$14,565

That's the price tag we have told the boys that they owe us for the cost of their new room. Instead of paying them allowance, we will just tally it up as they do their jobs around the home, and allow them to stay in that cool new room. Now, its sortof a joke, but how can we make that a reality?

For those that don't know yet, we have an offer accepted on a "to be built" home, with plans to move into it upon completion in about 6 months. We've talked off and on that past few years about moving. Mostly at a time when I just wanted a change or to start over, and I was being emotional. This time, it just seemed to be the right time. Initially in June because I realized our yard is too small for our growing boys. We wanted space for them. When we moved in, Tyler was 2 and Matthew was 4 months. Our yard seemed plenty big. I perused the area, and really there aren't a whole lot of big yards. And in the off chance that a house was for sale with a big yard, what are the chances we would LOVE the house? Low, I decided. We love the area and travel to work time, so we decided that a quarter of an acre was big enough. Michael suggested we look at new construction so it'll be "a long time before anything breaks down." Our current home is a mere 13 years old, but he's finding its the time when things in the house start to die.

So I started looked at builders, at neighborhoods, asking around, gathering information. On paper, we found a floorplan we loved, The Alcott. We realized there is a model home with that floorplan in Cedar Park. The second we stepped through the front door, Michael and I both got the feeling that...this is home (we didn't realize that until later when we discussed it). We walked through it and fell in love. We didn't fall in love with the crazy model home decor, but the layout, the space, the arrangement of the rooms, the open family room/kitchen similar to our current home, and the pantry in the kitchen.

To make a long story short, I began preparations to put our house on the market to sell, and also to put in an offer to the builders. We interviewed realtors, talked to friends who had done this, gathered an arsenal of information. I did my homework. I decided that Aug. 1 we would put our house on the market. Then it was Aug. 7. I got carpet cleaners, window washers, power washers, our realtor sent a handyman, my friends helped me paint, blinds cleaned, baseboards cleaned, closets decluttered. It all had to be done, and it was all ready on Aug. 7th. BUT our offer had been in a week and hadn't been accepted. Because of a recent price change in the middle of our process, I hoped the builders would honor their original price for us, and they declined. After 3 weeks, we figured we'd wait a year and see. Then, they called to tell us that our offer was accepted. We couldn't believe it. We were excited, but we had already talked ourselves down from it. It took overnight to really sink in.

Our current home became officially on the market Aug. 27th. It is pristine, and I am pleased to say I've been able to keep up on it quite well. I am impressed with myself:) So now to sell. Fortunately we have time on our hands. With the summer over, the housing rush is over, but we did have some traffic over the weekend. Now we wait. It's going to be a tough few months whether we sell quickly and move into temporary housing and then again to our new home, or we emotionally wait for someone to buy our home for the price we need. Offer a little prayer that I survive this in an emotionally sound manner.

Don't be wimps

I am often so concerned about updating my blog with the "goings on" that I don't get to write the random thoughts that occur in my brain. I've wanted to tell the stories of my kids and how they are becoming more independant. Not necessarily in ways I would like:) I have to remind myself that I'm not being mean, there are reasons why we do things, that we have the rules that we have. Sidenote: Our home teachers came over today, and I love how they now cater their lessons to the kids, but there is always something simple us adults can learn from the "simple" lessons as well. Brother Black talked about how he went home to Colorado and was impressed with his 2 teenage brothers. They are 13 and 15, and what good, good kids they are. He talked to his parents and asked them how and what they are doing for that outcome. They said simply: control the media they are exposed to. He gave several examples, but one that I liked was that they have to earn "media" time by doing something productive. Such as reading scriptures, playing basketball, piano, etc. In order to play the video games or watch tv, they needed to first do something productive for the same amount of time. As we are entering that phase more heavily, I liked that, and for FHE tomorrow night, we are going to talk about things they can do to earn that media time. A local church leader recently said, "Parents, don't be wimps when it comes to the strict rules regarding media." I think we want our kids to have fun and be involved and don't want them mad at us, that we give in. I know I have a challenging road ahead of me, in children that are becoming more independant, and wanting to do things their way, but I'll need to hold firm my ground. I want them to be good people. To be leaders, to be examples of goodness those around them.

