Moving Weekend...

On Friday, my parents and sister Sara came to help. While they watched the kids me and Andy signed the papers for selling our condo and also for our home in Rock Springs. Sara helped me finish packing my whole kitchen and cleaning out the cupboards. It was so nice to have them here, we are sad that we are moving even further away from them.



On Saturday, we took a little break from packing and headed to Bear Lake for a family reunion. On our way home we picked up the Uhaul and spent the rest of the evening loading it. Thanks so much to Brenda and Jon and Boyd and Jann for their help!




















Giving some goodbye hugs-






























So first thing tomorrow we'll clean out the rest of the house and we are off to Rock Springs! Wish us luck and you will hear from us when we get our Internet hookup over their.

Thanks Kelsie

My good friend and old neighbor showed up this morning to help me out. It was so nice to have some company while packing. I was getting really sick of packing and cleaning by myself all day. Thanks for helping me pack and watching my kids while I got some stuff done-you are the best Kelsie!!!

Here's Kelsie's girl Jordyn and Garen hanging out while we packed-

Crazy/Birthday week

I know it's only Wednesday, but it has been a crazy week already!

Monday my sister Sara came with her kids and we all went to the pool. It was so fun to have them here. That evening me and Andy had to go meet our lender again to smooth out a few glitches in funding our Rock Springs home.

Then Monday night I met Brenda at Olive Garden for some appetizers, salad, and some girl time.

Tuesday was my birthday and my morning was spent making phone call to set up and cancel things like, gas, electricity, Internet, cell phones, car insurance, and on and on! I think I was on the phone for like 5 hours! I only to breaks from calling to feed the kids or to throw up. That's right, my usual night time pregnancy sickness has switched to morning and it has come with a vengeance! Happy Birthday to me :(

But it got better; at about 4:30 Andy and I left to rent some movies and go check into the Anniversary Inn. We sat in these nice reclining chairs and watched movies on the big screen. We got to hit some golf balls, play Foosball, and relax in the huge jetted tub (all included inside our room). It was so nice, I even forgot to stress about packing for a little while. We slept in, had breakfast brought to us, watched another movie and just had a great time. Then at noon today, back to reality.

We went and picked up the kids, Andy went to work, the plumber came, I made more phone calls, and am now packing more boxes. I know it will all work out just fine, but it is stressing me out a bit.

And on a side note, we will not be moving on Friday like we had planned, instead it will be Monday. This kinda stinks for me because if we moved on Friday I would have Andy's help all weekend to unpack and settle in, but Andy will be starting his new job on Tuesday so that leaves me at home with two kids and about 500 boxes to unpack. Oh well, you take what you can get.

Pony Express Days

Yesterday we went out to Clarkston for Pony Express Days. This is something I never knew existed until 6 years ago when I married Andy. Now it's something we never miss! The day was over packed with fun activities:

-Andy played in the 3 on 3 basketball tournament and his team won the whole thing!

-We went to the parade and the kids got tons of candy

-Maddie participated in the stick horse race, the horse pull race, and the catch a chicken game.

-The kids played on the blow up slides and jump houses.

-Maddie won a bunch of prizes for bobbing for apples and other fun games.

-The fire tuck sprayed everyone down with the fire hose and left tons of huge water puddles afterwards that the kids loved playing in.

-We enjoyed seeing lots of family and friends.

-We celebrated my birthday- a few days early (I'm not 25 yet! :)

-We got home completely exhausted at 11pm.

After jumping up and down in the water for awhile, Garen decided he was hot enough to just dive in-

This is Maddie doing the stick horse race, she's wearing an orange shirt-

This is Maddie being dragged around and hanging on for dear life-

This one was my favorite! So funny. Each age group got to try and catch chickens and rabbits to take home. Maddie loved chasing them but even if she would have got the chance to pickup one of those chickens she probably wouldn't have touched it-

Maddie's not in this one, it was only for 11 and up. But it was just too funny, watching these kids try and catch the pig and they really wanted it to take home!-

Garen wasn't big enough to climb up the slide by himself so Andy got to take him. He loved it! And you can see in the video we are also getting hit by the fire hose-I can't believe how far those things can shoot and how much water comes out of them!-

At the pool once again

Today me and the kids met friends, Melissa and Brenda, as well as sister-in-law Amber, and cousin Chelsea. It was so fun to hang out with everyone at the pool! I know all the pictures are of Garen, but Maddie was to busy going down the water slide and swimming in a more "big kid area," away from the babies.

