Deja Vu

In August 2006, we were living in Arizona. We had two little boys (J.D. - age 3 1/2 and Jake - age 1 1/2). I was a few months pregnant with Joey. Life was going great. We had done a lot of work on our house to get it just how we wanted, put a pool in our backyard, and re-landscaped our backyard. I was working part-time for my law firm from home, we had a great nanny, and J.D. had a great preschool. We lived fairly close to most of our family (within a half day's drive of most of them).

In our backyard in Arizona by our pool - October 2005

Then, Jim told me he wanted to apply for a job in Texas. At first, I thought there was a just a remote chance that he would actually get the job and we would move, but as the process moved along (rather quickly), it became more of a reality. In late September 2006, Jim flew to Texas and interviewed. In early October he received a job offer and in mid-October, he and I flew to Texas to look at houses. A few days after we returned from the house-hunting trip, he accepted the offer and we put in an offer to buy our house (and we had an ultrasound and found out that Joey was a boy--all in the same day). Jim's new employer wanted him to start work the first week of November. I was scheduled to start a jury trial in Federal Court on October 31. At the time, it was very overwhelming, stressful, and sad, and I shed a lot of tears. (But, I was pregnant, so I could blame my hormones too.) However, I knew that it was the right thing for our family to do, so we did it.

After Jim accepted the job in Texas, we spent the rest of October 2006 getting our house ready to put on the market. Jim finished his old job and had a week between jobs while I started my jury trial. Jim then left for Texas and I was a single mom for a couple of weeks (basically working full-time--so my nanny essentially moved in with me for those weeks). I also had a lot of help from great friends. The week of Thanksgiving, the movers came to pack us up and we were in Texas moving into our new house on November 28.

Driving away from our Arizona house for the last time in November 2006

When we got to Texas, we immediately made great friends, got to know our wonderful neighbors, and settled in for the holidays. It took time, but we found J.D. a new preschool, found new doctors, and prepared for a new baby. We replaced our tile and carpet, redid our kitchen and master bathroom, and in the past year we finally textured and painted the kids' bathroom and bedrooms and decorated them. (And we finally added a girl to our family to go with our brood of boys.) We have also become very involved in church and our community and with the kids' schools.

Fast forward almost four years later, and life is great. The boys all started school about a month ago and they have great teachers. Jake started his soccer season and J.D. is taking violin lessons. I am involved in the PTA and Jim just got a big church calling. We have a great nanny and work is still going well for me.

Our latest family picture in the backyard of our WONDERFUL Texas house

THEN, in mid-August 2010, just after we got back from our big road trip, Jim told me that he heard about a job back in Arizona and he was going to apply. In mid-September, he flew to Arizona to interview. This week he received a job offer and he accepted it yesterday. He will be starting the new job on October 25. In the meantime, we have to get the house on the market and start getting ready to move.

In a way, it will be like moving home. Jim and I had both lived in Arizona for ten years before moving here. We have many friends there. My job is there, and we will be so much closer to family. We know our way around and are excited to get back to some of the things we miss. However, in many ways it will be like starting over. We have to find a new house, new schools, a new nanny and violin teacher. We'll probably be moving during the holidays again (which I swore I would never do again). It will also take time to get settled in and back to "normal." (Plus we have two more kids and soooo much more stuff!).

On the other hand, we LOVE it here. We have such great friends, neighbors, fellow church members, and teachers. We love our house and yard and our neighborhood. The people in Texas are so friendly and welcoming and we love all the things to do. We will REALLY miss it. Not to mention the next three months, which will be very stressful for me, as I will basically be a single mom trying to sell the house and get ready to move all while taking care of the kids and working part-time.

We took the kids to Chuck E. Cheese last night to tell them the news (in a fun environment so they would hopefully be excited). Jake, Joey, and Janalynn had no reaction, but J.D. was really sad. (His crying made me cry.) I told him that I was sad, too, but that it would be okay and there lots of fun things to look forward to (like being closer to Disneyland and Legoland, maybe having a pool in our backyard, being closer to aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents). He has come around now, though, and is excited. This morning he asked me if we were really moving or if it was just a dream. He wanted to make sure before he told anyone.

So, here I am, almost exactly four years after our move to Texas and it is deja vu. Again, this time, although I know it is the right thing for our family, it is going to be really hard for me to move. Every day, I shed some tears. (And this time I can't blame pregnancy hormones.)

