We're Alive and in California

Our east coast experience is, sadly, over. Basically, there were some major ethical problems with the sales office there. Joe tried to continue to sell in a way he felt was honest but it became more and more difficult for him to do that, so, we left. It was difficult of course but we feel good about the decision. I think he will post about this in the future but I'll just leave it at that for now.

So, after me flying with the kids and Joe driving our stuff back across the country, and some stops in Utah and Idaho, we are now in California ready to get settled for law school here. I'm excited to be back and hoping that we can find a place to live soon so we can unpack. Elizabeth wants to "go home" and I couldn't agree with her more.

Here are some highlights (and lowlights) of the last few weeks:

-Hanging out with Richard in a hotel hallway while the kids nap inside our room

-Joe hitting a deer somewhere in Illinois (he was fine although the car is kind of crunched)

-The girls actually doing pretty well on our flights home (what a blessing!)
-Snuggling with my girls during the flight while they slept (even though I had to hold the same position for hours--it was still worth it)

-The girls and I enjoying our first swim of the summer and having a blast with cousins

-Visiting grandmas and grandpas!

-Natalie finding a word for grandma/grandpa and constantly greeting them with "Hi muh-guh!"

-Eating endless Winco fudgesicles and talking with Joe's mom until late at night
-Singing every song I can think of during the drive to CA
-Being back in sunny California!

Random Post

I don't really have anything specific to post so I may just ramble. Beware...

Natalie is in a really cute stage lately. Anytime you ask her anything in the form of a question she says this cute little "Dah" which means yeah. The other night I asked Elizabeth if she wanted to say the prayer and Natalie kept saying "Dah" so I decided to let her try. She actually did pretty well repeating the words one at a time that I told her and we kept it very simple. It was so cute and Elizabeth loved it.

When we were eating dinner yesterday, Elizabeth says out of the blue, "when I'm older, I'm going to listen to strange music." This comes from a pretty famous children's book. Does anyone know it? I'll give you a prize. Well, probably not :). I told her I probably would think her music was strange. She did promise me, though, that she would still like the Temptations.

Speaking of books, I made a trip to Barnes and Noble to use a gift card (Thanks Katie!) and got these books:





I can't decide what I think of The Host yet although I am definitely into it. As you can see, I got a little carried away in the children's section. I just kept finding books from my childhood that I couldn't resist. I had forgotten all about Big Dog...Little Dog but that was one of my favorites as a child. I also love The Paper Bag Princess. Berenstain Bears books are just classics. Can you tell from the ones I picked what issues I wanted to address with Elizabeth? That's the great thing about those books. She is still saying "I want to go home" or "I want to go back to Utah" a few times a day, hence Moving Day. She's definitely improving, though. Also, I'm learning that the talking to strangers, safety, etc., issue is tricky to teach a young child. The book handles it well and we have talked about it a few times before, too. Anyway, one day after we had the read the book we were walking to the park. I said hi to a landscaper at our apartment complex and he said hi back. After we walked by, Elizabeth said "We shouldn't talk to strangers". Then I tried to explain that saying hi to strangers as long as Mommy is right by you is OK. It's kind of a subtle distinction and I think it went over her head. Any ideas about teaching this?

Well, I think I'll ignore the dishes and go read my book some more... :)

Happy Mother's Day

As I experience more and more Mother's Days as a mother myself, I am filled with more and more gratitude to the mothers in my life. I feel so blessed and humbled when I think of the mothers that have gone before me and made my life possible. Both of my grandmothers are women of enduring faith who sacrificed much to bless the lives of their children and grandchildren. I love them both for all they have given and for the lives they have led.

My own mother embodies the word mother perfectly and possesses all of the virtues associated with that word. She is kind, patient, loving, selfless, and constantly putting the needs of her family before her own. Now that I am a mother myself, I wonder how she does it. I just hope I can be even half the mother she is. I love you, Mom.

These two pictures were taken last summer

If anyone is feeling inadequate this Mother's Day (as I occasionally do) please read this talk by Elder Holland. Here is a quote from it:

Remember, remember all the days of your motherhood: “Ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save.”

Rely on Him. Rely on Him heavily. Rely on Him forever. And “press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope.” You are doing God’s work. You are doing it wonderfully well. He is blessing you and He will bless you, even—no, especially—when your days and your nights may be the most challenging. Like the woman who anonymously, meekly, perhaps even with hesitation and some embarrassment, fought her way through the crowd just to touch the hem of the Master’s garment, so Christ will say to the women who worry and wonder and sometimes weep over their responsibility as mothers, “Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole.” And it will make your children whole as well.

