This may be a long one....

For the most part August was a good month for us. A wonderful new park opened up here not far from our house. This part of the valley is really beginning to take off and grow. We have a lot of beautiful parks for the boys to play in.......once it cools off that is! There will be a beautiful new Library soon as well. It's really going to be a happening place to live. I'm very happy that we live on this side of town, as long as we're here in Vegas I don't want to leave this area.

I don't think we'll be leaving any time soon. The sale of our house should finally go through with in the next month. It will be good to finally get all of that taken care of. None of us like the feeling of having our lives up in the air. With the economy in the crapper Dwayne won't be looking for a new job any where else soon either. Who wants to be the first person on the chopping block if they have to cut jobs? Besides he loves his job and they love him.

Calvin started school finally! He's only been going a week, but so far he likes it. His teacher is still on maternity leave so he will have a sub for the first month or so but, he doesn't seem to mind. I'm very glad to have him back at school! We are so much alike so we butt heads a lot. It's also nice to have a little bit of time with just Zach and I.

Zach is getting so big so fast! He's talking a lot. He says "Oh My Gos" and "No Way" a lot. He just finished up his swim lessons. He didn't really like them until the last day....of course. Now he seems to think he's Michael Phelps (he's not, the best he does is hold his breath) cuz he'll jump in with no warning. I don't know which is worse, him thinking he's a pro or him being afraid and crying. I'm just glad the classes are over. He's such a slim Jim his teeth were always chattering and it made me feel bad. He's growing into quite the little character, always making us laugh. I just know he's going to be the class clown.

I can see it now....being called to the school because Zach is disrupting class with fart noises and falling out of desks and Calvin is giving out too much information about one thing or the other. "Mrs. Carpenter, Calvin is running around saying if a Republican gets elected president we will all go broke." Or "Mrs. Carpenter Calvin is saying 'My mom says that the big building with the giant white horn on the top ( a Mormon church) is where all the crazy people go on Sundays'." I really have my hands full here people! You all know I've never been good at minding my Ps and Qs and now I REALLY have to and it's hard!!!

Calvin has also started soccer. His first practice was Tuesday and when he got home he was exhausted! Dwayne said half way through practice (it's 2 hours!) he looked over at Dwayne and told him "Just cancel me! I can't do this!" He made it through though and according to Dwayne he did a really good job. He's the only kid on his team that doesn't speak Spanish so he doesn't always understand what the coaches are saying but he pays very close attention. Don't ask me what the team name is cuz I can't even pronounce it! They're named after some Mexican soccer team. I'll post it later.

I'm convinced Dwayne is going through a mid life crisis. He went on some crazy diet called The Master Cleanse where he drank nothing but a crazy concoction of lemon juice, maple syrup, water and cheyenne pepper for 10 days! Yes he made it all 10 days (damn him and his stubborn will power!) and lost 18 lbs! Now he's Mr Fitness working out all the time and trying to eat healthy. He got all bummed cuz he gained 1 lb!!! Uhhhhggg! I so wanted to scratch his eyes out over that!!! Gimme a break! It was muscle, since he's turned into Arnold Swharzenegger! Here I am with my Jelly Belly and he's turning into Jack Lalanne!

Do you think I've developed a bit of a self esteem issue lately? It's my own fault. I had minor surgery on my "lady regions" earlier this month and haven't been back to the gym since. I'm so lazy. Hell, I'm lucky I get outta bed to get "Mr Too Much Information" to the bus stop. I must snap out of it soon because you know what's coming in 2 weeks? Our Mexico Vacation!!!! Woooo Hoooooo!!! Maybe I'll try The Master Cleanse Diet!!!! I'll show Dwayne and his will power! Ummm, doubt it. I'll just be the one on the beach with her margarita or beer resting on her belly with a straw in it! Just kidding! It's not that bad!