The Mall

Our friends, the McCullochs, told us that there would be a full-size R2D2 at Build-a-Bear in the mall yesterday. We were having a busy day, but I needed to do a few other errands, so I told J.D. and Jake that if they quickly cleaned up their room, I would take them to see it. (I have never seen them clean their room so quickly.) When we got in the car to drive to the mall, J.D. asked, "Have I ever been to a mall?" I had to laugh. Since we moved to Texas, we have probably gone to the mall 2-3 times and none of those times were in the past two years. (We do go to the Outlet Mall a lot, but it is outdoors, so different.) We went to the mall at least every other week when we lived in Arizona--times have changed! As you will soon see from the rest of this post, there is a reason we don't often go to the mall.


When we got to the mall, we found Build-a-Bear and saw the R2. It was cool. Of course, the reason they had R2 there was to sell the new Star Wars outfits they have for Build-a-Bears to wear. J.D. and Jake both picked out one for the bear (and dinosaur) they already have. They have to earn it, though, doing their jobs this week. Jake picked out C3PO and J.D. picked out Rex, the Clone Trooper.

Here are J.D. and Jake with R2 and their friend, Trevor:


After we left Build-a-Bear, we were walking to the Food Court when we saw this:

I have never seen two little boys so excited. We went in and looked around, but, luckily, escaped without buying anything. (I promised them we would go back when Grandma comes to visit in a few weeks.) When we met up with Trevor again later, J.D. was describing the store to him and he said, "It was like Lego heaven!"

After we stopped at the Lego store and I got some hair products from the Aveda store (and a two minute complimentary neck massage from the salesperson), we got some pretzels and drinks at the food court. The boys wanted to stop at the Lego store again, so I let them, but Jake started to have a meltdown and we left. (The reason we don't often go to the mall.)

We met back up with the McCullochs and went to Pottery Barn Kids where they had a Star Wars craft (Yoda stick puppets) for the kids to do. (I'm sure the point of that was to keep the parents in the store longer to browse and buy stuff.)

Here are the boys and their friends doing their Yoda stick puppets:

We finished our trip to the mall with some cookies on the way out. Maybe we'll go back again in a couple of years.

Janalynn's Dress-up

Since the boys started school, Janalynn has the house to herself a couple of days a week. She has decided to celebrate by playing dress-up. However, she doesn't do the typical little girl dress-up in princess costumes. Instead, she would rather be . . .

Woody

and Buzz (wearing Woody's hat)!

Oh--and she is 17 months old today! Time flies!

Joey's Antics

Joey has been saying some hilarious things lately since he has been talking a lot more. Our friends, the Strongs, were over the other day to play and Joey saw me holding their one-month-old baby. He asked me if he could "carry the baby." I didn't let him do that, but we did let him hold the baby on the couch. He kept saying, "The baby is so cute. He's so cute."

On the first day of school, Joey woke up and wondered where J.D. and Jake were. All day, he kept saying, "Where is J.D. and Jake." So, he found lots of ways to amuse himself. He tried on a tiara that Janalynn got at the Princess party. (He's saying, "Cheese.")

Joey can't wait to start school, himself. He keeps asking when Joey will go to school. Luckily, his preschool starts next week. He is very excited.

First Day of School

Jake and J.D. started school on Tuesday last week. J.D. is in second grade and Jake is in Kindergarten. They were both pretty excited, even though we had to get up really early to get to school. When we went to meet J.D.'s teacher and see his classroom the Friday before school started, J.D. was so excited to be starting school and finding out which friends would be in his class that he was jumping up and down.

Here are the boys ready to head out the door on their first day of school.

Here's a side shot to see their backpacks.

When we got to the school, we dropped J.D. off at the gym to go find the spot where his classmates were waiting for their teacher. Since he is starting his third year at the school, he knows his way around.

Then Jake and I went to find his teacher and class in the cafeteria. The kindergartners get to wear this nifty tag pinned to their shirt for the first few days of school with their name and other info. He was pretty excited to be there, even though he really needs lots of sleep and I think he was pretty tired. (His natural blank look is a turned down mouth that looks like a frown and I kept looking over and he looked like he was frowning, but I think he was just sitting there staring into space.) He gave a great smile for the camera, though!

He seemed happy to go on his way when his class left to go to their classroom and I almost shed a tear. (I can't blame it on pregnancy hormones this time, though!)

