New House, New Job (sort of)

I've avoided blogging in the last few weeks because of the uncertainty in our lives. We were trying to decide whether to stay in Arizona or to move, whether to buy a house now or keep renting, and basically just wanting to figure out what our future looks like. I felt like it wasn't a great idea to blog publicly about all of this until things were decided and somewhat settled. So, now they are!

Kent will be staying at his current job, sort of. There is actually a merger/take-over underway which will change his employer and his position at work. This is a good and exciting change, which led us to commit to staying in Arizona for several years at least. That led us to decide to buy a house, which we are in the process of doing. So, in the end we are staying in the same neighborhood, same ward, same job, except that once Kent graduates in December everything will be different. We'll be in our own home; we won't have to live off student loans anymore; and I can finally feel free to plant roots where we're at.

What's interesting is how during this time some other changes have been in the works which will bring my sister closer to us; she'll be living about 2 minutes away. The other surprise for me was how much I really did want to stay. Anyone who has known me for a while knows that I am a nomad, and I'm not used to staying in one place. I've lived in Arizona for 7 consecutive years now, which is a record for me. The whole time Kent has been in school, I just couldn't imagine that we would stay here in Arizona. Although Arizona is by far my favorite place to live in the U.S., I always just assumed we'd be leaving. But when decision time came, we both knew and had very strong feelings that we needed to stay where we are.

Now we can begin the process of moving houses...again!

Some Alicia Moments...
Lest I forget to continue the series on my life as Alicia (the cartoon character from Diego), I have to include a few cute comments from Maija:

Our dog, Remy, was chewing on one of Maija's toys, and she said, "No, Remy! You are a wicked dog!" Maybe she's watched too many Book of Mormon and Bible cartoons.

After asking for a cracker to eat, Maija ran outside with it and proclaimed, "I love crackers on a windy day!" Then she proceeded to sing it over and over, "I love crackers on a windy day! I love crackers on a windy day!"

Bekah continues to be cute and full of personality. She has no fear whatsoever and keeps me on my toes.

And I continue to play the role of Alicia occasionally, although now that Bekah is talking more, Maija tends to make her play the role of either Dora or Alicia.

Great Quotes

A Few Great Quotes from the Kids:

"Mommy, when I grow up I want to be just like you." - Maija
(Seriously, could anything be sweeter? Although I hope she is better than me on several counts.)

"It's Pahlo (Pablo). It's Tywoh (Tyrone). It's Niwa (Uniqua). It's Taha (Tasha). It's Ahtin (Austin)." - Bekah
(She was pointing to pictures of the Backyardigans and naming each one of them. I was pretty surprised that she knew any of their names. It goes to show you that even though they can't say much, one-year-olds understand a lot.)

"Mommy, you are making me crazy!" - Maija
(There's nothing worse than hearing yourself when your child speaks.)

"Oh no!" - Bekah
(She pretty much says it for everything - "Oh no! It's tah (a car)." "Oh no! Shoe! (my shoe came off!)" "Oh no! Poo poo (no translation necessary)." )

In Other News

Our family did take a road trip to the Bay Area in California. We had a great time and got to spend the week at my aunt and uncle's house and see my cousins, and we got to see my brother, Rusty. The weather was gorgeous, and I loved all the trees and greenery. Click on the pic below to see a slideshow of our trip.