My favorite Christmas moment

Merry Christmas!

I hope to post pictures soon too, but here's a sweet story:

So, my mom bought the boys these advent calendars to have for the month of December - you know - where you open a little door everyday and there's a candy inside? So, about a week ago, I had the boys both taking their daily candy out and I had to run into the office (right next to our kitchen) and help a student. When I returned five minutes later, Caleb was sitting on the floor next to an empty calendar with a chocolately face and a smile. I was like, "Caleb! You ate them all?!" Gabe was shaking his head and said, "Now Caleb's not going to have any more candy!" And I was like, "Nope, that's too bad for him. He ate it all and now it's gone!"

So, this past week every time Gabe has opened a little window on his calendar, Caleb has come to me and been like, "My candy?" and usually I've scounged up a piece of chocolate somewhere for him. But on Christmas Eve Day, I was fresh out of everything chocolate. And Gabe was so excited to open his very last door of chocolate. But when he opened it, Caleb was kneeling down next to him watching (as usual), and Caleb looked at me and asked, "My candy too?" And I said, "Sorry Caleb. Yours is all gone because you ate it and I don't have any for you today." And do you know what Gabe did? He looked at Caleb and looked at his last piece of candy and said, "Here Caleb. You can have my piece if you want." And he gave him his very last piece! It was soooo sweet! I was like, "Gabe, I can not believe you did that! That was so nice!" (Caleb of course didn't really grasp how nice it was, he just took it and ate it - he may have said a quick thank you, I'm not sure...) But then Gabe's like, "That would make Jesus happy right?" It was so cute because we've talked about how Christmas is really Jesus' birthday and for his present he just wants us to be nice to eachother. It was soooo cute! Merry Christmas everyone!

"It look like Disney World!"

Quick funny story....

Last night when we were driving home from the store, we went past the corner on the hill where the temple sits (yes, we live down the street from a temple - crazy!) and it was so beautiful all lit up that we said to Gabe, "Isn't that pretty Gabe? Look at the temple!" And Gabe said, "It looks just like Disney World!" We had a good laugh. I guess I can see how it would look similar to a four-year old. That's all I have time for now! Have a Merry Christmas!!!

Getting Moved In

Wow, time flies! We spent about a month living with Josh's parents and it is nice to be moved into our own place. However, I am still getting adjusted to this crazy manager lifestyle I've signed up for! My friend, Tiffany (who has managed with her husband for a few years now at other apartments and now manages the "brother complex" to ours) keeps telling me it will slow down.... I hope, I hope!

We moved in last Thursday and had to decorate the just barely finished clubhouse for Christmas. Then they had an open house on Fridy and Saturday. This week it's helping Tiffany at Southgate with her check-outs and lots of girls moving their stuff into storage here for the winter break who are moving in in January. In between all that I have about 300 girls to assign apartments to who all have many requests, "room with Mary, same ward as Scott Hart, building by the clubhouse, and oh yeah, near Julie..." the list goes on. I really hope I can make all these girls happy! I've been so busy, it's like, "When do I do my laundry? Go grocery shopping?" I kind of miss just hanging out with my boys all day! :( I'm trying to get them to let me hire an office assistant a couple of afternoons per week. Hopefully it works out. When we signed up for this, the hours were going to be 9 am - 1:00 pm M-F but right after we got here the owner said he wanted 9 am - 6 pm M-F and we were like, "Uh, well, we can't really back out now...we're here!" So, I really hope he let's me hire this assistant that I want to cover at least Tues, and Thurs. afternoons. They did double the salary, which is nice, but at some point I just say, "I don't care, I still want more time with my kids," you know? So, that's where we're at right now. It is a beautiful place to live. Every girl I show an apartment to just loves it. I can confidently say it is the nicest apartment complex in the city. So, I'm grateful for the situation we're in, (especially since our house STILL hasn't sold!) it's just sad somedays, especially when Gabe says, "I miss spending time with you, Mom..." awww! Tear! He is in preschool here, but I still miss Hope in Wisconsin. I talked to his old teacher today and she said the kids still talk about Gabe and how, "He's never coming back." (Aww! Tear again!) I think maybe we should come home for a visit in Spring and let him go visit Hope again for a couple days just for fun. I'm thinking May would be a good time for a visit to Wisconsin. :)

Well, that's all for now! Here's some pics of all the snow and the boys sledding, kitties at grandma's house, and more.

Life in Idaho...

No pictures this post, sorry. If I were to post pictures they would be of snow, snow, everywhere! It is always snowy here where Josh's parents live I think. But then 30 miles south it is usually melted. So, we made it here safely.

Jeni - if you are reading this - I tried to post a comment back to you on your blog but it wouldn't let me for some reason. I miss you too! Tell the girls I said hi.

