TN "Home"

Remember this place???




Well, we sold it----finally. 22 months after listing it, we finally got rid of it. Do I sound resentful? Don't get me wrong, I will always have fond memories of this home. It's the place we brought both of our babies home to. But I am so relieved to no longer have to worry about it. Double payments, almost 2 yrs of pouring equity into an empty house and the worry of it sitting without much interest. Don't get me started on the realtor head aches we had to deal with as well.

We finally got an offer on the day we evacuated for the fire. Impeccable timing I might add. The buyers had several delays along the way, so now nearly two months later, "the check is in the mail". It isn't a very large check, but a check is a check is a check. Better that than us having to write a check. That would have just plain sucked.

We just made the cut off for being reimbursed for closing costs and realtor fees. Another two months and we would have been outside the 2 year deadline for the park reimbursing us. So we've got that going for us.

So long TN house. I will think of you fondly but won't miss the albatross feeling you gave us the past couple of YEARS. I have no doubt the new buyers will enjoy living inside of you and all of your Smoky Mountain charm. Although I have never met them in person, I have this overcoming urge to give them a giant hug for taking you off our hands. Best of luck to you in the future......

Home

I survived another Sundance Film Festival. More importantly, so did Mark. The family has been recharged and I think we all appreciate each other even more than we did before. I gotta tell ya, it is an awesome feeling to come home to such excitement and joy after being gone so long. My heart was swelling beyond it's pumping capacity when the boys ran out to me when I pulled into the garage.

I had a little hiccup in my travel plans on my way home. My flight was cancelled due to weather so I had to stay an extra night in Salt Lake City. On the day I arrived home, I was also greeted by Marks's sister, Jennifer and brother-in-law, Kevin. Jennifer had a conference in Denver giving Kevin the perfect opportunity to snowboard on Colorado snow and the perfect excuse to come see us! Just like our visit with Nicole, we hadn't seen them since their Dad's memorial. We appreciate their efforts to come see us and keep the family bonds strong & connected. We need to make the same sort of effort on our end as well. Toby, would be very happy that all of his children are closer than ever. Sadly, it took a horrible circumstance to bring us closer. I think we'd all agree that there have been some positive outcomes since losing Grandpa Toby. I know for a fact that our boys will always know how beautiful their Grandpa Toby's daughters are. Both inside and out........

She Works Hard for The Money

So hard for it honey..................

I couldn't think of a catchy title for this post.  Did my title grab you and make you want more?  I hope so.  Because I'm off to Work Hard For The Money.  It's Sundance Film Festival Time.  You know, that time of year when I ditch my family and hob nob with celebrities.  Not really "with" since I'm the hired help.  But you get my drift.

It's pretty much a repeat of last year (and the 8 years before that).  Ground Hog Day if you will.  Each day is the same for the next 11 days.  It's oohhhhhh so different from my Ground Hog Days at home.  A change of pace.  A recharge.  Something that I enjoy while doing but when it's over with, it makes me appreciate my regular Ground Hog Days at home all the more.

I sure will miss my little Punxsutawney Phils.

Aunt Nicole

Aunt Nicole came to see us this weekend!!!  We are so grateful that she made an effort to come to the frozen tundra before heading off to sunny Arizona and San Diego for a visit. It was extremely cold while she was here so we stayed cozy in the house.  Giving us the perfect opportunity to show Nicole what it's like to be cooped up with the likes of Cruz (aka. a typical 2 year old).

We also managed to send her off on the rest of her vacation with some kiddo cooties. In true Coop 'n Cruz fashion, they gave the gift that keeps on giving; a lovely cold.  Sorry, Aunt Nicole.

I hope that she remembers all the good when she looks back on her visit.  I know we will.

Nicole & Train Conductor Coop doing some train whistle blowing

Bro and Sis

Nicole and Cruz (aka. The Grump and Cold Giver Man)

And here we go.....Mr. Grump in full action

Family Bonds

It's been  a week since we returned home but it feels like so much longer than that.  I've already calmed down from remembering all the bad and smile as I think about all the good that we had spending time with family.

