Our House!!!

Well we have finally done it!!! Yesterday we closed on our very first home!!! And what a great house it is!!!

This was the first house that we saw when we started our house search and we didn't think much of it. We loved the kitchen but the basement and the set up of these upstairs rooms, as well as the size of the tub, kind of put us off. Plus I think that we were expecting to get more for our money. After looking at most all of the houses in the area and even putting an offer on another house, without the result that we wanted, our realitor suggested that we come back to this one which we hadn't really thought to do. When we came back we realized that this would really fit our needs well and would be a fun house for us to be in. So we went for it and we think that we got a great bargin and a great house.

So this is it. Small but just the right size for us.

Moving van in the driveway and all!!! Here is a picture of Brian and Lizzie in front of the house!!!

They are welcoming you in for the grand tour of the mess that the house was in after the first day of moving in. We had a great sunny nice day to move in though!!! When you walk in the door it puts you right into the dinning room and the kitchen!!! I think that we only looked at two houses with nice kitchens that were open to the eating area, all the other houses I would have had to redue the kitchen and knock down the wall in the process. I am so excited to finally have a place where the kids can sit up to the counter to watch me cook, instead of on it!!!

Across the doorway and stairs is the living room. The furniture kind of big but hopefully we can arrange it so that it will work well.


Behind the living room is a bedroom, which the last owner used as a formal dining room, hence the chandler. I figure that we will use it best as a play room/guest bedroom.


Between the playroom and the kitchen is a nicely done bathroom with about the shortest tub that I have ever seen, which I didn't end up getting a picture of. There is also a downstairs with a big open room for half of it and the garage as the other half. No pictures of that either. then we head up the stairs. First stop the master bedroom. More great furniture, which is beautiful and I love it, but also need rearranging to fit better in the space. We even have a nice walk-in closet and another smaller closet in this room.


Next door is the bathroom with some really nice fixtures, also newly remodeled. And even a clothes hamper hidden in the cabnets on the side.



However it also has the most interesting tub that I have seen, thankfully both of the tubs have showers over them. This one will be much better for bathing kids then a normal shower base though.

Then finally across the hall is two kids rooms. The one below is Jamie's room, this one also has a large walk in closet.

I didn't take a picture of Lizzie's it would look much like the picture of the master bedroom as I only got half of that room in the picture but it is empty as here bed didn't make it into her room. The strange part about the rooms is the enterance to them.


It basically feels like someone just put a wall down the middle of a room to make it into two. They even have folding doors to close them off, but for our needs it works well. I think that the kids will like that their rooms will be easy to go between.



Tomorrow we will start living there, even though we won't get our boxes from England until Tuesday, we have all of our furniture (thanks to either craigs list or people storing our stuff and then giving us some of their extras) and enough other stuff to survive until then. It will be great to be in a house that we can decorate as we please and that will really be ours!!!

New Tricks and a New Recipe

Both of my kids learned a new trick yesterday. Lizzie learned to open doors. She still has a problem with them sometimes, but she can do it. No where is safe any more. As for Jamie he has finally figured out how to get on to the bed himself. Jamie gets so upset when he can't do what he want to do or can't go where he wants to go, The same thing happened before he started walking. So I am very happy that there is one less thing for him to get upset about.

Yesterday I also learned something new. Brown sugar and Dijon mustard actually taste good together. Last night i knew i wanted to cook up some fish as we had a very rich dinner the night before I wanted to do something very light. So I got on to allrecipes.com and on of the first recipes that I saw was this one. I needed something quick and easy because of having to go pick Brian up at the train, so this worked great. I was kind of sceptical of the combinations, but it had many good reviews, so I figured I would try it. It was good. (Some people who have known me in my younger years might be very surprised that I am not only cooking fish but also calling it good. What can I say I have been corrupted by my husband.) So I would highly recommend this recipe for anyone who needs to put a meal on the table fast. I would bet that you could even use the glaze with a different kind of fish if salmon isn't your thing, I will probably try it with a different kind of fish next time.


Salmon with Brown Sugar Glaze
SUBMITTED BY: Tamara

"This is my favorite recipe! I make this way too often. It's quick and easy! I serve this with rice and broccoli."


