Cabin

So as I was driving home from Coeur d'Alene I got a call from Jackson. We were nearing Dillon, Montana and still had about two hours to go. The kids were doing okay. They had both just fallen asleep so I was pretty happy about that. Jackson told me that no one would be home when I got there because they were all at the cabin. They said I should come up too which meant another hour added onto my drive. The other option was to go home and unpack and then repack and come up the next day - or not go at all and spend the whole weekend with Kanyon and Miranda alone at my mom's house. Seemed like the best option was to go up with everyone that night. I had some clean clothes in my suitcase because Len had done laundry for me (thanks, babe!) so we drove to Idaho Falls, got gas for the car, and headed to Palisades.

I am so glad that I went. It was a long day and Miranda didn't go to sleep that night until 12:30am so we were really tired. but it was so fun to visit with my family and spend some time with them before we move. We got there Saturday night and stayed until Monday. My dad was there earlier in the day but he had gone home for Sunday meetings and then he came back Sunday night. Jake and Jana stayed the whole weekend as did Paul, Scott and Traci, Jackson, Kalli, and Tarek. Dan was there every night but he went home on Sunday for church too and then came back. We rode motorcycles, played outside, and played games. I even taught my brothers and their wives how to play Rummy. It seemed funny to me because Scott said, "How do you remember these rules?" Paul and I both laughed. Funny because I cannot even begin to count the number of times I played rummy with my grandma and cousins growing up. Let's just say it was TONS of times. The rules are engraved in my head - seriously. Jake and Scott must have been too little to play when we all went to the cabin nearly every weekend because they didn't remember it at all. It was fun to play with them.

Sunday was pretty rainy off and on. We tried to go to the beach once but the rain was coming in so fast that we turned around and went back. Monday the weather was much better and we spent a couple hours on the beach. I let Kaydra ride a motorcycle for the first time. Jake has a little 50 dirt bike that doesn't need a clutch. We didn't teach her how to shift so she stayed in first gear the whole time. She did really well. It made me nervous to watch her but I was eight when I started riding so I thought, why not? She only rode on the beach and seemed to have a good time. She said she liked it better than the four-wheeler. Kalli tried it too but she liked the four-wheeler better. We hit a bunch of golf balls while we were down there and then walked around collecting them all.

Tarek taking a shot at golfingKanyon swingin' away

I think we came home with more than we hit! We drove down the old highway and let the kids wade in the lake. They had a good time and then later that afternoon, Dan took them back and let them get really wet. Kanyon fell in the mud and I had to throw his t-shirt away because there was no way that I was going to get all the mud out! Dan washed him off and brought him back in only his underware wrapped in a towel. I guess he got quite the cold bath before Dan would let him get in the car again! While they were playing on the beach I had the two baby girls at the cabin by myself. I took the opportunity to take some cute shots of them together. Editor's note: I love this next picture but I didn't edit it before I posted it on the blog so it is turned the wrong way. I am too lazy to go back and do it so you will have to just turn your head to the side!They are both so dang cute! Miranda was the bully this weekend and managed to hit Riley with a pot (one you cook with) and a remote control. I am pretty sure she was going for reaction and found it interesting that Riley would cry when she hit her. I am sorry Riley, I will try to teach her better manners as she grows up. On the way home we stopped for square ice cream in Swan Valley as is tradition after cabin visits. I got huckleberries n' cream and it was delish!

I am so glad I went. I don't know when I will be able to go back to the cabin and it was so fun to spend time with my family. I love it there. It's like a home away from home because we were there so much as I was growing up. It makes me sad that my kids will not have that experience because we will be in Coeur d'Alene but I am sure that they will have experiences that they wouldn't be able to have in Idaho Falls. All the same, I will miss the cabin.

These are a few pictures of the lake and the cabin, I love the clouds This one is looking at the cabin from the old highway. You can make out the cabin if you know what you are looking for. It has a green roof and is down just to the right from the peak in the center of the picture.

Where does the time go?