Okay, on to a more serious issue. As you can see from my side bar over to the right, I've added a widget or 2. A few of them being about Obama. Did you all see his speech last night (8/28)? Did he knock your socks off or what?! He was amazing, inspiring and just plain AWESOME! I'll admit, he wasn't my first choice.........stupid John Edwards was...........I'm still kicking myself for that one, the ASS. Now Obama is my man! I truly feel he is the best man for the job. He has a vision and hope for us that I haven't seen in a politician in a very long time. I know most of you are democrats and will vote for him......for the few of you who aren't or are undecided please do vote for him. We so can't have 4 more years of the same SHIT. McCrazy is just that.....CRAZY. And that woman he chose as his running mate is no where near ready to take over if he kicks the bucket (and you all know that could likely happen cuz he's OLD)! Here's a few quotas from her: "What does a vice president do any way?" or "The war hasn't really been a priority for me." She's pro-life, anti-gay and a lifetime member of the NRA. She has ZERO foreign policy experience. This was simply a ploy to win over women. McCrazy must think us chicks are stupid. I can't wait to see feisty Joe Biden mop the floor with her!

There, I'm done. No more ranting about politics........for now any way.

We hope you all are doing great! I'm sorry I didn't send out a link to this for last month...it was just a bit uneventful that's all. The slide show from last month is on the right under the Obama stuff if you're interested (the blog about it is below this one). You probably won't hear from us until we return from our fabulous vacation in Mexico. Until then Audios Amigos!!!

Not all that much is new...

Zach and I both got haircuts in the past few wks. I just couldn't take it any more. I've decided that I will always have short hair unless we move to somewhere cold and I can wear a hat for 9 months out of the year. It could happen.....if McCrazy is elected president we are so moving to Canada! Any way, I've never been a "hairdoer" so now I have my old short do back that I don't have to "do". It's much easier and I'm a much happier person. You know how women can be grumpy if they have a bad hair day? Well, that is so me....er was me.

Unlike me, Zach wasn't too thrilled about getting his new do. His hair was looking rather "helmety". When we went to a party for a friend from Dwayne's work someone called him "Moptop" and it put Dwayne over the edge. The next day we broke out the clippers and buzzed it all off. He was very squirmy and didn't like it much. I think it looks great. He was fascinated with it, he rubbed his head for about 2 days.

We signed Calvin up for soccer. He will start in September. I don't know what's happened to him? He's become this big sports nut. He's been obsessing over baseball for weeks now. I was surprised to hear he wanted to play soccer. He's looking forward to it. First I was the the neighborhood babysitter and now I'll officially be a soccer mom? Uhhhh, what's happening to me?

We're going to look into putting Zach in soccer or tee ball. They have leagues for both in his age group. I think he would LOVE it. His whole world exists of balls and "drives" (cars). Every day Dwayne comes home from work he runs up to him and says "Hi Daddy! Ball? Let's go!" He loves going to play baseball with Calvin and Dwayne. He has to wear Calvin's helmet and use his bat and real baseball....no toddler equipment for him, no way, he's a big boy.

I am counting down the days until Calvin starts school. We've already bought his new backpack and lunch pale.....Animated Transformers. We found them at Target and as we were going up to pay for them he was dancing down the isles singing the theme song-"Transformers....more than meets the eye." Everyone thought it was very amusing. He's looking forward to school, but I don't think as much as I am!

The sale of our house should be finalized around about October or November. That should be a relief. This whole situation is one hot mess! I'm not even going to write any more about it cuz I just get all fired up.

My great friends Tom and Don came up this past week. It was their 11 year anniversary. I can't believe it! I can't believe I've known Tom for almost 18 years! He's one of my best friends and knows almost all of my secrets. Ha! Like I have any secrets?! Who am I kidding!

Ok, I believe that's it for us. We hope all is going good for all of you! Love you all and miss you tons!

A busy couple of weeks......

It's been a busy few weeks for us. Last weekend we went down to Arizona to surprise my Pa for his 60th birthday. He was very surprised. It was a short visit but it was great to see everyone and lounge by their wonderful pool in their beautiful backyard. It was next to impossible to get Calvin out of the water.......he was rather "pruney" all weekend. We know he can swim if he would just venture into the deeper water. We're planning on putting him in swim lessons here soon. Zach loved the water too, he starts swim lessons this Wednesday. I'm hoping he enjoys them.

Next up was Zach's 2nd Birthday. It was rather uneventful. We didn't plan anything too special. We went out to eat at Red Robin on his actual birthday and when they came to sing him Happy Birthday he was none too pleased. He cried and didn't even finish his ice cream. A few days later we had my Vegas family over and had my "blue ribbon chili" and some cake. As you can see from the video above he again wasn't thrilled with the whole singing thing. He loved his present from Gramma Cheri and Grandpa T though.......a golf kit. He was busy hitting the little balls all night. Until I broke out a cd of music my Grandpa Bill recorded many, many years ago. Then he broke into a dance........he has his mama's dancing gene! He hears music and his body can't help it's self. See video below.