PREP TIME 5 Min
COOK TIME 10 Min
READY IN 15 Min

SERVINGS 4

INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
4 (6 ounce) boneless salmon fillets
salt and ground black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven's broiler and set the oven rack at about 6 inches from the heat source; prepare the rack of a broiler pan with cooking spray.
Season the salmon with salt and pepper and arrange onto the prepared broiler pan. Whisk together the brown sugar and Dijon mustard in a small bowl; spoon mixture evenly onto top of salmon fillets.
Cook under the preheated broiler until the fish flakes easily with a fork, 10 to 15 minutes.

Fun and Giggles

It seems like all I have of my children lately are movies. Thay are just at a stage where they are so cute and I wish that I could video them all of the time so that I can remember all of the fun and cute things that they do each day. I have made up another little montage of some of their playing that I have caught on video since returning from Christmas. I hope that you all enjoy it.

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Jamie Really is Walking!!!

I know that I have been terrible at blogging lately. I have been spending to much of my time at the computer looking for things to buy and trying to figure out how we are going to close on a house in just over a week when the lawyers are still discussing the contract. What I really should have been doing is spending time getting this movie together of Jamie walking. Most of the parts of it were taken on the 19th of January. So I have been planning to do this for a while. It is amazing how quickly he is growing up. Today during Sunday School I took him into the hall to see if I could get him to sleep and instead he spent the time chasing around a little girl about his same age.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

One thing that has been quite nice living here with Brian's parents is the hallway that they kids can walk around on cold days. I try to get out there for a bit of a walk everyday. Here is a cute little video of Jamie walking down the hall. They like to visit a stuffed ginger bread man and a metal snowman. However in this video you only get to see the back of the snowman.

Last week Jamie even got his first real chance to walk outside. It was a nice day and we went out to lunch at a restaurant about two blocks away, and he walked back most of a block (except when he tried to run into the road or across parking lot entrances which there were a lot). It was very fun to watch him walk along and he was even refusing to hold my hand much of the time.

Well I guess that is all I have to talk about on this post. I do have other great posts in mind which I hope to get up soon, but probably not tonight as I am very tired of being on the computer. I hope you will hear from me again soon!!!!!

Jamie Walking

Everyday Jamie gets better and better at walking. He does really good if he is pushing something, in the video he is pushing Lizzie's doll, but we have now got them an Ice Cream Truck which one can sit on and one can push.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

My little boy is sure growing up!!!

Time To Be Thankful!!!

Lately in my life I have been feeling some stress, with Christmas and trying to visit as many people as possible while in Utah and now looking for a house in which we can get settled and truly realize that we have moved. along with this I also am meant to be taking care of two kids that also feel very unsettled and clingy. During all of this time I have had a lot to be thankful for but haven't taken the time to sit and think of the many blessings that I have especially, at this time of uncertainty. The kids are sleeping and it is a great time for me to take a few minutes and make a list of some (hopefully most but I don't think I could ever name them all) of the things I am most grateful for at this time, in no particular order.

• My Family - I missed them so much this year when I didn't get to see them but knew that I would be visiting them for December. It was so good to see them. I love how we all have such a good time when we get together!!!


• Brian's Family - I am so grateful to have married into such a wonderful family that I can feel comfortable around and have a good time with. Especially his parents right now who are letting us stay with them and helping out with the kids when they can.


• My Amazing Husband - I am amazed at what a wonderful man that I get to be married to. I can't even put into words how much Brian amazes me and how thankful I am for all that he does for me!!!! I love him!!!
  
• Of course My Kids also - I have some real terrific kids, even if they do drive me nuts sometimes. I really did luck out with such generally mild mannered and happy kids.

• Good Friends - Even if I don't get to see you often or even keep in touch very well I am very thankful to all of the people who have helped me become who I am today and that when I do get to see you the friendship is still there and it doesn't change through years of being apart, my family is that same way. It is great to know so many wonderful people who have made me into a better person.


• Brian's Employer - I am grateful that Brian works for such a stable company, that cares about its employees and wants them to have an enjoyable life.

• That we can be in a position to buy a house when the prices are a little lower, hopefully it will start to rise again. Along with a warm place to stay while we are looking for a place of our own.

• The Gospel and the Words of Prophets Old and Modern - I love the knowledge about who we are and where we are going and that families can be together forever. I love the peace that I have when I read my scriptures, follow the promptings that I get when listening to the prophets and do the other day to day things that I should be doing. I also love the help that it gives me in raising my kids and not getting grumpy with them.

• Miracles - Whether small ones that happen within my own life or great ones that affect many more then me, like the plane landing on the Hudson river this week, with no fatalities. Such good feeling come with these stories.

