Oh, summer fun! I have neglected my blog for a few weeks, and I have neglected my camera, so if this is a boring post, feel free to skip it. For posterity's sake I have a bit to write, but it's more so that I don't forget these precious days than anything else.
We have been having a fun summer. I love it up here!! I am so happy that we can be outside and not suffocate in the scorching desert! Right now the boys are running through the sprinklers and I am sitting in the shade quite comfortable. Ask me again in 6 months how I feel when I am snowed in and terrified to drive anywhere, but this is sure nice.
Kaeleb took swimming lessons for two weeks, which was fun because I could take Brennan swimming in the outdoor pool while he was in his lessons inside. My quirky little guy would not participate in a lot of the events in his lesson because he hates getting water on his face or in his ears (which is why I waited this long to put him in lessons) but he had a blast and ended up passing the class so he will move up next year anyway.
We have had a little kink in our house plans and are going to be in Layton for yet another month. The loan co. Richmond Homes uses is a small lender and a week before closing the underwriter had a panic attack about loaning money to people who are self employed... regardless of whether they have perfect credit and make enough money to afford the payment... but whatever... So, we had to move on to a bigger lender who will can "afford the risk". It is ridiculous, but we started over with Chase and hopefully we will close within a month. The house is finished and beautiful, and here we sit.
It is a good thing we like it here! It has been great for the boys to have four grown ups who love them and great for me to have help with the discipline and keeping them busy. They love to be outside helping Grandma in the yard. They pull weeds and dig with spades and even helped her plant two trees.
They also love playing the Wii with Grandpa. Kaeleb insisted on getting him Wii Sports Resort for Father's Day and they have been playing the Swordplay showdown ever since.
I got Kwint a door gym for Father's day so that he could show off how many pull ups he can do and I can whine about how many I can't do.
I have been missing my dad a lot this summer. Father's day is an obvious time to miss him, and his birthday is in July, so when summer hits, with all the fun, I also spend some time thinking about him. His face and the sound of his voice are still so vivid... I guess there are some things that are so familiar time cannot dim them. I am excited because my mom brought me some old pictures of him so I can make scrapbooks for my boys to keep that are all about Papa. I treasure them so much I almost slept with them the night I got them. But I would have wrinkled them. :)
Last weekend we went to a Monsen Family Reunion (my mom's family) in Fountain Green and had quite a lot of fun. I am ashamed of myself for how little I keep in touch with my cousins and I was amazed by all the little kids and how much they look like the cousins I used to play with. It was really fun to match the kids to their parents and in some cases, grandparents... (Hello Hayden!) My cousin Mindy and her hubby put together some creative games, as well as rockets for the kids to blast off and a big water balloon sling shot. So, as you can guess, Kwint had fun too.
I have the most amazing family. My grandma must be an angel sent from heaven to have raised such a family. She had nine children, one of which died as a toddler, but all eight living were married in the temple and of her 45-ish grandchildren, all but 3 or 4 are active in the church. It makes me proud to be part Monsen. As I listened to my cousins talk about their children and the various joys and trials they have been through, I was impressed and grateful for their examples. They have beautiful children and awesome spouses.
Brennan got his first mosquito bite there. (One thing we do miss about the desert-- there are so many bats in St. George that eat mosquitoes and we had narry a bite in 7 years.) He came running to us screaming "A bee is biting me!" with the mosquito still attached to his arm. We assured him that if it was a bee, it would not have been such a pleasant experience. Kaeleb loved the rockets best and had to make one as soon as we got home from church yesterday. We are so glad we went.
Kaeleb is such a good boy. I can always count on him to be obedient. He tries really hard to do the right thing and keep his brother in line. He is also so very smart. I love our scripture time at night because he understands it so well. We ask a lot of questions and he always has an answer, usually well thought out. I am proud of my boy. Speaking of bedtime, he is earning his bunk bed. We told him we would get bunk beds for them if he was brave enough to go to sleep without Mommy in his bed. It took two nights and he was saying "Night-night Mom, Night-night dad!" and hopping off to bed. Miracles do happen!
