The Graduation crunch...

That's how I have been feeling the last week or so. Everything has been thrown into a two week period. Last weekend our schedule was slightly crazy. Hayli had prom on Saturday. She had a blast and I will post some pics below. Sunday, we had church from 9-12p. We then had to be at a church not far from the school at 2pm for the Baccalaureate service. At 3pm was a Senior reception. Then at 4pm was Senior awards for Honor students. (Hayli got like 6 or 7 awards, we were very proud!) A few hours later we were at the Stake Center for Seminary graduation. It was a long day. (My parents, bless their sweet hearts, were right there with us allday. Hayli was athlete of the year again for her school and volleyball so she was invited to the County Athletic banquet. They name one athlete of the year for the whole county in their individual sport. Much to Hayli's surprise, she won. It was a great way to end her volleyball career. This week is basically the seniors last week. They have had senior activities and finals. Next week it is just a few days of grad. practice and then Friday is the big day.
Mix in Chandler's baseball games (which I love), Callie's puppy school, finishing up Meg's school, and Kayla's volleyball stuff, and we are pretty much in 5th gear all the time. (Not to mention getting ready for Hayli's Open House here after graduation and getting her ready to leave in a few weeks for the Y) As mom's though, aren't we always busy? Even when they are little, it's just as crazy, but on a different level. What will we do when they craziness stops? Does it stop? I hope not.
Oh, and a very Happy 80th Birthday to my sweet grandmother tomorrow!

Chandler hits the double digits...1-0

Today is Chandler's birthday and he is now the big 1-0. I can't believe my baby is already 10. I took a cookie cake to his lunch and it was so funny watching him interact with his buddies. He says "dude" a lot. These pics were taken today of us by another 4th grader. I thought he might die of embarrassment having to take a picture with his mom but it didn't seem to bother him. I did not, however, even try to get a kiss goodbye. That PDA with mom ended back in first grade. :( Oh well, as long as I get sugar at home. Happy Birthday Bubba!

Foreclosures Part 2

Like I mentioned before, my company deals heavily in foreclosures. After we get word that a house has been officially foreclosed on, we go out and check occupancy. If people are still living there, eventually, there has to be an eviction. If it is vacant, we usually change the locks right then and order the house to be cleaned out and ready for the market. Rarely are repairs ever made, just clean up. However, the clean up could be pretty extensive and down right disgusting. Our company has to document (take pics) of all the properties so that Freddie Mac knows what the condition is and what needs to be done, as far as clean out. It also helps them understand what the list price should be. It may sound good to them on paper but when they get actual photos of the condition, they understand more fully why the list price we suggest may be different from what they may be expecting. Here are a few pics of ONE of the filthiest houses we ever had...although there have been quite a few. This house below I barely could go in to take pictures. It was so foul, inside and out. I couldn't believe people lived in there..with little kids!! It was so sad. I have not been back since the company had it cleaned out but I am pretty sure it would still give me the creeps.




The property below our company got a while back. This is the house where the guy took EVERYTHING you could imagine off the house and land. Since Kenny owns a pool company they asked him to secure the pool. Every pool has to be secure for safety reasons. This pool is bigger than it looks in the pictures. Plus, it is an L-shaped pool so securing it took some creative thinking on Kenny's part. The pool was SOOOOOO nasty. We had to get Hayli out there in some spots because neither of us were brave enough to walk out on it. If I would've fallen in that mess I would have had a heart attack!!
The last picture is the finished product. All I can say is I WOULD NOT want to have to be the one to try and disassemble that thing.

FORCLOSURES

My company deals heavily in foreclosures. It is super sad to see so many families loosing their homes. I blame the consumer to a degree, of course, but I also blame the lenders who "creatively" finance loans to people who truly can't afford it. People should know better but lenders can be very persuasive.Not all foreclosures come from living above one's means. Some people just fall on hard times or have unexpected job loss. In either case, it is very sad. Sometimes, when we go in these houses, the home owner's have left so much behind because they have no place to store things. However, there are other times when they just don't want to clean their crap up(and sometimes there is literally crap). It can be pretty disgusting. At one house the people moved out but put their chickens in the house to live for the several months before we took over. Can you say nasty! Homeowners often just take whatever they can off a house..light fixtures, electrical equipment, pool equipment, plants, cabinets, and the list goes on and on. One guy took all of the above and even the castle block throughout the yard, as well as the light switches and vent covers!! He did leave, however, a few months worth of garbage and dirty diapers. Nice.
On the up side of all this, boy can you get a deal right now. Houses are selling thousands, sometimes hundreds of thousands, less than their value. I have a closing on Tuesday that is just a little townhouse that originally sold 4 years ago brand new for $120,000. It sold for $60,000 to a sweet, soon-to-be divorced mom of two, who really benefited from this foreclosure.
The house below is in a upscale-gated community with all the amenities. It was on the market prior to foreclosure for $529,000. It is now on the market for $265,000. It is all brick, 5 bed/ 4 bath on a full unfinished basement. Crazy!
When I first started with foreclosures it really made me so upset because I would see kids belongings in the house and conjure up all kinds of sad scenarios of the family having to move out of their beloved home. I eventually had to toughen up a little but it still bothers me a lot.

