We've Moved!

Yes, life has been a little bit hectic (hence the 9-month lack of updates here). But just about two weeks ago we purchased a home in Layton, Utah. We love this place already, and we hope to stay put for a very very very long time (maybe forever).

Here's a pic for those who might actually see this blog, and who wonder what the house looks like:

(Photo courtesy of our inspector, Jason Rusch of Pillar to Post)

You'll notice on the right side of the picture there is a mini house. Yes, that's the playhouse for the kids (the girls, especially, are very excited about that). What you don't see in that photo is the swingset, a nice garden and very large storage shed to the right (and a little farther forward) of the playhouse. And to the left of the playhouse (hidden behind the house in this photo) there is a built-in fire pit. Fun! In the back we have a nice-sized deck with a pergola on it, too. It's a 1/4 acre lot, so there's plenty of room to move around, but it's not too big for those in our family who don't like yard work. I won't mention any names *cough* *cough* *gregcough*

It's big inside as well (nearly 3000 square feet), but I don't have photos to share yet (since all you'd see would be boxes if I tried to take a photo). But we have a large family room with a dry bar built in the corner (not sure what to do with the bar, but the kids think it's fun), a very big food storage room downstairs, 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, and a laundry room. Plus a large front room with vaulted ceilings and a nice kitchen with granite countertops and wood floors. It's a split level (which I LOVE), though that means you do have to navigate at least one staircase to get to any bathroom, since none are on the main level.

There are a few home improvement projects we have lined up to tackle sometime this year, but for the most part we love it just like it is. (Mostly it's a bathroom renovation downstairs, and opening up the laundry room a big bigger, since they put in a storage closet next to it, and we'd rather use the space for the laundry. And we would like to swap out some of the old light fixtures, too. This house was built in 1988, and though some light fixtures have been updated, others are definitely cringe-worthy.)

Well, that's more than you probably wanted to know about the house! We are grateful for being able to settle down in this nice house, though. I don't have any plans of leaving anytime soon.

Sure, it's been over seven months...

...but in my defense I've been really focused on building readership on my professional blogs.

Sorry, family dear.

Here's an quick update on us:

1. We're still in South Ogden, but will most likely move when our lease is up in June. We think our landlord is missing a few marbles, and Greg would like to be a little closer to work. I'm putting out the official call for moving helpers.... :) (I'm kidding!)

2. Greg is still doing well at work. He's slowly building is patient base, but luckily he's doing well enough that I don't have to work. Which is nice.

3. We're still homeschooling (and yes, we haven't updated the homeschool blog in awhile either). We started a homeschool group at our house that the kids kinda like. It's mostly girls that come, though, so the boys are less excited about it than Elizabeth is.

4. My book is still out on submission to a dozen or so editors. The publishing market is really slow, but unfortunately it seems like my agent targeted the slowest editors imaginable. I'm working on revising a sequel to my book, so that when we actually hear back from editors we can show them how there is a series potential.

5. Grace is finally talking! It's mostly one or two word sentences. She's also potty-training. The joy. (I hate potty training more than any other child-rearing activity, just so you know.) She is two years old now, though she'll have her official first birthday in 2012. I love saying that. It gets people so confused! :)

6. Elizabeth is now 5. She had a fun fairy-themed birthday party with some friends and her girl cousins in February. She's also begging to start working on "real" schoolwork like her brothers, even though she wouldn't enter kindergarten until September if she went to public school. We're working on it.

7. Daniel is growing up fast. He still loves building things with Legos, and he's also really into drawing things. He's good a both, too. And he's still working on learning to read. He wants to read the "cool" books like his older brothers, so we often pull out a Magic Treehouse book and I help him with the bigger words. He'll be 7 in May.

9. Benjamin is still trying to figure out what he likes. Some days he's the reading fiend, other days he can't stand it. Some days he whizzes through his school work, other days he can't get through the first problem in his math book. He is having fun in scouts, though. He's in the Wolf den with seven other boys. Lots of fun!