I hope the boys remember this special time we had with their grandparents.  It's moments like this that over shadow any tantrum or meltdown we may have encountered during our visit.  And I know for a fact that grandparents always think their grand kids are perfect.  Phew, we've got that going for us......

Christmas Good

Here are some pictures of the Christmas Good that I want to remember........

















And a little New Year's Eve too......

















Looking at these pics has already helped me feel better about what I'll remember about The Holidays this year. More importantly, it has reminded me what really matters at the end of the day. Life certainly isn't perfect but it's pretty damn good.

Cheers to all the good!! Happy 2013!

Christmas Grump

I'd like to put together a little post about how magical and Norman Rockwellesque our Christmas was. Because let's be honest here. That's what every mother imagines and that's what every one tries to capture. Well, it certainly didn't happen for us this year.

We made all the preparations, had the perfect gifts, planned all of our shopping and shipping of gifts so we wouldn't have to scramble once we arrived to St. George. Most of all, I was excited about spending Christmas with family (mostly my Dad). I wanted it to be perfect in every way. Wah, wah, waaaaaaah (insert Debbie Downer music).

To sum it up, Cruz was a big Christmas Grump. Let me preface this with the fact that more times than not, he wakes up a big ole grump. Its always been bad but lately it has been down right horrible. Mostly just after nap but sometimes in the morning as well. We have a waking up ritual for him; open his door and allow the natural noises to gradually wake him up. It has to be on his terms. God forbid you just walk in and wake him up. And you better make sure you are happy and jolly when you greet him. I honestly feel like sometimes I need to enter with a dog and pony show wearing a top hat and doing a tap dance with jazz hands. It can be that bad. Mark actually prefers to have me do it. We actually do rock-paper-scissors with our eyes to decide who gets to "go in". Not it!

Can you tell where I'm going with this? We woke him up Christmas morning. Santa came to my parent's house and had everything set up there. The kids knew this because we told them Santa comes where the tree is. And they decorated the tree at my parent's house pretty much all by themselves. Cooper woke us up and the plan was for the boys, Mark, myself and Grandma Mickey to load up in the car and head to my parents house---in our jammies and all.

One would think making the announcement that Santa came would be enough of a dog and pony show for Cruz when Cooper ran in and woke him up but sadly it was not.

I should have known better. Yes, he knows who Santa is. He wears a red suit, has a white beard, all the ho-ho-ho'ing. But any time we asked Cruz what he wanted Santa to bring him he'd answer 'Diego and chips and cheese (aka nachos)'. The kid loves both. He already has an arsenal of Diego toys and he eats chips and cheese quite a bit. I guess he figured what's the rush?

With that said, Cruz was whiny, grumpy and irritable Christmas morning and it really didn't let up until after nap when we made sure to wake him up on his terms. I truly am scared to see how it will be trying to wake this kid up when he is a teenager!!

I look back and laugh at it now (maybe not a full on belly laugh just yet) but I can't tell you how disappointed I was that morning. I really was bummed that our perfect Christmas morning didn't happen. Cruz was so bad that it was hard to remind myself that Coop was still having a great morning. Hopefully I'll look back at the smiling pictures and forget all about it. Looking at the pictures, it looks like we had a great time. I could have left all this Debbie Downer narrative out.

Once again I was reminded that with kids, you really do have to aim low.......

New Year

Happy New Year! Let me quickly regurgitate the past couple of weeks on the ole blog as I welcome 2013.

We are in St.George and have been since the Saturday before Christmas. We drove with the doggies and Grandma Mickey flew in the day after we arrived.

We rented a house again since my parents don't have enough space for all of us to sleep but we've spent most of our days at my folks' place watching football, eating and enjoying each others company (most of the time). The kids haven't been complete angels the entire time (normal 2 & 4yr old stuff) but the good has far outweighed the not so good. Mark and I have noticed that often one kid is having a "moment" while the other is on the little angel end of the spectrum. Why can't we have them both be happy at the same time more often? Maybe it just seems more noticeable since we're with both Grandmas and Grandpa and we want them to be sweet little angels for them the entire time. Luckily, grandparents are far more forgiving than parents. I'll leave it at that.

I'll try to divide up our Holidays into a couple of posts. Let the Holiday Recap begin....