I am frustrated and I need to vent. The following may or may not make any sense, and it is definitely going to be very one sided. So, keeping that in mind...
Our most recent landlords are extremely anal characters (anal character- noun - Psychoanalysis . a group of personality traits including meticulousness, compulsiveness, and rigidity, believed to be associated with excessive preoccupation with the anal phase as a child, with effects lingering into adulthood.). I knew this right from the very beginning, and was reminded of it all throughout tenancy. So I should have been prepared for what checking out was going to be like.
I do believe that it is only fair to leave a place at least as clean as you found it (and in most cases, lots better), and so I have no problems cleaning up after ourselves when we leave. Within reason. But let it be known that I am in no way, shape, or form trying to get out of our responsibility to clean. And I knew that our most recent landlords have a high expectation of clean. I mentally tried to put myself up to the challenge.
As we all know, moving out of one place and into another can be quite stressful. Trying to clean up the mess you left behind at the same time as organizing the new mess you've just made, tends to make life a little tense for awhile. I felt like I did my best to counter the stress by planning lots of time to get everything in the old house perfectly clean and spotless. After we moved out, I would go back to the old place in the mornings and deep clean one room at a time while the kids watched a movie on the laptop downstairs. Side note: I did janitorial work all through high school and college, so deep cleaning is something I feel really proficient at; and while I am not the most spotless of day-to-day house-keepers, I can deep clean any given area like nobody's business. When I deep clean, I start at the top of the room and work my way to the bottom. Dust the corners, dust/clean the light fixture, change bulbs as needed, wipe smoke detector, check batteries, bleach the shelves/cupboards, vacuum out window seals, clean the blinds, Windex the windows, 409 the doors and nobs and switches and outlet covers, wash the walls top to floor with hot soapy water, do the baseboards, edge the room with the vacuum, and then finally vacuum the floor. Obviously bathrooms and kitchens have more to do in the middle areas, but those things get equally as much attention. After I was done in each room, I would shut and lock the door behind me so that there was no chance for my kids to go in the room after it was clean and mess it up again.
After a week of this, Aaron and I decided to see if we could do one long haul on Saturday to finish up and be out, so we could put all our focus on the new house. Our wonderful Relief Society sisters volunteered to come help too, I asked them to go back over the walls and baseboards a second time with hot soapy water. During that time, Aaron and I finished up in the kitchen, even pulling out the oven and fridge and cleaning the sides, underneath and behind them. Guess what? We found some things that weren't ours back there. A hot pad and an oven mitt behind the stove, and some magnetic letters and a couple toys under the fridge. Could it be from someone who lived there before us? (Which was our landlords, btw.) We concluded that since we'd found those things, that it probably hadn't been cleaned out back there when we moved in.
When we were done with the inside, we tackled the outside. I was a little miffed that we had to do the outside in the first place...I mean pick up all our junk, yes. But they wanted us to weed the garden and remove any old plants, etc. and...this is what gets me..."turn the soil". Seriously? Do you want to know what the garden looked like when we moved it? There were still pieces of old corn stalk, for one, but that didn't really bother me. What bothered me was that they had dumped out a couple of big flower pots into the garden and in the bottoms of the flower pots were dozens of large rocks. So when we moved in and wanted to start a garden, we had to pick out the big rocks, and then sift out the medium sized rocks, and then turn our own soil. But even if the soil and been pristine when we moved in, I don't think spring-cleaning the yard falls under the responsibility of the renters. Up-keeping the yard while you live there - yes, if it's in your contract. I guess, to put in mildly, I thought the check out sheet was over the top. WAY over the top.
But we really wanted as much of our deposit back as possible, so we honestly gave it a valiant effort. When all was said and done a grand total of 30 hours had been spent in cleaning the old place inside and out. After a very long Saturday, we turned in our keys and garage door opener. Our landlords couldn't come out right then to walk through with us, but said they'd let us know if they found anything that effected our deposit. We knew a of a couple things that were broken, the weather stripping on the bottom of the storm door, and one set of blinds, that we expected to come out of the deposit, but other than that we were fairly confident that the place couldn't get any cleaner.
Lesson learned: never be confident when renting. They will ALWAYS find something to charge you for. A few days later, we received and email with a long list of stupid things that they said didn't get cleaned. Taking off the floor vents and vacuuming them out was one. She said there were marks all over the walls, especially at kid level. And some other equally dumb things.
