'see ya soon'

Since we didn't know how long we would be gone, everyone suggested we say 'see ya soon'. It made it a little easier but leaving everyone and everything behind was much harder than I anticipated. The last couple days before leaving was making me realize how great life has been to me, and how much I LOVE living in Snowflake and knowing all the wonderful people I know. As it got closer to leaving we started realizing we will probably be gone closer to a year or maybe even two instead of a few months...how sad. My biggest worry was that we would find somewhere else to live and never come back. But it is very much in our sight to return to Snowflake as soon as we can. I feel AWFUL about taking the kids from their world, their friends, their school, their home. Moving the kids away from Snowflake has been the hardest part of this move. It has caused me to shed more tears than anything else. Like when Cooper starts crying at bedtime because he misses his bed back home or when Kira is sad because she misses her teacher or Kyler not knowing where his home is anymore...Lacee feeling confused because she doesnt know what is going on anymore. I also really miss my comfort zone. People here are great! I love our ward here...but nothing is like home.

A little about where we live in Utah. We live in a townhome. We are renting and it was all we could find that we could rent month to month so we are very grateful, but we are hoping to find something cheaper because it is SO expensive. It is bran-spankin new! 1400 sq. ft. 3 bed/2 bath house at the end of the cul-de-sac. We have a very small fenced in back yard...all concrete, but the kids just ride their bikes out in the road because we are the last building and there are no houses across the street. It has been great...there are kids EVERYWHERE in these townhomes...a true blessing to soften the move. We have never had such close neighbors. It has been nice but has also taken some getting use to. We have no washer and dryer-BUMMER! I hate going to the dirty laundry mat...I am keeping my eye out for a cleaner Laundromat. I mostly take all the kids by myself because Reggie works from 7am-5pm mon-fri and 7-3:30pm Sat. with an hour commute both ways. At least he has Sundays off :)

My Parents came to Snowflake and helped me move. I sent some stuff up with Reggies friend and then I filled my parents suburban and my van with whatever I could bring. Now is the time where you truly realize how much extra crap is in your house that you don't need. I tried to only pack what I NEED. I left almost everything behind since more than likely we will end up in a fifth wheel-CRAZY I know.

Homeschooling is going well...I suppose. Cooper had a really hard time at first, but has gotten better. Our first day of school was windy and a little cloudy. Cooper was WAY stressed and had to close all the blinds. He was freaking out all morning because of the wind. Reggie got to come home early because of the wind so that gave our first school day a pick me up. The first week I was literally handwriting the kids' worksheets because I had no internet and no printer...that was exciting. I got some great resources for online worksheets now, which is great. We have a schedule that has seemed to work out okay...but I am slowly trying to make it better. This is quite the learning experience. The kids wanted me to talk to them like I was really their teacher...I did for about half a day, just for fun. My poor kids probably think this is all some kind of joke. I thought I could get away with less time in the day for school but it pretty much takes us all day to get done what I have for them and I am still leaving things out everyday-oh well. We are doing our best.

Reggie is really enjoying his new job. Doing something besides plumbing for once has been really nice for him. He works at a power plant. The power plant is getting added onto and he is working with the new construction...fitting pipes together. Funny I know...sounds like plumbing right. Well it kind of is...just in a very different way.

Now to the best part of this whole she-bang. Being together! It is so important that our family stay together. Now that time has passed, the month we were separated just seems like a dream...a very interesting one. Our reunion was wonderful. I couldn't wait to give Reggie a big kiss and squeeze him tight, and just be held. Lacee (and Mommy) couldn't let him go. I am glad Lacee wasn't mad at him. She always such a Daddy's girl. It is a wonderful thing to witness the love going around. I can tell already how much closer our family has grown because of everything we have experienced. I know I could have done it-the whole staying apart thing, but it wouldn't have been fun or easy and we just didn't see the point of it. Now we are together and we won't choose that being separated thing again....except of course for hunting season :P

I just have to give a huge thanks to my parents and Reggie's parents and Reggies Aunt Joni. When it came down to crunch time it got so crazy but everyone was awesome. My kids were really great too. I sure love those toads. Even if they are 'Stink Toads'! I also want to say thanks to the many other people that just showed me love and support or offered to help me out. Everyone has been Amazing! Thanks! When it was finally time to leave...my care wouldn't start! Can you believe that! Actually I can totally believe it...and it was SO funny! My poor Dad didn't think it was very funny. He is really easily stressed out but he gave me a jump start and we were on the way. My Dad is great! He wants to make sure that everyone is very well taken care of. The plan was to drive 5 hours on Friday and 5hrs on Saturday. We had to stop an hour earlier because in Moab there were no hotel rooms because of some bicycle thing. We stopped in Monticello and my Dad called ahead to reserve two rooms but when we got there there was only one room. My allergies had been SO bad and I could not stop rubbing my eyes and I looked like a crazy person so my Dad got me that room and went to a different hotel and got their LAST room. It was crazy and my Dad was not too happy...but the hotel said if he passed by on the way back they would give him a free room. The kids and I had fun making pictures out of all the rocks on the way. Kyler didn't understand where Daddy was when we stopped at the hotel. He didn't realize we were going to see Daddy the next day.