Crazy Hair

A picture says a thousand words. We were at Jaci and Brett's house last night and Hannah found this wig. She put it on and was dancing around laughing hysterically. Jaci started calling her Thing 1. Hannah of course corrected her and said, "I'm not 1 Jaci, I am 2 duh!" (A word that Jaci taught her of course). So for the rest of the night, Hannah was walking around the house with this wig on, referring to herself as Thing 2.
She is such a silly girl.

Things I learned from a Kite

So today was kite day and as I was outside with 12 first graders i learned a few valuable lessons.
1. There is nothing a little bit of tape can't fix. While we were out there flying kites, I had about three kites break and a couple of kids crying about it. It is amazing that with a couple of inches of tape and a few minutes later, we were all smiles again and back in the game.
2. First graders are really a whole lot more capable than I sometimes give them credit for. I have to admit I was a little bit nervous about going outside with a bunch of first graders to fly kites, but to my surprise they were wonderful. I thought I was going to have to help all twelve of them at one time. To my surprise, as soon as we got outside the kids were running and the kites were soaring.
3. I learned that the winds in Eagle Mountain are actually good for something other than tearing the shingles off your roof. The day was great and the winds were perfect for kite flying.
4. My students really care about each other and are really great at working things out. With so many quarrels and tattle tales throughout the days, weeks and months I was beginning to think that my kids just had it out for each other. i have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised today. At one point two of the kites got tangled together and by the time I got over there to help, the kids were already working it out. They had the kites pulled down and they were beginning to untangle. I had to stand back for a minute and listen to their conversation, wondering all the while if these were really my kids. It was wonderful.

Bubble Day

Well it is the end of the school year and I like the students am ready for a break. Since grades are due this Friday, and I have most of my testing finished, for the rest of the year we are having theme days. Technically what this means is that each day we have a different theme and all of our activities for that day are centered around that theme. What theme days really means is that the kids are wild and out of control, and I need to remind myself to allow them to have a little bit of fun. On Friday we had Bubble Day, and it truly was a lot of fun. When my kids came into the classroom in the morning, I had Hannah's bubble machine going and they loved it. Later in the day, we went outside to blow bubbles. Now before you go on thinking that there is absolutely no learning going on, there was a worksheet that they had to work on in connection with going out and blowing bubbles. If I remember right they had to observe the bubbles and then do a writing about what they saw. Not a very strong connection, but hey it gets them to write.

Visit with Grammy

It has been such a crazy week, I almost forgot to write about our wonderful visit with Grammy. Last week Chad's mom and sister flew up here for a visit and for Women's Conference. Both were wonderful. At times it is so hard to be away from family, but it is nice to be able to get together and enjoy each others company. I was a little nervous that Hannah would not go to Grammy since it has been a little while since she has seen her. There was a bit of hesitation for the first five minutes, and after that she didn't want anything to do with anybody but Grammy. There is nothing better than watching your daughter be nutured and taught by somebody so wonderful.
Not only was it a good visit for Hannah, but for Chad and I as well. I know that I am part of a huge minority, but I love my mother-in-law. She is one of the greatest ladies I have ever met. She teaches me so much and I appreciate her knowledge and insight. As we spent two days together at Women's Conference we were fed spiritually by both the presenters and each other.
What a wonderful experience it was.

Chasing the American Dream

Well, it’s all over but the crying. So Chad and I have been spending all of our spare time looking for houses. We have been slightly obsessed with it actually. First we looked in Eagle Mountain, which is right next to my school and a cute little community to live. We had slight success there, but then we started to get paranoid that this area is not really a safe place to buy, because the re-sale of a house here might not be too great. So we began our search in Lehi. We both instantly became excited about the houses in Lehi. Not only is it a less risky area to buy, but the houses were really nice. So on Tuesday, it happened. Everyone talks about when they walk into “their” house they just know it is right. We found it!! “Our house”. So we decided to do what any person chasing the American dream would do, we decided to put in an offer. Yesterday, we went to talk with the broker (for a second time) to figure out al the last details followed by a meeting with the agent to fill out all of the paper work. We were both excited about the offer and even more excited about our new house.
When we got home we decided to sit down and refigure our budget based on the final numbers the broker had given us. I think we ran through about six different scenarios and reworked all the numbers a million times. Needless to say, as the night went on more and more concerns started popping up. I will try really hard not to bore you with the details, but just share a few. One of the concerns is that because Utah County is considered a “soft market” there aren’t any loans being given without at least 5% down. We didn’t know that, and we don’t have $10,000 lying around. Another concern is that without 20% down, we would be required to pay an extra $150.00 a month in mortgage insurance. We definitely weren’t counting on that.
As Chad and I were talking, I knew deep down that we needed to pull our offer, but I was fighting it. The real kicker was when Chad looked at me and said, “I don’t feel right about putting off having another baby, just so we can buy a house RIGHT NOW!!” At that point I started to cry, because I knew he was right. There is no way we could afford to buy this house and add another child to our family within the next year, and the truth is I am not getting any younger.
So, bottom line is I called the agent this afternoon and pulled our offer. It was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do, but I know it is the right thing.
OUR NEW PLAN:
At the end of August we are going to sign another lease where we are now. Over the next year we are going to pay my car off, which will give us a significant amount of money a month to add to a mortgage. We are also going to change MY spending habits so that we can put a little more money away. In a year from now we are going to re-evaluate and start over. (Who knows with the market these days, that very house could still be available☺) Wishful thinking I know.

