Kindergarten

Our little lady is growing up! Such a sad feeling to watch her go, and yet so exciting at the same time...

We picked out her new outfit weeks in advance. She wants to be sure that you notice her shoes.

Daddy had the day off and made her a special breakfast. Yes, scrambled eggs and toast are special around here... at breakfast time anyway. Did I mention that school starts way too early in the day for my taste?

It was pouring rain outside, so we took Sparkle right to the school instead of to the bus stop (yes, we're putting our 5 year old on the bus this year... yikes!). She was happy to go and walked right in. I had to steal my kiss when she wasn't looking.

After we dropped her off we met some new friends from Buzz' residency program at the zoo. First stop, the carousel!

Sunny was just as excited about showing off the dandilion that she found as she was about seeing the animals.

This monkey was just as impressed... they sat and looked at each other and the flower for over five minutes!

In an effort to make the experience authentic, our local zoo sells Fosters in the area of the zoo called "Australia"... not mine, I swear. :) What is mine, however, is the ever expanding belly just below the can. I'm 34 weeks today... getting close!

We left just in time to come home and meet Sparkle's bus. It was so good to see her, and to see that she was still smiling at the end of what she called "a very long day."

Well, it's off to bed for me. I've got a bus to meet in the morning, you know.

(I've got a huge backlog of stuff to post. Beware, it's coming!)

Quickie...

No internet at home for just about three weeks now.  Beyond frustrating!  I have so much to tell about Buzz' graduation, our move, our new house, my pregnancy, the fence that we're having to tear down and rebuild with the last of our spare time...  Any chance that I do have to jump online has to go to checking email and paying bills.

Buzz started orientation Wednesday, on our ninth wedding anniversary.  We were having fun setting up house up until then.  Now I'm having to readjust to having him gone all day... it's been months since he had anything to do other than help out around the house and spend time with us ladies.

I felt a twinge of sadness the other day when I was handed my very own Missouri drivers license.  We love it here and we feel like we absolutely are in the place that God wants us to be, but it's starting to sink in that I'm far from home.

Hoping and praying that it doesn't take three years this time around to feel settled.  We have GOT to stop moving every few years!

Just a quick note...

to let you know that we didn't fall off the face of the planet.  We moved all of our stuff into the new house on Friday and have been busily cleaning, unpacking, and organizing our things.  I'll post more when I find all of my camera cords and such.  And when we have internet.  :)

Disney!

We had a blast at Disneyland this past week to celebrate Buzz' upcoming graduation from medical school!!!

Sparkle loved everything about Disneyland and had a blast riding all of the big roller coasters while we were there.  She was often heard breaking into spontaneous song while dancing in circles and jumping up and down, "I'm the happiest girl in the world!  Yes I am, yes I am!"  We spent our first day with friends from Utah who were also on vacation in the magic kingdom.  Sparkle had a blast getting to take it all in for the first time with one of her dearest friends.

Sunny had fun too.  She was nervous when we first arrived and wanted to be held at all times, but eventually she relaxed and was happy to explore and enjoy what was going on around her.  My favorite quote from the trip regarding Sunny: "[Sunny], NO!  We do NOT raspberry the trash can!"

We have a lot going on in our lives right now, what with the med school graduation and cross-country move coming up in the next week or so.  I'd love to blog more often, but that will have to wait until things settle down a bit...

(Notice that my baby bump has made it's appearance?!)

Fingers Crossed!

We returned LATE last night from our whirlwind Midwestern house-hunting trip and are happy to report that it was very successful!

We are under contract on a house that we are very excited about.  It is 3300 square feet, on over 1/3 of an acre of land, with 5 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, and a finished basement.  Here's a picture of the front of the house:

And here's a picture of the back yard taken while standing on the back porch.  The house you see in the center across the way is Aunt T and Uncle T's.  We're very excited about living so close and having our kids go to the same schools!

It's a little nerve-wracking to be so excited in this housing market.  I think I'll be holding my breath all month long in hopes that nothing falls through on either the house that we are selling or the house that we are buying.

We feel very fortunate that each and every time we have moved, it has been to a less expensive housing market.  The house that we are buying costs two thousand dollars less than the one we are selling and has much more to offer.  Just how funny is this God that we serve?  Five years ago when we helped T &T move I saw this house model and fell in love with it.  I wished with all my heart that we could move right then and there, but felt God telling me to wait.  Isn't it amazing that in an area where not many houses are for sale, the exact one that I had my eye on for all these years was ready and available for us to buy?  God is good, isn't he?

Spring...

...has sprung!

We spent the afternoon with our favorite girls (and a few dashing gentlemen as well!) at the Thanksgiving Point Tulip Festival.

Sparkle and her friends had a grand time!

Sunny, on the other hand, well... she wasn't so sunny.  More like a little thunder cloud.  I think that she's going to more than make up for the fact that Sparkle was an easy two year old!  She wasn't much for being photographed (so sad since I worked so hard to coordinate the girls' outfits today!), and this was the happiest she was all day long.  At least we have some proof that she was there.

My heart is more full than I can describe looking at these photos... it's really hitting home lately how short a time we have with our sweet, sweet friends here in Utah.

On that note, we have VERY good news to share today:  our house is under contract!  We are happy with the deal and if all goes well, we should be closing a few days after graduation.  We leave tomorrow for MO to search for our new home.  Wish us luck!

*Thanks again goes to MI for her pictures.  Mine remain trapped in my camera.

Sparkle testifies...

to my spectacular mothering ability...

and has me completely humbled (and laughing!) in a moment:

"Mommy, Sunny's crying a lot because I have the Elmo Ice and she wants the Elmo Ice but I fell and bumped both of my elbows AND both of my knees and I NEED it.  She doesn't need it and I didn't do ANYTHING to her, but she won't stop crying..."

(long pause while I finish brushing my teeth)

"You can start yelling now."