Gettin' in a Groove

Whoever said a thousand transitions at once wasn’t fun??!! It’s been so long since the last entry that I’m not even sure where to start. Kelli already posted the big news about the baby being a boy – so now I’m over halfway to my full-strength basketball … or hockey … team! Since we don’t have much luck for height in our genes, and since the first time I skated with hockey skates I knocked myself out … maybe I’ll have to settle for two kids to man the oars, another the fish finder … and I’ll do the fishing! Actually, the way it will probably work out is that Savannah will be barking the instructions/orders from the front of the boat, I’ll have three snoopy fishing poles all tangled up and knotted, all the while trying to row the boat and manage the fish finder :)

So, life is good. We’ve moved into our home and love the neighborhood. Our house is in a little town called Pleasant View and just north of the ‘big’ city of Ogden. It’s nestled up against Ben Lomond mountain which we can see from our back patio. It’s pretty empty right now since our stuff is still on a boat (hopefully still on the boat!), on the Pacific Ocean and we are awaiting our shipment of Albuquerque odds and ends (BBQ!) which should arrive next week. The Pacific Ocean stuff will not arrive until August, so the kids will enjoy screaming and running through an empty house for a bit longer. We did get our fast, light shipment from Australia last week and that had some essentials like bikes, pots/pans, extra clothes and bedding. Thank goodness for family to fill in the other bits and pieces. One thing I really wish we had remembered was tools! What was I thinking?

The ward and neighbors have been awesome. We had three dinners brought over to us last week along with a myriad of cakes and cookies from various people. The ward is very open and numerous people have come up and introduced themselves without hesitation. The neighborhood yards are set up so that all of the backyards back up and run into each other … which means you have something akin to a golf course for a play area. All the kids just get together in the backyard(s) and have a hey day! Where one has a trampoline, the other has a playset … and the other a baseball set up. Our kids are a little on the younger end of the spectrum, but all in all they are getting along with the other kids and really enjoying living here. Today they all went to their respective church classes by themselves --- Hunter included!

We’ve also thoroughly enjoyed spending more time with family. I stayed with my brother Jacob and his wife Robyn … and their three kids for a week in Logan while I started work. Kelli and the kids came up and we stayed another week with them. My brother Nathan and I did an Olympic triathlon together and had ‘heaps’ of fun. He finished the swim before me and then after mile 18 I caught up to him on the bike and we finished the rest of the race together in a whopping 2 hours and 40 minutes. It was a lot of fun to do it with him. Then we had my parents and sister come up and spend the 4^th of July weekend with us. We went to a parade and had a picnic (the Kaysville parade was quite unique--there was the regular parade of floats, military, bands, police, horses, and then the water portion followed, which consisted of city water trucks, old fire engines, flat bed trucks, etc. all with people and hoses just soaking everyone who didn't get up and move fast enough!) … then experienced fireworks about 2 minutes from our house while sitting atop a hill next to our house overlooking the high school. The next day we enjoyed a drive through Eden and some time out by Pineview Reservoir. These are the kind of experiences that I looked forward to when we decided it was time to come back home …

Work is going very well. I’m enjoying the position I am in and it looks like there is a lot of opportunity on the horizon with this company. Last Tuesday was my official last day in the military. It’s a batter of mixed feelings leaving the uniform behind. I’ll always be grateful for the friends we made and the experiences we had moving around. I can’t imagine our lives without those friendships and associations. Serving as a military member was in and of itself a plethora of mixed emotions. It was an honor to serve our country. Some of my most cherished experiences were spent wearing the uniform and saluting our nation’s flag. I had the opportunity to spend some time in Washington D.C. and spent many an hour walking around the monuments – but perhaps my most memorable experience was walking through Arlington Cemetery. If you ever get a chance to meander through the headstones of those who died while giving their life for our country and our freedom, it’s an experience not to pass up. We indeed have a lot to be thankful for in our country and the opportunity to serve for 8 years (12 counting the Academy!), was one that I will always treasure. That said, we are excited for this next phase of unknowns and have high hopes of a more steady future. It’s already strange to know that the house we just purchased could be our home for the next 20 to 30 years. I don’t have to look just 2 and 3 years down the road for the next move – I just feel like it’s easier to live in the here and now instead of always wondering where the next move is going to take you. Hopefully the kids will find some good friends and enjoy the opportunity of staying in one place for a while!

Since we don’t have a lot of stuff to find places for we’ve been spending the majority of our time outside getting weeds pulled and a makeshift garden in place. It might be too late in the year to get anything from the plants, but it at least keeps the kids busy (and me J).

The kids really are enjoying the fact that we are now in our own place and not living out of suitcases. Hunter seemed to struggle the most, but now is doing better. After nursery today the nursery leader told him, “See you later, hun!” … to which he responded “See ya, hun.” He hasn’t lost his personality for sure. He also loves babies. We went to lunch with my parents at a restaurant yesterday in Eden. On the way out Hunter walked by this Mom and a baby who were standing in the hallway. Hunter promptly stopped, looked up and started to pet the baby. Random, but funny!

Collin is a sports freak still playing baseball with anyone and everyone who will throw a pitch to him. He was invited over to a boy’s house in the ward … but unfortunately returned an hour later with big swollen eyes and cheeks because he’s allergic to their dog. I guess a dog isn’t in our immediate future as once planned.

Savannah is riding her bicycle like there is no tomorrow. She’s got more energy than we know what to do with, but at least there are neighborhood kids to help release it now. She can’t wait for school to start … but until then there is plenty to keep her busy little mind … well, busy!

And last but not least is the driving experience all might expect when traveling between countries where left is right and right is right. We were going down a road in Ogden which was a one way street. I was in the far left lane approaching a intersection with a light. The light was green and I prepared to make a left-hand turn to start going on the road perpendicular to ours. The only thing I neglected to take into account was the fact I was in the left lane, but still in America. So I took my immediate left and ended up going head on into the oncoming traffic. Luckily there was no one right there and Kelli let out an immediate warning to get into the ‘right’ lane, which I promptly did and thereby avoided any further embarrassment. Whew – hopefully it’s the last time of one of those!