Taking a snack break-

Chelsea, Hannah, and me and Garen

Melissa, Isabella, me, and Garen-

Garen having a good old time-

Check out his white little bottom and dark tan line :)-

Garen showing some of his tricks-

Summer Fun

Even though we have been in the middle of packing boxes and finalizing the selling of our home and buying another; we are trying to squeeze in some Summer fun as we go. We've been spending our days at the public pool, playing at parks, riding bikes, playing in our backyard pool, going to blanket storytime, and just enjoying warm weather and good friends. Here's a few pictures of some of what we've been doing this week:

Playing in the pool:

This is Garen trying to get his sister back for all the times she sprayed him with the hose-

Eating Popsicles-

making messes-

tired nights with all her stuffed friends-

shoot'en some hoops- (after some practice she actually got the ball clear up to the rim)



Our Ward Luau party (this is the bishopric)-

searching for seashells-

Maddie and friend Amelia-

With all the fun things going on and all the outside play, the kids haven't even noticed that I have packed all their toys and movies. I guess that's why summer is a good time to move. :)

Fishing with Dad...

Andy and Maddie went fishing last night. At 10pm they finally got home and Maddie walked through the door and couldn't wait to tell me all about it! She said they caught 11 fish and dad let her throw all of them back. She also said her favorite part was "chucking the fish back into the water instead of setting them in." What a silly little girl. Maddie told me about all the cool sticks and rocks she found (she kind of has an obsession with sticks and rocks) and she named the kinds of fish they caught and even told me the name of the fly they used to catch them. She had such a great time with her dad. And I think Andy had fun too.

notice her wet pants from falling in-

And no she is not eating the stick, just being silly-

Happy Father's Day to some wonderful dads!...

First of all Happy Father's day to my dear sweet husband! I could not ask for a better father for our kids. The kids are so excited every time Andy enters the room! Andy is always playing with them and teaching them new games. I love watching Garen follow Andy around and copy his every move. And I love the patience and understanding he shows each day with the kids when I'm ready to smack one of them. You can always see him incorporating gospel principles into the kids' daily play, whether he's reading them a story, playing a game, wrestling or having a tea party with his daughter! My kids are so lucky to have such a wonderful father!

Next, Happy Father's Day to my very own father! Thank you for your unconditional love even when I know I wasn't very easy to love. Thank you for showing there is a more effective way to teach a lesson than through anger. Thank you for your perfect example that has never faltered. Because of you I hold very high spiritual expectations for myself and my family. Thank you for never missing any of my important and even not so important events as a kid, even though I know you were extremely busy. And thank you for being a grandfather that my kids can look to for wisdom and as an example of the pure love of Christ.

Last but definitely not least, my father-in-law, who raised and amazing son! Thank you for always being around and for being another wonderful father figure in my kid's lives. You are as tough as rock on the outside but within you hold the softest heart I've ever known. Thank you for showing my kids how much they are loved and for supporting all of us in everything we pursue; whether it's moving, having another child, or simply a ballet recital or a soccer game. My kids will be better people for being around you and learning from you.

What would the world be like without a best friend?

My world is a wonderful, happy, and funny place because of my best friend!

My best friend Carrol came yesterday! It was so fun to have her here, I wish she could have stayed the whole weekend! I miss her already!

I felt bad because my house was torn apart when Carrol arrived. There were people ripping my kitchen floor up to fix a plank that had cracked and I was in the middle of a mess making cookies while two of my neighbors Melissa and Lori and their kids were over playing in the pool along with several other neighborhood kids. So it was kind of chaos. But so much fun!

My favorite part was watching her little girl, Emily crawling in and out of the cold water, getting splashed in the face and just smiling the whole time! What a cutie!

Carrol, you made my day so much brighter, thanks for making the trip and for all the wonderful gifts!!!

In Carrol's short visit, she even found time to cute Maddie's hair for me and give her cute shorter summer due-

Emi-

Maddie, Emi, and Garen

Father's Day Dinner

Right after Carrol left we headed out to Clarkston for a Father's Day dinner (Andy will be working Saturday night and Sunday night so we had it early). While we were there, Maddie and I got to take a little ride on the neighbors horse.

It was a fun evening with good food and fun games.

Boyd opening his presents-

my kids attacking Uncle Zeb-

At the Zoo
Last night we didn't get home till 11pm and then still had to put the kids to bed. Then this morning I was up at 7am to start cleaning up the effects of the last couple days-dishes unwashed, laundry piled up, new birthday toys everywhere, wet swimsuits and towels, and so on. I had till 10:30 when the people were coming to inspect our home! Luckily with Andy's help we got it mostly cleaned up. While they took over our house we headed to Willow Park Zoo.

watching the monkeys-

Garen liked the big turtle as long as it didn't move closer to him-

Maddie waiting for the peacock to open it's feathers-

Garen watching the wallaby jump around-

Surprise Party?

So after we got home, had lunch, Andy went to work, and Garen laid down for a nap, I took my chance to lay down for a minute to get rid of a headache. About 20 minutes after I had laid down I heard noise downstairs. I go to check on Maddie and she had taken it upon herself to invite the neighbors over telling them all that there was going to be a big party. Maddie had it all planned, she was even making the older girls blow up balloons. Well, I didn't want to ruin their fun so instead I got the camera and some crafts for them to make and we had a party.