House

Greg and I have been looking at homes for a couple of weeks. I have looked at probably 25 homes and Greg around 10. Who knew there would be so many in our price range! Oh right we live in Arizona, home to thousands of foreclosures and short sales! Well finally I narrowed it down to 4 houses I really liked and wanted Greg to see. Then out of no where I spied a new listing that looked like one I had seen but wasn't sure if I liked or not. I felt that I should give Greg the chance to veto it so I put it on the list. He looked at the info and pictures and off of the info we had he decided that that would be the one he would choose if it had a decent floor plan. I wasn't sure I liked this idea until he pointed out some of it's features that got me thinking, it WASN'T the same floor plan I had thought it was!! SO we decided to see it anyways and hope it was everything we wanted.

To shorten the story we saw it last and fell in love with it!! It's nothing like the floor plan I thought it was, it's so much better, and bigger!! It has been well taken care of and we immediately felt we should put an offer on it! So we did right after seeig it, despite the fact that we had told ourselves we wouldn't do anything too fast. It's a short sale so it will probably be at least 2 months before we know if the bank accepts it or not. We feel pretty good about it since we just found out that the owner has accepted our offer (meaning he is signing a contract with us) and they will only accept other offers (so far they have none) as back up even if they are higher, incase we bailout.

So all we need is the banks ok, and all of the inspections to say it's ok and it's ours!! Cross your fingers for us that all goes smoothly, we really want this house (althoguh there are plenty of others out there if this doesn't work)!!

The front of it, it's a single story which we hear resell very well. I'm excited that I won't have to worry about our kids and the stairs since Axton is obsessed with stairs. Plus I hate running up and downstairs all day long (I think I can thank Hillside for that).

The kitchen:

The family room (off of the kitchen):

The master bedroom:

The humongous yard for around here:

And because I know I love hearing the details here are a few. It's a little over 2,600 sq ft, 5 bedroom, 3 full baths. It will be really interesting if Axton ends up being an only child, we'll have to down size! Hopefully that won't be the case though. Wish us luck!

Christmas

Well Christmas came a little early this year for Greg and I. Greg would rather buy what he wants than be surprised by what I get him and I am starting to become fond of this idea (I know we're crazy)! His thinking is "If I want something I'll go buy it and we can say it is for Christmas, birthday, etc, that way I can use it when I want to." We have decided Christmas, as far as presents go, are going to be for our children and not so much for each other. So Greg has wanted a new golf bag and shoes for a while and decided that with Christmas right around the corner he would just go buy them. So I did the same and went and bought a new bed set (comforter, sheets, pillows, etc.) since we really needed another set.

The other "present" I got was our Christmas tree! This will be our 4th christmas together and we have never had a tree, we have also never stayed home for christmas so I guess that can justify it. I bought the tree, sight unseen, from a co-op for $20. I was very nervous about it when we first got it but once we got home and set it up I was very happy. It's a little short and they cut the top off but I can live with it. We don't have a whole lot of decorations this year because I'm hoping to get some good deals after the fact, but I am so excited to finally have a tree. Even better is that Axton loves to look at it but he doesn't try to touch it which I was very worried about.

Just a heads up, I'm not sending out Christmas cards or letters, I'm a slacker! Maybe next year when I think about it a little sooner and can put more thought into it than would happen this year. Hope everyone has a great christmas and travels safely where ever they are going.

Thanksgiving

We were going to stay home for Thanksgiving this year but decided at the last minute to go to San Diego. I'm glad we did because we kept very busy while we were there and we probably would have gone stir crazy here. Unfortunately we didn't break out the camera until our last dasy, I'm really good at that!

Axton loves rocks, and so do I as long as he doesn't eat them. They are a nice cheap toy! Brooklynn and Axton had so much fun playing together.


So Pretty!! Apparently while Greg and I were out golfing Axton discovered a hat he just had to wear so of course when we got home we just had to be shown!

I think the highlight of Axton's trip was being able to play with the tunnels and tents! He wasn't scared of it at all and took right to it. Maybe when we get a bigger place we buy him his own set, but then he probably won't like it as much.


Axton must have been worn out because he slept for half of the drive home which never happens. Going up, at his nap time, he slept maybe 45 minutes. Luckily he is pretty good as long as we have food to keep giving him.

