs. They think they are somehow crawling underneath the house and up through the stairs. I told her we only had them in the backyard. But sure enough, later that day, I saw one on the carpet. I don't know how they get in. And since then they have multiplied. So much that now birds come into our small backyard for a special treat and then fly away. But it gets worse--I decided to capture some of these pests on film for all of you to see, and I must have chosen a good time, because right when I stepped outside, I saw this crawling on the cement:

Yes, that would be a stinkbug. Good thing I didn't step on it.

Not to mention the giant grasshoppers. Do we live in California, or Texas?
And don't forget the big ugly caterpillars that turn into moths.
And the big shocker: a black widow. Don't worry, I didn't even get close. My camera zooms.


The black widow must have noticed all the tasty bugs in our backyard, so he decided to make a home. But don't worry--Joel will kill him ASAP. It's actually the second black widow we've had since we've lived here. So as I'm in the backyard taking pictures, I can hear Blake crying inside. He's jealous that I'm outside, of course. But needless to say, I do NOT let my kids play outside right now. It's such a shame because the weather is perfect. I've tried spraying the entire perimeter with bug spray, but it doesn't keep the bugs away. So I guess I will just call Peter Jackson and tell him to come over to film the King Kong sequel. At least the kids can look outside and also look forward to park days with their friends. And that concludes my bug story (for now--I hope there is a happy ending soon).