SOLD!

Since we moved to Lehi last March, our condo down in Provo has just been sitting there. Empty. We talked some of getting renters, and while I was open to the idea, I wasn't too excited. I really didn't want to be a landlord. And honestly, I just wanted to be done with it and sell it. However, we had some thing that still needed to be done (paint the doors, replace the carpet, patch large holes in the walls, etc.) before we felt comfortable listing it and having it show well. Unfortunately, when we moved, Miles was working an inordinate amount of time and I was taking care of two kids while trying to get settled into our new home. So neither of us was really available to get the work done. Occasionally I would bring it up (bitterly) and say we needed to do something about it so we weren't just paying two mortgages every month. We had a friend give a bid to do the work and we were about to jump on it when we got an interesting offer...from Miles's parents. They mentioned they might be interested in buying our condo, as they are often in Utah for a good 4-6 months out of the year (on and off) and have been wanting to have their own space while they are up here. After we gave them a sale's price and they looked the place over, they accepted. I was ecstatic that it was no longer a constant worry in the back of my mind. AND...we would no longer be making two mortgage payments each month! Yay! We came to an agreement that they would start making payments in November and purchase it sometime in the near future. Well, that future is here and it is officially in their names as of last week. Hurray! I hope they are as happy as I am. :)

I have to say, it's actually kind of nice thinking of them "living" there. Our condo in Provo holds a lot of special memories for our family. It was a good place for us in starting our married life, and our family. We made a lot of good friends, had positive experiences, and were happy with the location and our neighbors. I love that even though it will be different and is no longer ours, that we can still visit our first home.

3rd Birthday(s)

That's right. BirthdayS. Since we had so many family members in town at the same time, I thought that I would just do a family party for Owen. However, when I told him his birthday was coming up he said, "My friends are coming!" I said, "Oh really? Who is coming?" He said, "Sophia, and Tucker, and Lightening McQueen!" Hmm...well, I didn't think I could get Lightening to show up, but I figured I could fulfill his wish for a friend party as well. I also asked him what kind of party he wanted. He said, "A tiger cake!" I was pretty sure this came from watching a number of Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood episodes and seeing Daniel Tiger have a birthday and a tiger cake. But over a month's time, his answer never wavered. So a tiger party it was.

We celebrated his family party a little early. We tried to arrange it so both sets of Owen's grandparents would be there, but couldn't quite get it to work. However, we were able to have Grandma and Grandpa Van de Wetering, Aunt Kerry, cousins Hadley and Elena, Aunt Megan and Uncle Mitchell. It was great to have so much family in town.

I went downstairs to get Owen once everyone had arrived. I told him that it was time to come upstairs for breakfast and that we had a surprise for him. I hadn't mentioned anything about celebrating his birthday and he said, "You do?! What is it? It's my tiger cake!!!"

This was his happy face at seeing his guess was correct. So glad I could make his wish come true. :)

We started by having a delicious brunch of spinach and bacon quiche, fruit, orange rolls, and juice.

Following breakfast, we opened presents.

Another pig book from his Mama. I liked this one for his birthday because it was about a pig who got a surprise birthday party at the end.

He also got a wheelbarrow with garden tools and a dry erase/chalkboard easel from us.

A train set from Auntie Kimmie:

A mama/baby animal matching set from Grammy and Grandpa:

The Velveteen Rabbit book and a stuffed rabbit to match from Auntie Kerry, Hadley and Elena:

And then we ended with what?...A TIGER CAKE!

We sang to Owen and he tried to blow out the candle. He must have been aiming his breath wrong because it wasn't working. The all of a sudden, after about four blows, he sucked in and the candle went out. It was hilarious and so cute! 

Then, while we were getting plates and ice cream, Owen decided to dig right into his cake by giving it a big LICK. Awesome. :P

A cut out with a big lick on the side. :)

And a couple of pictures of Elsie with Auntie Kerry and Uncle Mitchell, just to prove she was there. ;)

I think Owen really enjoyed his family tiger party.

Next up was his friend Tiger party. I decided to save most tiger-themed activities for he and his friends. (Unfortunately, I don't have a ton of pictures from this party. It was kind of overwhelming to have our first large event hosting a group of kids and their parents, while coordinating activities for the party. So sadly, pictures took a back seat.)

The friends (and parents) in attendance were: Sophia & Audrey (Haley & Braden) Molyneux, Tucker & Calvin (Holly & Curt) Smith, Chandler & Preston (Adri) Nye, Lucas & Sabrina (Debbie) Montero, Felix (Kelli & Kyle) Murray, and Griffin (Jacklyn & Tyler) Fellows.

After most friends had arrived, we started with Pin the Tail on the Tiger. Look at Miles' awesome art skills!

After "pinning" their tail, each child received a tiger tail of their own that we tucked into the backs of their pants.

