It has been a week since we arrived in Utah. Just have to update so I don't forget this little stage of our life.
The kids are doing remarkably well for being yanked out of their lives and dropped into a new place. We have tried to be really open with them so they don't get too confused. Braden still doesn't quite understand.
We were at my mom's house and he asked if we were going home.
I said we were going back to Grandma's house.
He said, "No, we are supposed to live in Utah. This isn't Utah. This is Grandma Judy's house. I want to go to my home in Utah."
Then he told his cousin today that "I don't have a home. I just sleep at Grandma's house."
Maybe one day he will understand. One thing I DO know is that he is totally obsessed with the Wii at Grandma's house. He is constantly asking to play it. It turns out that it is pretty good leaverage for me!
Hailee started her first day of school. I think I was more nervous than she was. I was up all night the night before stressing over if she would have someone to sit by at lunch and play with at recess. Of course she was fine. She made a friend the first day and everyone was saying goodbye to her after school.
She thinks it is a little strange that all of the kids in her class have "peach skin". She was a minority in both of the other schools she went. She has a litte different perspective than a lot of the kids in Utah, I think.
Dane and I are still feeling like we are on vacation but it is nice to be back around our family. It is weird to drive here. It seems like I should know where everything is...it's just a little rusty. We are excited for family parties and Sunday dinners this weekend. It was also really nice to be with our family for General Conference this year! I sure miss all my friends in Cleveland, though. It still feels like I am going back there. I guess it hasn't hit me that I don't live there any more! Thank heavens for blogging and Facebook!
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Okay, Okay...Time to Blog Again
My crazy month has left me little time to blog. First of all, the rumors are true. We are in Utah now...hopefully to stay. We are looking for a job out here so I hope to update soon on where we will be living and working. How did this all happen? Well, not wanting to go into too much detail, the summary is: after A LOT of discussing, thinking, and praying, we decided to take a different job route and move closer to our families. We are sad to leave friends in Cleveland but had such a wonderful experience there. We are very excited to be closer to family and friends in Utah, though.
We had a fun adventure driving across the country. Hopefully I will be able to get some pictures up soon to document this journey. I just wanted to thank all of the people who helped us. I was overwhelmed when we had 13 men come to help us move. We were out hours before I thought we would be. Thanks to all of you who sacrificed your morning to come and help us (that includes the wives who were left at home). I also want to thank our families in Utah who have welcomed us with open arms and doors. You have all been so supportive and loving. We are truly blessed with the best family and friends. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I only hope I can repay the thoughfulness that has been shown to us over this last month!
We had a fun adventure driving across the country. Hopefully I will be able to get some pictures up soon to document this journey. I just wanted to thank all of the people who helped us. I was overwhelmed when we had 13 men come to help us move. We were out hours before I thought we would be. Thanks to all of you who sacrificed your morning to come and help us (that includes the wives who were left at home). I also want to thank our families in Utah who have welcomed us with open arms and doors. You have all been so supportive and loving. We are truly blessed with the best family and friends. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I only hope I can repay the thoughfulness that has been shown to us over this last month!
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Are you KIDDING me?!?!
I have to document this for my own humor. Hailee was getting ready for bed the other night and casually drops this question on me....
Hailee:
"Mom? There was this piece of paper up in the hall at my school. It said, 'Talk to your kids about sex." What's sex, mom'?
Me:
After standing there, mouth open, trying to stay composed and not too shocked, I finally stammered out..."umm...what do YOU think it is?"
Hailee:
"Well.....I think it's like shows that grownups watch and they are kissing inappropriate."
So that was it. Once that can of worms is open, they are crawling around all over the place. You can't put them back in and seal up the can. We had "the" talk. I never thought it would be with my 7-year-old!!!!! But the good thing is that she had no preconceived ideas so she heard it straight from me and knows that she doesn't have to ask friends or anyone else...I will always tell her what she wants to know and I will tell her the truth. She took it pretty well, I must say. I am happy that it turned out to be a good thing...I never thought it would be brought on by a flier hanging at school - OF ALL PLACES!!!
Thanks Cleveland Heights Schools....I appreciate the "education" my kid is getting there!
Oh, and yes...I DID call the school and have them move that flier somewhere where 1st and 2nd graders cannot read it!
Hailee:
"Mom? There was this piece of paper up in the hall at my school. It said, 'Talk to your kids about sex." What's sex, mom'?
Me:
After standing there, mouth open, trying to stay composed and not too shocked, I finally stammered out..."umm...what do YOU think it is?"
Hailee:
"Well.....I think it's like shows that grownups watch and they are kissing inappropriate."
So that was it. Once that can of worms is open, they are crawling around all over the place. You can't put them back in and seal up the can. We had "the" talk. I never thought it would be with my 7-year-old!!!!! But the good thing is that she had no preconceived ideas so she heard it straight from me and knows that she doesn't have to ask friends or anyone else...I will always tell her what she wants to know and I will tell her the truth. She took it pretty well, I must say. I am happy that it turned out to be a good thing...I never thought it would be brought on by a flier hanging at school - OF ALL PLACES!!!
