Grannie Visits Utah

Grannie made a trip to Utah! The kids were thrilled and so were we. We did a lot while she was here. I cooked like crazy on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday evening was pretty low key and we ended up watching SuperNanny. (I promise we weren't trying to scare Grannie away.) Sunday, September 20, we went back to church for the first time since March. They've split our ward up by last name, so we don't all go the same week. It was nice to be back! Sunday night, we had a dinner with Alex and Alexa, Alysee, and Malia. (who happened to be in town to shoot a wedding). We shared lots of laughs and played 2 new games... Rook-O-Lee and Making a Million. I was a fan of both.

Monday, we went to a nearby park in the morning. Later, we stopped by the library. Andrew had an early work meeting, so we were able to drive through the Alpine Loop in the afternoon. The fall colors were breathtaking. For dinner, we had Cubby's and to top the evening off, we got Cravings Alisha's Cupcakes for dessert. Malia joined us for Rook and cupcakes which was a highlight. Andrew and I didn't get killed in Rook again, thank goodness.

Tuesday morning, we picked up free Crumbl cookies (for showing that we have the app). After quiet time and nap time, we went to a pumpkin patch. It was deserted. Yay! There was only one other car in the parking lot. James had the time of his life at Hee Haw Farms. He was so daring and went down a HUGE slide (at least 2 stories high) all by himself which shocked me. Jill had baby Daisy Tuesday and we had an emergency fast. I was pretty exhausted and weak after chasing the kids around at Hee Haw Farms. Let's face it, I typically nap my fast Sunday afternoons away... We broke our fast with takeout from a local restaurant-- Kitchen 88. 

James had a soccer game Tuesday evening and Alysee joined us which was a treat. James decided he wasn't in the mood for soccer which was unfortunate. It was pretty tricky to even get him on the field and once he was there, he didn't last long. At one point, he said he was mad that his team was yellow this week instead of maroon, so we switched his jersey and he played with the other team for all of 2 seconds. Watching 3 year olds play soccer is hysterical. Lots do summersaults and have no idea which goal to kick the ball into. They have no concept of out of bounds and have continued into other soccer fields interrupting other games multiple times. Given how crazy COVID is in Utah county, we just got word that James' soccer league is now requiring masks. Good! We'll see if we make it through the rest of the season due to lack of enthusiasm. We ended up leaving the soccer game before it ended. We spent the rest of the evening playing games (once again) with Alysee and Malia. The yummy Crumbl cookies made for an excellent dessert.

Grannie has plenty of grandchildren (34), yet she still manages to have unique relationships with each of them. She brought James a board game about red and green lights which he wanted to play constantly. She also gave us a box full of fresh peaches which we gobbled up. Izzy followed Grannie around nonstop and wanted to be held by her at all moments. She also demanded a bite of anything that Grannie ate. We were all disappointed when Wednesday morning arrived and Grannie left. Until next time, Grannie!

Disappointing Week

This week brought 2 huge disappointments.

Disappointment #1: COVID-19 spiked here in Pleasant Grove.

In fact, they shut down the High School to readjust the schedule due to the high number of infected students. Our house is a half mile from the High School. James' preschool shares a parking lot with the High School. He was supposed to start preschool next week. I don't know who was more excited about it, me or him. Truthfully, probably me. 

Now it doesn't matter. I withdrew James from preschool. I had been feeling uncomfortable about sending him and was unsure about what to do. 2 years of preschool isn't necessary and I didn't want to put my family at risk. James will do preschool next year. I feel like the covid outbreak so near to his preschool and our house was a pretty clear answer for us. The preschool was very gracious when I let them know James was dropping. I was pleased to get a refund. I did buy James a preschool workbook a few months ago, and we do several pages in that together every day. He loves to learn and is so smart! (Coming from his unbiased mother.) We're still bummed though.

Disappointment #2: We ALMOST bought a new house!

Last weekend, we toured a home and decided to put in an offer. We tried not to get our hopes up too high, but it had good bones and was a rambler. Here is the cover letter I wrote that we attached to our offer: 

Saturday, August 29, 2020

To the Owners of the Riverton Property,

We walked through your property yesterday evening. Wow, it is everything we dream of in our future home. In fact, I was so excited about the prospect of owning this property that I didn’t sleep much last night. I grew up in the area and I’m eager to get back. Your beautiful home is in the ideal location for my family. It’s a half-mile from my parent’s and 5 minutes from my sister. We have been looking for a long time to find a home near our loved ones.

My husband and I have 2 young kids, James (3) and Isabelle, (1). The instant I saw the spacious backyard, I was sold. My kids have lots of energy and our current yard has no fence. I can picture countless evenings spent in that gorgeous backyard. The mature fruit treats caught my eye as well as the grapes. I’ve always wanted to say I made this pie using the fresh fruit from my backyard! Living here would finally give me that chance. James has been asking for a trampoline for as long as I can remember and, in that beautiful yard, he could finally have his trampoline.

As we toured your house, I was in awe of all the custom designs and finishes, the vaulted ceilings, gourmet kitchen, massive dining area, and glass french doors in the entry room add so much character. My husband is excited about the 3-car garage and special lighting in there. The layout is perfect for our needs. I can see our family living in your property for many years. Your home could be our forever home. It checks all our boxes and then some.

Please consider our offer and know that we would care for this home with the love and attention it deserves. We are so excited to think that our search for the perfect place near family could become a reality with your amazing home. 

Sincerely,

Jenna and Andrew Ditto 

It's noteworthy to mention that the home is in a cul-de-sac and 3 of the surrounding homes have boats. This was a big selling point for Andrew. We joked that in the mornings, Andrew would just wait on our driveway in his swim trunks ready to hop on and join one of the boats going out.

It seemed very likely that we were going to get the house, but we didn't. It didn't help that the sellers really led us on and made us believe they were going to accept our offer. Example #1: The seller's agent requested that we write a new offer changing 1 thing which we did immediately. Example #2: The agent called our loan officer. Why do that just to turn around and tell us no? Dun, dun dun.. The plot thickens. The home currently had renters in it which made getting a loan extremely challenging. (Especially since their lease went through April 2021) At the last minute, the renters decided they wanted to buy the home and we didn't get it. Yes, we too are wondering why this was not decided before listing the house.

Clearly, the home wasn't meant to be. It did have a few flaws too, so maybe the perfect house is going to pop up and we won't have to buy it and let renters live in it through April. Maybe we were being overly optimistic, but we even had a professional come in and take pics of our current house, so we could list it.

Wanna see this said house? I've built it up a lot. I think I'm too sad to show you pictures of the perfect backyard.

Life goes on. These cuties in their matching Daniel Tiger pajamas help me get over the disappointments and smile.