Tues. 1st--With school officially out the previous Thursday, we got the little boys involved in a couple of camps. JJ was participating in archery--a one hour class each day for a month, taught by his elementary coach. Calvin decided he wanted to give tennis a try, so he was in a two hour class at the high school for the week. After I picked up the boys from their respective camps, we went to Karole's house to hang out while the two showings took place. Cooper used the time to teach Calvin a little bit of Magic the Gathering while JJ observed.
Feedback from the two showings:
6th--They didn't like the floorplan
7th--They loved the house! But they are downsizing from 4400 sq. feet and our house was still too big for them. But they are grateful they saw it because it helped them realize they only want 1800-2100 sq. ft. Gee, so glad we could help! (Insert eye rolling.) We can't win for losing. We had already signed a letter of intent on the Avenue X house, gave earnest money and spent $1,000 on a home inspection. I know the Fonvilles in Snyder were anxious for our house to sell, too, so they could move on as well. We felt like we were in a ticking time bomb of sorts, with time running out.
Rolo loves his tiger.
*Jake and Trina had an online bridal shower hosted by Trina's sister-in-law, Emma. She did a great job. The connection wasn't the best, but it was fun nonetheless. What a neat way to connect friends and family from all over; something that wasn't even possible back when I got married over twenty years ago.
Sun. 6th--After church in Caldwell, we had to hurry home to get Rolo and then went to the Youngs so we could hang out for another showing. Rolo loved being back with his foster brother, Apollo. This little boy in the yellow shirt, is Rebecca's Calvin. ;)
Taking a rest under the table.
Trying to pose the poms for a picture. Haha!
Not bad!
Two cute boys, Calvin and Phin, and two cute pomeranians.
Look at Apollo's two different eye colors.
I sent the picture of Rolo to Rebecca and she sent me this one of Apollo. Doubly pooped! Haha!
*We heard back about showing #8. They loved the house! But it was too far from town. Town? What town are they talking about? Bryan, Texas? Sure, that's about 25 minutes. Houston? Absolutely. But College Station? It's 10 minutes, 15 tops, with traffic. That's why we're out in the country...so we're not right in the thick of town, but have close access. And it's Texas for crying out loud. You should be used to driving a distance to get to places. Brother.
They're like two peas in a pod.
He had too much fun. That dog was pooped!
*Hope is never lost.
Mon. 7th--Back in February 2020, we had initiated a mental and emotional health evaluation with the psychology department at A&M for Calvin. Our parent intake interview was scheduled for March 16th. That turned out to be the day that they closed the clinic because of the covid pandemic. Of course. We were fortunate enough to begin counseling services with him later that summer around the time school started. However, he hit a wall where his assignments and grades were concerned just a couple weeks after starting the 7th grade. So I appealed to the school for an evaluation to figure out what was going on. It was November before they determined he had no learning disabilities, which we didn't know for sure and were grateful to rule out. They also determined he was a very, very bright boy, which we did know for sure. In February 2021, after receiving a few evaluations from his teachers, his pediatrician felt he had some ADD tendencies and started him on Concerta. I will say that while his grades and feelings towards his classes didn't improve like we had hoped while on the medication, Calvin's relationships at home sure did. It was a miraculous change in him and we are supremely grateful to have our kind, thoughtful boy back who would often show compassion as he interacted with Karcyn and JJ. His relationship with Cooper is a bit more complicated as they've both been battling their own demons and then would feed off of each other. But even still, we would catch glimpses of small steps in the right direction with their brotherly interactions.
In May, we learned the psych department was going to start up in-person evaluations again and we were at the top of the list. I told them we were moving, but would love to do it before we go, so we were scheduled for June 7th. I dread driving around any school campus, and the sprawling campus of A&M was no exception. Took us forever to figure out where to go. But we made it. The evaluation was supposed to take about 3 hours. But Calvin moved through it quickly and it only took two hours. I addressed wedding invitations while I waited. I guess I should probably get those in the mail soon! Since the wedding is only three weeks away!
Wed. 9th--The boys found a baby bird in the neighbor's yard. It fell from the tree and they couldn't get it to stay there. 
He's a cute little thing.
Sun. 13th--We had picked up wedding suits for JJ and Calvin and they wore them to church. JJ looks so dapper!! We got the younger boys each a five-piece suit for $65. Such a blessing. Especially because they grow so fast.
Mon. 14th--We did yet another showing. This was the island before we left.
This was the island when we returned 75 minutes later! They took forever. Usually 30 minutes is sufficient. We headed back to the house after 45 minutes had passed and they were still there. Glad someone enjoyed the cookies and the "light reading" about our solar panels. We hoped the extended stay would result in an offer. As it turned out, Peggy texted to let us know an offer was in the works! We'd find out in the morning. Oh man...we tried to be cautiously optimistic.
Tues. 15th--It was really hard to do much of anything while we waited for the offer to come in. Jared was working and I was running kids around to their respective summer activities when Peggy asked if we could all do a conference call because we needed to talk together before she presented the offer. Oh man, that can't be good. I was right in the middle of trying to visit my friend, Melanie Andrews--like on her doorstep, before I left town. So I let them know I wasn't quite available yet. Mel, who had served as my secretary when I was Relief Society president, and I had already missed each other a couple times. I didn't want to risk not seeing her at all. And I don't regret the visit. It was only about ten minutes after Peggy checked in. When Peggy, Jared, and I all finally got connected, she began to tell us that the Century 21 realtor representing the buyers had called and spoken with her extensively before sending the offer. The other realtor said it was a low ball offer and begged us to please counter offer. No matter what our counter is. Peggy confirmed it was definitely a low offer. On the listing price of $345,000, the buyers said, like it was an inconvenience, that they really didn't want to have the biggest house in the neighborhood, so this is what they offered:
*Cooper decided to take a trip down to McAllen, Texas to visit some friends--some of which he previously met at Especially For Youth. He was staying with friends from our Caldwell branch that moved there just a few months prior. It's about a six hour drive south from College Station. I was a worried mama with him driving that long, with a new narcolepsy diagnosis, in a place he isn't familiar with, and that close to the Mexican border. But he got there safe and sound, much to my great relief.
JJ carefully giving it a try.
*The wedding announcement! It was a cold day when they got those pictures taken. :)
It was fun to discover that Trina's middle name was my maiden name!