My 4 year old challenges me now on the type of clothes she wears. My preference is to be more modest and wear shirts with sleeves. We have a few tank tops for her, but we usually put a white shirt underneath it. She now knows what I prefer, and she is constantly trying to go against that--just for the sake of going against me. I laugh on the inside, but I have to be firm on the outside. I have told her she can wear it at home, but when we have guests, or when we go out of the home she needs to put a shirt on. She has put a skirt on over hear head a few times and says, "Am I modest now?" The skirt lays on her shoulders like a shawl, and I say thats fine to wear, as long as it doesn't come off while we are out. She has also worn pants on her arms. I'm letting her do it her way, as long as she follows the rules I have set. It is pretty much a daily discussion though.


Positives with that, she sees books or tv shows and when the stomach or shoulders are showing, she is quick to say, "That girl isn't modest." I'm trying to teach her that others make the choices for themselves, and this is our family's choice. It's difficult to explain to her why its ok to be immodest with a swimsuit, but not with everyday clothes. She pretty much cycles the 3 tank shirts she has every 3 days and actually looks for the "immodest" shirt each morning. For those not of my faith and are confused, click here to see the For the Strenght of Youth Pamplet and click on Dress and Appearance.

My boys are such good boys. I saw Tyler hold a door open for a lady the other day at the store, and wait to make sure she got in ok. That made me smile. Grateful for his goodness. Matthew is so inclusive when it comes to others, it warms my heart. They both adore their baby sister--seriously adore her. But with Alyssa--they love nothing more than to hear her scream (and oh can she scream). Why??? I raise my hands and look up to the heavens...The teasing has begun, and I find myself gritting my teeth so much. I get angry. Mostly because I KNOW they KNOW better! That isn't who they are! It breaks my heart, but I realize it is a phase we are entering into. As we try regularly to counter their teasing, send them to time out, ask them to do a service for Alyssa to make up for their wrong, have discussions about kindness, we know it is almost a rite of passage for a child. Michael reminded me that my brother teased me, I teased my little brother, and he teased his siblings as well. Why did we do that? Why can't we all just get along? We are each others best friends, it just shouldn't be this way. It truly makes me sad. Fortunately it isn't all the time though. There are many sweet moments, but it just seems to be happening more and more.

Let the schooling begin

The boys got their lists, we headed to Target, and they crossed the items off as we threw them in the cart. Only one thing couldn't be found, and I opted out of driving around town to try to find it.
This year, our school had a "welcome walk" for the first time. We copied a neighboring school, and it was sorta fun. We were instructed to be home on Wed. between 4-6:30 and their teachers would show up on the doorstep to introduce themselves. We didn't know who they had until they came to our door. They anxiously watched outside the window.
Matthew crossed everything he could think of that he would not get the one 1st grade teacher that Tyler dubbed as "mean." It was different from the teacher I had heard from my friends not to get.
For 3rd grade, I didn't know too much about the teachers. There were 3 that I had heard enough about to sortof hope for, but I didn't hear anything bad about any others. So I was indifferent. When Mrs. Mollenkopf walked up, I was happy. She was one that I'd heard good things about. I also knew her a bit from working on the Wing Ding 5k with her last year. She seems nice, and quite the go-getter, I hear. Our neighbor, Cassis, across the street had her last year. Tyler has followed her--teacher wise-for kinder-3rd now. Crazy.
I knew enough about the 1st grade teachers that I knew I DIDN'T want 3 of them. Tyler's 1st grade teacher was awesome, but she moved up to 2nd grade this year, so not an option for Matthew. I was very happy to see who Matthew got. I had a chance to talk with her the next day at supply drop off and found out she named her two daughters after Elvis--Presley and Erin (I guess Elvis' middle name is Aaron). I found that to be a very intersting tidbit.
Matthew was happy that he didn't get the "mean" teacher, but found out from chatting with friends that he wasn't going to be in class with any of his Lego Club friends. Just girls from his kinder class were in his 1st grade class.

The first day was good--we visited them at lunch, and fortunately, their lunches are back to back this year, so makes it super easy for me!

End of Summer

We had a great last day of summer. Just the kids and me (until Michael came home). I planned a scavenger hunt (which ended at the Kawaii shaved ice shop), we made yummy treats, made "Crowns of Righteousness" for FHE, Michael gave them and myself blessings, and then we ate said yummy treats. I love my boys, but school and structure are good for them. The past week we've all been a little "testy." They will be sorely missed those long hours at school, but I have no regrets about our summer. We had fun, we pulled from the summer fun jar, learned new words of the week, played with friends, lots of pool time, weekend trips, Utah trip, learning the computer (poptropica, lego.com), and even borrowing grandma's Wii.

