Okay so I know that I have posted some seriously WAY too long posts lately, but here is another. I'm sorry for the length, but this was our first North Carolina outing (besides IKEA) and it was for four days. Plus I just tend to take way too many pictures. Over these four days we went camping at Hanging Rock State Park. It was so pretty. We went on several hikes, most of which had waterfalls, and even spent a day at the lake there. We had a great time!

Here are the kids on the first hike we took. I made them take at least one nice picture together and then of course we took another because they wanted to make silly faces. I normally wouldn't have Lize hike in a dress, but she wanted to. This dress is even a little big for her, but "Grandma Jan bought it for her and she loves it!" She wears it all the time!






This is why they call it Hanging Rock State Park. Gage and Blake made it up before us stragglers. We saw them sitting on the edge of this rock and it freaked me out. They looked way too close to the edge for me to be comfortable with!

Gage is celebrating his victory of making it to the top first.
The kids found a small cave and hung out the side of it. It came out the side of that huge rock Blake and Gage were sitting on so this freaked me out a little too. I'm thinking I might be one of those over protective moms???
Okay so I'm not exactly sure where this tradition started of making ash beards when we go camping came from, but the boys love it! Gage and I thought it was from Uncle Cade, but Blake said that he started it. This time Eliza even joined in the fun. Gage was probably the most into it. He thought he looked so cool and that it made him look older. The next night when he did it he had a full on beard and he looked like Billy Mays (the oxi-clean commercial guy). Unfortunately, I didn't take a picture though because it was pretty funny looking.


Eliza going on an "adventure". She was pretty funny. She kept asking if it was dark enough to use the lantern and go on an adventure.


Enjoying some delicious hot cocoa!








Max thought he had found the biggest leaf ever.
One of the days camping we spent at their lake. They had a small beach which made it nice. We rented a paddle boat and all of the kids took turns trying to paddle. The boys did really well. They both paddled us all the way across the lake and back. They said, "I have been to the edge and back" (very dramatically) when they were done, just like the Pizza Hut commercial. We also ate ice creams, jumped off the diving board, and hunted for salamanders. Max and Eliza both got one and wanted to keep them overnight. They loved playing with them and wanted to keep them, but we ended up putting them back in the lake the next day.

Gage
Blake
Max






On the last day we took a hike to a really cool waterfall. It was a pretty big one. It was a bummer that we didn't have our swimsuits on though because the kids really wanted to wade around in the water. It definitely wasn't as cold as Utah river water would have been.




I made the mistake of saying, "I wonder if there is any way to get to the top?" Blake of course decided to find a way and helped Gage follow behind him. Thankfully, they made it up and back down safely because those rocks were slippery!

Off we go....

On Sunday July 5th, we headed out of Salt Lake for our new adventure in North Carolina. We traveled for many, many, okay way too many hours and ended up in our new home in Winston Salem around midnight Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. It was the longest drive ever and I am so glad that we don't have to do it again for at least two years. The kids were amazing though which definitely helped the time go by a little easier. Not one of them complained once about when are we going to be there or being tired of being in the car so long. Max and Eliza rode with me in our truck and Gage rode with Blake in the rental truck. Although we made it to our destination safely, we did have a couple of bumps along the way.

