Catching Up...

It's been pointed out to me that I haven't blogged in a long time. There's several reasons for this. #1 - I've been busy. #2 - our laptop crashed. Even my techie brother referred to it as "fried". #3 - so much has happened in the last two months that the thought of trying to "catch-up" is daunting. But here it goes anyway. All these pictures are from my phone, so... sorry.

So first, we moved to Thatcher. We were living in Dave's parents' home while they left for their 6 month mission to Palmyra. Shortly thereafter, my parents got their mission call - 2 years in Honolulu. They offered to let us stay in their home, so we had a big decision to make. Honestly, it was a tough one, but we knew that the best thing for our family to do was move (again). So we packed up (again) and moved (again) and I'm so glad we did! We're loving it here. Dave is still searching for a job, but we have faith that something will work out soon.

Miles got his first haircut! We buzzed his silky locks off and now he's got a coarse head of big-boy hair. He looks so different!



We've had lots of reasons for family get-togethers lately which has been great. This picture was taken after my parents spoke in church the Sunday before they left. It's still so strange to me to be in their house every day and not see them.

Another great thing about living here is that we get to see these fun cousins a lot. Dave's brother works on the U of A stadium renovation and comes to town about once a week. It's been great hanging out with them. Oh and we got a zoo pass which I'm sure we'll get good use out of.

This is the summer of lessons for Caroline! First, she tried baseball in Thatcher. She was on the same team as her cousins and it was pretty cute to watch them. Now, she's in ballet and swim lessons through the city parks and rec and I've started teaching her piano twice a week. She's a busy lady and loving it!

Probably the best part about moving here is being close to family - just like we've been missing the last four years. We've seen everyone so much, that it's hard to believe we'd gone so long without!

Caroline is never happier as when she's with her cousins :)

Caroline and Miles also got three new cousins born recently! It's been fun to have newborns around... who aren't ours. Three adroable little girls!



Desert living!

So it's been a crazy whirlwind few months, but I think we're finally settled. Once Dave has a good job, then we'll be really settled :) I'm still so glad we came out here and so grateful for our good families that have helped us get here.

Saying Goodbye to Mississippi

Finally, an update! About two weeks ago we left Southaven, MS and drove for two days until we arrived in Arizona! It was a long trip, but thanks to the help of my parents, it wasn't nearly as bad as I anticipated :)

Miles was a whole lot of help during the packing process!

Before we left, we had to say goodbye to many good friends we made while in the South. I wish I had gotten pictures of every person we loved there, but I didn't. Moving is craziness. But here are a few pictures that I did manage to snap before we left.

On Caroline's last day at her school, we all went and had lunch with her class and took pictures of her with her school friends. All her teachers and friends said how much they would miss her and every kid in her class gave her a hug - one by one - before she left.

We had a barbecue at Uncle Ryan's new house the weekend before we moved. It was a lot of fun. Caroline is sure going to miss Uncle Ryan's four wheelers and her new cousins!

Dave and Mario worked together in Mississippi. Their family is so nice and often invited us to their house in Memphis for some authentic Mexican dinners. They were always fun and we'll miss them.

Caroline's adorable and crazy primary class!

It's crazy to think that we will probably never see many of these people face to face again. Of all the places we've lived since Dave and I have been married, we lived in Southaven the longest. Caroline's earliest childhood memories will be from there. Bittersweet feelings to move on.

We're getting settled in here in Dave's parents' house who just left on their mission to Palmyra. It's strange, but nice, being back in this town - right where our family started.

PVC Fort

A few weeks ago on Pinterest I saw instructions on building a fort out of pvc pipe. It looked simple enough and I asked Dave if he thought this was something we could do and he jumped right on board. Although, he suggested, we don't have to follow their dimensions or design, we can make it however we want. So we went to Home Depot and made it a Saturday project!

After all the cuts, we started assembling our fort and realized that it was going to be huge. Maybe we should have followed their directions afterall?! Oh, well. We kept cutting it back and back and got it to a managable size.

We tossed some sheets over the top and voila! A super-awesome fort!

