Maybe one more post...

Okay, I'm posting again. We just signed our final papers on the house, which means we won't get our keys before Saturday. So, we've pushed the big move back to next weekend. We'll get our keys Monday or Tuesday and have time to take lots of trips over there during the week. That means we will ALL be going to Disneyland this Saturday with my ENTIRE family. It should be very fun! Crazy, but fun.

And one more thing...a friend had this on her blog and I thought it would be fun to do:

There are 16 people in the U.S. with the name Joel Washburn.
There is only 1 person with the name Kera Washburn (guess that's me!)
There is only 1 person with the name Julianna Washburn (pretty cool!)
And there are only 4 people named Blake Washburn.

Do we have rare names or what? If you want to do this yourself, go to www.howmanyofme.com.
No pics this time! More to come after Disneyland!

Fun with Black and White/Sepia

So I figured out my camera has a b/w and a sepia setting (Karina had one on her camera, so I became curious about my camera). I've taken a few pictures with it--nothing special, but there's something about black and white that makes any picture look better! I will have to try take some cute pics of the kids--maybe after church one Sunday.

In other news--patiently waiting on the final docs for the house--we should get them tonight, sign, and have our keys Friday! Yeah! This will probably be my last post until things get set up in our new house.

A Few Pictures

When Joel gets home, Blake likes to put on Daddy's socks and shoes and walk around.

Julianna showing off her award from preschool--they had a sports day at the park and she won "Most Friendly Award."

A close up of her award--so funny! Made of painted toilet paper rolls, and then they cut out a picture of Julianna's head and put it on a baseball player's body. So creative! Good thing I took a picture because about 10 minutes later, she destroyed the award.

Joel's weightlifting routine (just kidding.) Julianna likes to hang on the rod and Joel pulls them up.
Of course Blake had to have a turn. Good form!

Not much else to report. Just waiting patiently to get into our house! Joel has one more week of teaching left and then it's summer break! Yeah! Of course we'll be very busy moving in. Things are good here!

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.