We always love going to San Diego and spending time with the Leavitts. Thank you so much Mom and Dad for letting us crash unexpectedly and Melanie for giving up her room when she wasn't planning on it! We can't wait to come see you again.

Random Happenings

Axton loves sitting in things. Here he is sitting in our laundry basket (along with cousin Brooklynn) and also sitting in a box (that is full of golf balls but that doesn't phase him). I have to try and do my laundry whil ehe is sleeping because all he wants to do is throw the clothes out so he can sit in the basket and eventually expects a ride too. What kind of monster have we created! He has also started a new habit which is trying to wear everything on his head.







The other day he was crying from the get go so I had exhausted all my normal distractions for him. I decided to bust out some pudding and dyed it (using my cake icing!). He didn't realize so much that he was supposed to play with it and make a mess, instead he ended up eating it which is fine too, but it didn't last as long as I was hoping that way.

Tagged

8 favorite movies or tv shows
-Twilight (it's growing on me)
-Rigoletto
-Private Practice
-The Starter Wife
-Fringe
-Numbers
-Criminal Minds
-The Office

8 favorite restraunts
-California Pizza Kitchen
-Cafe Rio
-Texas Road House
-Fongs
-Mongolian Grill
-Tucanos
-Organ Pizza Stop
-In-n-Out Burger

8 things that happened yesterday
-found out our car was going to cost $1200 to fix :(
-folded laundry
-went to Costco with Kim since she was generous enough to give me a ride!
-paid bills
-emailed by brother on a mission
-tried to teach Axton the song head and shoulders
-Greg made dinner!
-yep boring life especially without a car

8 things that I look foreward to
-when Axton can talk (then again maybe not)
-when the Chargers finally stop sucking so I don't have to listen to Greg complain about how bad they choke, suck, etc.
-house hunting
-losing about 10 pounds!
-seeing my family in May since I'm not completely sure if I'll see them before that
-getting my car back so I'm not stuck at home (thank heavens no more Hillside Storage!!)
-hanging out at Jessica's new home
-Christmas!!

8 things on my wishlist
-my own house
-to have another baby
-travel anywhere
-a long life with Greg and our kids (I almost wrote MY kids)
-new furniture
-a maid so I can be even more lazy than I already am!
-to beat Greg at anything, especially golf which will never in a million years happen
-to get everything done that I need to (guess I should stop blogging then)

8 people I tag
-Heidi
-Corina
-Kim Jones
-Kortney
-Erin
-Stacey
-Kelsey
-Vernice

Promotion

I have to brag about my wonderful husband and also thank our Heavenly Father for the things he has given us.

Greg got promoted at work this week to be their sales manager. He is really excited about this change. While he didn't mind running jobs he didn't like all of the phone calls telling him something had gone wrong and trying to figure out how to correct them and who was to blame (when money is involved someone has to be blamed!), etc. With this new role he will be meeting with other companies and trying to win jobs from them and trying to keep a good relationship with them. He is hoping that this means he will get to go golfing on the clock with clients at least twice a month and take people out to eat! He will be traveling a couple of times a month to San Diego and Las Vegas and who knows where else! Lucky for me they should mostly be day trips or only a night or two. I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens.

I am so proud of Greg and how hard of a worker he is. He never ceases to amaze me and others. He has always been blessed when it comes to jobs. I know that Heavenly Father has played a huge role in us having this job since we were headed to Las Vegas only a week after this job became an option so we had a little wiggle room to make it work!

I am really excited about this because I know he'll do awesome and with the pay raise we are going to start looking at houses at the beginning of December!! On the down side I now have to drive our beater car so Greg can have the SUV and make a better impression, but it beats having another car payment!

We hope everyone else is doing well, especially with everything going on in the economy right now. It's a scary place out there.

Twilight

Ok so I have become an old lady I have discovered!! I was't up for the midnight showing of Twilight but not just because I love my sleep! A bunch of the girls from my ward decided to go on Saturday at 10:30. I think the real reason for that time was so that we could get away from our kids for a few awake hours and leave our husbands to do our jobs!!