Wow, May seemed to just disappear! I have three cousins getting married this month so we have had many events to attend. It has been a lot of fun. For those of you that are bored with my blogs, I am sorry but I have a lot to write about this time. I think I will break it up into several posts so that it will seem like several different events instead of one event where we did something every minute of every day. Although the second is probably closer to the truth. We have been busy. The last time I wrote was about my cousin John's wedding. The next weekend was my cousin Matt's wedding. It was beautiful as well. I love being in the temple with so many people that I love. I found out at the wedding that the bride grew up in a ward that we attended for just over a year. I discovered this because as I looked around the sealing room I realized that I knew a lot of people that I wasn't related to. It was fun to catch up with some of the ward members from our previous ward.
The next week I worked on the house and got packed for my trip to Coeur d'Alene. We had a slight change of plans and decided that I would do my orientation to the new hospital earlier then we had originally planned. This helped with babysitting and I got to see my husband for a little while after our three week separation since his last visit. We decided to leave Kaydra with my parents so that she wouldn't have to miss school (although I'm sure that it wouldn't have mattered because she said they watched "learning" videos about animals everyday that week - must be the end of the school year!).
So on Sunday, May 17 Kanyon, Miranda, and I headed off on the road. Miranda has learned that if she lets out an ear piercing scream, she will get attention rather quickly. She practiced this the entire way to Coeur d'Alene. Anytime she wanted something, she would scream. My ears were ringing by the time we arrived! They both traveled fairly well but we were sure glad to finally see the farm. Len was there to meet us and we settled in quickly. Neil and Kay had been in Boise for the weekend and they arrived that night to a full house! I started work the next morning at 8:00 and I was scheduled for class everyday from 8 - 4:30pm. It was the longest and most extensive orientation I have ever done at work. But I really know what is expected of me. This orientation was just the hospital orientation. I haven't even started any orientation on my floor! CRAZY! I lucked out because the computer charting is exactly the same as the charting that I did in Twin Falls so at least I know how to use it. I was the only RN going through orientation that week so the classes for computer charting took about half the time that they allotted - so I was finished early on some days! I didn't see Len much because he worked everyday from 3-11pm so our schedules overlapped just a little but were pretty much opposite of each other. Neil was generous enough to watch the kids for the overlap which helped immensely! Thank you again!
We did manage to enjoy a bit of beautiful weather and Kanyon even got his feet wet in Lake Coeur d'Alene. He can hardly wait to go swimming for real. We'll see how he feels about it the first time he gets in and realizes how cold it still is! He also managed to find time to fall out of a tree and get caught by his foot. He got pretty scraped up but Grandpa was there to snatch him out. He was told that he shouldn't climb trees in Crocs anymore. I think he will take a break from tree climbing for awhile. Here are a few pictures from the week:

Miranda on the farm Miranda with her screaming face!

My pretty girl

Kanyon with the ant frenzy

Swinging at the park

A good week

We have been so busy this past week. I am not sure what we have done but it doesn't seem like I have had much time to myself. Courtney and I were able to drive to Utah this weekend to see my cousin John get married. It was a beautiful ceremony. We somehow talked Dan into watching the four older kids so that we could just take the girls with us. It was so nice of him to be so willing to watch them all day long. We left at 6:30 on Saturday morning and made it to the wedding that started at 11:00. We did a little shopping and then went to the luncheon at 2:30. The luncheon was catered by my cousin Rachel (she is actually married to my cousin Brett so I guess she is really my cousin-in-law?) Anyway, it was amazing! She did a great job. The food was delicious. She had help but I know that she did the organizing and planning. Way to go Rachel - The Parry family is so glad to have you! Courtney and I then did a little more shopping with my cousin Stephanie and then we went to the reception. There are lots of pictures of the wedding HERE on Stephanie's blog. Notice the beautiful cake? Rachel made that too! She is seriously amazing. They had a really cool photo booth at the reception. They took pictures of all the guests and then we put them in a book and signed by our name. It was their guest book and it was so cool. We were also given a copy of the photos for our keepsake. Fun!
After the reception, we headed home. We stopped at the Layton Hills mall to buy a few more things for Mother's day and we made it home just after midnight. It was a long day, but fun. And it was so much easier to just have Miranda and Dreyken. They both traveled pretty good.
I arrived home to find a bouquet of flowers for me sent from Leonard. At least I am pretty sure they were from Leonard. It was hard to tell because here is what the card said:

To: Brook Sitcsinnons

Happy Mother's Day From Glan and the kids

Seriously, how bad can it be?! Jackson found it quite entertaining. I told Len that I must have a secret admirer named Glan because he sent me a beautiful bouquet of flowers. He was not amused! It was a good day. Thanks again to Dan for watching the kids - we got home so late that they even ended up staying the night at Courtney's house. They seemed to have a good time.