And you know, I'm willing to consent to the marks on the walls. There may have still been marks on the walls. HOWEVER, the walls were scrubbed once with bleach by me, and once with hot soapy water by either me, or someone in the RS who was helping us. So after two pretty thorough scrubbings, if it's still on the wall, it's probably not going to come off. But regardless of a scuff mark that won't come off, the wall is still clean.
It reminds me of the difference between the kinds of people who want to be healthy vs. the kinds of people who merely want to look healthy. People who want to look healthy are the kind that don't care if they are anorexic and that their body is starved for vital nutrients, they just care that they are skinny and don't weigh much. People who want to BE healthy, eat a balanced diet and exercise regularly and aren't as concerned about the numbers on the scale or the size of the clothing, as long as they feel good inside and have energy to do the things they want to do.
I think our landlords want a house that LOOKS clean. No dents, no scuffs, no scratches, new looking everything. When in reality, over time, things get worn out, baseboards and handrails get dinged up, there will be wear and tear where cupboards slide in and out, tile grout will discolor slightly, as will the bathtub bottom. And any other numberless amounts of things that just get old. And not that the house is old and decrepit and falling apart, because it isn't, it's still in really nice shape...but it's far from brand-spanking-new. However, it is completely sanitary. It has been scrubbed top to bottom inside and out. It IS clean. Not just cleaned but deep cleaned. Clean doesn't mean restoring it to perfectly new. That's not possible. It wasn't perfectly new when we moved in, but even if it had been there would be no way to put it back to new. And I think it's asinine that they are practically demanding that we do so.
But what chaps my hide even more...if we don't go back and successfully attempt to fix the list she sent us, she will charge us $25 an hour to have someone come in and clean for us. Really? Twenty-five-dollars an hour? When we managed Mira Monte, we charged $12 an hour to clean up after people, and I thought that was a bit high. $25 dollars an hour is flat out highway robbery. Especially to re-clean a place that's already been thoroughly cleaned. So, what if she spends 2 hours re-scrubbing walls, only to discover, that oh-ya, I was right, they were already as clean as they were going get, can she still charge me for those 2 hours? She would.
And I guess the part that really gets me, the part that has kept my blood boiling for the last 2 days, is that there really isn't anything I can do about it. They've got our money, which we really want back, and they are holding it over our heads, demanding the ridiculous, and if we can't live up to the demands, we're out. That's it. There's no second opinion. No appeal to anyone. Nothing. I suppose, we could go to court, but really? That's not going to happen. Too much money, too much hassle, and no guarantee of any favorable outcome. A more realistic expectation would be this: Aaron and I will go back and spend several more hours there this weekend. It still won't be good enough. They'll deduct large sums from our deposit. We'll be angry. That will be the end. We lose. No matter what. And I can't get over it. It's just turning and spinning, 'round and 'round in my head, and grating on my nerves. I feel powerless, frustrated, and annoyed. I just want to ring their necks and yell at them until they realize how profoundly unreasonable and ridiculous they are being. But, being the non-confrontational person that I am, I'll write a blog post to vent my frustration instead, and vow that I'll never rent again.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
TREES!
We'd been living in our house all of about three days, when I decided it was time to get down to serious business. Tree planting. I found the two cherry trees I wanted as Costco (Bing and Black Tartarian), so I bought those while I was there. Then a few days later, we went back to Costco and bought a plum tree, and a 3-combo apple tree (it will grow Lodi, Honeycrisp, and Zestar apples). Then we went to Lowes and found an Elberta Peach and a Bartlett Pear.
So all six of our fruit trees are in the ground and raring to go. I wanted to get them in as soon as possible, because it will take a few years before they produce any fruit. We still have to buy the six Linden trees for the grass between the road and the sidewalk, but so far I haven't been able to find them locally, so I may end up having to order them online, but I have one more nursery to check first.
The kids are really excited about the trees, and love sitting in the yard with their little garden trowels pretending to help daddy dig the holes. And since our whole yard is dirt they are welcome to dig pretty much where ever they like. It's like a giant sandbox.
Bike Rides
The weather has been absolutely gorgeous. We've taken a lot of breaks from unpacking to enjoy the sunshine. One of our favorite pass-times is to go on a bike ride around the neighborhood.
