projects and tasks

I have been torn about doing projects with the idea of a move on the horizon will I need to pack? Why decorate if I am just going to take everything down in a few short weeks....

I figure if I get as much of the decorating stuff done now it'll be ready to put right up when we move and not take 4-6 months to set up the nursery like it has the first 2 baby’s (the curse of moving 3-4 weeks before delivery). I finally made a decorating decision with the girls room and I hope now I won’t have to back track with painted walls and décor where we end up. I was torn on pink. I had pink Quincy stuff but also pink nursery end decision- Q: pink, lime, bright colors, Joc- navy, gold (not yellow but real gold), and pink. With the tulle that was a crib skirt before I made poofs for a mobile type hanging balls in Quincy’s room. For Jocelyn’s room I made an adjustable crib skirt- I’m hoping that with clothes pins I can keep it looking good at all lengths, a silhouette painting of angel and a 7X5 star flat mobile (for lack of knowing how to describe it) to be hung someday when we are settled again.

I am working on a measuring height board to keep our memories on, playdates, get togethers with friends before we leave, and slowly working on my new goal to be able to play every hymn in the hymn book. Most of all I am taking care of my family with meals, clean up, play, play play. It can be exhausting how often we have to eat!

We are excited to have Mom and Dad Allen come visit just after general conference to see the girls, Dad meet Jocelyn, and help us do a last hurrah seeing Charleston. We are trying to make sure we get everything in. Last weekend we bought us a much needed sweetgrass basket for Charleston memories.

Moving on

We have had a great time in Charleston but with only 2 months warning we will be moving to Virginia, Scott will continue to be active duty military but now will work at the Washington Navy Yard right in DC, in naval reactors, He will be wearing a shirt and tie to work rather than his Navy uniform he wears now… time for a wardrobe update.                         

When we moved to SC we anticipated being here pretty close to 4 years however we are moving on early with our time frame at just under 3 years. Scott initially hoped to work at NR when joining the Navy but, I feel due to the Lord’s wishes for us to be in Charleston first and the initial placement not quite right for Scott he got unusually extra hard questions for the technical interview. So, Charleston first it was. Since being here Scott has revisited the idea several times of wanting/hoping/asking if a lateral transfer to NR would be possible. Each time he brought it up I wasn’t too sure about it I wasn’t sure the job we fit his interest and felt like there was a reason we were here. The week before we heard there was a vacant spot at NR that needed to be filled I began feeling a desire again to experience a new city to move and have a new adventure. While I’ve enjoyed my time here and made good friends, I don’t have any roots here. Family isn’t around and those we are closest to here either have moved or will move, and I was feeling satisfied with my Charleston adventures.  When we found out about the NR spot I knew Scott really wanted it and surprisingly I felt really good about it this time. We were anticipating the decision to be made fairly fast and the move to happen quickly but we had to wait anxiously for 2 months before it was a full yes to Scott.

We will be moving last week of April to somewhere up there. It seems that commute to work will be at least an hour no matter where we live. Here’s to opening the chapter to expensive long commutes, super expensive housing, more expensive everything, along with lots of neat history and places to see, and great extended weekend trips. We are excited.

Anyone want to visit Washington DC? Now’s the time!  

Teecy is 2

Quincy March 2015, 2 1/2

My goodness you are funny. Almost every night as Dad and I are going to bed we have to laugh about a few things you have done that day or recently. Yesterday it was running between people with your chest stuck way at and chest bumping people.

Your latest milestones: last week you began actually saying your name as Quincy with the Q sound and not saying “teecy.” You haven’t mastered your name but you do get it with prompting and sometimes even on your own. We just have to break the bad speech habit. A few days before you got your name you figured out “your two.” While painting our nails you finally got the coordination to hold you 2 little fingers down with your thumb that actually clicked and after getting it once own your own you got it all the time. You say “look mom, my two!” while holding up the 2 fingers. Last I have noticed when coloring or panting rather than scribbling all over the page you scribble the figures in the coloring book.

I find you singing “Return to Pooh Corner,” “Jingle Bells,” “ABC’s,” and others. Everytime I hear you sing it gives me great big a grin.

You would be happy to be outside all day and be with other kids. You love your baby sister and want to be wherever she is particularly on family walks. If Jos is in the stroller you want to be there too, if she is in the carrier you want to be in it until the switch actually happens and you don’t want it anymore because Jocelyn isn’t there anymore. When I get the play mat you jump on it as soon as it is half down, same with the rocking chair.

I will try to do better at recording all the silly things. Thanks for the laughs and stopping my life from being dull.