Update

So it's been a little while and I thought I better update on all that's been happening around here. Len was able to come and visit us last weekend (April 24). We didn't tell the kids, he came around midnight Friday night and then was just there on Saturday morning. I told the kids that we would have a fun day the night before and that I would have a surprise for them in the morning. They were up early, ate breakfast and patiently waited for me to wake up. When I came upstairs they said, "Where's our surprise?!" I told them that it was in my bedroom. They raced downstairs and screamed with delight to find their dad waiting for them. We had a good weekend filled with fun and work. We worked on the house and got it looking its best. We also went to Tautphaus park for the Earth Day Celebration. We even managed to watch Jason (my cousin) in a skateboard competition. (I don't think he knew we were there.) There's a new skate park in Idaho Falls and apparently it's a pretty good one. Kanyon liked to watch people through the "bowl" part of the park. It was pretty cool. That night we went to a drive-in movie which the kids thought was great. We all sat together in the front seat of Len's truck. My parents watched Miranda so it worked pretty good. It was nice to be together. On Monday we worked some more on the house and when Kaydra got home from school we went bowling. It was so fun just being together. It was a little strange because I have really missed Leonard but it didn't take long for him to slide seamlessly back into our family like nothing had happened. We loved having him here. It made it that much harder to have him leave again early Tuesday morning. Even I had to fight back tears. I will be glad when we are all together again. There are some good things about living with my parents again and I don't want to forget them.

• There is almost always someone to talk to
• There is almost always someone willing to help me out
• There are real people (not just my kids) to try out my new recipes on
• My mom
• My dad
• Jackson

I have loved watching my kids interact with Jackson. I wish my kids could develop a close relationship with all my brothers and sisters. I know that it's not really possible since we all live in different houses and we all have separate families now but my brothers and sisters are so awesome and I want my kids to know that! It is so fun to see things like this....

Mandy is trying to see what Jackson is doing on his phone. It was so cute. It wasn't just a moment either. I catch her with him pretty often. Even tonight during family night she climbed up into the chair he was sitting on. I love it!

I also got to go to Women's Conference last weekend (April 30-May1) in Provo. It was really good! I think the thing I learned the most was that there are so many women out there that are trying just like me - to raise children and progress toward improving our lives and our families lives. To give you an idea - this is the Marriott Center - and people (women)were still coming in the doors.

It was amazing. I would love to go again. Thanks to my mom and dad for watching my kids for me --- it was more than I could have hoped for. I loved the conference. That's about it for us. We are still waiting for our house to sell. We are getting quite a few walk-throughs so we feel good about that. Hopefully someone will give us an offer soon!

Miranda - smile!

So we have this new game at our house lately. We like to ask Miranda to smile and occasionally she will give us a cheesy grin that shows all her teeth. My mom caught the sequence in action today so I thought I would share.

Miranda -- SMILE!

First you see this....

Then this...

And then the grand finale! I love baby teeth!

And yes, she scruches up her nose and eyes the same EVERY TIME!!! I LOVE IT!

Perfectly Beautiful!

This picture is bad but that's only because there was SO MUCH SUN!!!

We went to Lagoon this past weekend. We left Saturday morning and came home Saturday night. A quick trip but so fun! It started off not so good because Tarek got sick in the car on the way down. We wondered if we should continue but we couldn't face breaking the other kids hearts. Tarek seemed fine and unfazed by the illness so we kept going. We arrived around 11:30 and hit the rides right away. The lines were pretty much non-existent until around 3:00 or so and then we had to wait a little bit. We had to wait about 10 minutes to go on The Spider and about 15 minutes to go on Wicked. For those of you that don't know - that is not bad at all! Kaydra, Kalli, and Kanyon could go on a lot of the big rides so we split up after lunch and let them ride some scary rides. Tarek and Courtney ran into Spence and Ange (Spencer is my cousin and Angela is his wife!) and their family in the kiddie section so Tarek and Lincoln had a good time riding together for a little while. It was good to see them - I wish we would have coordinated it better. I feel bad that we didn't make more of an effort to contact them - I sent an email but they didn't get it - Sorry! It was still fun to run into you there! We managed to get Miranda on a couple of rides and she seemed to like it. She looked terrified but when you caught her eye she would scream with excitement. She love the car ride with Kaydra. She loved the steering wheel. I got a picture of that - isn't she cute! The weather was absolutely perfect. It was about 60 degrees and we wore shorts and t-shirts. We didn't even take jackets into the park. SO PRETTY! I love Lagoon in April.