I've had to resort to using my camera phone. I still can't find our battery charger. But these pictures turned out pretty good for a phone, I'd say. I'd also just like to mention that I have very cute children.
The Move
We closed on our house on Thursday the 15th. We got keys to our house on Friday the 16th and immediately began moving in. We took 3 van loads over Friday night, containing as much kitchen and bedroom stuff as we could squish in. You better believe we were sleeping in the new house the very first chance we got! :)
Saturday morning bright and early we picked up the moving truck. The kids thought the empty moving truck was the greatest thing since Macaroni and Cheese. The Elder's Quorum and Aaron's teacher's quorum, and our awesome neighbor came and began loading and unloading all our stuff. My good friend Julie took our two younger kids (Lincoln wanted to stay and help), which was a HUGE help. And load by load, we moved into our new house!
My parents and Tanner came down to help with the last of the loads, and then they stayed late helping us arrange and put together furniture, and bake pirate ship cakes and party.
We really appreciate everyone who helped move us, and help us clean the old house afterwards. We have the greatest friends and neighbors in the whole world, and that's the truth. Luckily we aren't too far away, so we'll still get to see all them lots and lots.
As I mentioned in my last post, my camera battery died. It's been a week and a half since we moved and I still cannot locate the battery charger. Grrr..... So, pictures coming...sometime.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Ivan's Third Birthday
Ivan turned 3 on March 18th. The day after we moved to our new house. Because my parents were coming up on Saturday the 17th to help us move, we decided that would also be the best day to celebrate.
After moving everything from the old house to the new, we had Papa Murphy's Pizza, opened presents, and had pirate cake and ice cream.
Adelia, Lincoln, Ivan, Tanner, Papa Kerry, Gramma Tam
For his birthday Ivan got some duplo legos and some Air Force jets from Gramma Tam and Papa Kerry, a duplo lego base and bike bell from Grandma and Grandpa Swan, and a strider bike (bike without pedals) and bike helmet and a Lightning McQueen camping chair from us.
He liked his bike well enough, until we told him that now that he had a cool, new big boy bike, he should probably give his little red trike to Adelia. That did not go over well, and then he wanted nothing to do with his new bike. It took a few days to persuade him that his new bike was bigger and he could go faster on it than he could on the trike. I think we're getting there.
Ivan told me his favorite present was his Buzz Lightyear helmet. Two days after his birthday the kids got in the garage and Adelia was playing with the helmet and left it out in the driveway without any of us realizing. Later, I was backing out and ran over it. It crunched. I cried. I felt like a miserable failure at Ivan's birthday this year anyway, because we were so preoccupied with the move, and then I went and ran over his favorite present. Gah!
The good news is, we have since bought him a replacement helmet, this one has rocket ships and astronauts on it and lights up. He's pretty pleased with it.
I will say, that Ivan's cake turned out awesome. It's probably one of my favorite cakes of all the cakes we've made. Ivan wanted a pirate ship. I made it out of a loaf pan and a sheet cake. It was actually pretty easy, but just looked so incredibly cool. I hope he liked it.
On Sunday, Ivan's actually birthday, he had a really long and late nap after church. So in the evening Aaron and I put Lincoln and Adelia to bed, and then spent some awesome one on one time building a lego city/castle with Ivan in the toy room. Ivan was so animated and chatted up a storm. You could tell that he doesn't get the opportunity to be the only one talking very often, and he wanted to make the most of it. I think that was my favorite part of Ivan's birthday, was being able to spend that hour with just Ivan and Aaron, doing something that Ivan loves...legos. He's a good little builder too, and between him and Aaron and me supervising we made a pretty awesome city. Unfortunately, the camera battery was dead by this point, so I didn't get a picture.
Happy Birthday Ivan Boy! I'm glad you're three and I'm even more glad that you are in our family.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
No Internet
We've moved! The new house is wonderful. I will post pictures and tell all about it as soon as we get the Internet installed, which won't be until sometime next week. If you need me, call or text, since I only get to check my email sporadically.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Letter Day Catch Up
I have been such a slacker about posting our weekly letter day activities. They are still happening! Here are some of the things we've done.
I never posted about letter K. But Suzy did a great job with it. She had the kids make K's with their bodies. We even made a giant K out of people on the floor. I was the straight stick, and Ivan and Kaitlyn were the arm and leg coming off of the K. It was fun. We also put on chapstick and kissed a paper letter K. And made fruit ka-bobs.