One more story and I will stop with my ramblings, oh how I do love to ramble... it is so therapeutic. Brennan said his first solo prayer (aka without help from mom or dad)two nights ago. It was very cute and went like this: "Henly Fadder, I'm fankful for dis day, fankful for Jesus, fankful for fam-i-ly, for Daddy, for Mommy, for Me, for Brudder, for Baby Lou's (their buddy dolls), for Bear...." Amen. He is the sweetest little rascal I have ever known.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
The BEST ten years!
A little piece of why we moved back up here...
This last week (June 3rd) we celebrated our tenth anniversary. We have always talked about going to Hawaii for our tenth... but then we decided to move... and the cost of a U-Haul, blinds, fencing, a yard, and all the incidental expenses associated with moving (you know, like all the things I have been wishing I could buy and am now using the new house as an excuse to spend money... towels, bedding, pillows, pans, etc) trumped our travel fund.
So, we celebrated by going to see the Red Butte Gardens near the University of Utah one night, and going to dinner and a movie the next night. We took the kids with us on Thursday and everyone loved it! It is so beautiful and peaceful. We took 98 pictures. I opted not to post them all.
Friday night we left the kids and went first, to dessert at Cold Stone Creamery (cookie doughn't you want some?), then to see Prince of Persia (we liked it so much we took the kids and Kwint's parents to see it again the next day, haha!). We finished the night by eating at Corbin's, which is a semi fancy restaurant in Layton owned by an old friend of ours who also took our wedding pictures way back ten years ago. We had a table right next to a glass waterfall. The waiter pulled my chair out, put my napkin in my lap for me, and told us our menu choices were his favorite. The food was sooooo good. Kwint got grilled salmon and I got blackened chicken tortellini. WOW, can I say WOW again? So, maybe it wasn't Hawaii, but it was memorable for us.
I sort of skipped past Memorial Day, but that was fun too. Kwint's parents took us all to see "How to Train a Dragon" which was so funny and so cute. The kids loved it! Then we went hiking up by the Layton castle where we were surprised to find our beloved Jacob's family doing just the same thing. We love 'em.
So, the only funny kid stories I can remember from the week are the ones that won't be funny until the kids are older... Kaeleb begging for Wii sports resort at Sam's club and then after I scolded him I tried to distract him and he said, "Nice try Mom. I know you are trying to make me feel better. Not working."
Brennan flooding the basement, throwing a 45 minute tantrum at swimming lessons, breaking Grandpa's model wagons, hosing me down every day when I try to take away the garden hose he is flooding the backyard with, yelling at me, kicking me, hitting me, sitting in time out for 15 minutes after punching Kwint in the face.... I'd better stop now.
But, on the flip side, they are both so sweet. They love to help Grandma in the yard. Brennan came up behind me, gently grabbed my face with both hands and kissed me right on the lips, saying "You're my mom." (His favorite term of endearment.) I do love them with all of my heart.
These are happy days... We are looking forward to tens of tens more years like these.
This last week (June 3rd) we celebrated our tenth anniversary. We have always talked about going to Hawaii for our tenth... but then we decided to move... and the cost of a U-Haul, blinds, fencing, a yard, and all the incidental expenses associated with moving (you know, like all the things I have been wishing I could buy and am now using the new house as an excuse to spend money... towels, bedding, pillows, pans, etc) trumped our travel fund.
So, we celebrated by going to see the Red Butte Gardens near the University of Utah one night, and going to dinner and a movie the next night. We took the kids with us on Thursday and everyone loved it! It is so beautiful and peaceful. We took 98 pictures. I opted not to post them all.
Friday night we left the kids and went first, to dessert at Cold Stone Creamery (cookie doughn't you want some?), then to see Prince of Persia (we liked it so much we took the kids and Kwint's parents to see it again the next day, haha!). We finished the night by eating at Corbin's, which is a semi fancy restaurant in Layton owned by an old friend of ours who also took our wedding pictures way back ten years ago. We had a table right next to a glass waterfall. The waiter pulled my chair out, put my napkin in my lap for me, and told us our menu choices were his favorite. The food was sooooo good. Kwint got grilled salmon and I got blackened chicken tortellini. WOW, can I say WOW again? So, maybe it wasn't Hawaii, but it was memorable for us.