*Our house has been on the market for 25 days. Jared and I wondered if we should lower the price a bit, instead of being right at $350,000 which could be someone's high end, meaning, it won't come up in searches where that's someone's cap. So after talking to Peggy, we lowered it to $345,000. My sister Kelly, said that was a good idea. But that our house shows really well. She went to look up houses on Zillow and went all the way up to $500,000. Not only was there limited inventory, she didn't like what she saw. So fingers crossed. I'm kind of kicking myself for not starting at $345,000, but honestly, Peggy thought we could go higher and that $350,000 was a good starting point. But it's fine. Live and learn.
Sat. 12th--Rolo sure loves Grandma Hough. He fits so well in her arms, too.
*Cooper got home from his trip to McAllen Friday evening. And then on Saturday, he, Jared, and Calvin drove up to Dallas for the state bowling tournament. My friend, Rebecca Young, was having a multi-family garage sale, so I took a few things over to see if they'd sell, like an old suitcase that Goodwill wouldn't accept "because people aren't traveling like they used to." I also had Karcyn's viola that she no longer played, and a steam cleaner I haven't used in 7 years because I didn't have tile grout anymore. They all sold! I made about $70. And using my suburban, I helped Rebecca and her family load up clothes and books, etc. that didn't sell and donated them to Goodwill.
*We had another open house scheduled from 4-6pm because of the price change. In an effort to pull out all the stops, Jared and I decided to write a letter to future buyers and tell them how much we love our house. It said:
Dear Homebuyer,
Thank you for taking the time to look at our house. We hope you love it as much as we have these last seven years. This home has been a tremendous blessing to our family and has always provided what we've needed. In fact, leaving this house is one of the hardest things about our move. We have had so many "firsts" here. And while this isn't the fanciest neighborhood in the area, Meadowcreek has been wonderful and we are surrounded by the most amazing neighbors; our cul-de-sac is the best. Everyone looks out for everyone. We love being tucked in the back of the subdivision--just our little street. It feels like you're in the country, but yet it's only ten minutes to town. The best of both worlds! If this house is the one that you choose to call home, we know it will be special for you, too! Best wishes in your home buying search! ~The crew at 15302 :)
Because the boys were gone at the bowling tournament, I took Karcyn, and JJ to see the movie "Peter Rabbit 2" while the open house was taking place. It was fun to see it with the kids and a much needed distraction. We only had three groups come through the open house. But it only takes one...
*I had been thinking of Ruth Graham for weeks. I didn't want to leave without seeing her, but I just couldn't get the times and opportunities to mesh. So I determined that this was going to be the day. I swung by unannounced, as usual, but she had her daughter and granddaughter visiting. Fortunately, they welcomed me in and I was able to have a wonderful conversation with them all. And we got pictures before I left. I'm sure going to miss one of my favorite people in the whole wide world. A kindred spirit.
*We had two more showings, #9 and #10. The first was a video showing for someone out of town. The second was a PhD student family. They would be perfect! Turns out the PhD family did like the house, but went with another one instead. *sigh* I was really hoping we'd be under contract before we left on our family vacation to Branson the following week. I just didn't want to have to worry about it while we were away.
$310,000
PLUS, they also wanted
-our washer
-our dryer
-our refrigerator
-$7500 in closing costs because they have some debts to pay off and this will help them secure a better loan
-a home warranty
-and the Century 21 realtor wants another .5% in commission (since Peggy is only charging us 5%, the buyer's realtor gets 2.5% not 3%)
We were so disheartened and offended even though the buyer's realtor told us not to be. Too bad. Not possible. First of all, wow...$35,000 less than asking, plus another $7500 because of their debt? I'm sorry, but we're not responsible for your financial problems. And then if that wasn't bad enough, they walked through my house and went shopping. Our appliances were NOT listed as optional or negotiable at all. Is this what they spent all of Monday evening discussing...this horrible offer while they lounged on our couches and ate the cookies? Unbelievable. And here I thought they might be reasonable. Yes, we wanted an offer and fasted and prayed for one, but we didn't want to give our house away either. And here I thought that keeping the house clean and show ready was the worst part of selling a house. I changed my mind. This, I think, is the worst part. Negotiating an offer without losing your temper and mind.
The buyer's agent insisted we counter, so we did. We were going to wait and make them sweat it out, but we decided, nope...let's whip it right back at them. There was nothing for us to think about. We told Peggy we wanted to bring it almost back up to asking price, $340,000, no closing costs...they can save $5,000 by us not going all the way up to $345,000. The water dispenser no longer worked on the fridge--a real negative in my book, especially living in Texas. Lowe's had already paid us to replace it and told us we could keep the one the buyers said they wanted to badly. Technically, with a smaller fridge out in the garage, that makes "three" refrigerators, so we had a fridge to spare--even though Jared didn't want the buyers to have it. But I told him it was broken so if they wanted it that badly, they could have it.
So we said they could have the fridge, but not the washer and dryer. We'd spring for the $675 home warranty, but that was it. FINAL OFFER. Peggy was attentive and wrote down all our stipulations of the counter offer. When we were finished, she asked us how we felt about going back up to $345,000 and giving them $5,000 in closing costs. Because if we just lower the price by $5,000, they don't actually get that $5,000 savings, unless we specifically state it as such. We, as the sellers, end up with the same amount of money ($340,000) either way, but giving them closing costs makes us look better. Personally, it irked me like you wouldn't believe to pay for their debts, but whatever. We agreed to those terms. Peggy sent the offer in and we waited.
It didn't take long. Even though we said "final offer," the buyers had the nerve to counter. Again. They wanted ALL their previous conditions: the fridge, the washer, the dryer, the home warranty AND the $7500 in closing costs. But...they were willing to come up to $325,000. Not only were they greedy (again, our appliances were never on the table), they couldn't read documents (final means final), and they're delusional, too. I told Peggy, "No deal." Jared told her, "It was a take-it-or-leave-it counter. They need to look within their price range. But they have til 7pm to accept our offer." 7pm came and went and we didn't hear from them. It's just as well. My mom and older sister agreed their offer was ridiculous and were adamant that we not to give our house away.
*I love seeing the kids work together peaceably on things like the dishes.