Here we are in the morning making our FHE treats. Homemade ice cream sandwiches. It was fun (and a bit messy). The baby seemed to be sad right at the moment that my hands were full. I set her down (its ok to cry sometimes) and the kids pick her up. She's still sad, but it makes them feel better to help.

We then went on our driving scavenger hunt. I made 8 clues and put them in sealed envelopes for them to open along the way. I incorporated things we have done this summer.
Nothing fancy. Clue #1 above--go to neighborhood pool and do swim strokes. Below: Go to Ethan and Carters house and get a snack (Miss Jackie always has great snacks to share)
Another: Go to Garrett's and ask him what are his 5 favorite Pokemon cards.

Chillin' in the car

Tyler took this.

Go to gymnastics and do 10 jumping jacks (Alyssa opted out of this one). Then to shaved ice and last was go home and play the Wii (even though I said they were done for the day). It was a mandatory step in the scavenger hunt.

We made pigs in a blanket for dinner and ate it on the trampoline--per the kids request.

Making our crowns of righteousnesss. I basically had them put words on there that would help them be strong at school. Kindess, honesty, happy, prayer, scriptures.

We ate the treats.

All of us with our crowns.
Then for haircuts
All ready for school!
Now rewinding a bit.....

For the last week of summer, I thought it would be fun for the kids to choose the meals. I gave them free reign to pick food for one full day. That meant breakfast (any cereal), snack, lunch, dinner, and dessert. They got all excited. Tyler got cheese Doritos, Matthew got mint oreos, and Alyssa got rainbow goldfish. I normally get regular goldfish, but rainbow is what she wanted that day. They chose Macaronni and cheese, nuggets, and corn dogs for their dinners, but I convinced them (for daddy's sake) to have those for lunch and to help me make a "mommy meal" for dinner. So they picked their favorites: Alyssa--spaghetti, Tyler--crunchy tacos, Matthew--soft tacos. Here is Matthew stirring the hamburger. It was fun to have them involved and have ownership over shopping and planning and eating the food they chose.

Weird angle on this one, its kinda scary but funny.
Love that tongue.

Bugsy eyes --she gets them a lot going from a light room to a dark room, or when Alyssa gets too close to her.
We went to the Rockin' River water park in RR. I went a few years ago, and I remembered it being crowded. It still was crowded, but cheap fun! It has a lazy river, 2 water slides, and other fun water stuff. $12 for our entire family! We went with my friend Jessica and her family that she had visiting. With her guests was an 8 year old boy, Odin, that Tyler and Matthew had fun playing with.

The boys had to get over the fact that the only tubes available were pink.


I got wet, but mostly was cuddling with Cali in the shade.

Kids singing to Cali in the swing. She loves the swing if she is placed in it while happy. Dislikes it if she is already sad and I am thinking it might make her happy.

I forgot to post a pic of the Wilkinson Quints 2nd birthday. I took one or two with my little camera, then grabbed Rachelle's and snapped for her so she could enjoy the festivities.
The bumpo is fun.

Cali and her boyfriend, Kemp. I keep meaning to post pictures of myself and my friend Tamiel very pregnant with these two, but this is much cuter. Trust me:) We like to hang out and watch cable on her couch and eat. Cake Boss, Jon and Kate, NoTorious.
I love this little video of Cali rolling--mostly of her cheering section. It makes me smile.

Tomorrow, the first day of school.

My baby is a giant! Cali at 4 months

Click to enlarge and see her tooth.
August 17th marked Cali turning 4 months old. That also happened to be the day she rolled over for the first time. She hasn't done it much in the 6 days since, but she did it all by herself that day. She is a little chunker and we adore her more and more every day. Her fussiness seems to be curbed for the most part. I cut out a lot of dairy (I'm nursing) which I've never done before, and that seems to help. I like the Almond milk I've been drinking, still eat cheese, but ice cream has never been a favorite anyway (I do like cupcakes though). I did have a milkshake once, and the next day was a tough one. There are a bunch here, just love all her cute little faces.

I was sad this was blurry, but still a cute face I wanted to document.

I love this one below...just relaxin'










The big kids were my helpers: Tyler holding the reflector and Matthew and Alyssa helping to get Cali to look up and smile. I love this little group.

*Besides school starting in 2 days, the Dukes have a lot going on. I will update with info soon. I miss reading all of your blogs and will check in soon.