On a happier note, we have a new addition to our family.
After A LOT of begging and pleading, my kids convinced me to let them get a dog. Kayla's friend's dog had puppies and she wanted really wanted one. Megan has been begging for ANY kind of animal. She is an animal lover. We went to take a look when they were about 2 weeks old and that was my first mistake. We went and visited Callie every week until she could come home with us. She is a Labradoodle and is extremely smart. We have had her for over a week and NOT ONE ACCIDENT in the house (knock on wood). Labradoodles are more of an inside dog and not meant to be kept outside.(They have soft fleece fur and it curls as thay grow so it could get pretty yucky living outside.) However, they love and need a lot of exercise so she plays with the kids outside until she is exhausted. The only trouble we are having is the normal puppy nipping. She starts puppy school with us in a few weeks so maybe that will improve.

Utah

We are back from Utah. We had so much fun! ( I will post some pics when I find my camera!)We stayed at a new Marriott at Thanksgiving Point. It was such a great location because we were going back and forth from Salt Lake to Provo and Thanksgiving Point (Lehi) was right in the middle. The day we flew in we drove down to Provo for an appointment Hayli had at the Wilkerson Center with her adviser. We dropped her off and drove around for a bit. Parking around campus is crazy! We drove around and around and let me just say we are very familiar with Heritage Halls and everything on 9th. Luckily, her apartment/dorm is basically right across the street from the Wilk and will be super convenient for her.
Friday we went up to the Salt Lake temple to meet a sister missionary that served in our area (for like 10 months) and had just come home the day we got out there. That was a great experience for all of us. Hayli really enjoyed temple square. That night we met my nieces Ashley and Aimee, and Ashley's boyfriend, Ben for dinner at the famous Cafe Rio! (We had heard so much about this place and for good reason...we ate there two more times before we left!)
Saturday we went to University Mall in Provo to look for Hayli a prom dress and boy did we hit the jackpot! We found the most gorgeous dress and she looks FABULOUS in it. That night we went to the men's BYU volleyball game. That was awesome and they won! Sunday we went to church in the Meadowbrook 2nd ward in Taylorsville to see Emily Burgess (the sister missionary) and went back to her family's home for dinner. It was a great time and we enjoyed ourselves so much. They are a super family.
Monday, Hayli spent some time on campus at BYU and I think she has come to the realization that she is going to have a blast! ( I think it may have something to do with the hot LDS guys she met!) The energy on campus seems so fun and I am excited for her to experience college life at the Y.
Monday we went to lunch with a family friend, Kari, and got to see her precious little kids Clate, Hali, and Chloe. Her husband is doing his residency at the U of U. That night we got a fun surprise when my brother Jody flew in town and spent the night with us! That was so great to see him, even if it was just for a day. We left the next morning EARLY!!!! It was a wonderful trip and a good way for Hayli to get a quick taste of what she will be in for. I can't wait to go out again in June..except for the having to leave her there when we fly back home. That will be tough!
Also, today is Mom's birthday! Happy Birthday Mom. I love you!

Happy Birthday to my sweet Kenny!

My sweet husband has turned another year older. Thank goodness we actually celebrated his birthday the day before for family home evening because we ended up working all day on his birthday.
Here are the TOP 10 REASONS WHY I HAVE THE MOST WONDERFUL HUSBAND:
1. The most unselfish person I know.
2. Always makes sure I know how much he loves me.
3. So incredibly smart.
4. Can fix or build ANYTHING!
5. Has such a strong testimony.
6. Very humble.
7. Great father(his kids adore him.)
8. So thoughtful!
9. Such a hard worker!
10. Makes me laugh.
There are so many more things about him that I love. He is my best friend and I am truly so lucky and blessed to have him as my husband!

Finally, some answers.