Unexpectedly, as soon as we got to the park, which was about 35 minutes outside of town, Jake started to fall ill. His stomach hurt, he was dizzy, he felt weak. A good mom probably would've taken him home, but we were under such a time constraint, that I didn't want to ruin the day for all the other kids. He and Trina offered to just stay in the main air conditioned building at a table and rest while we walked the park. I bought Jake an overpriced Dr. Pepper so he could get some sugar in him and they had water.
Grace posing.
Phin posing.
Calvin feeding one on the other side of the enclosure.
Karcyn's turn.
And then JJ.
Next stop: feeding the goats at the petting zoo.
Red pandas?
My turn to feed one of the giraffes!
Look at that tongue!
Me attempting to get a selfie with the giraffe. Haha! It was so hot. The sun was scorching and bright.
Calvin having fun playing with the macaw to get it to speak.
The reptile house.
The meanest animal on the earth. 
Karcyn and Grace.
A wallaby resting in the shade. I think he had the right idea!
Feeding the gigantic tortoises. They were actually very well hidden. Took us a little while to find them tucked away in their corner.
After we fed the tortoises, we had pretty much seen everything there was to see...at least in that heat. So we headed back to the main entrance to check on Jake and Trina. He was still feeling puny. I went to the burb by myself and got as close as I could to the front door so Jake wouldn't have to walk far. He wasn't very steady. So weird. His symptoms seemed to come out of nowhere. We did the driving portion of the zoo on our way out of the park. Check out the horns on that puppy! And then we went to McDonalds for a refreshing ice cream treat.
Fri. 18th--Jake seemed to feel a little better when he first woke up, but then he tanked really fast. He had a fever and he couldn't move. Couldn't get dressed or get his shoes on so we could take him to the ER. Couldn't walk to car...it took three of us to get him out and into the suburban in the driveway. He wasn't responsive. It's like he was unconscious, but not. We had to get a nurse and wheelchair to get him inside the ER.
Sat. 19th--What a special opportunity to attend the temple for Cooper's first time with 14 other close friends and family members. When we called for an appointment, there were two slots, 8am and 2pm. Even though Cooper has a hard time waking up, and we live 75 minutes away from the temple, we all agreed the 8am session would be best because it would give those of us attending the bulk of the day left for other obligations and activities--like packing for a trip.
*At 4:50pm, I got a text from our realtor, Peggy. All she said was, "They came baaaaack." Then her next text: "They countered again after talking for over two hours with the lender." It didn't register with me what she was saying and knowing she has several clients I replied, "Is this message for me?" Indeed it was. The Century 21 agent had called Peggy about her clients' updated offer. Oh boy. They just don't know when to quit. Besides, I thought they weren't thrilled about trying to purchase the biggest house in the neighborhood anyway. Like they were doing us a favor.
This was their unsolicited second offer.
$335,000 purchase price
$5,000 closing costs
July 21st close
Home warranty
2.5% commission
Fridge
FHA home loan
Unfortunately, Jake was still not feeling great. We were in the throes of trying to figure out how to help him, getting ready to give him a blessing, and make dinner for 10 people around the time the offer came in at 4:50pm. I texted Peggy back around 7pm to tell her that we hadn't forgotten about her, we were just dealing with a whole bunch of other stuff. We didn't really care to make the offer a priority that night.
Our attending nurse was a male and I liked him a lot. He used his loud, deep voice to try and get Jake to respond but even he had a hard time. They took his vitals. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The attending physician walked in and I was so relieved to see it was our friend from a previous ward, Matt Bludorn. He's a wonderfully meek and gentle man. I've had the opportunity to speak with him in various wards and branches throughout the stake when he served as a high councilman and I was in Stake RS/YW. Matt knew of his narcolepsy and we informed him about POTS. We explained how Jake felt the day before and that his symptoms had kind of come out of nowhere. Of course, there was the huge worry of covid--especially right before our vacation--so they ran several standard blood tests. After about an hour or so, we learned he didn't have covid. Which was an additional relief because he wasn't vaccinated. He's been advised not to get any flu vaccines since we believe that was the catalyst that brought on his narcolepsy. There's no predicting what another vaccine would do to him, or his narcolepsy. Once he started waking up, he slowly began getting feeling back in his legs and feet and felt better. I was impressed with how calm and collected Trina was. She didn't act panicked or distressed, which is exactly what Jake needed.
At 11:00am, I texted Peggy to tell her I was at the ER with Jake and told her we're still considering the offer, but were waiting to hear back from our lender regarding the Avenue X house, because accepting that offer would mean we were $10,000 short for securing the historic house. Peggy was very understanding and told the buyer's agent that we had a child in the ER so they'd know what was going on.
After two more hours, Matt said they couldn't find anything definitive that would explain Jake's symptoms. The best he could come up with is that maybe Jake contracted a small little virus floating around. Maybe Jake was just exhausted after his semester of classes and this was how his body was reacting at the finish line. We left, grateful there wasn't anything major going on, and went to get the hungry boy some Whataburger. Under the circumstances, Jared thought it would be for the best if, even though Jake wasn't contagious with anything, he and Trina not attend the temple for Cooper's first time the next day. Mostly because we wanted it to be Cooper's day and didn't want to push Jake and have a set back. He and Trina agreed to stay home and rest.
*I swear Rolo is our cat-dog. The way he's lying on the seat of the chair here, with his front right leg, sprawled behind him reminds me of a cat.
*It was finally time to address the house offer. It was $10,000 less than we were hoping for. But was it worth risking the interested buyers by countering again? In the end, it didn't seem like the most prudent idea. They had agreed to our terms and brought the purchase price up another $10,000. We needed to meet them halfway. Although, to be honest, we were a bit leery about entering an agreement with these people. If negotiations were this maddening, I'm not sure we'd survive the inspection and those negotiations.
We decided to accept their offer. We prayed that we'd have an offer before we left for our trip to Branson and it came in the day before. Yes, we would be walking away with $15,000 less than we had ultimately hoped for, but it had only been five weeks since we listed our house on the market. It could have been much less money and been on the market much longer. This offer would make it so our family wouldn't have to live apart and that was the important thing.
