Our New HOME!!!

We were so lucky to have Mema and Papa arrive just a day after we arrived to help us unpack, paint and remove wall paper from 1 wall. The kids loved having them here. We would work hard in the morning and evening and the afternoon was spent in the pool, which was perfect! We got lots done but would love for them to come back for another week and do more...wink, wink.

 The breakfast bar that we love!

 It was chilly but Lincoln wanted to stay in, so Mema toughed it out.

Mema painting V's nails of course!

We are looking forward to going up to their place and having a mini family reunion, minus Danger (sad)

 

The first time to ever step in the pool, it was Memorial Day and only Daddy, Vienna, Lincoln, Papa and Bryson ventured into the chilly waters.

The warm up tub afterward was crucial.

The kids have adjusted quite well to our new home and neighborhood.

Vienna is really missing her pre-school friends, dance friends and primary friends, which is difficult on me, but we tell her she will start pre-school when summer is over and she has met one girl who is 5 in her sunbeam class named Ashley. She is still very much a girly girl. Always wanting to wear a dress or a skirt, play with her mini princesses or her barbies and play dress-up, do fashion shows and have tea party's. Her loft bed is proving to be tricky as she has had more accidents in this bed than she ever had in the 2 years she was potty trained in Cleveland, she just doesn;t want to climb down the ladder in the dark. So we are going to change her bed and move her loft bed into the spare bedroom over the queen bed, so we can sleep more people in there. That does mean we need visitors...hint, hint.

 One night she came down quite late because she had put on every single skirt she owns and it was so tight that she couldn't get them off to go to sleep. It was too cute! Ps - her locks are getting so long and so curly every day.

Lincoln, he has adjusted really well also. His own room with a big boy bed was great, but after 2 weeks we still couldn't get him to wake up at his normal time, he was biologically stuck on Cleveland time so we tried tinfoiling his room - no change. we couldnt think of anything else so I thought of putting him back in the crib to try. This unfortunately kicked Everett to the playpen, but its just till we can get on track. He has done SO much better in there. Its something familiar. I think he feels secure (because he fell out of his big boy bed a few times) and if he wakese up he is contained and either plays quietly or falls back to sleep, so we are in the process of figuring out what to do with this. I will say though, that when he is well slept he is the absolute sweetest little boy on the planet....however he still is a 2 year old boy.

Messy, messy, messy (for every meal)

 The joys of unpacking is when I bring a new toy out every few days...I do this deliberately. The latest one were his trains and boy have they been a big hit. He is combining all his trains to make the longest one possible and gets very frustrated when some don't fit together. Besides the fact that he likes to play with them on the tile, they keep him very entertained.

Here he is stuffing pot stickers in his mouth at this Thai restaurant in Uptown. Glad he likes Asian food because we love it!

Everett...well he is a tank! But I love it. He is a good eater, which is easy on me and is super happy, unless really tired or hungry. He is pretty much sleeping at a 12hour night., which is great! 

 His cute church outfit he will only wear once as its already tight, even though its a 6mon and he is barely 5 months in this picture.

 He has started playing and really enjoying his exer-saucer

 This was his first night sleeping in his crib. poor guy has been in the bassinet the entire time.

Everett's first time eating was a big deal for his big brother and sister. They were so excited for him, although, they wouldn't eat any rice cereal. Lol. He did pretty good. He has also gone in his jolly jumper for the first time as well this Month. Busy month for him. 

I am so grateful that Vienna and Lincoln have each other because they are such good friends and playmates. I know they are anxious for Everett to join in their fun as well. 

 Having a snack and pushing each other back and forth

 Dinner on the patio

 Yummy!

 swimming with the kids and taking a picture...

 Vienna with her spud nuts, eat time, popsicle time and  tummy time

 Having a juice popsicle with Grandma. Mmm yum!

 Lunch time

 small pool time so Mommy can do other things

Lunch time! 

What would they do without each other. It's so fun to watch them make believe, pretend and create. Also fun to problem solve, share and tolerate. Siblings are the best!

 D is for Daddy! Yummy fruit salad and cinnamon toast!

Dinner time!

 I always get to feed Everett...