In other news I spent three hours in the Emergency room with Miranda last night. It was awful. She was having trouble breathing and it got worse as the night went on. She was really working to breathe and I couldn't help her settle down to go to sleep. She was so restless and really concentrating on her breathing. She was pretty wheezy too. Sometimes it's tough to be a nurse and a mom. I always think of the worst case scenario. Anyway, she has a slight ear infection that they recommended we wait and see for a couple of days before we start antibiotics but they gave me a prescription for one just in case (very nice) and she also has Bronchitis - probably viral. She was given a breathing treatment and a prescription to do treatments as needed at home and also an oral steroid to help her breathe. Today she is 100% better. She is still obviously sick but she can concentrate on other things besides breathing. She hates the breathing treatments and it is tough to get her to sit still for one but they seem to help her a lot. Her fever is much better today as well. Hopefully, she is on the mend!

One more piece of information is that I was released from my calling in the primary yesterday. I am sad and grateful at the same time. I love all those kids. They are so fun to teach and to learn from but I feel that I am not helping much anymore because my thoughts are more driven around our move to Coeur d'Alene. I am sure there is a calling for me there too!

Our Lucky Day

A couple days ago we went to an auction/dinner fundraiser for Jackson's baseball team. It was catered by Texas Roadhouse and it was yummy! They had a silent and live auction as well as raffle ticket prizes. Kaydra really wanted a basket filled with candy, popcorn, and two movies - "Bedtime Stories" and "Surf's Up" - that was part of the silent auction. I bid on it but then someone outbid me by one dollar. She really wanted it so I put her name down with another bid. She guarded that thing all night, hoping that no one else would write down a higher bid. Finally the table closed and we "won" the basket. The kids were so excited. They were jumping up and down saying "we won!" Kanyon got me laughing when he said, "We have never won anything before - this must be our lucky day!"

For the record, I also tried to win 4 seats to the Seattle Mariners vs Cleveland Indians baseball game in July. They were right on the first base line. I bid $80 and they went at the very last minute for $85. I guess I should have been guarding them too! Oh well.

Easter Ducks!

Happy Easter Everyone! We had a pretty good day today. The kids had a good morning searching for their Easter baskets. The Easter bunny hid them very well this morning and we had to help them find them. They all got new summer outfits and way too much candy. Last night I gave them all new things to wear to church. The girls both got dresses and Kanyon got a new tie to wear. They looked very cute all together. I even got Miranda to smile! Love the happy kids!

I also have some pictures of last Sunday when my parents took the kids to the river to feed the ducks. I grew up doing this and it is fun to see the kids continue the traditions. Kanyon, of course, looks perfectly at home laying next to the river. He's probably wishing he could go swim with the fish!

Oh yes I did!

So I have been wanting to cut Miranda's hair for quite awhile. Leonard has been against it because he is afraid it will not look good and that she will look like a boy. Well he left so I made an appointment with a friend that cuts hair. I think Len was more worried that I would try to cut it myself then the actual hair cut. I am not that brave. Anyway, she did quite well. She wiggled but didn't cry or get upset. I think it's pretty cute and I think it will grow out so much better and prettier.

Here are some before shots: Look at that whispy messAll Done!Newly styled-my pretty girl!

This is not a good plan

Today while I was coming home from the grocery store after fighting with both Kanyon and Miranda during the trip (Miranda only wanted to be held - not in the shopping cart and she can scream really loud and Kanyon would whine every time I told him "no" to something that he wanted - which was a lot of things!) I decided I should try to have a talk with Kanyon.

Here's how the conversation went:

Me: Buddy, I really need you to help me out. With daddy gone I really need you to listen to me and not argue with me all the time.
Kanyon: It's Kaydra's job to help you.
Me: Yes, but I need your help too. Daddy's not here and so I need you to be big and help me like I know five-year-old's can.
Kanyon: You guys should have thought about it better. I don't like this plan - it's not a good plan.

He's right. It's not a good plan -- but it's an okay plan and the best that we could come up with. Things are actually going okay. The days are long but we all make it through in the end. We have done some fun things lately and I think that it will be better when things settle down a bit. I forgot to take pictures of dyeing Easter eggs - of course. And the next night we planted flower seeds and vegetable starts for my mom and sister and brothers' garden this spring. I forgot to take pictures of that, too. Then last night we (the girls and Jake - minus Miranda) went to a hair fashion show at the Civic Auditorium that Jana was modeling in. It was really fun. They played lots of music and had lots of really funky hair and make-up. Jana looked great - she looked like she could have been a runway model. Kaydra thought it was a lot of fun. I didn't take any pictures of that either. I know that I am slacking. We're just keeping it together!

