Living the Dream

Just a few days ago my husband texted me the website of the Washburn Piano Auction. I totally didn't even look at the website because I thought that there was no way we would win anything or have enough money to, not to mention I am having a baby in a few months & I was thinking "practically". He came home & saw some of the opening bid prices & that there were 87 grands for sale and about 200 uprights. The second he said, "Why don't we buy you one of these for your birthday" I was totally in--I realized that my hubby was okay purchasing a piano & there was no way we were going to not try for one. He didn't realize in that very same second that his comment became a commitment, but that's how I saw it. : )
On Saturday the 20th, we went to the Mesa Warehouse for Washburn pianos & I could see in person all of the pianos that caught my interest from the pictures online. I'm SO GLAD we went, because in just a note or two you can tell if it's a good or nasty sounding piano. The touch & sound is everything. We saw some gorgeous pianos--we tried out the Yamahas, Knabes, Kawais, Steinways, Baldwins, you name it. I also found that many of the pianos that were listed online as "like new condition" actually had scratches & flaws, or even were in need of repairs on the keys or pedals. Going in person to the open times for the preview was the best thing we could have done. We were also able to give a $200 cash deposit so that we could register as a sealed bidder. Now that the auction is over, I understand that being prompted to register as a sealed bidder is what actually got me a piano. I also registered as an online bidder in case I needed to try last second to win a piano if my sealed bids didn't turn out. I found out really quick testing the waters that way, that I was not a fast enough online bidder & had I gone that route, I don't believe I would have won a piano. There were bidders sniping all the great pianos within the last 10 seconds of bidding & I wouldn't have been fast enough. I'm so glad I paid the deposit so that the auction company could manage my bids for me.

Saturday night (after the preview) I woke up for an hour and a half in the middle of the night & couldn't sleep b/c I was thinking about pianos; I had to read scriptures to calm down & relax enough to rest again. Monday I faxed in my sealed bid form. Tuesday morning I was so nervous I was eating everything in sight & had to consciously make myself work on projects while I was waiting so I woulnd't eat nervously. I also felt sick to my stomach b/c I was so worried! My sister in law took Tyson to a movie so that I could focus on the auction. At 11:00 I watched the first item up for auction get sniped at the last second from the bidder who had been winning all along. That REALLY freaked me out. I also realized that the auction closed on each item LESS than a minute after each other, even though it was supposed to be a full minute later. That really freaked me out, too. Finally my piano came up for final bids & within less than a minute the price shot up from $2550 to $2850.01. Someone tried to cheap shot me with a penny but my maximum bid was higher than theirs, so I won (the bids were supposed to go in $50 increments, but some people would try bidding $50.01 more or $51 more to win at the last second by being slightly higher than the other person trying to bid). I couldn't believe it.

Wednesday morning I paid for the piano and called a piano moving company. I was shocked when they told me they would bring it to my house that very same day. I was expecting to get it in a few days or next week, but it is currently in my house and is really here. It's so funny, because it's real, but it still seems unreal. I spent 4 days freaking out with worry that I might not win a piano, and now I'm living the dream! My house is no longer sparkling clean, by the way, because I was so worried about the piano I couldn't be OCD about my house, and now that it's here, I just want to play it. : ) My family came over last night to check it out & Taylor sounded great on it. The piano I won is a brand new Story and Clark Prelude (5' Baby Grand). It happens to be my favorite piano in the world because it's mine. I am so grateful to have it--I can't even believe that I have this blessing. It's an answer to my prayers and I am so happy to have a musical outlet of this quality in my home. I feel like I should be paying tithing or something on it, because I feel like I've been given such a wonderful gift to own a baby grand. It looks like I'll just have to pay the Lord the tithing of my time & I will--I will play at church whenever anyone needs me to. I am so happy to have this gift in my life.

Wanted: Antidote for Boredom

Let me just start off by saying that I love being a mom.

With that said, I can't stand down time in huge quantities. A summer is a huge quantity. It is an even larger quantity when I think of it in terms of "staying home" this fall. I am having a hard time with this and I need advice. How do you not go crazy staying home? What is the remedy? My house is sparkling clean, so what am I supposed to do now? I do have a to-do list of projects to work on, but they are boring to me, because I feel like I made them up to fill my time. I'm bored if I do; I'm bored if I don't.

Everyone was asking me at the end of the school year if I was so excited to be done, and the truth is that I wasn't and I'm still not "excited". I'm at peace with my decision, but not excited. I'm addicted to teaching (which is why I'll be running a preschool out of my home this fall). I think somehow, I am also addicted to an overloaded, high stress, full of deadlines schedule, and I'm going to be really sad in about a month when all my teacher friends go back to set up their classrooms and I don't go with them.

I feel like it's the right thing for me to stay home right now--Tyson is ready for it & Mitch is ready for it. As for me...I'm still trying to "get ready" for it. : )

Monc, Mommy!

Tyson cracks me up. For about about 2 days he used the word "c'mon" (for come on) correctly, and somehow he moved the c sound to the end ever since. It took me a while to figure it out. This morning he ran into my bedroom all excited, because his dad made french toast & syrup. It was time to eat & he runs in to wake me up, "Monc, Mommy! Eat! Monc!" While we were eating, I told Mitch & he said to Tyson, "Tyson, say c'mon." He promptly repeated, "Monc!" Good thing we know how to traslate, right?

