We have the worst luck with appliances...washers, more specifically.  For those of you who remember my blog post a few years ago about our Bosch washer experience... LOL  We just bought a brand new washer/dryer set from Sears on July 30.  After doing about 6 loads of wash, I went to start a load one night and the display said "SRVC CALL".  When I called the next day, they weren't able to come out for a week.  Luckily, I hadn't gotten around to posting our old Bosch set on craigslist yet, so Rob, the manly man that he is, brought in the old washer and hooked it up for me to "get me by" until the new one could get fixed.  Well, a week later, the repair guy (aka, David Spade's twin) came and did some troubleshooting.  He left for a couple hours and came back with the part to "fix" the washer.  After installing the new part, it still wouldn't work.  So he had to order a couple more parts and set an appointment to come back when they were delivered to me...2 weeks later!  In the meantime, I called the place where we bought them and they said I could come in and pick out a new washer. They didn't have the one I bought, so long story short, I decided to completely return the entire set and go elsewhere to buy a new washer/dryer.    Let's hope the new set comes through for us.

January 2012

Well, we made it to San Diego!!! We left Spokane a couple days after Christmas (December 28th). It was sooo crazy! But we received so much help from our friends, which made it alot easier! (Thank you sooo much everyone!!!!) The night before we left, a bunch of my girlfriends surprised me with one last Girl's night Out. It was so much fun and soo sweet of them!

For this move, we decided to hire ABF, which is a freight transfer company. It was so nice to not have to stress about driving the UHAUL through the passes! The truck was scheduled to be at the new house on January 2nd, so we decided to take our time getting down there. We stayed one night in Portland, then the next morning was AWFUL! It was pouring down rain for HOURS, while we drove through the rest of Portland. Rob and I took turns driving the Suburban and the Tundra. The kids were so great throughout the whole trip. We were so excited when we finally made it to Sacramento to stay with Nana & Papa!!!! We had originally planned on staying just a day or 2 to recuperate, but then we realized that our truck wasn't scheduled to be in San Diego until January 3rd now, (they called on our way down, that since Monday was a holiday, it was going to be a day late.) So, we stayed through New Year's. It was soo much fun. We love Nana & Papa and we always have so much fun with them.

Rob and I left on New Year's Day to head down to SD with Berkley and Hudson. Logan and Hailey stayed one more night with Nana & Papa, and then they were coming down the next day to help us unpack. I know, they TOTALLY spoil us!

When we got here, (after almost 9 hours of driving in a car race!) we realized that we didn't have any beds. WOops! But luckily, we had Berkley's pak n' play, and a couple aerobeds and a few towels! Yep. Towels work great when you're really desperate for some covers! :) The next day was spent.... I honestly don't even remember! HA! I think we just drove around town and ate out all day long. It was fun. ;)

So, to keep myself from boring you any further, Rob's parents got here, we went and bought some new furniture and the truck finally came at 4:59... they initially said they were going to be here between 10 and 1... awesome. Our new ward is TOTALLY awesome. I don't know exactly how many people showed up to help us that night, but enough to help us unload our almost 11,000 lb. truck in 45 minutes!!!! We are feeling extremely loved and blessed in many ways! We are so thankful for this opportunity we have to live here at this time. Now if we could just get our house in Spokane sold....

Christmas 2011

Christmas was so crazy this year, but so much fun! We were in the middle of packing and getting ready for our move to San Diego, but I was insistent on having a somewhat 'normal' Christmas... complete with a real tree, decorations and goodies galore! All the kids had their wildest dreams come true! It was so fun to see the surprised looks on their faces! I love that Christmas is so magical to them. The only sad thing, was that they had to pack up most of their new toys, a couple days later. They were good sports about it though. :)

Thanksgiving 2011

This year we had Thanksgiving with Rob's family, so we went to Seattle. Rob was in Portland and we decided it would make the most sense for him to just fly straight to Seattle instead of flying to Spokane, then driving to Seattle the next morning. Luckily, our awesome friends, the Norman's, were heading to Seattle for the holiday as well, so Robyne rode with me and the boys (Cameron & Logan) and the girls (Taylor & Hailey) took turns riding in our car and theirs. It was seriously the best road trip with the kids EVER! The proof was when we got to North Bend, Logan goes, "We're already there?!" Thank goodness for awesome friends! We are so very thankful for the Norman's!