I made a roast beef dinner, complete with Yorkshire puddings and decided, meh! We like other things more.

 These questionnaires are so cute. I loved asking the kids these. they did a good job!

They were so excited to give Daddy his gifts that they wrapped in tissue paper and  put in the bags all by themselves. He got a new big skinny wallet and some clothes. We sure love and adore our Daddy around here. He is our breath of fresh air after a long day, our calm-cool and collected. He makes us laugh, plays games and teases us. We love our Daddy!

One last thing... I had a friend in the ward invite me over to make jam and I was so excited! We had a great time while our kids played. I love freezer jam! Thank you Carol!

MMMMMMM!

Well this has been our first month in our new home! It will be excited to get pictures up of our home, as it all comes together. As of right now there is truthfully not 1 room in its 100% completeness, but we are getting so close with the front room! Yay to decorating our own home!

Our Exodus to Washington...

Our family of 5's biggest (hopefully) ever exodus. We knew we would be moving but we didn't know to where and we didn't know how, but gradually things all came together. We have seen so many blessings in this entire process and we know it is a loving Father in Heaven has a hand in each aspect of this exodus. 

Luckily Peg and Alan (Mom and Dad) were coming out for graduation and they were willing to help travel back across the country...they are saints! They were also so great to come early so that we could have someone there to entertain the kiddos while we finished packing and so that I could take Mike on a surprise overnight trip to Amish country for graduation. We had a really nice time and the kids did great with their Grandparents...we'll have to do that more often (wink, wink)

 playing at Playground world for the last time

Even though we tried to prepare Vienna and Lincoln for our long journey ahead and focused on them more than anything for the planning, it is still tough on kiddos. Here are some of the joys of the pre-moving...

 Like Everett sleeping in the front door closet...

 showering in the scape-pod shower because we re-caulked the tub upstairs

And other things like sleeping in our rooms with just mattresses, sitting on the floor for our last few meals, living out of suitcases etc.

Here is our darling home in the CALM BEFORE THE STORM...

Loading up the truck was fun stuff too. I'm so grateful to karen for taking the kids and letting them play with her girls so the kids were out of the way and having a blast. We're so grateful for our good friends in Cleveland who we miss loads.

Luckily, not just our elders, but another companionship showed up, along with Jace, Jaron and John

 (Thank you a bunch!)

I was right in the thick of things the whole time and luckily Everett slept the whole 2 hours.

Moving Day was the same day as Graduation so we left in the evening...

 We talked about our moving truck and Lincoln thought it was pretty neat.

Here they are getting comfy for the first few hours of our trip.

 Here is Roony with our family...Good by Norma Drive

Here is the moving truck and broken Lola trailor, that would be Alan and Peg's haven (lol) for the journey. It was a beast but something very familiar for Mike and Alan as they did this 4 years earlier to get out here. 

Our journey took us to just outside Chicago, then in the morning we went to IKEA to get a bed for Lincoln and a loft bed for Vienna, that was kind of rushed so it wasn't as fun as I was hoping but we got Lincoln's bed. Vienna's was on back order so we had Mema and Papa bring hers with them.

Then we went on to Tomah, WI and got there in time for dinner and swimming (which the kids loved).

They next day was on to Mitchell South Dakota. Here was a fun waterslide and a corn palace.

 So there is this corn palace (it is made out of all different kinds of corn ears) Mike and Vienna went with Peg and Alan, while I stayed at the hotel room with sleeping Lincoln and Everett.

 This hotel also had a huge waterslide, which the kids loved!!! We had a great time and even G-ma and G-pa joined us. YAY!!!

 Daddy and Lincoln!

 Daddy and Lincoln

 Tubbo and Daddy

 Me and my sweet Lincoln man. I did go on the slide several times with Linc and Vienna but no pics :(

 The breakfast room at the hotel. I just love this picture!

 My sweet little ones doing a great job on our long journey!

 These 2 are so cute to watch play together

 What a sweet baby boy!

 Vienna adores her little baby brother!

Here is a glam shot of the slide and play area. So fun!