Our first day went very smoothly, we drove forever and made it really far. We stopped around 3:30 a.m. and were just going to sleep for a few hours at a truck stop. Kind of ghetto I know, but we weren't tired and were anxious to keep driving and then when we finally were ready to stop it seemed kind of pointless to get a hotel room for just a few hours and our kids were sound asleep as it was. This proved to be disastrous though because we woke up the next morning pulled up to the pumps to get gas and I stupidly put regular gas in our diesel truck. I didn't think anything of it because the handle was green and the handles for diesel are always green. Then Blake noticed what I did and asked me if I had just put regular gas in his truck. Oh my gosh, I saw my life flash before my eyes!!! Not really, but I could tell that he was furious. He handled it so well though and just walked away. I called a mechanic shop and they had to come tow our truck and the trailer behind it to their shop to siphon out all of the fuel and then power flush it with diesel fuel to completely clean it out of all of the regular gas. It wasted so much time and money and I felt sooo bad for being so careless. When we finally got back on the road we didn't get very far, I think we only drove for about six or seven hours that day. To top it off, every time we stopped for gas the kids would remind me not to put in the wrong gas. Talk about rubbing it in! Later that night I apologized again to Blake and he said it was okay and that we would probably laugh about it someday. I sure hope so, but it wasn't very funny at the time. We did stay at a hotel that night though and were able to swim and wind down. Then we ate a delicious BBQ restaurant that we would definitely eat at again were we ever in Missouri.

The next day everything was going great, making good time when I felt the trailer swaying. I immediately pulled over and knew I had to have a flat tire. The crazy thing is that moments before I had a feeling that I needed to find my phone, which I couldn't find. When I pulled over I was looking for it frantically because I could see Blake driving away from me oblivious to the fact that I had stopped. I had been following him the whole trip because his truck was much slower, so I was letting him set the pace but he wasn't able to see me pull over because of it. I found my phone pretty quick, but by the time I called him it was too late for him to stop so he had to wait until the next exit, flip around and get back on the freeway to come back towards me, get off again only to flip around again. It was such a pain for him, but he never showed it. When I first got out of the truck to see which tire was flat I was very surprised at what I found. One of the trailer tires was completely shredded and the fender was almost all the way torn off. I couldn't believe because I pulled over the minute I felt it pulling. Lucky for us Blake was prepared and bought a spare tire for the trailer right before we left. I am so thankful that Blake was prepared ahead of time and bought a spare tire for the trailer!

We got back on the road and I called the Elder's Quorum President to tell him that we just weren't going to make it on time. That we were going to be getting in really late and to see if we could get help to move in the next day instead. He was so nice and offered to bring in some air mattresses for us, but I thanked him and told him it wasn't necessary. Well when we finally pulled into our new neighborhood we were all very tired and I was even a little grumpy because we had gotten lost very briefly. When we walked into the house that all changed because the Elder's Quorum President and his wife had brought over two air mattresses and left some things for breakfast. There were bagels, muffins, fruit, milk, juice, a very nice note, and even ice cream sandwiches in the freezer, and a darling girl from Young Women's made us brownies. I couldn't believe how kind these people we had never even met were being to us. It was soooo generous and extremely appreciated! The next day a different girl from YW's called me to ask if she could come over for the next three days and help me unpack or watch the kids while Blake and I unpack. I couldn't believe that this sixteen year old girl would waste her summer days offering to watch our kids - how generous. Unfortunately, I couldn't take her up on her offer because the H3A seminar was for the next three days, I felt very bad declining such a sweet offer. Then another family brought us dinner that night and invited us over for Sunday dinner when they came to help unpack our moving truck. What, is this ward for real??? It has been amazing so far. We have been treated so kindly and our kids have been so welcomed into their new classes. I think these next two years are going to go by very nicely for us!

4th of July...and Grandma Jan.

Today was the 4th of July, one of my favorite holidays, and we spent the majority of it cleaning our house. Bummer! The even bigger bummer is that I did not get one single picture of us watching fireworks last night or tonight, or of the kids playing with their cousins or with Grandma Jan. After an all day cleaning fest at our house we went over to Grandma Jan's house for dinner and fireworks. Uncle Mike provided some amazing fireworks and Grandma Jan provided some delicious food on a whim after spending all day cleaning with us. She really is an amazing mother-in-law and Grandma. She is so generous to us, she is always more than willing to help us in any way she can, you can always count on her to be there when you need her, she is an excellent example of faith, and we love her dearly. The kids will surely miss Grandma Jan tons! She has been such a big part of their lives since each of their beginnings and it saddens me to take them away from her. I am glad that we were able to spend our last night in Salt Lake with her though. Thank you Grandma Jan for everything!!! We love you dearly and will miss you terribly!

