Going once, going twice, SOLD!

So, our home has been on the market since the beginning of March. The average townhome is on the market for 90 days. After one offer fell through, no activity during spring break, and a general lack of action, we decided to rent it out. So, we put a "For Rent" sign on the lawn. Within four days, we had our choice of renters who were thrilled to be here and happy to pay the $2100 we were asking. We agreed to leave our house on the market over the weekend and sign a lease agreement on Monday, April 30. So, on Thursday, of last week, four different sets of people came to see the house. The last one wanted to come between 7:30 and 8:00 at night which is just annoying and late for me. So, I told them they could come, but they'd have to deal with us because we weren't leaving! So, I was actually gone and Rick showed the house to a woman. She had looked at 9 other houses already but Rick charmed her! He pointed out all the fabulous details we've worked hard on and even walked her down to the community pool! The next morning, they made an offer. We countered, they accepted, and it's sold! So, barring disaster, we will have to be out of here the middle of June (the week after the kids get out of school).

So, I guess it's all about timing. Now really is the time when it had to sell, or we had to go to plan B. This escrow will close shortly after Rick is due up there for work. And, the kids will get to finish school here which is very nice for them. So, in the end, paying tithing and doing what you're supposed to pays off...I've learned a lot from this experience, most importantly, LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION. I will never buy a home on a big street again!

Happy Birthdee Justin!

Happy Birthday Justin. I know you tried to avoid this dee, but it's like that "Monster at the end of the book" thing...Days just keep passing until WHAM, you're old like the rest of us!

Look at my talented daughter...

Ashley, the multi-talented, is capable of picking her nose and saying prayers at the same exact time. Am I the only one glowing with pride? She also announced in the middle of the prayer for dinner on Easter Sunday, "I TOOTED!" and when she got little reaction she said it a little louder in case nobody had heard. It was great fun. My two cousins were there with their wives and nine (mostly teenaged) kids along with a family friend and her son, plus us and my mom. Everybody loved it.

Another recent funny bunny of Ashley's was this last Sunday morning when Justin was chasing the girls and they all scrambled into their room. Emma and Camille got to the top bunk in no time but the tiger was too close on Ash's heels so she dived into the bottom bunk, then pointed up and said, "get them!"

And Lastly, today is the big dee for Justin, here's a fun shot of him at his party Sunday night, as Ashley says, being "Nicky."

A little stress relief anyone?

I was telling Tammy this yesterday because I though yesterday was a bad day. I was right, but today was worse. So, I was thinking a good stress relief would be to get a bottle of anti-depressants and chomp them down like tic tacs. That sounded pretty good. But, then I thought, even better, I could dip them in chocolate and then chomp them down. And, if I wash them down with a diet Coke, I think I can achieve complete euphoria. Does anyone else think this is a good idea? I'm handling this well, right?

Just glad to be here...

Hey,

Justin and I are trying to figure out how this all works. PS my typing sucks. Maybe I can get better by keeping everyone updated about what we are doing. Justin studied for his CPA all day and I ran around getting ready for his big 30 birthday, which we will be celebrating with my family tomorrow night. Wish you all could be there. If anyone has advice about accepting your 30th with grace, it might be helpful. Turns out Justin is a little stressed about that.

The picture is of us getting stuck at DIA at 11pm when we were coming home from CA right after Christmas--it has nothing to do with anything except I wanted to see if I could put a picture.

Pets

Today was your average Saturday...you know, the kind where we have to leave the house for a couple hours so someone can look at it and then NOT BUY IT. Love it. So, today we made a visit to the local pet stores. The first one was at the mall. The kids loved it because they had tons of puppies. We had them take out Rick's favorite, a bulldog, for the kids to play with and she was adorable. Then we went to another pet store where they have everything you could think of. The store lets you hold anything except for fish. So, the kids held a turtle, guinea pigs, a tarantula, a scorpion, a bearded dragon, a snake, a frog, and a lizard. They loved it! We decided if we get a pet we're going to get a bearded dragon or a turtle because they are so mellow. They're expensive...like $100 for a baby bearded dragon and $150 for a turtle! We won't do it soon, but I would actually rather have either of those over a hamster or something smelly like a guinea pig...anyone else have pets?

Bad Hair Day?

No, not really a bad hair day. Bella did this to her. She likes to help Malia get dressed and do her hair. This time, she decided to go with extra hairspray. Good look, huh?

That's Amazing!!!

Check it out - this is going to revolutionize doing laundry!!

http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=39ebc2419a791ea5ea16a753e4abc96d.686246&cache=1

D.K. anyone?