I am not very good about going to the doctor. I usually have some excuse for whatever my symptoms are. Finally, I broke down and went to the doctor. I have been having numerous symptoms for several years, probably more than 3 or 4. Sadly, if it wasn't for the weight gain I probably wouldn't have any gone to be checked out. I have spent years sleeping in sweats with two or three blankets every night. I wear a sweatshirt/pullover, sweater, or jacket all year round..even in the summer. I have felt so exhausted some days and I would always say to myself.."quit being lazy and get movin". I would think at the end of my period when I would be so worn out that somehow it was just related to PMS. But it's the weight gain that finally put me over the edge and I had to get to the bottom of the problem. Literally, if I wasn't running 7 miles a day, I would gain weight. And as many of you know, I am a very healthy eater. So my vainess, I guess, made me search out some answers. After lots of test, ultrasounds, specialist visits, etc. I have been diagnosed with Hashimotos, which come to find out is VERY COMMON and easily fixed with the right medication. Here is what I found out:
Hashimoto's disease is an autoimmune disorder in which your immune system inappropriately attacks your thyroid gland, causing damage to your thyroid cells and upsetting the balance of chemical reactions in your body. The inflammation caused by Hashimoto's Thyroiditis is a type of autoimmune thyroid disease in which the immune system attacks and destroys the thyroid gland. The thyroid helps set the rate of metabolism, which is the rate at which the body uses energy. Hashimoto’s stops the gland from making enough thyroid hormones for the body to work the way it should.
Some patients with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis may have no symptoms. However, the common symptoms are fatigue, depression, cold intolerance, weight gain, forgetfulness, muscle weakness, puffy face, dry skin and hair, constipation, muscle cramps, and increased menstrual flow.
Thank goodness I haven't had depression, puffy face, dry skin and hair, or muscle cramps. I feel relieved to finally know what the problem is and that it is something so common and not at all a big deal! I will have to take a pill everyday for the rest of my life but the doctor says it should make a world of difference. I start my medication today. Yeah, I can't wait to be warm!!!!

Our house is going on the market in less than two months and I am thinking we sure have a lot to get done. There is something wrong with perfecting your home for someone else to enjoy... We have just taken so long to complete our terrace level ( aka basement). It is coming along slowly, however. I really enjoy working with my sweet hubby. "We" have done everything ourselves and that has been very rewarding. I have taken ALL the credit for the stack stone fireplace in the little keeping room off the kitchen in the basement when in actuality he got me started and taught me how to cut the rocks. I felt so accomplished after that project....I got a little carried away and suggested I might should do this stack stone stuff professionally. That lasted about 2 minutes. I came back to reality when I cut a small chunk of concrete out of my pool deck cutting a piece of stone.
He has done a wonderful job down there. He is so amazingly talented. He can truly do anything. Even though I do nag about the amount of time he takes to finish things occasionally, I am always so proud of the work that he does.

So I have really been enjoying Idol this season. I usually only watch the first few weeks and then pick back up when it is down to the final 8 or less. There are some really talented kids this year. I especially like Brooke White and Carly Smithson, for the girls. And the guys, I am thinking David Archuleta and David Cook. I do believe Kristy Lee Cook has a great country voice. Anyone notice how Paula sure seems to make some really random and odd comments? What's up with that? Very strange.

YIPPPPEEEEE!!!!!!!!

We just found out that Hayli got into BYU!!!!! For those of you who know Hayli know that this has totally been her dream for YEARS!! She has worked SO hard to maintain exceptional grades and we are sooo happy for her! She has been so dedicated! We are a little shocked that they requested her to start Summer 2008. Something about that being the only way to reserve a place for her in the fall. That is just around the corner. WE are heading out there the beginning of April to look around and all that fun stuff...June will be here before you know it!

P.S.
I blogged about our recent vacation below.

