James's Jungle Themed Room

We're slowly getting James's room how we want it. It is fun to be making the transition from not only our old home to our new home, but from a baby room to a big boy room. We had an old couch that we disposed of before we moved. We decided to keep the cushions since James had fun playing and sitting on them. A friend of mine gave us an idea to make a reading corner and use the cushions for a place to sit, relax and read. That is what we have planned to do. This week I've been sewing covers for the cushions, so far I have 1 almost done. It is turning out great.

Here is the old, stained couch cushion:

Here is the cover:

Cute, uh? I think so.

Last week we received his new bedding:

And yesterday we purchase a table lamp for his room:

I haven't taken a picture of it yet,
but this is the one we bought.

Once the whole room is complete then I'll post more pictures of it.

Baking Bread

I've been wanting to try my hand at baking bread. Never got the courage since I was always told it was hard and time consuming. Plus, in my tiny kitchen I never could bring myself to do extra cooking/baking then necessary since I didn't have a ton of space and had to wash any and all dishes by hand.

Now I have a great kitchen with a dishwasher. Saturday I decided to bake some bread. James was playing great by himself. Tracy was gone for the day. Perfect time to try, if I messed up no one would know. I had always helped  watch (steal some dough) my mom bake bread. How hard could it be?

It actually was easier then I thought and didn't seem to be that much time consuming. Just had to make sure to keep an eye on the clock, so it didn't rise too much. And it turned out great.

Without any self control I would have eaten the whole loaf, but I stopped at 3 slices.

Pictures of our new home

Here is a picture tour of our new home.

Entry way. There's a half bath opposite the stairs.
I just didn't take a picture of it.

From the entry looking into the living room.

From the living room looking into the dinning room and kitchen.

We decided to make the dinning room into James's play area.

The kitchen and our dinning area. Do you like our tiny fridge?
Maybe sometime in the next week we'll have a bigger one.

From the table looking back. I am loving all the space and dish washer.

From the middle landing on the stairs looking toward the top.

James's room.
We're going to make that corner by the window a reading corner.

James's new bed.
We still have to order the bedding we want for his bed.

Our bedroom.

The other half of our bedroom. We are loving the space.
(My dresser had a rough trip and the drawers are falling apart.)

The upstairs bathroom.

The view from our patio.  I especially love watching the sunsets.
In the distant you can see downtown and at night the city lights light up the sky.

The apartment is almost twice the size of our old one, which was what we wanted. A place to fit all our stuff and have room to grow in. The complex is really nice. We have a playground, pool and fitness center and lots of nice neighbors. There is also a great shopping center nearby.

So who wants to come visit and see it in person?

Our move

Where to begin.... It all came down to the very last day and the very last min. If you read my previous post about the Calculus class then you have the background of the going ones.

The week of our move:

Monday
We loaded up the moving van on Sept. 17th. Poor Tracy did most of the work while I kept James entertained.

One form of entertainment was playing in the moving truck.

There were a few precious hours when James was napping that I was able to help. That is when we loaded some of the big stuff. Then Tracy's dad came for a little bit after work and helped with the even bigger stuff that I wasn't strong enough for. We are very grateful to have wonderful parents/in laws who do a lot for us.

Tuesday
In the morning we separated ways. I went off to meet my friend and drop the pets off at the in laws. Tracy went off to take the final for his Calculus class. After I met my friend, Sara, we headed for CA. My little sister, Kandace, came along as well with some friends in her car for their own little vacation. First stop Vegas for the night. With a little kid it is much easier to split the drive into 2 days.

At the hotel in Vegas. He decided this bed was his.

Wednesday
The next morning we made our way into California and onto San Diego. We all, Kandace and friends and us, met up at the hotel room I had gotten for us all for the night.

At this point Tracy had received a C in the class, but he had failed the final. Since BYU Independent Study requires a passing grade on any final in order to pass a class, he hadn't actually completed the class. Luckily he had a great advisor at the U who was going to do all he can to make that count and let him graduate (all came down to the higher ups). However Tracy had the option to retake the final, so he set up a time to do so the following day.

Thursday
Kandace and friends had wanted to at least spend a day at Sea World, so that is just what we did. Each party did pretty much our own thing at Sea World, though we did meet up a few times for some fun.

Kandace and friends just waking up.
Yes, all three shared a bed.

Looking at the sharks

Waiting for Shamu

We sat extremely close, second row right in front.

Yes, we got very wet.

Enjoying some yummy juice.
I just can't remember what was in that tank.

The Sea Lion show is awesome.

After Sea World, Sara, James and I had dinner with her uncle who lives in San Diego. Kandace and friends headed on home. Back in Utah, Tracy received a C on his final retake. The Geology department was going to get all the paper work together to expedite his degree and show that it was actually received in August. All he had to do was sign them and take them to the registrars office the following day.

Friday
Sara, James and I headed up the coast to Oceanside to spend the day on the beach. I made a few phone calls to arrange for our move in the following day for our apartment and to set up the necessary utilities. Then Tracy called me and said that our move may not be happening after all. The only person in the registrars office who could approve his paper work for his degree was at a funeral that day and wouldn't be back to the afternoon and he was told it could take up to a week for the approval. So back to limbo we go after feeling so close to actually making the move.

While at the beach, I tried to enjoy myself as much as I could with everything going on. We did have a fun time.

James playing with his cars in the sand.

Sara's boyfriend have some family that live in Oceanside, so we met with them and had lunch on the pier at the Ruby's Diner. James had had enough of this vacation by then and wasn't very good company at lunch. He really missed his favorite person, daddy, and was tired from not having a consistent nap/bedtime schedule.

After lunch we drove up to Riverside, while on the drive Tracy called and said everything had gone through and he had officially received his Bachelor's Degree. The move was a go. He would be arriving sometime the following morning, possibly very early. We got a hotel in Riverside that night and slept. Well, I tried to sleep, too much to think about to sleep. (Will him and his dad drive safely through the night?, I feel like it is Christmas eve., and so on)

Saturday
Tracy and Tracy (father and son) arrived (6 or 7 ish) after driving through the night. We made our way to the apartment complex and signed for our apartment. Then we quickly unloaded everything.

A few pictures of what our apartment looked like after everything was unloaded from the truck.

We then went downtown and enjoyed the weekly farmer's market and some lunch. Tracy (the elder) and Sara then headed on back to Utah. Tracy (the younger) and I started the unpacking. After marveling that we actually made it. We had really truly moved to Riverside.

Now we just need a fridge.