Yup, We Moved

Here's the home we left. It rained the entire day that we were planning on loading our truck. It never does that! Usually it rains for just a short time and then moves on. We were extremely blessed that the rain stopped just when we needed it to so we could load our belongings without worrying about then getting all wet! It started up again just as we were finishing up. 

And then, just about a half hour into our trip, we were on the side of the road. The transmission was giving us issues. Thus, the next day, we ended up at a U-Haul in Oklahoma City where we amused ourselves for several hours watching the surveillance cameras and playing with this super awesome contraption that actually proved to be quite the lifesaver as we all really enjoyed playing with it. 

And then there was Oliver and his special little box. There was a spot full of used boxes for people to 'take one and leave one'. Oliver decided he was particularly fond of this one and begged to take it with us. I decided that even though we didn't have one to leave, it still wouldn't be too big of an issue. 

Our truck could not be fixed so we got a new one. A crew was supposed to help us move everything from one truck to the other, but they never showed so we did it on our own with the help of some extremely kind employees. And then it rained. And the rain pounding down on top of the truck was pretty loud. I guess all of our stuff was destined to be rained upon. 

It was smooth sailing from then on out. Check out this way cool playground in Joplin, MO. It was very tall. 

And then we met my friend Sarah for dinner. She took us to a super cool restaurant where she showed my boys the finer points of pinball. 

Skyler wanted to visit the arch in St. Louis, so we did. 

And then we made it to our new home!

Bucket List

There were a few things we wanted to do one last time before moving, most notable (i.e. photoworthy)
were:

Ride the tram to the top of the mountain.
This actually falls into the category of doing it for the first time, but it was something we didn't want to leave without ever doing. After riding to the top, we hiked around a bit before it started raining and we all just got too cold. We ate dinner at the restaurant at the bottom after coming back down. The kids were excited to run into their PE teacher at the restaurant. We actually see him quite a bit outside of school. He's a great guy and one of the reasons that I will miss their school!

Chase a balloon.

Labor Day turned out to be a great balloon day, so we got in the car to see if we could chase one down. The one we got ended up landing on a golf course! It was on the driving range, and the chase crew managed to pull it far enough out into the range that no one would be able to hit that far, thus driving range activities could continue on as normal. When I was a kid, my grandparents had a cabin that was right on a golf course. My cousins and I would run out and play on the green when no one was there, but once some golfers caught us. I imagine that is why I had such a hard time walking around on that golf course to help pack up the balloon! 

Go to Cliff's.

This one also falls into the "first and only" category. Jonah was begging to go last summer but we didn't and then at the end of the school year when he got a coupon for the place, he started asking again. It's just a little amusement park in the middle of the city, but we did have a good time. Jonah seems to really love amusement parks, but isn't a fan of rides with any sort of drop in them, but he did like some of the pretty tall water slides, so who knows! These swings were Jonah's favorite. Skyler rode on the big roller coaster. He was hesitant at first and said he did not like it when he was done, but when I went to go on it later, he came with me and then wanted to go for a third time after that! We didn't end up going the third time because Jordan and I both needed some "recovery" time (it's a rickety old wooden coaster) and they had closed the ride for the night by the time we did make it back. Oliver is the biggest daredevil and was eager to go on everything he was big enough for (which was most things, actually). He loved the crazy (wild?) mouse coaster.

Three Months Old

At three months old, Georgia:

• Defeated the baby acne and has now moved onto cradle cap
• Is trying to figure out how to roll over
• Thinks that I was starting to get way too much sleep at night and she would do what she could to put an end to that
• Smiles
• Likes to take baths 

I don't have any height/weight stats , but she is starting to fit really nicely into her 0-3 month clothes.

Summer Vacation

A baby due in June kind of makes summer vacations a little tricky. We did manage one whirlwind trip though.

We started out with a short weekend with Jordan's sister and her family.  We went hiking and played in the stream and had a chance to visit with some friends from college on the way out of town. From there, we headed to my parents' house. We blessed Georgia on Sunday evening and it was super great because all I had to do was show up! My mom had a nice little dinner and even cupcakes all ready to go. My cousin took some pictures, so I really didn't even bother taking some of my own, but did manage to snap one of Georgia in her dress that I made for her. The next day, we left the boys with my parents and took off to Ohio to find a place to live. My mom kept the boys busy which was super awesome because that way when asked about their summer vacation, they could talk about all the great things my mom and brother and sister did with them as opposed to saying that they "played wii and watched tv all summer". Jordan and I flew back to Arizona on Thursday night and then on Friday, we drove up to Utah to spend the weekend with friends.

