Money, Money, Money

I wish I had one of these growing in my backyard!

A lot of you might laugh at this, so let me back up.

When I married Mike, he sold pest control and sold it well. He now owns a part of a Pest Control company, BioGuard Pest Control, while also owning the majority of Dish One Satellite, a company he started with a partner. He is a hard worker and I knew even before we got married that I wouldn't see him very often and that we would always be blessed financially.

Well, we were shaken up a little (okay, ALOT) when we got the recent appraisal on our house back yesterday. Okay let me back up again...

I miss having family close

I want my mom close. I want to go to the grocery store with my sisters. I want my brother to be able to see his nieces and nephew. My dad and I have been on the hunt for the perfect piece of property in Kennewick for me, one of my sisters and my parents to build our houses on. Okay, now on to the appraisal...

Let's get personal. We bought our house for 420,000 in June of 2007. It seems sooooooo ridiculous....NOW. It feels me with anger.......NOW. Our house has just appraised for 290,000. AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Goodbye dreams of living with my family. Goodbye hope of a life filled with free babysitters (I already promised I wouldn't abuse you!) We are here to stay awhile.

Here is my meager attempt to be positive:

I love the ward, friends, theater, canyons, eating, Fourth of July and support that Utah has to offer.

On a side note, and since Mike hardly ever reads this blog.....he is wavering with having a baby! He feels the responsibility of Fatherhood acutely. He is an invovled father and because of that fact, another baby with a low appraisal is just too much for him to handle.....

Poor dear.

We are still going to try soon, so if you see or talk to him, a little encouragement would be appreciated. I have faith everything will turn out right. Because of this, I decided that if we have twin girls (I'm just sayin'!) their names will be

Aniston and Faith (because we need it to survive!)

(I thought this was especially appropriate because I want to use cloth diapers with the next one)

I don't think it would ever dare to be a boy, but just in case, I got my bases covered with

Cache (pronounced Cash). Have a great day!!!!

My Mom's Side

Did you know I'm Mormon? Well, I am. My mom wasn't raised Mormon or "LDS". She converted when she was 19.

My maternal grandpa thought our church was a "business". My mom was married to my dad in the Salt Lake City Temple.

Her parents were not there.

My mom's brother, uncle Jim, was around when the first three nieces were born. (Me and my sisters) Shortly after my brother was born my uncle received a pamphlet about overpopulating the Earth.

My mom took his chance of having children by having 5, or so he thought.

That pamphlet put the idea into his head that severed our relationship.

Just before my Grandma died in October, he started coming around and being friendly. We just met in Spokane this last weekend to spread Grandma's ashes.

This is Uncle Jim now. Shown with Erin's first, Eliza.

If anyone can unite a family, it's definitely Eliza!

We chose to spread Grandma's ashes along one of the trails she hiked. She was an avid hiker and her hiking group actually made an award with a pair of her most used hiking shoes. They had holes everywhere.

Grandma had such a reverence for fun. Kids are supposed to have FUN!! I love the stories of my mom's childhood because they include memories of traveling out of the country and floating down rivers. In her memory, I will try to seek tranquil, outdoor freshness and remember that fun memories will always take precedence over sad ones.

Here's to Grandma. Here's to FUN!!

Have you met....

My dogs?

This is Paris

A standard poodle. She only shows her good side to her family. She barks at any newcomer to the house, and won't let them touch her. She watches over the children and is the kindest wrestling partner Brock and Rhett will EVER have.

This is Brody.

A miniature poodle. He is that dream dog you wish you always had. He follows me around and whenever I sit he is quick to jump on my lap. He never barks, or chews things, just wants to be loved curled up next to someone.

This is Jenna.

A small standard poodle. She eats socks. She could be a professional sock-eater. I could be the professional sock-poop-picker-upper. That should and does sum up Jenna.

Did I mention my dogs are going to make me a lot of money? They better. I sure have spent a ton on them.

Go here www.whispervalleypoodles.com to see more of how I spend my time.

SHOOT!!

Kids.

I thought after I had Rhett that we were done, done, done.

Now I feel like another one.

Oh, here we go!!

Bottles, diapers (more? Whimper, whimper)

That lovely guessing game entitled:

"Who knows why they are crying?"

So worth it.

You know I've already thought of names and I'm not even prego.

Girl:

Aniston Kay

Boy:

Joel

Packer (family name)

Dillon

Keegan

Kian

Wish me luck.

(Wish Mike more luck!)

P.S. Can you guess which baby this is?