Well... I guess.

I know that it has been forever since I posted anything. Usual excuse; busy busy BUSY! But I am going to to take a moment now to catch you up a bit.

FEBRUARY ~ The sad state of the economy hit us when Brandon was laid-off from the hotel. His property was next door to another that was own by his company. They decided that they would downsize and have the GM of the other property run both (he had more seniority than Brandon). This was the day after my birthday. Happy Birthday to me.

~Before this all happened, I did have an awesome birthday. Brandon got me a newer camera (our friend was selling his) and I have been taking a TON of pictures with it. I love it!

~ I transfered from my store in east Albuquerque to the one closer to our new house. I get to work with some friends that I had before that store open, which is so fun. I have made new friends there and I am enjoying the shorter commute. Plus, when I needed to go from 20 hours to 30 hours they gave them to me! Thanks Ernie!

~ Started the painting in the living/dining/kitchen area.

~ Katie started to sleep in her big girl bed. Oh my!

MARCH ~ The boys made the jump from their old school to their new one. It is a practically new school and the boys are enjoying that part of it. There are no uniforms here and everyone loves that. They get to ride the bus and they are making friends there and in their classroom. It has been good!

~Grandma came for a couple of days. It was fun to see her and show her the house. The kids loved playing with Grandma!

~ Eric got a new look. He had been going to an orthodontist for the last couple of month. He had to have an expander for his upper jaw and now we are in phase 1 of braces. He has gotten use to them now, but it was hard for him a while.

Did I mention that he ortho's name is Dr. Hurt? Funny, huh?

APRIL~ Early in the month, I know. But last weekend Brandon's cousin Josh came in to town to go snowboarding with Aaron (Brandon's brother). We went up to Aaron and Marissa's house on Friday night to visit. We had not seen Josh in years! Thanksgiving 1999 to be exact, Eric was only a few weeks old.

I think that I took about 6 pictures before I get them all to look at the camera. Boys don't change!

Big Josh and little Josh. Our Josh was not exactly named for big Josh. We really liked the name and had narrowed it down to that and one other. Big Josh did help by being an awesome guy; he tipped it over the edge for us. It was fun for them to meet. It was evident that they were not use to sharing the name because every time someone said "Josh" both answered. We had a fun night with him.

I hope that this was enough to satisfy those who are wondering where I went. I will post more later. I have some great pictures that I want to share.

take a peak at my house

We are in the house. Not only are we in it, but I am unpacking the things that I have not unpacked in years. The things that we had no space for in our previous homes. It is so exciting!

We are all loving the house. The space, the yard, the features that we have never had before, like a laundry room!

I took some picture to share of our lower lever. The house looks bland because the previous owner painted all the walls this very boring cream before they listed it. These will also be my "before" pictures.



I am standing at the edge of the living room looking into my kitchen and dining room. I love how big the space is and how much room there is to move around. 'Cause as you can see, my table is BIG.


The rest of my kitchen/dining area. Can you see the island? It is great to have that extra seating when we have people over! And check out the under-cabinet lighting!

I have turned around and am looking into the living room.

Now I am near the front door showing you the whole living area. I love that I have the tv above the fireplace. To me, it is very HGTV. Plus less to dust!!
This is the office area that I have created behind the living area. I love that I have room for bookcases again. I am still filling them up!

This is the view sitting at the computer desk. Have you noticed all the windows? There is also the one behind me that I didn't get this time.

I hope that you liked your mini-tour. I take more pictures of the rest of the house soon!

Disappearing Act

We are down to crunch time. The move is just a few short days away and we are BUSY! We are excited to get into the new house, but we (especially me) are dreading the few days between here and there.

We will not be around much. Here, but not really here. Wish us luck with the move and we will see you in Ventana Ranch.

Spelling Bee

We are so proud of Eric. Out of all the third grade classes he was one of four kids chosen to be in the school spelling bee! On January 7 he we went to the school to watch.
He did so good! It was hard for the kids because there were all these adults there staring at them. They had to get the format correct and everything.

Eric did not win... a fifth grader did (schools here only go to 5th grade) but he still did really well. WAY TO GO ERIC!

Josh's lost tooth

Josh lost his 1st tooth the other night. It was quite an adventure!

The tooth was really lose and we thought that he might loose it during the night. So Brandon got him to hold still long enough to get it out. Now when I say that he held still, I do not mean that he did it quietly too. He screamed the during the entire process.

Here he is in a less happy state while Brandon was taking a break from pulling.


Here is the poor little guy while Brandon was working his mouth over.
And here he is as happy as can be after the tooth came out. He was even happier the next morning when he discovered that he received a visit from the tooth fairy!

You have to check out this video. And keep the sound on, but low. You have to hear him screaming over this! Once again, sorry for the bad quality.

O R E O vs. Katie

We had these oreo's with with red frosting for Christmas. For fun I gave one to Katie. This was the result.

I think that she had fun. Wouldn't you agree?

Christmas Day

We had the best Christmas Day! The kids had a wonderful time opening presents. Brandon and I enjoyed spending the day at home; NO ONE HAD TO WORK!

The highlight of the day (for the kids) was the arrival of Santa. The kids where so excited!

At our house there are no gifts placed under the tree until after Santa comes. This helps us keep our sanity. Here are the before and after pictures.

First the kids dove into their stockings. The boys were excited to find Bakugans and candy

Next came a fury of gift opening. Only one gift was set aside to be opened last and so I got pictures of the reaction. Eric got was he wanted most...

... a NINTENDO DS! Can you tell the he was excited?

Josh got moon shoes. He loves them!

Kate was given a Tinkerbell chair.

Then we had out traditional BIG breakfast. Afterwards we relaxed until that afternoon when we went to Grandma's for a wonderful Christmas dinner! It was a perfect day.