Caroline loves it. She spent a lot of time in the fort and even slept in it a few times!

The following week I sewed a fitted cover for the fort. I didnt' take pictures of it, so just take my word that it looks good ok?

Of course now that we've listed the house and started packing, the fort is back to its origins: in pieces. Maybe when we're in Thatcher we'll put it back together for the kids to play with their cousins in it!

Our One Year Old!

Yes, we celebrated Miles' first birthday this week. I still can't believe it. A whole year. He still feels like a new addition to me. He obviously doesn't look like a new baby, but he's still like a fun new toy sometimes! The night before his birthday I had my usual "my baby's growing up" melt-down. I bawled. Every time I think about when he was born and that week he spent in the NICU I get emotional. So this birthday was especially meaningful for me.

Caroline helped him with a few presents in the morning. Little cars and books - we tried to keep it small and simple since we're moving and trying to condense what we already have as it is.

I've seen others do a shirt like this for their one-year-old and think they're so clever and cute. So I made this for Miles with freezer paper and fabric paint. I thought the same principle might work with his cake...

It didn't. But it sure tasted good! We had a few friends over that night to have cake and ice cream. Miles loved all the attention and showed off his new walking skills to everyone.

And the moment we were all waiting for was great - he didn't disappoint at all!

He dove right in! The boy had frosting up his nose!

He was so happy!

So at one year old our boy:

- still takes two great naps. I love this about him. He's such a great sleeper!

- says "DadaDadaDada" and "Nononono" but not much else

-walks pretty well. He can stand up in the middle of the floor and take off. He has the proudest look on his face and keeps his hands over his head the whole time. It's pretty cute.

- can point to his head and belly and gives "high-fives"

- Puts everything in his mouth. Really, Everything. He has 4 teeth and one on the way.

- loves kitties, Elmo, his blankie, and mini marshmallos.

- is friendly and smiles at anyone who gives him any attention.

- Gives awesome open-mouth kisses on cue

- is very ticklish

- is an active, curious little boy. Truly, he doesn't sit still. He's all over the place and into everything.

- whines/cries when anyone leaves the room. You have to sneak out of the room, because if he sees you leaving - even if it's for a second - he'll probably cry.

- loves going for walks in his stroller and watching Baby Einstein in the car.

We love this crazy little guy so much!

Plans and Pictures

So I think we finally have a plan to move - We're working on listing our house for short sale and we're leaving for AZ the first week of April. Yay! It feels good to have a plan and we're getting excited to be closer to our families! We'll have a few new nieces to meet when we get there :)
Here's a few pictures of our kids who both seem to have grown a bunch lately.

I can't believe Miles is going to be one this week. It really is amazing how fast this year has gone.

Caroline's class celebrated Dr. Seuss' birthday by dressing as cat in the hats! So cute, huh?! I just love her flair and zest for life!

I asked a friend to bring Caroline home from school for me the other day and this was Miles waiting for Sissy at the door.

He's starting to stand on his own and take a few steps. He'll be walking in no time - maybe for his birthday!

Here's my little loves before church today - they are getting so big!

4 Day Weekend

Caroline had a four-day weekend recently so we tried to make the most of it with some fun. First off, games at Chuck E Cheese!

Miles loved watching Caroline play skeeball. In fact, he was pretty content to just observe. Anytime I tried to get him to play with something he looked like this:


Not a fan.

We made a PVC pipe fort (more on that later) and Caroline slept in it - she loves it!

Then we went to the Children's Museum with Caroline's new cousins. We've been trying to get together for a while, and it was a great day. The kids all get along so well.

Again, Miles was not an enthusiastic participant. He was well-behaved, he just didn't want to climb on or play with anything. Which is ironic, because the boy doesn't stop moving when we're at home!

Caroline's favorite parts of the museum are always those that involve music, dancing and stages. She was glad that her cousins were willing to dance with her!

Oh yeah. I couldn't help it :)

After the children's museum we went to McDonalds and after they ate, the older kids played together with their happy meals toys for like 30mins! They were playing and laughing and afterward Caroline said she had even more fun at McDonalds than she did at the museum! Silly kids.