Selling The Dance Studio

Well, it's official.

The dance studio has been SOLD.

I am very excited for Emilie to take over as the Director. Emilie has been dancing at The Next Step since she was little. I actually danced with her while I was in high school. She has been teaching there for many years and has been my right hand the last 2 years. I couldn't have done any of this without her.

She had to think long and hard about taking over and her initial reaction was "No." After a couple months, she came back to me and told me she was interested. She is currently in college and has a 1 year old (Adorable) little boy, Braxton, and would love the extra cash.

She has done amazing the past couple years so I have full confidence in her. I can't wait to see what the future brings to her for the studio. :)

House on the Market

Well, we officially put our house on the market. We don't have the sign in our yard yet, but we have signed the papers to have it put on the market.

We have our house on the market for $109,500. It is a little lower than I wanted, but it should sell quickly at that price. We bought it last year for $94,000, so the market has gotten better.

One step closer to the move....

I took some photos of the house before the realtor came.

Yard Sale

We had our yard sale on Friday and Saturday. My sister and my friend added items to the yard sale. We made around $600 total and I brought in about $250 of that.

The rest of the stuff is piled in my sister's trailer so we can take it to a local thrift store and donate the items. I got rid of about 1/2 of my stuff. It feels so good to declutter!

It was HOT HOT HOT the days of the yard sale, getting up into the 100's both days, but people still came.

My niece Hannah and Alden had a lemonade stand and made over $13.00

It was a nice time to get rid of my stuff.

We Found A Home

When we went to Willows to look for a home to buy, we realized the market moves much quicker than Idaho. So, we decided to rent.

We first were given a few options that were.... Ehh... Okay. They were houses I could live in, but didn't seem right for our family. I was getting a little discouraged. I e-mailed back and forth with a property management company and we found a house.

The house is currently on the market For Sale, but we are going to see if they will take it off for a while so we can rent and not be worried someone will buy it and we have to move.

It is an adorable house. A little bigger than what we were looking for, but it was a good price.

It is 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and 3000 square feet. Nice big backyard. It is across from the high school football field and a couple blocks away from a park. I'm getting excited.

High School Church Camp in Donnelly, ID

The high schoolers went up to summer camp Friday and we headed up Satuday and stayed until Sunday evening. We all had a great time.

The first night we were there the boys and I ate dinner and went back to our cabin to get ready for bed. We played with some toys and watched Netflix before settling in. Lyndon stayed with the youth for chapel and some activities late into the night.

The next morning we got up and got ready for the day. We went to the lodge for breakfast and then there was a youth activity that the boys wouldn't sit still enough for. We took a hike to the lake and Alden and Collyn played in the sand and water. Then, we walked around the camp and found rocks. While we waited for Lyndon, we played by a creek and fountain that they made right outside the lodge. Alden like throwing leaves in it and watching them float away.

We then we and layed down for a nap.

When we woke up it was lunch and so we went to the lodge and ate.

After lunch there was some water activities in the field that we sat and watched. The boys liked watching the older kids play.

We then headed into McCall, ID. There is another lake there that we played in, we went and got ice cream and milkshakes and walked around the town.

We went back to the camp, packed up and headed home. It was a fun, relaxing short trip.

Happy Birthday Susan

My sister, Susan, celebrated her 32nd birthday on Friday the 12th. We went out to lunch at Tucano's Brazillian Grille in Boise for her birthday on Saturday.

I love eating at that place, it is SOOOO GOOD! We were all plenty full when we left.

Of course, Susan HATES getting sung to at restaurants, so what does a loving sister do? Has her sung to by the staff of the restaurant in a traditional brazillian birthday song. :)

It was a great lunch with my sisters and family.

Trip To The Boise Aquarium

Saturday, we made our way to Boise for multiple reasons, but we took a detour to the Boise Aquarium. Alden and I have been there before, last spring, but it was the first time for Lyndon and Collyn.

We started out at the tropical fish where Alden and Daddy were able to feed them. Alden would just throw the food in the water, but Lyndon was brave enough to hold onto it and let the fish eat it from his fingers, even though the sign clearly said, "Beware: I Bite!" No biting happened, so we were good to go.

