Yes, I Said Idaho!

I see that my last post was in 2010.  I don't even know if anyone will read this, but I decided to post anyway. And, happy decade post day! I know, that's not a thing...

We just did the most  inexplicable thing. We left Colorado and crossed the wilderness that is Wyoming and part of Utah for a smaller, less expensive (that's all relative, I know), and more politically conservative area.  Chris works from home, so we aren't necessarily limited when it comes to where we can live.  We decided it would be best to stay close to an HPE facility since that is who Chris is employed with.  Our choices were: California, Texas, or Idaho.  Needless to say, it became a comparison between Texas and Idaho.  Idaho came out on top.  We just didn't even want to mess with a confusing property tax system in Texas, and Idaho felt right.

Unbeknownst to us, Chris' older brother and his family decided to move to Idaho at about the same time.  They ended up 20 minutes from us. That's definitely a bonus!  We miss the family and friends that we left behind, but I have to confess that we are happy here.  Our kids are doing well and have adjusted better than I could have imagined.  We sent our oldest to college last month, and coincidentally, she is only about 5 hours away and also in Idaho.  Things have mostly turned out well.

We picked out a new home, but in a serendipitous moment, it fell through a week before we left Colorado.  After a brief panic mode, we ended up renting a home sight unseen so we could at least have a place to land.  We signed a 6-moth lease, and tried to be positive as it was less than half of the square footage we had before. I'm not complaining, we made everything work out because we went with it.  Then last week, the house literally next door was vacated and available to rent.  We didn't know it was a rental, and since it is slightly bigger than what we have now, we decided to take a look.  That's all we needed.  We are now moving next door, and since our current property management company doesn't want to try and rent this place over Christmas, they are letting us out of our lease a month early so they have a better chance of finding tenants.  We have until November 1st to vacate.  It's a nice overlap, we got this!  Moving again will not be awesome, but a bigger kitchen, bigger bedrooms, bigger living room, nice covered patio, a shop space for Chris (we don't have that here so his tools are all lonely and gathering dust), it was a no-brainer for only $40 more per month.  Renting really was a better way to go since we weren't really familiar with the area.  I'm so glad we didn't end up where we would have if we were able to buy the home we had contracted.  We really like where we are.

Chris has been busier and travels more for work, but he loves what he does.  He works with the young men (boys 12-18) at church, and I love that we can hang out at home during his breaks.  I keep busy doing things around the house, cooking, reading books for a book club that my mom and sisters (and one brother) are a part of.  I also work with the young women (girls 12-18) at church. I'm still trying to find my place, but I'm meeting a lot of nice people.  Caylee is so happy at BYUI right now.  I am so glad she got a good batch of roomies.  She is learning to spread her wings and taking matters into her own hands.  She was going to major in Chemistry, but recently decided that she is going to pursue forensic science.  Go Caylee!  Aiden found a great group of friends and is doing well in school.  That's a complete turn-around from last year.  He seems so much happier, and that makes me happy.  Sawyer is loving the Boy Scouts, and both Aiden and Sawyer are at the point of working on their Eagle Scout projects.  Sawyer is part of Chess Club, and is also doing well in school.  Brea has found playmates all over the neighborhood, and started a "beginning orchestra" class.  She is learning to play the violin.  She also spends lots of time on the phone talking to her older sister, and writing letters to some of her Colorado friends.

That's where we are right now.  And really, this post is quite long.  I think the next words that I write should be, "until next time friends!"  Have a great weekend, and have fun getting ready for Halloween!

February 18, 2010

This video is for a compilation that my sister is doing that will have many housekeeping tips put together when it's completed. This was the only way I could get the video to her, so enjoy! :)

A Wedding and a Vacation :)

This past Wednesday I traveled to Utah to see my cousin Camille's wedding. It was a long car trip but it was fun to see family members that I haven't seen in years. Chris and the kids stayed home, so I always felt there was something missing. I had a lot of fun doing girl stuff with my sisters and my cousins. Reconnecting with family is always nice. The temple and the weather was beautiful. I would have liked to have more time to contact some friends and other family members out there but there wasn't any time. If we weren't doing wedding things we were celebrating birthdays. I am so thankful that Chris let me go and was willing to watch the kiddos for me. I'm a lucky girl I think! :D Thanks Toni for letting me come raid your house and see your cute son! I hope you continue to feel well and I can't wait to see baby #2! Gotta go now and spend some time with the people I missed the most while I was away. Later my people!

A New Arrival...

My brother Ethan and his wife Brandy had their little baby girl when Brandy was only 24 weeks along. She is very tiny and having a lot of issues as of late, but she is a fighter! My sister put this little video together from last Saturday night when they went down to see her because she wasn't doing well. Ethan and Brandy you are in our prayers and we love you!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrrkTBXIbiM

Interesting and Exciting

Yesterday, I was in my own little world sitting on the couch. The next thing I know, I look over towards the front door and there is Sawyer with this "angry man" face getting ready to snipe me with his Lego gun. Chris and I laughed for a long time. Then Aiden joined in the fun as they pretended to shoot each other and "die." Boys are SO funny :)

Chris got an interesting calling on Sunday. They asked him to serve a one-year service mission in the ward helping the deaf group and learning ASL so he could translate. He will have to attend classes on Tuesday evenings and learn as much as he can. We have a large deaf population in the stake and our ward was designated to be the meeting place for them. We even have families that come all the way from Fort Collins. Anyway, we were both surprised but we are both excited and I know that Chris will learn fast and do his best. He is still the Cubmaster for now but since it is a Tuesday night calling they will be finding a replacement before the classes start. Just wanted to share with you all! Have a great day and hope you are all well.

Last but not least...

We are so excited to tell everyone that Aiden lost his first tooth this morning! Olivia and Cole beat him to the punch, but he wasn't far behind. He only told Chris and I about his wiggly tooth a few days ago. Then he woke me this morning to tell me he had yanked it out himself. Is it just me, or are these kids growing up really fast?! Just wanted to let you all know what exciting things were happening in our house.

Chris and I are also speaking at a YM/YW fireside tomorrow night (Sunday) on the topic of missionary work. We are looking forward to getting to know the youth better. Hope everyone is doing well. Love you all and talk to you again soon!

Yes it's been a while...

April finds us well. Chris is the Cubmaster at church, and Heather just started working with the Young Women in the ward (girls ages 12-13). Caylee was just baptized a few weeks ago, and we had a wonderful Easter holiday with lots of food, fun and family. Aiden is doing well in school and already reading and writing well. Sawyer is three and loving to get into everything! He is my climber, my discoverer of the candy hiding places, and also my biggest helper at home when the older two kids are still at school. Chris is still working with MCR (Medical Center of the Rockies) as a System Administrator. Heather does her best to make the household run smoothly. Yeah that's a laugh, but hey, she is up for the challenge :)

As always you can see our newest pictures through the link to the left. Hope you are all doing well and hopefully it won't be 5 months before the next post! Take care!