• Love, People who are friends just waiting to be made, Peace, Happiness, Joy, Faith, Believe that things will always get better and so many other things that brighten my day every day that I will let them in.

• Sunrises, Sunsets, Trees, Open land, Rivers, Lakes, Canyons, Nature in general (even snow), wild animals and anytime that I get to spend enjoying these things.

I am sure that there are many more things that should be included on this list but when I feel so grateful for everything that I have, it is hard to list all of them. I realize that I have listed mostly just the basic things that anyone would list, but I needed this time to reflect on my blessings much more I'm sure then you all needed to read it. It really has help to lift my spirit by remembering many of the great things that I have in this life. Thank you for bearing with me. I love you all!!!

Our time in Utah

Well we have been back in New York for 10 days now, so I guess that it is about time that I finish writing about my trip to Utah and put up a few of the pictures that I took. Most of the places that I went I forgot to take my camera, including Christmas, but I did get to take some pictures.

On the 17th I was able to visit a friend of mine from high school who I hadn't seen probably since high school. We had a nice visit and our kids enjoyed playing together. Brian came in that night, which was a day earlier then we thought that he would get to come for most of the trip. It was very nice to reunite the family again. The kids cried at first when they saw him, but soon remembered who he was and were very happy to have him around again. So was I!!!

One of the first days we decided to have the kids help us build a snowman. They liked the snow better than before but we didn't get much of a snowman built as the kids were not much help.

On the 20th, I had heard of a free ice skating sesson at one of the local rinks and invited any of my family that wanted to come. Here are some of the pictures that were taken there.

Here is an action shot of a few of us!!

This is the group that I covinced to come along and skate. There were a few others who didn't do much skating.

Even Santa Claus came to skate and pass around candy canes.

On the 22nd Brian surprised me with anniversery date. We went to PF Chang's, where we went on our first date, and would have walked around temple square, if it hadn't been so cold, which we also did on that first date, almost exactly five years earlier. We then went to the Bed and Breakfast that we had spent our wedding night, for the night. It was great to have the time with just the two of us and to return to some of the places that had played an important part in our relationship. Thanks Brian for planning the great evening!!!! Thanks Mom for taking such good care of our kids for the night!!!

On the 23rd Brian and I drove through a blizzard to Park City to have a Christmas dinner with his family. The blizzard started just as we got on I-80 so we were in it all of the way and then it died down about a half hour after we got there and after shopping at the outlets we were able to drive safely up the hill to his sister's house. We enjoyed the evening with most of Brian's family that live in Utah and had a wonderful dinner. When we returned back to my parents house my brother, Brad, from California was there with his family to celebrate Christmas with us. The cousins all seemed to love my kids, Jamie often had girls surrounding him.

On Christmas Eve Brian went with Brad, Jersha, and their oldest daughter to go skiing. I chickened out and enjoyed the day at home playing with kids and getting ready for Christmas. There was some snow outside so I decided to try and build a snowman with my neices as my kids didn't seem to be to interested this time.

That night we went to my brother Steve's house to enjoy Christmas Eve dinner with them and then spent the night. When I was single I started spending Christmas morning with them so that I could spend it with children around and now they think it is tradition and that when ever I am in Utah I have to spend Christmas morning with them. It is fun though and we had a great time, but forgot my camera as mentioned earlier so I don't have any pictures of the kids opening their presents, but here are some pictures of them playing with them.

Jamie got mostly cars. A set of these little ones and a Little People car wash set.

Lizzie's big present was a doll with a stroller.

Which Jamie has started to enjoy as well.

Jamie is starting to walk some. Here is one of the first videos that we have of him in action. (In the background they are watching one of my favorite British shows, Top Gear.)



Here are some more pictures of the kids enjoying Grandma and Grandpa Neff's house.

This is what they played with most of there time awake. Who knew such a simple toy could entertain kids for so long each day. Luckily, none of the marbles even ended up in Jamie.

The kids enjoyed their Grandparents very much. Here is Jamie helping Grandpa on the computer and taking very big drinks.

Grandma let Lizzie sit on the table which she really enjoyed!!!

Well we had a very busy trip, even though I only mentioned a few days we did fill our other days visiting family and friends from my past. It was so wonderful to see all of those that we did get to see and were sad that we didn't get to see all of the wonderful people that we know in Utah, trips just aren't long enough for that. It all went by so quickly. We did somehow find the time to watch some videos on my family past Christmases. It was fun to see us as kids and remember the great presents that we had received and given over the years.