Just A Few Tears

I'm not sure what to say. I can't believe that as I type this Running Man is loading up the moving truck and emptying out our house. It doesn't feel real. Maybe it won't for a while. The past four years have been the best and the hardest of my life. There were days when I thought I couldn't possibly make it through another day. And days that I didn't want to end. The people we have met have changed our lives, and this town will always hold a special place in our hearts. Who woulda thought I wouldn't want to move out of the midwest?!

We are excited for this next chapter of our lives, and I am so anxious to see what it holds!
We {heart} Iowa and will miss you and all of the wonderful people you are home to!

The hardest part of leaving...saying good-bye to these people. We Love You!One last run across the bridges of the Quad Cities!
The Mighty Mississippi

One last trip to Banana's fountainsAnd to the Rainbow Bridge
Catching fireflies

And the most important part of the last month, what we have been working towards for 6 years. Running Man can now be referred to as Dr. Running Man!!

My Oh My

My WONDERFUL friend (who we just had to say good bye to), took these amazing pics of the girls this week. (All were take at my house. I am going to miss those red doors)! One of the best parts...she did it for free! Money is tight right now, so anything free makes me smile. :) There are way too many too try and narrow it down, so I'm trying to come up with a way to display all 2o of my faves! :)

We are finally seeing progress in the packing department! I hate packing closets and storage space stuff because I feel like it makes a HUGE mess and you have nothing to show for it...I have been putting off taking things off of the walls because that makes it all feel too real, but I bucked up and got it done today. And it felt good! I'm sure it will be depressing when I finally sit down tonight and look around me, but I am anxious to get into our new place and get settled. So...enough of that! Enjoy the pics!
Miss Banana!


This one hasn't been fixed up at all, but I love it because these are the kind of poses Banana kept doing during the shoot. Straight out of some modeling class. Love it!

Miss Em!

Ignore the writing and focus at the pictures!

My brain can't seem to form a coherent thought but I really need to post because I am so behind. So ignore the horrible writing and just enjoy the pics. (That's all that matters, right?)

We had a jam packed Memorial Day weekend and spent as much time as possible outdoors. We started off the weekend going to Scott County Park with some great friends. I REALLY wish we could have stayed and camped out, but we left bright and early the next morning for our last trip to Nauvoo. (More on that later). I was a little nervous to see how Em would handle being out among the critters and bugs, but she loved it! Neither of the girls wanted to leave, and loved hiking, playing around (and almost in) the fire, and making s'mores. I have to admit I didn't want to leave either. A lot of it was due to the awesome ppl we were with, but it's been TOO long since we were able to spend any significant amount of time in the great outdoors.

Banana with her Bestie Miss Kini.

Cleaning off sticky hands in the stream.

Em was a trooper on the long hike and lasted almost the whole time. She spent the last little bit riding like this. I offered to trade her places but she wasn't about to give up her spot!

Saturday was spent in Nauvoo. It was our last trip down there and I have to admit that it was a pretty emotional trip for all of us. It has been such a blessing to have the Nauvoo temple as our temple.

I love the peaceful feeling that exists there and how much I learn every time we visit. A few tears were shed as we walked away from the temple


but we know we will get to come back and visit someday!




One last stop at the Fudge Factory. Oh caramels, how I will miss you!

Birthday Festivities

For My Baby Girl

I can't believe this little girl has gone from this,

to this,




to this.



She turned two today and I am completely amazed how quickly the last two years have flown by. She is such a character so I thought in true birthday tradition I would share a few of the things I LOVE about this girl.

1. She has enormous blue eyes that melt my heart, and all she has to do is bat them at me and she can usually get out of a WHOLE lot of trouble.
2. She loves to snuggle. And snuggle, and snuggle...Her favorite thing to do in the morning or after naps is to crawl up into my lap, put her arms around me and give me kisses. It makes the crazy days worth it.
3. She is a feisty girl. Those that know her well can atest to that fact. She is sassy and isn't afraid to speak (yell) her mind frequently. Lucky for me I've learned to laugh at her instead of going crazy because it's just too cute to sit and watch this teeny tiny pipsqueak of a girl get all fired up.
4. She has a HUGE heart. She is always looking out for her big sister. She is the first to give comfort when I'm upset and loves to make everything "all better."
5. She has her father wrapped around her finger. She (and her sister) have a connection with their father I don't think I'll ever be able to fully understand. He can get her to calm down when I've exhausted all my efforts, and she actually listens to him. :)
6. I think the biggest thing I love about Miss Em is that she brings me so much joy every day. She pushes me to be a better mother and is always so forgiving when I fall short. She makes me excited to get out of bed every day and keeps me on my toes.
Happy Birthday my baby girl!

Happy Wednesday

The girls and I survived a LONG week of gloomy, rainy weather and Running Man survived his last round of National Boards. Woot! The atmosphere in our house is noticeably lighter and it feels oh so good to know that Running Man's schooling is (for the most part) behind us. He only has a few weeks of classes left, but no more tests!

He spent all of last week bunkered down in the basement studying away. The weather did not want to cooperate with everything I had planned for us to do (outside), so we had to change it up a bit. We spent some time at the Children's Museum, which is a fave spot of ours. I picked the wrong day to go because it seemed like all of the mom's in the city had to the same idea. We had fun, but I about had a nervous break down trying to keep Em from running off. She's not the best listener...I think she has selective hearing already. :)

All of that playing made Banana crash and she decided to fall asleep here...
(She only slept for about 10 minutes but is convinced it's the best nap spot ever.)

When Running Man could take a break he came upstairs and helped the girls burn off some of excess energy from being cooped up all day. They did this...

And when Running Man tired out, but they hadn't yet, this happened.

Banana had her first "official" visit with the dentist. (My sis works for a pediatric dentist and an orthodontist so whenever we go to Utah we all get our teeth cleaned). It all went smoothly, and Banana seemed like an old pro. The assistant was excited that she didn't scream the whole time!

The sun FINALLY came out on Friday so we headed to the zoo with some super fun friends! This zoo is the perfect size. We can hit everything in two hours which helps prevent meltdowns! We pulled up to the parking lot and there were a thousand buses. Apparently it was field trip day for a lot of the local schools. We hit the train first thing and I didn't even mind the crowds!
This is Kini. She's a doll and the girls' BFF. I don't know what we're going to do without her.


I also decided to get my craft on last week and finished this fun project!And made this skirt for Banana and vamped up this tank for Em. My project list is two miles long and it just keeps getting longer....

On a sad parting note we had to say good bye to this beauty. It bit the dust this morning. I am upset that it broke, but it will be kind of nice to not have to transport it in the move. (It weighs about a billion pounds).This is the replacement. Another ancient TV we own. It looks pretty pitiful in our giant entertainment center.