Moving Days

After months of anticipation, it was finally time to move to Colorado.  Hooray!! The kids finished off school in Thayne with a bang.  Emma threw up unexpectedly on Thursday night, so I didn't let her go to school Friday morning.  However, she was totally fine and begging to go to class.  Her teacher called and said Emma was receiving an award at the school assembly that afternoon and asked if she was well enough to come for that.  I agreed, so Emma, Joely and I went after lunch on Friday and checked Emma in.  Since she was receiving an award, I decided to stay and watch the assembly.  Sure enough, Emma was one of two kids in her class to earn the "Most Improved in Reading" award.  Mrs. Crittenden, Carson's teacher, saw me and asked me to stay until after the assembly, because Carson would be receiving a special award in class.  So Joely and I stayed the whole time and got to see Mr. Pierantoni give Carson an award for his amazing accomplishments with AR.  I was glad I was able to be there and that both teachers made the kids' last day special.  Our school experience in Star Valley was amazing.

Dave and his dad arrived late Friday night (the 22nd).  They drove to Afton to pick up the Uhaul truck the next morning, and the process of loading the truck began.  I had almost everything boxed already, so the first order of business was loading all the boxes into the truck.  Brother Jenkins and his sons, Jared and Vern, unexpectedly showed up at our door ready to help.  Within about 30 minutes they had every box loaded and were asking what else they could do.  We mentioned that we could use some help loading the piano and that it generally took four men to do it.  Before I'd even finished talking, Jared and Vern picked up the piano on their own and had it in the truck.  It was AMAZING!!  They were amazing.  And we were so grateful for their help, which came at just the right time.  Brother Jenkins checked in a couple more times throughout the day, just to make certain that we were alright and continuing to offer his help.  I love our Freedom friends!

Dave, Dad and I just kept trucking the rest of the day, gathering items, taking apart beds, and cleaning as we went.  By evening we were just about done and exhausted.  The kids still had lots of energy and spent over an hour entertaining themselves in the cab of the truck.  Honestly, it was nice to have them out from underfoot, and they were in heaven.

Dad treated us to dinner at Hub's, my favorite restaurant in Thayne (there's only three, so it wasn't hard to pick:)!  We filled up on yummy barbecue sandwiches and seasoned fries and then went back home to finish the clean up.  Finally, the kids were in their sleeping bags and everything else was loaded into the truck.  We could take a deep breath and relax.  It felt so good to have that end of the move mostly done.

That wonderful feeling was short lived...

Carson came in to our room about 2 o'clock in the morning in a panic.  He wouldn't talk to me, so I was encouraging him to come closer to me so I could find out what was wrong.  I shouldn't have done that.  On his way to my side of the air mattress, he threw up EVERYWHERE!  Talk about bad timing.  All of our towels and the washing machine were packed...everything was packed in the truck and very inaccessible.  Thank goodness Dave was there.  He jumped into superman mode.  I got Carson cleaned up while Dave figured out how to clean up the awful mess.  Carson threw up a few more times in the night and woke up still not feeling well.  Needless to say, our plans of being on the road by eight the next morning didn't happen.

We slept until 9 and slowly finished our preparations to leave while Carson continued to throw up.  What were we to do?  All the stores and doctors in Star Valley were closed until Monday morning, and we had to be in Colorado by Sunday night so Dave could be at work the next morning.  Plus, everything was in the truck.  So, we said a prayer and off we went.  Dave, Carson and a bucket rode in the truck (because it was easier to clean if necessary) and the girls and I followed in the van.  We had no idea what to expect of the trip, but luckily Carson had gotten everything out of his system and didn't have any troubles.  We stopped at every town along the way for a bathroom break (another problem Carson was having), but we eventually pulled in to Fort Collins.  We dropped the truck off at Uhaul (they were letting us park it there until we moved in to our house on Wednesday) and drove to Grandpa and Grandma McClure's house.  It was the most welcome sight!

We were pretty certain that a tummy bug was going through our family since Emma and Carson had both had problems.  Sure enough, Joely threw up several times the next night.  On Tuesday I felt yucky, but was able to take the kids to Pioneer Ridge Elementary and get them registered.  They both were able to meet their teachers and seemed excited about the new school.

On Tuesday night, Dave got the bug.  He was so sick and didn't sleep all night long.  By Wednesday morning (our moving-in day), he was terribly exhausted and weak.  But he made it to our final walk-through and closing and truly was Superman as he helped unload the truck.  I don't know how he did it, but he willed himself to keep going and managed to get everything done that he needed to all day long.  Thankfully our new ward was extremely helpful...we had tons of great men and boys show up to unload the truck.  They, along with Riley and Brennan and Mom and Kacie, were life savers!