I went to the school on the second day to help Jake's class with lunch. He loves to eat school lunch and, with the new re-vamped school lunch menu, he even had a salad on the first day!

The first week went well. Jake caught up on some sleep by falling asleep on the couch on Wednesday night at about 6:30 p.m. and sleeping until just after 7:00 a.m. the next morning.

Princess Janalynn

Janalynn was invited to our neighbor's Princess 4th birthday party. The guests were supposed to arrive dressed like princesses. Janalynn had a tiara that we got from our Campbell family reunion auction and we borrowed some princess skirts from a friend (Thanks Savannah!). I tried to take a picture of her all dressed up before we left for the party, but she kept taking her tiara off.

Once we were at the party, she was probably so distracted by everything that was going on that she left it on. She was excited to use her princess cup to drink some water with her lunch. (She also enjoyed sitting on the chairs at the little table and wanted to try each one.

Even though Janalynn was the youngest princess there, she was interested in Cinderella who came to the party to sing and play games with the girls, do magic, make balloon animals, and paint faces.

Janalynn had to leave the party a little early to get home for a princess nap (she needs her beauty sleep), but for a mother of three boys, this was quite the introduction to princesses and girl parties for me!

We're Alive and We Survived!

Really, we are. We've just had a really busy summer. Hopefully, I will have a chance soon to catch everyone up on it. (Maybe when school starts and it is less crazy around here.) For those of you who aren't reading all my new posts in Google Reader, make sure you scroll down and read all of the new posts and then click on "Older Posts" at the bottom of the page to make sure you see all the new posts from before summer that I just added.

In the meantime, before I update you on all of the happenings of the summer, here is what we spent our 2 1/2 week summer vacation doing--by the numbers:

Miles driven: 5,495

States visited: 11 (Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Utah, Arizona, Nevada)

We had to include Texas, even though that is where we started and ended--it is a really big state and we drove almost 1500 just getting in and out of Texas. In fact, on the first day, J.D. kept asking if we were out of Texas, yet. Finally, after we had been gone from home for about ten hours, we were out of Texas.

Hours spent driving/riding in the car: 72 (three solid days!)

This was on Day One when everyone was still gung ho!

Hours all four kids were all asleep in the car: maybe a total of 2--at the very end of the trip when we were almost home and it was 1:00 in the morning.

(J.D. is actually pretending to be asleep in this photo because when I turned around and said, "Oh, they are all asleep," he popped his head up. I made him lay back down so I could take a picture.)

DVDs watched by the kids: Countless and many that Jim and I can no longer stand! We had 2 DVD players going almost the entire time--one for Janalynn to watch Baby Einstein movies on and one for the boys.

Pounds lost: 4 (between Jim and me). This is even though we ate at some of our favorite restaurants--In 'N Out, Pizza Factory, Iceberg, etc. and ate WAY more fast food than we like to eat and feed the kids, but we still managed to lose a little weight and not gain any. We didn't weigh the kids to see if they gained or lost weight, but they ate plenty!

Attractions visited: Yellowstone National Park, including Old Faithful; Stoneridge Resort in Blanchard, ID; Silverwood Theme Park in Athol, ID; Riverfront Park in Spokane, WA; Nana's "Special Room" in Cedar Hills, UT (this was a favorite of the boys, even though it was a short hour and a half stop); Dixie College Cabin in Pine Valley, UT; Grandma & Grandpa's House in St. George, UT; Sandhollow Reservoir in Hurricane, UT; Scottsdale Links Resort in Scottsdale, AZ; Kami & Tim's house in Tempe, AZ; and Trent and Ashley's pool in Phoenix, AZ.

In front of the sign at Yellowstone

On the train at Silverwood.

On the beach at Sandhollow Reservoir by Uncle Merril's boat.

Family visited: Nana, Grandma & Grandpa, and all of the kids' aunts, uncles, and first cousins.

Friends visited: Many, many, but sadly missed a few.

Holes of Golf Played: 63 by Jim and 5 by J.D. (He got bored at that point and spent the rest of the time watching and riding in the cart)

Holes of Miniature Golf Played: Many, by all, but I think Joey played the most. He just ran around with his ball and putter and put his ball right by the hole, put it in, then ran to the next hole. Luckily, we had the course mostly to ourselves. Janalynn didn't play, but she had fun putting her head on the ground like she was trying to stand on her head.