In my anatomy class we are disecting a kitty...Here's what he looks like. We call him D.K. for short (short for Dead Kitty). So while Steph is enjoying her kids' naps, my kids are gathered around our computer fascinated by D.K. See, who needs naps when you can have this kind of family fun...

Up To No Good...

Hey guys! If ya get a chance, check out Dale's profile. He should know better than to trust me in creating his account! hehe

Can you tell that I'm bored??? The girls are actually taking their nap!!! Woo hoo!

~Steph~

Hey Matt and/or Lisa - how do you set yourself up to be a contributor?
Rick

OK, so here's my first real post...

The girls have been tremendous!!! Terrible two's TIMES TWO! Not kidding. They have been moved from their room upstairs after destroying it (literally) and have been sleeping in our room on the floor on a couple mattresses (unsuccessfully while going on to destroy our room as well) and now we're going to experiment with putting the girls up in the media room with nothing in it but something to sleep on. Hoping it works so I can have some sanity during what should be their nap time.

Exhausted in the "Big D",

~Steph~

Getting Fat

Well. People keep telling me that I'm not getting fatter and that they can't tell I'm pregnant. This, however, did not stop me last night from unbuttoning my pants after dinner and wearing an undershirt that was long enough and tight enough to hide the fact that I was, well, undone. I was even in public. When I went to show Matt how brilliant I was, he said, "Hey, there are probably cameras." I think he's getting sick of me saying, "Look how big I am - can't you see it?!?!" I'm glad that you girls will appreciate my chubawumpiness. -Lisa

On behalf of Stephanie, Michelle, Kristin, Tammy and Courtney

I would just like to request that Kate and Lisa post their ultrasound photos when they come in. Oh, and photos of you guys when you start showing. You know how we Lisonbee girls LOVE to watch somebody besides us get fat. :) Thanks for taking one for the team.

Judy is the greatest ever!!!

Yes, she is. It's true.

Ode to College

I’m in college suckas, you can’t handle stories about my life! Who am I kidding? I live in Provo, Utah…the highlight of my week is going to DI to pick out an outfit for the upcoming weekend’s themed party. I guess in reality that’s the same as normal college parties except for instead of alcohol we’re all hyped up on caffeinated sodas or energy drinks.

This last semester has been pretty intense though. I got accepted to BYU Hawaii for the spring and BYU Utah for the fall, and I plan on attending both. Since my acceptance to BYU Hawaii I got a job (Yup folks, Courtney got a job!) and started saving for my upcoming escapade. Anyone curious as to where I got a job at? I’ll give you a clue, think of the absolute worst job a person could work… Still haven’t guessed? Take a look at the attached picture but ignore the finger Hitler mustache I’m making. YOU GOT IT! I’m working at a call center. I want you all to take a minute and picture me at a call center. If you know me at all then you were probably imagining a customer being extremely rude to me and me, instead of marking “Hard refusal” or “Put on do not call list” as we are instructed to, marking “Call back” and changing the time to two minutes later. I may or may not have done that…on multiple occasions…

Well that covers my job. Everything else is pretty much the same as always. School is hard. Provo is still the artic tundra. Boys, however, have somehow managed to get dumber.

Consider yourself updated on my life. Don’t worry, this was a one time thing. I don’t plan on posting a novel each week, I just thought I’d get you all caught up.

Peace out,
Coach

A Great Investor

I just wanted to announce to everyone that I made a brilliant investment yesterday. I purchased a new copy of Black House signed by authors Stephen King and Peter Straub for $80 plus shipping. Michelle laughs at me whenever I tell her about my "investments," but we'll see who's laughing (all the way to the bank that is), when I sell it in 10 years for $5,000!!! Yeah, baby!!!!

There were only 25 copies up for sale online, and like 5 billion people trying to buy one, but with my savvy and expert use of the refresh button to get it the second it went on sale, and a fast T1 connection at work, I was able to outmaneuver other buyers through the checkout process to secure myself quite a prize.

You can (and will) thank me later, Michelle.

Rick

Music to my ears

Today, at dinner, Carter said to Jake, "Jake, you and me are best friends, right?" They drive me crazy, they wrestle and throw balls at each other, but when it comes down to it, they are best friends and it's adorable.

Everybody's doing it...

Okay, so Judy's family has this blog network where everybody has a blog and then they get to know what's going on in each other's lives. I know her sister Ginger well, so it's fun for me to read all the goings on of every day. I don't know about you, but every day at my house, there's something crazy going on. I would love to hear what goes on in your houses too. That way, even though we're far away, we can feel like we're not. Sound like a plan? So, start your own blogs, or post on mine! That's all I have to say about that.