We are living here in the thriving metropolis of Chester, Idaho. Population: 4. No, I don't know but it feels like 4. Our apartments are coming along. They had the paint done when we were there and we installing cabinets in the kitchen this week. I'm really excited for them. They are so nice. I really think the sqare footage of our apartment may be the same as if not bigger than our house. I had people telling me, "Oh, it'll be hard for you to go back to an apartment after living in a house," but they haven't seen this apartment... I think I'll survive. :) I am starting to train now with my friend, Tiffany (yes, it's awesome we have the same name) and so far it's going well. I am only overwhelmed a few times per session. :) Right now it's all about learning the computer system for contracts.

Gabe started preschool on Monday. My initial response was, "Oh, this is a step down from his old preschool..." but he says he likes it and seems like he's having fun so I guess that's what matters. Plus it's close to our apartments and coincides with my office schedule so it'll be good.

Caleb is the little moody man. Sometimes he's so sweet then when he's lacking sleep he gets feisty and him and Grandpa Rhodes go at it. We try to tell Grandpa Rhodes not to sink to the maturity level of the two-year-old... :) It's a test of his patience I think. They'll probably throw a party when we move out.

What else? Josh is working for Teton. He likes it but says it is way more relaxed than Winnebago - for good and bad. I like that he works 4 days on, 4 days off and the pay is I think the best in southeastern Idaho for Sheriff's departents so that's good.

The best part of being back here is that we've already gotten to hang out with lots of our friends - Tiff, Scott, Charm, Devin, (briefly), Abbie, Jordan, and more! That's more than we hung out with all year in Wisconsin! Plus Gabe has gotten to see all his cousins now I think. (All 16!)

We miss Wisconsin and Gabe and Caleb both have their, "I want to go home moments..." (as do I, especially when my mom tells me I got a 30 percent off coupon in the mail this time for Kohl's, which now is an hour away instead of 5 minutes - thanks mom!)
but we are slowly adjusting. Wish you all well!

Halloween and now Moving Day!

Only one more full day left in Wisconsin! Josh's boy posse is arriving in Wisconsin tommorow sometime to help us pack up the truck. I have found out today that it is not just Devin. The posse consists of his two cousins, but on different sides, Devin and Steve, and his buddy, who is also somehow related, Scott. I would call the relationship they all have a bro-mance but then it would be a somewhat incestial bromance. Whatever it is, I am glad it exists because they are doing us a huge favor. What good friends/bromances he has that are willing to drive across the country to help us move! I can't believe it. They must really love Josh. Is it even necessary for me to be describing all this since the only ones who read my blog are the boy posse's wives? I don't know. But I am sure they will get a kick out of it and totally agree with me about it. I love you girls! I am so excited to see you again! Thanks for sharing your men for a week.

Anyhoo.... so my house is in total disarray right now. Hopefully it will be ready by tommorow when they get here. Then Friday morning we pull out for IDAHO! Right now Gabe is being pretty optimistic about the whole move. Today though he did ask, as I was packing up his toys, "Why do you want to move anyway?" I wasn't sure what to say. I think I said, "Because we knew we wanted you boys to grow up there there and decided to move now instead of later." He says he will miss his preschool friends and Jasmine, but "he is going to make new friends too." We'll see how it goes...

Here are the Halloween pictures of the boys, my little Buzz and Woody! So cute! My friend actually MADE that Buzz costume! It was amazing! Thanks Jeni!

Good bye Wisconsin...

Well, the time has come to say goodbye again to Wisconsin. When I was graduating from high school I was practically running to the stage to get my diploma so I could leave. I really never thought I would live here again. But, it just happened that we ended up moving back, thinking it would be for a year or two, and then we bought a house, had another kid, got a little more settled, and Josh started having a meltdown. "Are we really going to live here FOREVER!?!" So, when our friends called us and told us about a good housing/manager opportunity, he started looking for jobs. We really didn't know if it would happen very fast but it did! So we are officially moving back to the land of potatoes. I do have to say I prefer cheese to potatoes. But there are other good things about Idaho (and Wisconsin). So, here is my ode to Wisconsin.

Top Ten Things I will miss about Wisconsin:
10 - Seeing all the many trees change color in the fall and the grass turning green in the Spring (very green).
9 - The entertainment value that my small LDS branch provides with some of it's crazier members. I will of course miss all the young women I've been serving as well.
8 - The Cheesecake Factory only 1 our away
7 - Knowing that when a Packer game is on, I can open my windows at home and hear every single person in their own living rooms cheer (or cuss) depending on the play.
6 - My OBGYN (seriously. She is awesome. She got me a full-term baby!)
5 - The preschool that Gabe goes to here (yes it is Lutheran so it's a little weird we take him to it, but it is still awesome and I think they may know the Bible stories better than me in all honesty.)
4 - The fun things to do here with kids like the waterpark, the children's museum, and Lakeside Park that are all within minutes and hardly ever that crowded.
3 - my fenced in backyard and good neighbors with little kids
2 - my family (mom will say, "This is not number one?!")
1 - the shopping (Can I survive in a city without a Target? Time will tell...)