Dear Jocelyn

March 17, 2015

Jocelyn,

You love to stick your tongue out you have the silliest wide smile. You love to "fly" on my feet or my legs, be lifted high into the air, or for our faces to get real close together. Your giggles just light me up! You like to jump on the door frame "Johnny jumper" that is in the kitchen but you often whine until you have me watching you, as soon as I turn your whine turns to squeals and smiles. Attention from you sister is often welcome until she tries to hold you even when Dad or I are there to support you seem to feel unsecure in Quincy's arms.

Your are called many different things but those that realate to your name are: Josie, Joc, Jos. I loved the name Josie, Dad and Q use it and I do too sometimes but am more hesitant. I think I like nicknames that can't be real names to, something that you wouldn't use to introduce yourself....I'm not sure that makes sense.

Oatmeal cereal was your first, "solid" food introduced at daddy's excitement at about 5 months and 1 week. You loved it and seem to be apprecaite the attention at the dinner table with us as well as the extra meal and calories already.

You kick kick kick kick kick. I think you were born to be a swimmer, runner or soccer player.

Thank you for being a good sleeper. Most night you sleep from 7:30 or 8:00 pm to about 7 am. Occasionally you will wake up once but the last few weeks that has dramatically decreased. Yay! You nap 2-3 times in a day often your morning nap is as we are out and about getting Quincy with friends-you fall asleep in your car seat and will stay asleep.

You are borderline with sitting on your own; sometime you will go several minutes and others you plop right over. Rolling from your back to you belly is becoming more common too. You like play on your belly, but you are often seen with you head twisted to see as far as you can, back arched funny in an almost rolled over position, that's just the way you seem to like to be. Quincy loved sitting in the blue bumbo chair and it helped her sit up tall, you like to lean way over to your left and try to squirm out. Speaking of left, you’re not very fond of nursing on my left, you prefer my right side and that is a little frustrating to me.

I love holding you close in my arms and taking a deep breath. It is fun to wear you in the baby carrier because you’re just snuggled right into me.  The other day I peeked into your room while you were sleeping and it felt the sweetest spirit, it was a heavenly, peaceful, spiritual place. I am so blessed to have you in our home. I love you so so so so much. Thanks for being mine.

All my love,

Mommy

"I need to go to the temple"

From the Q girl:

The other day Quincy noticed the picture of the Salt Lake Temple in living room. She excitedly pointed out the picture, "Temple!" Me,"yes, that is the temple."  Q, "I need to go there, I NEED to go to the temple.' What a good girl. I hope the conviction sticks. We all NEED it! Since then Quincy has said the same thing a few times. and often asks for Scott and I to sing the "temple song."

You can often hear her singing "I Am a Child of God," or "Twinkle Twinkle" In addition to asking for the "temple song" she also loves to be sung the "Christopher Robin song." She always excitedly tells me if she recognizes the song I am singing, "I sing in nursery mom!"

When we don't feel like pulling our hair out, Scott and I are regularly laughing at the things that Quincy does.

Quincy loves to go out of the house. I think she would go crazy if it weren't for Tuesday story time, Wednesday institute with nursery, Thursday play group, and don't you dare forget Sunday church and nursery. She is alwasy asking to to church, the store, or walmart. Quincly also likes to tell me we we don't have anymore milk and need to go to but some at the store.

Quincy, you like to give little massages to dad and I, this week I even caught you giving a massage to Jocelyn. What a good sister.

Making valentine love bugs

You are such a girl! You love my make up, so when I am putting mine on I let you put on Chapstick. Well today you got ahold of my make-up bag and you put my mascara on as you "lips." Got this snap before I got told you that wasn't a good thing to do and you burst into tears.

Jocelyn - 4 months

Dear Jocelyn,

You are SO sweet. Ah, I love you. You are so fun to snuggle-and I would know because you hate to be set down. You are usually okay during the day but come night you only want to be held. It is fun but can make thinks a little harder. you also love attention, you get the biggest grin ever, it just melts my heart. Or sometimes you will start to scream, as soon as someone, Mom, Dad, Quincy, anyone just turns to look and talk with you that scream instantly turns from scream to smiles.

It melts my heart the way stare up at me often with a grin and a little story expecially after you have nursed.

Yesterday at Quincy's playgroup a 3 year old asked me if my baby liked me. I said I thought you did, was I telling the truth?

You are holding yourself up in a leanded over sitting position for at least a few seconds. You are bright eyes and love to watch what is happening around you. Your hair has been reciing for the last few months leaving the best old-man baby look. And although a month ago you rolled over a bunch that has halted until further notice.

Here are the stats from your 4 month appointment held on February 10:

Weight- 13 lbs 5 oz,  growth chart -32%

Height- 24 inches, growth chart -36%

We Bought a House

Yep, a year a go we bought our first house and I have nothing written about our biggest investment and only debt so I'll continue to play catch up on and try to recall the best parts of this important event.

