In a Nutshell...

Since I haven't been updating my blog for the past for the past 6-8 months, I thought I would update everyone on what my family has been up to, and although I tend to get impatient with uploading pictures, I will attempt it. So many of my pictures get posted on Facebook, but I know some of you aren't on FB...especially my aunts, uncles, and grandparents. So I don't want to leave you out!

We FINALLY moved into our new house (took forever to build) back in early March, and although we love having a lot more space, I am still trying to get it fully furnished and decorated. The upstairs is close to being complete, but the basement is still a Lov Sac, air hockey table, basketball hoop, and a 60" plasma with surround sound (the sad thing is that I have no couch yet to watch it, lol!). But now I am starting to focus on getting it set up how we want it. It's just a trip to Utah or Idaho every time we need to shop so it happens only every so often. Our yard is being landscaped right now, and as soon as it is done, I will post some pictures! But we do LOVE our ward and Cal and I are currently the 17 year old Sunday School teachers and we have about 10 kids in there and they're all awesome kids. We love them! I also serve on the Enrichment board and as the ward chorister (of course!). But our neighbors and our new friends have made it fun to move (again!). Cal's business is doing better than ever since we downsized, and he loves living here in the mountains where he can hop on his snowmobile or dirt bike and go out the back door. He is hunting bear and deer this weekend, but I don't think he'll talk me into mounting anything on my walls if he kills something! He can hang it in the cabin, right girls!

My parents just finished building as well, and their home is beautiful, on 35 acres only about 15 minutes from us! It's nice to have them so close, and we can't wait for them to get their horses! Dad just got his tractor, and you would think it was a Porsche or something the way Cal's eyes lit up! I know where he'll be spending his 'free' time, if such a thing exists!

The kids, Will 6 and Anna 2, are loving the nice weather and Will loves the 1st grade. He is a tall kid, and still towers over his classmates, but when people think he's just a very immature 8 year old, they always have a look of relief when we say, "oh he's just 6". He is playing soccer and loves it, and he's got the best sense of humor. He loves his friends and we're proud of him because his teacher says he's nice to everyone and when a new girl moved in, he made sure she had someone to play with at recess. Anna is definitely feisty and the 'terrible twos' are a REAL thing I have learned with her. I can't remember Will being such a stinker, but maybe I had forgotten? She makes me laugh all the time, and it's so hard to discipline her, because she knows how to turn on the sweetness right when she needs to get out of a 'time out'. It has been fun having a girl though, and honestly, I like shopping for her more than myself. Some have been asking when we're going to have our next? You'll just have to wait and see!!

Well, that's how we're doing now, and the summer has been full of traveling to see family and family coming to see us. I try to get to Jackson with friends or on dates with Cal as often as possible, just to get out! Cal has been working really hard this summer, and even did all the tile in my parents' house somehow! I've been down in Highland to see Ben & Wendy a lot since they moved up, and I wish I lived closer. Living here has it's benefits, but also it's drawbacks. We're thinking of moving to Cache Valley next, probably in about 2 or 3 years. We figured it's a good compromise, since it's 'in the middle' and not quite so hard in the winters. I honestly love the valley, but hate it as well. I could go on and on...

So, in a nutshell, I would say that my life has been about my kids and my family, and trying to do the best job I can to teach them how to be happy. At the end of the day, our children are the most important thing, and if we can instill our values and beliefs in them at a young age, their lives will be easier. I am grateful for my parents and the road they led me down throughout my life, and for my husband's family as well. And Cal and I are so blessed to be parents and will one day look back on these times when our kids are young and impressionable, and hopefully feel like we gave them the foundation they needed to live the way their Heavenly Father would have them live. The rest is just gravy...