Burt Is My Hero........

A little over a month ago we bought Burt a new bike to ride to and from work(save gas). At first we went to Walmart and spent about $200. I thought we got a good deal. After less than a week it was broken. Upon taking it to a pro bike shop to fix it, we learned it was made wrong and had parts that were out of date. We took the bike back to Walmart and returned to the proshop to purchase a second bike for Burt. All is good with this bike, except that since Burt has had it he has also had an inkling to try a triathelon. Burt is a runner and has been since High School. Burt is also now a biker. He logs about 50 miles a week, give or take. Burt is NOT a swimmer. He doesn't like the deep end, doesn't like to be splashed, and on more than one occasion has told me that we will never own a boat. Here comes the Hero part. He completed his first Triathelon this weekend. It was, to say the least, exhausting. He had to swim 420 yards (think 4 football fields), bike 12 miles, then run a 5k. All one right after the other. Here are some pics I took during the race.

Moving....

So, for those of you that don't know, Burt and I have been trying to save our home from the F- word. Foreclosure. We lost yesterday. Our home went to auction at 1pm and started at $209,000. There were no bidders, so our home now belongs to the bank. As far as I can tell we don't have alot of time to move. We have prepared our kids for a possible move from the start, even though we really wanted to work something out with the mortgage company. All along they have been less than helpfull. In all this time they gave us no option except reinstatement (which is to pay all past due plus late and legal fees in one payment). Don't they think, if we had it, we wouldn't have been late in the first place? This s000- sucks.

But at the same time it is a blessing. We bought our house at the end of the boom, so we paid alot for it. Houses in our area today are being sold for $100,000 less than we paid. We never would have been able to refinance or even sell it. It is hard because this is my dream house. We have plenty of room for all our kids and we finally got a dog. I love the layout and my huge closet. We have a dining room that is big enough that we all can sit and eat at the same time. That in itself is great. We love the neighborhood and our ward is fabulous. They have been such a help in difficult times.

My mom told me that "it is just a roof over your head" and that "you can just get another one". On one hand she is absolutely right, but on the other....this is my home. I have made it mine. I painted a wall red in my living room. I have always wanted a red wall, but never thought that I could pull it off. I have bought and sold furniture on craigslist so I could "upgrade" within my budget. I finally decided on an american flag theme for the living room. It goes great with the red wall.

It's just a house I can get another one and start all over again. It just sucks.

There's a first time for everything.....

Being over 12 years into my marriage, I will not try to play "catch up" I will just start from today. Burt and I have 6 amazing children. I am in constant awe of their talents and abilities. AJ will be 13 this week and he has an awesome sense of humor, a strange love of documentaries, and with 5 sisters he is bound to be the perfect husband. Mary is 11. She, just last night, attended her first concert (Jonas Brothers), and made her TV debut on the 10 o'clock news. She was Dang Cute !! She is %100 GIRL!! Julianna is 9 and has her own way of doing everything. She loves to be outside on the trampoline , riding her bike, on roller blades, but is not quite a tomboy. She also loves to play the piano and do gymnastics. Katelynn is 5 and starts Kindergarten this August. Her first question every morning is "How many days left?". Every Morning. Abigail is 3 and is in constant motion. She tries to keep up with everyone. She wants to know what everyone is doing at all times. Emily is 17 months and is our miracle baby. Her pregnancy was tumultuous to say the least. At the most difficult point she was given a %10 chance of survival. She has defied all the odds. She is the most beautiful baby.