Repentance Blogging

So the last 5 months have been crazy for us and now it time for me to sit down for a minute and update the blog (that I promised myself I wouldn't get too behind on).

As many of you know we moved our little family to North Salt Lake, UT in Feb so that we could all be together. So what did we do with our home you may ask? Well, we rented it out to a family that is friends with one of Josh's former colleagues. They've done a great job with keeping it looking nice. We did have to go out in May to fix the irrigation system because it had cracked in several spots, but other than that it's been a good thing for us. We started out renting an apartment here but have recently moved into renting a home. It feels so much better and we were able to stay in our ward boundaries, which meant not having to switch wards again :)

Since April we have made 5-6 trips out to Idaho for family affairs and fixing things at the house.

We were able to go and see my sweet Grandma Craner shortly before she passed away in May. It was hard to imagine that she wasn't going to be here with us for very much longer, but oh how glad I was that we took the chance and that our last living memory of her was a wonderful one. Her funeral was held on May 11th in Rexburg Idaho and then the next day her body was laid to rest. It's amazing how one life can touch so many. With the size of family we have it was amazing to know that everyone one of her grandchildren were present to celebrate the legacy she left behind. The only thing that would have made it more perfect is if her 2nd eldest daughter would have been able to attend in person (Aunt Brenda and Uncle Stan are serving a mission right now and were not able to come, but we felt them in spirit that day).

Josh and I celebrated our 7 year anniversary on May 13th. It was my year to plan and so I had ordered us Rumbi for dinner, got a babysitter for the kids, and we took a walk down memory lane. In June we were able to get away for a night without the kids when my sister-in-law came to visit as well.

Since being here we've been able to go to Hogel Zoo twice and also took the kids to the Kangroo Zoo (a big bouncy house place for kids that is just down the road from us). We have also been able to get together with family members for dinner occasionally.

We spent our 4th of July in ID. We stayed at my parents house while there. On the 4th we spent the morning in Rexburg with Josh's sister Melissa. She invited us to breakfast and then we watched the parade with them. Josh's mom and 3 siblings came up to watch as well. In the parade we had Josh's sister Elizabeth walk for the BYU-I portion and my neice Emily was also in it seeing that she is a cheerleader for Madison. That night we ate pizza, played games and watched the fireworks over in Menan with my brother Sam and his wife Nicole. On Friday and Saturday we spent time between Aunt Kathy's house and in Rexburg for Josh's side of the family's reunion. Friday night we honored Grandpa Harmon and on Saturday it was about Grandma, which was perfect seeing that it was her birthday.

The remainder of this post tells you what we have been up to individually and then pictures at the end.

Josh is working as an accountant in Salt Lake for the Family History Department of our Church. He is also working on getting his CMA and trying to figure out how to get his Master's Degree done. He has several options to choose from and we are just trying to sort out everything so that we can make the best decision for our family and his career. I'm trying to convince him to take Jacob to the ward Mancamp in a couple of weeks. He loves having a ward calling and finally got one a month or 2 ago. He is the assistant finance clerk in our ward.

I took a job in March up at LDSH Hospital and work nights. For the most part I love my job. I have a great boss and supervisor who are willing to work with my schedule so that Josh and I don't have to have a babysitter. We meet up at the hospital each night I have to work (4 nights a week) and switch vehicles and the kids. It's definitely not the most ideal situation for our family but we are making it work. It's a lot different than working in the Madison Memorial Hospital in Rexburg but it's really nice to grow and evolve in the processes I'm learning. Now I just need to decide if and what I want to finish my degree in. I have the opportunity to serve in my ward as a district supervisor. To those who've had this calling you'll know that it really depends on the ward in how successful it goes. I'm still trying to figure out ways that I can help the sisters on my route get there visiting teaching done so if anyone has any ideas please let me know.

Ashlyn is my big 4 year-old. She loves to color and play house. She can now count to 12 without any help, can identify most of the alphabet, and recite stories from memory. She is also very creative in putting twists in stories to change them up. She loves to help mom make cookies and bread when the occasion arises. She recently memorized a small line from the Family Proclamation and has been telling people proudly that "Families are ordained of God". She loves to play at the park and with her friends (Hailee and Payson). She is very much looking forward to turning 5 next year and going to preschool. Her favorite shows right now are Cailou and Scooby-Doo. When you ask her what she wants to be when she grows up she replies confidently that she wants to be a doctor.