Packing Up....sniff, sniff.

We picked up the moving truck last night and today some friends and family came over to help us pack it up. It is sad to see our house so empty. We have loved this house and neighborhood and the friends that we have made that I am very sad to leave it all. I know that our moving to North Carolina will be good for us, but it is still hard to leave. I have to remember that after our two years in North Carolina I will have a better job, better job satisfaction, I will get to be home at night with my family and work during hours that the kids are at school, and we will be much better off financially. However, since we haven't sold it, we could very well end up back here!! I'm still hoping for it to sell though, it would be so much less stressful to not have to worry about student loans.

During some of our packing and cleaning I found Max and Eliza asleep on this mattress. Then later after Max had woken up, him and Gage had a wrestling match. I love how well these two get along. I am always amazed at what a great relationship they have and how little they fight. I'm not complaining, I love it that they don't fight. It is very rare that they get in an argument or fight. I would say probably not even as often as once a month. I hope they will always remain best friends and treat each other as well as they do now. I love you boys!





Today the plan was for everyone to come over in the evening, but Blake's brother Dave came over earlier than originally planned. This was perfectly fine, but made me feel like such a slacker because during the day I had plans to hang out with my work friends for my going away party and then to pack at night. By the time I got home, most of the truck was already packed. I guess it worked out okay though because there was plenty of cleaning for me to do and I am so glad that I was able to spend some time with my friends one more time. We had a great time too! We all got together this morning for pedicures, then went out to lunch at The Cheesecake Factory, and then went to see The Proposal. It was sooo much fun, but I did WAY too much crying! I love these girls and will miss each one of them dearly. Thank you sooo much for all of the fun and memories Tiffany, Heather, Deb, Jen Q, Dani, Kaylyn, Jen S, Liz, Camilla, KK, and Jane!!! I had an amazing time with you all!

After all of the girly fun I went back home and my dear, sweet friend Tiffany came with me to help me finish packing and with the cleaning. We worked for a few hours and then BBQ'd and watched the Eaglewood Golf Course fireworks from our deck with Blake's family. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures. I guess I was just too preoccupied. Thank you everyone for all of your help especially Jan, Dave and Tiff ~ you guys are amazing and way out did yourselves. We never could have gotten everything done without your help!!! We love you and will miss you all terribly!

Eliza's Birthday Party

Since we would be in North Carolina this year over Eliza's Birthday, we decided to have her party early while we were still here in Utah. It caused a little confusion for her at first about whether she was four or five because she is so anxious to be a big girl she was hoping it meant she was five now. We cleared it all up for her though pretty easily. We ended up having it on June 27th at our house. Like Max, Eliza wanted a pool party. When we were deciding on a theme we were pretty much just looking at puppy parties. Eliza LOVES dogs and wants one sooo bad. She has been saying that she wants a poodle for quite some time now and one day she told me that she wants a pink one, no big surprise there. I had to tell her that they don't come in that color, so she is now set on getting a white one. Anyways, I got to thinking about that conversation that we had and remembered the Pink Poodle in Paris. I googled it to see if there were birthday party supplies in this theme and lucky enough there was! I knew Eliza was going to love it and once I showed it to her she was absolutely set on it. There was no changing her mind in the least. So we ordered the stuff online and she was so excited for it to come. She thought that it would be coming in the mail that day! I wish online ordering was that fast, I would love that. On the party day everything turned out great. We BBQ'd hot dogs and had fruit, carrots and chips with it - some of Eliza's favorites. Then we opened gifts and Eliza was completely spoiled. She got a pink scooter (which is what she asked for, I found the pinkest scooter I could find and she loved it.), tons of clothes, quite a few Polly Pocket toys, a jewelry box, a puzzle, money, and a couple of other toys. Uncle Mike and Riley even bought her a pink Nintendo DS!! Wow, how generous, thanks Uncle Mike! She loved the DS and was super excited about it because Gage and Max already have them and she has wanted one. I was super excited because I knew it would be a life saver on our VERY long drive to North Carolina. After gifts we had cake and ice cream and then all the girls took a few whacks at the pinata. I love watching their little faces get so serious as they try to hit the pinata as hard as they can. After that the party was over. Eliza had a great birthday party with many laughs and lots of fun.

