Found a place to live!

Carrollton Texas!


Just a few min north of Dallas!


Yay!


10 min from work

20 from temple

5 min from church

4 min from QT (my FAVORITE d.coke spot...oh how I've missed you!)

10 min from Costco & Target


I just don't know what more I could need. :)


17 hours 11 min from Maricopa Arizona. Ack!!! Shoot. I was doing so good with the distances til that one! Gees!!

Moving the 3rd weekend in February. Fun stuff. On week 1 of my 10 week moving plan. A week behind cause the moving date changed on me. Cold sweats, bad dreams! lol. Life goes on! Super excited for the move!

moving update...

Blogging from my heath's laptop mooching off my parents wifi...

Leaving for CO tomorrow!! Yay! Most of the hard work is done...Truck loaded...house clean... :)

Saaaweeeet. Thanks to all my amazing friends for their help this week ... for their babysitting help, hugs, words of encouragement, fun girls lunches... I'm so sad to leave all my girlfriends!

Thanks to MY FAMILY for all their love and support...and HARD work during the move! My mom and sister in law cleaned my bathrooms!!! (and lots of other stuff...) Aren't they totally amazing!! I'm so sad to be moving so far from my BLOOD! (hahaha...morbid...LOVE IT!)

Seriously my heart is so full right now and empty at the same time with my thoughts of leaving AZ, tear...

next blog will be from BROOMFIELD COLORADO! :D

Broomfield COLORADO!

Heath and I jumped on a flight to Denver CO Tuesday morning and hunted for our new place all day...then grabbed a flight that night. The trip was very productive and I learned a lot about how I feel about snow...

I can handle having the sun out, snow on the ground, and a temp over 3 degrees....I can handle it with my new wool coat, layers, my cute new black boots, skinny jeans, and the super cute new scarf I wore...LOL. I had fun.

I'm not sure how I'll do the first time I drive in the snow, or when I have to get out of bed at 2am to a crying child FREEZING while I walk over there...or when my kids want to play in the snow and all I want to do is sit by a fire with hot chocolate. Oh well...I LOVE CHANGE! I'LL Love this! Right?!!

So...Broomfield is the city/county we'll be living in...

Here's the wikipedia stats on it...so interesting. I'm so excited!! More details as they come...

Currently packing my life...downsizing...trying to take only 1/2 of what we have...moving from this 2300 sq foot home to 1100 sq foot apartment...yikes!

Its painful to downsize...but at the end of this new lease term my savings will WOW me! I'm so excited for that part! Plus less to clean....yay. That will be great! Pictures? Umm...maybe after I get settled a little. :)

-j

Moving to Denver?

So---we might be moving to Denver...yup...COLORADO!! Yikes! 15 hours from my mom...don't even get me started. Tears. I say might because we won't know FOR SURE until January (waiting for work to be sure)...but at this point its looking like 90% chance. I have a few dear friends asking me how I feel about it and I've had lots of opportunities to analyze my feelings...Here it goes...

I LOVE CHANGE!

I LOVE NEW THINGS!

I LOVE NESTING!

I LOVE visiting THE SNOW!

I LOVE AVERAGE SUMMER TEMPERATURES (in denver) OF 88 DEGREES!

I LOVE MY HUSBANDS JOB!

but...

I LOVE LIVING BY MY PARENTS!

I LOVE THAT MY KIDS LIVE BY COUSINS!

I LOVE THE FRIENDSHIPS THAT I'VE FORMED HERE!

but you know...

I really like that we have a job....so.....looks like we'll be following that job to denver. haha. I'm excited. I'll love it. I have to. I know I will. It gives me comfort knowing that my cousin Wendy is living in BFE and she's surviving. I can do anything..right?! One of my friends said it perfectly...the indecision with work has given me room for HOPE. Hope that I can stay in my comfortable luxury here in AZ. That hope will make it torturous until the decision is finally made...or I'll be happy. Lets just stick to HAPPY as my current state as I wait for the decision from work. Will this be my last holiday season here in AZ---WAIT---its my first---gees---NO MORE MOVING PLEASE! :D More details as they come. Busy Being Happy. Happy Being Busy.

pj

Pictures of the House----Finally!

Welcome to the Avery Home!

These are pics in absolutely the worst order-----of the day the kids and I picked up the keys! Yay. They were so happy----but Jacob thought that it was "Tenille's house"....haha....not sure why.