I sort of skipped past Memorial Day, but that was fun too. Kwint's parents took us all to see "How to Train a Dragon" which was so funny and so cute. The kids loved it! Then we went hiking up by the Layton castle where we were surprised to find our beloved Jacob's family doing just the same thing. We love 'em.
So, the only funny kid stories I can remember from the week are the ones that won't be funny until the kids are older... Kaeleb begging for Wii sports resort at Sam's club and then after I scolded him I tried to distract him and he said, "Nice try Mom. I know you are trying to make me feel better. Not working."
Brennan flooding the basement, throwing a 45 minute tantrum at swimming lessons, breaking Grandpa's model wagons, hosing me down every day when I try to take away the garden hose he is flooding the backyard with, yelling at me, kicking me, hitting me, sitting in time out for 15 minutes after punching Kwint in the face.... I'd better stop now.
But, on the flip side, they are both so sweet. They love to help Grandma in the yard. Brennan came up behind me, gently grabbed my face with both hands and kissed me right on the lips, saying "You're my mom." (His favorite term of endearment.) I do love them with all of my heart.
These are happy days... We are looking forward to tens of tens more years like these.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
What a Week!
Progress on the house... Our official walk through is June 17th and we close and move in on the 25th. We do love this house and are looking forward to being there.
They added the middle shutters, I think it finished up nicely. They still need to paint the front door, which will be the same color as the shutters.
Here is a bit of the kitchen. The cupboards are not as fancy as our SG house, but it will finish up nicely once we get knobs and decorate up top. We also may darken them a bit, antiquing, is what Kwint's mom calls it. In order to get the fancy ones we would have had to do a big upgrade package that just wasn't in the price range. So, we'll do our own upgrades!!
The bathrooms: Sorry, I couldn't rotate it, I tried. This is the 1/2 bath.
The kids bath.
The Master bath.
It is hard to capture in a photo, but every window has an amazing view. Mountains on every side... and the kids can see the park from their room, which may or may not be a good thing for me. :)
I am going to miss being here at GnG's though. I am blessed with the kindest of in-laws and there is a lot of love in this home. Not to mention, Grandpa is the only one who can get through to Brennan when he loses control. He has saved my bacon a good many times, just this week.
This has been an interesting week in terms of learning from life... I love it when that happens. I start being grumpy about it, and end up being grateful.
As I mentioned last week, we worked through the weekend getting ready for the big "launch". We were super stressed and very excited to see Erik on TV and hear him announce his new career as a Life coach and tell about the website on Live TV. So, if anyone was able to watch the Biggest Loser on Tuesday, you will have noticed, as we did, that they didn't weigh Erik in as they had promised. They showed him in the audience and announced his weight loss, but that was it. He looked great, but didn't get to say anything. NBC told BL they had to shave an hour off the finale, and so they cut out his weigh-in.
I was a bit mad because they made this huge deal about the fact that he'd gained weight back and made him a promise that he could weigh in at the finale and show everyone how he was doing. He spent several months away from his wife and three kids at Fitness Ridge and worked SO hard, and all he got was a 10 second blurb. I wish that he could have promoted Fitness Ridge, they deserve the attention.
On the bright side, he was able to appear on Larry King Live the next night, with several of the contestants from this season. He spoke from his heart and was so sincere. He did announce the website (which received 800 hits that night). He was also featured in an article in "InTouch Weekly". So, we are proud of him and excited to be in business with him.
Speaking of business, Kwint has been pretty busy. He has been doing a lot of phone sessions with clients from St. George and previous guests of Fitness Ridge, and he spends two afternoons a week at Utah's Live-in Fitness Camp-- which by the way, is a sweet program that I really want to get more involved in as I finish my certification. Kwint loves the owners and hopes to help wherever he can. I think it may have something to do with the fact that they are planning on expanding soon... in Hawaii. Ha ha!! He does have a few clients in Park City, but doesn't spend a whole lot of time in his actual office because of the drive. Once we live there he will do most of his work there. I am so proud of him for working this hard and growing his business so quickly.
I got sick this week and lost my voice, which made parenting a wee bit tough. On a particularly frustrating day, Brenny ran away from me and as I lunged to grab his arm, I pulled a muscle in my neck. I was grumpy about that, I must admit. My shoulder just barely healed and here I was, sick and unable to move my head.
