Atticus quotes of the day

We had stake conference today at the Assembly Hall on Temple Square. We normally sit on the main level, but this time our friends were in the front row of the balcony, so we went up there. Atticus had never been up there and was enthralled. He saw the organ pipes up front and said, "Mom! It's like the kingdom of God!"

A few minutes later he leaned over and said, "Mom, Daddy has a superpower. Know what it is? The priesthood. The priesthood is a superpower. And when I'm older I'll have the EXACT SAME superpower." He was pretty excited.

Time to start manifesting?

So this house I've had my eye on is on the market. I used to visit teach the 80-year-old widow who raised 4 children in this house. When she died her granddaughter Patricia moved in, then Patricia's brother, and now they're ready to liquidate the estate. 

We've been saving toward a house, with plans to move next summer. We love our ward and feel settled here, but this neighborhood is overpriced for the size of the houses and lots. We've been looking at a certain section of Rose Park dubbed "Sugarhood" because it's the same age as Sugarhouse but it's on the wrong side of the freeway, so the houses cost $100K less.

Now this house shows up. And it's just within the high end of our price range. We might have enough for a down payment, but it will take all of our savings. I'd been planning to keep a $5,000 buffer in savings for emergencies, and that will take a long time to reaccumulate if we buy now.

The house needs some work, but it's move-in ready. According to Patricia, the floor under the tub needs to be reinforced, and the loft bedroom isn't heated. The plumbing is industrial grade and shouldn't be a problem. I don't know about electrical or the roof. We're going to make a low offer and see what they say.

PROS

It's in our ward, and we like it here

We like the school

It's cute

The back yard is big for this neighborhood

It has an established garden, and Patricia had chickens

It's fully fenced

CONS

It's small. Our sofa and love seat won't both fit in that living room.

It has only one bathroom in an awkward location--off the kitchen in the back of the house

It's on an alley street between an apartment parking lot and a condemned house

Atticus may be the only deacon in our ward

SO... all you veteran home buyers, I'd like your input. We can find a cute house with a good back yard and garden in Rose Park for $40,000 cheaper than they're asking for this house. Maybe even with 2 bathrooms and a finished basement. I know it's financially more prudent to wait until we've saved more money and are better prepared to buy. Sugarhood isn't a bad place to live. Cute streets with brick houses and sidewalks and trees and families.

But it's new. We'd have to reestablish ourselves there, make new friends, find our niche. There are more kids, but is that always a good thing? There were plenty of kids in American Fork, but that didn't guarantee a good experience for anyone.

I guess the trade off comes down to this: live where we like at the edge of our means or live where we *might* like below our means.

Do I start manifesting that they'll accept our offer?

First Days of School

Atticus and I couldn't decide which picture was our favorite, so I used both.

Atticus's first day of kindergarten was cowboy day. I think he looked mighty spiffy, and so did he. He was a little nervous on the way over, asking, "Is anyone else going to be in a cowboy costume?" I'll admit I had my doubts. But no worries, there were other hats and boots. He held tight to my hand until we got inside the classroom, but then I was no longer needed. I had to pry his attention away from the legos to get him to kiss me goodbye. 

His class is half day, but then he goes to a second class called Enrichment, where they have a theme for the week and more hands-on activities. When I came to pick him up, he begged to go to aftercare, like some other kids in his class do. No, sweetie, you have to come home with me. Sorry.

In our morning prayers we pray for Atticus to have a good day at school. The other day he told me I didn't need to pray for him anymore--he always has a great time at school.

I love picking him up and seeing his eyes light up as he tells me about his day. I think this school thing is going to work out for us. 

Until I get around to the narrative for the second half of the extended family reunion, here are links to all of our photos. Enjoy!

Barneys:

http://imgur.com/a/0RF1e

Bear Lake:

http://imgur.com/a/k0ixR

Bear Lake day 2:

http://imgur.com/a/HbUOj

Evans, Adam & Thaddeus:

http://imgur.com/a/rAM5z

Evans and Timp Cave:

http://imgur.com/a/bVoOj

Family Reunion part 1 & 2

July was one long family reunion for us. It's hard to get everyone in the same place all at once, so a big-group love-fest just didn't happen. But we still got to spend time with everyone, even if some people didn't get to see each other. Having family in town also gave us the opportunity/motivation to do some of the things we wanted to do this summer but maybe wouldn't have done on our own.