Plant shelf---and master ceiling ----I love the height.

Master Bath. Lexi loves tubs.

Master ---- I love this picture because I honestly think that the sq.footage in this room is bigger than my entire last apartment. (poor lexi and her arm...sad face)

Left side of hallway closet----soon to be full of my stockpile of hygiene and cleaning items. So happy to have a home for them instead of stored in boxes in impossible places.

2 Pics of the pantry! A stockpiler's dream!

Typical AZ landscaping with a not so typical HUGE driveway. A major factor in choosing the rental house was the neighborhood and the lot the house was on. This location is perfect! Look at the blue sky!

The home has tile throughout except for in the rooms. So the tile goes all the way from the front door back to the master---another check off our list of demands. I don't like most of the light fixtures and one of the bushes in the front yard---but other than that its amazing!

No pics of the finished house yet---My goal is to be decorated by 2nd Tuesday in May----Bunko is hosted at my house. :D

ok---ya'll knew I couldn't be completely offline...

I'm at my mom's computer.

I picked up my keys today! yay!

I also took a video of my house and lots of pics. When I have more time I'll share :D

But here's the exciting part----I'm headed to Fry's Grocery store to stock up on the great deals they have this week. wohoo! Thanks to this cute blog...Saving Sense with Cents...all the deals were posted and coupon match ups all ready for me...Love that! Fry's is the same chain as Ralph's in Ca.

The store brand 8oz cheese is only a $1 this week----wow. I'll definitely be taking a pic of the TONS of cheese I buy. I'm trying to calculate how much cheese I use and I want to buy like a 6-12 month supply....here's my thinking...Heath and I only use the cheap cheese for SOME cooking and for all the kids' food...Heath and I really only like Tillamook Sharp Cheddar. So---maybe 30 bags will last me a year? I just don't know how much to buy. Goodness. Mmmm chicken nachos sound yummy.

TahTah for Now.

PrincessJulie

Safe Arrival in AZ. :D

Going offline----

I'll be "out of the office" for the week. Well, maybe I'll steal a few peeks at my email from my husband's work computer...but my computer is getting a facelift! Much needed. We're wiping it clean and starting fresh. Ahhhhh. Just like new. 

Also, we're moving this weekend to AZ then coming back to CA to to pick up work stuff for Heath and to get Lexi's cast off her arm. Yay! Today is the start of the adventure...I'm caravanning with my parents and kiddos to AZ to get things settled with the house. (I'm screaming with excitement inside!) 

My next post will hopefully be pictures of the house. Wohooo!

Julie

Moving Date is 2/27/09 Yay!

We found a great rental home in Maricopa AZ. Its 2315 sq.feet, 4 bedroom/2 bath, great appliances, large yard and driveway, great community, and within 4 minutes from CVS, Walgreens, Fry's (grocery store), Stephan & Tenille (bro and wife), My parents, and tons of parks! Great news----Walmart is coming too! More like 10 min away tho. 

And....drumroll....$285 cheaper than my tiny apartment in Corona. Wohoo!

So excited.  :D

I'll post moving pictures and fun stuff as things progress. 

For all the family out there----I'll email you my new address and phone numbers when we get settled.

Happy 1st Birthday Lexi!

Lexi has her own little birthday cake! She LOVED it! She kept hugging it and totally stuffing her face! She's such a cutie. When it was time to blow out her candle she just pinched the flame to put it out-----POOR BABY got wax all over her finger and cried! Sad face. But it was so so so funny.

Here's what everyone else had----yummy. Strawberry Cake, Vanilla Ice-cream, Sugar Cookie Pieces, with Sprinkles. mmmm. 

My princess turns 1 today! Yay! We had a little birthday celebration with my mom in AZ this past weekend and here's just a few pics. I'll post more as I get more pics emailed to me. 

Lexi is such a big girl now! She decided just today that she will no longer sit in a high chair and wants to sit at the breakfast bar with her brother. Love it. Looks like its time for a booster chair----oh time just zooms by. She loves to eat and will eat anything. This morning she had wheat pancakes and peas. hahaha Great Combo.

