Think Positive

I am not going to be winning any mom of the year awards anytime soon. Or wife of the year for that matter. Banana summed it up best when she told me that "everywhere else in the world is more fun than our new house." (The sad part being that I've really been trying to keep them entertained/happy). Sigh. Morning sickness is NOT my best friend. In fact I think it's my worst enemy. I firmly believe that the Lord blesses the women who get it to forget how bad it actually is. Because I would only have one kiddo if I could recall this fun part of pregnancy. I think my emotional state has a lot to do with my current attitude. I am missing friends, our home, our old ward, and the town we said good-bye to. (And that wonderful hubby of mine). Constantly.
Enough complaining. I REALLY am excited for this baby. Promise.
Thank goodness for the wonderful family we are close to. It was nice to be able to call my mom and tell her I needed help. And get it within hours. She took care of the me and the girls for several days with no complaints. Grateful for a sister who actually likes my kids and loves being around them. (And who only slightly encourages Em's mischeivous side). Here are a few fun things the girls have been able to do.
Have fun sleepovers with fun cousins!
Meet some new friends
Hang out with super fun Aunts and Uncles
Take part in some of my favorite traditions from my childhood.
We spent every 24th of July watching the parade at Grandma Norton's house, going to the park for yummy food, and watching the fireworks with all of the cousins. The girls loved it! Em was definitely a fan of the candy and otter pops being tossed around!
Having a Princess Tea Party at Aunt Cole's house. Complete with cupcake decorating, glittery make up, crowns and wands and slush! They were in heaven.

This past week we told this little girl

she is going to be a big sister!

This little girl

is thrilled and begging for a brother.

We also found out this awesome Aunt is having a little one too!!

We definitely have many reasons to celebrate but it will all sadly be put on hold until I can take more than a 10 minute break from the joys of morning sickness! :)

Lasts and Firsts

The last few weeks have been some of the most challenging/exciting weeks of the last six years. It feels like our last few weeks in Dport went so fast that I barely had time to catch my breath. I snapped a few pics of some of our last visits to our favorite Iowa places.

So long Machine Shed and Culvers. You will be missed!!

The night before we moved we were lucky enough to have one last Iowa storm. And it was one of the coolest we've ever seen. The clouds rolled in so quickly and it was an awesome storm to watch!
This is the view driving down our favorite road on the way to church. The corn isn't very tall yet, but we had to snap one last pic.
It was really hard to drive away from this house for the last time. It was a wonderful place to call home and we were so blessed to be able to live there.


We spent our first week in Utah relaxing and enjoying some quality time together before Running Man started in the "real world." The night before we moved into our new house Running Man and some other family members competed in the Lunatic Triathlon. (It started at 10 p.m. and there was a full moon, hence the "lunatic" part of the name). Running Man finished 3rd overall and 1st in his age divison!! He was pretty excited!The rest are just random pics of the last week. We haven't had internet so I need to play catch up!
Em was sick for most of the move and she was so happy to finally be able to crash in her own bed.

Running Man headed to his first day of work! It has been a challenging experience, but he is liking his job and still hasn't adjusted to people calling him Dr. He has been working LONG days and the girls have been feeling his absence. They are so excited when he walks in the door, and even more excited that their bedtime is extended so they can spend more time with him. :)
We have been lucky enough to spend this holiday weekend with family in Park City! It has been wonderful! Three days of sitting by the pool, playing in the mountains, and eating yummy food. Heaven. Em and banana are in LUV with Baby L. They can't get enough of her, or of the attention from all of their aunts and uncles. Riding the lift on our way to the Alpine Slide.

Banana loved the slide so much she asked to do it again! She also went with us on the Coaster and laughed the whole time. She is such a little daredevil.:)
The best part of Park City? Marshmallows for breakfast!

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!