TWO YEARS. . .

It has been two years this week that we moved from Colorado to Idaho. It is crazy how time flies by, and what has happened in those two years:

• Ben started with the INL.
• Ben started SLED SKIN, and it has become quite the little side business.
• We built our first home.
• We became a family of four and welcomed little Miss London to the family.
• We have moved twice here in Idaho, and been in two different wards.

This has been on my mind a lot lately, and I just thought I would share my thoughts.

What I love about IDAHO:

• I love our home; I love that everything is brand new, clean, and exactly what we wanted.
• I love looking out our window and seeing fields of grain with mountains in the background.
• I love our neighborhood, I love walking outside to get the mail and seeing all of our wonderful neighbors and being able to chat with them.
• I love our friends, I love that we have so many friends with kids our kids' ages. It makes hanging out with people so fun.
• I love our ward, we seriously have been so lucky to have such nice people around us.
• I love that we can use all the water we want and it is $20 a month. Nice!
• I love that my family is here, and I love taking the girls over on Wednesday nights so Ben can work on his snowmobile stuff. :)
• I love that there is so much to do outdoors so close.
• I love that there is a Taco Time close by. :)
• I secretly love running into people that I know everywhere I go.
• I love that Brooklyn will go to the best elementary school in the city.

What I miss about COLORADO:

• I miss our family there so much!
• I miss Elaine's wonderful Sunday dinners.
• I miss Ben being able to spend time with his Dad.
• I miss going to Rockies/Nuggets games, sitting in the suites.
• I miss all of the fun concerts that came to Denver.
• I miss being near a major airport.
• I miss 4 BabyGaps that were within 15 minutes of me. (Ben probably doesn't miss this.) :)
• I miss subbing at Westgate Elementary and running into my old students.
• I miss Ben's dad picking up Brooklyn every Monday night so that we could have a night to ourselves.
• I miss the WEATHER!!!

I'm sure there's more, I have just been thinking a lot about this. Can't there be a happy medium? Maybe it's in Rock Springs, Wyoming. KIDDING!!! My solution - a summer home here in Idaho, and a winter home in Denver, sign me up!!! The end.

PUMPKIN PATCH 2010

Two weeks ago, we ventured over to the pumpkin patch for some family fun. Brooklyn fell out of the wagon and had a meltdown because she got all dirty. We did manage to have some fun and find two perfect pumpkins.

UPDATE - Part 1: Parade of Homes

So, it has been FOREVER since I updated the blog. Be prepared for some updating overload over the next few days. : ) All summer long, Ben slaved away in the yard getting ready for the East Idaho Homebuilders Association Parade of Homes. The parade was September 16 - 19, and boy was it a lot of work. We had to have the yard looking great, the inside cleaned and decorated to model home quality, and the girls and I had to move over to my parents for a week!!! Craziness! Our home won "Best in Show" which was the Decorator's choice award. I guess that means we have okay taste. : ) So, here are a few pictures of our house decked out and ready for 1700 people to walk through it. Yep, it was wall to wall people at some points, and pretty sure they opened every drawer, cupboard, opened the fridge, oven, dishwasher, etc. along with rubbing London's crib bedding. It was an interesting experience, we are relieved it's over, and are still unpacking all of the things we moved downstairs. Good job Ben on our beautiful yard.

Our beautiful home all lit up at night . . .

The front entry (thank you Patty F. for helping me decorate)

The great room/kitchen/dining room.

B's adorable little room. Some lady during the parade saw that Brooklyn was mine, and told me, "Well she's made herself right at home. She even named the fish in that little girl's bedroom." I smiled as I told her that it was her bedroom. : )

My lovely kitchen . . .

The lovely fireplace.

The master bath with my vanity.

The master bedroom.

LONDON = 6 MONTHS!!!

This little beauty is 6 months old!!! It is crazy how time flies! We took her to the doctor last week and this is how she weighed in:

Weight: 16 lbs. 12 oz.

Height: 25 3/4 inches

Teeth: 2 (it's dangerous at feeding time now)

We have started solids now. She hated the rice cereal, but loved sweet potatoes! We love our London!

INSPIRING. . .

I know a lot of people have heard about Preslee Sullenger, the little 18 month old girl who fell in a canal in Rigby and was in it for 2 miles before she was pulled out by some farmers. She was revived and then flown to Primary Children's and was there for about a week in critical condition before she passed away. If you haven't read her story, or if you want to see two amazing parents (I seriously want to meet them), or if you just need a reminder how precious life is, check out the Sullenger's blog at: www.patrickandashley.blogspot.com.

I cry every time I read it, it is so inspiring. It makes me want to be a better mom and to just enjoy my little ones. I just want to hold them forever and not ever let them go. Thanks Sullenger's for the reminder, some days I really need it.

CUTE PICTURES. . .

At the request of Erica, here are some updated pictures of our sweet little London. She sure is cute these days and I am loving her chunkiness. I just want to freeze her in this age forever!!! Love you little Londini!!!

Seriously, how adorable is this outfit and the model?!!!

And, here is Miss B playing at the playground today!!!

Garden Valley Reunion . . .

Last week, the little ladies and I headed over to Garden Valley, ID with my mom and brother Zane, for a little reunion. We finally made it to Boise after about 5 potty breaks on the way over, and stopped at the mall for some lunch and a little shopping. Brooklyn loved riding on the "elligator" a.k.a escalator. Then we headed out for Garden Valley where my grandparents live and family was visiting. We stayed for four days and had a great time. We kept ourselves busy with eating, napping, swimming, visiting, playing Bingo, playing with cousins, etc. We even caught "The Wizard of Oz" at Starlight Mountain Theater. Now, Miss Brooklyn won't stop talking about "Toto" and she says "lions and tigers and bears- oh my!" We made it until intermission and then the ladies were done. Thanks everyone for a great time, and Brooklyn will be talking about it forever! : )

We decided it is a lot of work to go swimming, but they sure look cute!

Brooklyn finally was brave enough to go down the slide.

Little Miss Londini

Brooklyn made huge progress with the dog, she finally petted it and played ball with it! Huge accomplishment since she has been scared to death of dogs for about the past 6 months. Way to go Brookie!