Happy Mother's Day to all of you mothers out there. You all inspire me to be better. Thank you for your examples and support.

Our Trip Across Country

Now for our road trip....

Having survived it, I can now say that it actually wasn't so terrible. It could have been a lot worse. The first leg was the killer one, a 23 hour stretch of driving all the the way to Wisconsin. We didn't get the sleep that we wanted before we left because of last minute packing so we were both exhausted by the end of it. We switched off a lot, and took an extended dinner break where we found a park in Nebraska and let the kids run around. Elizabeth had a rougher time during this drive because she was still recovering from a cough and would wake herself up coughing. But, we finally made it in the middle of the night Monday night and crashed in two prepared rooms for us at my brother's house (they spoiled us).

We had a great time in Wisconsin. I was actually impressed with the area they live. It's a pretty big city but it feels smalltown-ish. The kids had a great time running around with their cousins and the adults a great time playing games and catching up. One day, we went to a local free zoo. Here are some Wisconsin pictures.

Playing ballet in the unfinished basement

The lion is in the background (hard to see)

Cute cousins in front of the giraffe

Natalie looking at the rhino. She loved to say "Whoa!"

Watching the polar bear

Joe with the poor, sad orangutans (they really did seem to be begging to be let out)

After a couple of days, we were back on the road. Thanks again guys for letting us come! We drove, slept in Kentucky and then drove some more until....we finally made it late Friday night.

This trip taught me many things:
1. I'm sorry if this offends anyone, but the parts of Wyoming we saw were not pretty. I love the Jackson Hole/Star Valley area but this area was nothing like that.
2. Nebraska goes on forever.
3. West Virginia is endless trees.
4. Big, thick pillows are ideal for car trips.
5. In some places, premium gas costs less than regular unleaded (I guess this is because of ethanol but I still don't really understand why).
6. Talking about childhood memories keeps Joe and I awake.
7. The ABC game isn't as fun by yourself but it does keep you awake.
8. Anything by the Temptations is like a lullaby to my kids. Once when Natalie was very upset, we decided to try putting on "My Girl" (or as she calls it now, "muh-guh"). She got so excited and calmed right down. Another time when the kids were upset and wouldn't sleep we put the CD in and they both fell asleep within minutes. :)
9. There's nothing better to a 3 year old who's been cooped up in a car than running through some rest stop fields picking dandelions.
10. Elizabeth must have a huge bladder. She can go forever between bathroom breaks (thank goodness).
11. Kids are resilient.
12. Adults are not as resilient.

Well, thanks for humoring me. We'll see how round two goes in a couple months! :)

The Catch-up Begins

Yes we are alive and we made it to Virginia. We finally have the internet and I finally have some energy to post something. Unfortunately I got sick during the trip out here and have been recovering ever since. Natalie is sick, too, and possibly teething. Whatever it is has created some raging mood swings and she is demanding to be held constantly lately. I find myself doing laps around the kitchen to avoid standing still so she won't come up saying "Up! Up!". If I'm moving, I think she knows not to attempt it most of the time. I know, I'm a bad mom. I just can't hold her all of the time.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand. We're here in our new apartment (a 2 bedroom, by the way, which has taken some adjusting--that's probably worthy of post in and of itself). It is pretty nice, though, and fairly spacious. The bathrooms are actually much bigger than the ones in our house. We made it here late Friday night and after a few days of confusion about where exactly we would be living we are settled and mostly unpacked. I'm loving the weather here. It really doesn't feel that humid to me but it is humid enough to have completely cured my dry, cracked hands (the Utah winter was harsh on them). It's been in the 70s and low 80s but always pretty breezy so it hasn't been too hot. Joe may say differently, though, since he's the one outside all day.

Now that we're within driving distance of the Atlantic coast, we decided to go see it Sunday evening and walk around (I don't want to say exactly where we are but you can e-mail me if you want to know). I just realized that Joe and I have now been to a Pacific, Atlantic and Indian ocean coast. They are all beautiful. I love the ocean.

Look at the cute footprints

More footprints (I love them :)
Natalie and Uncle Richard
Elizabeth was having a great time running away from the waves until she tripped and face-planted into the sand.

Before:
After:
So, thus ended our "walk along the beach" that ended up more like swimming in the ocean. I guess we should have known we couldn't keep the kids from the water. Next time we'll wear bathing suits. More to follow....