Wow- those 2 weeks zipped right on by!

Between training and the house drama, it's been a busy few weeks! Here's the big news: we are under contract! Hooray! We have our inspection Wednesday and the buyers have til Friday to pull out without losing their earnest money. They seem pretty level-headed so we think they will stick with it. We put an offer in (squeaked in by April 30 so we'll get a $6500 tax deduction next year!) on a house we like. It's in another subdivision, which has its pluses and minuses. Major pluses include the pool, park, Bobolink trail, bike path, and virtually no yard to keep it. It backs to a cul-de-sac and has one in front as well. I wish it had a larger yard, more privacy and closer to Baseline, but we are happy with this one. Now, if things would just work out this time, we'll be thrilled! The pic is of Paul's "house beard." You can see just how badly I want this to work!!!! If all goes well, we'll close on both houses on May 28 and have the weekend to move.


The boys were off last week for Spring Conferences. Both had great work to present; Sam was so excited for his conference. He just loves school so much. I hope he'll continue, which he certainly will if he gets Elizabeth for 1st grade; that teacher just glows with her love of learning and teaching. Ted's was very impressive too, just in the sheer growth he's shown this year. His reading went from pre-primer (which is middle of K) to end of 2nd (i.e., grade level) on the DRA test. This test is a tougher test than the usual one they use - on that one (that his tutor used) he was rated at a 5th grade reading level. Clearly, the DRA is a better judge of true ability, but it's still so clear that he can pretty much ready anything now, and comprehend it too. He is one of two 2nd graders who are on Multiplication in Fast Facts (They do 100 problems in 10 minutes and can only get one wrong to pass. There are 3 levels for each one - i.e. 3 different tests for adding 8 + anything, etc.) He is very proud of that. Over break the kids have C.O.W. to work on (stands for Challenge Of the Week). The C.O.W. is "an extended math problem that requires problem-solving strategies, writing about the process, thinking and solution, and showing work. It is expected to take longer than normal homework, and it should be returned as a high quality published piece." His Fall C.O.W. wasn't a high quality published piece at all; he solved the problem easily but didn't do a good job of putting it all together. He had only been in 2nd grade for a month and truly didn't know how to explain his thinking. This year's was awesome. He solved it easily but was able to explain how he came to his answer and designed an hysterical cover (keep in mind that the Horizons' school mascot is a cow). I am so proud of all he has done this year. And we are so excited for Mae to join the big boys next year at Horizons!!!

Heather, our beloved babysitter and friend, moved in with us today. Mae graciously gave up her room and all three are in the boys' room for now. It took them an extra hour to settle down tonight so I hope the novelty wears off soon. I'm glad we are under contract - it looks a little crazy in the bedrooms right now! Heather graduates on Thursday with her Psych degree and has two months off before starting her new job in Chicago. We will miss her!!! Luckily she is planning to return to Colorado in two years to get another Psych degree - hooray!

I've been sick (*sigh*) and after two wonderfully intense weeks of training, took all of last week off. I felt much better today and did an epic bike ride with Sylvie. We rode to Golden in the crazy wind and it even snowed on us! That was fun. I think I'm on the mend now though and will attempt to get back into the swing this week. Sam and Mae test on Friday night in TKD; Sam will move to Yellow Belt and Mae to Orange. Ted doesn't need to test although he does know half of his form (88 moves - he knows 48, so he's good to go) so he could mid-term, but I don't think he's planning on it. Then it's Mother's Day weekend already! We will know a lot more next week, but if all goes well and we do need to be out by June 1, we will be doing some packing!

I think that's the big news on our end. Never a dull moment!