When we called Peggy to let her know we would accept the offer, we made it very clear to her that this was IT. We would not agree to any kind of allowance for carpet, flooring, windows, paint, toilets, yard, carpet or house cleaning, etc. because that very thing happened to Karole--after she accepted an offer the buyer insisted on receiving a flooring allowance after they were already under contract. I think that sort of thing should be requested up front not when you've already accepted the offer. Feels like a manipulative bait-and-switch move to me. We told Peggy that what the buyers saw was what they got, outside of the inspection. We told her to please tell the Century 21 realtor not to even ask. We've already been offended as it is. They need to watch how many bridges they burn. She said she would do that and it was good we were stating that up front because the other agent had mentioned to her (and I don't know why) that the buyer's were considering asking for a floor allowance. Maybe they should get themselves out of debt first.
There was some mild relief having accepted the buyer's second offer. However, we were short if we wanted the historic Avenue X house. It was already at the top of our price range, so to make it work, we needed every drop of equity we could get out of the CS house (at the purchase price of $350,000) to keep our payments as low as possible. After a month of no movement on our house, the Fonvilles had decided to list their home in Snyder with an agent. They increased the price to compensate for the realtor fees, but said they'd honor the offer we gave them and would sell it to us without the realtor if we went under contract before July 15th.
The very day we accepted the buyer's offer, I just happened to be looking at the Fonville's Avenue X online listing and came across the tax history--something that wasn't included when it was listed online as a For Sale By Owner. We had asked them every question we could think of when we met them and even afterwards about the house, but forgot to inquire about the property taxes. We weren't too concerned. We had just been using our current CS taxes of $4100 in our mortgage estimations. And this was po-dunk Snyder we were talking about. There's no way Snyder taxes would be more than College Station. Well, I was stunned when I learned their property taxes are $6,000 a year! That was an extra $200 a month that we did not have room in our budget for. Our dreams of buying the historic yellow house on Avenue X just went down the toilet. Jared placed the dreaded call to Shawn and told him that we got an offer, but it was about $15,000 less than we needed and wouldn't be able to buy their house after all. I think Shawn basically said, "Thanks for letting me know" and hung up. I guess there wasn't much to say. Jared said Shawn did not sound very happy. Understandably so, but they hadn't gotten any other offers so we certainly didn't get in the way of them selling the house. I know they were just really, really hoping that they would. We all loved that house, but obviously the Lord has something else in mind for us. Maybe He's protecting us from something that could be a detriment to us financially. Or maybe He just needs us elsewhere. Regardless of the reason, we just need to trust.
*Peggy texted me at 9pm saying the buyers wanted to see the house again the following day at noon. She said they'd be real fast. Usually very accommodating, I was up to my ears in so many other things and just didn't have time for this. So I asked, "Did they say why? We have a full house with four out-of-town guests and a sick kid and we are packing up to leave town." She said they wanted one last look before signing the documents agreeing to buy the house. So I replied, "That won't work. We won't be back from Houston until then and I've got younger kiddos who will be here alone. So it'll have to be later. 3:00-3:30 is our only window. And they can't be here for 90 minutes like they were last time." Peggy let them know and they agreed to 3pm, saying it would be fast. I guess we'll see about that.
The temple was open just for Cooper and his guests that morning. It wasn't just Cooper's first time attending the temple, it was the first time in over 15 months since the pandemic began for several of us, much longer than that for several more. I got to attend a live sealing in September, which was really special, but I hadn't been to an endowment session since I went to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple in February 2020 with Jake and the Hansens. So it was an exciting day for all of us. Especially since there had been some new procedural changes that had been implemented during the pandemic.
I hope this is a day Cooper never forgets.
So grateful my world-traveling parents could be here with us for Cooper's first time through the temple. They were with Jake for his first time, too.
The Grandma Kisses tradition. Jake has a picture like this, too!
My Uncle Brent and Aunt Charlene, who were serving a humanitarian mission in Houston (helping transition the buses of legal refugees who were seeking asylum and have family or a sponsor waiting for them here in the states) were able to sneak away for the occasion. They were at my temple sealing 24 years ago.
Cooper and his young men advisor, Quinn Linford, from the Caldwell Branch.
This is a very special picture. It's Cooper with THREE of his FOUR bishops while in College Station. Mark Kimber, "Bishodent" Sharp (first Bishop in College Station for 3 years, and now his Stake President), and Todd Graham. We're missing Steve Courtright, who followed Bishop Sharp, and has since moved to Iowa, as well as President Foster, from Caldwell.
The whole group! We were grateful for Kelli Kimber, our neighbor Melanie Upton, and Holly Sharp who also attended.
My mom somehow found a water gun nearby and just like her dad, she started stirring up some fun trouble. Haha!
Calvin and JJ tried the pool, but they said it was not very warm.
Having a water gun fight with Grandma.
After our soak, we got in our jammies and thought it would be fun to divide into two groups and play charades. It was me, Grandpa, Karcyn and JJ. We made up topics for Grandma, Jake, and Calvin.
It was a blast. My dad shocked us all, when he pretended to poop while acting out "Winnie the Pooh." Hahaha!
*Cooper, Jake, Calvin and his friend, Justin, went to go see "A Quiet Place 2" at 2:25, so Jared and my dad went to run some errands and I took my mom and the kids to run a quick errand, too, as we prepped for our trip to Oklahoma and Branson to get out of the house for what I hoped would be the last "showing." After we got back, we started packing and Jared went online to reference the hotel reservation for Sunday night in Tulsa to get directions. He couldn't find it and several minutes later learned it had been inadvertently cancelled. We had made reservations for hotels in the Galveston area for Jake's reception until the venue was changed. Jared can only conclude that he cancelled the Tulsa reservation thinking that was the one that needed canceling. Bottom line, we had NO place to stay Sunday night. We were planning to travel as far as Tulsa (about six hours), my mom's hometown, so she could take us on a family history tour on Monday. It was a little over halfway, but we'd also be dropping Trina off in Dallas at her parents' house, just a few hours north of College Station. We'd spend the night in Tulsa, then see some significant sites from my mom's life before driving on to Branson, Missouri, which is only about 3 1/2 hours from Tulsa. Jared frantically tried rebooking two hotel rooms for us, but according to the info online, there was nothing available. Seriously? In Tulsa, Oklahoma? My mom and dad suggested we just call the hotel directly. Blessedly, the gal at the front desk was able to find us two of the same sized rooms across the hall from each other and they were cheaper than the original reservation. We'll take it! Phew...that was a close call.