Now, before I talk myself out of moving, I will make a list of the things I look forward to in Idaho:

10 - While the beauty of Rexburg kind of starts and ends with the temple (in my opinion) I know there is at least some beautiful scenery only a little ways away. Josh was at a hospital call the other day with one of his fellow deputies and there was a picture of the Tetons on the wall of the hospital and Josh said, "Hey look. That it where I am going to be working," to which his friend replied, "I hate you."
9 - Being in a ward where everybody is so talented that there are not enough "big callings" to even go around. I will also only have 2 people to visit teach, 5 less than I have now.
8 - Johnny Carinos: 30 minutes away. New Fongs: 2 minutes. Oh New Fongs, I've missed you!
7 - Well, I really got nothing to parallel the Packers to in Idaho. I guess the plus side is that Josh won't have all those domestic distubances to deal with when the Packers lose.
6 - Will somebody please recommend a good OBGYN? I got nothing here either. I'm thinking of trying that Rosemark place next time around.
5 - I already have Gabe enrolled in what I think will be a good preschool. It isn't free like it is here (boo) but I think he'll make friends fast.
4 - There may be a Rexburg waterpark in the works (?) from what I hear. Hopefully it won't be so overcrowded that all the kids get diarrea again. At least I know I have lots of friends with kids that stay home that we can have play dates with.
3 - A free place to live with a movie theater and fitness center. Maybe I'll even start to work out now that it's only 10 steps away..... um, if we're being honest.... no probably not.
2 - Lots of cool friends and Josh's family
1 - What is there in Idaho that can parallel good shopping? Hm... well at least there's always online shopping.

Fall Fun

Here's a few pictures of how we've been spending our unseasonably warm October. (Of course today it is super windy and probably about 45 degrees...) but up until today it's been pretty nice! We've been to the Little Farmer a couple times, Josh took the boys camping at my grandma and grandpa's farm, and they've had lots of fun playing outside with their neighborhood friends.

Disney World!

Well, we successfully completed the Disney World trip we've been wanting to take with the boys for a while. We were planning to go in the Spring right before Caleb's third birthday (they require a ticket to all the parks at age three!) but with Josh probably starting a new job this fall and us moving (yes, we are probably moving - more to come on that...) we decided to squeeze it in now.

We left for Florida September 21st and drove two days (yikes) to Florida. We decided to drive to save money and also because we've heard so many bad stories lately about flying. There were a few crazy moments but we had the dual DVD players and it wasn't that bad. We stayed at this AWESOME place. It was a privately-owned condo that I found on the internet. I was a little worried about booking a place, sight-unseen from a guy from England over the internet.... but I called around for some references and decided to go for it. It turned out really well. It was in a nice gated community and we had a big three bedroom, three bath home to stay in while we were there. Here is a picture:













If anyone is going soon, here is the info which I promised the guy I'd pass onto people: www.orlando-rental-home.com
It's awesome.

So anyways, we got the 6-day hopper passes which let you go to any parks you want however many times each day. The first day I think I had this grand vision that it was going to be just like when I would go with my family (as a teenager) and we'd go from 9 am to 9 pm non-stop and have a great riding every single thing, but I quickly realized you can not do that with a two year old and a four year old. The first day we stayed from 9 am till 5 pm and by 5 pm this was Gabe at the park:



Not to mention I wanted to do that as well. Plus it was like, in the 90's and humid everyday and we were just sweaty all day long. In the future, I would recommend October or later.








So after that first day we would go from about 9 until noon, come home, eat lunch, usually swim, rest, go back at about 4:00 and stay until park close. That way we were swimming during the hottest part of the day, which the boys loved. Gabe is such a little fish! I would watch him jump into the pool (at 5+ feet deep), go underwater, and swim all the way to Josh on the other side, without water wings or any help! It was crazy. Is it just because I am his mom that that amazes me? Do all four-year-olds do that? I don't know. Here is Gabe the fish, riding a fish:













and here is Caleb who also loves the water, but still preferred to hang out on the steps...













So, overall it was a very fun trip. We did all four parks (Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood studios, and Epcot) and we did one whole day at Cocoa Beach, which was a perfect day. The water was warm, the boys loved the waves, and we all got a tad sunburned.














We left after a week and have been home for two days - now freezing our buns off in the 48 degree weather of Wisconsin! (Why can't I have the perfect 60-75 degree temperatures I love?!)

