Forest Park

We got to meet up with Layla and Perry's biological sister and her wonderful forever family. We love this family so much. We think they are absolutely amazing. 

We went to Forest Park. We played on the playground, the splash pad, and the petting zoo 

 

 

 

Perry was not very cooperative when it came time for a group picture. But I'm glad we got most of the kids together to capture the moment.

 

random things

It's time to start playing catch up here...And I'm starting with a few random pictures found on my phone.

Right after school got out in June, Kacin was off to 11 year old scout camp at cascade park. I dropped him off so he could catch a ride with a friend and he was so excited to take a picture first. 

 

Perry has become such a snuggler at bedtime. And, for a while there, when he woke up in the morning, if Eric was already gone, he loved to jump into Eric's spot on my bed. Which means that those days in which he would stay in his bed waiting for us to come and get him out are officially over. He has discovered he can get out of his own bed.

 

I took pictures of these cards that were hanging on the bulletin board in the primary room at church.

 

 

 

Perry had his last day doing ABA therapy at NBA. Layla was sure to document when I was talking to his program supervisor. I find so many photos on my phone because of that girl.

 

 

 

On the way to az

It took us three nights and four days of driving to get down to Arizona. We made a little vacation (as "vacation" as 24 hours in a car can be) of it and stopped along the way.

When we got to salt lake we spent a couple of hours on temple square. We went to the church history museum which had such beautiful art and the exhibits were well done. I could have spent a long time there soaking it all in but our highest priority was getting to the children's area to play for awhile.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We went to both visitors centers.

 

We love the temple!

 

Kyler took this beautiful picture of the reflection.

 

We went up the Joseph Smith memorial building and peeked at the church rooms and chapel and then enjoyed the view from the top. Perry had an obsession with elevators this day and this building seemed to satisfy that.

 

 

After temple square, we got to visit with Kyler and Kacin's biological brother. What a great kid! We loved catching up and spending time with him.

 

 

We spent the night in the area and the next day we hit the road again. We stopped in St. George for a little hike among the red rocks. In 106 degree weather. We lasted about 40 minutes. We soaked ourselves with water to keep cool. We learned our lesson about keeping kacins inhaler with us. But other than that, all of the kids were really good troopers. Perry especially. Until we started heading back and he had reached his max at that point. Then he burst into tears and asked to be carried because, and I quote, "I am having such a hard day!"

What a beautiful world we live in!

 

 

We drove to Vegas that day. We went swimming at the hotel's pool, but I refused to spend any more time in that city. 

Monday morning we were all so excited to see the signs welcoming us to Arizona!

actually moving

We are in a hotel in Nevada right now. We are so close to Arizona! Yet this actual moving our stuff and ourselves part of moving has dragged on for so long I wonder if we will ever actually get there . . .

It started on Tuesday when the moving trailer was dropped off at our house. 

Actually, it started months before that as we slowly started packing up boxes. And our home transformed from a cozy familiar home to a bare boxed up, wrapped up house.

Layla took my phone and captured our home during our last few days in Washington.

 

 

 

 

So the moving trailer came and, with the help of many hands, we loaded that thing up. And the whole time I was filled with feelings of guilt because these nice people had to lug box after box and furniture piece after furniture piece to the trailer. And if this wasn't bad enough the trailer had to be parked on the opposite side of our cul de sac since our driveway was too steep. It was a long walk (even with the help of dollies and the minivan). So bless all of those kind souls who came to help! I think next time we move we will sell all of our stuff and start fresh because I never want to move that much stuff again. We were so relieved when it miraculously all fit into the trailer!

Loading the trailer is way more fun as a kid than as an adult.

 

We loaded on a Wednesday and planned to clean on Thursday so we could leave at a decent hour on Friday. But Thursday filled itself with an unexpected dentist visit to fix my crown, car tires that needed attention, and house selling signing. Which didn't leave as many hours in the day as we needed. 

In the end, we got it all done on Friday around noon and said our final goodbye to beautiful Washington and the home we have loved and the wonderful friends we have made and began our travels to our new home in Arizona.

 

We drove to Boise that first day. And as I predicted, we made a hundred stops that day. The funniest of the stops was when we had to pull over because Perry dropped a toy on the ground. Kacin tried looking for it three times but couldn't find it. So then Perry went into hysterics that someone stole it. More specifically "the monkeys", that have lived and frightened him from under his bed for so long, were the thieves. Drat, I thought I told those monkeys to stay behind. After 20 minutes of hysterical crying, Eric decided we needed to pull over. He quickly found Perry's item and all was right with the world again. And that sums up how we travel these days. 

 

 

 

But we did eventually make it to Boise safely. And have since had more traveling adventures. But I will save those for another day.

thoughts

We said a lot of goodbyes to wonderful friends at church yesterday. There will be even more goodbyes said throughout the week.  I will miss my washington friends dearly.

However, the excitement is setting in and the thought of being in arizona and (eventually) our new house is thrilling.

Not everything is magically working out though. There is one big piece to the puzzle that hasn't been sorted out yet. It's still that thing called employment that is throwing us for a loop. Which is pretty nerve-racking sometimes.

But the thing is, this decision to move feels so right for us. We are making a very deliberate choice to make happen what we want and feel is best for our family.

While we stay pretty optimistic, to be honest the anxiety and worry has hit us pretty hard sometimes. Of course it does. We are crazy, but not so crazy as to lose sight of reality.

However, we did not make this choice because it would be the easiest. We made it because it feels right. And right does not always mean easy. Sometimes the right choice will mean a lot of work and a lot of hard, and a whole lot of faith.

We have prayed and fasted throughout our decision and during job interviews. Like I said, things haven't magically worked out yet. But, as I've learned from life, I don't see the big picture like God does and I need to trust in Him.

Some may say our prayers haven't been answered, but I have been feeling so strongly lately that they are. Heavenly Father is listening. And while we wait to figure out the right job, and try to be patient about it, Heavenly Father is blessing us in whatever way he can along the way. He has given us feelings of peace and comfort. He has sent "angels" to our side at exactly the moment we needed it most. He has blessed us with the vision to see how some disappointing things that have happened lately have actually been blessings in disguise. So even though he hasn't handed us a job on a silver platter, He is there listening, encouraging, strengthening, and guiding us along.

He is there for you, too.

She is 5!

We celebrated our little Layla-

L Belle

Ellie

Stinkerbelle-

turning the big 5!

 

And when I have more than 10 minutes to spare (summer days are busy, especially when you are moving to a new state), I will catch up on all of the details of her big day and her piñata on the beach and a failed camping trip and all of the other "last Washington adventures" we are trying to make happen before we leave.

 

Until then, just know we love this sweet 5 year old!

 

packing

Layla asked last night, "Dad, what are we going to do tomorrow?"

Eric replied he wasn't sure yet.

Layla went on, "Are we going to pack? Our family loves to pack."

 (we have resorted to stealing boxes from our neighbors recycling when we are out walking. Ha!)

I can't say that we love it, but we are doing it. Less than 2 weeks until move day!