61 days of Summer

and 61 days of cra-zy.

Mons had a week long scout day camp

A major hi-light was breaking away from our moving clutter and escaping to Utah just in time for Pioneer Day festivities.

Izzie, Lexie, & cousin Jonas were TV buds.

The gang. Brett & Emily, Jonas, Makai and US.

One of the things the kids enjoy at Ama's house is playing pool... and Kelly banned us.

Not cool.

Fun in the sun

Pioneer Day Party at the Stewart Ranch

(where Emily did that great photoshoot of the kids)

and Vivs has all the fun stripping down and wearing clothes and shoes that don't belong to her.

24th of July in Utah r-o-c-k-s. After attending this Sanpete County Demolition Derby Curt felt like his IQ had dropped like 25 points just for being there! I think we've seen it all.

Sanpete should be the people watching capital, USA.

Kenz & BFF Rachel after her harp concert. We LOVE the Ogden Family. All of 'em.

beauty tip: As soon as you arrive at Rachels, make sure to stick your face near a hive and get stung by a wasp right under the eye. OUCH!

Uncle Brett & Izzie on his cool bike

waiting in 115 deg heat to take a bike ride

The very posh Venetian for a night...

Tie dye...as promised.

She has to get right in there with the big kids

Lovely Belmont Park...If you've never been, you really should take the kids and go FUN DAY.

"I can do it myself!"

"That's a big bite, Daddy!"

She begged to go on. Go figure

...and "I can do my hair myself" and yes, I let her go out in public like this.

What's happened to me?

Isn't this non-g-string worn as a g-string lovely? Vivs likes wearing things backwards, inside out, mismatched, etc. We'll just have to keep these lovely pics for bribery purposes.

and apparently she also likes fingerpainting without permission in the new house.

my bathing beauty.

The boys had a 'Rock 'n' Roll Tour' with Pops. They think he's the most fun Grandpa that ever was and I'm glad. They broke rules and ended up meeting the star BYU lineup and just goofing off all day long.

S'mores, anyone?

I miss that fireplace.

and it's been a summer where Raid is our best friend. Ants. Ants in drawers, ants in laundry, ants climbing walls, ants in the refrigerator, ants in Izzie's pants. Ants EVERYWHERE. Those pesky little creatures. But we will win. Raid will prevail.

Our 'memory list' got 1/2 completed and I guess it was a lofty list for 61 days of summer which included moving all SUMMER l O n G. I just didn't feel motivated to take out my camera for all the pool days, beach trips and pretty much the whole summer. The ant spray was getting to my brain.

The never ending move

from this...

to this... it only took about 2 months total!

(and never again will we do a slow move)

Our never-ending move is finally done. Well, at least on the San Marcos end it's done. Does it really ever end? The organization? I think not. But I can finally breathe a sigh of relief and stay put in Temecula without those trips back to shove the leftovers in my car and see the dead grass, overgrown trees that were once flourishing and lovely, smell the nothingness and dust building in the house that once bustled with lots of noise & love. Truly, though... it was a blessing in disguise for more than a few reasons to go through this ordeal. I rest easy knowing that we did everything we could, from every angle to stay and that we're being guided in this crazy and sometimes cruel world.

Did I ever mention that our house was haunted when we first moved in? Seriously, it's a creepy story fit for a campfire if you haven't heard it yet. Curt had a 'ghostly' experience the last time he closed/locked the front door and said goodbye. Freaky. It had been about 5 weeks since we'd actually lived in our home. This spirt/ghost literally shoved him backwards a couple feet on his butt as he locked the door for the last time. For reals.

I had prepared myself for this big change, and I mostly worried about Brayden starting a new middle school after establishing himself with great friends and excelling at San Elijo. It makes me sad they won't have that same consistency Curt and I both had growing up going to ONE elementary and ONE middle school, but we're here, and we're going to embrace all of what Temecula has to offer. Anyone up for brunch in beautiful wine country sans the wine?

The move has been especially tough for me. We miss having the Parry's across the street, we miss friendly Joe and other neighbors always so excited to see the commotion and kids on the corner, we miss all the kids' friends, I miss my buds that I could always call to play, make a Fro Yo run, complain, or cry with that were so much a part of some life-changing experiences for our family. I miss that comfort zone! I miss the proximity to the coast and the ability to just get in the car and run down to the beach to watch the sunset, walk the boardwalk, or spend just an hour enjoying the surf. And I miss my ocean view from my balcony...it really did do something unexplainable for my soul.

The kids all had a really soft landing here in Temecula, for which I am grateful. They all have made some great friends quickly and have jumped into healthy and happy routines. Their schools are all top notch and amazing. Their teachers couldn't be better. It truly is a wonderful blessing to experience these physical changes and to always know there will always be a HUGE constant. Everywhere we go, we will always have the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Even though it's a different ward (congregation), it's like a built-in network of people that automatically care for you, are willing to help you, accept you, love you, and include you. For that constant, I am grateful. I was just called to teach Relief Society (the women in our church) and I'm nervous nelly even though I know I'll enjoy the new challenge.

Curt is in a Masters program right now (Psychology), and in another 1 1/2 years will be in a strenuous PhD program (he has his eye on neuro-psych) in an effort to reinvent himself, while still holding down the fort with his current job that pays the bills. Who knows where that will take us... who knows what adventures the next few years will bring us and where we'll end up when we are finally able to get back on our feet and purchase another home. I'm thankful for these experiences, even though they can really stink at times... it's just very temporary; we're on a good path and I think the sacrifices will be well worth it!

Kisses & Manipulators

Izzie has figured out how to get me to stay a little longer during our nighttime tuck-in, loves, kisses & story time. Once I'm ready to go sit my fanny in front of the TV, curl up on a chair and read or stick my nose in the computer aka RELAX and shout 'hooray the kids are in bed'... she wants more time (this can drag out for 30 mins sometimes).

She'll say, "Mom, stay a little longer and talk to me about Jesus."

How can I resist that and say 'no?' So I make her tell me about Jesus and we talk for a while...

So once we're done talking about Jesus, she'll say..."Okay, Mom...now let's talk about Joseph Smith."

That little booger.

But what better way to nurture these budding testimonies?

I really do try and savor the time I have with my girls at this tender age. But it's soooo tough when I literally have only minutes in a day to myself and I'm being pulled in so many directions. Bedtime is total mommie time, unless Aunts/Uncles/Ama is in town because they're just better in every way!

THEN... we have to kiss fourteen different ways...I just laugh. They insist on regular kisses, then we have to do smack kisses, eskimo kisses and butterfly kisses. The other night I shocked Izzie by doing a kitty cat kiss. I licked her face for the shock factor. Oops. She liked it. Not doing that again...kinda gross, I know. They sometimes turn their heads to kiss me like they see me & Curt do. Funny girls! I love bedtime for more than that sweet sound of silence in the house-- I hope they will always have sweet memories of this mommie time, silly stories, songs, loves and kisses like I do.

Because sometimes I appreciate them more when they're not in motion

Maybe that's why I love having pictures done of my kids.

I can look at them in these still photos and sigh...

and then remember that in real life

they're funny

they're active

they're LOUD

they're silly

they're disruptive

they're big beefs

they're monkeys

they're very much kids

they're sometimes rude

they're ridiculous

they're hilariously funny

they're sometimes tender

they're full of drama

they're exhausting

they're the reason I sometimes feel crazy

they're the loves of my life

and they're mine (ours).

Thank you, Em for capturing their personalities...you're amazing.

And now it's time to play blog catch-up from the last two months blogging hiatus...