She's walking and running, playing AND fighting with Jacob, yelling, singing, dancing, giving kisses, and says her own versions of - thank you, i love you, mom, dad, grandpa, gramma, please (sorta)----oh she surprises us everyday. She loves to yell at the dogs every time she sees them, 'NO NO NO NO NO' telling them to GET OUT! So funny. She shakes her little finger at them - I guess she needs someone to boss around?! 

I'm exited to live near my brother's kids in AZ - we'll be less than a mile away! :D So Jacob and Lexi will be near Tenille and Stephan's WAY cute kids! yay. I love family. I have to many fond memories of playing with my cousins and I WISH WISH WISH that my siblings and I live close enough to have our kids have great relationships too. Lexi will be so lucky to be able to play with her brother AND both her boy cousins---lucky girl!

I love my Princess Lexi so much and everyday is such an adventure!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PRINCESS! 

(--more pictures coming--)

What's new with the Family?

The theme for the talks on Sunday was about getting your life in order.

This cartoon was given as on of the examples. Lol.

Even though the frog has been totally swallowed up----he's still fighting and Hanging On!

We can do it! Hang in there.

Not much to report----we're still living at my in-laws in Morongo Valley CA. We have 4 or 5 more weeks until we move into a rental house in AZ. We've decided not to buy a house yet----mostly cause we're not really ready or prepared to buy ----but also cause we're not sure where we want to put down roots. I'm trying to convince my hubby that Maricopa AZ (where my brother, his wife/kids AND my parents live). Its 28 miles from where we think my husband's office will be. Perfect right?! We are a little concerned about the weather cause I'm a wimp----but in my visiting AZ experience....I've decided that the heat isn't that bad. I think if it were up to Heath we'd live closer to Scottsdale or Flagstaff...whateva. We'll see for the future. Currently we're house hunting in Maricopa and we've found lots of great potential places....when we decide I'll post a pic----wait, when we actually sign papers I'll post a pic.

Lexi will be 12 months on February 10

Yea!

My sister Courtney is getting married! Wohooo! She's having an April wedding...her fiance's name is Brenden and he's from Washington. They met at school in Idaho. I had a chance to meet him last week while I was visiting in Az....he was visiting too. He's such a cutie and really funny. Courtney is so happy ---ahhhhh-----I'm so happy for you!

Jacob said to me the other day, "Mom - you don't have to lie to kick it!" OK----he's so silly. I tried a few weeks ago to teach that to him---then just out of the blue he said it! lol. He also says, "Holla atcha Boy!" - thanks chelsey :)

That's all for now.

-pj

Safe Arrival in AZ. We've just taken all our stuff to my brother's for storage in his garage (Thank you Stephan & Tenille:) We're in in AZ for a week for Thanksgiving and then we're off to Palm Springs temporarily. (old news...sorry). Then back to AZ FOREVER (well----for now)

We turned in our keys at our apartment yesterday and it was so cheesy----I cried while I was driving away. Ooooo. I can't even begin to say how sad I am to leave Corona. Life has been so great in SoCal and I'm really going to miss my friends. For the next few months I'm going to try and visit every other week....we'll see how that goes!!??

Stephan (my brother) and Tenille had their beautiful baby #2 !!! Yeab, now we're even :D

No name decided yet...

Gender: Boy

Weight: 6lbs 12oz

Height: 20.5in

I'm hoping Tenille's blog will have pictures soon. I'm so excited to see the baby soon!!!!! Poor Tenille won't be shopping the deals on Friday---she loves black Friday. But her baby was early...how cool is that?!! Her first baby was 2 weeks late (I think) so this is a pleasant surprise!.

Congrats and Love You Stephan & Tenille!

Whats the plan?

Here's the plan for the week.

Monday

Pick up moving truck at 9am from Penske.

Pick up mattress and train table from Cari's.

Drop off Jacob at Jennifer's for babysitting (thank you !!!!!)

Load that truck!

Heath pm-pick up freezer from Kyle's house (yea! good for stockpiling!) Take Jacob?

Julie pm - juggle kids while i somehow clean the carpet. hmmm. working on a plan for that.

Julie/Heath midnight - more cleaning probably.

Tuesday

Load the car with stuff for Thanksgiving at my moms in Phoenix. Get ready for road trip!

Another quick spot check of apartment.

10am apartment office open - Turn In Keys!!!

Take off to Palm Springs to drop off the essentials for 2-3 months living with in-laws.