We are so grateful for all the help we received!

Look at him go!

Look at all the little boys who came to help with their dads!

Grandpa McClure had just had foot surgery, so he spent the afternoon watching from the living room.  We're just glad he was there.

Grandma and Kacie were awesome helpers. So grateful for them!

Home Sweet Home

Finally, we officially had the truck unloaded.  Dave dropped it off at Uhaul while the rest of us grabbed some dinner at Wendy's with the McClure clan.  Then we picked him up, grabbed the rest of our stuff from the McClure's, and headed HOME.  It is so nice to be able to say that.  We could hardly wait to be in our own house and all back together in one place again.  We had been blessed by the kindness of extended family and good friends during our 4 1/2 months apart, but now we are back together as a "normal" family and boy does it feel good!

Halloween 2013

Halloween day stressed me out this year!  I don't know if it was because I was alone or because we hadn't ever done Halloween here before, but I was dreading the day.  I'd committed to helping out in Carson's class for the party and wanted to stop in and see Emma's party as well, so Joely and I headed over to the school at 11:30.  Emma's party was just starting and we got there in time for class pictures.

Princess Leia with her entourage.

The class was divided into five groups and sent to different activities.  Emma got to do pumpkin decorating first.  She was so happy!

 

 

I was only in Emma's class for a few minutes before I needed to head over to Carson's.  Mrs. Crittenden asked me to run the Halloween joke matching game.  It was fun to see the kids figure out how the game worked when they were able to match a joke with the answer.  Before long it was time for the parade to start.  Because of the weather, they held the parade inside and had all the parents line up in the middle of the hallway.  The parade went up one side of us and then back down on the other side, which was nice because I got two chances to see the kids.

Getting ready for the parade.

Having fun at the big kid parties.

Lining up with friends (Kaleb, Angel, Carson, Nik, Anastasia, MacKenna)

Emma was so cute.  She was smiling so big, but didn't want to stop for a picture.

Off she goes.

Carson finishing up the parade.  He wasn't allowed to wear the mask at school, which was nice so I could see his handsome face.

 

Once we got back in Mrs. Crittenden's room, she asked for a class picture. 

Crazy kiddos!

 The kids came home from school with me, since the parties ended when school did.  We stopped at Valley Market and True Value to find tea lights and matches for our jack-o-lanterns, and then headed home.  We had planned on carving pumpkins the Sunday before when Dave was home, but we ended up taking Joely to urgent care in Jackson for a UTI instead.  So carving pumpkins fell to me.  In case you haven't guessed, carving pumpkins is not one of my favorite Halloween activities.  I love to have them carved, I just don't enjoy doing the process when I've got three little kidlets who all need a huge amount of help.  (Plus, a kind neighbor dropped off an extra pumpkin for us, so I had to carve one for myself as well!) Luckily, Carson did most of his on his own this year, and Emma actually scraped out most of her pumpkin.  Plus, we were not going for perfection.  Carson chose to use a scaredy cat template that came with our pumpkin carving kit.  I (stupidly) showed Emma some Hello Kitty templates online, and she decided she wanted one of those.  That's what took up most of my time.  Joely and I were content with simple jack-o-lantern faces.

 

Ewww!

Even Joely got in on the pumpkin cleaning action.

Carson's pumpkin was so big he had to really work to reach the bottom.

 

In the end, we were pretty proud of our pumpkins!

Carson's, mine, Emma's, Joely's

After carving pumpkins it was a mad dash to make and eat dinner (chicken patty sandwiches and fries, because they're fast), get back into costume, and zip on over to Thayne Elementary for the trunk or treat.  It was snowing like crazy and freezing cold, so I didn't even bother putting Joely's costume on.  It all would've been hidden under her coat and hat anyway!  Now that I look back at it I feel kind of bad, but she didn't seem to mind.

 

I wasn't sure what to expect at the trunk or treat (in fact, I wondered if anyone would even be there in the snow storm), but it was packed!  The parking lot was full, so I had to park up the street.  The fire truck and ambulance were there with lights flashing, which really caught the kid's attention.  I had brought candy to hand out, but we parked so far away that I decided to just take the bucket of candy with me and pass it out to kids as we went.  That turned out to be a wise plan.  The snow was so wet and coming down so constantly that we were all drenched in no time at all.  And the candy in the buckets was equally drenched.  It made for a unique Halloween!  We made the rounds and finished at the ambulance, where Valley Market was handing out donuts and hot chocolate.  Yum!  On our walk back to the car I took a picture of the kids.  Check out the snow!

