Fall 2019

The Boys are Back in School

Foster is in Mrs. Hernandez's first grade class.  His fiends Colin, Luke, Leah and Savannah are also in his class.  He was excited to be back with his besties: Hagain, Christopher and Colin.  He is having fun at school everyday and many days comes home saying it was the best day of his life!

James is in Mrs. Popvich's third grade class.  He really likes his teacher and says she is very nice.  It's his sixth year with Hudson McEwan in his class, they really have a streak going!  He loves getting to school early to play with his friends and has a positive attitude every morning.  So proud of him!

Soccer

Along with school starting, so have sports.  The boys are both playing RB Rec Soccer this year and have lots of friends on their teams.  Mom and Crosby hate missing the games but dad always gives us the full report.  

James is on the Red Vipers team and Foster's Team is the Titanium MegaBlasters

Check out those pink socks!

Foster's team made it to the play-offs this year.  He played goalie in the last game and was the goalie for the sudden death shoot out to determine the game.  Talk about pressure!!!!  He did so great but the opposing team ended up shooting a winning goal and we were defeated.  I'm so proud of Foster.  Playing under that much pressure and having a wonderful attitude amidst.  The Titanium MegaBlasters had a fun team party to celebrate after the game.

Fall Fun

Foster and I managed to sneak away in October to attend the Harvest Festival at Painted Rock.  James opted to stay home with dad and the baby.  Foster and I dressed like farmers and had a blast. There was dancing which Foster was more than happy to do.  A donut-on-a-string contest, pumpkin bowling and face painting.  It was so nice to have some one-on-one time with Foster.

While Foster and I enjoyed the school dance, James and Crosby were cozy by the fire.

It was Crosby's first time to the pumpkin patch and although he was asleep in his stroller most of the time, he managed to still go home with a baby sized pumpkin.  We love Mountain Valley Ranch and their Halloween set up.  We love seeing the REAL buffalo and the other farm animals, the boys love picking out extra big pumpkins for carving and this year we decided to try the corn maze for the first time.  Dad helped the boys carve their pumpkins and we called it a day.

Apparently, these are their "scared" faces.

James carved his pumpkin mostly himself.  Foster had dad help him and they carved a ghost.

HALLOWEEN

Three Bandits at Trunk or Treat

Halloween has always been one of the Olson's favorite nights of the year.  This year, mom and Crosby gave out treats at the front door, Crosby slept through most of the fun, and Scott took the boys around trick or treating.  We managed to Trunk or Treat a few days before Halloween but Crosby was having none of it so mom and Crosby sat in the car the entire time.  We'll let it slide because he's less than two months old. 

A scary looking crew: Three bandits, a TX REX, Phantom and Hagan the SWAT officer

The house was pretty decked out....notice the baby bouncer in the doorway.

James and Jacob as T REX dinosaurs and Foster the Phantom in the middle.

 The boys loved their costumes this year.  James was a T REX and had an enormous inflatable costume which his best friend Jacob also wore.  They were quite a pair. Foster went for the scare factor and dressed as a phantom.  Crosby and I attended the Painted Rock Halloween Parade and of course, Crosby screamed and cried the entire time.  At one point, a 1st grade girl in Foster's class looked at me and said "Can't you calm your baby down!"  To which I replied....NOPE. I also royally embarrassed James by making him get dressed into his costume at the entrance of the school where everyone could see his  mommy getting him dressed with a screaming baby by her side.  He was mortified but hey, these things build character.  And with a 2 month old colicky baby....I'm just proud that I make it out of the house these days!  Needless to say, Crosby and I had a Halloween hangover the next day.

Nee

Mrs. Popovich's Third Grade Class

Foster and his buddies: Collin, Hagan and Christopher

The New House

Purchase Price $730,000

SQFT: 2156

Bedroom: 4

Bathroom: 2

Neighborhood: Vineland Hills

During the month of October, I began to fixate on a house that was for sale.  It caught my attention on Redfin and after weeks of it being on the market and not being able to stop thinking about it, I mentioned it to Scott.  He took a look and said "I like that house, we should go look at it."  I was so surprised by his reaction although I think it stemmed more from curiosity than actual interest.  But I took his advice and called our real estate agent Silvana and made a plan to check it out.  

The first time we walked into the house I had the feeling that we needed to live there.  It seemed perfect for our family.  The size, location and overall layout was just right for us.  But it seemed out of reach so we left the home tour with no intention of moving forward with the house.  The problem was, I could not shake the feeling that we needed to buy the house and that if we made the effort to buy it, it would all work out.  Scott did not share these feelings.  

It was a tough month, a new baby and all that comes with it and then this feeling that we needed to stretch our income as far as it could go to buy a new house.  It was stressful to say the least.  But after much prayer and many late night talks, Scott agreed to go ahead with the purchase.  When I look back it blows my mind that we bought a house (Before selling our current house), then sold our house at a price we didn't think possible and moved all with a brand new baby.  

The purchase of the house was the easy part.  The hard part of making sure our home looked perfect everyday so realtors could view it was VERY HARD.  The baby spent many hours screaming in his bouncer while I cleaned and readied our home for potential buyers.  After one weekend of the house being on the market, we were under contract.  It felt like the path was being cleared for us.  But just as we were getting comfortable, the contract fell through and we had to list it again.  Luckily our back up buyers were ready to take over the contract and we moved forward without further hiccups.  It made for a stressful time in our lives that we won't soon forget.  We were helped by many.  A truck full of church friends, moved us in the late evening so that we could be out of the house with time to clean before the holiday.  And my parents watched our boys, fed us, helped with any appointments and packed boxes and delivered them to our new house.  We will always be so grateful for the help we received.  Buying the house was such a blessing for our family and we know we were guided every step of the way.  We moved into the house the week before Christmas.  It truly was a Christmas present like no other.

It was difficult to say goodbye to our house on Rios Road.  So many memories there and we had worked so hard to make it a beautifully cozy home.  

Sale Price $710,000

SQFT: 1421

Bedroom: 3

Bathroom: 2

Neighborhood: Summerfield

After moving into the new house, we headed to Santa Barbara to celebrate Christmas.  It was an exhausting couple of months and it felt good to take a little break from all of the stress.  We celebrated with Grandma Olson, Pop Pop, Jamie and the Bazyk's.  The boys had a wonderful time, running around with their cousins.

The Sunday before Christmas, we took our very first photo in front of our new door. 

On Christmas Eve we had a prime rib dinner and each grandkid got their very own mini bottle of Martinelli’s for as many toasts and cheers they could make. After dinner the kids got in their Jammie’s and headed to bed. Crosby stole the show.

Christmas morning the kids woke up early to find that Santa came all the way to Santa Barbara to deliver their presents. Foster got new bike and took to the streets as soon as he could. James received a pirate ship that didn’t seem to make him too happy but he did get a Kylo Ren figurine that made up for it. Santa tries his best but sometimes he doesn’t quite hit the mark. Crosby got a stuffed elephant that seemed to make him happy. All in all it was a great Christmas of presents and fun. The best part was being together with family.