September

We made a trip back to Idaho to pack up our house.  It was exhausting work.  Luckily we squeezed in a little time to see a few friends.  Audrey misses this sweet Olivia so much.  

 Though we moved in September it stayed warm enough for us to go swimming a couple of times before we winterized the pool.  I still can't believe we have a pool.  I never in my life planned on it but I think it is going to be something we absolutely love and use all the time.

I got Julia signed up for soccer and she had such a fun season. They had a little bit of a rough start but then they didn't lose a game.  Her team really hit a rhythm and they were such fun games to watch.  Julia also showed a great deal of improvement and was able to make a few goals.  I think that the concept of the game finally clicks around this age.

 Their team was the orange crushers.  She had a great coach and a great team.

 This is the view from my bedroom.  We have a little office off of the master bedroom and the view from the window is so incredible.  I have really enjoyed living in the mountains and being able to see them every day.

 This girl lost her first tooth and was so excited about it!

 We went to a work function for Bryan and they had professional balloon creators and face painters.  The girls were in heaven.  On top of that they gave out cotton candy and popcorn.

 I was so impressed with the face paint.  I was genuinely sad when they had to wash it off after returning home.

 Julia's even came with a real jewel.

 We go on lots of bike rides and walks and I just can never get over how beautiful it is where we live.  It feels like we are so secluded and in the mountains.

 With the beautiful mountains and tress unfortunately we get a few critters as well.  Bryan found a tarantula on his way home from work and brought it home for the girls to see.  He left it on the counter and I have to admit it completely freaked me out.  That thing was huge!  I have also found some rather large spiders living in my house.  I think an exterminator may be in our future.

 My dear Uncle George came up for a visit and we were so happy to see him.  He came and visited our home here in Utah and we were able to have dinner together.  His only complaint was that our house had way too many stairs (which it totally does!)  We also made a trip to Wyoming so we could eat his delicious short ribs (well pork ribs since my mom accidentally got the wrong kind).  His cooking is the best and we were so happy to see him.  I am sure he was overwhelmed with all these grandkids but they sure do love him.  It was great to have such a fun visit.

 My girls lived in the backyard this September.  We caught lots of snails, praying mantis, ladybugs and other creepy crawlies.  I tell you what they are everywhere here!

 It's so nice off of our deck.  We love sitting out there.

 This Lily is just getting so big on me!  I am glad she is still too young for preschool though.  We have a great time hanging out together during the day.  I feel like these years are so fleeting and I want to enjoy the time I have them all to myself.

Finally and Meeks

Despite some last minute stresses and trips to the bank we were able to finally close on our new home.  It is a bit of an older home and totally different than the one in Idaho but we love it.  It is a forever home for us with plenty of room for our family.  Because it was right before Labor Day we closed on the home, went camping with our family and then went to Idaho to get all of our stuff and moved in the next week.  When we actually closed on the home I had to wait a bit for the girls to get out of school.  Lily and I hung out at the empty house.  A neighbor dog came and made friends.  It turned out he was just being dog sat and really just wanted to play fetch.  We humored the dog for a bit and it was all fun and games until he fell down the window well and I couldn't get him out!  I was totally stressing but luckily he climbed out eventually.  Thankfully he doesn't come around and visit any more.  I don't have anything against dogs but I certainly don't need to fish them out of the window well very often.

 Here is my new kitchen.  The lady that sold us the house left beautiful flowers.  It was nice of her.  We had the most amazing realtor as well that gave us several very nice house warming gifts and dinner for the first night we were there.  We were really blessed to have such amazing people working with us to get this house.  I have never worked with better.

 This is the upstairs.  It was completely empty at this point.  As we slowly get it to where I want it to be we will have to post more pictures.  We have done lots and lots of painting and Bryan has done a TON to the backyard.  There are lots of trees around here that have required a lot of work.

 Right after we closed we drove to our annual family reunion.  The timing was not good.  I don't think we were the best company to be honest.  Closing on a house was so stressful and anticipating packing all of our stuff in Idaho and Bryan getting back to work was a lot on our minds.  Bryan ended up going back to the house and working on the yard while I stayed with the girls at Meeks.  We went to the Mountain Man Convention on the way there so Julia could see the Native Americans and get a dream catcher.