Here are a few more pictures. Some of our favorite moments were:
Gabe: "That SUPER fast train!" (Big Thunder Mountain Railroad ride @ Magic Kingdom), the "Honey I Shrunk the Kids" movie set/playland, Splash Mountain, Buzz Lightyear ride, Kali River Rapids, and the Playhouse Disney LIVE show






















Caleb: "Wacecars!!!" (The Speedway @ Magic Kingdom), "Musical!" (High School Musical 3 show at Hollywood Studios) "Nemo" (Finding Nemo ride, all the characters we met, and especially "Disney Mouse" (aka Mickey Mouse)

























Tiffany: The French Pastry Shop at Epcot with chocolate cake, Rock N' Rollercoaster at Hollywood Studios, Monsters Inc. Laugh Factory at MK(like a stand-up comedy show that the monsters do - it was soooo funny!)





















Josh: Expedition Everest (roller coaster at Animal Kingdom) and Soarin' (this really cool iMax movie/ride that feels like you're seriously flying)

First Day of School!

Okay, does Caleb not look like a baby body builder in this picture?! I wish I had those obliques!
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Anyways, Gabe started school this past Thursday. He is starting 4K this year, which is basically like kindergarten, but they start when they are four here. He goes every day from 12:20 to 3:15. (It would be until 3:00 but they do 15 minutes of Jesus time at the end- because it's a Lutheran school- yes, did we mention we are Lutheran now? jk. It was an optional thing, but we figured it was pretty basic stuff.)

The first day after school he hopped in the car and I said, "What did you learn today?" and he goes, "Um, did you know that Jesus is always watching us?" I was like, "Really? Where is he right now?" and he goes, "He is everywhere. But he hides so we can't see him." I was like, "Oh...I get it...."

I was wondering how it would go with dropping him off there. He was really good though. Caleb on the other hand....

When we were getting ready to go to school, I had to let Caleb wear his little Handy Manny backpack just so he'd get in the car and go with us. I took both of their pictures in front of the school when we arrived. I took them to the classroom and they both ran in happily. Gabe went and found his nametag and put it on. Caleb selected one that said, "Nate" and put it on. (Sorry, Nate.) Then I kissed Gabe good-bye and had to tear the screaming and kicking Caleb away from school and try to explain to him that he can come back when he's a little bigger. I felt so bad that I took him straight to a park to play instead of home for his nap. Most kids cry when you drop them off for their first day. No, not mine. They cry when they have to go home with me!:) Am I that bad? The first day when I picked Gabe up, he said, "I had fun, but I missed you mom." The second day when I picked him up he said, "I had fun! And I didn't miss you at all!" Awww! How quick they forget!

Hope the first day of school is treating you all well!

Squeezing in our last Summer Fun!

As Gini would say...
WARNING! LOTS OF PICTURES AHEAD!

Well, today is Monday and school starts for Gabe on Thursday so we are trying to squeeze in every last bit of Summer outdoors fun. I am NOT looking forward to hibernating in the house again this winter. Summer always goes too fast.

Gabe is getting so grown up. He is a fun little companion to have around. He is also like a little sponge absorbing everything - for good and bad. We watched The Lion King for the first time last night (movie time in my bed with popcorn while dad was at work.) Caleb just danced at the songs and lost interest halfway through. But Gabe was like, totally engrossed in it. It's a pretty intense movie for a 4-year-old. I had to explain death, heaven, love, envy, murder, and the tradition of royal succession all because of that movie! Maybe we'll stick to Thomas the Tank Engine for a while instead.... he's just growing up too fast!

Caleb is the typical 2-year-old. He is so much fun one second, then screaming on the floor in Wal-mart the next. Gotta love it. He wants to do everything himself. His favorite thing to say is, "NO! I DO IT!" He has learned a lot of words just in the past month. He's starting to put together little three word sentences like that. He said, "I like peaches," the other day and my mom was like, "What!? He's talking! He said I like peaches!" So, it'll be nice to understand him more now - thus making his tantrums hopefully less frequent. Oh he also goes, "PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEEEEAAASE!" After I say no to something. It worked the first couple times because it was so cute, but now it's less effective. So, that is the update on the boys.

Here are some pictures of us at another Wisconsin Dells waterpark called The Polynesian that my mom took us to with Rachel and Jasmine over the weekend. It was really fun. I wish we could've stayed longer. We also did a "duck ride" - they're these boats that go on land and water that they used to use during WW2. There's also some pictures of my grandpa taking the boys for rides on his electric scooter (don't I have an awesome grandpa? How many grandpa's have electric scooters and are NOT handicapped - i.e. just have them for fun?) and Caleb and Gabe playing soccer and riding rides at Lakeside park.

Can you handle all these pictures?!