We had a great time with Rob's family. Thanksgiving dinner was delicious, as usual, and it was fun to spend time with everyone. We are so very thankful for families and to know that we can be together forever! Happy Thanksgiving!

Halloween 2011

We had such a fun Halloween this year! Jeana gave me a Little Red Riding Hood costume that she had bought a few years ago, and it fit Berkley perfectly! To top it off, I found a Big, Bad wolf costume for Rob to wear. It was sooo hilarious! Berkley wasn't even afraid of him. The kids at the trunk r treat, however, were. LOL Some of the kids wouldn't even stop at the car for treats! LOL

Logan and Hudson were Ninjas, Hailey was a cowgirl and I was an Indian. It gave me an excuse to get a spray on tan. It was my first one ever and I LOVED it!!!

WICKED!

At the end of May, I went to see WICKED with my mom, my niece Tycie and my sister-in-law Shannon. We had a blast and it was fun to finally see what all my "Cali" friends had been raving about when they saw it like years ago! Hey! I can't help it that Spokane is so 'behind the times'! LOL

On our way in, I said, "OH! Let's take a picture!' Then everyone was like, "no, we'll get one afterwards!' Well, you know that's a recipe for it never getting done. I was soo mad. We didn't even realize we didn't get any pictures until we were almost home! So aggravating! Oh well, my brain will cherish the memories!

While we were at the show, Rob and his brother Mark took all 7 kids to see Kung Fu Panda 2. Rob didn't see much of the movie, cuz this is what he had to watch the whole time! LOL He is the best!

Hailey's 1st grade Spring Program

Also in May, Hailey had her spring program. It was sooo adorable! She was the cutest bee I've ever seen in my life! I had searched high and low for a costume, and when desperation set in, I decided to go to the Display House and just buy a new one. It was so crappy, but it was going to have to do. A couple days passed and I just had a feeling to go to Once Upon a Child and I found the CUTEST bee costume complete with a tutu, which is exactly what I had been searching for! I love 2nd hand stores, and I always get GIDDY when I find the PERFECT thing. It really is true that 'one {wo}man's trash is another {wo}man's treasure'!

May (cont)

The weekend after we got back from our trip to Orlando, my sister Jeana, and her husband Joe went to Vegas for his brother's graduation from dental school. So we had their kids stay a few nights and they all had a blast!

Gabrielle pushing Berkley in her baby stroller. LOL

MAY 2011

California Closets had their yearly "Conference" in Orlando this year. It was the first week of May, which is a pretty big week in my life.... My birthday is the 2nd and I married the man of my dreams on the 4th.... (It was our 12th anniversary). So, Rob decided it would be a great idea for me to join him in Orlando for the week. I have to say, I'm sooo glad I went! I got to sleep in everyday, work out as long as I wanted, and sit by the pool in 85 degree weather... while hearing kids yelling out "MOMMY!" and knowing that they weren't talking to me! That said, I seriously missed the kids soooo much!!! After the 2nd day, I couldn't wait to come home to see them! It was such an awesome trip. I enjoyed it a ton more than I thought I would and it was nice to get a break. It was also really cool to meet the corporate employees and other franchisees that Rob has talked about for the last few years. They all LOVE Rob! He got a few rewards too, which he was totally psyched about!

Sadly, I didn't take many pictures, but it was definitely the highlight of MY May, so it's goin on the blog! :) Thought I'd share some pictures of where we stayed...

On our anniversary, we came up to our room and found this:

Masquerade!

The BIG GALA night was a "MASQUERADE" theme, and me, being the huge FANTOM that I am, couldn't resist taking the opportunity to dress up and pretend the masked man would show up. Sadly, he didn't. And Rob didn't dress up either, oh well. :)

APRIL 2011

We went to Sacramento for SPRING BREAK to visit Nana and Papa, Uncle Mark & Aunt Shannon & cousins, and our awesome friends from when we lived there. Even though Rob and I started to cry the minute we pulled into our driveway from the 17 hour long drive, we had sooo much fun! !! Unfortunately, I don't think we'll be making that drive again ANYTIME soon! UGH!

First, we drove to Walla Walla to visit Grandma Jan and Grandpa Ken. It was so fun to see them! Then off we went on our 17 hour voyage...

