Home Owners Once Again

Pura Vida friends and family,

I'm missing my brother-from-another-mother who lives in Costa Rica.  Kendra is teaching Spanish vocabulary to the twins and I have such a long history with Memo that he is virtually synonymous with Spanish in my mind.  One year from now I'll be on my 90-day paid sabbatical from work.  My dream is to spend a week in Costa Rica with Memo and a week in France with my other international friend, Ryan.  Dreams don't always come true, but I'm at least going to throw it out here because the only difference between a dream and goal is a plan.  Now I just need to start planning and saving.  That brings me to the next topic:  Home Ownership.

Kendra and I are official home owners as of Friday at noon.  Hooray for the 4 Webbs!  We don't move in for 5-6 weeks though.  After more than 4 years of renting (happily) and investing/saving we pulled the trigger on our dream home.  I held onto the down payment check so tightly that the title company lady had to pull extra forcefully to pry it from my miserly hands.  That was a tough one.  The single biggest investment move of my entire life just shifted a substantial amount of liquid assets (cash) into one of the MOST illiquid assets (real estate).  My money still exists I just can't touch it...  ever again.  However, now I get the benefit of living in the investment, which is much more enjoyable than smiling at the .00001% interest the lousy banks pay.  

Kendra's interest in Interior Decorating and DIY is off the charts.  In case you want to see what SHE likes you can check out her Virtual Pinboard here.  In case you are wondering, "what is a Pinboard?"  here's the answer:  "Pinterest allows you to organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. You can browse pinboards created by other people to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests.  People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and share their favorite recipes."

The 4 Webbs are window shopping virtually every day.  The term virtually means both "online" and "almost". Good grief, I'm getting quote happy.  I should take a grammar class at the local Junior College so I can tame the over-quoting beast.  I'll get right on that after Easton and Layla finish college.

Anyway, we are regulars at Lowes. Easton and Layla are both good sports about walking the isles with us.  Sometimes they need a break and this unframed shower worked out well.  It's a little too drab, don't you think?

The Christmas displays are an attention grabber especially for young kids.  Their good consequence for obedience and good choices was 5 minutes roaming the Christmas isle.  They stared at the blinky lights and tried on every hat including the reindeer antlers.

I took Layla on a Daddy date while Kendra took Easton on a Mommy date. Easton experienced the local train museum for the first time.  I've been saving that for a special occasion just like this.  Kendra said he loved it, but unfortunately no pictures from the adventure.  I told Layla we were going on a Daddy date and she could choose to do anything she wishes.  Her immediate response was a list of activities in the exact order she described them:

Look around the Disney Store
Eat a hot pretzel with cheese
Ride the mall train
Look at the jewelry in Claires

I was excited she knew exactly what she wanted and it was something I could easily accommodate.  Off we went doing exactly what she wanted in the order she described.  I want her to feel confident asking me for exactly what she wants so that she will feel confident in prayer asking God for exactly what she wants.  I say to her, "Be specific in both cases!"

The Disney store has an electronic mirror where if you wave some product around it a video plays related to the character whose merchandise was waved.  Here Layla and I are enjoying a brief clip from Tiana.

Layla will be Cinderella (again) this Halloween because the dress still fits her great and since we were in Sacramento last year no one in Phoenix saw her most wonderful costume.  Kendra wanted to dress her up as Minnie Mouse, but I talked her out of buying a new costume by referring to the insane amount of money we are going to spend on decorating the new house and moving.  Cinderella it is!

Layla has a nose like Toucan Sam.  As soon as the tasty scent of Auntie Anne's was in air Layla took off and stood quickly in line to wait patiently for our turn.  The lady in front of us had torn up fashion jeans. Layla thought she would be kind by fixing the perceived problem.  I had to apologize for her poking the young lady in the butt trying to get the hanging strings (awkward).  After my face turned from beet red back to normal tones we sat on a bench sharing a hot pretzel and cheesy sauce.  

Then to the train for a never-ending ride around the lower level.  Layla waved like a home coming queen in a parade screaming, "Hiiiiiiiiiiiii" and smiling brightly for all to see.

Lastly, we wandered around Claire's where she found a years-worth of gifts in the jewelry and make-up sections.

She zero'd in on a lip gloss kit with a pop-up mirror.  I chose the container with a blot in one of the colors because the clerk agreed to give me a discount.  Layla didn't care and I'm always lookin' for a bargain.  Layla took less than 10 steps out of the store before excitedly asking me to see her lip gloss.  I agreed, but not before preparing the camera so i could capture the moment.

I give you one of my finest works ever:  Lip Gloss Layla

Hmmm... Does that look familiar?  Why yes it does!  Double points for the time lapse photography win.  This is Layla discovering herself in the mirror for the first time when she was 8 months old.  

Watching our twins grow is one of the most rewarding things I've ever experienced.  Knowing they are experiencing unconditional love and a happy childhood is priceless.

See you soon!