Thanks Cleveland Heights Schools....I appreciate the "education" my kid is getting there!
Oh, and yes...I DID call the school and have them move that flier somewhere where 1st and 2nd graders cannot read it!
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Scrapbook Pages
I really wish I could take credit for these amazing works of art but it is my amazing mother in law who makes them all for me. She always does such an amazing job at capturing their personalities in each page. Oh, and she also takes amazing pictures too. These are just a few of the many talents she has. Thank you for sharing, Carol!
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Oh, The Snow!
I have neglected my blog in the past week. I have faithfully been reading other people's blogs and enjoyed them immensely - expecting them to be fully updated (which all of them are). I guess I'm feeling guilty so here's a little update.
It has been colder than I knew it could actually be. It's ridiculously cold. It makes me not want to leave my house at all. The sheer effort of bundling up kids and getting in the car is more than I can handle sometimes so I just end up barricading myself in the house all day. It also doesn't help when Bennett is sick for 10 days and really can't go anywhere anyways. You would think I have a time to update my blog...I just have nothing to put on it. Pretty boring.
One day I was nice enough to let Braden go outside and play in the bitter cold. Why anyone would want to do that is beyond me. But he wanted to. I thought I only had to worry about him climbing our 50 foot tree in the summer. If I ever want to know where Braden is in the summer time, he is most likely climbing the dang tree. I went to check on him and couldn't see him. After looking out all the windows (you know I'm not going to actually go outside and look for him), I see a little black figure up in my tree. So if anyone was wondering....yes - you can climb an icy, snowy tree in full snow gear and winter boots.
I don't get it but he sure is pretty cute!
It has been colder than I knew it could actually be. It's ridiculously cold. It makes me not want to leave my house at all. The sheer effort of bundling up kids and getting in the car is more than I can handle sometimes so I just end up barricading myself in the house all day. It also doesn't help when Bennett is sick for 10 days and really can't go anywhere anyways. You would think I have a time to update my blog...I just have nothing to put on it. Pretty boring.
One day I was nice enough to let Braden go outside and play in the bitter cold. Why anyone would want to do that is beyond me. But he wanted to. I thought I only had to worry about him climbing our 50 foot tree in the summer. If I ever want to know where Braden is in the summer time, he is most likely climbing the dang tree. I went to check on him and couldn't see him. After looking out all the windows (you know I'm not going to actually go outside and look for him), I see a little black figure up in my tree. So if anyone was wondering....yes - you can climb an icy, snowy tree in full snow gear and winter boots.
I don't get it but he sure is pretty cute!
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Cute Kids and Tooth Story
I have been so caught up in posting pictures of the vacation. I realized I haven't put anything with my kids on here in a while. So here are some recent pics of them just being cute and funny.
Bennett LOVES to go outside. We won't be playing outside for a while - until it's warmer (I don't play in the snow or cold so that means Bennett doesn't either. My other kids can because I don't have to go out there with them.) The poor kid...I know. He has started to put shoes on so he can go out. Usually the shoes are not his.
Here he is in Hailee's rainboots.
Yesterday he found a hat and thought that was necessary because it was raining. Pants....? No. Hat....? A must! Also in Hailee's shoes again.
Braden was trying to "hide" from us and did it a little too well. He somehow wedged himself in one of the tiny cabinets of our entertainment center. I have no idea how he got in there and we had to pull him out!
Hailee - The Toothless Wonder! Hailee lost 2 teeth this weekend. I don't know how the girl eats anything! After placing her first tooth under her pillow, she sighed and said, "ohhh, I'm really hoping for a 5 dollar bill from the Tooth Fairy. I really want a 10 dollar bill but I'm hoping and wishing for 5."
Me: "Ummm...when has the Tooth Fairy every brought you a 5 or 10 dollar bill?"
Hailee: "She hasn't. That is why I'm really hoping and wishing for one or the other. I know it's not going to be 10 so I'll just wish for 5. All I ever get is just 1, 1, 1. I can't buy anything with just one dollar."
Me: "Well, I don't think the Tooth Fairy brings anyone 5 or 10 dollars."
Hailee: "Some of my friends get that much."
Me: "Well, I think you're lucky to get anything at all. And if you aren't grateful, the Tooth Fairy knows and won't leave you anything!"
Isn't there some kind of unwritten rule out there? Am I alone in this? I don't think I ever got any "paper" money when I lost a tooth and I was just fine with that.
Bennett LOVES to go outside. We won't be playing outside for a while - until it's warmer (I don't play in the snow or cold so that means Bennett doesn't either. My other kids can because I don't have to go out there with them.) The poor kid...I know. He has started to put shoes on so he can go out. Usually the shoes are not his.
Here he is in Hailee's rainboots.
Yesterday he found a hat and thought that was necessary because it was raining. Pants....? No. Hat....? A must! Also in Hailee's shoes again.
