Glad to be Home!

I am happy to report that I got to "live" in Cedar for 3 weeks during our move to San Diego!  Once we arrived in Cedar City, we moved our stuff AGAIN out of the Budget truck and into a BIG trailer of my dad's where it stayed during our stop.  While we were there we:

I guess I should say the Boys... put together B's new trampoline Papa and Nana got him

Visited our cousins from Guatemala 

Brock, Kapri, Bladen, Lily, Trey, Mya and Parker

Spent tons of time helping Nana do yardwork! 

Went up to my Nate's family's mountain house 

The exact spot Nate proposed to me 10 years earlier. 

Shaking his booty 1st thing in the morning.

Making mud pies 

Swimming in the Freezing water at the pipe

Let off fireworks 

Uncle Nick and Leanne bought B a whole backpack full of fireworks

Went to Sand Hollow 

Uncle Nick was nice enough to take us out on his boat.  Bladen LOVED jumping off! 

Jumped on the tramp 

... with Papa in his undies!

Went to the 4th of July Parade 

B loves going to the Parade with the Harris kids... Kapri is Bladen's candy-catching cousin! 

Played laser tag at the park

Went on a full day 4-wheeler ride 

My dad took Bladen and Nate on a full day 4-wheeler ride with the National Park Service.  Nate came back covered in mud as he said he hit ever mud puddle on purpose.  B came back refreshed... he had a long nap in his carseat with Papa holding up his head :)

Went to the Aquatic Center 

Went to the mountain for hobo dinners 

Took the dogs for lots of walks 

Went to Olive Garden and the Little Mermaid in St. G 

We sure did enjoy our time in Cedar City and as always it went by way too fast!

Journey Across the Country

On July 14th, we left Champaign, Illinois after 6 years of living there.  Nate drove the big, ole Budget truck that pulled the Ranger and Bladen and I followed in my car.   

The 1st day we drove through Illinois, Missouri and boring Kansas (picture above).  Nothing eventful but 10 hours on the road.  Our 1st night was spent in Topeka, Kansas! 

The 2nd day we drove through Kansas and Colorado (pic above).  The drive is so boring until you hit Denver and the mountains.  Our 2nd night we spent in Frisco, Colorado. 

We woke up in Colorado so pumped for our final day of driving.  We had about 9 hours left to make it to Cedar City!!  And then of course the following happened... 

We were going through the Rocky Mountains when Bladen and I started smelling burnt rubber.  I was a ways back from Nate so I called him and said are those your brakes we smell or the diesel in front of you.  He said that an old couple had just passed in and had pointed to his trailer but from what he could tell nothing was wrong.  Well I ended up speeding up to him and there was black smoke just barrelling out the back of the trailer.  I told him he had a flat tire and needed to pull off, but coming down the mountain there are NO shoulders to pull off so I sped ahead of him to find the next exit.  Thank heavens right around the turn was a rest area so I pulled off and called him to tell him I had found somewhere to pull off.  I waited for him off the exit and when I say him stop at the stop sign I saw the tire roll on by haha.  We get to the rest area and call Budget and they send a repairman to fix it.  We knew there would be nothing he could do as the tire and the lug nuts came completely off the axel.  He pulled up 90 minutes later rolled down his window and said there is nothing I can do you need a new trailer... well DUH!  So Nate spent the next 5 hours arguing with Budget on the phone.  They were telling us that there was nothing they could do for us as it was a Saturday and everywhere would be closed on Sunday and they had no extra trailers.  At this point we had been there for over 6 hours, I started freaking out when they told us there was nothing they were going to do for us so I called my parents in a panic who were in SLC for my dad's race.  My dad told us to start driving on 3 trailer wheels to Grand Junction where he would have one of his friends waiting for us with a trailer.  I'm so grateful for my dad and his connections!  So we headed off to Grand Junction going 35 miles an hour over 100 miles.  We made it to Grand Junction safely, got hooked up to a new trailer and left Budget's trailer in a parking lot and told them to pick it up!  After a disappointing day, we ended up staying in Grand Junction for the night to get some rest... it came out to be a good thing as Nate's grandparents and Uncle and Aunt were also staying the night in Grand Junction so we headed over to the KOA and spent the night chatting with them since we wouldn't be able to see them while we were in Cedar because they were starting a cross-country vacation! 

