CPA!!!

Chad passed his final CPA exam!!!!!!!!!! After a long 3 1/2 years we are finally done!!!!!!! It has been a rough ride for all of us. Chad is sick of studying. I'm sick of having to leave the house to make sure he doesn't have any distractions while studying. The boys are sick of not having enough time to play with Daddy. Let's just say we were all ready to be done. 

Chad had a lot of pressure to pass. We had just spent our vacation money on a review course. Plus on top of that if he didn't pass another test expired.  He studied and studied and studied. When he was sick of studying, he studied even more!!!

All of our sacrifices were SO worth it when we got the passing results!!! I still don't think we have fully processed the fact that we no longer have to study for CPA exams.  I feel like we all had so much invested and it really feels like a team win. I'm proud of all of us!

To celebrate we had a CPA book bonfire! It was so liberating to sit and watch those pages burn!

Way to go honey! I'm so proud of your determination to be successful. I always knew you could do it! Big things are coming your way one day. I just know it ;)

Girls Trip

My sister, Jennie, just bought a house in Texas. She invited us all to come visit so she could put us to work ;) Just kidding! We (me, Amy, and Mom) were happy to be on decorating/unpacking/organizing duty. She already had a lot done but we helped completely finish the downstairs. Her home is absolutely beautiful and it was so fun to visit.

 We did manage to take a slip away and get a much needed pedicure together.

 And of course no trip to Texas is complete without getting your hair done. Oh how I miss Jennie doing my hair!

 We managed to get cute and go out to lunch once too. 

While we were there we also went and drove by some houses I had been looking at it. I felt more confused about where I wanted to live than when I got there.  Haha. We've decided to rent until I get a better idea of where we want to be.

Thanks for having us Jennie and sorry if we made you donate too much ;)

Vegas Roots

It has been awhile since I have done anything with my Vegas Roots photography project. Since we are moving, I really want to do something with the letters in our house. I have rolled around a few different ideas and I think my favorite is the alphabet printed on a canvas and framed in reclaimed wood. I'm going to wait until we buy to do anything with it but it was fun creating it. It sparked a few other projects for other people too. 

 I recreated our last name since I went to the museum again. I like it better than the first one ;)

 I made this for a friend. They printed it really large on metal and it looks awesome!

 I made this for my niece for her wedding present. I had it printed on a large canvas. It looks awesome!

Sometimes I forget to take the time to use my more artistic side. It is so therapeutic when I do! With all the stress of moving I definitely need to remember to take five minutes for myself ;)

1st day of school

We had a great summer, but all good things must come to an end. School is back in session! Vance is in second grade and Keller is in his second year of preschool.  They both looked pretty studly on their first day back. Both of the boys are very independent and did not see the need for me to get out of the car. Seriously?! It's the first day of school and they are 4 and 7. I feel like I should still be able to come the first day of school. I ignored them and walked them up anyway ;)

Back to school means back to packing lunches again. I love leaving the occasional note ;)

The first day of school Vance's teacher sent them home with a cute goodie bag and note. He thought it was pretty amazing.  She seems like a great teacher and I'm excited for him to be in her class.

 Keller has a great preschool teacher. She is super organized and very academic. I love it and so does he. He can be so silly but seems to know he needs to chill at school a little. Thank goodness!

I went to a celebratory first day of school breakfast with my mom and sisters. It was fab-u-lous!!!

 After school we went to Purple Penguin and talked about the first day of school. I just love my family! 

Champions!

Vance's soccer team played on an indoor league this summer. They made it all the way to the championship game and WON!!! He was really excited and even slept with the medal that first night. He usually played defense and was goalie half of the game. He really grew as goalie and stopped a whole lot of shots. We were so proud and had a blast watching him!

Texas Bound

About a month ago, Chad had his summer evaluation at work. They gave him great reviews but didn't do so great with his compensation. This is the third time he has had to argue for more (each time they give him what he asks) but he was understandably tired of having to be "that" guy. He has always really wanted to move out of state. Me...not so much. Marriage is full of compromises so after arguing for a few days (whoopsie!) we finally came up with a compromise. He could throw out feelers at a few firms in Vegas and a few firms in Dallas, TX so I could at least be by my sister. If those didn't work out we weren't going to talk about moving for at least a couple of years.

After throwing out feelers, nothing really happened in Vegas and lots happened in Texas. Within a week he had five phone interviews. The next weekend he flew down to Dallas and had five interviews. One of the companies weren't a good fit and the other four made him offers.  He countered back at three of them and they all said yes to what he had asked for. If fact we had even offered to give one company some of the signing bonus back in exchange for a little higher salary - they said keep it all! What?! Who says that??? In the mean time he was receiving bundt cakes and fruit baskets.  Seriously?! Who does this really happen to in real life?!

Another one of my conditions for moving was my boss had to say I could work from Texas. I have the most amazing and flexible job. It has spoiled me and would be nearly impossible to find again.  I refuse to send my kids to daycare so I can work out of the home, quit and have to live super cheap, or find another job from home but only get paid $10-15/hour.  Even though I have been working from home for the last two years (I have been with the company for 10 years) we still transferred the hard files. I came up with a way for us to do the entire process electronically. I was nervous to approach my boss, but his immediate reply was, "No problem! You can work from anywhere!" Crap! That was my last out.

Everything has worked out so seamlessly I feel like God is yelling, "You are supposed to live in Texas Allison! Accept it!"  I tried my best to not listen because the thought of moving away from my amazing family and awesome friends is scary!