Braden was trying to "hide" from us and did it a little too well. He somehow wedged himself in one of the tiny cabinets of our entertainment center. I have no idea how he got in there and we had to pull him out!
Hailee - The Toothless Wonder! Hailee lost 2 teeth this weekend. I don't know how the girl eats anything! After placing her first tooth under her pillow, she sighed and said, "ohhh, I'm really hoping for a 5 dollar bill from the Tooth Fairy. I really want a 10 dollar bill but I'm hoping and wishing for 5."
Me: "Ummm...when has the Tooth Fairy every brought you a 5 or 10 dollar bill?"
Hailee: "She hasn't. That is why I'm really hoping and wishing for one or the other. I know it's not going to be 10 so I'll just wish for 5. All I ever get is just 1, 1, 1. I can't buy anything with just one dollar."
Me: "Well, I don't think the Tooth Fairy brings anyone 5 or 10 dollars."
Hailee: "Some of my friends get that much."
Me: "Well, I think you're lucky to get anything at all. And if you aren't grateful, the Tooth Fairy knows and won't leave you anything!"
Isn't there some kind of unwritten rule out there? Am I alone in this? I don't think I ever got any "paper" money when I lost a tooth and I was just fine with that.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Belize
Our favorite day was Belize. We are slightly bias because Dane served his mission in Belize and Guatemala. It's been a long time since he had been there but he still recognized Belize City. It was so much fun to be there with him. The only bad thing is that we were only there for 1 day. I can't wait until we can go back and spend more time there.
The water is too shallow for the ship to port near land so we had to take a 10 minute boat ride to Belize from the ship. Here we are...on our way.
Mom & Dad.
Danny & Amelia
Maybe Casey and Lisa were up too late dancing last night :)
We got to go cave tubing in the rain forest. It was one of the most amazing things I have ever done. We hiked through the rain forest up a hill. When we got to the top we floated in tubes down a natural spring. It was totally amazing. Unfortunately we couldn't bring anything with us that couldn't get wet - including my camera. I didn't have a waterproof camera so hopefully someone will be kind enough to let me use some of the pics taken with the waterproof cameras.
Have you ever heard of these super hot models? They're really popular in Belize. They were kind enough to pose for us.
Babes! Randi & Amanda
Our most favorite meal was on the way back from cave tubing. We got to stop at an authentic Belizian restaurant. It was a simple meal of beans, rice, and chicken but it was soooo yummy.
Eat up, Danny!
We were all jealous of Lisa's cool bottle of Red Cream Soda. And she looks so cute drinking it!
Bye-Bye Belize!
I am not wearing pants cuz I forgot to bring dry pants for after the rain forest. I don't usually just walk around in my swimsuit bottoms!
My sweet husband has such a big heart. We were all walking around carrying our wet shoes and he found an older kid and just gave them to him. We all ended up leaving our wet shoes there. We have so much compared to some people in this world. It made us all feel good to make someone's day. This is not the first time he has done this either. He came home from his mission with hardly any clothes. The only white shirt he brought home was the one he was wearing. He left everything else for the members in Guatemala. He didn't care if he had another shirt when he came home. He was content to wear the same faded, worn-out shirt. That is just one of the many great things that I love about this man. He's the best!
The water is too shallow for the ship to port near land so we had to take a 10 minute boat ride to Belize from the ship. Here we are...on our way.
Mom & Dad.
Danny & Amelia
Maybe Casey and Lisa were up too late dancing last night :)
We got to go cave tubing in the rain forest. It was one of the most amazing things I have ever done. We hiked through the rain forest up a hill. When we got to the top we floated in tubes down a natural spring. It was totally amazing. Unfortunately we couldn't bring anything with us that couldn't get wet - including my camera. I didn't have a waterproof camera so hopefully someone will be kind enough to let me use some of the pics taken with the waterproof cameras.
Have you ever heard of these super hot models? They're really popular in Belize. They were kind enough to pose for us.
Babes! Randi & Amanda
Our most favorite meal was on the way back from cave tubing. We got to stop at an authentic Belizian restaurant. It was a simple meal of beans, rice, and chicken but it was soooo yummy.
Eat up, Danny!
We were all jealous of Lisa's cool bottle of Red Cream Soda. And she looks so cute drinking it!
Bye-Bye Belize!
I am not wearing pants cuz I forgot to bring dry pants for after the rain forest. I don't usually just walk around in my swimsuit bottoms!
My sweet husband has such a big heart. We were all walking around carrying our wet shoes and he found an older kid and just gave them to him. We all ended up leaving our wet shoes there. We have so much compared to some people in this world. It made us all feel good to make someone's day. This is not the first time he has done this either. He came home from his mission with hardly any clothes. The only white shirt he brought home was the one he was wearing. He left everything else for the members in Guatemala. He didn't care if he had another shirt when he came home. He was content to wear the same faded, worn-out shirt. That is just one of the many great things that I love about this man. He's the best!
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