We then headed to some smaller fish tanks were we found NEMO! Alden and Collyn loved watching Nemo swim around.

In the next room were the rays and sharks. We bought food for Alden to feed them also. He was able to pet the rays. He wasn't interested in petting the sharks, but he liked feeding them. Collyn loved watching them swim around. He held tight to my shirt, so we didn't get too close.

We made our way through looking at other animals and then Alden found the touch tank. We touched starfish and coral. It was a fun adventure.

Preparing for the Yard Sale

Oh my word. Lyndon and I have been married almost 4 years. In that amount of time we have accumulated SO. MUCH. CRAP! It's a little ridiculous. We have moved 2 times (This will be our 3rd time) and each time we seem to move more and more. NOT THIS TIME!! MOMMA IS CLEANING OUT THE CLOSETS! :)

Starting with the boys bedrooms, I got rid of all clothing (Newborn-4T) (Alden is only in 2T-3T but you will understand in a minute) out of drawers, closets, bins in storage, etc. I am yard saling any clothing that they haven't worn, never wore, and clothing that I wouldn't put on a future child (No, I'm not expecting).

COLLYN'S BEDROOM: Cleaned out all drawers and closet of all clothing he would not wear. I got rid of all blankets that I don't use. I have a good 10-12 blankets that I use on a regular basis and the other 4,000 sit in the closet. Not really 4,000, but there is a lot. Receiving blankets, store bought blankets, etc. I try to keep all homemade blankets because of sentimental value. I got rid of his shoes that he has grown out of, baby hats and socks because I figure if another comes along, I can buy those things again. I am selling about 25 crib sheets. I'm not exactly sure how or where I got a ton of them... But I have them. They just sit there. I have 5-6 that I rotate through regularly, the rest are history.

OUR BEDROOM: I cleaned out our closet of clothing we haven't worn in months or even years. As years pass, clothing seems to shrink... Interesting. I went through all our underclothes and socks and got rid of the older ones and those went into the trash. I got rid of a ton of our shoes (2 garbage sacks full) and some of my purses.

ALDEN'S ROOM/TOY ROOM: You don't know how much joy this brought me. These two boys have WAY too many toys. The ones that bother me are the fast-food restaurant toys. They seem to stick around forever and they are lousy. The boys have a big bin of blocks (Foam, wood, and plastic all mixed together). They never touch them. I got rid of the foam blocks that are in good shape and the wood ones. I'm keeping the Duplo lego blocks. Stuffed animals are gone except ones that were given from loved ones that have a sentimental value. Baby toys, teethers, rattles, etc. GONE. Collyn has no interest in them. I am a book reader, but the boys have WAY too many. I tend to go to yard sales myself and buy books everytime. My fave are the Little golden books. Some were ripped and torn, those got thrown away. There were some that I never read to them and I didn't like so I got rid of those.

Some other random things I got rid of.... VHS's. Who still has those?? That would be the Haines family... Kitchen appliances that I don't use, 2 recliners, a love seat, two desks, a big-screen TV, 4 rolling chairs, a coffee table, a baby swing, playmat.... And, we aren't even done yet.... I think we are secret hoarders. The weird thing is... I hate clutter. Yet, I have tons of random stuff.

CLEANING ALMOST DONE!!!! yard sale is next Friday and Saturday. Hopefully, I will make some good money off of it. :) Anyone interested in a pool table. We got that too!

Update on the move....

Well, things are moving fast around here. There is so much to do before our move to Northern California.

#1. Painting our house.

Yes, we are crazy, but we have to sell our home. When we bought the house last year, it needed a paint job. We agreed that within a year, we would paint it. We tested different colors and then put it off. Well, of course, we have a month left before the move and now we HAVE to paint it to sell it. We are planning to paint it a dark blue (It is currently a light blue that has faded from the sun... It is pretty awful looking.)The trim is going to be white (Which is currently white) and I wanted to paint the door a dark deep red, but I'm not sure since we want to sell it. I might just keep it its normal white and blue. We shall see.