Kaylee had her 2nd birthday 2 months ago and sadly we don't have any pictures of it. Since moving here I have had trouble keeping tabs on my camera and having a charged battery. She was pretty excited to get a veterinary set that came with a pink puppy. Kaylee loves to follow Ashlyn in everything. She is going through the "I hate bathing" stage right now which can be challenging and has trouble going to bed.. Ashlyn was the same way at this age but not nearly as stubborn. Kaylee loves to call people on the phone, if I'd let her she'd probably have one attached to her ear. She is able to count to 3 now and loves to mimic everything you say. She loves nursery now and her favorite thing about it is the bubbles. She loves Bo on the GO and Wheels on the bus. She still loves milk and anything that is easy access for her to grab. It's a challenge to keep her out of the fridge. She is such a great big sister to her little brother and loves to help take care of him and play with him. Her favorite toys right now are her Mickey and Minnie Mouse stuffed animals.

Jacob is growing up so fast. It's hard to believe that he will be turning 1 next week. He is the Jedi master of crawling everywhere and has recently taken to walking along the furniture and climbing. He loves to hold hands and walk to. He's transitioned nicely off the formula to regular milk, even though I still give him formula here and there since we have 1 can left. He eats anything and still gets excited when you talk about food. He is completely off baby food as well now. I'd have to say his most favorite food item right now is a toss up between cereal and waffles. Most of his 12 month shirts no longer fit him because he is so broad. He and Kaylee are the same weight. He loves to clap and laughs a lot when Ashlyn is doing pretend ballet lessons. He's such a content little guy for the most part. He has his bottom 2 teeth and his top side teeth with his top middle ones trying to come in. In the coming month he will undergo a corrective procedure up at Primary Children's Medical Center. So glad it's just a same-day surgery and that I can be there with him. Just wish his dad could be there to but Josh will be taking the day off to be home with the girls. I love my snuggle bug and wish he could stay at this stage forever. He's so much fun!

Ashlyn's Birthday Pics and some videos

Ashlyn turned 4 on Feb 3rd. We spent her birthday at Josh's great-grandparent's (Peacock's) extra house as we were apartment looking. She was so excited to get her presents. She got a barbie, a doctor bag (which we've added to since) and a barbie from her great-great grandparents. She is very into pretending to be a doctor or a princess right now so I thought I'd post these. Enjoy!

It's Been Awhile

Wow, it seems like forever since I've been on to update anything and it's true. Almost 4 months have gone by. I've been kicking myself for getting so behind so hopefully over the next month I can catch up with the pictures and things.

I get asked a lot how we like it here. It's definitely been an adjustment but we are getting there. The 3 main adjustments I've experienced since moving are going back to an apartment :(, learning to drive in the crazy traffic and going back to work.

Our apartment feels bigger then the stated sq. footage but it's still an adjustment to being in more of a confided space and having to be more aware of the fact that we have neighbors to the side of us and below us. The most challenging thing is keeping the girls from fighting and screaming at each other.

Kaylee has a pair of lungs on her that make your ears just hurt. I've finally got my drive to places like the store and work down so I usually don't need the gps but if I have to go anywhere else, that think is my life presever in this crazy traffic.

I have really enjoyed going back to work. I'm currently working for IHC and they have worked with me so that I only have to use a babysitter or the daycare once a month for my staff meeting and then any additional training as our hospital is going to electronic charting within the next few months. It's been very unusual training due to my work hours and my supervisor's so a lot of it is trial and error and learning via e-mail. I've done this position before but in a lot smaller hospital. Things seem more complex but it's a great learning opportunity for me and I'm picking up things very quickly. Yesterday one of my co-workers and I were talking about my tasks and she thought it'd be almost a year before I start anaylzing charts but I found out last night that I'm doing so well that by next week I'll start this new learning and I'm excited to grow and learn.

I definitely miss being in Idaho and have learned that I'm more of a homebody than I thought I was but I'm working on moving forward and looking for ways to adapt to the changes that have come our way.

