Moving day

Moving day! I keep thinking that if I can get through this period in my life, I can get through anything! Wish us luck!

ELIJAH LOUIS, how we love you!

We are quickly approaching Elijah's second birthday and I am afraid that in the midst of the move, I will not find time to document how much I love this child. He was meant for our family and every day I thank my Heavenly Father for sending this spunky, funny, and loving child into our home. He makes me happy!

Here is a sampling of Elijah as he turns 2:

-He follows me around the house ALL DAY labeling my actions! He opens the shower curtain to tell me "Mommy in the shower, mommy shampoo, etc." If someone is changing, he sings at the top of his lungs, "NAKED (name of person) on the loose!!!" (Pierce's song!) Uh, oh, spoon fall down, I want to get down, etc. HE TALKS ALL DAY! And, he speaks really well. I am amazed daily by his ever-increasing vocabulary and the way he uses it!

-Elijah loves to sing! When he takes a bite, he sings to the tune of Go Shorty, It's Your Birthday, "GO ELIJAH! HE'S A ROCKING!" He will eat his whole dinner stopping to sing the song between each bite. He usually looks to us for applause! He can sing every Taylor Swift song and High School Musical song. We were in Costco today and he was singing Taylor Swift at the top of his lungs!

-Every time we pass the llama farm (yes, there is a llama farm in our town) he sings, "Me and my llama, me and my llama, going to the dentist today!" (from 1970's Sesame Street) Tonight he was eating his dinner, singing the llama song, picked a booger, stopped his song and looked up at me and started singing, "Me and my booger! Look mom, BOOGER!" He is such a boy already!"

-This child knows how to joke. He likes to call me by my first name. He knows this is a joke and will say it over and over again until I say, "YOU CALL ME MAMMA!" He will laugh and say, "TAMI!" He teases us, and even his Papa who he still refers to as Stinky Pete. He always says it with a chuckle. He is always good for a belly laugh with hide and go seek!

-Elijah is a shoe thief. If there are shoes missing, you know where to find them!

-Elijah loves to eat! For this reason, he and Corom, though 18 months apart, are only 2 pounds apart.

-We have already gotten used to his quirky little smile! It is still a smile that makes me happy!

-Elijah loves cartoons. I will be preparing breakfast in the kitchen while the kids watch morning cartoons. The cartoon will ask a question like, "What color is Mickey's balloon" and Elijah always shouts back a response. He is usually right!

-He says beautiful dinner prayers!

-Loves to be rocked and sang to with his blanky!

-Sings to the temple every time we pass it!

-Loves his family, though prefers not to be bothered. I think this is one of his funniest traits. He has a strong sense of personal space and makes it known!

-When bored, he will start running around the house saying, "CA-CHOW! or "LOOK MOMMY! I'M FAST!"

-As I type, he is asking me, "Mommy, where is my ice cream cone?" over and over again.

Elijah Louis, we love you and cannot believe that we have had you for almost 2 years. Our lives are so much more complete with you in our home, teaching and snuggling us. I am excited to see what the future holds in store for you



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So much to write about...where do I begin?

I cannot believe how quickly this summer is coming to a close. At the end of May, we moved into a rental, with the thought that we would live here until our home was completed. The building process is going MUCH slower than anticipated and the rental has sold and we must be out at the end of the month. We found a wonderful family in our ward at church who are going to let us live in their basement apartment until our house is finished. I cannot even begin to express our relief at finding this wonderful family, as we had been pricing out single room hotel rates. This option would have been expensive and cramped! So, after feeling like we just unpacked (only some of our belongings) and feeling like we are just getting settled, we have once again pulled out the packing tape and have started reloading boxes. This time we are keeping out only what we will need for a month or so and the rest is going in to storage. That, is our current living situation.
On a more fun note, my wonderful husband has been listening to a homesick wife complain about wanting desperately to go home to California. When we found a potential new owner for our puppy in Sacramento, (long story, but we couldn't keep her) we loaded the children up and Dan drove through the night on Thursday after having worked a long day! We had a WONDERFUL, QUICK, trip and loved every minute of it! The kids swam, we barbequed, spent time with family, we slept in and relaxed. It truly felt like a vacation. We were able to meet our beautiful new nieces attend their blessings. Dan drove the whole way home on Monday while I played angry birds! Told yah I have a wonderful husband! (Actually he thinks I drive too slow!) He knows I do not like driving and steps up to do it!
When we came home, our home had finally been framed! We turned the corner of the street to see what had been only a basement in ground when we left, was finally a framed 2 story home! YIPEE!!! They put the stairs in this week and we actually got to walk through it and show the kids their rooms upstairs! The framers worked late into the evening tonight and it is really starting to take shape. Building has been the most frustrating process and seeing the start of the home is giving us hope!
We also came home to an apricot tree that is fully in bloom and hundreds of gooey apricots all over the ground! What a mess! Dan and I tackled about half of the tree tonight, sorting the fruit. We are hoping to do jam, pie filling and canned fruit. THANK YOU ASHLEY for teaching me to can in Salt Lake! I would give anything to have you here right now to tackle this fruit with me!
The kids are thriving and doing well! We are loving our summer days, but feeling ready to add the structure of school into the mix. Noelle will begin kindergarten and we have had some sign ups for our preschool. It will be a small year as far as students go, but a great place to start. We are going all out, as if we had a full class. It is only fair for students who are enrolled and paying. I will also have my children. So great to use my creative side!
I hope you are all doing well! I apologize if this is kind of a gushy post, my emotions have been on a roller coaster this summer. There is so much change, it has been intense! Love you all! Thanks for checking in!

Warning! Pictures are not in order and I could not put all of them on the blog. I know I do not have pictures of everyone! (Especially we are missing photos of Marco's birthday!)
These kids always pick right back up when they get together!

THE GIRLS!

We didn't anticipate thousands of apricots, but we are up to the challenge!

And how did we get to 9 grandkids? SOOOOO FUN!

Tessa and Riley's blessing day

I LOVE this boy! He tugs at my heart strings and is looking like such a big boy these days. I still think of him as my baby!

A trip to California would not be complete without helping Nana and Papa in their garden. The kids all have their own baskets and even Elijah took part this year. The kids really look forward to this!

Auntie Gina and Corom have a close bond! They played and played!!!

Corom and his Papa! The smiles say it all!

Happy little Tessa! She is so sweet!

Read the sign on the door! Hilarious! The kids were playing beauty salon! Did I mention that my 5 year old insists on doing her own hair everyday? Nikki, I am so sorry if she has had an influence on Lucia! Independent children!

We love our Nana!

Sweet Baby Riley!

This is the first time my kids have been in the pool all summer! There really aren't pools in Idaho! Noelle and Corom loved it! Elijah was not so sure!

PHEW, I could have posted more! It was a wonderful weekend!