Wow, What a Weekend..

Adam had gone with his mom up to Duluth to pick up his sister from college. They drove thru some rain, but other than that, things seemed to have gone quite well. Apparently Andrea has a lot of "stuff", or so I've heard from Adam and Juan. Adam got home around a quarter to 10, just in time for the news. Instead of staying at our place, Linda and Dre head back to Albert Lea right away so Dre could see one of her friends before she left for California for the summer.

All the while, the girls and I went and ate at McDonald's. I was going to grab a pizza, but then thought they would like to run thru the play place a bit, being it had started to rain and we wouldn't be able to go to the park. The play place was packed, as expected on a Friday night, but the girls had a blast.

Saturday we woke up and right away got ready for a morning of shopping for a washer and dryer. We went to Tony's Appliance first, where they have a really nice ding and dent section, to find out that that room of the store had been cleared for their daughters graduation party later that night. So, we were unable to look at what they had available until either Monday or Tuesday. So from there we went to Sears. We met a really nice sales guy named Dennis. He was a retired executive just wanting something to do, so he is selling washers and dryers. He really seemed to know his stuff, gave us some very useful information and actually had the best deal going on a front load washer and dryer with all the features we wanted. He gave us a quote and his number and told us to call him if we had any questions. We couldn't just stop there though, there had to be something better, so we went to Appliance Smart and then Home Depot, oh - and Warner's Stellion, too. Yeah, we are pretty serious about our washer and dryer, and definitely did our research. There were specific features that we wanted including, 4.0 cubic ft. washer, stainless steel drum, sanitizer and drying rack. We thought about the steam feature, but decided we didn't need it and saved the extra 200 bucks instead.

After a long morning of research and price quoting, we decided that Sears had the best offer going. We were going to stop back there after Lillian's nap and a quick lunch. Lillian unfortunately didn't get a nap in but handled the afternoon very well without one. While eating lunch, Adam had to just check one more place for a washer and dryer and a good thing he did. Who knew that Best Buy would have the best deal on what we wanted. It was an online offer that we had to check out at the store to see if they'd match it.

We had been invited to our new house by the seller's to walk thru the house, so they could go thru everything with us and explain what they've done to it. We were so excited and most of all very grateful because most people buying a house for the first time don't get the luxury of walking thru it with the previous owner. A great bonus for us. My brother Ben was able to come with us to help watch the girls while we spoke with Jay and April. We went over there at 1:30 and they were all ready for us with coffee and cookies on the table. They were just as excited to sell the house as we were to get it. They had tears in their eyes that they didn't end up going into foreclosure. We had saved their credit. Alexa and Lillian showed Uncle Ben around their new house and their new "fort" in the basement shower. (It has a little light in there that they love - they sat in there for at least an hour). Adam went around the house with Jay and talked about "guy stuff" and April took me around telling me about all the "girlie" features of the house. We had a great time and were able to sort of "get to know" the people who had lived in the house we are about to move into for 12 years. Adam ended somewhere out in the garage and I ended in the flower garden. Adam and Jay threw a game of horseshoes before we left and the girls, Ben and I enjoyed relaxing in our new back yard. We even have a lilac bush! Yay! :)

We didn't end up getting out of there until almost 5:30. It was a long day, but very helpful and informative for us. We are even more excited about moving in.

We were all pretty exhausted and hungry, so we went to Perkins to eat and relax. Lillian had fallen asleep and woke up just as we were about to leave. We brought her dinner home in a doggy bag. They had face painting and cookie decorating that the girls took advantage of before we left.

We stopped at Best Buy on the way home to check out their online offer and sure enough they matched it, in store. We got the washer and dryer we wanted plus a 5 year warranty for less than we would have paid for the pair we were quoted at Sears. We were more than thrilled. All the long hard research on the darn things paid off and just one less thing to worry about now. They will be delivered on June 8th, if not before. Whew! Now..on to focusing on PAINT!
By the time we got home we were all super exhausted. I gave the girls a bath, read them some books and off we were to bed. They were SUCH good girls all day. It was a busy boring day for them shopping for a washer and dryer and going thru the house. I'm so proud of them for hanging in there with us. We couldn't ask for better kids. AND we couldn't ask for a better help, with my brother Ben. He really helped take care of them while we went through the house and then at Best Buy when we were purchasing our new appliances. The girls love him and he is great entertainment for them.

Sunday we got up and Adam took the car in to get an interior detail. It needed it really bad after the winter and Alexa walking all over the back seat with her snowy/salty boots on. We vowed to get that done once a year. We feel like we have a brand new car.

We spent a good 2 hours or so packing. We still have a ways to go, but we sure got a lot done in those 2 hours. We walked over to McDonald's for lunch (I know, twice in one weekend is REALLY KILLING my diet) and let the girls run around the play place for a bit and then when the car was done we took them to the park. It was such a beautiful day and I was excited to get some much needed sun on my arms, but unfortunate there wasn't the greatest group of kids at the park and we didn't want our kids exposed to the rude language and what not, so we didn't stay too long. We took a little ride in the car to get Lillian to sleep and then surprised Alexa with a Sonic slushy for being such a good girl and helper. She labeled all our boxes for us and hauled the ones she could carry to the den to stack. She ended up falling asleep, too. So, Adam and I decided to drive by our house and around the neighborhood again. Can you tell we're pretty excited?

The girls played so well when we got home. They wedged themselves between some packed boxes in the den and sat and read books for almost an hour. Several times Adam and I asked each other how we got so lucky. Looking in on them sitting scrunched together between the boxes, Alexa reading to Lillian who sat so patient looking at all the pictures - we could not ask for anything more. They are little angels. Our angels!