The "Alien"

About 6 months ago my parents came home with this "thing" for my boys.  They begged me to take it to our house, but of course I refused!  Who would want that?  Well, we of course moved in with them a few months later, and when we moved into our new house a few weeks ago, it MAGICALLY made it into one of our boxes and ended up at our house.  

Talmage has been a little scared since we have been in our house, which is quite understandable.  He tells me he is scared of monsters.  So the other night I'm trying to show him there are no monsters in his closets or under his bed.  But there was no comforting him.  I was about at my witts end, when he asks if the "alien" could sleep with him.  WHAT??!!  My child, who is afraid of monsters, wants to sleep with the "alien"?  So I get the alien, and Talmage settles right down into bed.  He has slept with the thing every night since then.  If it were me, I'd be afraid of the "alien" sleeping next to me, not imaginary monsters!!!!! Kids do the funniest things!

Weekend in Sedona

I have never been to Sedona before, so we took the boys for the weekend.  I had always heard Sedona is kind of an "old person" place (no offense grandma and grandpa!)  But it was fantastic!  The boys absolutely loved it up there!  We went to Slide Rock, but the water was so cold nobody would get in, and then we rented a jeep and went off roading!  It was so nice having it be just the four of us.  With all of our amazing family around we don't go on trips with "just us" very often.  We had a great time and it is so beautiful up there!



Both of our boys fell asleep on the jeep ride, but Taylor was having a blast driving!

Our Life Back on Track!

We are officially moved in to our new house (finally!)  There were definitely some problems when we moved in.  Because it had been empty for awhile the yard was a disaster.  Plus, there are three ac units for the house, and we had problems with two of them, including an air handler that leaked through the roof.  But we've managed to get everything under control, and the kids have settled in quickly!  The only thing I think my family will struggle with are the scorpions!!  We have gotten so many in the house and they freak me out!!!!  Taylor thinks I'm paranoid and OCD because every night I take a black light to our room and our boy's rooms to make sure there are no scorpions anywhere near that could attack us in our sleep!!  

Talmage started preschool with Mrs. McClure and is absolutely loving it.  I don't know what it is, but for some reason he is such a happier little boy when he is in school.  Maybe its because it adds more structure to his daily routine, maybe its because I feel more sane, I don't know!  All I know is that I finally feel like my life is back to normal again.  Taylor and I even managed to sneak away for a quick trip to Vegas without the kiddos (thanks to Taylor's amazing parents!)

Camping Trip

Here are a few pictures from our camping trip a few weeks ago.  We went up to the white mountains for a few days with my parents and my sister and her family.

So, it has been awhile since my last post- this summer has just been crazy! We are still living with my parents, but we are supposed to be closing on our house this week. My sister Sarah was in town for about a month so it was a full house, but I taught her how to sew and we worked on all sorts of projects- while our kids drew on the walls (among other naughty things!)
Also, my brother Daniel came home from his mission last week. He was sick for three years before his mission, and miraculously got well enough to leave, but was only able to serve for 10 months before he got sick again. We are hoping we will find a way to get him better so he can return, but we are grateful he was able to serve as long as he did. He has such a good attitude and outlook on things, and we are loving having him home!

Ok, we had such a blast on our trip to Yellowstone. It was so beautiful, and my kids absolutely loved it. Right before we left, I was really dreading it- I kept thinking "what have I got myself into" It was a long drive in the motor home. Plus, we were in the rental car all day while we were in Yellowstone. But, I was pleasantly suprised at how great my kids were. We saw so many animals and the weather was amazing. We had to follow a herd of buffalo for about a mile on the road before they ventured off into the trees. Talmage was freaking out having those buffalo right in front of us. My parents are great people, and we are so glad we got to spend our vacation with them also. We also stopped in Idaho Falls for a few days to visit some old friends, the Pentelutes. It was fun to see them, and Talmage became best buds with one of their little boys, Bostin.
But as fun as this summer has been, I am excited for Talmage to start preschool, and to move into our new house so I can finally feel like my life is normal and in order again!

Rainbow Bridge

The Falls

Taylor getting dangerously close to a black bear- the ranger yelled at him!

The Geysers

We're Moving!

Ok, Taylor and I have been married for almost six years, and we are moving for the fourth time!! It really stinks. Taylor likes to call it our "two year plan"-whatever that means!!! I am devastated to have to leave our home and neighborhood, I have made great friends here that I am going to miss, and we have just loved it so much. And it has been a whirlwind weekend. We put an offer on a home in Mesa, so we have had our house up for rent. We signed a contract on Saturday at 2:00 and the people needed in by the 12th of July. Well, normally two weeks is enough time to get moved out, but we have had a trip planned to Yellowstone for almost a year, and we leave THURDSAY!!! So we spent all day Sunday packing boxes, and then decided the best way to move would be to pay someone to do it for us- so that is what we did. As expensive as it was, it was sooooo worth it! But to add to that, nothing has been finalized with the house we put our offer on, we aren't even in escrow yet, so we are going to live with my parents until then. It will be a little crazy, but we are so fortunate to have amazing parents who not only let us live with them (two kids and all) but welcome us with open arms!!! Thanks Mom and Dad- We love you!! So it is back to Mesa for now, who knows where we will be in another two years!

Trip to Florida

This past week I went to Florida to visit my sister and see her new baby, and to help her out a little while she adjusts to having two children.  We didn't do a whole lot, we got some shopping in, but we had such a blast.  She has been my best friend since we were little, and I have missed her so much since she moved to Florida, so it was great just to spend time with her- without my own kids (luckily I have an awesome husband who watched them while I was gone)!  Anyways, I was sad to leave, but I missed my kids more being there than any other trip I've taken without them.  I think maybe because I was there with Sarah's kids, rather than on a cruise where there's no kids around!  But Sarah and her family are coming to AZ in July for a few weeks, so it will be fun to see her again so soon!  I can't wait!