Doing Well

No cockroaches or crickets have been spotted crawling out of drains since the bug guy came, so we're much happier around here.

We are slowly but surely getting settled in. The kids are in their fourth week of school and liking it. Hailey is adjusting well to the Intermediate school (changing classes, etc), and riding the bus. She's made quite a few friends already and hasn't had to eat lunch alone once! (Which was her big fear.) She likes YW and they have been very welcoming to her. I'm honestly a little surprised, I thought she would struggle more than she has. I think having email helps, she can keep in contact with her closest friends easily.
I am so proud of how hard Trent is working to learn new things and make new friends. The first day we walked him into class, a boy started waving to him and Trent got seated right behind him. He's enjoying it all so far. He will start Scouts again next week, and he loves riding his bike on some dirt hills near the house.
Elise was the one I was the least worried about, but this hasn't been as easy on her as I thought. She is such a social butterfly, I thought she would be fine wherever she was. She likes school and her teacher loves her. But there aren't as many kids here in the neighborhood. Maybe we just haven't been here long enough to know where kids live, but she misses her Giggly Girls so much, she cries all the time. (The Giggly Girls was what she and her three best friends were called. Greg loved driving them to school, they were so fun!) And she asks to call them at least once a day. I have faith things will improve for her.
Seth is bored most days. I am trying to find him a school for the fall and am glad the neighbors have a little boy close to his age to play with. He misses preschool and is always sad when the kids leave. I have been trying to focus more on him this week and not just the boxes.
Rachel has been walking a lot on the tile floors and we've been so happy. She is adjusting pretty well, but has become quite clingy. Hopefully it will pass as she gets accustomed to it here.
Greg likes being here full time to help his clients. He is very optimistic and has had a lot of business coming his way, which is great in this economic climate. He has a new mountain bike and has been enjoying his nightly rides with Trent. We like that he hasn't been traveling.
As for me, I am adjusting. I have been reading a great book called 'After the Boxes are Unpacked', and it's helped a lot. Everyone knows moving is stressful, but I forgot what an emotional toll it takes on me as well. I started it Monday and am happy to know I am not loosing my mind. The book talks about grieving your loss of family and friends and everything that is familiar. I was feeling so angry last week, and I couldn't figure out why. I now realize I need to give myself time to adjust, just like I am the kids. This will soon feel like home and I will make new friends. I didn't realize how much I would miss talking to the mom's when I picked up kids from school and the everyday interactions with my neighbors and friends. But I have faith that will happen in time.
All in all, we're doing well and making this our home!

Moving Day

We are alive and well in St George. I look forward to the day when there are no boxes in my line of sight, but I know that day will come, eventually. :)
I'll give a brief summary of how things have been the last three weeks, because you don't want all of the details, believe me.

Moving Day came and it was, well, you know how moving day is: Craziness. But this moving day was especially bad. While telling my sister about it, she said "That's not a bad day. That's a s***y day!". One of the worst things to happen is that not everything would fit in the moving truck. So Greg took Trent and drove down here Saturday night, while the rest of us camped out at the house. I tried to make it an adventure, taking them to McDonald's for dinner and actually going inside. (That doesn't happen often.)

I don't know what I would have done without my neighbors and friends. A ton of them came to help and clean Saturday morning, and then Cathie and Dorothy stayed until 5 pm helping me bring everything that wasn't put in the truck into the living room. Greg came back on Sunday and reloaded a smaller truck with his brother Jeff and came back down. The kids and I left on Monday morning, while my friends finished cleaning my house. I think they knew I was at my breaking point by then and told me to get out of there before I had a meltdown. They are so awesome!

Lisa and Cathy on Saturday

I will finish in a little while, the bug guy is here to spray for cockroaches and crickets. (We've had both of those in the bathtubs.)

Murder at the Deadwood Saloon

On Saturday night, my awesome friends and I had a Murder Mystery Party. I would say it's the most fun party we've ever had, but we've done a lot of fun things, so it's hard to choose. But this is right up there.
We were each assigned a character and received an envelope with tid-bits about them before we came. Wouldn't you know it, I was a floosy. Or Sally Star, saloon girl, technically. It was so fun to get dressed up and do something totally different! My kids didn't quite know what to think of me once I was in my costume. For Halloween I usually do something simple, so they were a little taken back.

Once we were all assembled at The Deadwood Saloon, the fun began. We were given objectives and then proceeded to act in character for the rest of the night, even through dinner. Being a hussy is hard work! ;) We laughed and laughed as the mystery unfolded and we all accused each other of killing poor Mitch Maverick. It turns out it was the very quiet Montgomery Money that was guilty, and only Christie guessed right.

I loved seeing everyone's costumes and hearing us all talk in western accents. The decorations were unbelievable and Lori and Nancy went over the top with it all. I was lucky enough to win best costume, though there were plenty that I thought were better than mine. Cami won best actress for a woman and Rachel for a man, and they both deserved it; they were hilarious! I couldn't stop talking about how much fun we had all day Sunday, and I even dreamed that I was in the Wild West the next few nights! I hope we make a Murder Mystery party an annual thing, it was so much fun.