*I guess if the buyers decided not to buy the house after seeing it that afternoon, then it wasn't meant to be. Fortunately, they didn't back out and Jared and I signed the e-docs at 11:30pm that night.
Sun. 20th--Happy Father's Day! We actually left College Station at a pretty decent time, considering all the coordinating, packing, organizing and the events from the day before. I took down the baby gate (that we use to contain Rolo on the first floor) on the stairs so we wouldn't have to keep climbing up and over it as we brought luggage down, but we had to put Rolo in his crate to await Karole's arrival after church anyway. She was going to stay at the house for us. We figured it would be easier for her and Rolo that way. As I did the final departure walk-thru of the house, I checked the thermostat upstairs, closed all the doors up there as well out of habit, and made sure all the exterior doors downstairs were locked and the other doors were closed, as well. We left shortly after 7:30am and headed to Dallas to drop off Trina. It was the perfect time for a pit stop. Trina's family was there, except for her dad. He was the only one who made it to church. Trina's sister-in-law had just had a baby so there wasn't much sleep happening at their house. We didn't want to impose beyond a bathroom break and we left as quickly as we could and made our way to Tulsa, eating our sack lunches in the car.
We arrived around 3:30 that afternoon and after we got everything unloaded, we decided to take a dip in the pool and hot tub, though Cooper didn't feel up to it.
Jared and my dad when to pick up pizzas for us for dinner. We didn't feel like getting back in the car and eating out. We watched the History Channel about how things came to be while we ate.
We were getting ready to put the little kids down for the night, when I decided to go get some ice from the vending machine, in my moose jammies. As I walked down the hall, I noticed two young women in modest dresses and then I saw their black nametags. The sister missionaries!! I said hello, that I was a member and asked if they were going to go teach someone. They said no, they hadn't had any luck at all that day, and explained that they lived there. In the hotel!! I said that my family was from College Station and that my son just received his endowment in the Houston temple the day before. Then I said we were going on a family history tour with my mom the next day because she's from Tulsa. It required us to travel on Sunday, which we hate doing. Consequently we missed church and taking the Sacrament, so I asked if they wouldn't mind giving us a spiritual thought. They said they'd love to, so I led them back to the room. It was perfect. We had a lovely family discussion with them and felt the spirit with their presence. Such a sweet tender mercy for my family and the sister missionaries.
We got breakfast while the rain poured down and prayed that it would pass quickly so we could get to the cemetery. Everything else we could do in the car. We only had to wait about 45 minutes longer than we planned and then the rain subsided.
*I got another text from Peggy that night. She said that the buyers need to get into the house with some contractors--for paint and flooring. They need measurements. First of all, they can't just go whenever they want. Secondly, Karole is staying there with Rolo. We'd have to coordinate with her and I just didn't feel up to it. Peggy said they figured since we were leaving town, it would be easier for them to just come by whenever they wanted. Well, they figured wrong. We really didn't want to be accommodating, but we finally agreed as long as it was okay with Karole. I really hated how uncooperative this transaction was making me feel.
Mon. 21st--We were met with some pretty crazy weather that morning. There was thunder and lightning and you could see the rain building and coming towards us in the distance. That definitely put a slight wrench in things. We were going to go to the cemetery where my grandparents are buried the night before, but we were just too tired. Mom said it wouldn't be a big deal to squeeze it in that morning. But we never considered that weather might be an issue.
I've been to this cemetery twice, once when my grandma died in 1992 and again in 1994 when my grandpa died. This was not at all how I remembered it.
My mom remembered though. She took us straight there. She had Cooper join her as they led the pack to where my grandparents are laid to rest.
I loved being able to bring my family to see my grandparents. I just wish they could have known each other in this life. JJ was sad because he doesn't like anything related to death.
The Cooper line...
These are my Grandma Cooper's parents. We went and found a few other relatives, too. Near the end of our visit, we started to feel some raindrops. Amazingly, the cemetery hadn't been muddy and we were able to leave dry. It worked out beautifully.
This is the backyard of the home my mom was raised in and where my grandparents lived. The first difference I noticed, other than all the yard debris, was that the house was painted a mauve instead of the two toned, white and green that I remember from my youth. And there was no shed.
The front part of the house.
The front porch.
The yard is obviously unkempt but the house has continued to age the past 25 years without any noticeable care or improvements. The only change was the exterior paint and I personally didn't think it was an improvement. I liked the white and green better. When my grandpa died in 1994, the house had been long paid for, however, my mom wasn't able to sell it because of some gasoline barrels buried on the corner property where a filling station had been back in the day. Something about an environmental nightmare that would cost more to remove them than the property was worth when it came to an inspection, etc. So my mom gave the house to her cousin's son, Raud, who lived in the area and was interested in it. Raud has since passed away so we didn't know who, if anyone, was in the house.
There had been a long covered shed that ran from the back of the house all the way to the edge of the corner property. It was a fun place to explore, lined with shelf after shelf after shelf filled with old tools and machinery parts. Plus Grandpa had rigged a bell under a plank of wood, so that when you stepped on it, it rang. We loved running and jumping on that board to make it ding.
The clouds were building but the rain held. Cooper had a few special moments trying to feel a connection to those wonderful people he's named after.
*The corner of College and Admiral--part of my grandparents' property. There used to be a vacant building on the corner that my siblings and I would play in when we were visiting.
When I peeked into the backyard through the fence, I noticed the shed was no longer there. I felt like an appendage of the house had been torn off and it made me really sad.
Mom, Dad, and I noticed some people in a big utility building beyond where Grandpa's shed had been so we walked over to see if they knew anything about the house and owners. The three of us had jumped out of our vehicles to peek at the house and everyone else stayed back while we investigated which is a good thing because it was pouring rain after we got to the building. It was a garage, where some vehicles were being worked on. Turns out, of the two men who were there, one of them knew of Grandpa and the other was actually living in the house, sharing it with a couple other guys. I don't recall how they came to get possession of the house, but I guarantee it was rent free. So if you're down on your luck, this would be a decent alternative. After Mom explained who we were and why we were there, the older adults engaged in conversation for about ten minutes, talking about Grandpa, their mutual friends, and how the man had come into possession of the house. He wants to own it so he can continue to improve it. It sounded like Raud's mom (my mom's cousin, Linda) would need to sign it over to the man and for some reason she won't, but apparently it's okay if they live there. He keeps trying to sway her. The man explained he's trying to fix it up a little at a time. Mom said she was thrilled to learn that someone was living in it trying to take care of it and that it wasn't just sitting empty. As the conversation wound to a close, the man invited us to see the inside of the house. We jumped at the chance! We never dreamed we'd be able to see it again after all these years.