Tati, Eliza, Ava, Anna, Clara, Elie
We were so lucky that Grandpa Keith and Grandma Bobbie could make it so we could see them one last time before we left for North Carolina. They are amazing Grandparents ~ we adore them!
Eliza LOVES Grandma Bobbie sooo much. She talks about her all the time and will miss her so much. She's running over to greet her and help her down the stairs ~ how sweet!

Opening presents....


Isn't she darling??? I just love this girl soooo much!!
Look at her big ol' eyes eyeing her new DS!
Giving Riley a BIG thank you hug for the DS. These two sweet cousins love each other sooo much. Eliza couldn't wait for Riley's visit to Utah this summer. They've been playing like crazy!

I LOVE those big cheeks!
Eliza taking a big whack at the pinata.



A sweet group of girly hugs!
Daddies and daughters ~ Blake and Eliza with his brothers David and Mike, and their daughters Tati and Riley.
After the party was over and friends had gone home, Blake's family decided to stay a little longer to swim some more and just hang out with us. Everything was going great and then Blake came in holding Eliza who was screaming with blood running from her mouth. She had fallen and hit her mouth on one of the deck stairs. I took her over to the sink to rinse her mouth and take a look at what had happened. She had dug her teeth into the inside of her bottom lip. She had a scrape on her chin so I started to look at that and noticed she also had a small laceration on the outside of her lip just above her chin. I told Blake we should go to the ER just in case she might need stitches. I didn't want her to end up with a nasty scar on her sweet, little chin and I wasn't sure if she had bitten through her lip or not. Eliza was such a brave girl about going to the hospital. I got us in the car and held her the whole way there, (we were buckled up together, I'm not totally irresponsible.) she was so sad and just wanted to be held by her mommy. I couldn't say no. The ER got us in really quickly and it was decided that she would be okay with just some Dermabond (that was really expensive super glue - $130!). I probably could have done this at home myself, but you never can be too sure and it was worth knowing that she wouldn't end up with an ugly scar on her face. The ER nurse tried to give Lize a popsicle on the way out, but she didn't want it so we bought her an ICEE on the way home - she never says no to those. I was so proud of Eliza, she was so brave and never cried once after we left the house, she just wanted to be cuddled by her mommy which I was more than happy to do. Here is a pic of her sad, little face after we got home.

Cub Scout Day Camp

On June 12th and 13th the boys had cub scout day camp. I went with them on the first day and Blake went with them on the next. The weather wasn't great, it was pretty cold and a little rainy. It is held in Millcreek Canyon which didn't help any either because it is sooo shady up there that there was hardly any sunny spots to warm up in. It didn't seem to bother the boys too bad though. They still had a lot of fun. They passed off some activities in their books, earned some belt loops and of course made a couple of trips to the souvenir shack.

Here is a picture of the wolf and bear dens combined.





Gage looks like he is having way too much fun in this picture. I wasn't here this day to know what got him upset, but he is a pretty dramatic kid and overreacts way too often. The good thing is that he gets over it really quickly and will be back to smiling within no time. I can just give him a really cheesy grin and he tilts his sweet little head and say's, "mom quit it" as he's trying his best not to smile ~ love it!!!
Max looks a little cold...he has on his own sweatshirt and Blake's!






Max made his chin up. Yeah Max!!