Heres to the lasts and the firsts

Since mid-April we knew we would be moving sometime in the summer. So we started bumming boxes off people and out of stores and started packing the "unessentials". This morning the moving company surprised me in my pajamas. I asked them what they were here for since we weren't moving until tomorrow. They said they were here to pack us up! Oh how I wish that had been communicated a little better! We were under the impression that it would cost us extra to have them pack us up, so we opted to do it ourselves. Doh! They had to re-pack everything we had packed for insurance purposes. Although frustrating, it's been really nice sitting back watching them finish things up, freeing up our time to go to the park! It's also left some open time to reminisce. On our way home from the park today, we scouted for lady bugs in the grass like we always do. I realized it was probably the last time we'd do so, and I got a little sad...about finding lady bugs in the Rexburg grass. Here's to the lasts and the firsts.

Lasts-
*We had our last trip to Porter Park today. For a person who loves people watching as much as I do, living across the street from the most popular park in Rexburg has been heavenly, for more reasons than one. It is incredibly convenient to say, "It doesn't look too crowded over there. Ok, let's go to the park!" And then walk across the street! Or, "Richie, the kids are driving me nuts, can you walk the path with them while I make dinner?" Check. I LOVE living across from a park. As for the people watching aspect, I've seen one proposal, 1 assumed proposal (I was watching from the kitchen, so I couldn't quite tell, but it had all the signs), millions upon millions of couples making out, (they think they are shaded from the park's view when they come behind trees, but that just gives me a front row show from my living room! HA! Jokes on you guys!), ultimate frisbee, football, soccer, lacrosse,slack-lining, unicycling, kickball, baseball, hammock-ing tennis, basketball, long-boarding (oh, so much long boarding), skate boarding, rip sticking, rollerblading, pretend sword fighting complete with costumes, roller-skating, tanning, bicycling and Quidditch. Yup, quidditch. We have found phones, necklaces, tampons (gross), condoms (double gross), abandoned balls, and about a billion kites stuck in trees. We get to watch all sorts of parenting styles in action. Including ignoring strangers when they tell you your kid has poop running out of his shorts and it's getting on the playground equipment. Yikes. I am officially a germ freak now. We've had fun watching squirrels, birds, dogs, cats and ferrets who frequent the park. I've witnessed some of the best and worst flirting, made some great mommy friends, and loved every time I walk by a group of college girls as I stroll my two toe-headed children by and I overhear them all "ooohing and ahhing" over my adorable children. Yes, they really are that adorable. :) The park has been the best part of this apartment. And makes the list of things I will miss most about Eastern Idaho.

*We've had our last play dates with beloved friends.

*I had my last "girl's night" with Taysom and my friend Megan.
*Last Sunday dinner at the Christensens.

*Last time running errands around in town in the stroller
*Last time doing coin operated laundry!! WAHOO!!! Oh laundromat, how I loathe thee.
*Last weekly dinner with Taysom. It also happened to be our anniversary that day, so we went and got some snow cones to celebrate. She had leftover water balloons from a ward activity and a kite, so the kids had a blast! We technically already celebrated our anniversary, and with everything going on, the actual day got kind of lost in the shuffle. But I did manage to sneak a candy bar into his car, and Richie gave me a pedicure after the kids went to bed.

*Last "me time" at the gym. Boo.
*Last Sunday in the ward, in which I had to speak in sacrament meeting!
*Last time moving for a LONG time, thank goodness.

Rexburg has been so good to us, it's hard to leave. But we are looking forward to all the many firsts! Such as:
*First night in the new home and listening to all the new sounds and creaks that we're not used to.
*First time getting lost going somewhere (not really looking forward to this at all)
*First time meeting new neighbors
*First time making new friends
*First meals made in our new home
*First time going to IKEA just because it's 5 minutes away!!
*First time going to visit G&G Garner 5 minutes away, first time visiting G&G Crosby only 4 hours away now!

We've never made a major move like this before, so it's hard knowing that we won't be a quick drive away from our good friends, even if we move. In fact, there's no foreseeable excuses for us to make a trip to Rexburg any time, and that makes me sad. It's kind of the same feeling I get when I chop my hair really short. It's super exciting, but I feel like my comfort blanket has been ripped away. I'm sure there will be grass with ladybugs to find in Riverton and good friends to make. Here we go!!

Transient

We were in SLC this past week....again! I'm looking forward to the time when we won't be making this trip multiple times a month. Only about 2 weeks left, and hopefully by then we won't be so "in limbo". We went down for meetings that Richie had all week, to make progress on the home buying process, and to head to Bear Lake with the Murray staff for some bonding time.

SLC
The kids area always slightly bored when we come home from Grandma and Grandpa's. There are so many willing uncles to play with and so much room to run around.










Richie's bro Jake got his mission call to the Seattle, Washington mission! WAHOO!!



