4 Weeks in Transition (and counting)

I usually use my blog to keep family and friends updated on how my kiddo's have grown and mostly use pictures. Our camera has been sent in for repairs and so I have decided to just let you use your imaginations. (I do have a lot of old pictures to post, but will work on that later.) Wednesday marks 4 weeks that we have been in Logan. We have been finding our groove and enjoying new things. Last night Paul came home and shared a song he heard on the radio that day during his 2 hour commute (1 hour each way). We listened and danced and my heart melted (as well as my eyes - a rare moment). Here is the youtube link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tN7_qbOpuWs&feature=related

Dancing has always been a passion of mine and somehow it has been passed on to Ella - so, I totally relate to the song. The part I found most touching was the reality that these moments with my children would become distant memories one day. Well, actually, the part I really found most touching was that this song impacted my sweet husband. I love watching him love my children and seeing how they adore him. Yes, I do find it a little hard to swallow that they all love Paul more than me - but, mostly, I am complimented in my choice of finding them a great father.

So, on the note of memories, I thought I would post a few of ours. I think I will just list them for sake of time.

New things:

1. Cute little Zoo 10 minutes from our house - our whole family got in for $3.50 and we parked 10 feet from the entrance.
2. Grant's school allows kissing (but, luckily, Grant has entered the 'girls are yucky' stage.)
3. Living close to Paul's cousin and trading babysitting. We even got to celebrate Thanksgiving with them and Paul's Aunt Sara and Uncle Des.
4. Gossners dairy factory. They make milk that can sit on the shelf for a year in all different flavors (evcn rootbeer). I am lactose intolerant, so I think it made me a little sick but my kids liked it.
5. Providence library. Just think of a small town library and you get the picture. I would estimate that it is no larger than 1500 square feet. The librarian's are very friendly and one even pulled out 15 different 'LDS culture' videos for me to pick from when I asked what they had available.
6. The canyon. I've only really seen it in the car, it's even pretty when it's covered in bare trees.
7. Parks. On the warm days we have ventured to several parks in Logan.
8. Carpooling to Grants school each day. We only started this yesterday, but it has been a life saver. Getting the kids all ready, down 3 flights of stairs and to Grants school by 8:45 proved challenging. Now, I just pick up in the afternoon.
9. Dream Dinners. A local make and freeze dinners store. They actually were sweet enough to compile the dinners for me and they are pretty tasty but more work than I anticipated. Also, I tend to set of the fire alarms whenever I broil. (Paul's work is paying for our food this month, so I decided to try something more healthy than eating out.)
10. Paul and I have new callings in our new ward ... joint Sunday School teachers (15-18 years).
11. Dallin has been to the nursery 3 times and only got upset on his first visit.
12. Apartment living and trying to keep our little herd from annoying the tenant underneath us. He is very tolerant and understanding - we apologise whenever we see him and he never complains.
13. Grant and Dallin share a room and do wonderfully. We tried to let Ella share with Grant and she kept him up (and us) for hours - this is a much better arrangement.
14. Great Harvest Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread. Yum!
15. I have joined the masses and have my very own Cell phone, but not a lot of minutes so I've really only used it on the weekend when minutes were free.

I think that is enough for the new stuff. Another fun list I would like to document is the injuries (and potential injuries) we have sustained in such a short time:

1. I rolled my ankle on the bottom of the stairs. Seriously thought I had broken it because of pain (I know, I am a wimp). This doesn't sound so terrible until you think of the 3 flights of stairs I had to get Dallin up and down twice a day (before we started the glorious carpool).
2. Dallin had a serious case of 'bottom burning diahrrea' flu. It lasted 5 days. We spent a lot of time in the bath and watching Baby Einstien movies while his bottom dried out. Needless to say, he is now a movie addict and requests them all day long.
3. Ella punctured her eardrum with a Q-tip. If you want all the details, she would be more than willing to tell you. Basically, she convinced me she was old enough and obviously wasn't.
4. Grant has a cough that doesn't want to leave.
5. Paul has been perfectly healthy.
6. Okay now for the potential injuries - Ella has eaten and fed chewable vitamins to Dallin (only 2 for Ella and one for Dallin but he had two in hand). Ella has also been caught with one knee up on our balcony (remember that we are 3 stories up) with cement patio awaiting her fall. Also, she was trying to climb our balcony a second time - just feet on the wall, but still. And a few days later, Ella was kneeling on her window seal with the window open and touching the screen (still 3 stories up but with bushes awaiting her plummet).

On with the adventure!

