Goodbye, Hello, and Halloween

I am so far behind that I thought I would do somewhat of a picture catch up. Starting with saying goodbye to our awesome neighbors the Adam's.

Here is Elle, Amber, and Abby giving each other goodbye hugs.

Elle and Isaac snuggling up on the couch.

Abby and Amber

The whole crew (almost): Elle, Isaac, Nathan, Abby and Amber

It was hard to say goodbye to a lot of people in St. George and move away from all that we knew and were used to. I must say that St. George had become my home even though I complained about it a lot (especially in the summer). It was home and I had really felt comfortable there. I think it takes hindsight to see it though. I will miss all my great friends that I had made there not to mention J's parents and his brother & family. But now we are on to a new adventure and trying to make Moscow, Idaho our new home. It sure will be hard to find friends to fill the shoes of those we left behind, but we are trying to get settled and find some. One thing that will be nice in our new area is that they actually have seasons! So I decided to capture some to share.

Autumn leaves

Elle and Amber throwing leaves.

Playing in the leaves with the neighbors.

Nathan playing in the leaves

There has been lots that I am behind on so instead of promising to catch up I am going to link to J's accounts of the things we have been up to. There was a Harvest Party, a trip to Spokane, a visit to the local farmers market, and a trip to Coeur d' Alene.

Now to Halloween stuff.

Kitty cat Elle ready for her preschool party.

Amber's finished pumpkin

Elle's pumpkin

Nathan's pumpkin (he helped a little).

Elle kitty, dragon Nathan, and witch Amber

Elle and Amber striking a pose

The only picture I could get of Nathan

Amber and Elle decorating pictures at a Halloween party.

I love how Nathan (the dragon) is trying to get the knights sword.

Happy girls!

Moving

Come October 8-9 we will be on our way to Moscow, Idaho!

Here are the only pictures that we took of Moscow (out the car window) as we were leaving (we were there for only 24 hours).

It is going to be a big change but I know that we will be just fine. I think I am still in denial because I haven't started packing yet. I am sure it will be a lot more work than I think it will be (like last time). It is just hard to do much because we still need the stuff because we use it (and I am still trying to find a place for us to moving into). So if you see us around town looking like this you will understand why:

(J's edit: why do I let Christina take photos of me?)

I don't know why I let Amber take my picture, especially when she asks me to make silly faces.

On to the next adventure. One awesome thing is that we will be closer (2 hours away vs. 14 hours) to the Salmon River and the rafting that comes along with it. It will be hard to say goodbye to St. George and all the friends I have made over the last 11 years but there is still email, cell phones, blogs, and Facebook to help me keep in touch. It doesn't feel right to do an entry without sharing some pictures of the kids so here you go.

What else would this purse be for!?

Nathan in J's glasses looking all smart and sophisticated.

Happy smily Elle.

Amber striking a pose for me.

Washington Fair

We went to the Washington County Fair again this year. It was our 3rd year going and I must say that I still think they should do it all indoors or at a different time of year (even though I know why need to do it in August). It was HOT. We don't go to for the rides at night - my kids don't even know that there are rides - we go in the day for the petting zoo, booths, and fair entries. My girls always look forward to it though. There is always so sort of ride or something that they get to do along with seeing all the animals that gets them excited (not to mention their friend Taylee was coming). This year it was the "walk on water" attraction. They had a blast and so did I watching them. I do wish I could have tried it myself but maybe another time.

The cute but very hot calf. I felt bad for him cooking in the sun.

Amber was the brave one that wanted to pet him.

Amber in her hamster ball.

Elle giving it a try.

This was Nathan's favorite part of the fair.

The food court with the giant panda.

The girls enjoying a yogurt we brought along for a snack. If you look close you can see that they have their face painted.

We also got to have our picture taken at the fair by yellowpix it was kinda fun and it was free. They printed off a copy and gave it to me. Here is the link if you want to check it out.

