Our house!

I have to apologize for being such a slacker.. I can't even use the no internet excuse because we have had internet ever since we moved in. So I will just say sorry I am a slacker and I will also apologize for all the pictures I am about to put up! These are pictures of the moving day as well as fix it projects we have done the past few weeks.

What terrible weather we had.. it not only rained, but it snowed! Every other day during that week was warm and sunny..that's our luck!

The guys talking about the future of the backyard.

Some of the family that came to help.


Travis, Steven, and my Dad putting up our new big tv!

Steven, my Mom, and my Dad putting up the baby's crib. Yes, it is up already!


This is our backyard with the ugly bush in the middle of the lawn and one of many apple tree's..say goodbye!

The new and improved backyard without the bush and tree.

My Dad trying to cut down the bush.. that was a mess, but it is finally gone!

Steven and his Dad fixing our fence so our dog Jimmy can be in the backyard.

Our wood from the apple tree all piled up. It sure seemed like a lot more wood then that!!

Steven quickly learning how to be a fix it man!

Steven smelling the cherry wood.. ohh that smelt sooooooo good! Can't wait for some cherries!

The wait is over.. well almost!

Today was the big day Steven and I have been waiting for in three months. Today was the day we FINALLY signed our papers to close on the house! I think buying this house put me through more stress then all my years of school combined! It seemed like everything was going wrong, and no one was willing to help us, and the mortgage lady didn't seem to have any rush on our papers.. but finally we have made it to the end, well the end of paper signing at least! It looks like we will happily be moving into the new house on Saturday! I honestly thought this day might never happen, but I think it just might! We are getting some big strong guys in the family to come help us move..and as nice as it will be for me to just sit back and watch, I feel bad that I am not helping much, so hopefully the guys will know how helpful they are being. Steven and I took the day off on Monday to start unpacking everything and maybe we can stop living in boxes like we have been the past 2 months.
I think once the move is over I will be able to finally concentrate on more important things like getting through this semester, and getting ready for the baby. I finally ordered graduation announcements.. I wasn't going to because it costs an arm and leg for even a few, but I got convinced otherwise. Now I think I am glad I did because it will be once in a lifetime thing. I have been trying to push the whole graduation thing out of my mind because I don't want to get too anxious about it, but boy am I ready to be done! I have been going forever it seems! I didn't take a break last summer and the past 4 semesters I have been taking 15 plus credit hrs (2 semesters of 19 cr hrs).. so I am completely ready to be done.
The baby is doing really well.. we had an appointment a few weeks ago and the dr said he looks good.. very healthy! He was about 3 oz bigger then normal at our 20 wk appt, so that is good. I feel him move all the time and it gives me tons of comfort because I know he is doing good in there. I think the first few months are so stressful because you don't feel the baby move and the risk of a miscarriage is higher, so yay for getting this far! I finally stopped being sick and it is so much nicer! I now enjoy food except for a few things like processed chicken and frozen pizza's can still be a little hard as well. But everything else usually sounds good! I have not one but two breakfasts, lunch, then I will get home from work and eat again, then I will have dinner, then I will have a snack (usually an apple) in bed! Boy.. this whole pregnancy thing is starting to cost a pretty penny, but it will all be worth it!
I think everything else is doing good! Hopefully the next time we blog will be in our new house! Yay!!

Tax return

We got our tax return back a few weeks ago. Alyssa and I were pleasantly surprised at the amount we got back. We're moving into our new house in the next week or two and the return will go towards part of our down payment, fence, and applicances we need to get settled in. A lot of people wonder how we're so lucky to get a large tax return in comparison to theirs. Initially I really wasn't sure how it all worked out. I thought we were just getting really lucky year after year. The more I think about it the more I realize we're really not as lucky as it looks on paper.

Here's how I break it down.

1- Since neither of us are in a career job yet we esentially work for peanuts. Our combined income is about even with a lot of people's individual incomes so obviously that puts us in the lowest tax bracket.

2- I calculated that 29% of our GROSS income went to college tuition. That would be about 36% of our NET income. Not including books and other crap. This is the main reason for our bigger return. So while I'm at work today for 9-10 hours I may as well give $30 to Weber State.

3- We also pay 10% of our income to tithing. That counts as a contribution to charity and results in a tax break.

Alyssa will be graduating from school in a few weeks so we won't pay as much in tuition in 2010. However we will be having a baby and buy a house this year so that may compensate for the lower amount going towards school.
I really try not to dwell on taxes too much because it's enough to give me an ulcer. The government takes money from everybody and then spends it with no regard to popular vote. Deficits are astronomical and I find myself asking where these people are throwing all this money. Maybe we can ask the CEOs at the bank bailouts? I suppose that's a debate for another time.