Once each child had gone and received their tail, they were sent outside for a game of "Catch a Tiger by its Tail." We had the kids run around the backyard and chase each other and try to yank the other kids' tails. I was slightly worried about the potential of tears when children temporarily lost their tails, but for the most part it went really well. I think the kids enjoyed running around and were distracted when after losing their own tail, they were quickly told to run after other children and get theirs. Chandler was the biggest and oldest child there and was hilarious as he just bolted from one end of the yard to the other to avoid losing his tail. The kids must have liked it though because they asked to play again.

After running them ragged, we sat down for lunch. I attempted to do "themed" food to the best of my ability, but opted to round it out with a good 'ole non-theme-related pizza. :) Otherwise, we had Cheetos for "tiger tails," a "forest" of veggies, tiger-faced mandarin cups, and chocolate-dipped "tiger tails."

Following lunch we opened presents. Owen loved them all! There seemed to be a car/truck theme going on with presents. Owen was in heaven. He also got his very first board game - The Sneaky Snacky Squirrel, as well as play dough, sidewalk chalk, and a butterfly net.

Again, lacking in pictures. So here are a couple of he and Elsie playing with a parking garage car set and a dump truck.

We ended with a tiger pinata. Here is a picture of it:

 

And all the goodies inside (minus the candy):

We went youngest to oldest. I learned from this experience, that the kids probably could have beat on it for hours and probably wouldn't have made a dent. Next time I'd give them each a little more time (or a second turn) to work at it. After all the kids went without any damage done, we moved on to the adults. Holly went first and knocked a couple things out, then Adri went and pounded it so hard it broke off the hanger! (Don't mess with her!) ;) So since it was no longer easy to swing at it, Miles went primal on us and tore it open. It was pretty funny, and the kids were really excited when everything came raining out of it.

And Elsie was a huge fan of the tiger balloons. Something for everyone to enjoy!

I think it went well. It was a little crazy organizing and keeping everything flowing quickly. But I think everyone had fun. Here are a few "after-party" pictures of Owen with his tiger mask and tail.

Catch a tiger by his tail...

Year in Review

Here is a quick overview of our family's 2012:

January: Completed an IVF cycle that was miraculously covered 100% by our insurance (minus the deductible) in hopes of getting pregnant
February: Flew to CA to celebrate my parents' 50th wedding anniversary; Celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary starting with an ultrasound to hear our baby's heartbeat and an overnight stay at a B&B in SLC
March: Owen got his first haircut; Enjoyed the warming weather with trips to the park and duck ponds
April: Owen and I flew to Minnesota to visit my college roommate, Shara and her family, and my brother, Keven and his family; Found out we were expecting a little girl; Owen turned two
May: I went to San Diego for a girl's weekend getaway with some college friends; I was put on bedrest due to placenta previa
June: I was taken off bedrest (yay!); We had a mini Van de Wetering family reunion in SLC (minus Keven and family, who were greatly missed)
July: Went to Blanding, UT for a Wright family reunion over the 4th of July; Miles started working 80+ hours/week to accommodate his side work
August: Lots of summer fun before the baby arrived with trips to Thanksgiving Point, the park, 7 peaks, and the pool; Had a baby shower thrown by my sister; Miles and I went on a "babymoon" to the Zermatt Resort in Midway
September: Went to the zoo; Spent a lot of time with Miles' parents who were in town; Prepared for the baby and were surprised by Elsie's arrival 10 days early on the last day of the month
October: My Mom came to stay for three weeks to help out with Elsie and Owen; Elsie's baby blessing
November: Still adjusting to life with two; Spent Thanksgiving day/weekend with Kerry and family, and Kim and Austin who flew out to meet Elsie; Enjoyed some extra help around the house while Miles's sister, Megan, stayed with us for a week
December: Celebrated Christmas by decorating a gingerbread house, a visit to Santa, looking at Christmas lights, and an extended trip to AZ to be with the Wright family

It's been a busy, fun, blessed year. We can't wait to see what 2013 holds for us!

Snow!

We got our first snow of the season. Owen was so excited. His Aunt Megan decided to take him out for some winter fun. It was so cute to see him playing and enjoying the snow. Last year we got minimal snow and he probably only wore his snow gear a total of three times, (Luckily it still fits this year too!) and he didn't really like the snow very much. This year is a completely different story. He could not get enough and loved every minute outside in the snow. He and Megan made a mini snowman, attempted snow angels, and had a snowball fight, all while Elsie and I stayed warm inside. I'm excited for Owen to enjoy the snow this winter.

Building the snowman:

Even Bruce got in on the action.

Poor little guy had a hard time getting the snow off his fleece gloves. I'll have to get some better gloves for him.

Making a snow angel:

I don't typically wish for snow, but seeing how much he loved it, I would happily take piles of snow for us to play in!