Finally it was the 4th of July. What used to be my favorite holiday back in the good ol' days in Apache Jct. I remember the water balloon fights, fire hose fights, sack races, fireworks and Jess being on the front page of the local paper sitting in a tree with the caption "Unidentified boy watches fireworks from tree". This years celebration wasn't as extravagant but just as fun. We went over to our dear friends Eddie and Sandi's house and had burgers, hot dogs, wine, beer, chips and pasta salad. Fireworks were going off every where, it seems everyone in the neighborhood had some. It was really quite festive! We watched the big shows from their balcony. It was a nice mellow affair without having to fight any traffic, just the way I like it.

I have yet another update on our stupid house situation. It seems again we WON'T be moving (for now any way). Not only that, we now have to start paying rent again! Grrrrrr! Long story short...the house was about to be foreclosed on because the different departments at the bank didn't communicate. Now as of part of the short sale the mortgage has to be paid until the sale starts the final process. WHATEVER!!!!!! I sooooo wish we had about an extra 2 grand so we could get out from under this damn mess that isn't even ours!!! It's so annoying!!!!! It's driving me crazy!!! It changes from day to day, week to week. I HATE IT!!!

Well, that's about it for us. Besides the house frustration all is well. We are eagerly awaiting September for our fun filled family vacation in fabulous Puerto Penasco, Mexico. Believe me when I tell you I am counting down the days!!!! Sun, Sand and Margaritas!!!!! I can't wait!!! Ok, back to reality Kelli........

Love you all!!!

More house drama!!!

First off let me start this by saying Lynn (MIL for those of you who don't know her) came to town a few weeks back and as always we had a good time. Despite the fact that Zach and I were both pretty sick for most of her stay, she got to see Calvin's last school performance and last baseball game. It's always so nice to see her. I feel VERY lucky to have her as my mother in law! Love you Lynn!!

Now on to our house drama! Uhhhhhggggg! Unfortunately we've decided we need to move. The stupid bank wants to wait for more offers to come in before they accept either of the ones they already have. I just don't get it? No one is going to offer them more money? Why don't they take what they can get? It makes no sense to me. We can't sit around waiting for the deal to close until the new owners (who ever they may be) take over. It will probably go into foreclosure any way so we've decided we better get out while we can. We will be moving August 1st. Where to yet we have no idea? Rentals here open and close so fast because of all the foreclosures, it's crazy! We found a couple great places but they were already taken. We aren't even going to officially start looking for another 3 weeks or so. Wish us luck! I'm very sad to leave this house. I love it because ALL my crap fits perfectly in it. I hope we can find something similar. We may get a 3 bedroom with a loft and make the boys share a room. Calvin REALLY needs it. He's always yelling at poor little Zach and hording all his toys.....even if he doesn't like them! He needs a giant dose of brotherly love!

My best friend here up and got herself a job! Now I babysit her little man. Gosh, I just got rid of the little girl I was watching! It's been a bit of an adjustment for me because I have to get up early. Calvin always just took care of himself and Zach sometimes slept as late as 10! It hasn't been too bad but then again it's only been a week! It's good for all of us though. He's a bit of a Mama's Boy and needs to be around other kids/people and I need to practice getting up early for when Calvin starts 1st grade. Calvin has been a big help......I'm even thinking of giving him an allowance each week for his help. Zach is a bit jealous of Christopher, it's kind of funny. I never in my life thought I'd end up being the neighborhood babysitter! I swear if I take on one more kid I'm gonna look like a MORMON and I sooooooo can't have that!!!

We joined the YMCA recently. I've been working out 2 or 3 times a week! Gotta get my body back (yah, like that will happen!) for our big vacation to Mexico in September! Calvin is in a once a week baseball camp and Zach starts swim lessons in July. Dwayne's been pumping iron too. Our new family theme song is "Let's get Physical". Just kidding!

