House in Firestone

Some of you know about the drama regarding our housing situation. The house in Ft. Collins went into foreclosure, so we decided not to pursue that one. It was pretty stressful to try to find a new place sight-unseen with only a couple of weeks until the move. We have since arranged for a different house which will only be 45 minutes from Rand and Jane (and only 7 hours from Steve and Lori).

The movers will be here Tuesday and we will stay in a hotel for a few days while James finishes his last week at Raytheon. We expect to arrive in Denver next Saturday.

Kindergarten Talent Show

In case you're wondering who's screeching in the background, that's Grace who was very happy to see Marie up on stage.

During Daddy Interviews

James: We're going to live in a new house in Colorado.

Ben: Monsters in it?

Keeping it Cool

It's that season again when we find creative ways to keep cool.

Tongue Twisters!

What We'll Miss Most about our House

We'll sure miss our back yard. The new grass that James just planted is beginning to come in and now we are trying to spend as much time as possible back there.

The grapefruit and fig trees.

The wax-leaf privet.
Jasmine at the kitchen window

and the fountain that the kids sure have loved playing in.

Ben sun bathing with a banana.


Tessa enjoys watching Daddy mow the lawn.

As a side note, the Guthrie family has the running joke that Allie and James will spend $300 on a tree but are too cheap to buy dish towels. When my sister Staci was here visiting, she quickly became fed up with our awful pots and pans. She said, "I am in this brand-new house, and it is like living in the wilderness." There is no doubt that our priorities are in the back yard!

Another Funny from Tessa

Tessa: I want a husband.

Allie: So you can have kids?

Tessa: So I can have lots of money. That's why I want a daddy. And I'll tell my daddy to WORK!

We have a contract!

We finally have a contract for our Sahuarita house. For those of you wondering, two offers came at the same time and in the end we chose to go with the family who has been renting the house behind ours. A friend from church gave us a little bit of advice that helped us make the final decision:

When making an investment choice, you have to look at three outcome scenarios (best case, most probable, and worse case). You take the option which would potentially result in the best case scenario, and if you can stomach the worst, you move forward.

So we did. And now we are only waiting on a contract for our rental in Ft. Collins (we are not worried because we have been told it is ours--the management company is just super busy writing contracts with college students preparing for fall semester).

Funny Quotes

Ben (during breakfast): Yogurt all done. Too soggy. Cookie now.

____


Tessa (praying): ...And we're thankful Grace came out of mommy. Alive.

____

Marie and Tess (discussing sand-castle real estate): Would you like to come over to my property?

The House that could have Been

This is the house for which we made an informal offer. It was accepted, but we have since decided not to go through with it. We are going to remain flexible until the loose ends are tied here in Tucson.

In the mean time, we will probably rent this house across the street:

The kids decided Grace needed "clips" in her hair.

Marie blows out the candles on her birthday cake.

Opening new earrings from Daddy.

Is this girl thrilled to be six, or what? (She can't wait to be 18 so she can have a cat.)

Busy, busy.

I understand people are getting fed up with our lack of communication. I warned all y'all. As my dad so eloquently put it: "Your house is up for sale/rent. Little messes that were no big deal before are now major sins."

We are flying Grandma Lori down to watch the three oldest while James and I hunt for housing in Colorado. We get back Sunday night. Tuesday is Marie's 6th birthday and since Lori and Randy will be down, we'll have some kind of bash Wednesday night.

Here are some old pictures that you may have missed...

Colorado or Bust!

James got a new job at Numerica, a small engineering/consulting firm. His first day is June 3rd. The company is located in Loveland, about an hour away from my parents. We will most likely live in Ft. Collins. We imagine things will get pretty crazy here, so updates will mostly likely be few and far between. James is scheduled to spend some time in Florida and will be working on the reports for the end of his three-year project. We've also got to figure out details for house hunting, moving, and renting out our own place.

Hair Cut

Admittedly, this is not the most flattering angle (I'm sure if you enlarge the picture you'll see right up my nose) but you get the idea . I LOVE IT. I decided that I am going to be resurrected with short hair. It's totally my personalilty. A special thank you goes to James for being a good sport.

The curl in the back is natural. Many of you don't know that since my sister and I have had children, our hormones have made our hair curly. Okay, Staci's is more extreme but we've both spent a good deal of time straightening our hair. This cut is great because now I don't have it hide it. I can flaunt it.

When my daddy calls me...

James: Ben, I am going to count and you need to be here by the time I reach three.

(silence)

James: One...two...three

(pause)

Ben: Four?

Easter Sunday

Everyone looks pretty on Easter morning!

Grace and Daddy's new glasses.

The Bank of Dad

In light of the first Presidency's recent letter regarding finances, we decided it was time to get our children's finances in order, too. So they all opened an account at the Bank of Dad.

When given money, each child will give it to a parent, and in return they will be given Monopoly money to put in the proper slot (tithing, savings, and spending). Instead of getting an allowance, James will pay them interest on the money they keep in savings. Everything will be recored on an Excel spread sheet, and with fake money, we won't have cash lying around that could get lost or stolen.

They will be required to choose a portion of their money to put in savings, but they are at liberty to spend their spending money any time they wish. While they are so little, we will make those purchases for them. But when they are a little older, they will open real accounts and be responsible for their own purchases. They all know they are saving for college, missions, etc. (I can't believe the number of parents that feel they are responsible to take out a second mortgage on their homes in order to pay for their kid's college.)

Now I know some of you grandmas are concerned about birthday money going towards the college fund, and not the intended birthday gift. The kids will be allowed to spend all their birthday money. We are talking about random dollars in the mail, as well as money they earn from working for Mom and Dad.

Just another cute picture of Grace. Her new favorite meal: pizza!

Here is a little Easter treat the kids and I made yesterday.

Easter at School

Marie's Kindergarten class went on an Easter Egg Hunt.

Looking for eggs in the park.

Tessa and Ben guard the Easter baskets.

Ready to hunt for eggs.

Enjoying a post-hunt snack.

Skipping with her Easter basket.

Marie's Missionary Moment

The following was a conversation I had with Marie while doing her hair for school. I dont' know how recent the experience happened, as she didn't remember most of the details. It involves her best friend, Marley.

Marie: Mom, Marley doesn't believe in Jesus.

Allie: Did you tell her that you did?

Marie: Yeah, but she said that Jesus was only something on TV.

Allie: I am proud of you for sharing your testimony. How did you guys get to talking about Jesus?

Marie: I don't remember. But Mrs. Lynch believes in Jesus.

Allie: How do you know?

Marie: She says she does. And Marley only believes in the Devil. If you are bad you go to the Devil. But we know Jesus loves everyone. (Note: Marley was a devil for Halloween.)

Marie, continued: It was a hard conversation to have because I didn't know what to say.

Allie: When you don't know what to say, you can just tell that person that you know Jesus loves them very much. Then, the Holy Ghost can help that person know that what you are saying is true.

Papa Randy in Tucson for Business

Papa Randy tooks the kids on an outing to get Mom some bread pans. The kids came back with a treat: Animal Cookies. Hasn't every kid wanted one of those boxes?

Ben shows off his good fortune.

The girls got purple purses and gloves.

Hey, Baby.

Hollywood, here I come. (Never mind the crooked glasses.)

Getting Ready for Spring

James takes a break from yard work to do bubbles with Ben.

Ben helped himself to a well-balanced snack. My personal favorite: bran flakes.

Tessa drew this spider on the white board and wanted me to share it with everyone.