Back in 2011 when we knew we were going to move to SC we planned to buy a house for our time here. We had saved up for a big down payment and we knew we were going to be in the Charleston area for about 4 years. After a looking at houses online, talking with SC contacts about location, and looking at floor plans we thought we wanted to build. However we also wanted a bit more knowledge and information on the process, so we called up my cousin Lewis, a realtor in Utah County, and met with him early 2012. He recommended us not to buy due to the way the market currently was saying 4 years wasn't enough to make it worth all the extra cost. So we thought about it some more, Scott did a huge analysis of numbers and we decided to rent. After we had been in SC for awhile we revisited the idea of buying, Scott looked at all the numbers again. The sacrifices of the apartment life were still worth it so we continued to rent. Once again we were ready for something more and so for the second time in Charleston we pondered if we made the right decision to rent. We looked at a house or two and met with a selling realtor. We came to the conclusion that if we bought we would go into it hoping to sell but planning to rent if we needed to. We knew this before but just didn't want to rent out our own house in Charleston so again we decided no, but this time we had another idea. We could by a house in Utah and rent it out until we hopefully someday make it back to live in it. Until then we would always have a reason to go back to Utah to check on the house. unlike SC where we have no draw to return.

With that idea we began looking online at houses located in Utah, Salt Lake, and Davis counties. We felt it was good to get into the the housing market for a long term deal when interest rates were low and before inflation took off.  Again contacted my cousin Lewis to help us out he sent us houses that met our criteria and we looked and looked. We planned to go back to Utah in January to look at houses but until then we could get an idea of what was around and make a list of favorite.  Based on what you could get for your money, the growth in the area, and good location to commute for both Salt Lake and Utah counties (since we were renting and don't really know where we'll be working if we get back) we settled on Lehi. We found some houses that interested us and sent him by to look at them and report back to us.  The first few were okay, but nothing special. There was a beautiful home in Traverse Mountain, I loved how big and open the kitchen was and it had beautiful upgrades- but about 5 feet of yard with a few of a huge retaining wall. it was a glorified town home as Lewis said. We could build a home and found an amazing floor plan, but it would be in Eagle Mountain and we worried that would be too far. Thanksgiving weekend Scott's parents drove past another home and peaked through windows. It seemed like a really nice home for a great price, but Mom and Dad Richens reported that the inside seemed trashed, another X on the list. We went back online and Scott revisited a house with the back fence opening into a 5 acre neighborhood park. Scott really liked at first but for some reason I didn't so we skipped past it. We had learned to look at lot size and few other things in more detail and so this home with the park was looking better to me. Plus instead of a looking out at a retaining wall this house had a big open view of the park facing west. Beautiful sunset view anyone? We sent Lewis by. He praised the house up and down said it was great, perfectly priced and it was going to go fast. We arranged it for him to take our families through. Mom and Dad Allen couldn't make it, but Richens and my sister Ashley toured the house. We got detailed notes and video of the home and decided that this could be the house.

It was mid December, airline cost were high, we didn't want to miss out on the house, and we trusted my cousin, our realtor, as well as our family who had seen the home, so without seeing the home we put in a good offer on the house. The offer was countered, I was mad, but we accepted it and started the wild goose chase of getting our loan through in just 2 weeks to close on December 24th.  Unfortunately we had to ask for an extension because although we paid off our credit cards each month it showed we had debt of whatever the balance was and that was unaccounted for and created a mild headache. Everything was a done deal, December 31, 2013 we were 100% home owners! 20% down on $294,000 and a lot a debt we are now home owners.

Mom and Dad Allen were visiting for the holidays so they helped document. Since we did everything in SC but bought in Utah here we are sending the Fedex with all the documents signed and notarized and at the computer wiring the money making it a done deal with no turning back.

 Oh, you actually want to see the house?

TADA! 5 bedrooms, 3.5 baths:

The park, and the view, one of the biggest sellers for me:

Another seller- lots of window for natural light!

 

The master: 

two vanities and a closed off toilet area, :)

  Main bath:  again love that the vanity is separate from the tub and toilet, with girls getting ready in the morning we don't want that mirror ever off limits.

 Entry:

I should probably hurry and finish writing about this because I'm starting to daydream about living it. 

All in all we felt like it was a good investment, we just need to keep renters in it. Lewis is managing the home and taking care of it. We got renters in right away and they have a 2 year lease. We met our renters and saw our house for the first time last summer. 6 months after owning the home, when we were out for Dillon's wedding. The home is located in Lehi, west of the freeway, just south of Thanksgiving Point.