But, as the weekend rolled around I began to learn from my frustrations. First of all, with our big launch that didn't launch, I learned that it is ok that we work a little harder for success. Everything we have comes from God and it could be gone in a moment. It is not my place to demand, but to be grateful when the blessings come. I am grateful for every hour Kwint spends helping others and every penny he makes. I spent a long time barely breathing when we first opened the private practice, worrying about money, and although I do not wish to relive that stress, I can be grateful for every little success along the way without having to be talked about on national TV.
Second, I am so grateful for my health. Yes, I have had some annoying injuries lately, from my feet to my back to my shoulder to my neck, but my body has bounced back amazingly fast every time. Except for my feet, but I have learned to live with that. Priesthood blessings work miracles! Rotator cuffs usually take months to heal, and I was better in two weeks. My back injury could have lasted years and involved surgery, but I was better in less than two months. My neck healed in 3 days. I am still hoarse, but I was only mute for two days. If I can't be grateful for that, that is pretty selfish. I am active and healthy and grateful for it.
Here are the precious moments of the week:
I took the kids to the park on Wednesday. It has a couple hills which they gleefully rolled down on the way back to the car. Then as they were running through the field, Kaeleb spotted a fuzzy dandelion. He stopped, stooped down, quickly said "I wish light sabers were real!", blew off the fuzz and ran away. I giggled so hard!
Kaeleb will be starting swimming lessons in a week, and we were talking as we were driving one day about how important it is to learn to swim so they don't drown if they fall in the water without a life jacket. Brennan piped up in his most matter of fact voice and said "If I fall in da water I won't die, betause I know how to turn myself into a frog." I laughed, and Kaeleb said "Oh yeah? Then do it!" Brennan scoffed and said huffily, "Well, I tan't do it NOW. Dere's no water in here!"
I love these guys!!
They added the middle shutters, I think it finished up nicely. They still need to paint the front door, which will be the same color as the shutters.
Here is a bit of the kitchen. The cupboards are not as fancy as our SG house, but it will finish up nicely once we get knobs and decorate up top. We also may darken them a bit, antiquing, is what Kwint's mom calls it. In order to get the fancy ones we would have had to do a big upgrade package that just wasn't in the price range. So, we'll do our own upgrades!!
The bathrooms: Sorry, I couldn't rotate it, I tried. This is the 1/2 bath.
The kids bath.
The Master bath.
It is hard to capture in a photo, but every window has an amazing view. Mountains on every side... and the kids can see the park from their room, which may or may not be a good thing for me. :)
I am going to miss being here at GnG's though. I am blessed with the kindest of in-laws and there is a lot of love in this home. Not to mention, Grandpa is the only one who can get through to Brennan when he loses control. He has saved my bacon a good many times, just this week.
This has been an interesting week in terms of learning from life... I love it when that happens. I start being grumpy about it, and end up being grateful.
As I mentioned last week, we worked through the weekend getting ready for the big "launch". We were super stressed and very excited to see Erik on TV and hear him announce his new career as a Life coach and tell about the website on Live TV. So, if anyone was able to watch the Biggest Loser on Tuesday, you will have noticed, as we did, that they didn't weigh Erik in as they had promised. They showed him in the audience and announced his weight loss, but that was it. He looked great, but didn't get to say anything. NBC told BL they had to shave an hour off the finale, and so they cut out his weigh-in.
I was a bit mad because they made this huge deal about the fact that he'd gained weight back and made him a promise that he could weigh in at the finale and show everyone how he was doing. He spent several months away from his wife and three kids at Fitness Ridge and worked SO hard, and all he got was a 10 second blurb. I wish that he could have promoted Fitness Ridge, they deserve the attention.
On the bright side, he was able to appear on Larry King Live the next night, with several of the contestants from this season. He spoke from his heart and was so sincere. He did announce the website (which received 800 hits that night). He was also featured in an article in "InTouch Weekly". So, we are proud of him and excited to be in business with him.