The Little Gymnist

For the last several months I have been looking for some sort of a class to sign Hannah up for. I am a little bit concerned that she is already getting a slight case on only child's syndrome. And since we are not ready for another baby, I thought the next best thing would be to get her into something where she would have to learn how to play with other kids. I soon learned that people who teach classes are not ready to deal with two year olds, and I can't say that I blame them. The only class that I found that was for kids under the age of three, was a mom and tot gymnastics class. Of coarse I jumped on it and signed her up as soon as I could. It was actually a long process that involved me getting up at 7:30 on a Saturday morning and being ready to sign her up online. After a sleepless night of worrying about whether she would get in or not I was able to sign her up without too much pain. I know by now you are thinking that I am a overactive, neurotic parent who needs to get out more. Well maybe so, but oh well I can't change.
So yesterday was her first day of class and she loved every minute of it. I on the other hand was a little jealous that I had to go to work and Chad got to take her. (If you ask Chad, he was a little nervous that he would be the only dad in a MOM and tot class). Nothing like making it a family affair right. I left work during recess to go home and get her ready to go and take a few pictures and then I made Chad bring her to school during lunchtime to tell me all about it. All went well and Chad and Hannah totally enjoyed themselves. Here are a few pictures to document the whole occasion.

Water Fight

On Saturday night, we were hanging out with Jaci and Brett and we couldn't decide what to do. Brett always wants to go play laser tag and we always shoot (no pun intended) him down. So Saturday was no exception, and again we shot him down. So when Jaci and I went to go get something to eat, we decided to go to Wal-Mart and buy some water guns. They were a great buy too; only $1.00. Anyway, when we got back to the house, we attacked Brett, Chad and Hannah. Hannah of course thought it was the greatest thing ever. She couldn't stop laughing and saying, "I need one mom. I need a gun!" We decided that it wouldn't be very responsible of us to continue the water fight inside, so we took our game outside. It was about 8:30 at night and somewhere around 40 degrees outside, but that didn't stop us. Hannah didn't really know how to use the gun, but she entertained herself by running around in circles on the grass. We had a great time, and if you judge the winner and loser by who was the driest or the wettest, I guess I would be the loser. I was drenched.

New Family Pictures

Well I know I haven't posted for a while, but I have been so busy. Anyway, we just got some new family pictures done for our mothers for Mother's Day, so I thought I would share a few. I will post later on today on all of the fun and exciting things the Coombs family has been up to.

There's nothing like a Daddy with his little girl. (notice they have the exact same hair, except Chad won't let me put his in pony-tails!)

The Little Fish

Just recently, Hannah has become a little fish. About a month ago, we bought a membership to Lehi Legacy Center so that we can take Hannah swimming. The first time we went, she was really apprehensive, but each time she gets more and more comfortable. Last Wednesday, Grammy was here from California, so we decided to take her to the pool. She was jumping in and then swimming back to the side of the pool basically all on her own. I can't believe what a fish she is. She spends a considerable amount of time under water, but she always comes up with a huge smile on her face.


I think that Hannah has a slight bit of OCD, which she comes by naturally. When we were at the pool, after she jumped in to me and swam back to the edge, she would have to go to the kiddy pool and lay down in it for a second before she would jump in again. One time I asked her to just jump back into me and she said "No mom, I can't" Maybe I should keep my eye on that one.