The Barneys
We had a great time at Lagoon with my sister Lara and her family. We weren't sure how much Atticus would be able to do, but there was plenty for him. The best part was that Sarah became Atticus's "best-friend cousin." She felt bad for being mean to him on their previous visit, so she brought him a present to apologize and spend a lot of time with him. Atticus was very sad to see her go.

My niece Mary convinced me to go on the big coasters with her, earning me the title "Best Aunt Ever." I screamed the entire time and got a headache, but she didn't make me go the second (or third) time. Her brother, Sam, spent most of the day on the big rides with other cousins, so I don't have any pictures of him. Sorry, Sam!

Poulsons at Bear Lake

The Barneys spent the rest of their vacation with my sister Kristin and her family at Lake Powell while the non-skiers went to Bear Lake: my parents, my sisters Erin and Heather, my brother Mike and his kids, and us. We stayed in cabins at the KOA and loved it. We will definitely stay there next time. In addition to clean cabins, there's a pool, miniature golf, and a playground to keep the kids occupied when we weren't at the beach.

 Atticus was really excited about the bunk beds. 

He slept the first night on the top and the second night on the bottom.

My cute parents and brother Mike.

The cousins: Atticus, Henry, Ella, and Aubrey

So it's not La Jolla, but you can't drive to your spot in La Jolla

The water stays shallow for longer than you'd care to walk (I got up to my neck). 

Not too cold, just nice and refreshing.

Atticus preferred the sand.

We spent Friday at the beach, just enjoying the sun, sand, and water. We rented a Sea-Doo for a couple hours and got nicely fried. The whole trip was mellow and relaxing. Not too long a drive, but far enough away that you feel like you're somewhere else. Stop in Logan for lunch at the Bluebird and cheese curds, and you're only a couple hours from home.  

We had a few days to do laundry and catch our breath before the Evanses and ThAdam arrived. But I'll write that up tomorrow. 

My Faves for Today

• Dinner I could make/eat every week: Sauteed boneless chicken thighs in mustard cream sauce (click on photo for recipe). I actually leave out the cream, though last time I added a tablespoon or so whole milk. I have tried this with grainy Dijon and smooth; I think my favorite is a combination of the two. Most delicious leftovers EVER.
• Homemade ice cream. I tried a fancy custard variety yesterday but got scared when the custard seemed a little curdled, especially since we were making it for a party. I mixed up a second no-cook batch, which was tasty. I just froze the curdled version, and DANG it tastes like creme brulee minus the brulee. Maybe I need to get out the silpat and torch to burn some sugar...
• "My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark" by Fall Out Boy. It's a perfect workout song. When I listen to it I imagine myself sprinting over the finish line with my fists in the air. I'M ON FIIIAH!!
• The other song I listen to at high volume over headphones is "Don't Let Go Yet" by David Roch. I can't find a sample online, but here's another great one from him: "Skin and Bones." I have his album in pretty heavy rotation in my work playlist. Haunting and beautiful and heavy on harmony. And I swear it's Neko Case doing backup vocals on Skin and Bones. Love her.

That's all I can think of right now. My big accomplishment for today was finally hanging pictures in our bedroom. James hung curtains yesterday, so after two years our room is starting to feel complete. And with blackout curtains in both bedrooms, I got to sleep in until 7:30. Woo hoo! 

Anthropomorphism at its finest

"Mom, take a picture of me with Blankie and Passa where we're all smiling." I should note that the string coming out the top of Blankie is her hair. Yes, Blankie is a girl. 

She used to be an actual blanket, but Atticus rubbed the corners enough to break them free from the center, and the "spicy corner" became a long string, so we wrapped her up with the string. Now Atticus has something to snuggle AND something to rub between his thumb and forefinger. (When we left blankie home from church the first time, Atticus got panicky and said, "what are my thumbs going to do??")

"Mom, take a picture of me and Mona." Now, Mona IS real, at least in this household. She's been my friend since I was nine, and now Atticus has fallen in love with her. She can be a naughty monkey sometimes, but we still love her.