Blogging is for the birds...

Well, I am starting to see a pattern in my posting...I go strong for a few posts in a row and then it is a year plus before I post again. So, here is to the next little spurt of posts! Ha!

As most of you know we recently moved back to Utah. We are currently pursuing the seminary teaching program and we are really excited about the adventure it has been and continues to be. Before we left we were able to get in some quality time with some great friends. We were in Hermiston for about 2 years and in that time many of the people there became like family to us. Not to mention the actual family we have that we just fell in love with even more. I still have many thank you cards to write to all those who helped us in the move, but in the mean time if you are reading this....thank you! I don't think we could have done it without the help of our family and friends. We miss all of you and can't wait to be able to visit that great Oregon city and their watermelons. Words can't describe what those 2 years meant to me personally and all the learning and growing opportunities I had. What a blessing!

I was looking through my pictures of the month or so before we moved and sadly I don't have very many because I was too focused on moving! But I will share the ones that I do have. First off here are some pictures of the last swim party we had out at Grandpa Cook's house. For those of you who don't know who that is....our friends Nichole and Nykal (Sorry i always butcher your name, lol) Hartsteen's parents and grandparents have a nice pool that we would go swimming in every once and a while. Sienna and Eli did preschool together and pretty much everything else too. Camilla and Sadie were buddies who finally got past the love/hate relationship to the mostly love relationship. Nichole and I just hit it off when I first moved in and the rest is history. Oh and don't forget Danica the sweet older sister who was good at keeping them all playing and having fun together. We love the Hartsteens and miss them so much! I miss little voices calling me, "Kristin Hawes" no matter what setting we were in. I miss my friend who's shoulder I cried on and who I could laugh and be my silly self with. So enough talk...here are the pics.

Sienna was such a big helper with Sadie since she was new at the arm floaty things.

   

Love this smile and those dimples, they are to die for.

The guys just chillaxing in the pool. Cody, is that a 2 thumbs up or 1 1/2? Haha (For those of you who don't know, Cody can't extend one of his thumbs so when he is doing a thumbs up it looks a little bent. Eli sometimes tries to copy it because he thinks it is how you are supposed to do it.)  

 Danica is the best swim instructor. Eli has been practicing for a bit to ditch the floaties and she just helped him get the confidence and excitement to go even further. This was taken in the deep end and he swam almost all the way to the shallow without help. He kind of looks like he is drowning in this picture, but don't fear he actually stays a float better when he does this because it makes his body go flat instead of straight up and down. I am so proud of him and I hope he remembers how to do this the next time we go swimming.

Kind of a weird and dorky picture of me because he never told us when he was taking the picture. Sad to say this is the least embarrassing of them all. Isn't Nichole beautiful though? She is the sweetest person ever.

The "gang"! These kids spent countless hours together and I hope they always stay friends. Love!

One last thing I wanted to post on here was the goody bag I got from all of my friends as a travel survival pack. What a thoughtful thing and it totally saved my bacon more than once. Thanks ladies for the frozen yogurt, the amazing git bag, and the unforgettable friendships! 

Here are the incredible women who surprised me one of our last nights there. I am so lucky to have friends like you. Thanks!

Fathers and Sons Campout

A few weeks ago Cody took Eli on the church Father's and Son's camp-out. It was the first time they had ever gone camping just the 2 of them. We went with Eli when he was just a baby, so it was kind of his first camp-out that he could recall. So, I made Cody take the camera to document this special daddy time. They had a lot of fun together and Eli was full of great things to say. I guess the S'more stuff came a little late and Eli was already in the tent, so when he heard the marshmallows had arrived, he announced it to the entire camp as he went to the campfire. He also became obsessed with saying hi to the Bishop. It is so funny because even now when he sees him on Sunday he says, "Hi Bishop". Sometimes he doesn't hear him because he is a little hard of hearing, but Eli usually will then speak up until he is acknowledged. I just love how much he loves him. There were a lot of little boys around Eli's age there, so he kept pretty entertained. When it was time to go to bed he took his flashlight in his sleeping bag and was reading books. When he fell asleep he wouldn't stay on the pad, so Cody kept putting him back on. Needless to say between moving Eli back to his bed and the thunder/lightning he didn't get a lot of sleep. Then he went to work the next day! What an awesome dad...you can tell why we love him so much!

Date night

I go to this group my friend started called "cook club", every week we go to her house and someone in the group demos a recipe. It is a fun way to learn new recipes and get together to talk. Well, this has kind of branched out to a couples "cook club" once a month or so. We were able to work it out to come this last month and we cooked steak, it was so yummy. She also showed us how to make French dressing, which I actually liked. Alisha (my friend who started the group) has an awesome backyard and garden, so we ate dinner outside by the pond. As cheesy as this sounds, it was pretty romantic. The most romantic part of the night was riding on the tractor her husband had restored. ;) I think Cody and I would make good farmers, at least for a few minutes. I was glad to have a fun date night with friends and loved spending time with my wonderful hubby whom I love more than anything! Don't you just love creative dating?

Olive Juice

These pictures crack me up because I used to do the exact same thing when I was a kid. They put all the olives on their fingers and then they try one olive and decide they don't really like them. You'd think by now, they would have learned...I guess you just have to keep trying until you remember. Cody loves olives, so I guess he could have eaten them off their fingers when they were done, but you would have to be pretty brave to eat anything off of my children's fingers. Just sayin'. They may be cute kids, but I have a heck of a time trying to keep them clean!