This first thing that struck me, as it did when I visited my old home in Georgia after 25 years, was how small the house seemed. I felt like a giant. The second thing that washed over me was the scent. Motor oil aside, it still had the same smell. But it wasn't a nursing home smell that you would expect with old people. It wasn't mold or mildew or anything like that. Not bad or off-putting at all. Earthy, maybe. I couldn't believe I could still pick up on that scent. It was strangely comforting.
This is the living room. It's where the couches were and the TV. I don't know how they fit the furniture in that room, but they did. And their house was always very clean and uncluttered. It obviously isn't that way now. I mean, c'mon, two lawn mowers? With paint cans sprinkled across the floor. That big metal thing on the floor is their heating vent. We accidentally dropped one of my brother's little fabric toys (a clown, I believe) on it one year and it got hot enough that we freaked out when we smelled something burning. Took us a few minutes to realize it was the toy, not anything in the kitchen or back room. I forgot to ask Mom, but I don't believe that is the same carpet. But the sparkles in the popcorn ceiling that looked like stars remained.
This is the dining room. My grandma had a mini organ on the left side of the far wall, a hutch that held all her special place settings and utensils on the far right wall (but it faced the kitchen) and they had a large dining room table in the center of the room. We could always fit the 7 or 8 of us around it. And it never seemed crowded. Of course, we were littler people back then, but the chairs were the same size no matter our age. That is their old TV console.
If I had to wager a guess, because I haven't been able to locate the information anywhere, I'd say this 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom house was maybe 900 square feet. And yet my parents, two siblings, and I would always visit every summer and stay for at least a week. And we loved it! It never felt too small and I never wanted to be anywhere else. It totally worked. (I need to remember that when I worry that it'll be too hard having overnight guests with less than four bedrooms.) I'm so grateful my parents never made us stay at a hotel when we were in town. That was the gift of the visits--being with my grandparents, in their home, and making memories on location.
By this point, seeing that we had entered the house, Jared and the kids got out of the cars as well and joined us inside. It was so nostalgic to walk my kids through the house and show them around what felt like a museum in many ways.
There was no light in this middle room but it was the play room/sewing room in my day. In my mom's day, I believe this was her room. There was a hide-a-bed couch that ran along the left wall where my parents slept when we visited. Grandma's sewing machine sat where that chair is now and her sewing supplies were in the shelves above. Grandma was an incredible seamstress. She made the clothes for my Cabbage Patch Doll that I got from Santa for Christmas one year. She made a lot of the clothes my sister, Kelly, wore when she and my mom lived with them. She also made each of the grandkids a beautiful twin-sized quilt that we all still love and cherish to this day. My patchwork quilt stayed on my bed for many, many years. What a treasure to have--a labor of her love--all these years after her passing.
The door to the left is painted red. It was just white and it leads to the only bathroom. It's a Jack-n-Jill bathroom as there is another door that leads to my grandparents' room. To the right there was a closet and on the other side of the wall was a doorway that led into the back room. There was just enough room for a full sized bed and a small table with a lamp and a chest of drawers on the wall opposite the foot of the bed, with just enough room to walk between the bed and dresser to the garage.
This is standing in the doorway from the back room that led to the garage. You can see the two toned paint of the exterior house here. Apparently, the garage and house were connected years after it was built and enclosed the area to create a breezeway. I don't think Mom even knows when that was done.
This is me standing in the breezeway looking back into the house where the door leads to the backroom that my sister and I would stay in when we visited.
A storage room in the back corner behind the garage.
This is looking toward the front of the house. The light is hanging in front of the window above the kitchen sink.
This is the back room. They've rigged a shelf in there with fluorescent lighting. That's where the top of the bed would have gone. There was a small nook there, with shelves lined with books and knick- knacks.
They still have the old stove/furnace that used to be in the fireplace.
And this thing is an antique roller ironing machine that was used to iron large items like bedsheets and tablecloths. Wow. I would never think to iron bed sheets. Am I a total heathen with no class? Pretty cool to see it still in their house, though I never remember seeing Grandma use it or even knowing that it was there. Mom was pretty surprised to see it, too.
This was my grandparent's room. They had a full-sized bed pushed in the far left corner. There was a chest of drawers on the wall where the blue mattress is and on the wall closest to the door was a little vanity and mirror with Grandma's perfumes, creams, and hairbrush. I loved sneaking in there to sniff the bottles and jars because those were comforting smells.
Back to the front of the house, off the dining room, was what I thought was a decent sized kitchen. There was a table where the ladder is now, that was pushed up to the window, but seated four, two chairs on each side. How? I have no idea. But it worked. The cabinets have been painted that blue gray color, they were white. But they are the original metal cabinets with the original chrome pulls. And that is exactly where the washer was when I was growing up. There was no A/C in the kitchen, no real air flow. So when Grandma started cooking and baking, she would sweat and sweat.
The same sink with the grooved counter.
This house was built in 1925 and that stove may not be original to the house, but it's the only stove I've ever known, maybe my mom, even.
The rest of the kitchen sink.
The one and only bathroom. The red paint is "new" but the green tile and pink tub and toilet are original to the house.
Someone sure likes red.
I took many a bath in that bathtub as a little girl.
Calvin and Jake geeking out over the old TV console.
Taking a peek at the window A/C unit that made summers, in the living room at least, more bearable.
The Narnia lamp post out back.
The "tour group" making their way outside.
The sparkly ceiling.
JJ and Karcyn sitting on the porch swing that my siblings and I had lots of fun on as kids.
The next generation.
The last thing we did, the main thing my mom set out to do, never expecting to get to see the inside of the house, was to make a mold of the hand and footprints belonging to her and her brother, Richard, who passed away the year before, in one of the concrete front steps. We had pre-purchased the supplies needed before going to Tulsa to make a plaster of Paris mold. One of the guys living at the house helped us with it, but in the process we ended up skipping a step. It was humid outside because of the rain moving through the area. Fortunately the step was covered by a canopy of leaves so it was dry. But we weren't sure how long it would take to harden and realized we should have started with the mold before looking inside the house. Oh well.