Today I let the kids take Miranda for a walk around the block to our house to get the mail. They were gone a little while and then I could hear Kaydra and Miranda crying. I met them at the door. Kaydra was carrying Miranda and they were both crying. Miranda had a big bump on her head. Kaydra said that the stroller tipped over and Miranda hit her head on the street. Kaydra was fine but she was so worried about Miranda that she was crying too. Miranda is going to be okay but she will have a pretty good bruise to show for it in the morning. I did take a picture of this but the picture doesn't do it justice. Her bump was about the size of a golf ball and raised about 3/4 inch.
Poor girl. She seemed to be alright though. We'll watch her close. The kids felt really bad. Kanyon said, "I wish that wouldn't have happened." Another end to another day.

Sorry Lenny....

This post is going to make Leonard sad. Babe, I want you to know that we love you and that we miss you and we know that you miss us too. I just want to remember this day for later so I am sorry that it might make you sad. I love you!

Today was our first day with Len gone. He has been gone before, of course, but for some reason it is a bigger deal this time. The day started bad as the kids came to the bottom of the stairs yelling, "The toilet is exploding!" Yes, the toilet was overflowing (just liquid, thankfully) and, of course, they are too young to know how to turn off the water, so I was greeted by a large pool of water all over the bathroom floor. It took several towels to mop it up -- my Dad did most of it. Thanks Dad. After we got the mess cleaned up the rest of the day went pretty smoothly. The night started off with Miranda acting like she was ready for bed at about 6:30 pm. This was too early so I decided to stall her by giving her a bath. She loved it and was a happy little girl playing in the water -- and then she went #2 in the tub. YUCK! Dad wasn't home this time (just kidding, I would have cleaned it up even if he was!) so I cleaned and then disinfected the tub. I am pretty sure that Miranda still needs a bath!

When I was tucking the kids into bed they both came up to me after brushing their teeth and said they were sad that Dad was not here. Kanyon said, "We have never done this program before and we miss him!" I tried to comfort them for awhile and then Kanyon said, "It's just like we are not a family anymore." Breaks my heart! I explained to him that of course we are a family and that Len and I were married in the temple so we will be a family forever even if we can't always be together. Kanyon said, "Well, not me, I didn't go to the temple." I tried to explain it to him but apparently we need a family home evening about this. It was pretty sad. In the end, I promised them that we could talk to Len on the phone tomorrow and he seemed satisfied with that. We miss you Dad!

Tomorrow we plan a relaxing day of watching General Conference and dyeing Easter eggs so it will be a fun day. I'll try to remember to take pictures and post them. Have a great weekend.

Baby Steps

We are back in Idaho Falls living with my parents and finishing up school. Leonard is leaving for Coeur d'Alene later today so he can start his new job on Monday. We aren't sure when we will see him again - worst case scenario is two months, but hopefully we will be able to get together for short visits in between. Miranda decided to take a few steps for us today so that Leonard could see it before he left. She's so considerate that way! :) We have known for awhile that she could do it if she wanted to. Last night she took about seven steps which is the most I have ever seen her take. Today we had the video camera ready. We soon realized that she needs a little music to dance to and then she feels confident enough to take a few steps. It's pretty entertaining to watch. I love baby steps!