For M, Suzy did a monkey theme. She read the five little monkeys jumping on the bed book. We made trees by tearing pieced of paper and gluing them in place. Then we used peanuts for monkeys and put 5 monkeys in the tree. They turned out really cute. Suzy also invented this awesome monkey snack out of a bagel, apple, cream cheese, raisins, and Nilla wafers. Cute!
I did N. I did not take any pictures. I meant to. Ivan was being kind of a stinker that day and not super willing to participate. BUT we read a book called Little Bunny's Noisy Book, which is one of our favorites. Then we played a little game on the computer, two animals would pop up on the screen and you would hear a Noise, and then you had to guess which of the two animals made that noise. The kids had a great time with that. Then we made noodle necklaces.
Suzy did O. We looked through ads in the paper and cut out pictures of things that were orange and glued them onto a paper with the letter O. Then we took cheerios and glued them on too, because they are shaped like an O. We also played an opposites matching game. I did not take pictures.
My turn for P. I decided to do a St. Patrick's day theme for P. I read the kids a book about why we celebrate St. Patrick's Day. Then we played pin the hat on the leprechaun. Then I told them about pinching, and how you get pinched if you don't wear green. I'd made up a sheet with a bunch of different animals on it, some were green or had green parts, and some were not. I have the kids a handful of clothespins and told them to pinch the animals that weren't wearing green. I thought it was a fun alternative to pinching each other. :) Then we had a green parade. We invited Lincoln and Nathan and Ryan and Adelia to join us, and we marched down to the stop sign and back, showing off our green. When we got home, we made pots of gold at the end of the rainbow using Fruit Loops. I thought they turned out cute.
And yesterday, Suzy did letter Q. She read us a book about ducks who say quack! Then we got to glue pictures of things that start with Q onto a paper with a Q on it. Then she flipped through alphabet cards and every time she came to a Q or a q we had to quack like a duck. The kids thought that was funny. Then she did a quarter toss. And at the end we ate Q shaped quesadillas.
I never posted about letter K. But Suzy did a great job with it. She had the kids make K's with their bodies. We even made a giant K out of people on the floor. I was the straight stick, and Ivan and Kaitlyn were the arm and leg coming off of the K. It was fun. We also put on chapstick and kissed a paper letter K. And made fruit ka-bobs.
For M, Suzy did a monkey theme. She read the five little monkeys jumping on the bed book. We made trees by tearing pieced of paper and gluing them in place. Then we used peanuts for monkeys and put 5 monkeys in the tree. They turned out really cute. Suzy also invented this awesome monkey snack out of a bagel, apple, cream cheese, raisins, and Nilla wafers. Cute!
I did N. I did not take any pictures. I meant to. Ivan was being kind of a stinker that day and not super willing to participate. BUT we read a book called Little Bunny's Noisy Book, which is one of our favorites. Then we played a little game on the computer, two animals would pop up on the screen and you would hear a Noise, and then you had to guess which of the two animals made that noise. The kids had a great time with that. Then we made noodle necklaces.
Suzy did O. We looked through ads in the paper and cut out pictures of things that were orange and glued them onto a paper with the letter O. Then we took cheerios and glued them on too, because they are shaped like an O. We also played an opposites matching game. I did not take pictures.
My turn for P. I decided to do a St. Patrick's day theme for P. I read the kids a book about why we celebrate St. Patrick's Day. Then we played pin the hat on the leprechaun. Then I told them about pinching, and how you get pinched if you don't wear green. I'd made up a sheet with a bunch of different animals on it, some were green or had green parts, and some were not. I have the kids a handful of clothespins and told them to pinch the animals that weren't wearing green. I thought it was a fun alternative to pinching each other. :) Then we had a green parade. We invited Lincoln and Nathan and Ryan and Adelia to join us, and we marched down to the stop sign and back, showing off our green. When we got home, we made pots of gold at the end of the rainbow using Fruit Loops. I thought they turned out cute.
Ivan, Nathan, Kaitlyn, Adelia, and Lincoln, sporting their St. Patty's Day green.