With my mom promising she would be a regular visitor, Chad accepted an offer to work at Huselton, Morgan & Maultsby. It seems like an amazing place to work. They are experiencing tons of growth and the opportunity to partner is much quicker than with a local firm. He also has an opportunity to work from home two days a week once he has been there for a little bit. My favorite part is that during the off-season he gets every other Friday off. Chad's favorite part is that he can wear jeans to work ;) The firm is really focused on family/work balance. We both feel blessed that he has the opportunity to work for such a great firm.

Life has been a whirlwind ever since. The biggest hurdle is selling the house.  Luckily we have plenty of equity in our home, since we bought a short sale when the market was bad. However I am BEYOND bummed to be leaving the house we just barely finished updating. Chad assures me we will find something equal or better in Texas ;) We have accepted an offer and will hopefully close late October.

Chad left to start work September 12th. He will be living with my sister and her family while I stay here to sell the house and wrap up all the loose ends. 

I am scared, excited, stressed, etc. Basically my emotions are a wreck! Chad has been patient and understanding. He is excited for this next adventure. I am more hesitant but at the same time I have all the confidence in the world that in a year or two I will be thanking him for being brave enough for the both of us.

God is good and I pray we find out why we are clearly meant to live in Texas!

I'm sure I left out some of the details but it is time to get back to packing...

This & That

Here's a bunch of those photos that don't really need their own post but that I still want to have somewhere.

Brayden loves little kids. He is so sweet with them and will make an amazing dad one day!

 Grandpa babysat one night for us when my mom was out of town. I could hardly believe Keller convinced him to play Curious George at the Zoo. I definitely was shocked when he even wore the mask! 

 I love having a slow start to my morning. Cuddling my sweet boys in bed is my favorite!

 Vance and Keller have been all about Vance giving piggy back rides. I don't mind that but I definitely don't love when Keller climbs on his shoulders. It is sweet to see them having so much together though.

 Sutton loves bath time and I love his bare bum!

 I'm determined for at least one of my boys to love playing the piano. You can never expose them to it too young right?!

 Sutton is a little snot and refuses to take a bottle. He took one fine for four months. He refused one for the next three months. One day out of the blue he decided to take two bottles. Now he is back to refusing it. Heaven help me!

Floating the Colorado River

My family took a day trip to Laughlin to float down the Colorado River. It was such a fun and relaxing day. You'd think it would be too hot but the water is the perfect temperature and keeps you cool. All of the kids and adults had a blast and the boat ran great!

Vance-isms

I have needed to actually sit down and write this post for months! Life with three kids has kept me busy!

I'm going to start with my favorite Vance-ism. When we had Sutton we obviously took lots and lots of pictures with the baby. Well during our family photo shoot Vance asked if we would take a photo with him pretending to be the baby. We were all laughing hysterically. This awkward photo makes me laugh months later!  He is too funny!

Vance's class went on a field trip at the end of the year. They went to see a play at the Smith Center. I asked Vance how it went. He said, "The chairs were so comfortable and it was really dark." I asked, "So did you fall asleep?" Vance replied, "Yep!"

I had to take a picture of this writing assignment. "If I had one hundred dollars, I would go to Texas and see my Ant Jeni and Uncle Rob for a week!"

At Vance's yearly check-up with the pediatrician, he talked to Vance about the importance of eating healthy and being active. He said Vance didn't need to lose weight but needed to maintain his weight as he grew taller. His prayer for the next week? "Please bless that I can get taller!"

Vance always invited the neighborhood kids over to play. This is a normal scene in our backyard when the weather is nice.

Vance loves to hold Sutton. He is such a great brother and we are all lucky to have him.

Here are a few of Vance's art projects. He doesn't love projects with directions but he loves to come up with his own ideas.

We love The Piano Guys at our house. When we went to their concert, we were talking about how amazing it was on the way home. Then Vance says, "You know Mom some people don't think music is art, but it is. Sometimes when I'm playing the piano, I just close my eyes and really feel it. I think music is art."  Seriously?! What 7 year old says things like that?

Vance has nicknamed Sutton. He calls him Sutante (sa-tahn-tay). I'm not sure how he thought of it but it's kinda stuck. Keller says it all the time too.

Vance did so well at school last year. They don't do an award's assembly so I never took any picture but he got Straight A's and a few other awards too. I'm so proud of him!  He is a smarty pants! 

We love to watch HGTV at our house. Consequently Vance is obsessed with the concept of buying a fixer upper, renovations, equity, etc.  He is going to be very ready to be a homeowner one day!

Vance rides his bike to school. He rides alone but there are crossing guards all along the route he takes. It still makes me nervous but he loves it. I figure I ask him to be responsible around the house a lot so if this is something he wants to do I feel like he should be able to. Our deal is he has to call me when he gets to school so I don't worry. We got him one of those pay-as-you-go phones for $7/month. Usually he is great at calling but since school has started he is having a hard time remembering to call.   He has had his fair share of consequences and he is finally realizing I'm not joking around.  I've realized the consequence he hates the most is having to stay in his room in the morning. He is an early riser (usually a little after 6:00). I made him stay in his room until 7:00 for forgetting to call me. The next morning he asked, "Mom can you just start taking me to school?" I asked "Why? Don't you like riding your bike any more?" He answered, "Yeah I do, but I just don't want to forget to call you." Success! I told him I thought he learned the importance of calling and I didn't think he would forget any more. He rode his bike to school and promptly called me when he had arrived ;)

At Home