Mother's Day, New House, Skousen Visit

Here's my sweet little Thomas sporting the new hat we got from John's work party.

 I know, I know...he's adorable! :) 

So it's time for an update on the Kimball clan! (Now that something's actually happened!) We'd been playing the waiting game on the house for quite a while. Our closing date was supposed to be May 9th or sooner, but May 9th came and went. Apparently there had been some errors and other delays. :S Since we had told the ward Saturday May 12th we would need help moving, we got pretty nervous as the closing date kept being pushed back. It didn't happen by Friday, but luckily our loan was officially approved by the underwriter and all we were really waiting on was paperwork from our lender. The seller graciously allowed us to move our stuff into the garage of the house (she didn't have to do that, but as a real estate agent herself, she knew how close we were...plus it was already vacant). We were so grateful to have 3-4 ward  members and the missionaries show up to help us load/unload the big stuff into the truck. Loading took about half an hour and unloading took about 20 minutes. Record time!

It was an awkward situation, though, since we couldn't move things in or actually live in the house. We didn't pack up/move our clothes and kitchen stuff since we had to live there for a few more days. 

Mother's Day was May 13th. John got me some "flowers" (wildflower seeds, great idea since we were moving soon and we will have a section of our backyard devoted to wildflowers), some treats, and a cute card in a canister. Thomas signed the card and in nursery they had him do handprints on a card for me! I'd been wanting to get his handprints done...

So proud to be his mommy!

I'll also be getting a bike trailer that doubles as a double jogging stroller, I'm really excited! A friend of mine just got the same one and it looks great. 

Signing papers and closing got pushed back AGAIN...to Tuesday, threatening to take until Wednesday to actually close. Luckily, John was able to take a half day off on Tuesday and we signed papers at noon. Before signing, several sweet sisters from the ward came to help me finish packing up the kitchen and clean. It would have taken so much longer without their help! I will sure miss our great ward. We finished just in time for me to grab John, get a cashier's check, and get to the title company to sign papers. At around 5 PM we got the official notice that we were homeowners!! 

Though we were completely exhausted and our house was almost completely empty or in boxes, it was good to be in our new house that night!

The next day, Thomas and I went to our playgroup. I've met some great ladies at the baby's reading time at the library and we are all very similar--almost all of us are (former) teachers, have one son about the same age, and we get along really well. None are LDS, but they are Christian and have very similar values. We generally meet to have our kids play at someone's house and have gone on a few adventures. It's fun to let the kids play and have the moms chat. This week, we met at Gretchen's house and walked our kids in strollers to a neighbor's house that has a little farm with many goats, chickens, and a few ponies! We helped gather eggs (and only cracked a few!), pet and fed baby goats, rode ponies, and had a great time! We even saw a horny toad and a big gopher snake on our way there! Thomas fell asleep in the stroller on the way back--he was worn out! After the playgroup, we got a good start unpacking boxes.

On Thursday, we went to the library for story time. It's fun to get out of the house, listen to stories and sing songs, and meet new people! Then of course, more unpacking!

Oh--and as a side note, we ordered a fridge from RC Willey (John's dad works for this company, but the closest one is in Reno) and besides the $100 delivery charge, we have to wait nearly two weeks to get it! So for about ten days, we're living out of a cooler. :S It's supposed to come this Friday, hooray!

On Thursday, my sister Christine called and asked if her family could visit from Rigby, ID for the weekend! What a great surprise! Of course we said YES and looked forward to them coming. I also was asked this day if I could substitute at the middle school on Friday. Since John works 4 10-hr days/week, he would be home that day and so I said yes! It was my first experience substituting and it was a 6th grade class on a Friday at the end of the year. Needless to say, it was challenging, but overall I think it went pretty well!

After a 8+ hour trip from Rigby to Winnemucca, the Skousen family (Christine, Robert, Sam, and Amy) made it in at around 11 pm. We took it easy the next morning due to the late night and had quiche for breakfast. We then went to the hot springs we found down the road (about 25 miles). After cleaning up all the trash and beer bottles, we had a great swim! The water was really warm, but perfect for kids. It is sort of an isolated pond and we all had a lot of fun.

Daddy and Thomas swimming

John and Robert tossing their sons in the air--made for a great picture!

After that, we drove home and had lunch and much-needed naps. Later on, we went to the free shooting range just outside of town for some skeet shooting (it's pretty awesome!). We took turns pulling, shooting, and watching kids--it was a lot of fun. And I must say, between the Skousens and Kimballs, we're some good shots! (Those clay pigeons didn't stand a chance!)

Cousins Amy and Sam taking it easy a safe distance from the shooting

Sweet kisses for mommy!

Three built-in throwers--and we took advantage of all three! (Sam was a great puller)

After shooting, we drove to the top of Winnemucca Mountain that overlooks all of Winnemucca and the surrounding communities. It was a gorgeous view! We were able to take some great pictures.

A great family picture

Sister pic!

Afterwards, we ate at the county-famous Martin restaurant (which is in an old hotel built in 1898) for some Basque food. For those of you who haven't heard of it or tried it, it's delicious. They bring many courses of side dishes including soup, salad, bread, beans, mashed potatoes, carrots, and more. Then there's the main dish and dessert! It was delicious. Christine and I made a Walmart run later and got some fun goodies and toys. (An awesome bubble machine and sand toys for Thomas, and some camp chairs to complete our set--Thanks, Christine!)

Sunday was good, we attended our new ward (so none of us really knew anyone). After church, we had a quick lunch, said our goodbyes and they were on their way. It was so fun to get out and play with my niece and nephew, talk to my sis and her husband, show off our new house, and have some fun after the stress of moving. Thanks for coming, sis!! (I know the looooong drive wasn't easy!!)