Josh is really liking his job. It's so nice to be able to have him work his schedule so that we don't have to use a babysitter. It's so good for him to have a couple hours each day of the work week to just be the one with the kids. I don't have to worry about Kaylee freaking out and Ashlyn likes to leave in the afternoon because she gets to see daddy's work as we go to my work and it means she gets to see her buddy. Josh has been so dedicated to working out since we've been here. He's usually up anywhere between 4-4:30 to workout. He's also so sweet to move his workout schedule so that we have time to talk and see each other each night. I've really got the best husband. He tries so hard to make everything work out and help me. Grateful I've got eternity with him because this lifetime just isn't long enough.

My Ashlyn is getting so big. Right now her big thing is pretending to be a princess and playing games on Nick Jr and Disney Jr. She's also really into pretending she's getting married. I'll try to download the pics and videos I've done recently. She loves it when we pull out the sheets and drape them over the table and chairs so she has a little hideout or playfort that for the most part she likes to share with Kaylee. Sunbeams is something she looks forward to every Sunday and she's learning so much. One of her most favorite lessons was on loving God's creations and her teacher gave each class member a cup with soil and seeds. She loved making sure it got water and sunshine. I'd often find her coming in and out from the balcony to tell me she was making sure it had enough sun and was warm. She was so excited when it started getting leaves. Sadly one night I came home from work and remembered that we left it outside. It had gotten colder that night so needless to say it didn't make it. I hid it out of view and need to throw it away. Thankfully she forgot about it, which actually surprises me seeing that she still talks about things that happened 2 years ago. Ashlyn turned 4 in Feb. and we celebrated her birthday in Salt Lake since I came down for an interview and to help Josh look for apartments. We invited Josh's great-grandparents over since we were staying in their extra house. Not very many kids can say that their great-great grandparents were at their birthday party. She was so excited about turning 4 and loved her presents. She got a doctors bag (loves the disney jr show Doc McStuffins), a behive piggy bank, and a barbie. She tells me that she doesn't want to go to preschool now, which is a surpise since she's been telling me she wants to for the past 2 years. Overall she is growing and thriving. Our biggest challenges with her right now are getting her to stay buckled in her seat in the car and going somewhere without her throwing a tantrum because of her shoes or pants. She is very stubborn and if she absolutely doesn't want to do something there are no motivation factor that can change her mind, but we sure love her. Wish us luck, I hear 5 is easier, we shall see.


Kaylee is our mischevious, milk loving girl. She's always got this crazy smile on her face that says "you're gonna love what I did". She still scowls a ton at people but it slowly getting better. She's now going to nursery willingly but usually falls asleep by the time we pick her up, which isn't a problem as long as Jacob's awake. If they are both asleep then we have to wait for the other to come and help. She loves mimicing her big sister and wants to do everything. Very active little girl. Can't believe she'll be 2 in month. Where did the time go, seems like just yesterday she and Ashlyn were little babies. Kaylee's most favorite thing in the world right now is the movie THE LION KING. Even if she sitting at the table eating something she knows excatly what is going on my the music and sounds and is very animated during the show. She's also very big on carrying her baby around and mothering it. She loves to pull clothes out of the dryer and going for car rides. Generaly anytime we get in the car she falls asleep. We think it's because she's not sleeping as well since the move. She use to be our best sleeper but now she generally cries out 1-2 times a night and is usually on our bedroom floor anytime between 1-3am. Common sayings from her are: "love you", "hey buddy", "excuse you" and "Ashee". I think the funniest thing we've heard her say is when I have to be the big bad momma and use the counting strategy. I start by saying "1" and then she quickly follows by saying "2". It's pretty darn cute. She's still very attached to her momma. Her best friend is her little brother Jacob. She absolutely adores him and is so willing to help get me things for him, wants to help feed him, and just love on him. I've had to move my child lock off my closet door in my room and put it on Jacob's because she got into a bad habit of going in his room during his nap time and climbing into his crib and waking him up. Wish I would have thought of this sooner. She's definitely got a screaming problem which we are working on getting in control. The worst is when Ashlyn throws a tantrum because then anytime Ashlyn yells or screams Kaylee gets scared and thinks she needs to follow suit. She also doesn't like baths as much as she use to but I think it's just a phase. She's a lot of fun and grownig so fast. Her talking skills are improving and her motive skills are just crazy. One of the fun memories have recently of her is when she took Ashlyn's doctor kit and came next to me to give me a check-up, She's been watching Ashlyn with it so she knows where everything goes. She put the stethoscope on and put it up to my chest and goes "beep...beep....beep". Love this crazy fun-loving girl.

