Grandkid photo shoot at Nana's house-this is the best shot...."Out of college, money spent. See no future, pay no rent. All the money's gone, nowhere to go. Any jobber got the sack. Monday morning, turning back. Yellow lorry slow, nowhere to go. But oh, that magic feeling, nowhere to go. Oh, that magic feeling, nowhere to go. Nowhere to go!"
I was listening John Lennon sing these words to me today as I was painting walls in our house. I thought "Man, is he singing to me?" All of it is pretty true, but at least we have somewhere to go....back into our house tomorrow!!! Hooray!
I know we can not take our possessions with us when we leave this beautiful planet, but after being away from them for over a year, it will be so good to finally be surrounded by it all again-our books, decorative pillows, pictures for my walls, toys and bikes for the kids-wonderful! Does this mean I'm shallow? (okay, more shallow?)
So would you like to hear about the best surprise I've ever received? On February 13th I was in the bathroom getting ready for bed (is it odd that it takes me longer to get ready for bed than it does to get ready for the day?) when all of a sudden a knock comes at the door. I hear my little bro answer and say in a surprised voice, "Oh, hey." Then I hear the sound of my one-tone man say "Hey, how's it going." Cam came home without telling me!!!! What a great Valentine surprise! I flew down the stairs and jumped into his arms. It was so great.
I got the kids up so they could see their dad. All were happy about it, except Ella who had no idea who the man with the beard was. It took her about a 1/2 hour to warm up to him, but from then on out she loved to be held by him as she rubbed her palm on his whiskers. Such a happy time.
Joshua
Here are Josh and Dax at Hardware Ranch. Grandpa Glen and Grandma Holly took them up there where they all enjoyed a horse-drawn sleigh ride as they watched the Elk graze.
It has been warming up here (as in 45 degrees Fahrenheit-yes, that's warm) so the snow is melting. I went to our house and pulled Josh's bike out of storage to surprise him with. He never got the hang of it before we left, but as soon as I pulled it out for him he hopped right on and started riding! It's funny what a year will do. He told me today that kindergarten is for baby's because he already knows what they're teaching him-and that he should be in first grade....until I told him that in first grade they have lunch-and for some reason that really turned him off to the idea and now he wants to stay in kindergarten for "the rest of my life."
Josh is excited to finally see his toys and swing set again, and to be able to have a friend to play with within walking distance!
Daxton
Dinosaur Dax. A Daxosauras?
Dax is still not potty trained. Any volunteers? Sorry landfills, but these diapers are just nice and reliable. Okay, okay, I'll try to get into the "potty train" mind set. Cue the Rocky music.
Daxton is great, throwing lots of tantrums, but great. Aunt Lisa bought Dax a "Lightning McQueen" tricycle for Christmas. He loves chasing Josh and tries his best to keep up. Spring will be a fun time for these boys-they love being outside together.
Ella
Ella's huge and she's not slowing down. Her face is beginning to thin out and turn into a "little girl" face. Where has my baby gone? She is walking everywhere now. I love doing her hair in little pig tails or buns on top of her head. Girls are so much fun! She loves books, and I often find her sitting down with a book in her lap, as she speaks jibberish and turns the pages.
Cam
Cam has a dissertation to finish and a job to find. Are you hiring? I don't get why he's so stressed out-it's only a paper and a career. (Yes, I'm kidding.) Lots on his platter, but hopefully after we move in to our house, we can figure out some kind of schedule so he can birth this paper and deliver it to his professors. One less thing to worry about, ya know?
Me
A picture of me with my surprise Valentine present.I'll soon be 28. I feel and look old. Wrinkles already?! No, truthfully I like getting older. I feel that even though I act immature, at least I can say my age and they may think I'm old and wise, or something along those lines.
While Cam was still away in Belgium, my mom, the kids and I all traveled to Provo to see Kelli. It was 2 days of pure, non-stop fun! In 2 days we went to the dinosaur museum, swimming at the hotel, bowling, and then lunch at Chuck E. Cheese. What a blast! Very tiring for me, but I love having fun with my kids (and of course add to the equation your mom and sister-what a treat!)
You can see the small person on the bottom right of this picture-makes you appreciate the size of these dinosaurs. Scary!I got 3 gallons of paint for my pre-birthday present. I put them to good use today in our home. It's so exciting for me to again do home improvements, and to be able to make things better. I love it! I'm excited for Spring to come so I can dig in the dirt again, plant flowers and a garden, and let the kids play in the yard while I do it! Hooray for a yard!
Aside from Cameron's surprise visit, another highlight for this month was a visit to the temple with my two girlfriends-Em and Wendy. It was So wonderful to be in that beautiful, sacred building again, and to feel of the strong spirit that attends-and it only took 20 minutes to get there! The temple is amazing, and I hope I take advantage of the opportunities I have with so many temples available here in Utah.
Please feel free to visit us in our home! We look forward to seeing you soon! Cross your fingers for us so my next blog title will be "Employment!"