I have to say that I really liked the movie but it's not as good as the book! It never is!! I thought they did a really good job of following the book and not changing things but I don't think they had enough time to really focus on things, it seemed like they jumped from scene to scene way too fast. Also I was a bit disappointed on how cheaply made it was, you could definitely tell it was a lower budget film. Hopefully future ones will be better! Also I didn't quite believe the "deep connection" that Bella and Edward were supposed to have, I thought it was lacking. And yes the characters weren't quite what I had pictured but I am definitely glad I got to see and wouldn't be surprised if I bought it and watched it over and over again.

I loved going out with the girls and think we should make this a monthly thing at least! I had so much fun getting to know everyone better and meeting new people! This ward rocks!

Dinner Recipes

A few people I know are trying to get new ideas for dinners so we have all decided to post what we are having for dinner and how to make it. That way you can choose what sounds good and try it or skip it completely. I hope you too will post yours, the more the better!

Make a Smilebox recipe

Happy Anniversary

Yesterday was Greg and I's third anniversary!! I am amazed at how time flies and yet still seems to go so slow. It's hard to believe it has been three years and yet only three years (if that makes any sense at all).

Greg and I have realized that we aren't the couple that talks a lot to each other because there is just this sense of satisfaction being in each others presence. We don't feel the need to talk about the mundane, everyday things (although we usually do). We would rather go create memories than talk about old ones, especially if the other wasn't a part of it. Right here and now is what really matters to us and we are perfect for each other.

Not many people get to look back on their lives and know exactly how there lives would have been had they chosen a different path. I on the other hand wake up every morning knowing that God had a special purpose for me and made drastic things happen in my life to get me where I needed to be so I could be with Greg and live the life I am now living. I am thankful for Greg everyday and wake-up/go-to-bed grateful for the way my life has turned out and the wonderful man I married. He is my best friend, the only person I never tire of (yes sometimes I need a break from Axton!), and the love of my life. I wish everyone could be so happy and content with their life as I am, on the overall. I wish everyone could have the happy little family that we have. With this in mind we make sure everyday that we stay in touch with each other and each others needs because we don't want to wind up on different paths as the years go on and we grow apart.

Greg is a wonderful provider, a good listener, an amazing father, and the priesthood holder that our family needs. He can pick me up when I am down and bring me down when I am a little too high!! Greg I love you with my whole heart and am grateful for the gospel and that we can be together forever no matter what may happen on this earth. Thank you for the 3 wonderful years and all of the future ones.

Haircut, Sandbox, and anything else

Axton finally got his first REAL haircut. I had trimmed it a few times, once with the help of Shari, but it never really got cut. So after we went rollerblading I decided to dive into the unknown with the help of Greg and lots of candy and cut Axton's hair. He did really well which shocked me. I think it turned out pretty good for my first time ever and Greg helped cut it a little too. Now though I am having some remorse. While I think he is adorable with the new haircut I already really miss his curls and can't wait for them to come back!


He looks so much like Greg I was shocked to see these pictures. They are so similar to ones of Greg when he was a kid. I always knew he looked like Greg but rarely could see it but these pictures solidify it.







About a month ago Brad had some extra sand from his backyard so Greg took some and made Axton a sandbox. We thought he would like it, boy did we underestimate how much he would like it. When he wakes up it is the first thing he wants to. He could spend hours playing in it and has discovered how to throw it out of the box and now how to bring it into the house and throw it!!



A few weeks ago I bought a bread machine and Axton had way too much fun playing with box and styrofoam.

Chubby, fat feet!

Axton has always had REALLY big and fat feet. I bought him a couple of pairs of shoes before he was born, and, well, he never wore them because they were too small! He has never been able to wear a pair of shoes for longer than 2 months and the last pair I bought him were extremely hard to find since his feet are fat. Little did I know that there is such a thing as x-wide shoes, not just wide. So I finally went shoe shopping with my friend Jessica who pointed out the shoe store Stride Rite. In the car she had mentioned how expensive they are and I thought no way would I spend $30+ on a pair of shoes he will out grow in a few months. Well so much for that. We went in to have his feet measured and the chunker wears a 6 1/2 (normal they said was about a 5), no wonder his 5s don't fit! And he is definately an x-wide boy. I felt really guilty spending so much money on them so I bought them thinking I will take them back when I find a cheaper pair. After researching on the internet I have discovered that becuase he has such wide feet that I'm pretty much out of luck unless I find them on ebay or a second hand store. All I can say is he better wear these ones for at least 6 months and we better have another boy who will benefit from these!