Fellow Centervilleian

We have gotten to know a lot of missionaries as we have lived in Washington and Oregon and sometimes we even find someone we know in common. Well, an Elder served in our ward here in Hermiston for quite a long time and his name is Elder Buchanan. He happens to be from my home town Centerville, UT and we happen to have the same 2nd family, the McFalls. Corie is one of my best friends and her younger brother Kevin is best friends with Elder Buchanan. Small world! Even better we all got a long so well. Especially Eli and Elder B. They would sword fight or whatever, but they always had a good time. We had to say goodbye to Elder B at the beginning of May as he headed off to his last area of the mission. He is a great missionary and we are lucky to have been able to rub shoulders with him for a while. He had a lot of success in this area and I think that is because people knew he had a kind heart and they could feel the spirit when he was around. He will be missed here in Hermiston, but we look forward to running into him in C-ville. Corie, if you are reading this I thought it might be kind of fun for your family to see these pics. If you would, please share this with them. Thanks you are the best!

Btw, the extra little boys in the picture are not ours...just in case you were wondering. They are our friend's boys, we were babysitting them that day.

Just when I think things are going to start slowing down, a new adventure comes about. I have officially graduated from Primary (at least for now) and have been asked to be the 2nd counselor in the Young Women presidency. I have been in Primary for 4 years and it has become a comfortable place for me to be. It has been fun seeing Eli in Sunbeams this year and I will miss that, but I am excited for this new opportunity. We have a pretty small group of girls and they are awesome! It has only been a couple of weeks, but so far it has been a great experience! The women in the presidency with me are so incredible and I am already learning so much from them. I am the youngest one in the group, but I couldn't have asked for better women to work with. They are all so funny and creative and have a lot of experience. The kids are having to get used to saying bye to mommy on wednesday nights, but it is good for them. Eli probably has the hardest time, but once his daddy shows him all the fun stuff they are going to do he gets over it pretty quick.

Speaking of Eli...he has been on my mind a lot lately. At times I would say he has been one of my greatest challenges, but at the same time one of my greatest joys. Lately I have just been observing him at play or with other kids and it just makes me want to scoop him up in my arms and give him hugs. He is just growing up so much and it seems that things are starting to click for him. He is more patient with his sister, who even frustrates me sometimes. In fact one time she was "helping" me and Eli make dinner and she was getting into things she wasn't supposed to. I was getting a little impatient and Eli looked and me and in a calm voice said, "its ok mom". It made me stop and realize that it wasn't that big of a deal, it could always be cleaned up and she felt good about trying to help. A win win, right? He is such a focused little dude who doesn't give up easily. He is so forgiving of me and my weaknesses and he has a desire to help me with anything and everything. I am not trying to say that he is perfect, but I just feel I haven't focused enough on his strengths in the past and I have a new resolve to do so. What an incredible gift it is to be a mother!

Sadie has always been our little calm girl, but she can be equally sassy at times. She is content to just follow her brother around all day and try to do the things he is doing. However, I have found her alone sometimes playing or reading books. She is such a sweet girl and always has smiles. She is a social creature and loves it when she escapes our grip in church and can walk up to each row of seats and interact with the people. This week has been a little hard on her though. Somehow she got an infection in a cut on her toe and it made her whole foot red and swollen. She has been on 2 different antibiotics since Monday and already it is looking much better! She has been a trooper through it all and doesn't seem too bothered by it. The worst for her is taking the medicine, not very tasty.

I hope all you mothers had a wonderful Mother's day on Sunday! I know I did, my family is so awesome and they totally spoiled me. Go Moms!

A big thanks to my friends...

It gave me some motivation, knowing other people actually read this. Also, you had some great ideas and I can already see how the changes are going to help. Some of you lovely people wanted an update on our family so here it goes, just remember...you asked for it.

We live in Hermiston Oregon (Cody is from here and his family is all here too) where Cody is working as a psychiatric social worker. He enjoys his job and doesn't even seem to mind the 30 minute commute that much. He is currently the elder's quorum president in our ward which keeps him busy, but he enjoys being at home with us when he can. He is a great daddy and the kids bother run to the garage door the minute they hear it open. Cody and I are also signed up to play co-ed softball this summer and I am way excited to play because it has been too many years since I have played any organized sport. Hopefully I am not too rusty!

I am having fun staying at home with the kids, but working a few hours a wek in a day care at a gym. It is kind of fun to get out of the house and to get a free membership too.I even tried Zumba for the first time the other day and had a lot of fun making a fool of myself. I am the Secretary in the Primary which I really like. I also was called to be an assistant camp director for our ward, so I will be going to girls camp this summer. I am way excited! To top it off, I just finished speaking at Stake Conference this last Sunday and I am so glad it is over. A very humbling experience. Other than that we just keep busy by going to the library, play group, cook club, and craft group.

Eli is a big 3 year old (potty trained and all)and definitely keeps me on my toes. He is a ball of energy, but is a big love bug too. He is currently boycotting a hair cut and it hangs over his ears, but I am not quite ready for a battle just yet. His current loves are Spider man, Toy story anything, and playing at his friend Sienna's house.

Sadie is now 15 months old and tries to keep up with her older brother. She is a sweetie, but watch out because she is feisty too. She loves candy (don't judge me, this just happens when you have an older brother), being outside and anything electronic. I can't believe how fast they both have grown up.

We just said goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa Grange who were visiting from Utah and we already miss them. Luckily we have a few trips lined up to visit them this summer. It has been a lot of fun living close to Cody's family. We get to see them often and it has been especially fun for the kids to be around their cousins. I love family and I wish we could live close to all of them. Thank goodness for Skype and for our new van which makes the trips a little nicer.

I am grateful for good friends and family who I have been blessed with in my life, whether for a snip-it in time or for a long while. You have all changed me and influenced me for the better. Thank you for your goodness and for being so supportive! For lack of a better ending....that is all!

Obviously this picture is from Christmas, but I am in the middle of downloading more current pictures so this will have to do for now.