From here we headed to Ra[id City South Dakota, which is where Mount Rushmore is. We got there ate lunch, had naps and then went up to the Mount, It was so tough to convince the kids to get back in the car to go and truthfully they didn't care about the "faces in the mountain' but I am glad I got to see it. Once we got back and went swimming, the kids were much happier.

 We made it up to the mountain in 1 piece...barely.

This was a fun swim, Vienna found a great little friend to play with and there was a nice hot tub.  It was a unique hotel, it felt like a 1970's Las Vegas hotel. 

From here we went to Bozeman, Mt and got to swim with a smaller water slide that Vienna did all by herself. Then the next day, it was HOME!!! YAY!!!!!!!

GRADUATION...Wait, Mike is a what???

Its true, Mike is a DOCTOR!!!

The day has come and gone (May 18th to be exact) and it is definitely a day we will always remember, but probably not for the stereotypical reasons like, My husband will have a job??? what, its been over a decade. Or "I will actually see my husband - no more studying for exams or lab work etc. Let me paint a picture of why it will always be burned in my memory...

(get comfy, its a long picture to paint, but one that must go down in our family history)

First of all, it was the same day we decided to move. To drive away with the moving truck. Which means that our entire home was packed up. This means Lincoln's crib was packed and for the first time ever, he was on just his crib mattress in his room with nothing else. Let's also point out the fact that dental Graduation was at 11:15am, which for anyone with toddler's knows this is a dangerous time; close to lunch, close to nap time etc. Of course on this morning Lincoln had to wake up at 5am (because he was in a strange situation) and not go back to bed. We had contemplated getting a sitter, but thought Vienna would do fine and I needed Everett with me to nurse him. Plus with all the changes going on, Lincoln was having a hard time being anywhere without Vienna and being very concerned about everyone being together, so dropping just him off would have been a nightmare (lots of tears and crying). Plus Mike wanted the kids to be there to take a picture with them in his gown and stuff, so we consciously made the decision to bring all the kids. Well if the 5am start wasn't bad enough, the fact that it started 15mins late just kept making things worse. So we're there (in the very back) I've got snacks, books, activities and Grandma and Grandpa (which I wouldn't have survived the entire week without them, they were absolute life savers!!!). I thought I was ready for everything and could handle anything. Hahaha!

The huge organ begins, which scares the crap out of Everett, so he starts wailing. It plays while all the faculty and all the students parade in. I try to get him calmed down. Then the first speaker, then the second and the kids get ansy, Everett is tired, so he gets cranky. Lincoln is already having a tough time. I try to put Everett down in his car seat but he is fussing so I step out into the back foyer part. Lincoln doesn't like that idea, he wants to be with me, so he comes out. While out there he keeps running up to the balcony level where I can't see him and getting into the fire extinguisher. He just isnt his sweet little Lincoln and I feel bad for him. All I want to do is feed him and put him to bed in his own bed for a nice long nap, but I can't. Everett is crying. Then, oh yes, it keeps getting better...Lincoln poops. Of course he poops. I go back into the auditorium to get the diaper bag to change his diaper. I don't want to bother Peg or Alan and I am not going to take Lincoln AND Everett to the bathroom, so I am that lady that changes a poopy diaper in that back foyer area of an auditorium (small room, stinky poo, no garbage) meanwhile I am still trying to listen to the speakers and be there for when Mike walks across the stage. 

By this time, Vienna is getting ornery and won't sit down or be quiet. It is after all 12:30ish and she is hungry and bored...its graduation speakers. Then somehow amongst trying to be there for Mike's moment, a custodian is wondering around with my diaper bag in her hands claiming that it somehow got put with someone else's stroller (as everyone left them at the back, where we were sitting) luckily I noticed, but seriously...What the H??? Luckily it was all intact. 