10 Years

I don't know how it is possible, but J and I have been married for 10 years and one month now (July 27). J and I were able to escape our little ones and spend a week away. We headed up north to Heber and used my parents' house as a bed and breakfast. We did lots of things that we had wanted to do. It was so much fun and the time went by so fast. Here is what we did (I will be linking to videos or posts that J put together of our trip as well) :

Friday, July 22:

We left in the afternoon and made our way up to Heber.

Saturday, July 23:

We got up pretty early and went on a hot air balloon ride in Park City. It was a lot of fun and as the pilot kept telling us what an adventure we were having. The rest of the day we relaxed, took a nap, and watched Harry Potter 7 part 1 for the first time.

Sunday, July 24:

This was more of a family day. Being Sunday we didn't want to be struck down for doing things we shouldn't. So we attended church with my Dad and got to listen to my brother Jim and his wife Crystal speak. After that we headed up to my sister's (Bonnie) house for Kruz's baby blessing. That evening we went over to Jim's house to roast pineapple over his fire pit.

Monday, July 25:

We got up and went to Deer Creek to kayak. It was a nice quiet morning on the lake and we got to see lots of fish jumping. Later that afternoon we floated down the Provo River in a kayak. That evening we had a BBQ with my family and did some fireworks to celebrate the 24th.

Tuesday, July 26:

We made the trek to Antelope Island to do some more kayaking. When we got there is was so quiet—no one was there. We thought it was odd and we soon discovered why it was so deserted. It WAS NASTY! The water was so briny and there were bugs swarming everywhere. Not to mention all the scary spiders that were EVERYWHERE. We almost didn't even get on the water but decided since we had come we had better give it a try. We didn't last too long (the water was like syrup) and then headed out of there. The rest of the day we rested and then went to Harry Potter 7 part 2 that evening.

Wednesday, July 27:

Our actual anniversary. We decided to go biking around Deer Creek reservoir on a trail called Provo/Jordan River Parkway. It was a nice ride with pretty views. We even got to see the Heber Creeper come by (the trail is just above the train tracks). After our ride and lunch we went kayaking again, this time at Jordanelle State Park Rock Cliff. We didn't get much time in because bad weather was moving and it got windy. After a quick trip to Kamas to say goodbye to Bonnie and Kruz, we got cleaned up and headed up to Daniel Summit to have dinner at the lodge. It was really nice and quiet up there and we got to see all the pretty flowers that were in bloom.

Thursday, July 28

After taking advantage of sleeping in one more time we packed up to head home. It was a very quick trip—or so it seemed to us.

While we were away, J's parents (Max and Mary) had our children. They had some adventures too. They played a couple of days and then the air conditioner went out at our rental house. It took a couple of day to get that fixed because it of course happened on the 24th holiday. The kids didn't seem to mind the sleepovers they had a grandma and grandpa's house, though. It made them feel like they were on vacation too. Thank you so much for watching our children so we could get away!

Elle's 1st Day of Preschool

Today was Elle's official day of preschool at Lil' Dude Ranch. Monday I went with her for an orientation day and she thought that she was going to get be have school too. She was a little sad to leave after 45 minutes of talking with the parents. So today she was so so excited and had a hard time waiting for it to be time to go, especially after Amber got on the bus. I had planned on going a little early so that I could get a couple of pictures of her in her classroom and with her teacher. Then as we were about half way there I realized that I had put my camera down so I could get Nathan's shoes on and hadn't picked it back up again! So we turned around and hauled back to get it. So after leaving early we ended up being late. I was able to get a picture of her with her teacher quick before I left. She said that she had a great day and loved it.

Elle on Monday all ready to go to preschool even though it was for orientation.

Elle and Amber both set to go on Monday.

Elle with her teacher Miss Melissa today.

Elle showing off her star she made in preschool.

Elle: See it spells my name E L L E.

Happy girl!