#2. Yard Sale

Next weekend we are having a multi-family yard sale/moving sale. My friend down the street just moved in to their house and have things they want to get rid of (sad that we have to leave right when they move in), my sister moved within the last year and have things they want to get rid of, my parents have some items they want to get rid of, and we have to pack all our things up, which means the less the better. We are getting rid of quite a bit, so hopefully we can make some good money at this sale. This money will help with our move.

#3. Sell the Dance Studio.

Sad news. Yes, I am having to sell my beloved studio. I have been there for about 12-13 years and have been owner/director for 2 years. I have seen about 150 different dancers come through and I will miss them dearly. The dance teacher/choreographer that will be taking over is Emilie. She has been with me the whole time and has danced at the studio since she was really little. She will do a wonderful job at being the director, it's just sad to say goodbye to my hard work.

#4. The Pack

Did I ever mention I hate moving?? I hate packing everything up and unpacking. We are getting rid of quite a bit and starting to box things up right now that we don't use on a daily basis and are storing them in our garage. It's amazing the things you keep a hold of that has no sentimental value or any type of value... yet it still sits there. We still have wedding gifts... in boxes... brand new... Never been opened. I guess we didn't really need that extra fondue set or rice cooker.... Yard sale! :)

#5. House Hunting

We headed down to Willows, CA last week. We went and looked at real estate but the market moves so quickly it was pretty much pointless. I have been e-mailing back and forth with a property management/real estate company to get into a rental. It wasn't too promising. Even the rental market moves quick. We found a house that would work for us. The occupants now will be out the 15th and we would move in next month. She said it wouldn't be available in that amount of time. The market is crazy compared to Idaho. Some rentals will sit for months with no occupants. So, we have to play it by ear now. Hopefully we will have a place to live when we arrive there.

Lots of things to do.... Deep breath.... WHEW!

Baby Coll-Coll: 11 Months

Oh my! 11 months. Let the birthday party planning begin! He is such a sweet little sassy boy. I love him to pieces.

GROWTH: Weight: About 17 lbs. Collyn got the stomach flu a few weeks ago, which made him lose some weight, so we are trying to gain that weight back and so now we are playing catch-up. I'm not sure how tall he is. He has his 1 year check-up next month.

SLEEP: We were sleeping through the night. WERE is the key word. When he got sick, we were up all night so he got used to me rocking him while he slept. Then, we went on a trip in a different place so his sleep pattern worsened. He is only getting up at 4:30 AM. I know I'm not supposed to do this, but I'm tired of being up at night. I make him drink his bottle in bed at the 4:30 feeding. I come back 20 minutes later and grab the empty bottle. No more rocking with Momma at night. I'm tooooooo tired! He, recently, has been down to one big nap a day. I hate this transition. I loved the 2 naps. However, it is a good long 2 1/2-3 hour nap in the afternoon, about the same time as Alden's. Sometimes I can get some time to myself during the afternoon.

EATING: He is still on Sensitive baby formula. Next month, we will be doing the transition to whole milk (OR Almond Milk) like we did with Alden. He is refusing all baby food. In the morning, he will still eat some oatmeal and fruit puree, but he eats what we eat. He still has NO teeth which is hard because he can't eat much, but he does it. He surprises me a lot. His favorite new food this month was on vacation when he helped me eat my "Macho Burrito". I think he ate about half of it. Tag teaming at it's finest!

CLOTHING: Some 6-9 Month, Some 12 Month. It just depends on the brand

DIAPERS: Size 3, only because I am using up the last Size 3 package before moving to Size 4.

DEVELOPMENT: He can stand by himself for a few second before he gets scared and sits down. He will hold my hands and walk everwhere. He is climbing everywhere! We have him and Alden in a tumbling class and Collyn can hang on the bar (With support) and climb up the mats. His favorite toy right now is the tunnel. He is self-feeding most meals and doesn't really want help. He is growing way too fast.

Happy 4th of July!

I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July, we certainly did.

It was a little bittersweet because it is our last 4th of July in Weiser and in this house.

We started our day out downtown where there was a parade and a community BBQ. Lyndon helped the veterans on the floats get on and off.

Later that day, we went to my parents house for a BBQ with ribs, salads, and baked beans.

Then, we all headed to our house for desserts. Banana splits and rootbeer floats.