Adam and Amelia were in Utah and graciously opened up their home to us for a week. We were grateful we could save money and be out of a hotel.
We went to Dianne Rose Farm. The kids loved living the farm life for a day.
When Eleanor saw a calf, she said, "Puppy!!"
I let the boys pick one activity to do and they decided on mining. They loved it.
This tractor ride was a hit. We went back again and again.
The cutest thing was seeing Eleanor with the baby lambs.
The boys acted like students in this one room school house.
Eleanor napped peacefully in the stroller while the boys played at the playground for hours. Oh and we stopped by Ikea after closing on our house and Eleanor wanted to sit up on this pink couch.
A sucker saved the drive home.
We stopped by Pet Land and each kid wanted to take a pet home.
I found a Children's museum that was free for military. And it was a blast!
My great aunt passed away. Luckily I had this picture from when we visited her in Colorado.
And this is the view from our back porch deck. We feel like we're in a cabin!! We had access to our house Saturday evening at 5 p.m. and we walked in the second it was available to us. It was a bit awkward because the sellers still had belongings here and showed up an hour later as Aaron and a friend from the ward were moving the washer and dryer to the garage. The sellers moved to a house .3 miles away so I know we'll run into each other and I don't want it to be awkward!
We celebrated Father's Day Saturday evening by eating at Taco Bell. Eleanor wanted into this seat and as we were ordering our food, I looked over and she had crawled into the chair. She's brave!
On Father's Day, Aaron had to work most of the day. I was grateful my cousins were in the area and we were able to meet up with them at Liberty Jail. I cried hugging them. I'm still so homesick for family.
For Sunday dinner, we had egg burritos. Aaron returned earlier than we anticipated so we loved spending the evening celebrating him.
On Monday morning, our truck arrived with all our belongings. Aaron had 4 days off and it was a blessing to have him around to help. It was exhausting. Even though it was crazy around us, we decided to start a clean simple eats challenge of healthy eating. Here is our dinner with a million boxes around us. I was able to find the items needed to make chicken salads.
During our Costco trip, Austin decided to sit in the middle on the isle and read a book. During an evening rain storm, the boys came into the house very muddy and very happy.
Eleanor has joined the reading club and loves reading lots of books. Austin declares he doesn't need a nap anymore, and then falls asleep in the car around 4 p.m. :)
The boys looked so handsome for church today. Eli got new glasses (and is wearing an eyepatch for 2 hours every day to help strengthen his weak eye) and I gave both the boys haircuts.
Eleanor is so big! She goes into nursery in 3 weeks!! We took her binkie away this week and now she seems so big! She was extra loud during Relief Society today so I took her outside to see the temple. I had a prompting to enjoy this special time with her because soon enough she'll be off running into nursery!!
And while we were making dinner this evening, Eleanor got into the pantry and opened the bag of chocolate chips. Silly girl!! She keeps us laughing all the time!
I had several meltdowns this week because I felt so overwhelmed and exhausted from the unpacking and the updates we'd love to do on this house. The previous owners had a dog and I've found black dog hair all over. I felt so much better after attending church today and was reminded to count my blessings each day and recognize the tender mercies in each day. We had the sister missionaries over for dinner and they shared a quote from Elder Bendnar about tender mercies. I feel better when I focus on the blessings around me.
I also found my missionary journals as we opened up our boxes of books. As I opened my journal, I found a letter that I wrote to myself when I was in the MTC to open in the mission field when I had been out for one year. I cried as I realized how much Spanish I actually learned in the MTC. I felt like I didn't know anything as I headed to Argentina. I had a moment of reflection as I realized I knew more than I thought I did. I feel like sometimes in my motherhood, I doubt if I know enough or I'm prepared enough to raise a righteous family, and as I read that letter from the MTC, I had a thought that I know more about motherhood than I think I know sometimes!
