Random Walks.....

As I mentioned in my last post, my kids love being outside. Well after being cooped up on Saturday, hearing too many fights, and after I got tired of listening to too much TV, I decided we needed to head outside for some fresh air. All I have to do is say "Let's go outside for a walk", and all 3 kids jump up, and run to the door. We bundled up and grabbed our little Red Wagon, and headed out.

There are so many rabbits in my in-laws neighborhood, and Keslie is always the first one to spot them. She even tried to set up a trap over the summer so she could catch one. Thankfully she didn't catch any, but if I know my girl, she'll be right back out there this summer, doing the same thing!

Jack was so happy to be outside, and he ran almost the whole time.

              My spunky, but sweet girls.

  Keslie wanted to take a picture of Jack and I - she did a great job!

Of course Emma had to have a turn pulling the wagon. She might look small, but she is strong. I kept trying to take the handle back from her because Keslie was complaining of how slow she was going, but Emma just kept saying "No, I do it!" She did pull it pretty far, and then she got to the speed bump. She tried several times to get the wagon over it, then she threw down the handle, said "I can't do it", and then she ran off. Jack, Kes, and I laughed pretty hard. She is always doing and saying things to make everyone laugh!

          
See those eyes? - pure attitude....

but she is such a sweet girl at the same time.

Keslie climbed up on a rock towards the end of our walk, threw her hand up, and shouted "I'm the king of the world!" Where do they get this stuff?

It was a little cold, so our walk was short, but it was exactly what we needed on a Saturday afternoon.

Candy!

This kids didn't have school on Friday, so we picked up two of our favorite cousins, headed to Denver, and took a tour of Hammond's Candy Factory. When we told the kids where we were going, Jack asked if we were going to get to see the "little orange people." Brandon and I had a good laugh over that one, and I think the kids had fun even without a boat ride down a chocolate river!

I made them pose for lots of pictures, and they were all good sports about it. I think they are all used to it though because someone in the family is always pulling out a camera and saying "cheese."

The tour was really fun and it was cool to see the candy being made. Hammonds has been open since 1920, and is one of the very few candy factories that still makes all of their candy by hand. (Just a little piece of trivia for ya!)

Keslie took her DS with her so she could take pictures. She took a lot, and she even put together a little video with music included! I think my kids are already passing me up in the technology department!

Posing for more pictures....

Everyone got free candy at the end, and I'm pretty sure it was the kids favorite part.

I know Emma loved it!

On our way home, we stopped at a park to play and have lunch. It was pretty cold and windy, so we didn't stay long.

My kids love to be outside, and they are seriously at their happiest when they are.

Lovey was showing me her mad monkey bar skills.

Jack and Soren spun around until they were dizzy.

Emmie loved the swings too.

The kids did manage to grab a few bites in between sliding, climbing, spinning, and running!

When I asked the kids later what their favorite part of the day was, they all said "Candy, and playing outside with our cousins!"

We made it....

So as most of you know, we have been trying to sell our house so we could move to Colorado, and Brandon could open up a practice. Our house hasn't sold (please pray that it sells soon!), but we decided that we couldn't wait around any longer, and that we needed to go ahead and move anyway. Brandon has a job opportunity here, and this is where we have wanted to move since we we first married. We were planning on living with his Mom and Dad for a little while anyway while we looked for a place to live, but it's also great because we aren't paying 2 mortgages!

We spent Christmas in Colorado, decided we needed to make the move out here, drove back home, packed up, and a week later we were back out here. It was a crazy fast move, totally stressful and so exhausting, but we made it, and I'm just glad that week of my life is over!

We have been talking about this move for so long, and it just never kept happening, that I don't think the kids believed us when we said we were moving. They kept asking us if we really were moving, and Jack has even been asking me since we've been here. I think he thinks we are just here visiting like always!

Even though we knew the move would happen eventually, it was still hard to say goodbye. I actually didn't tell very many people just because I didn't want to make a big deal out of it, and I think I might have a hard time with goodbyes. The kids said goodbye to their teachers and all their friends, and I tried to take as many pictures as possible so they can look back on our time in Texas and remember all of their cute little friends, and our neighborhood. (I'm not posting the pictures of friends though, cause I'm not sure if their parents would want them on here.)

                                       Jack and his Kindergarten Teacher Mrs. Kleppe

                            Keslie and one of her 1st Grade teachers Mrs. Parker - Her other teacher Mrs. Rouse was out sick that day (we were so sad we missed her), so we improvised with her picture from the wall!

                       They both had amazing teachers, and their school was so great too!

Britt took me out for Sushi the night before we left so we could have one more Girl's Night Out together. This picture was taken before the tears came, so at least we don't have red, puffy eyes in our picture! This girl and I have been through so much together, and she really is a sister to me, so this goodbye was extra hard. We have talked sooo many times since I've left, but it won't be the same not being able to see her cute face all the time. We'll always have new babies, baptisms, etc., and of course Girl's Trips though.

So the drive from Texas to Colorado usually takes 13 hours, but when you add in a moving truck, bad weather (heavy snow and strong winds), and 3 small kids, it will take you 2 days. We have made this drive many times, but since we had just driven it a week before, and we were all tired from the move, it seemed extra long and painful!

                                     Thankfully, there were many naps.

                                  Keslie wanted to ride in the truck with Brandon, and I though she would get bored without any movies to watch, but she rode with him the whole time and didn't complain at all. She played her DS, colored, slept, and listened to some of her favorite music. I'm not sure if Brandon enjoyed listening to The Backyardigans as much as she did though!

                               We stopped in Wichita, Kansas our first night and stayed at a Hotel there. It was snowing pretty hard at that point, and we all were trying to get inside as fast as we could without falling.

                Keslie and Jack had fun playing together before bed after being in separate cars all day.

                       Emmie had fun taking a bath after sitting in the car all day.

                   The 3 Amigos watching Brandon clean snow off of our car and the moving truck before we could leave the next morning.

                             I was so excited to find a White Noise Machine in our Hotel room! Brandon thought it was pretty funny that I was so excited over this, but after being married to me for so long, he should know how I feel about white noise!

After 2 days of driving we made it. We put most of our things in storage, and we've been working on getting settled in here at my in-laws. The kids have already started school, and we've already been to our new ward. The kids have done amazingly well, and I'm so proud of how well they have adapted, and how happy they have been with all of the changes.

I still miss Texas (I think part of me always will), but I really think Colorado will be good for us. It's been so nice to be near family again, and hopefully I will be able to see mine a lot more!

Changes...

I will be back to blogging soon. I have soooo much to catch up on and one of my NY Resolutions is to blog more, more, more! We are in the middle of our move right now, so things should (hopefully) settle down within the next week or two. Wish us luck that we make it through the rest of the week in one piece! (I loathe moving, and this one is especially hard for me). I am anxious and excited to move onto our next adventure though! Here's to 2011 and all that it holds - xoxo