We explored Arches National Park and just in general had a great timing hanging out after not seeing each other for almost exactly a year! On the way back home, we stopped in Four Corners, because it may just be our last chance to do so, and who doesn't want the chance to stand in four states at once? (says the girl who actually didn't because she was too busy being the photographer - I got two states, though)

Two Months Old

At two months old, Georgia:

• weighs 8 lbs. 14 oz. and is 22.25 in. long
• has been know to sleep for a crazy amount of time overnight, but also still thinks that waking up multiple times is pretty fun
• has started smiling 
• is currently battling a vicious case of baby acne
• took her first plane ride
• naps in her swing 
• is super psyched that the new Prince of Cambridge has a name so similar to hers

Summer in a Paragraph

We went to the zoo and the aquarium and the botanic gardens. We went to a horse ranch that had fun kid activities set up. We went to parks. We climbed rocks and took a drive to local places we've never been. We took a crazy trip that started in Tucson and ended in Moab with the middle destination being grandma's house for the boys and a house hunting trip for mom, dad, and Georgia because surprise! we are moving. But mostly, there was a whole lot of this (replace computer with TV as necessary):

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Zoo train! First and last ride.

Zoo

From a stop made during a Saturday drive 

From that same stop. The kids were being unruly, so we thought we'd send them to jail.

Ranch fun

Holding rabbits at the ranch

Holding rabbits at the ranch

Holding rabbits at the ranch

Skyler's favorite ranch activity - taking the miniature ponies for a walk.

Rock climbing

Birthday party day was unfortunately rather cool (temperature wise), so the kids requested a fire to warm up after playing in the water and eating Bahama Buck's

Aunt Krissy

First Day of School

It's a matching game! Someone was a little shy, someone was evading getting in the car, and someone else just wanted to go back to bed! And two kids are wearing identical shorts.

Fourth Grade

First Grade

Preschool

One Month Old

At one month old, Georgia
- weighs about eight pounds
- likes her swing
- likes taking naps with mommy (maybe? I like it at least)
- likes to be outside
- still sleeps an awful lot

Skyler is Nine

Skyler celebrated his birthday with a trip to Explora with me and a dinner out with dad. He had a joint birthday party with his brothers a few weeks later. All he wanted for his birthday was money. He is saving for an iPod touch. He is a wonderful big brother and a great help around the house - when he wants to be. :) He is so very smart. Not just "book smart", but I'm constantly impressed with the things he just figures out on his own. He likes to read, but can be very picky about the books he reads! He likes to play with completed lego sets, but not build them, and likes to ride his bike.

In his own words -
Favorite Food: Enchiladas and Italian Beef Sandwiches
Favorite Thing to Do: Watch TV
Favorite Show to Watch: Electric Company and Wild Kratts
Favorite Color: Turquoise ("because turquoise is basically a green and blue")
Favorite Animal: Jaguar
Favorite Toy: The Computer
What Makes Him Happy: My favorite foods for dinner
What Makes Him Sad: I don't know
What He Wants to Be When He Grows Up: Watchmaker
Favorite Song: Darth Vader Song (Imperial March)
Favorite Friend: Bethany and Hannah
Who He Loves: Georgia
What He Likes to Do With His Family: camping
Favorite Place to Go: Disneyland

Our Gender Reveal

Gender Reveal Parties seem to be all the rage these days. Expecting parents throw a party for friends and family and announce their unborn child's gender in some cutesy way. Sometimes, the parents will be surprised right along with the guests by having the ultrasound tech write the gender on a piece of paper and have a friend do something to surprise the couple at the party.

Our gender reveal party was a small affair that took place in the early morning hours of June 18th. In attendance were me and Jordan, a doctor, two nurses, and this little lady.

Georgia Jeanne weighed in at 7 lbs. 4 oz. (my biggest baby, but just by a few ounces) and was 19 1/4 inches long. Such a surprise to have a girl! But not too much, because that's what I've really thought all along (and I love being right!).  We love her! And we're so glad she is here safe and healthy!

Now, if I could just get people to stop saying "you finally got a girl!" I know lots of families with lots of boys in a row and I hardly think that three boys in a row justifies a "finally"! Four maybe... Plus, it seems to me that that insinuates that our family would somehow be less wonderful and special if there weren't a daughter involved. Not true! I won't lie though, I'm looking forward to the (hopefully) change of pace that a girl will bring to our family!

Jonah is Six

Jonah turned six! We celebrated his birthday with some game time at Chuck E. Cheese, a trip to Wendy's for a frosty, some slip n sliding, and a pizza picnic (just him and dad) at the park.

Six Years Old and a Shirt to Prove It

Playing with new toys. See that Spiderman silly string? It was for his mega blaster web shooter and was used up in approximately 30 seconds. It was the best 30 seconds of his young life, mind you.

He had so many funny facial expressions while opening gifts. He was especially excited about this book because it was a sequel of sorts to a book he already has and really enjoys.

Skyler carrying Jonah (why?) to find his big gift.

It's a new bike!

In his own words -
Favorite Food: Lucky Charms
Favorite Thing to Do: play video games
Favorite Show to Watch: Scooby-Doo
Favorite Color: red
Favorite Animal: monsters ("monsters are animals, but they aren't alive")
Favorite Toy: Spiderman mega blaster web shooter
What Makes Him Happy: playing video games
What Makes Him Sad: not being able to play video games
What He Wants to Be When He Grows Up: construction worker
Favorite Song: Darth Vader Song (Imperial March)
Favorite Friend: Oliver
Who He Loves: Georgia
What He Likes to Do With His Family: camping
Favorite Place to Go: toy store