Catch up time

I finally after 8 months have been able to pull what still exists from our hard drive. I am hoping an expert will be able to retrieve the rest. I am going to take you back over the last 8 months because it has been a long haul!

We left our beautiful home in Washington and headed back to Utah where we started...Literally. We moved from our beautiful 1 acre lot to our townhouse where we lived when we had Jameson. We packed up the 4 of us and the 2 dogs and started over.

Shortly after we arrived here, our little "Ranger Boy" passed away unexpectedly. It really threw us for a loop. Leaving Washington had been hard enough, but Ranger was such a great dog and we were all really attatched to him. It was Jameson's first experience with death, and frankly he handled it better than Dave and I who cried for days! The morning after Ranger passed away, Dave and I left on a trip to Dallas for the BYU/ Oklahoma state game in the brand new cowboys stadium. It was nice to have some time away just the 2 of us. Grandma took the boys and Elliot for us. Dave and I also hit 6 flags while we were there. We love roller coasters.

It was also nice to spend a few weeks with my friends and family before I started working. We went to Thanksgiving point to the gardens a few times, and hit the indoor Lehi pool with a fun water park.

Halloween was fun with the Herzogs. So different than when we were growing up. Ev and Amber had the best costumes as Ben franklin and his wife. Erin looked like a KKK member though she was supposed to be a ghost. We trick or treated the old Canyon Rim hood, and that was it.

In November we had the opportunity to go back to Washington for Thanksgiving. We rented an RV to try to make the trip a little easier on the kids. We had a tag along for that trip...our new dog Bolt. He was supposed to be a pure bred (though not papered) mini dachshund, but we think he is part rat terrior. We did great on the trip. When I stepped out of the RV and Sandy and Darin's house, the first sensation I had was the smell. Ahhhh, I was at home! I was back in the trees and the moss! One of the wonderful things about that trip was that my best friend Emily from high school who had just moved to Bellingham (just as we move away of course!) came to Thanksgiving with us. If any of you know Sandy and Darin, they are the ultimate host family. They are fantastic about including everyone! Emma and I went to see New Moon the night before and it was so great just to be with her. We had a great time up in Washington and even made time for some family pics by Dave Wolf. An unexpected bout with the stomach bug kept me from seeing my girls from work, but over all it was a great time.

Jameson turned 4 in December and we had a great time seeing Princess and the Frog and bowling with family and friends. Then on Christmas Eve we spent the night at Herzog's just for fun. We had fun opening presents with them and as always, enjoyed my dad's famous breakfast on Christmas morning.

In December we decided that we were not really doing well in our little town house. Jameson was sleeping on the floor in Gregson's room because after Ranger died, he would not sleep in his room downstairs. So Dave started looking at buying a home. With the market being what it was, he was sure he could find a deal. And that he did. We were told we would close the end of December, so Dave found renter for the townhouse and we moved out on 12/31. We moved in with the Herzog's thinking it would just be a couple of weeks. 9 weeks later, we were still not sure the house was going to work out. I cursed the stupid house many times! We decided that we needed to get out of my parent's house and into something of our own and a little closer to my office. the commute was killing me. So we rented a basement in Pleasant Grove for a month. 2 weeks into the month we closed on the house and moved in. That was 4 weeks ago.

In March, our sweet little "Bug" Gregson turned 1. I could not believe it. He is such a sweet little boy! He loves his big brother, his dogs, and soft blankets. Oh yeah...and food! He has been so funny about food. In day care they are required to follow state guidelines for feeding and activities, so they were not allowed to feed him solid food (other then baby food) ubtil the day he turned 1. He would get so jealous of the other kids in his class and was constantly trying to steal their food. What a goof ball.

Dave and I are headed off on a cruise. I am so excited to go with him. He has been on several cruises for work over the years and I have not been able to go. This year will be my first. I am sad that Sandy won't be there, I was really looking forward to spending some time with her. Her husband Daren is one of the founders of Dave's company. I am glad it keeps us tied to Washington.

Unfortunately I do not have much vacation time with my new job. 5.2 hours per pay period. I used to get 2 weeks a month. So with sick kids this winter, I used up most of what I had. We were really hoping to make it to Washington for Lauren and Kylee's graduation, but as I am taking the cruise unpaid, we can't afford any other unpaid time off. Thank goodness my sister in law just started as a flight attendant and this fall with qualify for buddy passes. I am going to have to start visiting more often.

I have started Zumba and absolutely love it. I am on a quest to lose the 20 lbs that pregnancy and unavoidable stress has left me with. I love that I can dance for an hour and sweat my guts out. I just wish they had it every night so I could go more. Dave is playing basketball MWF at the Stake Center. He seems to really like it and has made some friends that way. I am hoping that I will get to know some of the ladies in the ward soon. We are definitely not in Lacey 3rd anymore! I miss the closeness of the ward.

Sorry it has been so long, but hopefully now that we are stable I will be able to blog more! I missed it.