Wednesday, December 17, 2008

My Farewell to my Childhood Home

For those of you who are new to my blog, my parents have sold their home that they lived in for 28 years. Before then, my grandparents had lived there for 12 years so the home was in our family for over 40 years! My brother Randy, my Sister Kristi my son Dallin and I flew back to Oregon from Utah in order to help my parents pack up the house and to say good-bye to it. My brother Rob and his wife Kendra and their two children Alyssa and Lance flew in the next day from Texas. We were able to have their new little boy blessed in Church on Sunday. On Sunday afternoon my parents hosted a going away party/baby blessing luncheon for our relatives. We had over 20 people come. We used some boxes for a buffet table. After everyone left, they did more packing until late in the night. A big snow storm hit and left a couple inches of snow in the yard and then the roads turned to ice in the middle of the night.
This video is the last shots of the house as I saw it. I wasn't sad. It really hasn't hit me yet about not being able to go into "our" house anymore. Just don't laugh at my funny recording voice. I still need to stop jabbering while I record videos. Enjoy!

Monday, December 8, 2008

My World On Digital Video!

I was at Blockbuster on Saturday and spotted this Flip video digital camcorder for $49! I just had to have it since I have been wanting one for months. I called Ryan and he suggested coming home and doing a google search on it to see how people have rated it.

Well, I followed his advice and found it has excellent ratings for being a cheap, easy to use camcorder with built-in software so you can use it with any computer. It has a flip out USB port on the side- hense the name "Flip". I went back later that night and have been very impressed with this little gadget! The newer versions cost about $129 but the one I bought was last years model. It has 60 minutes of recording time and there were ones that had 30 minutes of recording time for only $39. It runs on two "AA" batteries. I'm so excited to have this when I go to Oregon later this week! I can record and share the home I grew up in before my parents finish moving out!

Friday, December 5, 2008

The House My Parents Have Bought

This is the house my parents have bought in Utah. It is located in West Point which is about 40 minutes north of Salt Lake City. My Dad found it while searching utahrealestate.com which has listing for most of the houses for sale in Utah. I went to check it out for them and was really impressed with what I saw. I took pictures that night when I saw it for the first time. Then I went back the next day to see it in the light and took outdoor pictures. This house interested my parents so much that the day after Thandgiving they drove out to look at it. After a couple of days of looking at other properties, they realized this house is the one they wanted. Coincidently, the owners are almost finished with their other house they are building and so the timing is perfect. My parents are scheduled to move in on the 22nd of December!

As you can see it is a very well kept house and the man who currently lives there with his family built it. He put in a lot of extras since he is a contractor. He also has an ongoing christmas light duel with a neighbor so the outside is well stocked with outlets. The landscaping is well done with drip lines going to all of the plants.

The parking area is huge with room for both my parents boat and RV. The huge storage shed at the back has two lofts for storage and will hold the riding lawnmower.

You can fit four cars across this parking area. Good thing since my parents have three cars and they expect family to visit often!

The gorgeous master bath! My parents have never had a bathroom just to themselves off the master bedroom. Unless you count when us kids moved away and they had no one to share with! The entire upstairs has been professionally painted within the last year and there is a completely finished basement. There are 4 huge bedrooms, a family room, a big living room, a dining area and main floor laundry. It has two and 3/4ths bathrooms with each of them being large but the basement bath has only a walk-in shower, not a tub. There is a big office space and room for an exercise area or game area in the basement and tons of storage! The basement even has a wet bar (sink with counter space).

The house backs up to a horse pasture that is sectioned off in 1 acre parcels. This is the backyard view looking south-east across several parcels of horse property. From the front of the house, it looks residential and is a typical suburban neighborhood.

While my parents backyard is actually sort-of small, they have this view in the back. The pony and horse live behind them and come up to the back fence to be petted. They are very sweet and I am looking forward to visiting them. The current owners 4-year-old daughter feeds the horses apples. The gate opens up to the horse property and doesn't have barbed wire on the second fence.

The backyard! The enormous play structure is staying and it has a sand pit at the bottom of the slide! The trampoline will not be staying.

There is also a well made fire pit that Sydney is looking forward to roasting marshmallows in. This house will be the favorite place for the grandkids to visit! If my Mom chooses to do daycare again, it will work well for that too! I can post inside pictures after my parents move in. I just didn't want to show someone elses furnature and things for safety purposes.

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

News Release

For those of you like me who are not so happy with their less than "hourglass" shape, here is some good news. This is a study that was just released from the University of Utah. Enjoy!

The Friday After Thanksgiving- Pineview Reservoir

My Husband Ryan decided to ask the kids if they wanted to go fishing on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Sydney and Tyler decided they wanted to go and since Dallin was sick with Roseolla, I stayed home with him after taking him to the doctor. When they all came back late in the afternoon, they were all excited and full of stories to tell of this cold, but memorable fishing trip.

The kids ended up catching their limit and these were not small trout! The smallest was approx. 16 inches long and the biggest was approx. 21 inches! The fish were good fighters and they limited out in less than 2 hours! Ryan said he could only bait the hooks, cast them out and then one of the kids would have a fish on. Then he would take care of the fish and start the process all over again. He said it was one of the best fishing trips he's been on. Enjoy the pictures- they pretty much speak for themselves!

Monday, December 1, 2008

Our Thanksgiving 2008

Our "Tom" turkey
My pumpkin pie using pumpkin from our garden! It turned out well, but I think I prefer the taste of Libby's pumpkin better.
Our feast! Thanks to Kathrine, Ryan's sister who brought the sweet potatoes and some yummy cream cheese filled ham slices for snacking on and Kristi, my sister who brought the rolls and cooked some broccoli and cauliflower. I provided the turkey, potatoes, greenbeans, carrots, olives, pie, salad and deviled eggs! We had a great time visiting. Tyler showed Katherine his new Cello and she played for him on her guitar. We watched the new Indiana Jones movie and Kristi played games with Tyler and Sydney. Dallin spent the day being sick with a fever and the nasty "D" word. I wasn't feeling very well either since I had been up at night with Dallin and I was fighting off something. I slept on the couch after the late lunch was done. It was a great holiday for us and the food was divine! We had much to be greatful for with our family, food and a roof over our heads. What a great day to focus on our blessings!