Hailey's book that she started to write on our way down there:

I drove all the way to Redding. We got there at like 3:00 am... it was pretty CRAZAY! I could NOT drive any farther! So we stayed at a scary hotel there and the kids were up bright and early for us.... (they're so fun to travel with!) We were so happy to finally make it to Sac! While there we:

Went to the Jelly Belly Factory

Drove by our old house :(

Spring Break cont.

Went to the Sacramento Temple

We did tons of fun stuff! It was a great trip. I only lost a few more brain cells...

(Don't let the smiles fool you... this may have been the only "happy" moment of the whole drive.... both ways!) LOL It sure makes for fun family memories, don't it?

Hudson...

Was so cute in his preschool end-of-the-year program (5/24/11)

Hudson and his friends laughing at the slideshow of themselves!

Proof that Hailey and Hudson really DO love each other!

loves taking random pictures of himself...

Just learned to ride his bike today with NO TRAINING WHEELS! (6/4/11)

Berkley....

climbed into the entertainment center cabinet

fell asleep on the family room floor

loves snuggling with Grandma Necia

We're ALIVE!

Here's what we've been up to the last 3 months!

MARCH:

Berkley's 1st Chiefs game! It was our 1 and only game we went to all season. But we had a blast!

First day of the next 18-24 months of my life!

My sister's husband, Joey, just graduated from Orthodontist school last December. He has 2 practices here. One downtown and one in Post Falls. It's going to be sooo nice to have an Orthodontist in the family! When I was a teenager, my dentist told me that I didn't need braces... um, turns out he was wrong. After I went in for my x-rays, Joe determined that I will need to have them on for 18-24 months and I even GET to wear rubberbands! Aren't you soo jealous!?!? They haven't been too bad. It just kind of sucks that I have to have them for so long. oh well. At least I don't need to wear head gear! LOL I'm excited to see the end result! Thanks Dr. Joe!

Family fun part 2

Then we took Logan, Hailey & Hudson skiing. We had soo much fun! It was Hudson's first time going and he loved it. At first, Grandpa took him on the bunny hill, while Rob and I took the kids on the 'more advanced' runs. Which turned out not to be the best idea to Hudson. After a couple runs, I came down to the bunny hill and my dad said "We are NOT having fun." LOL Hudson's head was hanging down and he had tears and all he kept saying was that he wanted his mommy. Broke my heart! So, we went in for lunch and I asked him if he wanted to go skiing again and he said yes and that he wanted to race me.

He did soo awesome skiing! He was just being a pill for my dad, because he didn't want to be left behind. He was racing down the hill and loving it. I'm so glad I had the idea to stay with him on the bunny hill, because he seriously had so much fun! For our last run of the day, Rob took Hudson up on the 'big, fast' chairlift and he LOVED it! It was such a great day. I am so grateful to my dad who has taught Logan and Hailey (and now Hudson) both how to ski. I am really excited to have this as our family time together during the long, dark, dreary winters of Spokane.

Family fun!

We had such a fun week last week! Rob didn't have to go to Portland for the first time since September 1st. So we had some major family bonding time.

Rob helped Logan finish his Pinewood Derby car to get ready for the race on Wednesday. Logan was in heaven. He had daddy ALL to himself 2 nights in a row finishing it. The Pinewood Derby was really fun. Logan's car raced REALLY well, but in the end, it didn't even place in the top 3. Oh well. We were fine with it, because then we didn't have to go to "Districts". One Pinewood Derby a year is good for me thanks. I told Logan's den leader that the Pinewood Derby should only be every 4 years, like the "Pioneer Trek". She thought it was a great idea! LOL

Where have you been doing laundry in the meantime?

Melanie's question reminded me that I meant to do a post about that. So, when they told me that they were going to order the replacement part for our washer and that it would take 7-10 business days, I told them that I had a family of 6 and that that was not going to work for me. They didn't seem to care. So I did a few loads at my Grandma's house. Or should I say, Grandma did them for me. :) She's so awesome!

The next day, I received a prompting. I called Fred's Appliance and told them the situation and asked our salesman if they ever give anyone a "loaner" washer while it is being fixed. So they came and took out our broken washer to our garage and installed the loaner for us. Fred's Appliance has been great throughout this whole ordeal. It's Bosch who has been extremely difficult. They weren't willing to take responsibility for anything.