Loads of Laundry: 12 (Had to throw that in because it seems like I spent much of the trip packing and repacking and doing laundry)

Hours spent going to/from and at the Honda dealership in Coeur d'Alene, ID getting the van serviced and fixed: about 8--luckily it was a minor repair and didn't cost too much, but they didn't have the part when they told us they would and we had to come back the next day on our way out of town with the loaded van and all the kids, and Nana, but all things considered we were lucky and it wasn't worse!

Number of Different beds we slept in: 7 (actually not bad considering how long we were gone.)

We had a wonderful time, but were happy to finally be home. I'll post more details and pictures soon!

Joey's Dresser

For some reason, Joey call his clothes "my dresser." I don't know how that evolved--probably from something about getting dressed. Anyway, the other day, I wanted Joey to pick up some markers that were on the floor and put them on top of his chest of drawers or "dresser" in his room so Janalynn wouldn't get them. I said, "Joey, pick up those markers and put them on your dresser." A minute later, I looked over and Joey was lying on the floor on his back and putting the markers under his shirt and then holding the markers with his hands and trying to sit up. I said, "Joey, what are you doing?" He answered, "The markers won't stay on my dresser."

Our 11th Anniversary

We celebrated our 11th Anniversary on Memorial Day weekend. On Saturday we went to the temple in San Antonio. Since that was a long time to be away from the kids, we waited for a couple of days, then went to dinner and a concert.

For dinner, Jim had the "tomahawk" steak. As you can see from the picture, it was aptly named.

For dessert, they brought us a decorated plate.

After dinner we went to the Barenaked Ladies concert. (Don't worry, Moms and Grandmas, this is a group of fully-clothed men that sing songs we like.) It had been a long time since we went to a concert and it was nice to get away and enjoy the evening. We tried to take a self-portrait and it didn't work really well with the lighting, but notice the man behind us who is trying to avoid being in the picture! :)

End of Soccer Season

Jake's soccer season ended about the same time as school was getting out. His team had a party at the end of the season. His coach said that he was the most improved player of the season. He really did improve this season. He scored a few goals (none of which I got on film) and really played good defense. He had a fun time too.

Here he is with his coach.

Here's most of the team with their trophies.

Since I am so late posting this, it is almost time for the fall season to start and Jake is already excited. Maybe I will finally get one of his goals on film.

Cooling Off

When the weather started getting warm, we got out the wading pools and sprinkler to play in the backyard. Janalynn even has matching sunglasses (to go with last summer's swimsuit that still fit her at the beginning of summer).

Jake and Janalynn ready to play and sporting their sunglasses.

Janalynn's first dip in the wading pool.

She loves the water!!!

So does Jake!

On Memorial Day weekend, we snuck into our neighbor's backyard (with their permission) and went swimming. The kids had a great time in their first real swim of the year. Joey was playing with his train toys.

J.D. and Jake enjoyed their kickboards and Janalynn enjoyed her float. (You can't see her face because she has a hat on and is looking down.)

Here's more of a close-up, but still really can't see it. Her float makes noise when you hit it, so she was having a great time doing that.

It was a great way to kick off the summer and we have spent a great deal of time at the pool since then, with everyone loving it!

Tea Parties

For her birthday, Janalynn was given a tea set and table and chairs for her room. After that, her brothers started having tea parties with her.

Jake has the duty of pouring the tea.

Janalynn is enjoying the crumpets that go with the tea.

All four kids even had a tea party together. They even found a blanket to use as a tablecloth. Aren't the boys glad they have a sister to do these girl-type things with?

Junior Choir

J.D. was in Junior Choir at school again this year. Last year his concert was cancelled because of the Swine Flu. This year, halfway through the concert . . .

Someone pulled the fire alarm! We all had to troop outside and wait . . .

For the fire department to come and check the building and turn off the alarm.

While we waited, Jake and J.D. played with their friends, Sam and Nat.

Finally, we went back in and the really antsy kids finished their concert.

The next week, I was able to go as a parent chaperone on the choir tour. The kids sang at Whole Foods and two Assisted Living Centers, then went to lunch at a pizza place. Here are the three kids I was in charge of.

J.D. getting ready to sing near the registers at Whole Foods.

After singing at Whole Foods, the kids had a snack of juice and a cookie.

J.D. and Trevor had a great time eating pizza at the end of the tour.

I, on the other hand, forgot how bumpy the school bus ride can be. Glad I don't have to ride it for an hour or so a day anymore like I did in Junior High and part of High School.