5/16/17 Special Temple Trip

This morning I went to the Temple and did initiatory for some family names. The most exciting for me was my Great Great Grandfather Patrick Bowen. It felt very special to be doing work for my own family. In two weeks perhaps my Dad can help me do some of the endowments.

This afternoon and evening we loaded the van again with boxes and things and headed over to the new house. A little tidying up was in order now that several trips worth of things have been transported. Now things are a little more prepared for when people come to help move the big stuff.

5/15/17 State Report

Today was the day that Rebecca and her classmates got to give their state reports. After school we parents got to go and hear the reports for ourselves. Rebecca has been working on her report and her poster for weeks. She now knows many interesting facts about Arkansas. My favorite, the I learned from Rebecca, is that it is illegal to mispronounce the state name in Arkansas.

While Heidi and I were there we saw several other kids we knew. Here is Bradley with his Alaska poster. He was more than happy to tell us all about the state he studied. We are proud of the hard work the kids put in.
This evening we baked some oatmeal cookies and went to meet some of our new neighbors. We met Laura and David Pew on the south corner across the way. David is also a CPA. We also met Marlène Thompson, our neighbor directly to the South her husband is the ward clerk of their ward. It turns out our new house is at the border of our Stake. Both wards have a Snepf brother as their bishop. Two doors North of us we met Taylor and Emily Charade (sp?) and their 15 month old girl. They are house sitting for one of their parents who are on a mission in the D.C. Area. What a small world. It's the next door mission to Heidi's parents. Anyhow, there are still many neighbors to meet but the ones we met are very friendly.

5/14/17 Mother's Day

This Mother's Day we took advantage of technology and video chatted with Heidi's Mom.

It's amazing to be able to see and hear someone in realtime who is 6 days drive across the country.

The kids got super excited and got a little carried away trying to make Grammie laugh. Here they are making pretend ducks with their hands.

Here is TJ joining the fun while sitting on my lap.
I also had a nice call with my mother. By that time we decided the kids might be too hyper for another call. We did get a bonus visit from Gram and Papa. Papa found Heidi's power cord for her laptop in his trunk. They were kind enough to bring it to us after they finished church. We are fortunate to have two such wonderful mothers in our lives. They are both examples of kindness and service.

5/13/17 Testing 1,2,3

Today was a busy day of testing and work. Before we started we have Matt two couches that we won't need in our new house. I'm glad he can give them a good home. She went with him and the kids out to San Tan to mow Grammie and Grandpa Mangum's lawn. David went to his friend Silas' Eagle project. They planted trees for snakes (not making this up).
Testing number 1 for me was climbing up on the church roof to test microwave links between buildings. It took a little over two hours but it looks like it is going to work. That is a big relief.
Testing number two was out at Big Foot. Papa and Becca B picking me up from the church building. Big foot started right up. Soon we'll be moved Big foot to its new home but for today we simply comfirmed the battery is working strong.

Test number 3 was trying out this stair lift. The new house has stairs and we may want to install a lift so that Gram can use them.

This afternoon we tested out the new pool for the first time. Heidi and I even tested out the slide. It is way fun. It felt refreshing after several days of moving boxes and furniture.

High on David's list has been testing out the new projector. It works! TJ is in the shot for some scale. David described it as "Epic!"

Last up Peter was feeling impatient for Mom to finish cooking the potatoes so he tested eating them raw. Result: he ate it all gone. Apparently it worked for him.
It was a busy day but it seems that everything tested out well.

5/12/17 Bike Repair

Today's assignment for the Valiant team was to repair Becca B's flat tire. Heidi changed out the tube. We didn't bring a pump so David took the assignment to fill it at the compressor the park has.

Joseph and Peter went along as pit crew.

Here is David at the pump. He did a great job. He also helped assemble a bunch of boxes so Gram and Papa can start packing. Can you feel the excitement?

Next up motored over to the new house. Papa parked his car inside the garage for the first time.

While Heidi, Gram and Papa met with our contractor friend Kerry Mortensen the boys entertained me outside. These are Peter's "booby traps" not sure what cartoon that is from.

Joseph insisted I capture his creations as well.
This evening Heidi and the kids and I brought yet another load in the van. I forgot to mention that on Thursday I helped Matt move a few things out to San Tan and he helped us move Gram and Papa's bed in his trailer.

5/11/17 Homeowners

Today Gram, Papa and Heidi and I officially became co-owners of a home (with keys and everything). Gram is holding the keys in her hand.

Diane Byrne wins the award as the most patient and long suffering real estate agent ever. After going through the process with three houses and showing us countless others she has to be almost as relieved as we are to finally be done.

This morning I heard TJ yell "group hug". Joseph and Peter were ready to heed the call. Sarah joined a moment later.

Heidi got this fun shot of Peter and Joseph trying to fit in a monitor box.

We did not have our first official swim today. I told the kids if they "accidentally" got wet we'd still take them home with us.

Rebecca had no trouble understanding my meaning.

5/10/17 The First Load

Today we loaded the van with boxes from our garage. The wire transfer didn't get to the title company in time to get keys today but we're ready to go once we get them.
This evening I met Jae at the church to practice using the microwave transmitters we borrowed last night. They are a little tricky so it's good we practiced them before our on the roof test on Saturday.