And yesterday, Suzy did letter Q. She read us a book about ducks who say quack! Then we got to glue pictures of things that start with Q onto a paper with a Q on it. Then she flipped through alphabet cards and every time she came to a Q or a q we had to quack like a duck. The kids thought that was funny. Then she did a quarter toss. And at the end we ate Q shaped quesadillas.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
"Moving" right along....
We did our walk-through this afternoon. All went well. As far as I know, we're still set to close Thursday and move in Saturday. I'm so excited I can't stand it. There are so many things I love about our new house. :) And I have big plans for it, that will probably take a lifetime to fulfill, but I love thinking about them.
I've been a pretty laid back packer this go around. Mostly, I've been feeling like being really meticulous and space efficient is a big waste of time. I've just been throwing things into boxes and taping them shut when they're full. No reorganizing and shuffling things around inside the box to see if more will fit. Not this time. In fact, I mostly haven't even been labeling the outside of the boxes either. I'm driving Aaron crazy. He doesn't like my unorganized packing method. But, I am not one bit stressed about packing. And I figure, I'll be the one who opens 90% of the boxes and puts the stuff away anyway while Aaron's at work. So I'll continue to pack how I please. It's kind of funny, the toys the kids have left out at the end of the day, I just scoop up and throw into some random box. That way, for them at least, opening all our moving boxes will be like Christmas, because there could be toys in any number of boxes.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Homemade Pita Bread
1 Tbsp yeast
1 Tbsp honey
2 1/2 cup warm water
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp olive oil
6-7 cups whole wheat flour (you could probably use white flour, I've never tried, but you'd probably need more of it since wheat flour sucks up moisture better.)
Dissolve yeast and honey in water in a large bowl (or if you're using a mixer, just put it in the mixer bowl, less dishes that way); let stand until bubbly (10ish minutes). Add salt, oil, and 6 cups of flour. Knead 5-10 minutes, adding additional flour if needed. Let rise for 1 hour or until double in bulk. Punch down; divide into 20 equal portions (I usually only divide into 16 because then the pitas are bigger). Roll each portion into a ball; roll out into circles on floured or greased surface so that they are 1/4 an inch thick. Place onto greased baking sheet; let rise for 30 to 45 minutes, then turn over. Bake at 450 degrees for 8-10 minutes, turning halfway through (I usually don't turn them, and they are fine). Pitas should be puffed in the middle and only slightly browned. To keep them soft, place inside paper bag to cool, or eat them warm.
Whenever I make these, I usually double the recipe (I'd triple it if I could, but I think my bread mixer might die if I did) and then I freeze what we don't use that day. These freeze great. Just wrap them individually in tin foil and put them in the freezer. The next time you want some just pop them in the oven, still wrapped, at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. And they come out just as good as fresh baked.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Purry Goo Hay-er
Purry Goo Hay-er. That's what Adelia calls it.
Translation: Pretty girl hair. That's what she tells me whenever I actually get around to doing her hair. All the sudden she's started really liking having me put bows or clips in her hair (not that she leaves them in very long). She loves to use her little brush she got for Christmas and brush her own hair, or anyone else's who is willing.
Her hair is long enough now, that I have a couple of different styles at my disposal. Piggy tails, straight down with her bangs back in a clip or bow, or the most recent one, a little braid off to the side. I love that whatever parts of her hair won't stay put up, I can just get wet and scrunch and they will curl and look so cute (at least until after nap time).
Having a girl is such a different ball game than having boys...but it's not so bad.
Translation: Pretty girl hair. That's what she tells me whenever I actually get around to doing her hair. All the sudden she's started really liking having me put bows or clips in her hair (not that she leaves them in very long). She loves to use her little brush she got for Christmas and brush her own hair, or anyone else's who is willing.
Her hair is long enough now, that I have a couple of different styles at my disposal. Piggy tails, straight down with her bangs back in a clip or bow, or the most recent one, a little braid off to the side. I love that whatever parts of her hair won't stay put up, I can just get wet and scrunch and they will curl and look so cute (at least until after nap time).
Having a girl is such a different ball game than having boys...but it's not so bad.
Monday, March 5, 2012
That's March for Ya
On the last blog entry, I posted a picture of the kids in the snow. Today, a few days later, it was 68 degrees and beautiful outside. We didn't even need coats. We had a picnic. We rode bikes. We stayed outside most of the entire day. It was glorious. Bring on the spring weather!
