January 26, 2010
FOUND: Las Vegas pics!
So in the craziness of life, I just found these pictures still on our camera from our Las Vegas trip months ago! Too funny! We very much enjoyed Vegas, but I'll still pick a beach trip first anyday!
January 19, 2010
Christmas Favorites
Christmas morning favorites from team attire to candy, from sports equiptment, to Wii games, to Harry Potter, and everything in-between!
Christmas Came with a Catch
Christmas came with a catch this year. We had planned for months to be at the cabin for a white Christmas. Growing excited about getting there we even left a day early with the car packed to the core. We were going to spend six days up there and love the relaxation of it!
After driving three hours, we arrived late in the afternoon to find the house full of water. Pipe break and a cabin unlivable. It was one of those moments as a mother that you have crisis that demands action and in many directions. It was already late and very cold out. About 20 degrees. So everyone is cold and the roads are icy and will just get more unsafe in the dark. In about 20 minutes we had to: get the water turned off, regroup the kids and dog back in the car, calm disappointed children, explain why there was water in the house, call Mom and Dad and then figure out what we could perge to stay at Almanor while we brought Christmas gifts that were already up there back down the hill in an already stuffed car. All this while being disappointed ourselves. We spent the morning at home putting away our Christmas decorations. Our home was ready for 2010 not Christmas. How do you make up days of games, snowballs and sledding back home? UGH!
I guess it will always be a Christmas we remember. We did make it back home and the next morning the boys went out to buy a Charlie Brown Christmas tree.
We did our best to make good of it and survived. A great opportunity for the kids to learn first had that the best of intentions and the best of planning can all be changed in a moment.
After driving three hours, we arrived late in the afternoon to find the house full of water. Pipe break and a cabin unlivable. It was one of those moments as a mother that you have crisis that demands action and in many directions. It was already late and very cold out. About 20 degrees. So everyone is cold and the roads are icy and will just get more unsafe in the dark. In about 20 minutes we had to: get the water turned off, regroup the kids and dog back in the car, calm disappointed children, explain why there was water in the house, call Mom and Dad and then figure out what we could perge to stay at Almanor while we brought Christmas gifts that were already up there back down the hill in an already stuffed car. All this while being disappointed ourselves. We spent the morning at home putting away our Christmas decorations. Our home was ready for 2010 not Christmas. How do you make up days of games, snowballs and sledding back home? UGH!
I guess it will always be a Christmas we remember. We did make it back home and the next morning the boys went out to buy a Charlie Brown Christmas tree.
We did our best to make good of it and survived. A great opportunity for the kids to learn first had that the best of intentions and the best of planning can all be changed in a moment.
January 14, 2010
Back to Catching UP.....
This will give you a giggle. For years we have had a girls vs. boys Gingerbread House decorating contest with our neighbor friends. The parents used to have to help, but the last few years it's been all kids. This picture is an example of what happens with boys 9.5 and 12 who start to get silly after eating too much frosting in the process. Given full creative freedom the boys made a darling house.........but the snowman runs over the gingerbread man right in the driveway. LOVE IT!
January 11, 2010
Frustrated.....
Here's a mini-vent just because I am so sad and discouraged right now. Okay, maybe not mini!
Kent and I have talked for about six months that the design of our home is no longer ideal.
Several reasons:
* With a pre-teen girl and a nearly pre-teen boy, sharing the bathroom is an issue. I so wish we had a bathroom for them where the toilet and shower were separate from the vanity.
* When the kids were babies, bedrooms all together and super close were great! Now that they kids are older, they want more space and so do we. If anyone is listening to music, we all are. Kyle shares a wall with our bedroom- not a good thing. Karly requires less sleep so she stays up later and rises earlier than Kyle, who she shares a wall with-it's just getting complicated with the bedrooms.
* Our home has fabulous flow. All rooms come together, great for the whole house fan but a SERIOUS issue for private conversation. Just last week Kent and I were discussing Kate Gosslings new hairdo and both kids are suddenly at the top of the stairs, "Kate who?" "John and Kate plus eight, Kate?" You get the idea-this is one of many instances. So Kent and I in our family room cannot have a private conversation unless we whisper or our new strategy is to turn on the hall bathroom fan once the kids go to bed-which is across from their bedrooms. Mind you this is also with a sound spa in our bedroom. Soon we'll be taking drives just so we can talk without teenagers listening.
So add the timing....
* Karly will go to Middle School next year and as of right now we are NOT thinking our neighborhood school is the best fit for her, mind you it is convienetly right down the street. She will likely be changing school & friends anyways.
* Kyle is cool with whatever. Not a social bug, so he's cool. Only one year left at current school anyways.
* FHA loans are fabulous and available in our range.
* Federal home buyer credit and talk of a state credit should "the terminator" get his way.
* A great home, in an amazing community with top notch schools within our budget.
* There are almost NO HOMES for sale in our area that our not "short sales". Our home would likely sell for a price we could walk away with a down payment with. We would be the choice option for buyers not wanting to deal with 6-9 months of bank issues that happen with "short sales". Realtors want to work with people like us. They do not want the pain of "short sales".
So..........where does this leave us?
Financially - good interest rate, great home price and would only be about $80 more a month than we pay now in mortgage. Space would be fab and allow for privacy for everyone. Middle School would meet Karly's needs, HS is amazingly new and not too far for walking to and surprisingly both kids want to move. No one freaked out when we mentioned the idea. Commute change would not be too significant for Kent.
