My oh, my!

Months of crazy have preceeded this adorable picture and the beautiful baby it displays. We have had many sleepless nights, lots of spit up, sickness, an upset green eyed four year old and countless arguments about homework and cleaning bathrooms. But I have also had time to hold and kiss my baby, bounce her to calm down, snuggle with her to nap and bribery for the four year old that may or may not work, and homework usually gets done and the older kids are learning responsibility, right?. All in all it has been a great time. I do love being at home with these little munchkins.

We love the Northwest!

Back in March we decided to take a little drive over to Vancouver to see our great friends, the Allen's! They are always so much fun and welcoming and we sure know how to party when we get together! It was rainy but the green trees and mountain scenes were amazing and refreshing after the horrible Idaho February! The waterfalls were brimming with snowmelt and I have never seen them putting over that much water. The sound of the water rolling over the rocks and crashing below was unreal! We played scrabble with the ipad and iphones into the night and the kids had fun running inside and out! We visited the OMSI museum over in Portland. It is a hands on museum supported by General Electric. There were so many people there but the kids had a ball anyway. A lot experimenting and science, it was awesome! And like always we ate way too much! We saw many old friends at Church and it was so nice to visit with them. Our kids have so much fun together and play really well and that makes a trip so much fun. Thanks Meags and Cory for another great trip!!!

Griffin!!

Griffy, Fiff, or gooberfish is just a few nicknames that our Griffin is called. He came up with Fiff because he is working on his "g's", so cute. This morning I bathed him, dried him off and told him to go find some "unders". While he is supposed to be doing that, I blow dry my hair and think, "hmm when Griff is quiet that means trouble is looming". I find my little Griff in his closet surrounded by books reading (looking at) Scooby Doo, NAKED! I guess he got sidetracked!!! I just love this kid!

It's been a long time!!

The last few months have been full of ups and downs, laughter and tears, and much much more. Through this whole "Josh being laid off" thing I keep asking myself "What am I supposed to be learning?" I never wanted to ask why because I know that there are things that are a whole lot worse and I wouldn't want anyone else's trials. I was doing really well until about May. We had a couple of job offers and neither one panned out. It was so frustrating, beyond words. At one point we thought Josh had is dream job and that fell through and then he was offered a job that would keep us in Logan in our home and close to my family and then that was taken away. Talk about a roller coaster ride, that is one roller coaster that I do NOT want to take again! After a lot of tears and frustration we decided it was time to "make a move", a leap of faith if you will. A different state, a different city, and hopefully a different opportunity. I was and still am clinging to Josh's faith but mine is getting stronger. Within two weeks of moving Josh was offered a job. A much needed answer to a year long prayer. The Lord knew that we had hit rock bottom emotionally and this was huge. We really have felt his love all along, when I was looking for it. When my view got clouded I lost sight and began to spiral downwards. If I could step back, which is really hard for me, then I could see a bigger picture. I have not seen the end but I am learning to be okay with the process. Despite the trials, the blessing have been huge.
As hard as the last little while has been with leaving my home and family and friends, we have stayed busy and had a lot of fun. Going and doing really has been the only thing keeping me sane. We have had awesome bbq's with the most awesome Hancey family. They are truly amazing people. I don't have pics and I am way bummed about that, but we could not of stayed positive without them. We have camped with both sides of the family; bear lake with the Roche fam and Ashton with the Ross'. All these events deserve their own post but I am not sure that I will ever get that done. So there is a picture buffet through out this post. Two days after we came to Idaho I talked Josh into taking us to Vancouver to see our dear friends for the Fourth of July!! I think Josh knew that I needed to get away and forget about real life even if it was only for a couple of days. It was so great! Meags has a precious new baby and we were able to be there for his blessing and sweet Sadie's baptism. Then we hit the Oregon Zoo, one of my favorites, and then an awesome hike above Amboy. Wow, I love Vancouver but loved the company even more. Drives through Logan canyon, swimming at the pool, working in the yard, and celebrating Griffy's birthday are just a few more.
Josh and I have been right by each other's side for almost a year. At times I know we wanted to kill eachother but since Josh has gone back to work I really miss him. He is my best friend!!
I cannot believe that school starts in just a couple of weeks! The kids r doing really well considering they have had to adjust also. Hopefully making friends will come swiftly for them and I am hoping this school is as good as Logan! We sure miss everybody down there!!!

Sunshine needed!

Well the first picture isn't as big of a statment as I wanted it to be, but it makes me happy to look at it! I didn't realize until this morning when there was sunshine coming through the windows, how much "grey" we have had lately! The sunshine is awesome and it makes me happy! Too bad it is still too cold to go outside. The other day in Salt Lake it was almost 60 degrees and then Logan was like 25. Yuck! Oh well, I still love Logan, but can't wait for spring!

Wow this post is late- Happy Birthday Boston

Happy Birthday to my Boston! He turned 5 years old in November, yikes I am way behind. I will attribute that to the roller coaster ride our lives have taken these last few months. Nothing too serious, just the unknown totally throws me for a loop and blogging took a back seat to well pretty much everything else. On to Boston's big day. We had a party all week long with Grandpa Dave and then came the real deal. Boston wanted to go bowling, just like last year, and then to Panda Express for dinner. I think we did panda last year too. Ah well, we like it. Much to our surprise Brad and Jen drove up from utah County to surprise Bos man on his big day. He was so excited, especially because Kennedy had had so many surprises, finally it was his turn. Then Josh had a Pres. mtg for Elders Quorum so we all had some yummy gingerbread cake and ice cream. The cake isn't too pretty, once again the creative juices weren't flowing that day, but he really wanted gingerbread and so that is what he got. You know Boston gets lost in the mix a lot of times but yet he always makes sure you know that he is here. I love him so much! Happy B-day BoBo!

Kennedy turns "8"

So my Kenna has turned eight and totally in style! We celebrated a few different times. Not pictured, yet, was her Halloween Birthday party. Wow, it was really fun! We were excited to have Grandpa Dave here for her actual birthday and then Great Grandma Ross and Aunt Peggy surprised us and came up too. We headed to Texas Roadhouse for a fun lunch to celebrate. The firt pic is of Kenna in the saddle getting wished a very happy "Yee Haw"! Afterwards we headed to the park to play horseshoes and then home for cake and ice cream. It was a great day! Then an even better day was a couple weeks later when Kennedy decided to be baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It was a very special day to say the least. All the talks were wonderful beyond compare and the spirit was so strong. She was glowing all day, and for good reason. It was an emotional day but in a good way. We were excited to have so many family and friends there to share it with us! I am excited for Kenna and the choice she has made! She is a ray of sunshine in my life and I am blessed to have such a wonderful daughter. She has always had to be my helper being the oldest and she is so nice about it. She loves to draw and create. I guess she did get a little of me considering she looks just like a ross. She also loves reading and school. That part didn't come from me. She really is just a good little girl. She loves to help in the Kitchen and bake with her easy bake oven. I love her so much!