We are back from our trip to Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, and Mexico. I can honestly say that REALLY visiting these places changes you somehow. I never imagined I could love a place so different from the U.S. Hands down Guatemala is my favorite spot in the world now. We were able to spend the day there seeing and visiting with the Mayan Indians. What humble lives they live! We traveled up the Rio Dulce (Dulce River), deep into the jungle, and witnessed first hand how these people live. The only means of travel in these areas are by little carved boats. Little children can be seen paddling about fishing for their meals. There is no electricity and no running water among most of the Mayans who live on the river. There is a spot on the river where a pipe supplies the only clean, fresh water which comes from the side of the gorge. The people come from all over to acquire fresh water for their families. We saw a school on the river (education is only for those who can afford it) and there were kids running around outside playing on their break. The kids who attend school are brought there at age 5 and do not leave until they are 16 years old. They live there year round. At one point, we stopped at this little house where a family had a little covered deck that housed handmade crafts and some goods. There were about 4 or so of the cutest kids you've ever seen there. We noticed a small hammock swinging and inside was a little baby. The father told me (in Spanish) that the baby is a girl and 3 months old. She was sound asleep and so precious. The people we met were very kind and very gracious. When you see the way in which they exist you really understand how terribly spoiled we are. What is meager to us is luxury to them. I fell in love with Guatemala. My whole family did. There is an orphanage there where we hope to visit in the very near future. We are going to be gathering much needed supplies and take them there. I can't wait to go back.
On a more frivolous note, we did some very awesome and adventurous things. In Honduras, we did some incredible zip lines in which between tree platforms you had to cross small planks on cables or just a cable!! It was a blast. I will try to put up video or pictures. I felt so sorry for our guides (who were FABULOUS). One would go first and be ready on the other platform to "catch" us and slow us down. These are all in trees and at a high rate you are traveling towards a big tree!!! The first line I somehow got turned around backwards and was wide-open headed for the tree. The guide stands between you and the tree on the platform...like I said, poor guides! I smashed him every time right into the tree. I always apologized and he would always say in broken English "No worries". There is no telling what he was really thinking. But it was so fun!
We caved tubed in Belize and our trip photographer, our friend James, lost his camera somehow in the water. Our guide there (again, FABULOUS) said he would bring his son back and they would try and look for it. Never in a million years did I think that would happen. First of all, you are talking about over a mile of water, through three caves which is pitch black and has little inlets. Also, the caves are a good distance from where our guide was from and with gas over $5.00 a gallon I just thought, goodbye camera! That was a week ago today and not only did he go back and find that camera in the water but he sent it to James at the beginning of the week! If you ever get to Belize, go cave tubing with cavetubing.bz They are wonderful and on the hike up he pointed out some really cool things. Afterwards, he took us to this restaurant in the middle of nowhere. I was a little nervous at first but it was wonderful and so delicious! Lunch was included in our tubing. Oh, one last thing about our guide..on the way back to our port he took us into town and showed us the local LDS chapel and the LDS mission office. We had no idea he was going to do that and it meant a lot to us.
Needless to say, our trip was the most memorable trip for all of us because of where we went and the people and things we saw. I was not ready to leave.

Beautiful Honduras.
Zip line guides.
One of the much nicer homes on the Rio Dulce.
Kids playing at there home on the Rio Dulce, Guatemala.Rope-swinging into the water.
Fresh water pipe I mentioned on the Dulce River.
School on the river in Guatemala.
Some Mayan little girls who lived deep in the mangroves. The water was covered with thick lily pads.
A boy we encounter on the river. He was very proud of his catch. He had three more in his little boat.
Baby girl in the Guatemalan version of a baby swing.
The beautiful Caribbean.

I know I am behind on my blogging when even my hubby says, "You need to update your blog" My excuse is too redundant, so I won't even say it.
We are getting packed for a long vacation. I am good at about 7 days but we will be gone 9...I can make it. It's off to New Orleans to catch a cruise to Belize, Honduras, Guatemala, and Cozumel. We have been to Cozumel but not to the other destinations so it should be a lot of fun. We are going cave tubing(where you first jump off a cliff), riding a zip line through the jungle, seeing ancient ruins, shopping, and I hope relaxing!! My kids are so excited they can't stand it. There's a group of us going and it should be a blast!! The kids are out of school for winter break and we always try to get away before spring comes and Kenny gets too busy. It is nice because the break always falls on my birthday so I get to celebrate on vacation!

Happy New Year!

Okay, I am finally blogging!!! It has been a crazy and wonderful month. December started out with us in Hawaii with my parents and we had a fabulous time, even with the rain. It was still great to me! Our Christmas was just how I had hoped it would be. It was so much fun and stress-free! I think we managed to truly keep it Christ centered. Christmas did go by too fast and now it is 2008! Crazy! We had a bunch of friends over for New Years Eve and New Years Day (for the Sugar Bowl, which wasn't even a good game) The kids go back to school next Tuesday so we still feel like it's a holiday. Lot's of shopping, eating out, and movies. Kenny and I went to see P.S. I Love You. Very different, but I really liked it a lot!!!
We have been Wii crazy around here. We have had so much FUN playing that thing. On New Years Eve we had a boxing tournament and it was HILARIOUS!!!
There is so much I had planned to blog on but because I have waited too long to actually do it, I can't seem to remember what all there was to say.
Happy 2008 to all!

New Blog Coming Soon...

Updates...do I name all my blogs this?