Well, that's about it for us. We will keep you posted on our house searching! Uhhhhgggg! Just the thought of it makes me cringe! I guess it's time to start some serious purging! Nah, I think I'll have a glass of wine instead! Hope all is well for you and yours! Much love!!!

Lots of News!

Wow! A lot has happened since my last post. Let's see......? I think I'll start with the Arizona factor. We finally heard from Maricopa County and they have decided to not fill the position. This probably has a lot to do with the economy and salary restraints. It really doesn't matter to us. I didn't post this last time because I didn't know about it; but when they were interviewing Dwayne they said that they "googled his name and nothing came up". I don't know about the rest of you, but I'd be glad of that fact. Well, these folks weren't, they were disappointed that he hadn't written any papers or belonged to any committees. So, I'm actually glad he didn't get the job. Who wants to work with a bunch of pretentious snobs like that? My moving back home isn't as important as Dwayne having a job he loves and that loves him back. He has that now and it's a great thing.

The price on our house was dropped significantly. In one wk end we had 5 calls and 3 people show up. Thankfully one of those people were investors, and get this........ they loved us! They put an offer on our house and if it goes through, they want us to stay! YIPPEE!!! As of June we no longer pay rent! The longer it takes for the paper work to go through the better! The more money we save!!!! Needless to say, we are very happy with this out come. We hear that there is a slim chance the bank will sit on the deal for months until it falls through, but that's OK with us as long as we can save money to move!

In case some of you weren't aware..... Dwayne turned the big 4-0 at the end of April. As you can see from the following video he wasn't too thrilled about it. We didn't have a big fan fare about it (yet) but we're glad to have our OLD MAN!

We went to Zion National Park this last wk end. It was so beautiful! It's only a 2.5 hour drive from our house. We're hoping to make many more trips up there. It was so amazing, when we crossed into Utah it was suddenly green and beautiful! How come those Mormons had to take one of the prettiest states?! =)

You may also notice from the top of this post that we finally got Calvin's baseball pictures in! Doesn't he look so handsome? He's really beginning to improve a lot. Tonight he even got an out while playing 2nd base! He also recently received the game ball for getting a good hit that brought in 2 runs! I just wish I had the camera for that one. One of the coaches said he's never seen a kid so excited and happy to get the game ball.

Well, that's about it for now. I will keep you all posted on our living situation. Keep your fingers crossed that we won't have to move any time soon! We hope you're all doing great! Much love!

Okay, so it's been a while....

Calvin's season started on March 29th. Opening day was quite hectic and unorganized but still fun. There wasn't a whole lot of photo opportunities though. Hopefully we'll be getting his official pictures back soon. I'm looking forward to seeing them, once I get them I'll post one here. He's doing ok this season. He's had a few good hits and stopped a good grounder or two. Once he gets the ball though he isn't quite sure where to throw it.

After every game the coaches give the game ball to one of the players on the team. This is Calvin's goal. Every day before a game he says he's going to be the one to get the game ball. He's yet to get it. It's probably better that way though, because I'm afraid once he gets it he won't want to play any more. Thankfully the season is only 8 weeks long. I think next year we'll look into something like Karate for him. Since he's already jumping from couch to chair with arms and legs flying pretending to chop and hit all while speaking "Chinese".

Easter was good. Kind of uneventful for us. The boys got a few toys and not a lot of candy. They're already so hyper and full of energy they sure don't need any help. We hunted for eggs around our house since our backyard is still so "hideous" that there isn't any hiding spots. Calvin tried a bite of a hard boiled egg and threw it in the garbage. It was just as well, because the Easter Bunny hid them the night before not realizing they should have been refrigerated. Ooooppppss!

Another birthday came and went for me. It was a good one this year. Dwayne watched the boys while I went out to dinner with my Step Mom Cheri, father Tim and half brother Cody. We got the royal treatment because Cody seems to know everyone in town. It was good food and good times. They even brought me a cake and sang me Happy Birthday. I felt pretty special. It was nice to eat at a restaurant without gulping down my food, blocking flying food, and chasing Zach.

Cheri babysat for us on our Anniversary so we went out for Sushi and drinks. I can't believe it's already been 8 years! Sometimes it feels like it's been only 3, others 20! We've been through quite a bit in those 8 years but we're still happy.

