Moving Days...

The past couple days have been quite entertaining, to say the least! David's 30th birthday was Monday, along with the closing on our home in Utah and the arrival of packers to box up all of our household goods. Tuesday, the big Mack truck came to load up all of our things. It is on its way to Florida as I write this!

At some point during the day another moving truck pulled up with more supplies for the guys who were packing us up. It was much like the truck in the picture. Jaelin started jumping up and down and took off running toward the curb screaming, "ICE CREAM, ICE CREAM!! I WANT ICE CREAM!!" I'm not really sure what ice cream truck she remembers being that large.... It's so weird to see the house so empty! Brooklynn, Ledger, Ayden, and Jaelin- where the couch used to be!This is how I will think of Maisie always and always no matter how old she is! She loves her skirts! The girls were cute- they took off for Ayden and Jaelin's room looking for toys. I will miss these little munchkins! I can't wait for them to visit us..hint hint ;)

This is our "love tree" that David and I planted on our 3 year anniversary. It's a flowering cherry, and it's still not in full bloom, but we needed a picture by it since we've never gotten one. Little does he know, we will continue the "love tree" planting in each new home that we have. Besides, isn't digging that big hole for it so romantic honey??

Such a wonderful, funny, strong, truly remarkable woman! You are not only a neighbor, but a friend who I will miss dearly!

The kids in front of the big Mack while it's backing down the street will all our stuff!!

Little Tidbit

Jaelin and I were running errands this morning and she wanted to watch tv in the backseat. Since I haven't really had a chance to play with the settings yet I just kept hitting buttons on the remote to see if I could tune it in while I was driving. I asked her if she could see the picture yet and she said, "No, but it says something." Well what does it say? "I don't know, I can't read!" Excuse me...

One Last Hoorah With Many Lessons Learned...

Words of Wisdom...
Florida is highly susceptible to TORNADOS- the kind that form water spouts! All this time I was worried about hurricanes- what was I thinking??
Kids should not have waterbeds!
Nude Art is now referred to as "humping." Who knew? I will never be able to watch Titanic again without laughing during the "humping" scene!
Cows are just gross...
Finally, girlfriends are irreplaceable! Of course, I knew that already, but last night just affirmed it even more!

Everytime I look at this I will think of our waiter! LOL No words...

Doh duh doh! Okay so we were a little challenged here...
"A wise one once said..."

I had so much fun last night, once we actually got there, of course! Terryn and I almost ate at Chili's since we were so enthralled in conversation that I drove there for whatever reason. During the laughter and chit-chat Melissa says, "Wonder what it would be like if we weren't all friends?" Well, even though it has only been about 5 years, we have all become quite close. I am very blessed to have good girlfriends and am a better person because of these 4 remarkable women!

At a Glance...

There are so many pictures that I would love to post, but I'm forcing myself to narrow them down to the "musts." So here's what I've come up with...

This was taken in our apartment shortly after we arrived in Utah. It was so typical for Ayden to climb on everything he could, destroy his room every chance he got, and fall asleep in the most random places. Gosh, we had so much fun with him at that age! 2004

This was taken the day that Jaelin was able to come home from the NICU. She gets really upset when she sees her pictures from then. Most of them show her feeding tube, and for whatever reason she just can't bear to look. Everytime I see this one, though, I am still amazed at how small she was in comparison to that car seat! 2005

Ayden was right in the middle of the action while Daddy, Grandpa, and Great Grandpa were building the deck. We've gotten so much good use out of it and are sad to leave it behind!! 2006
Some may say I toture my children....This picture was totally worth it! 2007

I can't even begin to express how funny this video is to the kids! Perhaps the Howell Maine crew should be worried...it's looking like Jaelin is the secret weapon for King of the Raft! We shall see.... (2007)

Bear hug from Grandpa!! They had just gotten out of the pool and there was one dry towel left so they all squeezed in. Ayden sure is going to miss Hunter and Braxten! This was during David's "welcome home week" from Kuwait. 2008
So this is a different change of scenery! Ayden and Tyson were trying their best to keep up with the snow. It may get annoying after months and months of it, but it sure is pretty! 2008

A nice, warm, Arizona Halloween! It's rare that we get a family pic, so I had to post it! 2008
Oh, Parker and Jaelin! They LOVE this Jeep! I wouldn't be surprised if it has more miles on it than mine! 2009 How cute are they?! I just love this pic of these two! Somehow Kaci has escaped my camera on several occasions! (Why don't I have the pics of the girls doing their make up?) In any case, Jaelin is going to miss her BFF's! Parker, Kaci, Kylie, and Jaelin are the perfect combination of sas and a bit of tomboy :) Gotta love it! 2009

Happy Trails...For Now

I have FINALLY decided to start a family blog! Hooray! I know it's long overdue since I'm absolutely horrible at keeping up with my scrapbooks. I've completely missed out on blogging our first 2 tours since David and I have been together, but it's better to start late than never, right?!

I would like to start by saying that we have been so fortunate throughout these last 6 years! We have had the opportunity to make many lifelong friends, own a home, see new places and things, and be close to family. Many memories will be left here, in this state, and most of all in our first home. This house, although I may have complained about it at times, has been the place that David has come home to after 3 deployments. I can't even begin to describe those feelings or emotions that have occured each time. The kids and I have always had so much support here! It means so much to still have those people in our lives! We have watched one another's children grow and form friendships with one another while we were forming our own. We will truly miss each of you and your wonderful kids! You all hold a very special place in my heart!


Throughout our last few days here, I'll reminisce through photographs of some of those special memories we have made here...

To begin, this was a very special day! David was returning home from his deployment to Afghanistan. Our wonderful neighbors and friends gave quite the welcome home! October 2009

This is probably my favorite picture that was captured when David got home. There are just no words; just so much relief.