Our New Home

First things first. The new school mascot. The boys were pretty impressed that they would now be the Grand Canyon Phantoms!

This is the front of the house. You've got to love the tree cut-outs in the shutters and the railing. We're definitely in the Forest Service now! I think the bushes out front are short lived. We call those "spider-hiders" and I really, really don't like them. I've got to figure out what sort of desert flower to plant in it's place.

This is the view out the front window. If you notice, this isn't really the grass you mow and keep neat and tidy. It's more of a mountain grass that grows in little bunches.

The backyard comes furnished with a swing set and two fire pits as well as a shed and cement pad that we think someone put a hot tub on at one time. It may be the new sand box location. We also have bunnies that live out here and a patch of cactus that is on the removal list.

This is just one of the three or four HUGE trees that are in the backyard. I can't believe we have trees this big! Gary is already talking about a tire swing and which tree would be the best option. I'm talking about which trees to string a laundry line between. Fun or dirty laundry? I may be out voted on this one!

I Think I'm Going to Like it Here

We are sitting in the Flagstaff airport waiting to fly home to Idaho and I think I'm going to like living here. There isn't one particular thing that has made it seem like a great new place to call home. It isn't that I don't love living in Chubbuck. It isn't that I've suddenly decided that I don't like to plant flowers and have lush green grass out front. There is something about this place that gets under your skin.

The people are all so happy and friendly and excited we are going to join the community. The landscape is stunning with the red rock and the towering Pondersas. Even the commute to get groceries in Flagstaff is a scenic drive that is full of beautiful trees and rock.

Yesterday, Gary and I spent the day kicking around Flagstaff, looking for a selection of lactose free food for Dylan and Ethan. We had lunch with an old friend from the Forest Service who lives and works here and had a great lunch talking about the differences of Northern Arizona and the Wasatch Front where she also moved from. Later in the afternoon, we took a short drive into Sedona to have dinner. The weather was beautiful and the shops were fun to look through. We had dinner out on the deck of this little restaurant and had amazing views of the red rock the area is famous for.

From the "hippie mall" where we found the best selection of lactose free cheese, milk, yogurt, and even sour cream that we had ever seen, to the towering pine trees found right in our back yard, Northern Arizona is definitely growing on me. I'm starting to research plants that grow well with minimal water and full sun and thinking about the paint colors to make the house we're going to live in more of our home and it's becoming more and more exciting.

In a few short weeks, we'll be on the road and within a few more weeks after that, we'll be part of a great new community. It's amazing how fast it all happens and we can't wait to welcome visitors into our new neck of the woods.

The House Hunt

Just a quick post about our trip to Arizona to look at houses. We looked at the house they have for us on the compound - yes they call it that! Am I entering a cult? - on Monday and it was about half the size of our house now but it did have tons of storage possibilities in two sheds and a storage room on the carport. It was in pretty good shape and the back yard, although in need of some love, was big and open and home to a swing set and several VERY VERY large Ponderosa pine trees just screaming for a tire swing. Everyone was incredibly nice and welcoming. I lost my voice on the trip down so I was the mute wife passing notes to my husband but oh well.

Yesterday we met with a realtor to look at houses on the market up to $240,000. Every house we saw was a manufactured home. There are NO "stick built" homes in that price range on more than a tiny city lot and closer than one hour away from Gary's office. All I can say is, "WOW" homes are expensive. The landscaping down here is all natural because there is no water. In fact, each of the houses we looked at have hauled water which means a truck comes out and fills your underground water tank in order to have water in your house. Definitely a change. All the houses were also on cindered roads which are basically dirt roads with little rock cinders spread on top of them. Driveways were the same way and only one had any hint of a garage. No bike riding at any of those homes!

I told Gary that I think it would be better for me to live on the compound because I like rural but I think most of those houses skipped rural and went for REMOTE. I'll post some photos when I get back and have my cables for my camera.

The funny thing is that even though we went into the park to check out the school - which I love, love, love - I never did look out over the Canyon while I've been here! I guess there is plenty of time for that in the coming years.

Signs

There are signs all around that we really are moving. The most obvious is the real estate sign in the yard. Our house is finally listed with Premier Properties and Kim Brown. The listing is now on the MLS and the fliers showed up yesterday too. We have various things like a junior size basketball hoop and dog igloo on the front lawn with a for sale sign and plan a yard sale later in the month to get rid of all the stuff that we don't need and won't fit in our Tusayan home.

