The Hanson Crew

because it is still pretty humid here and because we have hit the "cool" stage a little (those ridiculous glasses are mine from a thrift store I bought for an 80s birthday party and never ended wearing by the way!) Joshua is getting a little ready for K a little early. Since the new cut, we have been asked 4 times if he and Caleb are twins. It's kinda tempting to have them dress alike and go out in public just to hear it some more :)

Craigslist Junkie (n.) : a person who sits for hours on the craigslist website, refreshing the "Free" and "Items for Sale" lists to see what new things pop up. Then minutes after they appear, emails or calls the person for immediate pickup. This person will sometimes drive an hour to pick up the really inexpensive or free item once he or she has permission to come get it. The hunt for that great deal or item can sometimes keep that person always on the hunt at thrift stores, sale ads, clearance isles, and online. Some rewards of being a junkie: An awesome brand-new looking pub table. Solid wood with counter height seating for 4 - $50 A great 3 shelf potterybarn looking bookshelf - only needing a little paint and a couple wicker baskets - $20 Free wicker 3-shelf stand, complete with 3 lined square baskets - only needing some spray paint - Free Next mission - free or under $50 couch in need of a slipcover...we'll keep you posted!

It is miserably hot and humid here today so after a morning of errands, we stayed in the cool house and started watching the Men in Black movies...the kids must of really liked it.

...Street that is. While we were in Omaha this weekend for a wedding and another zoo trip, we negotiated a deal on the Coves house! We were so excited! We are signing all the work tonight and scheduling the inspection tomorrow. We got it for about $4000 less than they were asking and they are paying closing costs. The best news, they agreed to let us take possession 2 days before we close so we can move all our stuff out of this one and avoid storage and a double move :) So God's timing really did all work to how we were hoping. Ashlyn and Joshua haven't got to go through this one yet so they are excited to go this week and walk through it. We did drive them to the neighborhood pool though which was a big hit of course! I will post a sideshow of pics after we go this week. It is tons bigger than the house we have now and it will be fun to get to know a new area of Kansas City we are not used to at all. The one big con, we will have to change Caleb's speech instructor in Jul

So the house status today has changed a little from the other day. Right after we signed an offer for our 1st choice house, the sellers agent called and explained a few major repairs the house needed. She also explained that the price was not negotiable at all and that it would go to a short sale very soon. This meant that they were about to lose their house so no repairs could be made, no closing costs paid, and a little more than we could afford. So offer number 3 - failed. So we drove through the Coves to look at our second choice one more time before making the offer. The kids loved the neighborhood lake and pool of course and we noticed a few minor siding issues we hadn't seen before. This is not the location we preferred because it is about 30 minutes west of Kearney, but still a bit north from our church and school. When we mapquested it though, because of the interstates, it would be about 15 minutes to everywhere we need to go. So it was still our plan for today..

Jonathan has joined Ashlyn and Caleb - they all 3 take after their mom and have freckles!! Joshua does not.

So today we are putting an offer on a 3rd house (the one above). The other 2 houses we both really liked sold while we were in the middle of an offer. This house we are trying for today is HUGE (4 bedrooms and an office) and in the location we were hoping for, but is a little more than we wanted to spend. We'll keep you posted tomorrow if we get this one or not. We also have a backup house waiting if this one doesn't work out that is also big, but a little more in our price range. The location is not where we were hoping for, but still closer to school and church. That picture is below. We pray one of these 2 will work out...

left both garage doors open all night and wake up the next morning completely surprised that your cars, wallets, bikes, and children were all in its place! We have now!

I just love having such good friends who are fun! Not too soon after Allison's High School Musical Party, I was able to attend a couple more "themed parties." A group of us surprised our friend Lori for her 40 th birthday with a fun bike ride wearing hilarious T-shirts we had made. We decorated her bike with balloons and then rode to a Culver's restaurant down south. It was great weather and a really fun time! I forgot to put this picture on here a while ago and remembered last night when we were at an 80s party. Last night only about 1/2 of us could get together for Sara's birthday, but it was still alot of fun. We all dressed in 80s clothes and went to Red Robin for dinner and then walked to Baskins Robin for dessert. I think the whole restaurant paused when we walked to our table....it was hilarious! Here we are outside... Praise God for fun friends who don't mind a little embarrassment for a good laugh and great fellowship! What party do you think

So who would have ever thought in this market our house would sell in 4 days and then we would have such a hard time finding one! I think those 1st time home buyers are beating us to the punch everyday! We tried for another house yesterday (the small one that reminded me of Colorado I mentioned a couple weeks ago) and we didn't get that one either. It was a similar situation with the big one we tried for where a second offer came in with our and the sellers took their offer - we never even had the chance to up our price and counter. We know that God has the right house for us and we are learning to wait on him. But it is hard. We are going through another list of homes this week and giving it another shot. And interest rates continue to rise....We are one month away from closing....and we are starting to pack. Please continue to pray for us as we look for the right home in the right location in Gods perfect timing.

and just as freezing as the first day...9:00 in the morning this week in KC was around 65!!!

We have not been able to come to an agreement on the Woodland house today so it looks like we are still looking...we'll keep ya posted on our next target!

and they have countered! We will counter again in the morning and be praying they take it....our inspection came back good so we are seeing packing in our near future whether we have another house or not! We'll know much more tomorrow... Here is a link to the listing we are trying to get. The pictures are not all that great. It has all new carpet throughout the house and is the exact Gladstone location we are looking for. This house will only work if our counter is accepted so we will keep looking if the price isn't right or make an offer on another house we both really like in the same area that is smaller w/ the amazing backyard that reminds me of Colorado. That listing will come next if we don't get this one. Gladstone house on Woodland Ave

Yesterday Joshua learned how to ride his bike with no training wheels! He practiced for about an hour in the backyard on the grass and then we took him to our park trail. He went for long periods of time there! He still needs a little help starting off, but is doing great. Jonathan seems very interested in trying a big boy bike too so we might use his $50 gift card he won for a 12" bike with training wheels. Boy do we just love summer!

We are excited about signing up for a summer activity this summer - swimming lessons. The good news - all 3 kids can do them at the same time and the cost is very reasonable. They also only last 2 weeks! We will start on Monday and go M-F from 9-9:40. Everyone is very excited. We also signed Caleb up for a Phonological Awareness class through Children's Mercy Speech Program that starts this Friday and meets every Friday for an hour through the summer. This class sounds awesome and will really help him prepare for reading with his speech disorder. There are only 3 kids in his class so far and is a perfect fit for helping him recognize, hear and see letters and words. We are super excited! Today is our inspection. If all goes well, we will be a go for a move out on July 15th :) We went yesterday for a few hours with our Realtor and couldn't find anything we both really liked yet. We are going again on Friday. We'll keep ya posted on how it all goes today and if ou