Speaking of business, Kwint has been pretty busy. He has been doing a lot of phone sessions with clients from St. George and previous guests of Fitness Ridge, and he spends two afternoons a week at Utah's Live-in Fitness Camp-- which by the way, is a sweet program that I really want to get more involved in as I finish my certification. Kwint loves the owners and hopes to help wherever he can. I think it may have something to do with the fact that they are planning on expanding soon... in Hawaii. Ha ha!! He does have a few clients in Park City, but doesn't spend a whole lot of time in his actual office because of the drive. Once we live there he will do most of his work there. I am so proud of him for working this hard and growing his business so quickly.
I got sick this week and lost my voice, which made parenting a wee bit tough. On a particularly frustrating day, Brenny ran away from me and as I lunged to grab his arm, I pulled a muscle in my neck. I was grumpy about that, I must admit. My shoulder just barely healed and here I was, sick and unable to move my head.
But, as the weekend rolled around I began to learn from my frustrations. First of all, with our big launch that didn't launch, I learned that it is ok that we work a little harder for success. Everything we have comes from God and it could be gone in a moment. It is not my place to demand, but to be grateful when the blessings come. I am grateful for every hour Kwint spends helping others and every penny he makes. I spent a long time barely breathing when we first opened the private practice, worrying about money, and although I do not wish to relive that stress, I can be grateful for every little success along the way without having to be talked about on national TV.
Second, I am so grateful for my health. Yes, I have had some annoying injuries lately, from my feet to my back to my shoulder to my neck, but my body has bounced back amazingly fast every time. Except for my feet, but I have learned to live with that. Priesthood blessings work miracles! Rotator cuffs usually take months to heal, and I was better in two weeks. My back injury could have lasted years and involved surgery, but I was better in less than two months. My neck healed in 3 days. I am still hoarse, but I was only mute for two days. If I can't be grateful for that, that is pretty selfish. I am active and healthy and grateful for it.
Here are the precious moments of the week:
I took the kids to the park on Wednesday. It has a couple hills which they gleefully rolled down on the way back to the car. Then as they were running through the field, Kaeleb spotted a fuzzy dandelion. He stopped, stooped down, quickly said "I wish light sabers were real!", blew off the fuzz and ran away. I giggled so hard!
Kaeleb will be starting swimming lessons in a week, and we were talking as we were driving one day about how important it is to learn to swim so they don't drown if they fall in the water without a life jacket. Brennan piped up in his most matter of fact voice and said "If I fall in da water I won't die, betause I know how to turn myself into a frog." I laughed, and Kaeleb said "Oh yeah? Then do it!" Brennan scoffed and said huffily, "Well, I tan't do it NOW. Dere's no water in here!"
I love these guys!!
Sunday, May 23, 2010
The Biggest Loser is our big winner...
The best part about Grandma's house, by far, is the backyard. We all love it.
Another busy, busy week. We are making a mad dash at getting ready for the launch of our growing business.... Tuesday, during the live finale of the The Biggest Loser, our new business partner, Erik Chopin, (season three winner) will weigh-in and talk about his new career as a weight loss coach.... Erik lost 214 pds, and has recently received a lot of attention because he gained a lot of it back. The Biggest Loser offered to let him work it off again and weigh-in at this finale. He has been out at Fitness Ridge working super hard, which is where Kwint met him. We are so happy to have him on board. Some other former contestants are reviewing our materials and we hope to build a huge network of coaches. We are expanding our services to include teleconferences and webinars as well, and we are really excited about it. Feel free to check out our website www.thegreateryouonline.com if you are curious to see all the details.
We are loving being back in Layton. It has been so nice to see our friends and family so much. We love being at GnG's and we are really going to miss them when we get in our house (which, by the way has cupboards and is painted now). We have not seen it for a couple weeks, so we will have to get up there soon.
Have a happy week!
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Fun, fun, fun
I am sad... I did a blunder. We had a fabulous Mother's Day with both of my mom's here for dinner, AND my brother and his family, AND Kwint's family... and I forgot to take any pictures at all. I will just have to remember the fun without any visual aids.
We had a good second week. We tried to go to the zoo yesterday, but apparently EVERYONE else in Salt Lake City got there before we did, and there was not one place to park anywhere within a mile of the zoo, so we went to "This is the Place" monument five minutes before they closed.... So, we went to Gateway and played on the splash pad. We had the Jacobs with us, so it was fun anyway!!