My little Jacob isn't so little anymore. He will be 8 months old next week and last month he weighed in over 19 lbs so I'm curious what they'll say at his next appointment in April. He is trying so hard since last week (March 17-present) to become mobile. He's up on his hands and knees all the time rocking or simply raising his whole body. Not sure I'm ready for it. He just started sitting about 7 weeks ago so I thought I'd have more time. At least he's slower than the girls were. Kaylee was walking by 9 months. It's probably a mixed feeling because I still think of him as a preemie or simply the fact that he's my last baby so I want him to stay little forever. This boy has got the cutest rolls ever. I love having a chunky baby, neither of my girls had rolls so it's so fun to hold, touch, and kiss those rolls. He loves to eat! He started eating solids at the beginning of March and loves them. We have tried him a few times on a sippy cup but he is still struggling with it. If it's like his eating solids then it'll be no time before he figures it out. He still has a head full of hair that wants to be untamed but we are slowly getthing it trained. His favorite activity is his jumperoo. He usually falls asleep everytime because he just plays so hard in it. He laughs a ton and has the biggest grin anytime one of walks near him. He's definitely a people person. His grip is super strong and he's discovered my hair, so now I'm hoping my hair will grow out faster so I can put it up in a ponytail because it definitely hurts. He's generally a very happy baby and I attibute that to all the attention he gets as well as the fact that he's getting plenty of sleep. Still no teeth for this little man but his toothless smile doesn't get in his way of being so cute and getting lots of comments. Can't imagine life without him. If I could I'd just hold him all day and kiss him all over.

So grateful for my sweet little family. It's definitely challenging at times but I wouldn't change it for the world.

Well for now I'll close but I promise to have pictures and possibly videos uploaded by Sunday. Hope you all have a wonderful Easter and remember the great blessings and sacrifices our Savior has given to each of us.

Where have we been and what have we been up to?

Wow it's been a long time since I've sat down to write. I never realized how crazy and hectic life can get. So much has happened and changed since I last wrote so I apologize to those who have been waiting for updates and pictures. So lets begin where I left off.

November:

The most important event that took place during this month was Jacob's Baby Blessing.

Jacob was blessed on November 4, 2012 in the Riverside Blackfoot Idaho church house at 4 pm. We were grateful to our family and our friends (the Wilcox's) for coming and being a part of his special day. Josh was able to give him a beautiful blessing. It makes me so proud to have such a wonderful worthy husband be able to give each of our children a name and a blessing at these special times in their lives. The feelings and memories will truly live on forever in my heart.

A week later we celebrated my 26th birthday. I know what some of you might be thinking because I've heard it verbally before- "oh, your just a baby". Well I definitely don't feel like a baby and truly feel blessed for the life that I have lived so far. Josh bought me the one thing I could think of that I wanted- a new cd player. My sister-in-law gave me one shortly after we were married and earlier this year it saw it's end after I taught in Relief Society. He also bought me a cake and bless his heart with trying to be thoughtful. We still joke to this day that it was the worst cake I've ever tasted. Next year I'll just save him the agony and buy a cake mix that he can whip up. It was a great day all in all and I absoulutely loved it when Ashlyn would come up to me and repeatedly sing "Happy Birthday". It's so much fun to see her understand and remember things now and get so excited to tell you it's someones birthday.

Thanksgiving this year felt so strange this year as we did our own, but it turned out well. Normally we get together with one side of the family and eat and play games and simply visit. This year though we decided to do our own thing due to a couple of different reasons. I was pretty nervous about how it was going to turn out but we were well-fed with all the fixings and enjoyed a great game (Josh is a huge Texan fan so it was pretty intense for him to watch them win in overtime). The meal was tasty,the game was fun to watch, clean up was a breeze. I think the only thing that made me a little sad was that we didn't have anyone to play games with afterwards. We also pulled out all of the Christmas decorations and got the house decorated. The girls were in heaven and it brought in a nice festive feeling into our home.

So that was our month in a nutshell. Now moving on...