I thought I was handling all this pretty well but yesterday the movers came to do the walk through to see how much space on the truck we would need and how much our stuff would weigh - there is a weight limit I guess. When he was walking around and telling us the stuff they wouldn't move, I started to get a bit anxious. After he left, I sat down with the folder of information he left and started to read. There were lists of things to do at six weeks, four weeks, two weeks, and up to the day we leave and my anxiety level increased. It's a bit surreal still that we are really packing up in about six weeks and traveling south and it isn't for vacation.

Gary also booked our trip down next week to look at housing and schools and the office and everything else we are wondering about. I think by this time next week, I will feel a lot better because there won't be so much that is unknown. We will be able to answer some of the boys questions better too.

So, if you know anyone in the market for a great house in a great neighborhood, send them our way. Here is the link to the online listing:

http://www.kimsbrown.com/results.php?mls=534248&Submit=Submit

Next Chapter

Ready for a shocker? Gary and I are moving to.............the GRAND CANYON! Yep, the one and only Grand Canyon. I'm still a bit in shock myself. We will be living on the South Rim in a tiny town called Tusayan, Arizona. The move will happen sometime around the middle of July so we can get the boys settled before school starts down there on August 11. It's crazy. We'll go down in the next few weeks for a house hunting trip and I'll post pictures then. Just wanted to update quickly about why the next few months will be VERY VERY sporadic when it comes to blogging most likely. How on earth do you get a house ready to sell and keep it clean for people to see with four little boys? Wish me luck!

Happy Birthday Ethan!

It was four years ago today that you were born and I wonder where the time has gone. From the moment we saw that priceless cowlick on your forehead, we knew you were a special little man.

You have such a fun personality. I can learn so much from you each day as you JUMP into life with a smile. Everything is fun. Everything is animated. Everything is given 110% with you! You are such a smart little boy and love learning. I've never experienced a child who is really and truly sponge like. Everything around you is a learning experience in the making and the questions you come up with often leave your Dad and I stumped! What are we going to do when you get older?!?

One of your greatest gifts is the way you interact with people of all ages. From visiting Marge next door to playing with Emma in school, you love people and are always looking for ways to make them happy. I don't think you can understand why someone isn't happy!

Always a morning person, you hop out of bed at the first hint of morning - sometimes before 5:30 even - and sing your little happy song, "It's morning time! It's morning time! It's morning time!" Thank goodness your Dad is more of a morning person. The two of you often spend time hanging out in the morning before anyone else it awake.

For months now, you have been anticipating your birthday. For some reason, you've decided that your name will change when you turn four. I guess E, EJB, Z, X-Man, Ethan, Ethan Jax, aren't enough for you! I can't wait to call you Guido because it makes me smile to even say it! You've told us that we can't use that name until you're four so today is the day!

I love you little man! I hope this next year has as many adventures as you can handle. Thank you for being my buddy and making me see the world in such a new and fun light each day.

Tooth Fairy

Yesterday Gary pulled out one of Logan's many loose teeth. My boys don't seem to mind having a loose tooth. In fact, they seldom wiggle it. I have to remind them. They can have loose teeth for months on end it seems. Right now, Logan has about three loose ones in his mouth still. It drives me crazy! I want to get in there and wiggle them for them.

Anyway, I've gone off on a tangent. The whole story is about the tooth Gary pulled out. We told Logan to put it in a zip-lock bag and put it under his pillow. The boys have TINY TINY teeth and they are mortified if they lose it sometime between putting it under the pillow and going to sleep that night. Logan had his securely - we thought - in his bag and went down to bed to await Gary tucking them in. When Gary entered the room, Logan was swinging his bag around in the air and then, much to his horror and dismay, realized his tooth was no longer in the bag. Begin the screaming, wailing, and overall fit-throwing here.

Gary, the loving dad he is, spent about 30 minutes on his hands and knees looking for the minuscule tooth in a sea of shaggy carpet but, alas, it wasn't to be found. We explained the whole consequence thing AGAIN to Logan and went to upstairs still undecided if the Tooth Fairy would visit or not. As the night wore on, the Tooth Fairy softened her stance and decided to visit with the much coveted dollar anyway.

As she was placing the dollar oh so carefully under the pillow so she wouldn't wake the sleeping Logan - who is the second lightest sleeper after Dylan in the Bishop home - she felt something under his pillow. It wasn't the tooth. Instead, it was a piece of paper with a note lovingly written in red colored pencil.

"Dear tooth feire

My Dad poled my tooth out! then when I toock it dawn to my room I lost it I hope you find it. P.S. Look on the back

Love

Logan."

And the back:

"I lost it in my room"

That kid is a problem solver! And for a first grader, I don't think his spelling was TOO bad.