Hiking

On Saturday we decided to go for a little hike up to Wind Cave (I think that's the name). We only made it a little over half way before Axton decided he'd had enough and since we still had to go back down we decided not to push it. Lots of people brought their dogs and Axton was in heaven. He kept getting down on their level (which isn't much different than his) and making huffing sounds like a tired dog. It was so funny to watch. Maybe some day we'll get him a dog.

More Halloween Fun

As you know Axton was a lion but I also had Greg dress up. He dressed up for work so I decided he might as well wear it for trick or treating. Plus it gave him the chance to wear his sweats that he bought on the mission and never gets to wear becuase I refuse to be seen in public with him if he wears them.





We bought pumpkins to carve (and got ripped off by trying to support small farmers) on Monday before Halloween but Axton wasn't up for it and by the time we got around to it, it was Saturday (after halloween)!! It was still fun although Axton made it kind of complicating because he wanted the carving tools.

Going Private-Dec 1st

I hate to do this and am still wondering if it is the right thing to do but have decided that it is in the best interest of our family. After a friend from high school (thanks Amy) posted a link I have decided that I hadn't thought about the things others could do from/to my pictures.

While I haven't had anyone make random comments that I don't know, like others have had, I feel it is better to prevent it than anything. The link shows an example of people downloading your photos and changing them to fit racial agendas. Another thing that came to me was that I have posted bath pictures which are totally innocent to me but who knows what some sicko out there will think of them and I don't want to even think about that. I also have decided that I post a little too much info on us and that if someone really wanted to, it wouldn't be too hard to track us down.

So I will send out an email at the end of the month allowing people to see my blog. I'm not completely sure how much this will complicate things with people not being able to see my blog but I will do my best to make sure everyone who wants to see it can. Please leave a comment with your email address so I don't miss you. If you don't leave me your email and I have a link to your blog I'll post mine on yours later and you can then decide to respond to it or not.

If you don't have a blog and therefore can't leave comments or whatever, my email address is breonne_777@yahoo.com. Don't worry Dad and Shari I'll find a way to keep you in the loop, but anyone else who checks it out that I don't know about email me.

One more down, a million to go

Please know I do these post for myself and not for any of you unless it makes you feel better to either know that someone struggles with these things also or that you don't and are wonder woman!

So last month I was working on exercise. Thanks to Kim, I think we were both pretty successful. Kim and I have been trading off babysitting in the morning (M-F) so we can each go work out in the gym at our apartment complex, its free so we take advantage while we've got it.

Somedays I hate doing it but I manage to keep going because I want the results and it is so nice to know that someone else (Kim) will know if I did or didn't work out so that motivates me. I've discovered that mentally I'm not that tough. I have a hard time talking myself into doing things like working out, or pushing myself to work out a little longer or harder. It's a curse from track I have decided. Since I only did short races what was the point of working out hard? Also I was pretty good at short races so I didn't have to work really hard to be good which has turned into a curse now that I have no one to compete against. I hope this is something I can change with time and practice.

We had a few bumps in the road with her being sick and me going out of town but overall we did really well. I lost about 3 inches overall and am so excited to keep it going. I didn't really lose any weight but as long as I am getting toned it doesn't really matter to me.

I have also managed to continue to cook almost everyday, we are actually hoping to only eat out ONCE this month which is a huge change for us! That's also to save my sanity from having to cook every night, and it's a money saver!

Next on the agenda: housekeeping :(

Namely laundry. I hate laundry with a passion. I have a tendency to put it in and forget it, until I'm looking for something or need to wash/dry more. It drives Greg crazy because it means that his shirts get wrinkled from staying in the dryer and then he has to iron them or look like a scrub! My bad!! So I am really going to try and do laundry in its entirety!

Don't know what I'll work on next month but something always manages to pop up!

Trunk or Treat

Our ward did trunk or treat on Saturday, kind of early but whatever. We borrowed a lion costume from Corina. It was a 2/3 T and sadly it fit him really well. The pants were a little big but nothing rolling them up couldn't solve. He made one really cute lion. He didn't completely undersand the concept, but I really just wanted pictures. He sure had fun going to different people and getting candy for Mommy and Daddy. Some of the people decorated their cars and he loved them, especially the ones with flashing lights.