10. Ammon is really enjoying the 11yo scouting program, and has earned three merit badges and is nearly finished with his Tenderfoot rank requirements. He's doing a lot better with his schoolwork, and we're attempting to give him more responsibility with being in charge of his own schedule. It's a work-in-progress, that's for sure.


I'll try to remember to post more often, but I can't make any guarantees. It seems like life is so boring that I put myself to sleep before I can finish posting. :)

Welcome to the New Blog! I've Got Lots To Tell You...

I hope you all found this blog okay.

I stopped blogging on this personal blog awhile ago, because so much was happening. To get you caught up:

Greg quit his job in Seattle and we moved back to Utah. We've settled (for the time being) in South Ogden, and Greg joined his friend's practice in Farmington. Things there are going extremely well, so we're all happy about that.

And a week or so ago I signed with literary agent Josh Getzler of Writers House (one of the best literary agencies out there--they rep Twilight author Stephenie Meyer for those of you who love all things Edward [I'm talking to you, Sunny!]) This is a BIG step because right now it is harder to get an agent to offer representation than it is to sell a book. We're now hard at work applying the last bit of polish on my book before we send it to about 15 of the biggest publishing companies in NY (yes, that includes Scholastic, Random House, Simon & Schuster, Penguin, and all those other big ones). To say I'm excited would be an understatement. But you can read all about that and other fun things I've been up to on my writing blog here. I've got my eye on the BIG POTATOES now, my friends!

Anyway, we're still homeschooling and enjoying the desert-y sunshine (some more than others, I miss Seattle). I hope you'll all keep in touch!

Even More Potatoes

Just heard word that I won another writing contest! YEE-HAW! I was shocked because my writing was so different from everyone else's, but I was excited to win.

Check it out on my writing blog here.

Updates!

Sorry, I've been so busy with my other blog (I confess, it's the one I love because I can talk about all things writing) that I keep forgetting to update this one.

Update #1: The kids have been sick. Lots. It's a vicious cycle.

Update #2: Ammon took his very first "not at home with mom" test. It was the Washington State Learning assessement test (WASL). I personally hate the test because it doesn't really test his basic skills but is geared heavily toward whether or not students can follow directions. Poo, I say. What good is a test that doesn't tell me if he doesn't know the skill set being tested or whether or not he followed every minute direction properly (for example, one of the sample math questions asked him to draw a five-sided shape with a ruler, but if he didn't use a ruler he got the question wrong)? It wouldn't be a problem if they let us view the test so we would know what he needs to work on, but no. We only get a grade that says what percentage he falls under according to the rest of the students in WA. Bah. (But it was good test-taking skills for him, so that was the only reason we went ahead and did it.)

Update #3: Grace is learning how to talk. She still doesn't say much, but she's getting better at pointing and grunting. But she does love to say Mama now. It's her favorite word. Well, second to "food," anyway. But she is adorable and everyone loves her very much.

Update #4: Daniel's birthday is in 3 days. We are going to try to go to the zoo, but Greg's work schedule is up in the air this week so we aren't sure what day that will happen exactly.

Update #5: We were able to use the stipend our co-op gave us to purchase a membership to the zoo and aquarium here. We are excited about going as often as possible. Once the weather clears up. We're in the rainy season now.

Update #6: As for me, I'm still waiting to hear anything about my manuscript. Four literary agents have requested the full manuscript and one has requested a partial. But you can read all about that on my other blog.

Update #7: I'm still working at Safeway every Saturday night and most Friday nights.

Update #8: Greg's work is the same as usual. Not much to report other than he's still working toward the next level with it's accompanying pay raise.

Update #9: We hope to be able to afford to come to Utah for a visit in June. We'll see if we can pull it off. It'll be tight, but we're trying.

Update #10: These updates are pretty dull. Translation: nothing much has happened around here. We are boring people and we lead boring lives.