Decemeber:

Boy has it been a crazy month. The holidays always bring joy, laughter, and hustle and bustle.

Our biggest surprise this month is that josh took a new job that will move us to UT. Josh applied for a job with the Church as an accountant after his dad had mentioned that D.I was hiring an accountant. Josh wanted to know where you even found those positions and ended up finding this job with the Church's Family History department. After Josh had thought about it for an hour or so he decided to apply, not really thinking anything would come of it. The next morning he recieved a phone call asking for a phone interview for the following Monday. He agreed, did the interview and 2 days later got a call to see if he'd go to Salt Lake to do another interview. He left on a Wednesday and was told after his interview that they'd have a decision by Friday or Monday at the latest. Friday rolled around and no phone call and then the same thing on Monday. We weren't quite sure what to think at that point (at least I wasn't sure at that point what was going to happen). Tuesday morning came and Josh received a phone call with an offer. We'd had time to discuss our options and what we would do if they made us an offer that we'd be willing to take so when the time came to decide whether to take the offer we knew what we were going to do already. Since then Josh finished up working for the company he'd been working for and we got the house listed on the market. Now we are hoping it will sell soon and would be grateful to anyone that is willing to offer a prayer on our behalf.

Christmas was wonderful and full of excitement. It's so fun to see the kids excitement-mostly Ashlyn, Kaylee still doesn't understand and Jacob is too little. I think the kids really enjoyed Christmas time. Ashlyn went and saw Santa, we went to 2 different ward Christmas parties, Ashlyn helped me take around neighbor plates to our good friends, we were able to visit Temple Square with the kidsand we were able to teach her a little bit about the true meaning of Christmas and why we celebrate it. On Christmas Eve we went to my parents and actually spent the night- never again will we do this. It was a lot of fun to eat and visit with the family and be able to have my parents be able to see the girls open their presents. After presents Josh and I cleaned up our sleeping area and loaded up the car we headed to Josh's parents house for Christmas breakfast with the family. We accidently left the camera in the car so sadly we have no pictures this year, but it'll be a year I rememeber. Below are just some more pictures of the kids.

(Pictures taken in Nov.)

(Pics taken in Dec.)

What is the difference???

So is there really a difference between a waffle and a pancake? I didn't think so, especially since I use the same homemade reciepem but according to my Ashlyn there is. She requested pancakes for lunch yesterday so I thought I'd obliger her. I whipped up the batter but then decided to use the waffle maker. She let me know fast that they weren't the same and she really wanted a pancake so Josh got out the flat pan and made her one. It's funny sometimes how technical she can get.

Updated Pics of my girls

Updated pictures of Jacob

Can't get enough of this little guy and his chunkiness. He's grown so much and I love his rolls.

(this one was taken in September after one of his baths)

Trick-O-Treating 2012

So this year we weren't even sure if we'd be taking the kiddos out because Ashlyn started in with a fever shortly after getting home from the ward Halloween party. We continued to give her tylenol, fluids, and encourage solids all day. Anyone who knows her knows that if she has a fever you'd never really be able to tell unless you touch her because she acts perfectly normal (last year when she had pneumonia we didn't even know it til we took her in on day 4 of her fever because as long as she had the medicine she was acting like her normal active self). We really wanted to go out to Ririe for the holiday but felt that with how cold it's been and how long we were out 2 years ago with her it would be best to stay home and take them to a few houses in our subdivision.

After we got her to eat some of dinner we had several trick-o-treaters stop in and that got her excited to go. So I got the girls ready and back into their outfits from the night before and found their buckets and we headed out the door. There weren't a lot of people home so that made it easy but Kaylee was being very independent and wouldn't let me hold her hand so it took longer than I planned. We went to 11 diffrerent houses and 3 of those weren't home or didn't have any candy. The girls still came back with a decent amount and this year I'm definitely making them pace themselves so that they don't get sick and so it's not all gone by tomorrow. Josh and Jacob stayed home to pass out candy and watch a competition on tv dealing with carving pumpkins.

When we got home we let the girls have a little bit of candy and got them in their pj's and then sat down and watched Madagascar 3. It was a great way to end the day. Here are the girls in their outfits. This was all I could get since Ashlyn was so excited to go and Kaylee never sits or stands long enough to get good pictures lately, enjoy!