New2this

I’ll admit I’m impressed by her garden right now. Flagstaff has been really dry and below freezing the last 2 nights so she must be watering a lot and paying attention to the weather. I’m also curious as what kind of cover she used for those tomatoes.

I’m not sure how Janelle can watch Kody and Robyn get all upset and declare the “girls are not switching schools” when Gabe was forced to do so at the same age. It’s across town, not out of state. I’m not familiar with how the high schools work other than knowing that there are kids from all parts of Flagstaff that go to each one. 🤷‍♀️ “Craig” sounded like he considered Kody’s request for about 5 seconds. If it wasn’t a set up call, I’m surprised he agreed to have it recorded.

I haven’t watched this episode yet, but the whole changing school issue has me puzzled. Is the open house where all this went down for a possible rental or the one they bought (Near coyote pass)? The home they bought is in the same elementary/middle/high school home district as their first rental. Flagstaff does have open enrollment for its public schools. Middle and high school might be different, but I’ve not heard of people being denied their school of choice for elementary. The middle school Robyn’s rental was in would also be wide open for enrollment. Charters are different but I don’t think any of the Browns are at one of the lottery admitted charters (which wouldn’t kick you out for moving anyway). I’ll try to watch tonight but the episodes keep putting me to sleep!!

The whole teaching Truely to ride a bike looked like a activity put on for the cameras. It was a terrible space to try to learn. The driveway was not long enough for him to run with her and get her started with enough space for her to continue in a straight. There were too many other obstacles (sol, ari, parked cars) around for her to try to manage. Not too mention her bike was too large for her to control. He had the right idea with the smaller training wheel bike but you have to take the training wheels off to learn to balance! Take the training wheel off and let her use it like a balance bike to get the balance. But, the slow approach takes time and Kody wouldn’t be able to handle it.

I can’t remember if Savannah is in middle or high school. If her practice is at the closest high school to Janelle’s house, Janelle would have to go out of her way to get to a drive thru. If at the closest middle school, she’d pass maybe two places with drive thrus. The temptation must be intense if she has to drive out of her way for her cravings or is tempted to stop at the same places all the time!

Pretty sure Kody’s feeling like Truely is the only 9 year old who can’t ride a bike. Bike riding is huge in Flagstaff. Toddlers are often on striders before 2 and two wheelers by 4. Their neighborhood also has long, basically flat roads that invite kids to bike. There are probably also dirt paths and jumps nearby that are popular with kids her age. She may not care, but he probably sees her being left out. (Of course, He still shouldn’t be a jerk about teaching her) In terms of learning, my kids were a bit slow to catch on at age 5/6. What worked for us was to go to a park that had a small grassy slope. Put the kid on the two wheeler without training wheels at the top. Tell them to keep their feet off the petals. Give them a push and let the momentum carry them down the hill. Once they figure out the balance, put the feet on the petals. After some practice, they were riding across the field.

The actual sequence was odd as well. They show all the “next big girls” making breakfast. Then, they show the presentation. After the presentation and discussion was over, they show everyone eating breakfast. So they let breakfast sit around and get cold? Not likely. If breakfast and the presentation even happened on the same day they didn’t occur in the timeline shown.

No building activity on Coyote Pass. On the fence line near Coyote Pass along Rudd Tank there are several property for sale signs. Not sure if it’s other owners bailing or what. There’s also a “permit change request” sign or something like that on the fence. So they may be moving forward and trying to get the zoning changed or it’s unrelated. I’ll let someone else cross check the Coyote Pass land listed on Zillow. The listing agent matches the one on the sign.

Had Janelle moved? Her walking picture is from a place where it would be rilly random for her to be walking unless she was living in/visiting the adjoining neighborhood.

The in episode recaps are ridiculous. They have the scene, go to commercial, then repeat what just happened after returning from commercial. So annoying. The jumping around of footage is also confusing. Early on, they’re talking about moving in the summer, then showing fall foliage and colorful aspens. When did the first of their houses go on the market? The conversation around the table about their homes happened in September.

The “polar express” train was definitely pictured. It starts/ends in Williams, which would be about 45 minutes or so away. I can’t remember which part of town Gwen is in. North Pole Experience starts/ends at Little America in Flagstaff but uses shuttle buses, not the train seats that can flip so you’re facing your group ( some riding forward and others backwards). It also does not have a chef working the aisles. The train does the whole serving hot chocolate and cookies thing like the movie. I also doubt the train has any affiliation with Warner Bros.

I have some familiarity with this area. It’s decently far from Flagstaff, but it’s an area that is developing. The lots they bought are on the backend of the developed area and look to be at least bordering part of the National Forest. However, there are lots of houses in the area and it is being fairly quickly developed. They are by no means miles from other houses. I have no idea what the zoning is, but the lots are typically big and many have horses. It’s not like a farm though, more like a small stall and area for a horse to graze. There’s a variety of different home sizes and styles. Some that have been there for awhile and lots of $$$ new builds, so I could see NIMBY occurring.