Dirt is the BEST thing for a little boy

Tyson loves his Uncle Nick. Nick used to tease Tyson for sport, but now they play & have fun. Any time Tyson would realize that he wasn't around, his face would get an anxious expression & he would cry, "Nick! Uncle Nick! Guncle Nick! Where'd go?" He absolutely loved the truck rides & playing cars with him. I don't know about Nick, but Tyson had a blast.

Tyson with his Uncle Nick playing with trucks in the dirt.

Uncle Nick & Tyson

Tyson loved this: "Big Orn-Toad! Big! Big!" This was the largest horny toad we found. It was as large as a grown man's hand.

Brea, Caden, Megan, Jarom, Tyson, Hyrum, Cooper ready for a truck ride to see COWS and gather some pottery. Uncle Nick blasted crazy music & with a mischevious smile, took us all for a ride to see the cows & came home down an old road around the mountain--the road was about as bad as it could be & still be passable. It was so fun bouncing around in the back.

Tyson with his "two bears." One's not enough! Bed time, nap time, riding in the truck time--Tyson loves to carry his "bakek & twoo bearsh".

Tyson & Brea are only about 3 weeks apart. They had a blast putting the fire pit rocks back in the center of the pit--counterproductive? No way! They were being so nice to each other that day!

Tyson & Brea went from worst enemies to best friends. Gotta love cousins!

We made delicious cookies--nice soul patch of chocolate!

"Rock! Mommy! Rock!" We were looking for pottery--As you can see by this grin, Tyson was so proud every time he picked up a rock to add to the bag.

Cows

My son and I spent the last week up at the Whiting Homestead in the White Mountains with my mother-in-law Myrna. It was beautiful. The weather was gorgeous--much more gorgeous than the suppressing heat of the Valley of the Sun. The squirrells, chipmunks, and robins were adorable up on the porch of the cabin. We had hot chocolate every morning and a delicious breakfast to start out our days. We wore jackets, looked for bugs, played with frisbees, watched movies, read books, and just generally had a great time.

The more time I spend with my son, the more I'm seeing that he's entering a phase where he remembers what he wants longer than he used to, and he wants things he likes repeated OVER and OVER and OVER again. For example, he used to want me to read him 20 different books--now he wants me to read him his favorite book 20 times. It's awful! On our car ride home from the cabin today, all of Tyson's waking moments on the 4 HOUR LONG drive were focussed on COWS. Holy Cow, was I sick of looking for cows after about 10 minutes. He was so excited & so cute saying hi and bye to the cows and mooing at them as we passed them, but then I realized as we left the area of cows and he started whining for more cows that I was in for a long ride. Poor kid. Poor me. : ) I was grateful for the 30 seconds of repreive every time we passed a new pasture with cows or horses in it. There were very long stretches where I knew there would be no cows at all, and found it was easier to lie and say, "I don't know where they are, but let's keep looking for them!" The moment he thought there were no more cows at all on the car ride was the moment he began reacting like it was the end of the world. Luckily he fell asleep for a while, but then again in Payson as he was eating his snacks and drinking his juice he saw the landscape and began shouting "Cows!" all over again. He's so cute, but boy am I glad that car ride is over. : )

Now THAT'S hot!

I was accompaning the Settler's Meadow choir today, so I got home later than Mitch did from church. I walked in & see him mixing things.

"What are you doing?" I asked (stunned).

"Making cupcakes for my home teaching families," he replied.

How hot is that? He's not taking cupcakes that his wife made--oh, no! He's taking ones from his own heart. What a stud muffin! Too bad they got burnt in the oven. : )

I Found the Camera!

FINALLY! After more than a month, I found my camera at my in-laws' house! Whoo hoo!

Here's Tyson sleeping--his Cars chair makes a great pillow!

Nice pose, Mitch! Now get back to picking citrus!

Tyson participating in his first Eagle Project experience. Called to serve, baby!

Hey, Mr. Hebes! How'd you get all the way up there?

This is my FAV! How we LOVE the Tyson Chicken Nuggets! Dip them in Ketchup, BBQ Sauce, Ranch, you name it & Tyson will have a smile!

"Stay away from my chicken nuggets!" he warns.

This is what Mitch looks like when he tells me we're taking a serious picture. We were staking out our 3rd row Easter Pageant seats that night (Good Friday). We also met some wonderful Baptist ladies who were sitting on the 2nd row. We had a great conversation about God and about all the wonderful things He makes possilbe. Janie and Pat said they'll meet us again next year on Good Friday. I sure hope we really do get to see them again. They were wonderful.

Harmony Park Egg Hunt: Began at 9:00am, ended at 9:05. : ) The caution tape is so that the kids stay away from the eggs until it's time to flood the field.

Here's Tyson finding eggs in the little kid yard. He's so cute! My heart aches because he's growing up so fast. Was it just a year ago that he was satisfied with his army crawl to one egg because when he shook it it made noise? Now he's finding Easter eggs like a big kid and chowing down on the candy inside. By the way, note to self: DO NOT let Tyson search for eggs before breakfast ever again--he won't eat the breakfast after all the candy!

"How did this happen? Are my fingers really green?"

Tyson & Dad learning dying Easter eggs for the first time together at the Borden's . It was TONS of fun!