We also went to Kris' birthday party and enjoyed some good food, family and friends. While we were in Heber we checked the progress on our house. We have trim, doors, and primer... it is starting to look like a home and we are excited!
I impinged my rotator cuff on Friday morning. I don't recommend it to anyone. I wish it was a cool story, but just like when I threw my back out, I was doing something completely ordinary. Sleeping. I woke up with my arm over my head and when I put it down, I could no longer move it. I have been gimpy lady all weekend and now that the inflammation is dying down I can move it 45 degrees. It will seriously cramp my style lifting weights for a couple months, but I have gained a new gratitude for my shoulders.
So, that is that, pics will edit in later....
Saturday, May 8, 2010
This is the House....
This is our house (soon). We love it. We went to check out the progress on Friday. It is drywall and cement but they said this week will be a big one, so next week we should have a few finishing touches.
There will also be shutters on this middle window.
Check out the size of the yard! Compared to SG I feel like we have a whole park at our house!!
Nice big front porch... can't wait to get a swing...
and little back patio...
It is the perfect size and layout on the inside. Next week I will post inside shots. I am so nervous about my not-so-green thumb and this big plot of land.... and the cost of the fence to keep my kids contained... sigh.
So, we have had a fantastic week!
Kaeleb had an amazing first day of school, and in fact an incredible first week. I am so proud of him. If any of you remember how the first month of Kindergarten went, you will be proud of him too. He has afternoon kindergarten in Mrs. Moore's class. Kaeleb is going to the school where his Grandma teaches first grade and Mrs. Moore is one of her best friends. I took him early, during the teachers lunch break to meet her and see the classroom. He was SO nervous, but she is very kind and positive and he calmed right down.
When it was time for school, Kaeleb begged me not to take him. He wanted to know exactly why moms can't just teach kids everything at home. I said I could, but I wouldn't be very good at it and there wouldn't be any friends. SO, I was all geared up for a fight and a good cry, but once he saw his classroom he zoomed in without looking back or saying goodbye. PHEW! Was I ever amazed!
The kids in his class have welcomed him with open arms. He made friends the first day and they are so cute together. He gets to be the spotlight kid on Monday so I made a picture collage and get to go to his class and tell the kids all about him.
Kwint has had an equally impressive first week at Gale & Associates in Park City. (He's one of the associates.) He had a nearly full schedule (Already?! WOW!) and was so happy. The drive only takes him 45 minutes, so it is better than we were planning on and once our house is done, 20 minutes from Heber will feel like nothing.
I have never seen him so excited about his work and there are some really awesome irons in the fire. You might just hear about him on TV if you watch the Biggest Loser finale two weeks from Tuesday. :)
Brenny and I are having a harder time than those two guys. I am really surprised at how emotional I feel-- I wanted this after all, but I miss SG so much!! Even though I saw on the news that it was 90 degrees there and I am walking around in a jacket here. I miss my friends and Tam like crazy. I love it here and have had a great time being back with my friends here. I went to hang with Dee and her boys one morning. It was nice for all of us to have some familiar faces and friendships that have stayed so strong. We also went to see our good friends, the Chavez family, who had a very handsome baby boy two weeks ago, and it felt soooo good to be there! We are truly thankful to be back. So, I am sad and I am happy and it makes me feel all jumbled up inside.
Brennan has been saying "I liked St. George Mom." and "I don't want to sleep in this bed, I like MY bed." and "I'm NOT going to Heber." I took him to the library on Tuesday for Story Time. We went every week in St. George and he loves it. He was all excited for it, but when we pulled up to the Davis County Library he looked at it and said "This is not my library." and utterly refused to get out of the car. He curled up on the floor of the car and yelled "I want MY library!" His disdain is waning every day though, and I expect that he will be fine very soon.
I bought them both swords and guns since they had to leave their toys packed, we have been to the park with GnG, and we brought their scooters & have been out scootering the neighborhood, all of which helps him to realize he will be happy wherever we go. We all will. :)
There will also be shutters on this middle window.
Check out the size of the yard! Compared to SG I feel like we have a whole park at our house!!
Nice big front porch... can't wait to get a swing...
and little back patio...
It is the perfect size and layout on the inside. Next week I will post inside shots. I am so nervous about my not-so-green thumb and this big plot of land.... and the cost of the fence to keep my kids contained... sigh.
