Our new lawnmower

                                  

 Jake left on Monday to start his job in Afton which leaves me responsible for holding down the fort here. I have been a little concerned about being a single mom for a few weeks.  Especially because within the next few weeks I need to pack and at the same time keep our house and yard "show worthy".  Our grass grows so fast here because of all the rain so I should be mowing it at least every week. Today I found a solution to keeping our lawn mowed.  Instead of breaking my back, I'll just let our dog, Polly, take care of it. Haha!

11 years and counting

Yesterday Jake and I celebrated our anniversary by going out to dinner and a movie.  I can't believe that it has been 11 years since we tied the knot.  It seems just like yesterday that I was sitting on the couch at my apartment at BYU waiting to see what kind of guy could get two of my roommates so excited. These roommates were sisters from Ohio and they knew Jake because he served his mission in Columbus, Ohio.   Jake was coming to check out UVSC and stopped by for a visit.  When he showed up at our apartment I could immediately see what all the fuss was about.  Jake made a great first impression on me simply because he was a good looking "hat boy".  All of you roommates may recall my weakness for guys who would wear ball caps. (I know, pretty shallow) I must have also made some kind of good impression because after a couple of apartment visits he asked me out. Our first date was a double date with his cousin, Matt and one of my roommates. We had lots of fun bowling and then afterwards got some ice cream at "The Malt Shoppe".  

We dated for about 2 months before Jake proposed to me in my pj's, at my house, on Christmas morning. I was so surprised when Jake unexpectedly showed up and even more surprised when he pulled out a ring.  Having him there with me for Christmas and being engaged was the best present ever.  We were engaged for 4 months, during my last semester at BYU.  One week I was taking finals and the next week I was heading back home to be married in the Idaho Falls temple.  I am so thankful that I met Jake and that we have been able to grow together these past 11 years. 

Easter

On Saturday I put together our traditional little treasure hunt for the kids to find their easter presents.  This year was a little different because this time Brooke could read her own clues and Jake helped Kennady, so I was able to just sit back and enjoy watching them scramble around the house and yard.  

Here they are before they took off to find their first clue. 

Jake helping Kennady with her clues. 

Tyler checking out his "treasures"

The "bunny bubbles" were a favorite.

On Sunday we invited our neighbors over for dinner, colored easter eggs and had an egg hunt inside the house since the weather was not cooperating. It rained almost all day.

Baby Boy

I just have to share the good news that my sister, Stef, had her first baby last week.  I am so happy for her and Jared.  They named him Marcus Jared and he weighed in at 9 lbs. 10 oz., 22 inches long.  To make a long story short, Stef ended up having a scheduled c-section at 35 1/2 weeks because of pre-eclampsia.  I am so thankful that everything worked out and that after only a week in the hospital Marcus is home with Stef and Jared doing very well.  I have seen some cell phone pics of him and he is an absolute cutie!!! 

Spring Break

Here are a few pics from our week.  Jake had to work so we didn't do anything too eventful, which was nice for a change.  Usually we try to drive out to visit family but I don't think I could have handled another 20 hour drive.  It's great to think that our next drive back home will include a moving truck, even though that does make for an even longer drive. 

The first of this week  the weather was awesome!  It was mid 70's to 80's,  so on Monday we went to the zoo with some friends from our ward.  

Later on in the week the weather got colder but I had promised the kids that I would take them to the city park. They had a lot of fun.

The next pictures are of Kennady and Brooke helping me make a cake.  This whole week Kennady has been trying to convince us that it is her birthday.  I had to keep telling her that it wasn't her birthday until June and she kept getting so mad.  I finally figured out that all she really wanted was a birthday cake.  So I told her that we would make her a cake....not a birthday cake. So now that she has had a piece of her cake she hasn't said another word about it.  Except for now she is convinced that we are going to go to the beach and make sand castles.  She keeps offering to help Jake drive to the ocean, because we told her that it was such a long drive. We will see how long this one goes on, because a trip to a beach is unfortunately not in our future plans. 

Here is a little clip of Kenna trying to pedal her tricycle yesterday. Her little legs are finally long enough to reach the pedals.   In the clip I probably sound a bit cheesy but it's only because I was trying my hardest to be patient and encouraging.   Helping kids learn how to pedal is almost as bad as potty-training in my world.  One second she had the hang of it and totally got the concept and the next minute she had no clue what to do.  AHHH!

Over all we had a pretty good week, although I must say that if anything spring break is always a good eye-opener for the upcoming summer months.  I think we need to invest in a trampoline or something.

 Jake and I topped off the week by talking in sacrament meeting today.  We have known for three weeks that we were going to talk today, which is good and bad.  It gave us plenty of time to prepare and to worry! I do not enjoy public speaking.  You would think with the number of times we have moved and given talks in various wards, that it would get easier but that is definitely not the case for me.  I was shaking like a leaf up there today.  Jake says he was nervous too but at least he doesn't show it.  He always does such a good job. 

Brooke's Birthday

Brooke turned six years old yesterday!  We let her open her presents in the morning and then later that afternoon we headed to Topeka to see the Arab Shrine Circus.  Brooke's favorite parts of the circus was the trapeze acrobats, eating cotton candy and getting to ride on the back of an elephant with her dad, Kenna and Tyler.  I volunteered to be the picture taker since I was the only one who had rode on an elephant before.  (When I was little, Hogle Zoo offered elephant rides.)   Despite the overpriced concession and toy stands, I must say it was a worth while trip.  The kids really liked it.  

Last Thursday Brooke made a much needed trip to the dentist.  She had a permanent tooth growing in behind her baby tooth.  The dentist ended up pulling both of her two bottom baby teeth.  Brooke was quite the trooper.  She showed no signs of being scared, she was actually really excited.  I'm sure a lot of that excitement was because she knew the tooth fairy would bring her some money that night, and that she could show her friends at school her new smile.  

Here we go again!

We are moving again but this time closer to family. Jake got a new job in Afton, Wyoming at Star Valley Medical Center. Afton is a small town close to the Idaho Wyoming border, about 45 minutes south of Jackson Hole. "Star Valley" is made up of a handful of small ranching, farming towns, one of which is Afton. We feel very blessed and excited to be able to get this job and move closer to our families. My family will be about one and one half hours away and Jake's parents will be about three and one half hours away. Much better than 19 hours and our kids whole heartedly agree. They could not believe that we are going to be so close, they let out screams of joy!

Jake will probably move to Afton the first week in May to start work and then the kids and I will move after school is out which is May 22nd. We are hopeful that our house will sell. I have heard that the market has not been affected too much here in Manhattan but I will believe it when I see it. All I know is that I am not excited about spending the next 3 months keeping every single crumb off of my floors while we try to sell. What a pain. Does anyone have any great ideas about how to keep your house spotless all day long? At least it is just Kennady and I at home during the day so we don't make too big of a mess, although I do find myself cleaning a lot anyways. Why is it that kids can't keep their toys in their rooms? I guess it's because Kennady is attached to my side so she figures her toys need to come along too.

Happy Valentine's Day!