No pictures - just stuff

So our house is packed up! I HATE packing. I think it's because just when you think you are almost done you find another closet that needs unpacked. We managed to completely fill U-haul's largest truck and we still have several things in the house. Big things - a bed, a sofa, two dressers, Miranda's crib, and the dinning room table and chairs. How did we get so much stuff? The other hard thing about packing this time is that there isn't a new house to put it all in. We have to sell our house and then build the new one before we will have a place to put all this stuff. Jodi says that maybe I will become detached from all my boxed belongings by then and I will be able to throw some stuff away. I hope so, because we have way too much. On the bright side, if everything turns out like we hope, I will never be moving again! That is too good to be true!
This past week has been very busy. We packed all weekend and we planned to leave for Coeur d'Alene on Thursday because I had to work Wednesday night. A good friend, Kyle, offered to drive the truck for us so that I could sleep while Len drove but he wanted to leave Wednesday. So we planned to have the truck packed Wednesday afternoon so he could head out. I managed to switch my shift to Tuesday night instead of Wednesday so that we could leave Wednesday afternoon as well. This worked out better but meant that we had to be ready to go earlier. This really meant that Len did all of the loading. Dan came and helped with the big stuff in the morning which was very appreciated and Kyle and Mark Livingston helped load in the freezer just before we left. I have a good husband. Anyway, we finally got out of town about five o'clock Wednesday evening. The roads were okay until Dillon but then were icy and yucky until Butte, Montana. We were driving Len's pick-up and towing the Jeep behind us while Kyle drove the Uhaul. The uhaul seemed to do okay but the Jeep kept fishtailing behind us and threatening to pull us off the road. My the time we got to Missoula I was a mess. I wasn't even driving. Len was fine in the drivers seat but I felt like I might throw up. Something about having three kids that changes your perspective of snow covered, icy roads.
Anyway, we decided to stay the night in Missoula. We didn't get there until 11:00 at night and the road report sounded like the passes would be very icy. We slept in a motel and then left the next morning at 8:30. The roads were nearly perfect the rest of the way to Coeur d'Alene. There were remnants of the previous nights' storm and I am so glad that we stopped. Plus it was a beautiful day with blue skies and not a single cloud, so we had time to actually enjoy the scenery around us instead of the pitch black darkness we would have had the night before. Either way we finally made it safe and sound.
Len and his dad unloaded the entire truck yesterday and then Len left to go fishing with Kelly and the Livingstons. Its just me and the kids here at the farm because Neil and Kay went to Seattle for their 40th wedding anniversary. Len and Kelly will be back tonight. We are staying until Tuesday I think and then we will head back to Idaho Falls to start living with my parents until the end of the school year. Then we will come back to Coeur d'Alene to live with Neil and Kay until we can build our house. First thing that has to happen is selling our house in Idaho Falls. You can look at it HERE and if you know of anyone that wants a really great house with a really great yard - send them our way!
We are excited for these changes in our lives. Thanks to everyone for all your support!

Mr. Countered

Lately Kanyon has been fond of making inanimate objects become real. His toys, his food, whatever. I was laying in bed this morning when I heard Kanyon making himself breakfast. This is what I heard:

"Look at what you made me do! Ugh! Now I am going to have to clean up your mess. You made me do it. Now I have to take care of it!"

Later, when he came into my bedroom we had this little conversation:

Me: Did you make a mess with breakfast?
Kanyon: No
Me: Did you spill?
Kanyon: Some cereal spilled but I cleaned it up. It's good now.
Me: Who were you talking to?
Kanyon: The Countered (counter)
Me: Why?
Kanyon: I was on the countered and then when I was getting off, he made me spill my cereal. I didn't do it, he made me.

Oh. Really. :)

Birthday Party and Near Disaster!

Like I mentioned before, this past weekend Len worked six days in a row. He worked through Tuesday and then I was scheduled to work Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday night. So much for time together! We also had the little problem that Kanyon's birthday was on Monday and he wanted to have a party. He wanted to go to a place called "Blast Off" for his party and I know that those places are CRAZY on Saturday. So we decided to have the party on Wednesday, March 4. That way Len could come and then I would go to work that night. I was only supposed to work for four hours so it would work out. We had the party at 4:00. We picked up his friends from school and then Kalli and Terek met us there. It was just a small party but just right for Kanyon. They played on the slides, in the ball pit, and we got some tokens to play the games. We also had pizza and we brought a cake. Michelle let me borrow a cake pain and I made Kanyon a Scooby Doo cake. I think it turned out pretty well considering that I have no cake decorating experience at all. Kanyon really liked it and that is what mattered the most. He has been telling everyone that his mom let him have three parties. One at Grandma Fuller's when we celebrated my, Jake's, and Kanyon's birthday; one at home when we let him open his presents on his real birthday; and one at Blast Off. He thinks his mom is the best mom! We had a good time and I can't believe that he is five years old. Time sure does fly.

I did end up working that night but I ended up working all night instead of just four hours. I wasn't planning on this so I didn't get any sleep the day before. It was a long tired night but I was glad for a few extra hours. I ended up getting put on call last night so I really was glad for the extra hours. Yesterday, while I was sleeping, Len was working on the house. He fixed the broken window in our garage and replaced the hot water heater (it was SO old and full of sediment) and he painted some trim on a window downstairs. While painting he set the lid down on my new elliptical. He notice that Miranda was being very quiet just as he was finishing painting and he turned around to find this :

She found the paint irresistible. She managed to get it all over my elliptical but somehow, did not get any on the carpet! I am so glad because we would have probably had to replace the carpet before we sold the house if that had happened. Disaster averted. I woke up to Len yelling, "Brooke, I need help RIGHT NOW!" He did have the presence of mind to tell me to take a picture of her. Here is another one of the guilty party! It reminded me of that picture that has been circulating the internet of the two kids that got into paint and painted everything, including the couch and the new plasma television. I am so glad that it wasn't worse than this!