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Snow and Swim
We had the pleasure of having Aaron's sister Stacey and her husband Rob and their two boys, come and stay with us for a couple nights last week. It snowed, and the next morning all 5 kids were very anxious to get out and play in it. It took me about 30 minutes to get all of them dressed and bundled up. Then we went outside, and after about 2 minutes, they were done and wanted to come in. Such is life with kids. But at least I got off a couple of good shots during those two minutes. :)
Also at our house, swimming lessons have started up again, and this time Ivan is participating too. He was so excited. And he does well in class, but he doesn't like to put his head under the water. So whenever his teacher has him do that, he has a little crying spurt afterwards, but then he's fine. We had to switch lesson times to a time when they had Lincoln's level and Ivan's level going at the same time (because I don't want to spend my life at the swimming pool), and now Aaron gets to go with us to the lessons. Adelia loves having her daddy there to play with while we watch the boys.
Friday, March 2, 2012
Scary!
If this story doesn't make you want to buy a security system, dog, and handgun, I don't know what will. Aaron works with the home owner in this story...scary stuff. I'm glad it turned out the way it did for him and his family. This happened not very far from our house. It's so much scarier when it's close to home and people you know. We've been triple checking the doors at night, to make sure they are locked.
SPRINGVILLE — A homeowner fatally shot a would-be robber who entered his house in Springville early Thursday morning. The intruder apparently stopped for a snack and changed clothes before going upstairs to threaten the home's residents.
Investigators have identified the intruder as Armando Martinez Jr., 31. They believe drugs or alcohol was a factor, but they will have to wait for autopsy results to confirm that.
Springville police responded to a call of a home invasion robbery at 2:48 a.m. in the area of 800 South and 475 East. When officers arrived they found Martinez had been fatally shot in the bedroom.
Lt. Dave Caron with the Springville Police Department said Martinez entered the home through a back sliding glass door. The door was locked with a child lock, but Martinez apparently disabled it by pulling hard on the door.
Once inside, Martinez took off clothes that had become wet while traipsing through the snow and change into some of the resident's clothes, which were folded on the couch in the living room. Caron said Martinez then went to the kitchen, made a tortilla and ham wrap, ate some of it and returned the uneaten portion to the refrigerator before going upstairs.
Martinez then entered the master bedroom, told the homeowner and his wife that he had a gun, and ordered them to get keys to drive him to an ATM. Under the guise of getting ready to leave, the homeowner walked into a closet, got his .9-mm gun and shot Martinez , striking him once in the chest, Caron said.
Investigators say it appears that prior to entering this home, Martinez had walked through the neighborhood, checking at least 20 homes and several cars for unlocked doors. There are no reports of anything missing or any other homes or cars being broken into. Police are currently trying to document the route before the tracks melt.
Caron said Martinez matches the general description of a man wanted in connection with a similar incident last week.
"In that case he went into the home, stole a gun and apparently a cellphone," Caron said. "He told these homeowners tonight that he had stolen a gun before, so we're pretty sure it's the same guy."
Caron said neither the gun nor cellphone from the previous robbery was recovered at the scene of Thursday's shooting. In fact, while the suspect claimed to have had a gun Thursday morning, none was found.
Investigators are treating the incident as a case of self-defense, but Caron said police are conducting a full investigation that will be treated just like any other. Still, the incident appears straightforward.
"I don't see any reason to think it's anything but (self-defense)," Caron said. "They don't know this guy. This guy came into the house, threatened them, claimed he had a gun and, to protect his family, (the homeowner) took that action."
There were three children — 3-year-old twin boys and an infant girl — in the home at the time. None of the family was injured, and police said the family is handling the situation well.
"It's a pretty traumatic experience to have someone break into your home and then threaten you," Caron said. "Then, to actually take the man's life in your bedroom is pretty upsetting. All things considered, they were hanging in there pretty well."
Neighbor Bridger Frampton said he spoke to the homeowner and said he sounded rattled and was still in shock. He was one of a number of neighbors who said they would have done the same thing if they had found themselves in a similar situation.
"That's a big decision, when it comes between your family and that," Frampton said. "I think he made the right one."
Another neighbor, Coleby Clawson, said the incident has impacted everyone in the neighborhood, especially knowing that the burglar had tried to enter a number of houses Thursday morning. There were footprints leading straight to Clawson's back door and he, too, said he would have taken the same actions.