Which brings me to the latest news....Dwayne had his interview with Maricopa County last week. The poor guy, it lasted 5 hours! He said he felt it went great. They interviewed him for almost 3 hours then had him take a test that took 2 hours. But when he asked when he'd hear from them next they said it could be 2 weeks it could be many weeks. That didn't leave him feeling too good. He describes it best when he says it seems like they're putting their line out to see if they can catch the biggest fish. He didn't get the impression that they were in any hurry to fill the position. We're both a little disappointed. He'll call them in a week or 2 to see if he can get a better read from them.

So here we sit with our future still a bit up in the air. Our landlord put our house on the market a few wks ago. It's listed for 250,000. It will never sell. There are at least 10 other houses our size or bigger in our area listed for less than that and have been on the market for months. He's going to have to give it away. If we stay in Vegas, we're (I'm) kind of hoping an investor will buy it so we can stay. They're aren't a lot of rentals here....A LOT of empty bank owned homes....but not a lot of rentals. I'm a real baby about where I live. ALL my crap has to fit in my house and you all know I have A LOT of it! Plus the thought of packing it all up just to move a few blocks makes my skin crawl! I'll be more than happy to pack it all up to move back to Arizona though!

Well, there you go! I think you're all caught up for now. As soon as we know more about whether we're moving any where I'll let you know. Hopefully I will be calling you up to say "Break out the champagne, because we're moving back to Arizona!" If we don't move back, that will be ok with me. I know everything happens for a reason. Maybe we're just suppose to stay here a bit longer? Only time will tell.

Until next time, here's a few pictures we took over the past few weeks. Oh by the way, the words in "quotes" are Calvin's. I just had to throw that in. Enjoy!


Peek a boo!

Coloring Easter Eggs!

Zachadoo's new haircut!

Transformers!! Easter Bunny is so smart!!

"Whaaatssss 'aaaaaat?" Another Wiggles fan. Uhhhgg!

Go Angels! Go Brother!

We love the Angels!

Some exciting changes coming our way!

Hello! I know it's been a while since I last posted here. Let's see what's happened since then? Calvin finally started his baseball team. They've had 2 weeks of practice so far. We found out that we may be losing our head coach because his son is much better than the rest of the boys and he should be playing at a higher level. We were a bit bummed out to hear about this, but it will all work out fine. Dwayne and the other assistant coach are prepared to take over if need be. We just hope Calvin will remember that when Dwayne is coaching him, he's his coach and not his dad. The season opens on March 29th. There will be a big ceremony and they will get their pictures done and such. When that happens I will post them here. I don't get to pay much attention at his practices because I'm so busy chasing Zach off the field. He wants to go out and play with his "Diddy" and brother very badly. I'm almost dreading when the season officially starts because I don't think I'll be able to actually watch much of the games.

You may be wondering by the title of this post..........what changes are coming our way? Well, we will be moving soon indefinitely. Our landlord can no longer afford our house so he's going to let it go. We're kind of sad about this but at the same time kind of relieved. We always felt like we were a bit trapped in this house because the owner is a friend of Dwayne's from work. We like the house (I LOVE the kitchen) but it's on a busy street and the backyard is big but just a bunch of dirt. So we will be glad to hopefully get a place with a yard.

But.......we're really keeping our fingers crossed and saying a little prayer that we'll be moving back to Arizona instead! A few weeks ago Dwayne applied for a GIS job at Maricopa County in Phoenix! He had a phone interview last week and it went very well. He recently received an email saying they will set up a face to face interview about the 2nd week of April. We are very excited about this to say the least! It couldn't have come at a better time with school being almost out and us having to be out of this house soon. There's even a few "Murphy's law" things that have fallen into place as well. So PLEASE everyone keep your fingers crossed, say a prayer, send out positive vibes....whatever it is you do! We need it. We don't mind living in Las Vegas but it would be so great to be back in Arizona surrounded by close friends and family!

Well, that's about it for now. We're all doing fine. Calvin recently got his report card and it was all great. Zach is growing like a weed and is such a little comedian. Ada is hanging in there with her kidney disease. Archie is slowly adjusting to being around screaming jumping kids. Dwayne is enjoying coaching and spending more time with the boys. Me, I'm just the same.....cooking, barely cleaning and trying to muster enough energy to start purging this bulging house of junk before we move! I'll keep you posted on our impending move!