 Her cousins came along.  We ate Navajo Tacos that were delicious and enjoyed people watching.

 Carli brought her face paints and the kids made her do a different face every single day.

 The kids also worked on puppets.  They loved crafting and made quite a mess with paints and such.

 So many face paints.  The older two girls were always running off with cousins while I  was with Lily so it seems like she is in the majority of the pictures.

 Lily mastered the swing while we were there and was so proud of herself.  She up to this point had been terrified of the swing.  We would whoop and holler and demand everyone watch her while she was swinging so they could know she was being brave.

 Fun cousins.  I was glad in the end we came just so my kids could have such a great time with their cousins.

Overall it was a great trip and fun times to spend with family.

The Start of School

When the girls started school we weren't quite in our house yet.  It was a very crazy time.  We had to commute an hour to get them to school and back.  Thankfully it was only a few weeks but we were so glad after labor day to have our own home that was just three minutes from the school rather than a full hour!  We went to the "meet the teacher" night.  I was really nervous for the girls.  This was Audrey's second elementary school and Julia's third.  I just wanted them to have good teachers.  They insisted on taking their backpacks that night even though they didn't need them.  Their teachers have been so amazing this year and they have made lots of good friends.  That has been my greatest relief with moving.  Truly an answer to prayers.  I wanted this to be a smooth transition for them and I'm just so grateful that it has been.

 Julia's teachers have so many fun projects that they have this year.  I feel like it has pushed and stretched Julia and she really needed that.  Audrey really needed an upbeat and enthusiastic teacher and that was exactly what she got.  Audrey comes home every day telling me all about her teacher and makes Lily play school with her.

 This was the official first day of school.  The girls were pretty nervous.

 But they sure looked adorable.

 There is something a little heartwrenching about leaving your kids for seven hours and just hoping and praying everything goes ok for them.  I wanted lunch to go smoothly and for there to be a couple of kind girls that would sit next to them and say hello.  It's always such a relief to see them smiling when you go to pick them up.  Audrey's only complaint was that they went over the rules so much it was a little boring.

 This was Audrey waiting in line the first day.  She was so nervous that entire first week and wanted me to walk her right up to the line and watch her go in.  That only lasted a little while though.  Now she is so worried about being late and runs right in.

 My mom drove up with me that first day of school so we took them to the mall and had a little snack and made a day of it.

 Another day when I was stuck waiting with them and waiting for Bryan to finish work we found this great park that they played on for hours.  I couldn't get them to leave.  We made the most of this crazy time.  At one point we got a hotel near the school and did that for a few days as well.  It certainly made us appreciate being settled!

 Lily and I met Bryan for lunch a few times and walked by this beautiful park near the hospital.

Before School

We decided to squeeze in as many fun things before school started despite the fact that we still hadn't closed on our house and poor Bryan was commuting from Wyoming to Utah every single day.  Bryan's work sponsored a minor league baseball game and gave us tickets to attend.  The view from the stadium was so beautiful.  I have been surprised at how much I missed the mountains and how much I love living by them again.  I feel like my few is pretty year round.

 They even gave the girls cute hats and headbands.

 We also had some fun BBQ's down at the pit.  This night was a particularly beautiful and the moon was so big.  My girls love going down and roasting marshmallows and having delicious dutch oven cooking.

 While Bryan was at work one day my mom and I took the girls back to the Uintas for some hiking.  It was so pretty up there.

 Julia and Lily walked like this the entire time.  Julia kept making up stories for Lily.  It kept her entertained the entire time.

 Isn't that view amazing!?

 Bryan and I took the girls to Bear Lake one Saturday.  It was insanely crowded but we had so much fun anyways.

 Eating treats on a beautiful beach is high on my favorites list.

 The water is so clear and beautiful.

 Julia particularly loved playing in the sand and collecting shells.  She was fascinated that Bear Lake had shells.

 My cute Julia and me.

 Audrey loved going out deep in the water with Bryan.

Overall with all the craziness, I am so thankful we were still able to have a great summer.  We just had to squeeze in the fun while we were trying to get everything squared away with a place to live!