Bloomington, home, Idaho, home to be

We came in the dead of winter........

Above is a picture of our trailer as the snow drifted half it's height somewhere in the middle of Montana and Idaho at the beginning of our long trek out to Indiana 5 and a half years ago. It is a picture of where we were stopped right on the highway just outside of West Yellowstone, only 3 hours into our 24+ hour drive that still lay ahead, because of the snow. We could not turn around and were told it would only be a matter of a couple hours before the roads were plowed and again opened for travel. Well, after sleeping in our cars overnight, and about 16 hours later, we were finally allowed to keep going. Let me tell you, after moving all our belonging across country in the middle of winter in the eye of a huge snow storm, almost having the trailer fishtail off the road because of the ice several times, arriving in Bloomington IN at 2AM in the morning and not being able to check into our apartment, and then getting food poisoning from Arby's, you'd think we would have learned not to do it again. Ha! That was our first welcome to Bloomington Indiana, our home to be for the next 6 years. Well it looks like we just don't learn very well because.......

We are again headed across country with all our belongings (this time plus three little ones) in the middle of December to Idaho! Rexburg, Idaho to be more specific. =) This week we accepted an offer on our home which is a huge blessing and relief. We are set to close and be out of our house Aug. 28 AND, thanks to the parents of some of our friends here, we have also found a place to live for the few months that we will be here from then until Dec. when Nate graduates.

I cannot express how perfectly everything has fallen into place in the last week. Although I have felt like we are living a bit in limbo land until December due to knowing for so long that we will be leaving, I am trying not to forget something Nate and I learned back when we were both students and moved to several places each year. That is to unpack no matter how long or short you are going to be somewhere. In this case, don't pack up too early either. I know I will greatly miss this place and the people we love here when we are gone, and so I don't want to miss out on the time we still have remaining while we are here. Some of the things I already know I will greatly miss include:

#1) Our first little house:

Our first little house that we put so much sweat and time into fixing up from a smoked in, pets in, nasty bank repo to a warm, functional, and cute home. I'll miss our garden spot, our kitchen, our peach tree, even our neighbors who love and care for our dog as much as we do.
Here are a couple before and after pictures.

#2) Our Ward Family:

Our loving ward family, from Lyn and the girls who have come to our house almost every week since the twins were born to help watch the kids so I could get out, to the Tibbs and the Bairds and the Deckers and on and on, to the young men and young women who we've had the privilege of serving, to the Primary children, to the individual people who we've served with or have helped us. They have all made a difference in our lives.

#3) Great friends, especially Sally and the kids

Really, I can't imagine a week go by that I don't talk to or see or do something with Sally and her kids. The only times we don't are when she or I are either out of town or have company visiting. I will miss our outings to the park, the library, the children's museum, the mall, the pool, or just each other's houses. I'll miss the way our kids scream and shout for joy every time they see each other while running to hug and when our girls spontaneously decide to all three hold hands. I'll miss my morning text or call from Sally to plan what we could do that day. I'll miss being able to share my thoughts and feelings and plans and joys and triumphs and frustrations and sorrows about motherhood and life with her. I'll miss her example and positive attitude, her ability to plan and organize fun things to do, her desire to help and reach out to and include other people, her articulate way of expressing ideas, and maybe most of all I will just miss the peace of knowing I have a friend just a few minutes away whom I know I could call on anytime for anything.

#4) The beautiful outdoors:

From the colors of the leaves in the fall to the blossoms of spring to the flowers and greenness of summer.....


To the berries and even the humidity......


And don't forget learning how to fish for and catch all kinds of weird non-trout fish.......bass, bluegill, catfish, and sunfish......

Bloomington Indiana is where Nate and I bought our first house, our first dog, our first horse. It is where we have had our first three children. It is where we have learned and grown as a family in more ways than I can mention. This truly has been our first true place of home together as a couple and family. This has helped me remember what we have been blessed with here and renewed my desire to continue to enjoy it while I still have time!

Signing and Singing

"Mom, do you like your socks?"

Three little monkeys sitting on the bed..........sure, that's what you think! Jumping is much more accurate but I was able to get them to stop for just a moment to take a picture with promises of letting them see it when I was done.

Decorating cookies while chatting and eating them and the frosting at the same time! =)

Baylee and Mckenna love to sing Primary songs. Many of you have heard Mckenna sing because she is a total ham and loves to perform in front of people. Baylee, on the other hand is very shy about singing in front of other people. So, I took some videos of her singing so we could share her "croaky" but adorable voice. At home, she is usually the one singing and making up new songs even more than Mckenna, though they both sing and talk all day long to the point that there is hardly ever silence in our home. We love it!

Preston is now 8 1/2 months old and just signed his first sign yesterday after Nate and I were playing with him by turning our lamp off and on. It was so fun to see him start to understand how to tell us to turn the light on when he wanted to. He started deliverately signing light, then when we would turn the light on, he would laugh and clap and just had the most satisfied look on his face. I love that, to see the joy it brings when someone else, especially children, grasp an idea, when they have that moment of, "Aha, I see, I get it."

Preston 7 mo.

Preston is now over 7 mo. old and finally cut some teeth last week = a little fussy, but not too bad. In the past month he has learned to scoot/crawl all over the house and loves to eat any kind of food put in front of him. He is such a joy in our house and his sisters still adore and smother him all the time! The camo overalls are some of his daddy's favorite (who can hardly wait to take him and the girls out hunting with him).

Two new TEETH!!!

Ha Ha Ha, I got the spoon mom!

Look, no hands, no problem. =) I'm a cowboy at heart, which is good since we are planning on heading to Idaho.......(more on that to come int he next blog).

We taped some lines on the floor to see if the girls could jump from one to the other and Preston just started laughing over and over again whenever Baylee jumped. It quickly became a game and was so adorable to watch. This is a typical daily interaction between the girls and Preston. The other one is of some of Preston's first scoots around the house.

More from Montana, the second wedding.....

After a week at Mom and Dad Rawlinson's home, preparing for and celebrating Stacey's wedding, it was off to Mom and Dad Wardell's home for another week of fun. We went out to lunch, shopping, jumped on the trampoline, played Wii-fit, rode four-wheelers, and just enjoyed each other's company.

The kids with their Grandma and Grandpa Wardell.

More pictures with Grandma and Grandpa Rawlinson.

Then, after two great weeks in Montana we were back in the van on our way to Utah for the next wedding. We got to see our dear friend Mary in Rexburg on the way and stay at Tony and Carol's house is Driggs for a night. THANKS! We also stayed at my Grandma and Grandpa Nielsen's house for a couple more days, got to visit our good friends Taylor and Lisa Halverson, and Grandma Allred in Provo. Another highlight was being able to go through the Salt Lake City temple with Stephanie, who went through for the first time, just before she heads out on her mission to California - Spanish speaking. Then, we finished off the last few days of our long trip in a hotel in Orem before driving all the way back to Indiana. Whew!

Picture of Nate with the kids at his Grandma Allred's house by the good old swing set he remembers swinging on as a kid. He said it was funny to see how the real thing compared to his memory of it.

Then, the sweetest part of the whole trip......being in the sealing room of the Draper UT temple to witness Michael Craig and Tiffany be sealed together surrounded by close family and friends. It was so wonderful to be there and see how happy they are together, and be reminded of the eternal nature of the family and the sacredness and importance of the temple ordinances.

Later, at the reception.........

What a wonderful couple of weeks spent with family.