The New Job - take 2

It's true. The rumors are flying and they are all true. Leonard got another new job ..... in Coeur d'Alene! We are moving. We are excited .... and sad. It's really hard to be both. It is causing us a lot of stress!

Ever since we moved here we planned to move back to Coeur d'Alene. In fact, we told all our friends there that we would only be gone five years. It's been nearly nine. I have loved being by my family to start my family. I have been so grateful for my mom and dad and all they have done to support us the entire time that we have been here. We have been so blessed. I love being near all my extended family and being able to attend things like monthly Sunday dinners and birthday lunches for Grandma. I will miss those things so much!

The new job went like this. A few years ago we analyzed where we were and what we wanted to be doing. Len realized that he wanted to be a nurse. He was accepted in Twin Falls at the College of Southern Idaho to their nursing program. After he finished, we thought about moving to Coeur d'Alene right then but we knew that he had a job waiting for him in Idaho Falls and we thought that he would be more marketable in Coeur d'Alene with a little experience under his belt, so we moved back to Idaho Falls. For the past year we have been watching the Kootenai Medical Center (the Coeur d'Alene hospital) web site for a listing for a Psych nurse job. After waiting and looking off and on they finally posted one on December 24. We talked about it and Leonard applied on January 1 of this year. Then we waited, and waited, and waited.
It seemed like forever but about a month later he was contacted by the manager of the unit and they were able to ask questions back and forth. Len decided he still wanted the job so they set up a telephone interview. That interview happened on February 17 and it went pretty well. They were interested in meeting him so they set up an in person interview for the following week. We arranged for Traci to watch our kids for the weekend (Thank you Traci!) and we took a very short trip to Coeur d'Alene. We stayed the first night in Missoula, Montana. Up to this point we had not even told Len's parents that we were coming. The next morning we nervously drove to Coeur d'Alene and we each had interviews. I decided that since we were going and we didn't have kids that I might as well make good use of the time to find my own job.
Both interviews went well and later that afternoon we were told that they would be checking both our references. We stopped by his parents house and told them the news. They were excited! So we waited some more! That was last week. We waited all week and were still working on contacting all our references on Friday so we had to wait the whole weekend too. On Monday we got a call about 5:30 p.m. that we were both going to be offered positions! Then yesterday they gave us their offers and today we told them YES!
After all the waiting, things are now moving very fast! We put the house up for sale by owner. We are going to try it for about a week and then list with a realtor - just in case anyone in the neighborhood knows someone looking for a house here. They want Len to start on April 6th! That is only one month. Today he is talking to his boss to give his two weeks and then we will most likely move all our stuff out during spring break at the end of March. It is still up in the air if the kids and I will stay here until the end of the school year or move with Len right now. There is SO much to do! I don't even know where to start really. The thing that is the coolest part about all of this is that we were so blessed because what we hoped would happen, did indeed happen. Len got a few years of experience and Coeur d'Alene was really excited to have him and gave us a great offer. We are so blessed and we both really feel that this is the best decision for our family right now. We are sad to leave so many friends and family behind, but excited for the friends and family we will get to see more. We hope that some of you will come and visit us in Coeur d'Alene. Let us get our house done first, but then come on up! What a CRAZY week!

Just try to tell me she's not beautiful!

Last week I took Miranda for her first professional photo shoot. I know, I am a terrible mother. She has never been to the photographer. I think that because digital pictures are so easy I have just taken my own. She has more pictures than any of my other kids as a baby - just not professional ones. I decided that it was time. She takes a while to warm up to strangers but they managed to get a few great shots. She is so pretty! The last one is my favorite - what do you think?

On another note, tonight we were in the kitchen while I was cleaning up and Kaydra said "Look at Miranda." She was standing by herself in the middle of the room. I snatched the video camera and caught the moment in action. She is so close to walking - my baby is growing up! :(

She is so funny!