Time to go on a tour of the town. Mom called on the phone so we could all hear her speak and she commentated as we drove. This building, I believe, used to be a pharmacy.
This might have been a bakery.
This was my mom's elementary school.
This corner of Lewis and Independence Street was the location of my grandpa's two pump filling station that began as Standard Oil, then was later a DX station where he worked for over 40 years. In fact, there were two other larger gas stations across the street from his, but Grandpa ran them out of business because of the great service he provided as a self-employed service station owner. He worked 6 days a week, then after my mom, the youngest, was grown and gone, he went to a 5 day work week, gone before first light and coming home at dusk. Some days he only made a dollar, even still he was debt free. He owned his home, and his cars, and the cabin on the Grand River. He didn't even have a bank account for many, many years. Never had a credit card.
This is my mom's pencil sharpener that she had in her room when she was a little girl and it's still there!
The lines extending out to the left of the cabinet are slats that used to hold little glass shelves that held special salt and pepper shakers that Grandma collected. The bread compartment is still there with the rolling door.
I'm so grateful I could bring my all my children to a place that I hold dear to my heart and to my mom's roots. How I wish we could have introduced my grandparents to my kids. But another part of me believes that Grandma and Grandpa Cooper were the ones who sent them off to us from heaven before we even met them ourselves.
As it turns out, the plaster hardened fairly quickly and Dad was able to work the blade of his pocket knife under the edge it to pry it up.
And it came up and all in one piece. Hooray!
Mission accomplished--above and beyond our expectations!
Tues. 22nd--Our first show was seeing REZA our favorite illusionist on Tuesday afternoon. We saw him the night of Christmas before leaving Branson and loved his show so much that we decided to come back again at an earlier time so that we could get backstage passes.
When you order tickets in January/February, for a June show, you get pretty good seats!
So glad my parents could come with us!
Branson performers are so good about honoring our country's veterans, like my dad who fought in the Vietnam war as a navy fighter pilot.
It was another awesome show! Even though most of the illusions we saw were repeats from the Christmas show, REZA added in a couple new ones. And it was no less entertaining or thrilling to see his acts a second time. Jake was able to participate in the last trick of the show. REZA wanted to know his birthday and wrote it down as part of a random collection of information from the audience members.
My parents had tickets to see the Dolly Parton Stampede at 5pm, so when REZA ended at 4pm, my parents drove one of the cars down the road to that venue and we got in line for the backstage event where we could meet REZA, get pictures with him and see his tour bus. We used the gift card that my sister Kelly and her husband Steve gave us for Christmas to purchase the backstage passes (which I thought were very reasonable in price--$20 each).
As we were escorted up on stage by one of the assistances, I saw the paper that REZA had written Jake's birthday on. It had been folded up and later, tossed aside. It was right by the steps we were ascending to the stage, so I picked it up and asked the assistant if we could have it, as it had my son's birthdate on it and she said yes. So Jake got a fun souvenir.
There were about 15-17 others on stage with us as we got the run down, waiting for REZA to join us. We could ask him any question, but not about how he does his tricks. It was so fun to see him in person. He has a wonderfully dry sense of humor. He seems so young, but he's 35. I forgot to ask what his real name is or what his mom calls him. :) The kids had a lot of good questions to ask. He actually asked the group what our favorite illusions were so he could decided what to keep, what to maybe toss. It was actually really enlightening and the group had some good questions. Afterwards, everyone could get their pictures taken with him. We were the biggest group going through on the tour so we were last, kind of by default. While we waited, one of REZA's team members, not much older than Jake, if at all, came over and started doing card tricks with us. It was really fun and mind blowing!
When it was our turn, I made it privately clear to my family that I got to stand next to REZA (haha!).
When we finished with the group picture, REZA said he had a question for us--would we like individual pictures with him? Um, YES!!!! (By the way, he makes that helicopter appear on stage!)
As if that wasn't enough, REZA didn't leave when the pictures were done, he stuck around and talked with our family. We mentioned we had seen his show at Christmas and Cooper mentioned he was in the saw trick. REZA thought about it for a second and then there seemed to be a flicker of recognition and he said he remembered. Perhaps not, but either way, he thanked us for coming back. He asked what our favorite parts were and how the kids thought the illusions are done. He spent at least a good ten extra minutes with us just talking. He made us feel so special. I told him he is a stand-up guy and a true artist. We were flying high the rest of the night. It was a memory we won't soon forget!
*On our way back to the condo from the show, Peggy called. She said that when the buyers were in the house on Monday, with the contractors, they found dog poop upstairs in several places, including the bedrooms. Apparently one of the people who went through the house with them was a structural engineer friend from A&M. They wanted his advice on the house and if they should waste $400-500 on an inspection. The friend told them it was structurally sound and if they got an inspection, they'd probably find a thing or two but nothing big. It's a seven year old house. So the buyers opted to skip the inspection if we agreed to get the carpets professionally cleaned and have the house professionally cleaned and provide receipts of these things upon move out. I was still stuck on the fact they found poop in the house. I told Peggy we'd get back to her.
I relayed the conversation to Jared while he drove us to the condo. When we got back, he called his mom and she admitted that Rolo did escape upstairs in the beginning and she wasn't able to go after him and he could have pooped upstairs. *sigh* In Rolo's defense, Karole's hearing isn't the greatest. If she didn't have her hearing aids in, and even if she did, she could have missed him ringing the bells to go outside to go potty. And I had indeed left the gate down that blocks the stairs when we were packing up to go. I suddenly felt like I had done something wrong and now I had to pay for it. Maybe I was just irked that they had the upper hand and we did not.
But what choice did we have? In some ways, skipping the inspection, while we thought was super unwise on the buyers' part, would certainly save us some headaches and further negotiations. I felt like I was giving in to some allowances, because getting the house cleaned was one of those things I didn't want to do either. Especially because I know I could do just as good a job as anyone else. The more I thought about it though, the more I figured we are still getting the better end of the deal. That house isn't perfect. There are things that need to be fixed like: the master closet light--it's not the lightbulb because we tried that, the towel bar in Karcyn's bathroom, the loose stair rail, the garage keypad isn't working, the microwave light is broken, plus there's some discoloration on the flooring in the boy's bathroom from what is surely water damage. Those are just the things I'm aware of. Who knows about other things. Peggy said that they knew a carpet cleaner who would likely do our whole house for under $200. And I'm sure I could get one of the house cleaners in the stake to do the house for $150. All told, spending less than $400 to get out of an inspection and to save my sanity suddenly felt worth it. So we agreed.