Bear Lake
All the staff at Murray and their spouses are great! I see some wonderful friendships developing in the future. While we were there we went to see a play at the "Pickleville Playhouse", ate great food and went on a small hike. When you reach the end of the hike, you are dead-ended at a beautiful lake, still freezing from the snow runoff. The boys were feeling adventurous and decided to slide down the snow, into the lake. Totally crazy, right? While Richie didn't slide down from the highest point (the right side, in the picture) he made a name for himself by sliding down the left side on his belly like a penguin.






Home Buying
I should have taken some pictures of our soon to be home! We found out we won't be able to rent the basement, due to zoning in Riverton. That was kind of a bummer. But it's still in our price range and it still felt right. After we got the home inspected and found it was almost in tip-top shape, we felt even better! We gave the people in charge the go ahead, and now it's race against the clock to see if we can get in before the 28th. The movers are coming to get our stuff on the 28th and we're out of our apartment and heading to SLC. Hopefully we'll be able to slide right into our home and not have to store things and move twice. I'm happy to report that most of the nerves are gone. I can usually fall asleep well at night, and I can eat all meals again :) That's always nice, right? That peaceful feeling you get when you know you made a good choice has settled in and now my mind is running 100mph thinking of decorating! Too bad it will be years before most of these schemes in my mind come to fruition. Thanks mom and dad for putting tin foil over the windows until you could afford window treatments and the valuable lesson that you don't buy something until you have the money saved for it. I think that's going to be very important in the coming years. :)

Father's Day

The good thing about a tradition is that you always know what to expect. The bad thing about a tradition is that you always know what to expect. I've been getting Richie these shutterfly books for Father's Day for the past 3 years or so. Just pictures of he and the kids and some nice words to go along inside. So yes, he always knows what he's getting, but I think he still enjoys it.



I tried to pamper him a little on his day, like he always does for me. He didn't have to change any diapers or deal with the kids at all during church! (Best present ever if you ask me) He got asked to speak in sacrament meeting Saturday night, and while that was kind of crummy, at least he didn't have to wrestle 2 biting, screaming, hitting, body-going-limp kids during the longest hour of the week. And his talk was fabulous of course, but what do you expect from a seminary teacher. :)

He got to take a Sunday nap, we made apple pie and ice cream to take to the Christensen's for dessert, and after the kids went to bed, I surprised Richie with a pedicure. Yep, a pedicure. Truth be told, I think he kind of liked it.

Gwen now fits into this adorable sailor dress that Grandma Garner got her before she was born. Out of about 50 pictures, I finally got a good one. Miles was feeling left out and asked me to take a picture of him. What cuties!!

Makin Money

I got to paint windows for 2 businesses in town this past week. If you're in the area, Basic Living is a great store if you're in the market for self-sufficient purchases, like food storage, emergency preparedness etc. The people there are so nice!

I also got a return customer! Arctic Circle is gearing up for summer and left it wide open for me. I kind of like that. :) The owner thinks I'm "an artist" and wants me to paint a mural on his office building. YIKES. I told him it's probably not going to happen considering we're moving June 28th. Did you catch that? Yup, we have an official moving date. I like having some schedule to go by. This up in the air business doesn't suit me. Depending on a few things, we'll either be living with Richie's folks for a bit, or we may be able to move straight in to this house we're looking at. So much stress over here. Happy, but stressed. :)





Here's the happy part!









We're loving the nice weather! The Splash Park across the street is finally open and I'm pretty sure the kids are in heaven. Miles has always been timid with these types of things. He still is, but he's so much more adventurous this year! This is Gwen's first time and she couldn't jump in fast enough! She had no issues walking straight through geysers twice her height and wanted to go down the big kid slide all by herself. Crazy girl! It's so much fun to watch the differences in their personalities and how they are growing and changing. It's happening too fast of course. Some days it feels like they have changed just during their nap time. The other day Richie got Gwen after a nap and when he brought her out, I just couldn't believe how blonde her hair was and how big she seemed.

Grown up stuff

*I added our pictures from our SLC Seminary training trip, if you're interested.

My birthday this year seemed to get mixed in with all the craziness around our house. Luckily we remembered! I guess whether we remembered or not, I would still have turned 26. Richie got me some new work out clothes. He knows me well. I felt like a rock-star when I worked out that night. A friend organized a lunch play date and treated us to ice cream. We had Tay over for dinner and she watched the kids while Richie and I treated ourselves to some ice cream. It was a good day.

This past memorial day we headed down to SG to visit my family and had a wonderful visit. We decorated graves, made homemade ice cream, barbecued, hung out with cousins, went to a great park, and the girls went out to eat. Yep, a good trip.

On our way back to Rexburg, we stayed in SLC for a few days with Richie's folks so that we could work out some housing for our upcoming move. It was fun,
educational, tiring, and gave us both anxiety. I think we're more resolved than ever to never spend any money, ever again. We found one house that we are in love with in Riverton. It would be about a 20 minute commute for Richie to get to Murray high school, and a 5 minute drive to visit G&G Garner. We put in an offer, we'll see if it goes through!