This and That before I go crazy

I don't know how much more free time I'll have on my hands in the next few weeks, so I thought I'd better catch up on this while I can.

Trent had his Blue and Gold Banquet a few weeks ago, where he got his Music belt loop. He had lots of fun running around with the other scouts.

Hailey sang in her school's talent show last Friday. She did such a fantastic job! I was so proud of her. I wish I had a video camera! When they called her name to sing, my heart started beating so hard and my hands started shaking, like I was the one going up there. It's so hard when you know your child is nervous and there's nothing you can do about it! After wards, I called my mom to ask her if that happened to her every time I did a dance solo and she said "Yep, every time!". And what did she sing, you ask? "Mamma Mia", of course! She picked it herself, I had nothing to do with it.

You know that really cool house we were going to get in St George? Not happening. It's a long story, but Greg is heading down this week and will hopefully find something for us. I am trying not to freak out, but it's a little hard when we are moving in less than two weeks and we don't have anywhere to move to!

My mom came for a visit Wed-Sun, and I can't believe I didn't take one picture!!! We were running around the whole time, and I think we exhausted her. She is such a great Nana, the kids adore her. She took them all shopping and bought them fun stuff. She takes time with each of them, and makes each child feel special. They are so blessed to have her.

Our awesome neighbor's, the Nelson's, threw us a going away party on Friday night! We were so touched, and had a great time. We were pleasantly surprised that so many people came; Greg and I had both expressed concern that no one would come! This neighborhood has really helped us as I've faced my health problems, and my kids have made such good friends. We have leaned a lot while living here and our friends and neighbors have been wonderful. We are going to miss everyone! Here is a picture of the cute Nelson family, minus Curtis.

I love my children

Things I love about my kids:

• Rachel throws her arms around our necks and tackles us with her hugs. She does it with either her mouth wide open, or with her nose crinkled, but both ways saying "Ahhh!" in her cute way.

• Seth has an infectious smile. You can't help but smile at this sweet boy when he grins at you. It has gotten him out of trouble more times than I can count.

• Elise is so thrilled about everything. The other night Greg was asking everyone what their favorite word was and she said "Mine is EXCITED!". That describes our Elise to a T!

• Trent is so curious. He is constantly asking questions about space and dinosaurs and cars and just about everything. Each week he comes home from the library with a new reference book and he likes to share with us what he's learned.

• Hailey has a great sense of humor. She has Greg's sense of timing and wit, and comes up with the funniest lines. She is a master at quoting movies word for word and always has us laughing.

I am a very blessed woman. Each of these children have such unique personalities and bring so much diversity to our family.They might fight at times, but they also love each other more than anything. Who knew it was possible to love so many children so much?!

St George, here we come

Greg has been asked to take over as the Financial Adviser for the St George branch of WaMu, and he was happy to oblige. He's been wanting to head down that way for quite awhile, and has loved it as he's spent time down there each month. So in mid-March, we're all moving down.

I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous. It is always hard to uproot your kids and they are happy here. But I also have faith that this is going to be a good move for us. Change isn't always a bad thing, though it can be scary. We are all sad to leave friends, but it's not like we're moving across the country. And who doesn't like St George? Well, don't ask me that from June-September, I've heard. :) Greg's brother and his family live in St George, and we're excited to be so close to them. They've been giving us lots of good advise.

We found a house to rent for a year, and I forgot to take pictures with the camera for the kids, but luckily Greg snatched a few with his phone. This is the front and the awesome kitchen!

So if you're heading our way, please come and see us!

The Super Bowl and a Popcorn Kernel

We decided to stay home and have our own Super Bowl party this year. We had lots of chips, homemade guacamole and caramel corn, mini-pizzas and pigs in a blanket. (I think it goes without saying that we ate too much.) My favorite part was watching Rachel try guacamole. She would get a little on her chip and lick it off, then do it again. (I used to do the same thing when I was young.) The best was when she put her soggy chip back into the bag. I had never heard Hailey say "EWWW!" quite so loud before.

The kids don't have school today, because of Teacher Development Day. (They should really be developed by now, they seem to have a day for it every month!) Greg let me sleep for an extra hour since we didn't have to do the morning rush. After I got up, I went to change Rachel's diaper and thought I saw a little booger on her nose. As I went to get it, I realized it was a popcorn kernel. She had stuck one up her right nostril! I had vacuumed the basement Saturday, but the kids obviously spilled some yesterday. I tried to get it out with my finger, but only pushed it farther in. After a frantic call to the dr's office, they told me to plug one nostril and have her blow, and if that didn't work try a bulb syringe. Neither worked, and they had said to bring her in and they'd take it out. Have you seen 'One Fine Day'? There was no way I was letting them put something that big up her little nose! So after some persuading she started blowing again and it finally came out. I almost took a picture of it, but you wouldn't have wanted to see it. Yuck! Lesson here: always vacuum after popcorn. Those little fingers find everything.