Mother's Day

I had the most excellent Mother's Day! I got to hear my cute husband speak in church. Then I got some great gifts from my kids. Hailee made me a cute bird house at Activity Days. She also made a book at school of things she likes about mom. I was also given a Reeses Peanut Butter egg left over from Easter, a blank coloring page that I can color how I want, half of a dog notepad, and a cake mix. They were all wrapped with paper towels and tape. They were the best gifts EVER!

Dane gave me a gift card to Bath and Body Works. I don't really know why because he is always complaining about how I have 10 different flavors of half-used lotion. I guess it doesn't bother him that much because that gift card will just add to the collection. There was also a special delivery. The "post office" mysteriously delivered a letter that was "postmarked" May 2001 (which happened to be the year of my 1st Mother's Day). There was another gift card inside with a note saying they were sorry that the letter got "lost" in the mail for 8 years but I can finally have my gift for my 1st Mother's Day. Weird....I thought my husband had just forgotten about my 1st Mother's Day 8 years ago. Good thing it was the post office's fault and not his!!!!

He sure makes my life fun. What would I do with out him!?!?

This was our attempt at taking a family picture after church on Sunday. Bennett was a real treat. He kept getting down and walking around. The only pictures that were halfway decent were when we caught him for a split second walking in front of the camera.

Bennett

Bennett is FINALLY getting adjusted to being here. I think we really messed him up when we left him for our cruise. For the first few weeks here he just assumed we were leaving forever every time we left the room. It was especially bad around Dane. He just screamed and screamed whenever Dane left his sight. He has taken big steps and will now willingly go to Grandmas and Grandpas. He still prefers Dane over anyone in the whole world. I guess that's what we get for living across the country! I love that he is getting to know family members and trusting them. He is so much fun right now. He is a little parrot and repeats everything we say. I love this age!

Braden's Body Parts

I had to make a quick post before I forget. Braden got a little confused about the names of his body parts the other day and it made me laugh.

I had a very distressed Braden come up to me with his fingers all spread out. He said he had something sticky on his hands and now his finger pits are itchy.

The very same night he was trying to go to sleep and had both hands under his arm pits. He said he was putting his hands there because "your arm pitch is warm."



What a cute, silly boy! He is so much fun. He definitely keeps my life interesting. I never know what to expect with that boy.

Hailee's Baptism

We had such a great day! Hailee was baptized and confirmed. Hailee was the only one that day to be baptized so she got to chose the speakers. She had her uncle give a talk on baptism and her Grandma Carol give a talk on the Holy Ghost. We were so lucky to have all of our family except Tiffany and Jeff there. We missed them a lot but they were so sweet to remember her special day and mailed her a CTR necklace. It was a wonderful program and the spirit was definitely there. It was the most peacful, happy feeling in the room. She is one special girl to have so many people who love her! We were all able to get together at my mom and dad's house for a barbeque.

Hailee, Braden and all of the cousins sang a song during the program. They were so cute!

Getting Back To Normal

Today was our first day back to a somewhat "normal" routine. I don't know how normal it can be when our lives have been turned inside out and upside down but we are doing so well. Dane started his new job today. He was hired last week at Associated Foods. He will be for 4-6 months and then will hopefully get his own store after that - possibly in Southern Utah. We are so blessed that he was able to get hired so quickly. I know there are millions of people who would do anything for the opportunity Dane has been given. It just reaffirms our decision to move out here. I know that Heavenly Father is mindful of us and hears our prayers.

Hailee is still loving her school. We didn't want to pull her out and put her in yet another school so we will be staying with Dane's parents until we know where his permanent position will be. We discovered very quickly that having one car was not going to work for us so Dane was able to buy an Audi (I guess he likes Audis since this is his 2nd one).

The boys are slower to adjust. Bennett has discovered the use of his hand as a weapon. He has also discovered he can pretty much get everyone's attention within 100 feet if he screams as loud and as high as he can. He mostly does it when Braden is anywhere around him but the screams are becoming more frequent and are not just limited to Braden. The kids still have the mindset that we are on vacation so it is hard to get them to go to bed and be on a routine. All of their lives Grandma & Grandpa's house = vacation. Hopefully that will resolve itself soon.

I am loving being around family. I spent my first day alone doing one of my favorite hobbies - couponing. I got $200 worth of groceries for $50. It was a great day! Last week I did something a little crazy. I guess I am missing "This is Kirtland" so I tried out for West Side Story. I don't know if it will work out but it was fun to try out.

We are all missing our Cleveland friends. Braden still asks if we can go to the Holmans everyday...maybe someday!

One Week Down

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!

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!