We have those stocking holder things that you can put on the mantle to hold a stocking. They won’t hold the stocking once it is filled, but will hold it just fine until that point.

Now that the Uhaul trucks thing is out there, I’ll add that they’ve been there for several weeks. I was in that area around 8/20 and saw them then. I knew it was around the Brown property but didn’t think much of it. Does that line up with when Robin’s lease ran out? Would make some sense (maybe?) to just store stuff in them if you knew you would be moving into a nearby house shortly after.

The two purchased homes are in the same neighborhood which is also where the “praire plague” land was purchased. If Robin’s new home is not adjacent to the land purchased, then it is very close to it. Meri and Janelle’s original rentals are in the same half of town as the rest but not close by. No idea where the $$ is coming from, but they obviously have it or access to it!

Janelle could buy hatch peppers freshly roasted in Flagstaff. Maybe it’ll be her next weight loss solution! Any recipe ideas for her?

Flag is having it’s 10 or so day stretch of what is considered “hot” with highs in the low 80s. Most homes don’t have a/c so it does get hot and stuffy inside if you don’t have fans going. My kids spend lots of time shirtless. Cools off wonderfully in the evening though. I’m guessing he’s planning on attending NAU because it’s in state and not because he’d rather be there than in Las Vegas. It appears more like he’d just rather get the heck out of Flag High which didn’t seem to be the case in LV. Agree with the comment that I hope he gets a chance to live in the dorms instead of having to live at home.

In this case her procrastination would have paid off as it snowed (again) last night a couple of inches with flurries through the day. A hard freeze under 25 is expected tonight so any unprotected tomatoes/peppers, etc would be dead. I’ll admit I was one who got all excited with spring rains and planted. Fingers crossed the extra mulch I put on my root plants, baby spinach, peas and kale protects them and the “wall of water” saves the couple tomatoes. I was at least smart enough to keep some plants in reserve inside.

Didn’t she say she wanted a garden? Mint is something that will grow in Flagstaff. A neighbor has a huge patch that was left by the previous owner. Comes up every year without the neighbor doing anything, so it would be easy for Janelle.

This is the first season I’ve watched, but does the season always end with no resolution? They showed them moving, but just left it hanging about the mega house plan. Is that supposed to be the cliffhanger for the next season? If so, why didn’t the interviewer ask the wives anything about it during the tell all? After suffering through a season (and fast forwarding anything that didn’t relate to the move), I don’t know how anyone can watch this show except for snark value. It’s so boring and they talk about the same thing repeatedly.

I don’t think the compound would have a basement. They are very rare in the area unless the home site is on a slope. 1500 sq feet seems like it would be plenty though! We moved from a house with an unfinished basement to one without one I really miss the storage space However, I think the compound talk is just a story line. There’s only so much moving talk that can be tolerated. I would be shocked if any local builders would take that on. Home building is booming (and stupid expensive) in the area. I don’t think a builder or any legit contractors would want to take the chance on a home that would break all sorts of regulations and get on the wrong side of the inspectors.

AZ has open districts, so they could open enroll at a different school to all be at the same school if they so choose. However, It also not uncommon to have kids from the same family at different schools. Some have specialized programs that may fit one kid better than others and there are a bunch of charters.

She’s in a tough place to grow stuff. Some people do have very nice gardens, but you have to be dedicated. It’s not like other places I’ve lived and I plant greens in the spring, tomatoes/peppers for the summer and everything grows without much effort. The last frost day is around 6/15 and the first is 9/1, so a short season The first month of the growing season is usually very dry and the sun is strong. Those greens planted early wilt quickly and the tomatoes/peppers are stressed. Monsoon season comes and there’s plentiful rain. Everything grows like crazy. Then you realize all the beautiful tomatoes are still all green and a hard frost is already in the forecast. I know there are ways that lengthen the season but they take time, effort and planning.

Yes he started 1st. With an October birthday, there’s no way he’d be in 2nd. But wouldn’t he have already been through kindergarten in LV? So he would have switched schools.

I wish they’d stop it with the over praise. It gets so annoying and gushing over things is a pet peeve of mine. Most gorgeous you’ve ever seen? Tells me you haven’t gotten out much. Maybe most gorgeous you’ve ever tried to buy/build or most gorgeous you can afford or more gorgeous than you could have imagined, but most gorgeous you’ve ever seen? Um ok I think the property is fine for what it is and has a nice view. If the Browns were local to the area, I’d understand the praise more because people often have an attachment to where they live. But just seeing it and feeling like angels are singing comes across as a huge act.