I didn't get around to posting about my children the other day, but I am still going to try! We are all doing well- we have a 3 day weekend, so I am really excited about that. I have really missed hanging out with my boys during the day. We are going to be LIVING at the park this weekend!

They officially announced where the new Gila Valley Temple will be built. The rumors were right! They will build it at the Central Ballfields. Yeah! I guess home prices won't be going back down for a while... oh well! I'm excited for the new temple! (and I'm secretly *thrilled* it's not going in either Pima or Thatcher...lol..if you're from the valley, you totally understand, right?)

I am thinking we will move back in about another year and a half or two. We both want to finish our master's degrees before we return, so we'll just stay where we are at for a while longer, finish grad school and hopefully find something out that way when the time is right. Maybe by that time Temple mania and the exponential increase in home prices that accompanies it will have died down a bit, and we will actually afford to get into decent housing! Here's to hoping!

Have a fantabulous Friday!!

Mean Mommy

Today is picture day at school. I was trying to figure out how to pay for the boys' pictures (we don't do checks- so 20th century!), and sent Collin into the bathroom to do his hair. He is usually pretty good about doing his hair, so I didn't think twice about leaving him to do it himself. Well, today he decided he needed to make it "special" because it is picture day. I didn't really pay attention until we got into the car and realized that his hair was DRENCHED in gel! He must have used about half the tub!! I tried to salvage it with a brush, but it was at that "kindof starting to dry, but still really gooey" stage, so my efforts poved futile. I took him inside and dunked his head under the bathroom sink and scrubbed, scrubbed, scrubbed. Finally it all came out and I was able to comb his hair. Needless to say, he did NOT like how I did his hair, so when we went back outside, he sat in the back of the van and messed his hair back up on the way to school. I griped at him for messing his hair up again; he whined at me for making him look like such a dork, and we were both less than pleasant to each other. Ugh...if elementary school is this fun, I just can't wait for the teen years...

5 year plan

Well, John is almost done with school, so it is time to make a new five year plan. (For the record, our previous one only took about 2 extra years, and has only experienced "slight" revisions).

After Collin was born, I decided I wanted to go back to school, earn a bachelor's degree in Biology, and go to Dental School. Well, I did earn my degree, but my undergraduate GPA is in the "questionable" range (O-Chem + 3 kids 3 and under = GPA suicide), and I am not confident in my chances of gaining admission. For now, dental school is shelved. I am reviewing for the DAT, but am also persuing plans B and C. Plan B is my masters program in Biology and Plan C is teaching high school Biology. My revised goal is finishing my alternative certification and teaching high school Biology for 5 years (Why, you ask? 5 year Loan Forgiveness programs, that's why!!) as well as finish my masters in Biology. A masters degree will enable me to teach at a junior college (older students + no research committment = Happy ME!). If I make it through my masters program with a 4.0- so far, so good!- I will revisit the dental school option. But for now, I'm thinking I'll teach.

I love

Here are 10 things that I love- in no particular order =)

1. Fresh laundry smell
2. A clean house (absence makes the heart grow fonder I always say!)
3. Decluttering
4. Lazy summer evenings spent at the pool and followed by a yummy snow cone for everyone.
5. The smell of fresh cut grass
6. Seeing my children do well in school
7. Baby smell, especially their milk breath and the top of their head
8. Watching my husband achieve his goals
9. Holding a sleeping baby.
10. Fresh baked bread!

What are yours?

My Kids

are so fun =)

They are playing outside together right now, and it's so fun to hear them talk to each other and interact with each other. Caitlyn tries her hardest to keep up with the boys, and they are pretty good about allowing her to tag along.

Caitlyn misses her brothers while they are at school and LOVES the weekends because her brothers are home and they let her play with them.

Collin is really good with Caleigh. He likes to hold her and snuggle her. He is so loving and kind with his baby sister!

Daydreaming...part 2

Now it's my turn...here's what I would do =)

$0.01- toss it in the change jar

$0.50- give it to the boys to buy their special Friday snack at school or use it to buy the girls some gum (they love gumballs!) at Wal-Mart =)

$1.00- give it to the boys to buy ice cream on Friday at school

$5.00- in the summer, take the kids to family swim! Rest of the year, hit happy hour at Sonic

$10.00- in the summer, go to family swim and get a snow cone after; rest of the year, get ice cream at Braums

$25.00- movie with the kids- splurge on pop corn and soda

$50.00- dinner with John

$100.00- stock up on laundry soap or dishwashing soap or both =)

$250.00- buy everyone new shoes

$500.00- buy the kids some new clothes

$1,000.00- buy myself some new clothes

$5,000.00- use to trade in the van and jeep for a new (to us) van

$10,000.00- get a new (to us) van and pay off our "little" credit cards

$25,000.00- same as 10k, but add one "big" credit card

$50,000.00- pay off all high rate debt

$100,000.00- pay off all high rate debt, pay some toward student loans, start retirement funds, start college funds for the kids, trade in the cars on another one, put a small down payment on a house

$250,000.00- pay off every stitch of debt, fix our current van and drive it 'til the wheels fall off, then pay cash for a new (to us) one, start college and retirement funds, put a nice down payment on a house, gift some to my parents and brothers and sisters, go on a fun vacation somewhere in the lower 48

$500,000.00- pay off all debt, pay cash for a new (to me) SUV, get rid of my van, keep my Jeep, build a house on some land (would still need a mortgage, but not a huge one), start college and retirement funds, help my family (parents, brothers and sisters, and grandparents), vacation somewhere tropical

$1,000,000.00- pay off all debt, put a nice chunk back for retirement and children's college funds, put a nice chunk toward buildng my dream house, pay off my dad's mortgage, help my mom, help my grandparents, buy a brand spanking new SUV for me, and a newish "commuting car" for John, vacation, vacation, vacation!

None of these amounts would make us completely quit working, but anything after 50k would allow me to quit stressing quite so much about finances! 100k would help me feel like my future was starting to look pretty secure, and anything 250k and over would catch us up on retirement savings, give our kids the opportunity to go through undergrad with little or no debt, and get us into decent housing.