It wasn't until we were soaking in the hot tub, talking to my parents that night about the latest house selling news that I had an epiphany. I closed all the bedroom doors before we left town. So there is NO WAY that Rolo could have pooped in the bedrooms like the buyers said he did. They lied!! Ugh. When we asked Karole where the poop was she said there were a couple little nuggets outside the bathroom door. Unbelievable. Oh, well. Their lying will definitely catch up with them. I still felt they were making a HUGE mistake skipping the inspection.
*Paradise Point at sunset.
Wed. 23rd--Our second show wasn't going to be until later Wednesday night, so we had plenty of time to play miniature golf at our condo.
It was an impressive course with some tough holes. This one had a gap/ledge you have to get across.
Here's a view from head-on.
The big boys came out to join us and play their own game.
We had lots of fun playing card games, too, like manipulation.
I went back out to play golf again with JJ. This was the second hole where I got a hole-in-one!
*Time to see SIX. They are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints AND brothers performing a capella. I've heard so many great things about this show.
Cooper jamming with Jared's glasses on.
We had good seats at this show, too!
They had a stage extension that wrapped around to the side.
You will notice only five performers on the stage. One of the original brothers had to leave the show, but they introduced another younger brother later in the show.
The sixth brother.
Watching and listening to the masterful voice talents of SIX was such a delight. The music was incredible--there are no instruments, but you think you're hearing them. The songs we heard spanned the decades, too. Everyone in our group from 9-79 enjoyed the show immensely. Except the 9 year old fell asleep before the show ended. Too much miniature golfing, I think. ;)
*Since we had a fireplace in our bedroom, we thought we should use it at least once. We turned it on for 2.3 seconds and that was it. Too hot!
Thurs. 24th--Our day on Table Rock Lake with another boat rental! Except this boat had slide up top and a big tube we could pull behind us. We were super stoked about this outing because it's always fun to be on a lake, but we've never been tubing before.
Jake working on his tan. :)
This is the Branson Belle--a steamboat you can have a dinner or lunch cruise on. That's one thing we haven't done yet.
Jared in his element.
Time for tubing! Cooper volunteered to go first and show us how it's done.
And wipeout! :)
Then it was my turn. Not too sure about it. I've been water skiing before and that didn't worry me. I held my own, actually. It is a lot harder than it looks! But man when I fell off, it was quite the wipeout, with a face full of water.
It was meh. A little anti-climatic. Next time, we don't need the slide.
Jake is the one in the process of a back flip, on the left.
Cooper stood on the ledge for a while, not sure how he felt about jumping. But he finally did.
And of course, after they did it once, they wanted to do it again. :)
JJ chillin' with my sun glasses.
JJ working hard to stay on!
Annnnd...we lost JJ. Good effort, man!
JJ and Cooper giving it a whirl, outside the wake zone. You can't even see Cooper.
Wipeout!
Cooper's final solo wipeout.
We had the BEST time tubing. And I am SO grateful that we were blessed with great protection during this outing. There's always some risk involved and while it's rare, I was on a lake one day as a tween with my family when a young man tubing nearby was hit by another boat and killed. So when we ventured out for the day, there was always a little bit of cautious worry in the back of my mind, but fortunately it didn't keep me from enjoying the day.
Calvin was the one that Jared could never fling off. The only way Calvin got dumped was if the tube flipped over and that happened only twice. He's super strong. And doesn't weigh much. ;) My dad told Jared he wanted to try tubing, too. I gave him one crusty look and said, "Oh, no you don't." I shut him down. Not on my boat. Not on my watch.
Later that night, I could barely move my neck. I used my neck muscles probably more than my arms trying to keep my head up and steady the two whole times I was on the tube. Wow. It was crazy how sore and stiff it was for the next couple of days.
*We packed up later that night to head home the next morning. Jared surprised Jake with a "bachelor's party" 1/2 day fishing trip for Friday morning. Cooper and my dad were joining them. So I would be driving the burb back with my mom and the kids. 10 long hours of driving--one of my least favorite things to do. But I could do this.
Friday, 25th--The guys headed out at 6am for their fishing trip and we followed behind about 15 minutes later to head back to College Station. We did pretty good, but somewhere I missed an exit and we ended up going around Oklahoma City, I believe. It didn't set us back too much and honestly, I think we missed some construction delays, getting home around 4:30pm. Because poor Jared and the guys got stuck in the thick of it and traffic on their way home. They got on the road around noon and didn't make it back until 11:30pm, after spending the first part of the early day on the water fishing. They were wiped out! But had a great time. Next time though, they should do the half day trip on a day when we just have a later show to avoid another 10-12 hours of driving after fishing and so we can all go home at the same time.
*Karole, Mom, Karcyn, and I drove to Montgomery, TX (about an hour away) for Trina's Bridal shower with her extended family.
Turns out that Trina's Grandma Oborn was also roommates with my best friend's mom, Charlotte Lahti. So I sent this picture (a blast from the past for me) so that Trina's grandma could see some of the fun things Kellie and I did together in high school. And maybe connect the dots for her.
*Cooper planned Jake's bachelor party. First they were going to shoot glow-in-the-dark air soft guns into watermelons in the backyard. Then they were going to watch pizza and watch a movie in the game room. It was Jake, Cooper, Jared, Kevin, Cole, Connor, Will, Gabe (Jake's companion from Ohio who flew out just for the wedding), Garrett, and Calvin. JJ and Korbin joined the big boys outside, but not for the movie.
Jake and Will--high school best buds.
I realized this might be the last chance I would have with Jake and his twin cousins, Cole and Connor, in the same room. I remembered this photo we took of them before we moved from Illinois to Utah when Jake was 5 months old and the twins were just over a year. I thought it would be fun to recreate it 21 years later and maybe give it to my sister-in-law Christina for Christmas.
*Glow in the dark airsoft shooting in the backyard.
Jake and Gabe Brown.
The flurry of activity with a bunch of boys, big and small.
Best cousins, Korbin and JJ.
More cousins.
