Utahn

I am so thankful for Jake's sister. She gave us a camera. I am grateful I can continue to capture these precious moments in time. The boys are growing so fast.

Jake got his official acceptance letter. He starts at BYU-Idaho on January 5th. We are so excited for this next adventure our family gets to experience.

One of the gentlemen in our ward told us we were going to God's icebox. I'm sure it will be quite the experience and adjustment.

My parents were kind enough to drive to California. They brought a trailer with them. Jake and I loaded the trailer while my parents went to business meetings. We got a little help with some of the big furniture. It was a lot of work and took all day to load my parents trailer and a small U-Haul we pulled with our car. We live on the 3rd floor. The next day my calves were really sore and seemed to be complaining about the intense stair workout they had just experienced.

We drove straight to Utah. It was a long day. Left at 5:30am and got to Salt Lake City at 11:00pm.
We only had one minor adventure. My dad's trailer blew a tire outside Calico. My dad was well prepared and quickly pulled out his heavy duty jack and automatic drill which he plugged into the camper. Within 15 minutes we were back on the road. It was scary to see the initial smoke and weaving. We were being protected and are thankful it wasn't a major catastrophe.

We have been spending as much time with the families as we can.

Jake drove back to CA last week Monday afternoon. It was an uneventful and quick trip. I'm sure a lot more peaceful too. It is hard to be separated. I am grateful for Jake and his willingness to support us.

Tuesday was a fun day. All of my sisters got to meet in one location and spend a few hours together. We haven't been together since 2007. There are 6 girls. The 2 brothers weren't invited to our girl party.

The newest addition - Sadie Jane

Ella showing off a grasshopper.........................My mom and dad

My sister and her husband were visiting from Austria. I am so grateful I was able to see them before they left.

Niece Sabine with mom

Sister-in-law due with a girl (Anna)

Afterward we enjoyed a picnic lunchI took the boys back in to play in the kids wading pool.
It a bronze Noah's Ark. Noah and his wife and a few of the animals squirt water. The boys loved it!
My dad took Kaleb outside to experience a new phenomenon...hail

Welcome rain, and weather, I have sure missed you!
Of course, Kaleb then had to find a mud puddle to play in. Yes, that is my feral child sitting in the street in a diaper.

I got to go visit my grandma and one of my aunts.
We went out for lunch at the yummiest cafe. I think I could eat a couple dozen of their chocolate chip cookies. The night of being sick, after doing so, would be so worth it.

My sweet grandma is 89 years young. She is an amazing inspiration. I hope I can age as well as she has. She can still drive herself around if she needs to. Doesn't need a walker or oxygen. Still takes care of her house and garden. And is still as sharp as a tack. I was presented with a wonderful present, my grandma's life story. A lot of work went into this amazing book. It is such a treasure. I have been carrying it around ever since. I am grateful for the legacy my grandma has left. It makes me realize why record keeping is so important. I love seeing the pictures, reading the stories, and getting to know grandma better.

We eventually made it back to the other grandparents house.
The boys and I have been sick. This has ruined the fun a bit. I've been washing a lot of carpets, bedding, and people. A few times we all went in the shower with our clothes on.
Kaleb did get out to help grandma wash the car and the dog. The boys love the dog Tucker. It has been so funny watching dog and boys learning to co-exist. He is a big black lab. So sweet and gentle, even when the boys are being a bit obnoxious.

We are so grateful for our families that are letting us stay with them. It has been nice getting to spend so much time with everyone. I look forward to the boys getting to know their grandmas, grandpas, and cousins.

Differences

I have really started to notice the difference between the boys. It has been fun to watch them grow into themselves. Watch their personalities grow and develop.
Kaleb has never wanted to play on the slides. Recently Xander decided it was fun.
Xander discovered stairs one day and has been in love ever since. Had no problem with the first set of stairs he encountered, up he went.
One day at the park he found some stairs...
Then he found the slide...

Crawling up the slide didn't work so well...
For a good hour Xander did this continuous loop of stairs then slide down head first. He always liked to climb as high as he could to the tallest slide before going down.
Then here's Kaleb at the bottom, doing what he loves best. A rock in each hand. This time throwing them up the slide to roll back down.
Kaleb is more of an engineer and thinker while Xander loves to feel and do.
Kaleb did have a stint at 18 months where he climbed the counters. Thankfully that didn't last very long.
It will be interesting to see how Xander is once he's running all over.
The boys are crying for attention and I should be packing the kitchen. Our last big 'to-do' before we load up the trailers on Thursday.
My last post from California. So long! It has been a great experience. We will really miss our friends. Thank you for all you've done for our family.