Spring Break Adventures

 We started out Spring Break with a trip up to our new homeland so Becca could meet up with the school counselor to explore scheduling options and the other kids could tour their schools. She was happy to learn that instead of taking Calculus (which I think is pretty useless) she can fit more electives in her schedule that she's actually interested in.  I'm definitely excited about the education elective options at the kid's new schools that just seem to fit their personalities and interests better. 

  We had some fun at the Craze Fun Zone but the best part was discovering all of the fun features of the vacant land behind our home now that the snow has finally melted enough to see the ground.

Our house is the light tan one just below Jacob's right hand. Pretty sure my kids are going to have a blast hanging out with the neighborhood kids in this fun tree fort although it could definitely use a little more reinforcements.  The large flat area behind him could make for some fun 4 wheeling tubing fun to break up the long cold winter when everything is covered in snow.

 Near this small thicket of trees it looks like a small creek might run by during some parts of the year.  I had so much fun wading and exploring in the creek with my cousin Kami during summer vacations.  I sure hope it takes the developer a long time to get moving on to the next phase! The homeowners were kind enough to let the kids take a first peek at their rooms on a quick walk through of the home when I had just asked if I could take some pics of the backyard to plan my garden/swingset spaces.  They filled us in on some of the other fun features of our neighborhood. Right now (until they build the next phase) I'm told we have a beautiful view of the Rexburg temple off in the distance from our family room window.   I think we'll adopt the current owners tradition of floating the river nearby on the 4th of July.  Hopefully that will make up for losing our awesome view of the fireworks from our current backyard.

 Old tree stump and apparently a construction dumping ground are "out of sight" beyond a berm and past the 4 wheeling trails.

Joshua - So Big!

 Joshua has been so excited to celebrate his birthday this year.  He was lucky to have grandma and cousins visiting to celebrate with him for the weekend.  Becca made him a scrumptious Texas Fudge Cake because I was super sick in bed for the day (+4 after that).  I love his sheer delight with simple things.  He was pretty elated to get more truck toys although the Peppa Pig Family and Thomas Puzzle at the store almost took his sights off another set of wheels for a few minutes.  He still gets showered with plenty of hugs and kisses being the baby of the family but I'm thinking pretty soon my "big boy" is going to insist he's had enough.

 Some pics from his 3rd year

This week he fell asleep in my bed and I looked over adoring his peaceful expression.  About a minute later, he rolled over, fell off and was howling after he bumped his head on the nightstand. I scooped him up and consoled him and then noticed blood dripping all over my arm... he got a nasty nick on the back of the head that bled a lot but fortunately healed up nicely by the next day.

Falling into Place

I mentioned on fb that we listed our home, got an offer, found a home and made an offer all within one weekend.  I feel so grateful that things are smoothly falling into place because keeping a home immaculate and ready to show and making decisions are two things that are challenging for me.  I don't think it was just a coincidence that we already had plans to see homes with our realtor the day our new home listed, had already attended the ward, and met up with a couple from our new ward in our sealing session at the temple that we could bounce some questions off of that even further confirmed our decision that this is the right place for our family.  We made a really quick decision, because we both felt completely at peace the moment I walked into the entryway. 
 Here are a few pics of our new home that is less than a mile from Jared's work!

This bedroom wall is perfect for the BYU loving sports fans in our home :)  But I hope to add a little more meaning by sharing with them this talk.

Happy New Year!

Family pictures eluded us again this year, so instead I collected some of my favorite snapshots from the past couple of years.

Thanksgiving Week Adventures and Embracing Challenging Change

 This year we headed up to spend Thanksgiving week in Fairmont Hot Springs.  It was a super memorable trip for many reasons. On the drive up we got a life changing phone call from Jared's supervisor asking how interested we were about moving to Rexburg, because an opportunity was opening up sooner than expected and he had expressed interest in the past.  He needed to let them know ASAP.  I felt amazingly calm and peaceful when he brought it up even though change brings with it a whirlwind of work and emotions. So while Rebecca did the driving, Jared and I had a quick quiet conversation and he called back within 5 minutes to let them know we were interested.  We received a text the following day that the change was almost certain, but we waited until the end of the vacation to inform our kids so they could enjoy the moments with their cousins instead of worrying about the future.  They had plenty of time to relax, play games, watch movies, swim at the hot pools, feast on good food and enjoy the company of some of our Neal cousins.

Its now official that after the school year is over we will be starting a new chapter in our lives as Jared has the opportunity to open up the LDS Family Services office in Rexburg and we will transplant our family to meet new friends, experience growth and build new memories.
I will never forget the reactions of our children when we told them the news on the last day of the vacation.  There were a lot of tears (except from Jacob who embraces change pretty easily), and they each shared things they will miss... friends, football teams, ward family, piano students, walking to church, a home filled with memories.  But there are also many things to look forward to... a new house, friends, ward family, educational opportunities and a temple nearby.  Jared also agreed that they can have a new dog after the move which they've been wanting for years.

 

Feasting on an early Thanksgiving dinner

 

Emily the photobomber

 After getting back form our Montana adventures we headed on the road again to attend a baptism of my niece in Utah.

Now that we've returned to real life, the reality is setting in as we make preparations to sell our home, organize and declutter.  I try not to focus too much on the many things that I am going to miss about our life here as it makes the tears flow and its better to look forward in faith.  We have been so blessed here by so many wonderful friends and neighbors, its hard to think of leaving.  When I went to church and looked into the faces of so many people who have impacted my life for good, I couldn't hold back the tears and Josh loudly asked, "Mom, why are you sad?"
This is a great leap of faith for our family, but I trust in the feelings of my heart when I pray because if I focused on logic alone, it wouldn't make sense to uproot our large family, tear our children away from their friends and our amazing neighborhood.  I know that God knows the big picture and understands what experiences and opportunities he wants me and my children to experience so that we can be refined and build a new collection of fond memories in our new home.