Driving around today I was shocked to see homes already adorned with Christmas lights and plastic Santa's in their yards. I have just adjusted to fall. Could Christmas really be around the corner? I am SERIOUSLY NOT ready!! I love Christmas but I have to prepare myself for the craziness that comes with that time of year. I hope it to be more peaceful, more focused on Christ.
Last week was so fun! The older girls had their Varsity Banquet and it was great! The Senior girls "passed the torch" (or ball) to another girl and said something special to that girl. Hayli passed hers to Kayla and when she spoke about Kayla we were all in tears! It was so sweet. I know they will miss playing together. Hayli is not playing club this year. She is going to work and save for BYU...more on that later. Kayla had a pretty tough tryout up at a big club in Kennesaw..about 65 miles from our house. With traffic it takes me about 90 minutes to get there. We chose this club because it is the only good club that does NOT practice on Sundays. She just got a call last night to say she made the team. I am excited to start the club season.
Back to Hayli and BYU. We registered her for housing this past Saturday. It was CRAZY!! Literally, seriously, within 3 minutes of logging on (right at the start time) there were 3280 people in line (via the tele) waiting to register. We thought we had really done our research about which housing to pick but I kinda freaked out at the last second wondering if where we chose was the right place. Mostly because of the frenzy of people waiting!! I guess it only matters if she gets accepted!!!
I also want to say "Congrats" to Blake(#12) and Brandon(#46), whose team is now in the State playoffs and beat the ONLY team that has beat them. If all goes according to plan they will be playing at the Georgia Dome in a few weeks! Go BEARS!!

MY (megan) FIRST POST!

My name is Megan. I LOVE TO DRAW!! It is just something I enjoy doing. About a year ago my friend, Haley came over and we decided to watch a movie. She wanted to watch Mulan 2, so we watched it.During the movie I thought of how fun it would be to draw the characters so a couple of days later I watched it again with Chandler.When I got to a person I wanted to draw I paused the T.V. and drew them, which took me about 10 min. each (Chandler was getting pretty mad cause he wanted to watch the movie). So I found them the other day and took pictures of them all and wanted my mom to put them on the blog but she did not have anytime so she said I could do it myself and I immediately ran to the computer and made this post. ENJOY MY DRAWINGS!!!!! This is Mulans Dad!! This Is the little girl from the beginning,Sharon!! This is the LUCKY CRICKET!!

Maui..and my brother's tasty hissing cockroach.

We are off to Maui in a few weeks. I am excited but it seems like it has totally just snuck up on me. I have to psyche myself up for trips for some reason. I hate the packing and preparing but I love it when I am there. I am ECSTATIC about my parents joining us this time. We always go to Oahu first and spend a few days and it will be so much fun for us to have them get to see all there is to see on both islands. The last time Kenny and I went to Hawaii we said that was it for us...the trip back is pretty harsh but it's been two years so we are ready and I know it will be worth it! We stay at the Grand Wailea and it is stunning. Here is a few picks from the resort....
Okay, so my younger brother Jody is quite the daredevil and had an amazingly disgusting experience at Six Flags in his hometown in California. Luckily, Kelly my sister-in-law, caught it in video and blogged about it here. Truly grosses me out but if I'd been there I would have been egging him on! Not that he needs it. No autographs please.

Congratulations Region Champs!!!

At last.

I can not believe it has been over two weeks since I have blogged. My mom called me today and mentioned that I need to think about updating my blog. I have thought about it numerous times but life has pretty much revolved around volleyball and you can only blog so much about that. However, I will mention the girls are doing awesome and we are #1 in the region and are two weeks away from the State finals. It's been a really great season. It's a real family affair. I keep the books, Kenny is a line judge, Meg helps in the concession stand and Chandler run's around playing with balls that often end up rolling onto the court...during a game! Club ball tryouts start in three weeks!
On a different note, we have gotten Hayli's pictures back from her photo shoot. Hayli is very critical of herself but I think they are great. Jena did a wonderful job! She is very talented! She is also very fun on the actual shoot. It is suppose to be an hour on location and an hour in-studio but she spent way over that! You can tell she loves what she does!

Finally, a new post.

I have been needing to update my blog but have had zero time to do so. We have been so busy lately.
As I was looking through all of my pics (over 1500) on my computer, I came across some really cute ones. It's amazing how time flies and my kids have grown so much. It's bitter sweet.
A little hoochie but her aunt made her costume for her. She was Jasmine, of course.
Chandler with a very severe case of chicken pox two weeks after having had the ChicPox vaccine.
This sums up Kayla's personality.
Meg at Thanksgiving.
Meg and her cute little smile.
My girls on the day I had Meg.
Chandler lovin him some cake.
Hayli and the first love of her life.
Halloween. The bee and the cheerleader.
Somethings never change.