Well, I figured I better update now since it may be a while. We have officially closed on the house. Since then we have bought a fridge, ordered carpet and Pergo for the house, and bought a car. I don’t really want to talk about the car buying experience. Suffice it to say, the sales people we dealt with employed every dirty sales tactic they could in order to squeeze every last penny from us. I was proud of Brian several times for sticking to his guns and turning the tables on their tricks. We ended up trading in the 4-Runner and getting a 99 Camry, white with tan interior. I can’t really brag about the ending price but we got a decent trade in for the 4 Runner and have a substantially lower payment than before and insurance is going to be less too. It is a beautiful car and I love driving it.

The Stake had a beach day today and Brian and I decided to make it a family affair.  We drove out with the Boogus and met everyone there.  Brian got crazy in the waves and got worked over by mother nature.  SV started out by hating the sand like usual, but by the end of the afternoon she was chasing waves.  At one point she got knocked over and got soaked head to toe.  She was not happy at all about that.  It was a really fun afternoon.  We got to watch David do all his crazy things too.  He must sleep well at night with all the energy he uses during the day.

Hey!  It’s David Hasslehoff

…and David Arnell

Wow!

Soaked to the skin…

Not more water!

I’m through!

Well, it was a whirlwind weekend and I just kind of rode along since I was a spectator.  David’s eagle court on Saturday was almost spiritual.  It was wonderful to have so many people that love David there and congratulating him on this accomplishment.  I was proud of him.  We lost Serra~V~’s shoe that night and when I went back to the church to look for it on Monday it was in the front of the church right in front of the doors.  Even though they are too small, they aren’t worn out and could be used for another child.  I had been miffed that it was missing. 

The blessing/baptism day was fun as everyone was there.  Jared was the only one missing so we missed him, but we had a nice time visiting with everyone else.  Julie is starting to poof out a little tiny bit and we spent part of this week looking for maternity clothes for her.  That was fun. 

Yesterday Brian and I signed all the papers for the house and got all the mess straightened out with the loan, escrow etc.  We were told earlier this week that we were going to have to come up with an additional $3000 on top of the $3000 we already paid toward closing.  With what we wrapped up into the loan it was getting a bit ridiculously and we were concerned we weren’t going to have any money to do any of the remodeling we wanted to do.  Well, after challenging some of the charges we are owed money back.  So we feel blessed that things are going better.  We will close on Tuesday and take possession in about two weeks.  ANCEY hardly describes how we feel.  Poor SV has no idea what kind of changes she is in store for.  I think that it will be quite an adjustment for her when she doesn’t have someone in every room to visit when she feels inclined. 

Pictures later when the roll is developed.  No digital this weekend.

Dad wasn’t kidding when he said Serra~V~ likes to brush her teeth.  She looks forward to it and sometimes can’t wait until someone is nearby to help.  Sometimes the bathroom door gets left open and she toddles in opens the drawer and pulls out a toothbrush.  It is always mommy’s.  Then she brushes her teeth and if she’s lucky the toilet seat has been left open and she has a nice rinsing bowl at her level.  She swishes it around and around and then sucks the water out of it and then repeats.  I have caught her 3 times in the last week at this activity and last night Brian caught her.  Much to his horror she not only had mommy’s toothbrush but his as well.  Oh, the joy.

I just got her down for a nap.  We were making cookies and she was helping.  But it is difficult for a 16 month old to just sit and watch.  She burned her hand twice on a hot tray.  (It wasn’t serious, mostly scared her)  She also likes to climb under the sink and sit on the ledge.  I pulled her out a few times and wasn’t quick enough the last time.  Before I knew it she had a bottle of olive oil and lovingly threw it on the kitchen tile.  It left quite a mess and she slipped a fell in the oil.  So she got to sit in the sink while I cleaned up the mess.  She wasn’t happy  because it upsets her when she can tell I’m miffed.  When I finished with her and the oil mess, I escorted her out of the kitchen and told her to stay out until I was finished (only a few minutes).  She kept crying and peeking around the corner at me.  She was very glad when I picked her up and she could put her hands in my hair and cuddle to sleep. 

Here are some labor day and other day shots.