Kanyon Turns 5

Kanyon's birthday was yesterday and he is now a big five year old. On Sunday we had cake and ice cream to celebrate his, mine, and Jake's birthday. He got to open one present from my parents that was a transformer and he has hardly put it down. Then yesterday we went to my Grandma Parry's to celebrate her birthday (Kanyon and her share a birthday) and the family was nice enough to sing to Kanyon too. Then that night when Len got home we opened presents. Everyone was so nice and he got lots of really great things. He loved the lantern from Grandma and Grandpa FitzSimmons. He was also excited about the books from the Stephans and the walkie-talkies from the Throcks. Thank you. His "big" present was a scooter. He has been asking for one for a long time and he was so excited. Mom was excited too because she found it on sale! Tomorrow he has invited the two boys from his preschool to a small birthday party. It is his first "friend" party and he is excited for that. We love him and we are so blessed to have him in our home. I can't believe that he is five. Now he is just a little sad because he knows that five year olds have to get shots! We'll see how it goes!

Boise Trip

So this past weekend Len has been scheduled to work Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Because he leaves for work at 6:45 a.m. and gets home at 8:00 p.m. we don't get to see him much. This is hard on everyone. So instead of being sad that we don't get to see him much we decided to take a "distraction" trip to Boise to visit the Stephans. It was really fun! We left at lunch time on Friday (I took Kaydra out of school early - she missed a jump-rope assembly) and got there about 6:00. The drive there went okay. The kids had movies to watch and Miranda fell asleep about an hour and a half into the five hour drive. I decided to take the highway through Arco to get there because I am tired of driving the freeway to Twin Falls. I have driven that road so many times the past few years that I needed a change of scenery. It was a mistake because the views aren't really that great (so much of nothing!) AND I managed to get a speeding ticket just as we were nearing Arco. I was going a bit too fast. In my defense there was a truck right on my bumper and I didn't want him to pass me because I hate driving right behind a big truck. It was definitely well planned by the state police because they had two cops right there and they pulled me over and the truck behind me. Then another cop came a couple minutes later and pulled another person over and while we were all pulled over to the side of the road, another car drove by going too fast and they waved him down and then pulled him over too! Kaydra said "Why are so many people getting pulled over?" She also said, "This is my first time in my life that I got pulled over by a police man!" This is true because I haven't had a ticket since I was in college 10 years ago!
We continued on our way and made it to Boise in time for a yummy dinner provided by Michelle. That night went pretty good. Miranda slept with me until about 3:30 a.m. and then I was able to get her to sleep in her bed. Saturday we went to the YMCA with the Stephans. They have a GREAT YMCA! I wish ours was like that. They have a large shallow pool with fountains and a lazy river and a long water slide. The kids had a good time for a couple of hours. Miranda was getting cold so I took her in the hot tub to warm her up. Michelle and Reid had all the kids and were playing in the lazy river and the water slide when Kanyon decided to throw up in the pool and on Michelle! YES, that really happened! It was terrible. He apparently said, "I think I swallowed too much water!" Obviously. He was feeling just fine - not sick, just too much water. So they had to evacuate the pool and vacuum the stuff out. We took that as our cue to leave! We were about done anyway.
That afternoon the kids played and played. They seemed to have a good time. I put Miranda down for a nap and then Michelle and I did a little shopping while Reid watched the kids. Thank you Reid, that was very nice! That night we played a game with the kids and sent them to bed early!
The next morning we drove home to be to be able to go to church at 1:00. The drive home went very smoothly. I didn't get a ticket and I came home though Twin Falls on the freeway. It actually was about 30 minutes faster to go that way. The kids were good and when we got home I said that they needed to hurry and get dressed for church so we wouldn't be late. I need to learn not to say "hurry". It's like a trigger for Kanyon to NOT hurry. Instead he started crying and saying, "Mom, you know that I can't get dressed fast and that I can't hurry." He cried for about 15 minutes in the car while I got me and Miranda ready and Kaydra got dressed. I had to go back out several times to "encourage" him to get in the house! He finally came in and continued to cry and cry about everything! He said, "Mom, you always say 'do this do that' and 'no, no, no'. There are never any yeses!" WOW! So much for the fun weekend! Anyway, we made it to church a few minutes late. My sharing time went well and we managed to make it home from church in one piece. What a day. We then went to my mom's for dinner and had birthday cake to celebrate Kanyon's, Jake's, and my birthday. It was nice not to have to cook dinner. Thanks mom. We had near meltdowns the entire time we were at my mom's but managed to make it home and put the kids in bed. Len and I went to bed and I was asleep by 9:15. I think I was the one that was near a melt down by the end of the day. It was a fun weekend but I was SO tired. I never took my camera out so there aren't any pictures, sorry! Thanks to the Stephans, you guys are so awesome! Now Len just has today and tomorrow of work and then he has a few days off. Unfortunately, I am working three of the four days that he has off. Is there never an end?