So it continues...Lincoln is dying, he is so hungry and SOOOOO TIRED it is painful, he is crying. Peggy - bless her heart, comes out to tell me that Mike is walking across the stage and she will stay with the boys so I can get a picture. I go back into the auditorium and Lincoln is screaming, I mean S-C-R-E-A-M-I-N-G for me, so I march back and get him (so irritated and frustrated by this point I want to scream) I am in the aisle with Lincoln and the camera trying to find Mike's eyes to let him know I'm there and so happy for him while underneath I am dying and want to burst into tears. I take his picture, watch him walk across the stage then I march back to our spots grab everything (bags, toys, snack wrappers, activities and all my kids) I say to Peggy and Alan "I shouldn't have even come, if I stay another minute I am going to start crying, I am taking my kids home and I will find a way for you to get home with Mike!" I turn and drag my kids all the way to the car. Put them inside and started to cry. HOLY CRAP!!! I didn't know what to do, but what I did know, was that my in-laws are officially concerned about my well being, think I am crazy and I'm sure feel bad for Mike to be married to such a spaz. I am so sleep deprived from staying up late to pack and dealing with kids who know something big is happening in their lives but can't comprehend it all. Plus, I am thinking of everything else that needs to be done at the house as soon as we get home. Not to mention, I'm hungry, I want to be here for Mike's special day, I was planning on going to the banquet after for lunch as we had nothing in our home, and I wanted to see some people and say some last goodbyes. More than anything though, I wanted my kiddos to have a good lunch and for Lincoln to have a good nap. I just started driving around the 5 story parking garage at the art museum, thinking. I almost left twice, but didn't know how they would get home and I'd regret missing out on Mike's special day. After just 1 floor of driving, both Lincoln and Everett were sound asleep. Great...Lincoln is super tired, but also hungry. Plus, now I can't go to the banquet without waking him up..,I seriously just can't win. I just drive, cry, think and text Mike (who totally gets it) but I'm so worried what my in-laws are thinking of me. 

Anyway, graduation ends, I text Mike and tell him I never left the parking garage, but that the boys are sleeping. They come find Vienna and I and we decide what to do. Vienna and I get pics of Mike in his robes, but Lincoln and Everett are asleep and of course Mike had to return the robes right afterward, so his 2 boys never got pics with him anyway. Agh!! After some discussion, Peg and Alan offer to stay in the van with the boys while we go get some food at the banquet. Well, not even 15mins after that, we get a text message saying that the boys are AWAKE and CRYING. Ugggh, of course. But I knew this would happen. Mike goes to get them, they join us for some food. Everett of course needs to eat and I, of course, have a dress on that doesn't have any stretch to the neck, so I have to ask someone if there is anywhere I can nurse him. Luckily they let me in to a secret locked room in the back of the banquet area, so I can completely undress myself and not have to be sitting on a toilet in a stall to feed him. Oh my gosh when will this day ever end????? If that's not enough, it's already 3pm by this time and we still have so much to do at the home before we are able to leave, its sickening. At least we had full tummies and I got to be there with the man of my dreams for this very momentous occasion in all of our lives! It has been a LONG but oh so special journey towards Mike reaching his ultimate goal and become a dentist. We know we have been so blessed with a wonderful profession and would not change the memories, the sacrifices, the friends and the time for anything else. The journey is the best part and we have many more journeys ahead of us. Thank you to everyone (especially our parents) who have been so supportive and helpful during this time, we honestly wouldn't have been able to do it without your continual love and support. 

In the end, we all survived the day, and I will NEVER forget it either!

 Playing at the art museum while I nurse in the little kids house

 This is before it all begins

 The giant organ that terrifies Everett and begins the non-stop "something"

 These aren't in order, Mike getting his diploma from dean Goldberg, who graduated with them.

 Everett stud-man with his blue (Case color) bow tie.

 Our family all together, once we got home (no graduation robes)

 Getting out more activities...

 Grandpa consoling Everett after the organ

 walking out with Diploma in hand...I was not there for this

 His group photo all in robes. (we weren't here for this either :(

 Lincoln doing an activity

 Waiting to walk across the stage. I like this one because it has the flag and the Case sign.

 As much of the family with him in his Harry Potter robes.

 Wonderful, supportive proud parents!

 Our journey together...I'm so proud of him. And during all of it, to be a super supportive, helpful husband and amazing Father to his 3 children. He really is my personal Superman! I love you Doctor. Husband!

 Vienna doing her activities

I also liked this one while he was waiting because it was with some of his close classmates. Him and Minh shared the same board patient, so they are forever bonded. 

Next: Our exodus to Pasco