 

When we finished at the trunk or treat, we headed back to Freedom.  We stopped at the Hokanson's, the Luthi's, and the Izatt's before deciding to go back to the condos.  We hit a few of our friends in the condos and then were done.  We were too cold to do any more!

 

Loving the loot!  See that giant wet spot in front of Joely's bucket?  That's all the melted snow that was on top of her candy!

After this we just had showers and then they were off to bed and Halloween was done!

 



Snowy Joely

Winter has definitely come to Star Valley, along with freezing temperatures and SNOW!  We had a decent amount of snow fall that just happened to be excellent for making snowballs and snowmen.  Carson and Emma were invited to play in the snow at Brenley's house after school, so Joely and I went out and made a snowman together.  When I asked Joely what she wanted the snowman to look like, she said, "Me!"  And so, Snowy Joely was created.  I think she turned out really cute!

Don't they look like best buds?

A kiss on the cheek...

She was scraping the snow off the snowman...silly girl!

We had to get a picture of everyone with Snowy Joely when the others got home.  Although they're the same height, I'm glad the real Joely doesn't have the same proportions as Snowy Joely.  I'd never be able to pick her up!  It was a really fun afternoon.

 

Star Valley Version of a Pumpkin Patch

I had hoped to be able to take the kids to Pack's Pumpkin Patch in Farmington while we were visiting in Utah, but there wasn't enough time.  Then I tried to devise a plan to get us all to a pumpkin patch in Idaho Falls, but that seemed like too much time and money.  So, we settled on getting our pumpkin patch experience at the tiny group of pumpkins outside the local grocery store.  The kids were all dressed up in their costumes because we stopped right after the library Halloween party on Friday afternoon.  We had about 30 pumpkins to choose from, and they were all ginormous.  In the end, Carson's was 28 pounds and the other two weren't far behind.  Maybe next year we'll find a real pumpkin patch, but at least this was memorable!

We didn't go all out with the costume for the Halloween party, but she's still pretty sweet with her kitty cat ears on!

"Who-who-who" is excited for Halloween?  Emma!  And apparently she only costs 99 cents!

That's a pretty happy Darth Vader we've got going there.

We were trying to get creative to get pictures with lots of pumpkins and not a lot of "grocery store" things in the background.  This was our best shot.

Joely can't find a way to look comfortable in this spot.

 

Belle Joely

Joely was looking super cute one morning, so I decided to try using some natural light and take pictures of her.  Keep in mind, I really have no clue what I'm doing with the camera, but trial and error is a great way to learn, right?  Joely was a good sport and posed for me for a few minutes.  She's too cute and beautiful to not post a few of my favorites.

Joely's eyes are amazing, and I tried to get a few pictures that really show that. 



She just looks happy here...she looks like this most of the time.



Joely was being silly, but I couldn't believe the tendons in her neck.  Wow! Look at those things!

 

I love her eyes in this one...



Again, the eyes.

Joely is not only beautiful, she's FUN!  She's delightful, and I love all the time I get to spend with her.  I never know what she'll say or do, and she constantly surprises me with her comments and questions.  She seems to naturally choose happiness and smiles. We love this crazy, wonderful girl! 

I'm a Winner!

On Monday I was checking my email and (thankfully) didn't automatically delete a message from Valley Market, our grocery store in Thayne.  At the top of the message it said, "Congratulations Erin Jex for winning our Facebook Fall Harvest Basket!"  I was stoked, because it's been awhile since I've won anything.  I kept thinking I'd get a separate email or something saying I'd won and instructions for what to do next, but nothing came.  So, when I went shopping that afternoon I asked my cashier.  She had no idea what I was talking about and called the manager.  She didn't know either, but they called another guy and he brought out the basket.  He didn't even ask for my name, just said congratulations.  I love living in Star Valley!  He took a picture of Joely and me with the basket; apparently our lovely faces and wind-blown hair will be gracing the Valley Market website sometime in the near future.  I figured I'd just post a picture of cute Joely with the basket...

 

Two mugs, a Yankee Candle, a candy corn caramel apple, a gummy worm caramel apple, pumpkin walnut fudge, Stephen's caramel apple cider, and a box of 10 fudge-dipped pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.  The cookies are my favorite! Oh, and a mini pumpkin!  Plus the basket itself is super cute.  What a fun surprise!