1pm leave for Phoenix Thanksgiving:

Heath moving truck with Jacob - that will be so cute and Jacob will be soooo excited.

Julie Camry with a happy Lexi, fingers crossed.

6pm Expected arrival in Maricopa, AZ.

I can't think much past that. Too far. Turkey, Walmart, Family...its a blurr.

Not too much to do this next 48 hours, right? No biggie. Easy. It will just fly by.

Ooooo. Wish me luck.

8 Days

8 More days in Corona

I guess depending on how you count it...we're driving away on Tuesday morning Nov.25th.

We rented a carpet cleaner yesterday to clean up a little mess that did a little more than drive me nuts yesterday---While I was cleaning the carpet I couldn't help but feel like this is really happening. You know how you know that life is changing but if just HITS you sometimes, YIKES----8 more days. I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed this week. Just wish I could ship my kiddos off for a little vacation so I can get some work done. Deeeep Sigh. Loving my kids curiosity but cummon----leave the boxes alone!

This stinkin fire out here! Pray for those that are affected by it. Some members of my ward were evacuated. I CANNOT imagine how that must feel, HOPING that your home will be there when you get back. Watching the news desperately hoping they show a close up of which homes are totally going up in smoke. Goodness.

I'm hoping all my primary teachers don't call out today. Combined Primary today! lol. j/k

Packing....Not Posting

Not many posts lately.

Our POD arrives in 8 days. Yikes. We'll have 3 days to fill it with everything except the essentials for living at Heath's parents for 8 weeks. I've been trying really hard to pack during naps and just before bedtime. Its hard to pack when both my kids asleep in the areas that need the most packing. ugh. And the kitchen----at what point do I just stop cooking (well, heath stop cooking) and just pack it all up?! Goodness. Decisions. Decisions. I bought paper plates the other day...that's step right? I've tried to avoid having boxes in the living areas and now its unavoidable. It feels more official and its killing me. I love that I'm moving closer to immediate family but sad that I'm closing a chapter in my life. The great thing about a good book is you can read the good parts over and over and still love every minute of it. I'm grateful for good friends. This is so exciting for my family and an amazing opportunity for growth. I love change, right?!

We're Moving!

Its official

We're moving to Arizona!

Heath will be starting a new pest control company along with the the owner of Moxie, Dave in Phoenix AZ next summer. (Dave with be the $ and Heath will the the operations) Yea! We're due to report to the new location around the beginning of February. These next few months Heath will be wrapping up things here in SoCal & preparing for the new office. Since, our lease here in Corona is up end of November...instead of going month to month ($1650.00 yikes) we'll be moving to Heath's parents in Morongo Valley (20 minutes north of Palm Springs) for about 2 months. Heath will probably spend most of his days in San Diego preparing with the operators for the other 2 branches opening up next summer too. We're so excited for this new adventure! I'm a little concerned about the weather - - - but I visit my mom there several times a year - - - and i really think that the climate isn't that bad. In the fall and spring the weather is absolutely beautiful. And the housing, affordable! Crazy.

There's a lot of work to be done these next 3 weeks preparing for the move (kill me). Our POD for storage will be arriving probably the 14th of Nov and we have 5 days to load it before Heath will be too busy with work stuff to do anymore moving. We plan on being out of our apt. before Thanksgiving (at my moms:). That's only 4.5 weeks. wow.

I'm trying not to think about how sad I am about leaving all my ties in SoCal...our callings, my friends, Jacob's little buddies, family, beautiful weather---DISNEYLAND! But this move is really for the best. On the upside - I really do have lots of family and Heath's parents here in SoCal so I'm hoping to visit often.

Wish me luck these next few weeks packing with my 2 little rascals! I've already packed 32 boxes. Yup---I've counted every one. Why? Cause I'm crazy. I keep telling myself that this will be the most organized move I've ever had. But----how on earth do you pack up everything you have BUT put aside the stuff you'll need for 2 months (maybe more) living at someone else's house? Goodness. At least I don't need cleaning stuff or kitchen supplies. That's a plus right? Do I bring lots of toys or just a couple cause Christmas is coming? Do I bring my scrapbook stuff cause I WILL be bored all day? Should I bring a couple Christmas decorations so I'm not too sad about not having Christmas at my own place? I feel so unorganized. I need boxes. Anyone have boxes?