January 2012

Well, we made it to San Diego!!! We left Spokane a couple days after Christmas (December 28th). It was sooo crazy! But we received so much help from our friends, which made it alot easier! (Thank you sooo much everyone!!!!) The night before we left, a bunch of my girlfriends surprised me with one last Girl's night Out. It was so much fun and soo sweet of them!

For this move, we decided to hire ABF, which is a freight transfer company. It was so nice to not have to stress about driving the UHAUL through the passes! The truck was scheduled to be at the new house on January 2nd, so we decided to take our time getting down there. We stayed one night in Portland, then the next morning was AWFUL! It was pouring down rain for HOURS, while we drove through the rest of Portland. Rob and I took turns driving the Suburban and the Tundra. The kids were so great throughout the whole trip. We were so excited when we finally made it to Sacramento to stay with Nana & Papa!!!! We had originally planned on staying just a day or 2 to recuperate, but then we realized that our truck wasn't scheduled to be in San Diego until January 3rd now, (they called on our way down, that since Monday was a holiday, it was going to be a day late.) So, we stayed through New Year's. It was soo much fun. We love Nana & Papa and we always have so much fun with them.

Rob and I left on New Year's Day to head down to SD with Berkley and Hudson. Logan and Hailey stayed one more night with Nana & Papa, and then they were coming down the next day to help us unpack. I know, they TOTALLY spoil us!

When we got here, (after almost 9 hours of driving in a car race!) we realized that we didn't have any beds. WOops! But luckily, we had Berkley's pak n' play, and a couple aerobeds and a few towels! Yep. Towels work great when you're really desperate for some covers! :) The next day was spent.... I honestly don't even remember! HA! I think we just drove around town and ate out all day long. It was fun. ;)

So, to keep myself from boring you any further, Rob's parents got here, we went and bought some new furniture and the truck finally came at 4:59... they initially said they were going to be here between 10 and 1... awesome. Our new ward is TOTALLY awesome. I don't know exactly how many people showed up to help us that night, but enough to help us unload our almost 11,000 lb. truck in 45 minutes!!!! We are feeling extremely loved and blessed in many ways! We are so thankful for this opportunity we have to live here at this time. Now if we could just get our house in Spokane sold....

Christmas 2011

Christmas was so crazy this year, but so much fun! We were in the middle of packing and getting ready for our move to San Diego, but I was insistent on having a somewhat 'normal' Christmas... complete with a real tree, decorations and goodies galore! All the kids had their wildest dreams come true! It was so fun to see the surprised looks on their faces! I love that Christmas is so magical to them. The only sad thing, was that they had to pack up most of their new toys, a couple days later. They were good sports about it though. :)

Thanksgiving 2011

This year we had Thanksgiving with Rob's family, so we went to Seattle. Rob was in Portland and we decided it would make the most sense for him to just fly straight to Seattle instead of flying to Spokane, then driving to Seattle the next morning. Luckily, our awesome friends, the Norman's, were heading to Seattle for the holiday as well, so Robyne rode with me and the boys (Cameron & Logan) and the girls (Taylor & Hailey) took turns riding in our car and theirs. It was seriously the best road trip with the kids EVER! The proof was when we got to North Bend, Logan goes, "We're already there?!" Thank goodness for awesome friends! We are so very thankful for the Norman's!

We had a great time with Rob's family. Thanksgiving dinner was delicious, as usual, and it was fun to spend time with everyone. We are so very thankful for families and to know that we can be together forever! Happy Thanksgiving!

Halloween 2011

We had such a fun Halloween this year! Jeana gave me a Little Red Riding Hood costume that she had bought a few years ago, and it fit Berkley perfectly! To top it off, I found a Big, Bad wolf costume for Rob to wear. It was sooo hilarious! Berkley wasn't even afraid of him. The kids at the trunk r treat, however, were. LOL Some of the kids wouldn't even stop at the car for treats! LOL

Logan and Hudson were Ninjas, Hailey was a cowgirl and I was an Indian. It gave me an excuse to get a spray on tan. It was my first one ever and I LOVED it!!!

WICKED!

At the end of May, I went to see WICKED with my mom, my niece Tycie and my sister-in-law Shannon. We had a blast and it was fun to finally see what all my "Cali" friends had been raving about when they saw it like years ago! Hey! I can't help it that Spokane is so 'behind the times'! LOL

On our way in, I said, "OH! Let's take a picture!' Then everyone was like, "no, we'll get one afterwards!' Well, you know that's a recipe for it never getting done. I was soo mad. We didn't even realize we didn't get any pictures until we were almost home! So aggravating! Oh well, my brain will cherish the memories!

While we were at the show, Rob and his brother Mark took all 7 kids to see Kung Fu Panda 2. Rob didn't see much of the movie, cuz this is what he had to watch the whole time! LOL He is the best!

Hailey's 1st grade Spring Program

Also in May, Hailey had her spring program. It was sooo adorable! She was the cutest bee I've ever seen in my life! I had searched high and low for a costume, and when desperation set in, I decided to go to the Display House and just buy a new one. It was so crappy, but it was going to have to do. A couple days passed and I just had a feeling to go to Once Upon a Child and I found the CUTEST bee costume complete with a tutu, which is exactly what I had been searching for! I love 2nd hand stores, and I always get GIDDY when I find the PERFECT thing. It really is true that 'one {wo}man's trash is another {wo}man's treasure'!

May (cont)

The weekend after we got back from our trip to Orlando, my sister Jeana, and her husband Joe went to Vegas for his brother's graduation from dental school. So we had their kids stay a few nights and they all had a blast!

Gabrielle pushing Berkley in her baby stroller. LOL