"If it came down to protecting my family, I would do it in a heartbeat," said Clawson, a former BYU linebacker. "I don't think I would hesitate."
He said he felt bad for the trauma his neighbor is most likely going through in the wake of the shooting. He said he serves with the man in the elder's quorum presidency of their local LDS ward.
"I think he is an excellent dad and a good husband, just trying to protect his family," Clawson said.
The incident was mentioned Thursday morning in the Utah Legislature where the Utah Senate gave preliminary approval to a bill that clarifies a person is justified in defending their home and family against criminal activity and may not be held civilly liable for damage or injury to perpetrators.
SPRINGVILLE — A homeowner fatally shot a would-be robber who entered his house in Springville early Thursday morning. The intruder apparently stopped for a snack and changed clothes before going upstairs to threaten the home's residents.
Investigators have identified the intruder as Armando Martinez Jr., 31. They believe drugs or alcohol was a factor, but they will have to wait for autopsy results to confirm that.
Springville police responded to a call of a home invasion robbery at 2:48 a.m. in the area of 800 South and 475 East. When officers arrived they found Martinez had been fatally shot in the bedroom.
Lt. Dave Caron with the Springville Police Department said Martinez entered the home through a back sliding glass door. The door was locked with a child lock, but Martinez apparently disabled it by pulling hard on the door.
Once inside, Martinez took off clothes that had become wet while traipsing through the snow and change into some of the resident's clothes, which were folded on the couch in the living room. Caron said Martinez then went to the kitchen, made a tortilla and ham wrap, ate some of it and returned the uneaten portion to the refrigerator before going upstairs.
Martinez then entered the master bedroom, told the homeowner and his wife that he had a gun, and ordered them to get keys to drive him to an ATM. Under the guise of getting ready to leave, the homeowner walked into a closet, got his .9-mm gun and shot Martinez , striking him once in the chest, Caron said.
Investigators say it appears that prior to entering this home, Martinez had walked through the neighborhood, checking at least 20 homes and several cars for unlocked doors. There are no reports of anything missing or any other homes or cars being broken into. Police are currently trying to document the route before the tracks melt.
Caron said Martinez matches the general description of a man wanted in connection with a similar incident last week.
"In that case he went into the home, stole a gun and apparently a cellphone," Caron said. "He told these homeowners tonight that he had stolen a gun before, so we're pretty sure it's the same guy."
Caron said neither the gun nor cellphone from the previous robbery was recovered at the scene of Thursday's shooting. In fact, while the suspect claimed to have had a gun Thursday morning, none was found.
Investigators are treating the incident as a case of self-defense, but Caron said police are conducting a full investigation that will be treated just like any other. Still, the incident appears straightforward.
"I don't see any reason to think it's anything but (self-defense)," Caron said. "They don't know this guy. This guy came into the house, threatened them, claimed he had a gun and, to protect his family, (the homeowner) took that action."
There were three children — 3-year-old twin boys and an infant girl — in the home at the time. None of the family was injured, and police said the family is handling the situation well.
"It's a pretty traumatic experience to have someone break into your home and then threaten you," Caron said. "Then, to actually take the man's life in your bedroom is pretty upsetting. All things considered, they were hanging in there pretty well."
Neighbor Bridger Frampton said he spoke to the homeowner and said he sounded rattled and was still in shock. He was one of a number of neighbors who said they would have done the same thing if they had found themselves in a similar situation.
"That's a big decision, when it comes between your family and that," Frampton said. "I think he made the right one."
Another neighbor, Coleby Clawson, said the incident has impacted everyone in the neighborhood, especially knowing that the burglar had tried to enter a number of houses Thursday morning. There were footprints leading straight to Clawson's back door and he, too, said he would have taken the same actions.
"If it came down to protecting my family, I would do it in a heartbeat," said Clawson, a former BYU linebacker. "I don't think I would hesitate."
He said he felt bad for the trauma his neighbor is most likely going through in the wake of the shooting. He said he serves with the man in the elder's quorum presidency of their local LDS ward.
"I think he is an excellent dad and a good husband, just trying to protect his family," Clawson said.
The incident was mentioned Thursday morning in the Utah Legislature where the Utah Senate gave preliminary approval to a bill that clarifies a person is justified in defending their home and family against criminal activity and may not be held civilly liable for damage or injury to perpetrators.
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