Axton's hands are blurry because he was clapping. He was really excited to wear the costume. I was so surprised that he didn't try to take it off once. He did so good.










Daniela (ladybug), Axton (lion), and Vanessa (kitty). They all looked so adorable. I can't wait until Friday when they all get to do it again.



Axton's ready to move on to the next vehicle.



Axton slowly getting the idea.

(I don't know why it is being retarded and making it sideways so everyone just has to live with it!)

Perfect Logic

This is for Greg! For those of you who don't know Greg very well, he is a great debator, why he didn't do it in high school I'll never know. I rarely try to take him on because he has a knack for twisting words to fit his point of veiw and can leave you wondering what just happened! I can never remember what we are arguing about because I get so confused and end up walking away scratching my head.

Easy Example:
We were reading our scriptures together (well I was reading to him and he was trying not to fall asleep). Before we started though I told him at the rate we were going we might finish the BOM in another 3 years!! He said, "there are only 431 pages, it won't take us that long." Then I said it was more like 529 pages. So we looked it up and there are 531. Logic says that I was closest because I was only 2 pages off. But not so. Greg was closest with his reasoning because he had 2 out of the 3 numbers correct making him 66% right and I only had one making me 33% right!

Yep this is how most of our arguements go but they aren't as easy to follow as this one was.

Oklahoma Trip

I decided to bite the bullet and go to Oklahoma to see my dad and step-mom WITHOUT Greg. I had been hoping to hold out long enough that the three of us could go but it just wasn't going to happen in the near future. They had never met Axton so Axton and I packed our bags and went to Oklahoma for about 4 days. He is so great when he is around people. The flights were excellent with only a couple of very minor (30 seconds or less) break downs. Food is a great tool with little ones.

Axton got a lot of firsts while we were there. He get got to help steer the Gator (john deere) which was heaven for him since he loves anything with wheels. He was more interested in the Schwans Truck than in me taking his picture.


It didn't take long for Axton to discover the bucket of water that is for the kitties. He had a blast soaking himself day after day in it. Some battles you just won't win so why try? He managed to make a puddle and enjoyed stomping in it and grabbing mud. He quickly learned he didn't like the taste of mud!

On Saturday we went to an Auction and they had this really cute John Deere bike with training wheels. He was obsessed with it from the moment he saw it. Thanks Grandpa for buying it! He really enjoyed trying to push it all by himself and loved being pushed around on it. I think we all got our exercise for the month!




















My parents have an indoor dog that is about as spoiled as they come. Axton found some of his toys and was putting them in Grandpa's boot, one of which was soft beaver (I think). He kept trying to cuddle with the boot and animal.



















He also got to play around on the John Deere tractor (are you noticing a theme yet!). It had all sorts of gadgets to play with.

He also got to try and steer the lawn mower, yep John Deere again! He wasn't so sure of it at first but he really liked going in circles once he got used to it. I have video of it that I might or might not post. Depends on how long he stays asleep!

Another bunch of firsts for him was all of the animals. He is in love with puppies. Here he got to meet their 3 purebred wolves. Only Shadow was brave enough to get close to us. Shanook and Spirit kept their distance although they were curious.

He got to pet and sit on his first horse. They have 4 horses and he loved being by them, but He didn't enjoy being on them as much. Maybe when he gets older.


He also got to see a pig. He thought the sounds it was making was pretty funny and he kept laughing. He didn't want to get too close to it which was great for me because I didn't want to have to keep pulling him back.

He got to meet kitties which I only have a video of. He kept trying to pull their tails and pry open their mouths so he could feel their tongues. Only one really put up with this. That same one also let Axton sit on him (he's become obsessed with sitting on everything and anything), so the kittie wasn't the brightest.


One last thing was the train. You can't see it that well in the picture but trains run by their house several times a day. I wasn't sure if the sound would scare him or not but he ended up laughing when they were there and then crying when they would go out of site. Someday I'll teach him to count the cars, altough we don't see a lot of trains around here.

Overall it was a very good getaway. I won't say vacation because there was nothing relaxing about it. Axton is quite the busybody and loved getting into everything. I had to constantly watch him but it was worth it. Next time though, Greg WILL be coming to help me.