The bad. These "short sales" will make an appraisal near impossible at a price that gives us anything for our down. When all that they can compare homes with is "short sales" it kills our appraisal price. So even if a buyer wants to pay what we wish to get, they can't get a loan for that price. It's not the house selling that is the problem with time and the right buyer, it's that these stupid bank owned homes have killed the value by the books. Appraisers are going extra conservative after all the new mandates have fallen upon them and some blame too. The difference isn't a huge amount, but it is the difference of walking away with a little down payment and nothing.
My "it's not fair" stubborn side is just fuming mad. Now we sit, wait and watch. Unless we win the publisher's clearing house or lottery that is. Heck, actually, we'd just need a small piece of either of those! Grrr......
Kent and I have talked for about six months that the design of our home is no longer ideal.
Several reasons:
* With a pre-teen girl and a nearly pre-teen boy, sharing the bathroom is an issue. I so wish we had a bathroom for them where the toilet and shower were separate from the vanity.
* When the kids were babies, bedrooms all together and super close were great! Now that they kids are older, they want more space and so do we. If anyone is listening to music, we all are. Kyle shares a wall with our bedroom- not a good thing. Karly requires less sleep so she stays up later and rises earlier than Kyle, who she shares a wall with-it's just getting complicated with the bedrooms.
* Our home has fabulous flow. All rooms come together, great for the whole house fan but a SERIOUS issue for private conversation. Just last week Kent and I were discussing Kate Gosslings new hairdo and both kids are suddenly at the top of the stairs, "Kate who?" "John and Kate plus eight, Kate?" You get the idea-this is one of many instances. So Kent and I in our family room cannot have a private conversation unless we whisper or our new strategy is to turn on the hall bathroom fan once the kids go to bed-which is across from their bedrooms. Mind you this is also with a sound spa in our bedroom. Soon we'll be taking drives just so we can talk without teenagers listening.
So add the timing....
* Karly will go to Middle School next year and as of right now we are NOT thinking our neighborhood school is the best fit for her, mind you it is convienetly right down the street. She will likely be changing school & friends anyways.
* Kyle is cool with whatever. Not a social bug, so he's cool. Only one year left at current school anyways.
* FHA loans are fabulous and available in our range.
* Federal home buyer credit and talk of a state credit should "the terminator" get his way.
* A great home, in an amazing community with top notch schools within our budget.
* There are almost NO HOMES for sale in our area that our not "short sales". Our home would likely sell for a price we could walk away with a down payment with. We would be the choice option for buyers not wanting to deal with 6-9 months of bank issues that happen with "short sales". Realtors want to work with people like us. They do not want the pain of "short sales".
So..........where does this leave us?
Financially - good interest rate, great home price and would only be about $80 more a month than we pay now in mortgage. Space would be fab and allow for privacy for everyone. Middle School would meet Karly's needs, HS is amazingly new and not too far for walking to and surprisingly both kids want to move. No one freaked out when we mentioned the idea. Commute change would not be too significant for Kent.
The bad. These "short sales" will make an appraisal near impossible at a price that gives us anything for our down. When all that they can compare homes with is "short sales" it kills our appraisal price. So even if a buyer wants to pay what we wish to get, they can't get a loan for that price. It's not the house selling that is the problem with time and the right buyer, it's that these stupid bank owned homes have killed the value by the books. Appraisers are going extra conservative after all the new mandates have fallen upon them and some blame too. The difference isn't a huge amount, but it is the difference of walking away with a little down payment and nothing.
My "it's not fair" stubborn side is just fuming mad. Now we sit, wait and watch. Unless we win the publisher's clearing house or lottery that is. Heck, actually, we'd just need a small piece of either of those! Grrr......
January 10, 2010
She's done it again!
Yes, Karly is once again through the first four rounds of the Spelling Bee. She will represent the Roseville City School District by taking the first round Placer County written test within the next few weeks. If she scores in the top from there she will go to the County Bee. Her spelling skills are no doubt due to her language recognition thanks to a gabillion books read. I also think the fact that her teacher this year is big on teaching students the origin and meaning of word parts really helps! She's amazing and we now ask her how to spell things. I don't even need a dictionary or my dashboard (computer dictionary).
Good Luck Karly! Do your best and forget the rest!!!!
January 7, 2010
Snow in the Valley
I only remember really one other time that it snowed in the Valley. The kids were 2 & 3 and I have a picture of Kyle in his raincoat with snowflakes falling. That snow however didn't stick. December 7th, 2009 was the first date I ever remember having some snow fall and actually accumulate a little, then staying for a while. I'm not talking inches nor even centimeters, but it was a light dusting and a proactive kid could make a snow ball or mini snow man out of it -which is exactly what Karly and Kyle did.
Snow that day was the talk of town. You just don't get snow at under 200 ft elevation in California. Very cool! We often talk that it would be fun to live somewhere where it snowed a month of the year. Just enough to play and enjoy it's beauty and not so much that you'd have to alter life to deal with it much. A taste of variety I guess. Maybe someday we'll move up the hill a little, but then again, duh, we're in California and a move up the hill a little means a big insane commute for Kent.
I can tell you this was one morning where we were ahead of schedule. The kids were dressed, fed and packed up for school faster than ever. All because they wanted to get outside and get themselves some snow. Exciting it was in a quaint and peaceful way.
Snow that day was the talk of town. You just don't get snow at under 200 ft elevation in California. Very cool! We often talk that it would be fun to live somewhere where it snowed a month of the year. Just enough to play and enjoy it's beauty and not so much that you'd have to alter life to deal with it much. A taste of variety I guess. Maybe someday we'll move up the hill a little, but then again, duh, we're in California and a move up the hill a little means a big insane commute for Kent.
I can tell you this was one morning where we were ahead of schedule. The kids were dressed, fed and packed up for school faster than ever. All because they wanted to get outside and get themselves some snow. Exciting it was in a quaint and peaceful way.
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