OUR FAMILY PHOTO SHOOT

*our attempt to take some family pictures before all the wildflowers disappeared.... I don't know how we took 100 pictures but we only have 10 good ones! HA! I am so thankful for our digital camera!

A Fun Visit from Friends

 It is one of those nights when the boys are in bed early after a fun day with friends who we haven't seen in a very long time!!!

I am so glad they could stay will us. We knew Lesley and J.T. Hunt when we lived in Arizona during in the Copper Canyon Ward. Ben and J.T. hit it off as friends right away, the same can be said for Lesley and I. We would often go on family walks and stop at the Hunt's house for some great conversations and fun together. Lots of dinner's, games, and fun memories with this wonderful family.

LOOK AT US NOW!!

Redland Oaks Elementary FIESTA parade

That I loaded up the little guys and went the school for the loudest elementary school "parade" EVER! All the Kinder-kids had tie-dyed shirts (totally awesome) their very own decorated hat (yes CAEL loved his hat!) Cheering and shaking noise-makers.... the sound was incredible. I almost talked myself out of going... I could have just pulled the covers up over my head and snuggled in there nice and cozy...

BUT-- I had a very cute boy ask me to come. So I did.

AND...

...to see the excitment on Cael's face that his MOM and brothers were there to cheer for him...

PRICELESS.

HAPPY FIESTA CAEL!!

It was a good day!

Just loving these boys of mine... the two that are home while Cael is in school... not that I don't love Cael- because I really do- but now I am spending my the greater part of my day with these TWO and I AM LOVING IT!

FOR SALE and other fun stuff

Having a house on the market is fun.... well, not really. We pretty much have to keep it clean all the time because we often get last minute calls from agents wanting to show it on a very short notice. This has been very exciting to say the least and we've now had a couple of offers! HOORAY! I've been wondering why I waited so long to give our house those finishing touches... not that it looked bad before, but seriously- now it is complete and I'm moving in a few months!! AHH!!!

In the meantime, we've been selling a few things here and there on craigslist. Here are a few of the "causualties"---

 

OUR HAPPY ST. PATRICKS DAY

AND BIRTHDAY DADDY
guess how old he turned this year....

Our life is wonderful, going to be very crazy for the next while with all the selling and selling some more and packing and all the paperwork and passports.... but I'm sure that we will make it through and we will be where we need to be in no time.

Birthday Camp-Out

The night before Ben's birthday he really wanted to have a "camp-out" down in the field in the neighborhood nature park. It was a windy-stormy night (more on the weather later) and of course this added to the adventurous feel of the evening. The boys were having such a great time jumping in and out of tent, cooking their "dogs" and eating camp-food (COOKIES and POP)that had been purchased at the grocery store.

Dinner was tasty and we told a few stories in the tent together. Connor and I would not be staying the night in the tent and so after saying our goodnights-- we left.

NOW BACK TO THE WEATHER--- as I had mentioned before it was a windy/stormy night. Cool, but comfortable enough to have the windows open at home. Around 6:00 AM I woke up to several very loud thunders accompanied by a very swift down pour!!! Then my cell phone rang with Ben on the other line...

"Honey... are you awake?" He asked

"I am now (the thunder was VERY loud) are you getting wet?"

"Yes... are you coming down for breakfast?"

.... slight pause....

"ummm-- probably not. But I love you"

Well-- it rained, and it rained hard. The nature park apparantly becomes a wash/river when it fills with enough water. Needless to say Cael and Brecon both had a wonderful time running around and exploring the fields. Lucky for them/us the tent had been strategically placed on high enough ground so they had not been washed away :)

Ben and I both talk about how it is always the times when things don't go smoothly that make memories we always remember. Ben remembers a time they were up sledding and luckily stopped before going over a sheer 40 foot drop. I remember a camping trip when on horseback behind my dad we had a "rodeo" right before me made it into camp. These both could have been very different stories, but because we made it out alive we remember them as one of the "cool" trips we took. This little adventure will be one of the stories our family is going to share again and again, not because it was the most beautiful camping nights we have ever had- but because it rained hard, everyone and everything got completely wet, but we can also laugh about it because no one got hurt.

GUESS WHERE WE ARE GOING?

After months of waiting, we were "emailed" about where our next assignment is going to be..... wait for it.....

WE'RE GOING TO

GERMANY!!!

Yes you read it correctly. GERMANY! We are still in shock and trying to figure out all the logistics of moving to a new country, a different continent, and to a new ADVENTURE!! If you ask I will tell you I still can't believe it is true. This is going to be crazy, but such a great opportunity for our family.

ummm... that plane ride with 3 boys is going to be a doozy, isn't it?