Ahh, Mountains again

We are HERE! Here, being, temporary housing in a cute little town that I will soon call home with new friends that I will soon find. We miss our St. Louis friends/family (Ella talks about Abby at least once a day). Grant loves his new school and informed me (on the first day) that he was the smartest one in his class and all the girls chase him at recess. I think he is adjusting quite well. Ella is struggling a bit - she seems to be out of her element and a little crazy. Dallin seems unaffected, although he does wander aimlessly looking for toys to play with. Paul is 'ramping up' with his new position. And I have become obsessed with trying to find our 'perfect little house ... in a good school district ... within a predetermined price range'. We went to dinner with Paul's boss last night (thanks to Bridget for watching our little monkeys late into the night). As we talked about Logan and Pauls new job, it sank in that we are here to stay and not just vacationing (which it seems while living in temporary housing). Life has calmed down a bit, but feels just as busy/stressful. I'm begining to wonder if that magical dream of just living and enjoying life is really ever going to happen. I keep saying ... "once we are in Logan" ... "once we sell our house" ... "once we find a house and close on it" ... "once we are moved in"... I'm pretty sure more ... "once we" s will sneak in. On that note, I will just pretend that we are not in chaos. Rather, I will make memories and really enjoy the "once we" s. Who knows, maybe even take pictures and post them for all you to see!!!

CHANGE

So, my goal is to update at least once a month. It just so happened that right when my month was up, we received some interesting news. (I'm sure most of my family and St. Louis friends already know.) I am officially announcing that ... we are MOVING. Where? Logan, UT When? Me and kids - Nov. 5th, Paul - Nov. 7th Why? New job with better pay and NO TRAVEL and closer to family.

With the incredible help of friends we have managed to put our house on the market (here's the link:

http://maris.rapmls.com/scripts/mgrqispi.dll?APPNAME=Gstl&PRGNAME=MLSLogin&ARGUMENT=v7LdMsYD3XTIA29DUfAJFZgYoCVwwO8CmMPyfc4Coi4%3D&KeyRid=1&Include_Search_Criteria=

I spend each morning getting ready and making sure our house is in perfect selling condition. Then I spend the rest of the day finishing my never-ending list of things to do for this transition. I feel like I am on a crazy roller coaster right now - stress mixed with excitement, sadness, anxiety, frustration, hope, impatience, and relishing our final moments with friends in St. Louis. We barely managed to pull off carving pumpkins and Halloween. I keep thinking that once we are in Logan, I will only be focused on settling in and that seems a little less stressful (mostly because I won't be spending the good part of my day making sure my house is in 'perfect selling condition' - I was going to write "the good part of my morning" but decided on "the good part of my day" because it is something I get to do every moment of every day while we are here). Hallelujah for Paul's new job that is putting our whole family up in furnished housing for a few months. Now it is the day after Halloween and by the looks of it - I have a lot to do to get my house back into 'perfect selling condition' in addition to my 'never-ending list of things to do'.

Ella's Trampoline Tricks

Spinning

Ring Around the Roses

Grant's Trampoline Tricks

School Days

I completely spaced capturing Grant's first day of 1st grade on film, but luckily he needed a picture for an assignment. So, here is the 2nd Day of school in his favorite shirt (Star Wars).



Dallins latest trick - on purpose! He loves to climb and apparently his toys are more accessible when he is sitting on them. His latest trick is to scale up the sides of the banister (you know the one that goes on the outside of the stairs). Oh, and my least favorite is the one where he climbs onto a kitchen chair, stands up and rocks back and forth - just enough to not tip over - with the biggest grin on his face. That baby has no fear (unlike his mommy - eek).



Dallin at the park in all his cuteness.



How sweet is that face - I could totally see him wrapping me around his finger at some future date.



We had playgroup at the park and the organizer read stories and had bubbles for the children who were old enough. They loved it!

Nascar Speedway

In our attempt to beat the heat while Paul Mom was visiting, we went to a nearby mall and discovered this exciting place. Grant and Ella got wristband (2 for 1 that day) and got to go on as many rides as they wanted. They rode this one 5 or 6 times - it goes straight up, then down a little, then up a little, then down a little ...



This one just goes around and around - they only rode this one once.



Grant and Ella got to drive this one around a very small track. Grant did pretty good. Ella got stuck most of the time. I think she needs more practice with Grant's jeep.



You'll have to zoom in on this one, it's Baba Marti (Pauls Mom) and Grant racing on the outside family course.



And here's Ella and Paul. I think they won so the next time Baba Marti watched Dallin and I road with Ella. She kept asking me why we were going so slow. Paul lapped us 2 - 3 tmes. Apparently driving defensively does not pay off at the race course.

Rained Out Swimming Party

Paul took care of Dallin for most of the party - it is so nice to have a very supportive husband!



We had the kids decorate their lunch bags as they came in.
(L to R: Jacob, Grant, Sydney and Kathrine)



We rented our clubhouse and originally planned on letting the kids swim for our activity. However, the weather did not cooperate - serious thunder and lightning was hitting as we were setting up. I think the high that day was 68 - pretty cold for the end of July. At the last minute, Paul rented a movie to wait out the rain. This is a picture of the kids eating their sack lunches and watching a movie. It worked out nicely that most of the mom's got to chat while the kids ate. (A few brave children decided to swim when the thunder and lightning stopped, even though it was still sprinkling - brr!)



This is Ella's cute tiara that says birthday girl. (Which she only wore for blowing out her candle - silly girl.)



And here she is with her pink cupcake as we sing 'Happy Birthday'.