So, we have had a fantastic week!
Kaeleb had an amazing first day of school, and in fact an incredible first week. I am so proud of him. If any of you remember how the first month of Kindergarten went, you will be proud of him too. He has afternoon kindergarten in Mrs. Moore's class. Kaeleb is going to the school where his Grandma teaches first grade and Mrs. Moore is one of her best friends. I took him early, during the teachers lunch break to meet her and see the classroom. He was SO nervous, but she is very kind and positive and he calmed right down.
When it was time for school, Kaeleb begged me not to take him. He wanted to know exactly why moms can't just teach kids everything at home. I said I could, but I wouldn't be very good at it and there wouldn't be any friends. SO, I was all geared up for a fight and a good cry, but once he saw his classroom he zoomed in without looking back or saying goodbye. PHEW! Was I ever amazed!
The kids in his class have welcomed him with open arms. He made friends the first day and they are so cute together. He gets to be the spotlight kid on Monday so I made a picture collage and get to go to his class and tell the kids all about him.
Kwint has had an equally impressive first week at Gale & Associates in Park City. (He's one of the associates.) He had a nearly full schedule (Already?! WOW!) and was so happy. The drive only takes him 45 minutes, so it is better than we were planning on and once our house is done, 20 minutes from Heber will feel like nothing.
I have never seen him so excited about his work and there are some really awesome irons in the fire. You might just hear about him on TV if you watch the Biggest Loser finale two weeks from Tuesday. :)
Brenny and I are having a harder time than those two guys. I am really surprised at how emotional I feel-- I wanted this after all, but I miss SG so much!! Even though I saw on the news that it was 90 degrees there and I am walking around in a jacket here. I miss my friends and Tam like crazy. I love it here and have had a great time being back with my friends here. I went to hang with Dee and her boys one morning. It was nice for all of us to have some familiar faces and friendships that have stayed so strong. We also went to see our good friends, the Chavez family, who had a very handsome baby boy two weeks ago, and it felt soooo good to be there! We are truly thankful to be back. So, I am sad and I am happy and it makes me feel all jumbled up inside.
Brennan has been saying "I liked St. George Mom." and "I don't want to sleep in this bed, I like MY bed." and "I'm NOT going to Heber." I took him to the library on Tuesday for Story Time. We went every week in St. George and he loves it. He was all excited for it, but when we pulled up to the Davis County Library he looked at it and said "This is not my library." and utterly refused to get out of the car. He curled up on the floor of the car and yelled "I want MY library!" His disdain is waning every day though, and I expect that he will be fine very soon.
I bought them both swords and guns since they had to leave their toys packed, we have been to the park with GnG, and we brought their scooters & have been out scootering the neighborhood, all of which helps him to realize he will be happy wherever we go. We all will. :)
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Goodbye is never easy
Yesterday we drove out of this driveway for the last time...
I went for a walk early in the morning, listening to the birds, feeling the sunshine on my back and reflecting on our 7 years in St. George.
I am so grateful that the Lord brought us to Dixie. I realize now that His hand was in every step we have taken and I am amazed at our growth and our blessings. We have faced many challenges and learned lessons we could not have learned anywhere else from any other group of people than those we associated with in St. George.
Miracles of miracles that He knows us all, individually, well enough to give us what we need even if we don't know it is what we need.
As I walked, I thought to myself, "It feels so right to leave now. Why?" After suffering through 5 hot summers, last year I finally stopped complaining and decided to follow Elder Wirthlin's advice to "Come what may and love it." We struggled through the first stages of owning our own business and now it is thriving! We have the perfect home that is all we could ever need. We have family close and incredible friends. One of the owners at The Biggest Loser Resort asked Kwinten, "With all we have going on with NBC, WHY are you walking away now?"
We don't know. It sounds crazy and no one understands, least of all us, but we KNOW it is right. I am sad, very sad to say goodbye to what we have "grown" there-- deep roots-- but it feels so undeniably right, right enough that I am willing to leave not knowing why.
We didn't know why the Lord prepared the way for us to move to St. George in the first place, but now we do. So, we take the first step to Heber now, not knowing why, but knowing that we will.
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