Staying Cool

We totally hogged the misting spot while waiting for Paul and Grant to return from Space Mountain. Ella just danced and Dallin loved getting wet. It was so hot - I'm pretty sure I saved my children from heat stroke and me from going insane.

Birthday Wishes

The day after we returned from Florida was Ella's birthday. We went swimming, had pancakes for dinner and she opened family presents. My mom got Ella this cute dress and Ella got these 'glass' slippers at Disney World. She was too cute not to pose.




My sister Sara bought Ella her first 'real' ballet outfits. She loves them and puts them on just whenever she feels the need to dance.

Splash Mountain

By far my most favoritest ride within both Disney's. We left Dallin at home with Paul's very kind Brother Ben and his wife Sarah (Johnson) and went back to Disney World to watch the fire works and use our hard earned fast passes for this ride. (It turned out that we didn't need them at 11pm - but I'm pretty sure we used them anyway.) It was so fun ... and so wet ... and so cold. Ella even kept her arms up during the big splash and yelled, "Yeah, Baby!"



This was taken on the ride - maybe just as we are about to go down, I don't even remember - it was pretty late.

Disney World

Ella was a little hesitant to pose with these characters. When I said that she (Ella) was just as beautiful as Cinderella, the Wicked Stepmother said, "Oh, don't flatter Cinderella - she (Ella) is much more beautiful."



This was a robotic, talking garbage can. It would talk to the kids and tell them to put trash inside. We're pretty sure that someone close by was controlling it but could never figure out who.



Ella is wearing her Aunt Sara's (Nelson) crown and posing on main street.



Dallin and Halle (cousin) chilling in line to meet the princesses.



Cute cousins!

Princesses Everywhere

Meeting with the princesses was so fun. All of the princesses were in character and spoke just like they did in the movies. Snow White asked Ella if the birds helped her do her hair. Ella is still very much in the princess stage and loves to dress up with her friends in her costumes (Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Jasmine). Then they climb to the top of their tower (little tikes toddler climbing/slide toy) and talk like princesses. I try to explain how she really is a princess because Heavenly Father is the father of her spirit. I'm not sure if any of that has really sunk in yet. For now, I will just enjoy her pretending.

The Beach

What a couple a cuties - ahh, the men in my life!



Yep, that would be sand going in his mouth - yuck!



Ella could have stayed all day - she loved everything there is about the beach.



Dallin kept us quite busy, as you can tell from this photo, he never stopped moving - even the waves could not curtail him.


The cousins. It was so fun for our kids to have cousins their same age to play with and I loved watching them interact. We all shared a huge house and it provided a lot of time to spend together. (The memories!)

Kennedy Space Center

Our future astronauts!


Dallin loved running and climbing - I'm pretty sure the rocket right above him was the inspiration behind it all.

Scrapes and Bruises

We have learned that training wheel and quick turns equal pain. Our family decided to participate in a Memorial Day (I know I am way behind) 5k run. Somehow he got the idea that it was a race and took an early lead but when he tried to use his brakes to slow down for a turn, the bike did not and he hit a curb with his front tire, flipped over the bike and landed on his feet/bum in the middle of a rose bush patch. He immediately jumped up and said, "I'm alright". A few moments later (when he saw the damage as we were washing him off), he cried and told us how painful all the scrapes were. This is him later that day after soaking in the tub for a good while. Two of the thorns were too deep to dig out and seem to be making there way out on their own - by request of Grant. I keep asking him to 'let me get them'. What a brave little boy.

Graduation and Birthday Cake

Grant graduating from Kindergarten - he felt like a star for the day and we enjoyed being a part of that.



Can you find our very tall son? (His teacher said that Grant is the tallest kindergartener she had ever had.) - top left, 3rd one in. They sang 3 numbers - it was very adorable.



Dallins beautifully decorated cake!!! Grant and Ella loved helping.



The rest of the cake. We ran out of frosting because I used quite a bit on Dallin's cake. I gave Grant and Ella the exact same decorations and each half of the cake. Is this a cake that only a mother could love ? ... because I do.



Here's the end result. I think all the sugar made Dallin a little sick, by the end he was no longer eating, only playing.

Family Fitness

Dallin Walking

Before and After

Our little baby is growing up!

Fun Family Times

This was Dallin's cute trick for a few days, now he is starting to use his hands to carry things and so close to walking.






Cute baby, he would really prefer to be outside all the time. When I put him in the swing, I know I'm in for at least 30 minutes if I don't want a fight to get him out.






How cute is that! Grant love to follow his Daddy around when he mows ... he just walks and walks and walks.








Look real close and you will find a smiley face. REAL CLOSE. The fun of mowing. It turns out that when you mow around a trampoline, the long part in the circle provides endless entertainment.








We had so much fun when my sister Sara came to visit. Apparently, so much fun that I didn't have time to take pictures - this one of the very few I took. I still miss that cute little Ava. She is bursting with personality. I love her "day-too's" (thank-you), like 50 times a day, and she loves to clean up. My kiddo's really loved her and when we were shopping she always kept track of us and made sure we stayed close by. She will be such a great big sister. We are already planning a trip to come see again her sometime this summer.