Me and Bladen hanging out at the rest area... thank heavens we were prepared with food and water!  And in 100 degree heat we were thankful for SHADE!

Nate arguing on the phone - we ended up getting the trailer for free and they paid for our hotel in Grand Junction!  Only inconvience was the wasted time and the cost of my dad having to take his friend's trailer back to CO.

B was such a trooper on our trip!  He did not make one peep!  He had his DVD player, computer, games and snacks to keep him occupied!

On our 4th day we FINALLY made it HOME to Utah!!

Good-bye Play Date

Bladen had some really good friends in Illinois!  About a week before we were heading out, we had everyone over to our house for a play date. 

Bladen and Kendal were like brother and sister.  They wrestled and pestered each other just like siblings.  K has a special place in my heart as I was the one who almost had to deliver her in the car!  And her mom is one of my best friends ever!  I sure do miss these 2! 

Taylor, Bladen and Lauren walking to the park hand-in-hand.  These 3 were born within 3 months of each other and all of us mom's worked together at M&P when they were born.  They started swim lessons together when Bladen was just 6 months old.  I can't believe they are all going to Kindergarten this year... where did the time go?

Kendal and Gwen - 2 years old 

How many kids on one slide! 

The crew - Gwen, Lauren, Taylor, Kendal and Bladen 

I love how Bladen is acting like the girls have cooties :)

It's been almost 2 months since we left and we sure do miss our friends.  The ONLY reason I was sad to leave Champaign was because of my "family" I came to love.  When you have no family around, you build some of the closest relationships.  I gained some of my best friends over my 6 years in Champaign and truely miss them!

Chicago Trip

While my mom was visiting for Bladen's graduation, we decided we'd better go see Chicago before we moved.  We rode the Amtrak train up since Bladen had never been on a train and we had a great time!

We got a sweet deal on a room that was right on Michigan Avenue off of Priceline! B was in heaven because he LOVES staying in hotels!

Right when we got off the train we headed down the busy streets to a boat for a river and lake tour.  It was so cool to learn about the different buildings on the river and then to go out on Lake Michigan and see the Chicago skyline. 

After the boat tour, we walked over to Navy Pier and had dinner at Bubba Gumps and then sat and watched a concert and the fireworks on the pier! 

The next morning we woke up and jumped on the bus (us sitting in the bus stop) and headed to the Shedd Aquarium. 

We got to see so many different fish, coral and other creatures.

Our favorite exhibit was the Jellyfish.  I never knew there were so many different kinds of jellies! 

We got to watch Dora and Diego in 4D!! 

Ugliest fish at the aquarium! 

Our hotel - the Palmer House

After 2 days of walking over 10 miles we were pooped and ready to go home by our 3rd day.  The morning we were leaving, we took our time getting ready since we had time to spare before our train departed.  My mom happened to turn on the TV as we were walking out the door and saw on the news that 2 trains had collided at Union Station and they had halted all incoming and outgoing trains.  Needless to say we spent ALL DAY, I think almost 10 hours, in the station waiting for our train to leave!  My mom got to experience a lot of NEW things on her last trip to Champaign!

The night she got there we had a tornado warning with the sirens going off and the house about ready to blow over.  We ended up taking cover with all 4 of us stuffed in my closet!  The tornado ended up touching down really close to our place.  Poor mom was shaking and so nervous!

Then there was the train crash and us waiting for hours on end with thousands of other travels at the Union Station

Then to top it off she woke up the next morning with a black eye! 

Champaign was like my mom's 2nd home - she came to visit so often.  She really loved the city and knew her way around so good.  I'm sure she will miss it as much as us!

Utah Bound

All you Utah Peeps - I will be heading to the Cedar/St. George area in 2 weeks and will be there for a whole month.  If you need any bows, etc. let me know.
http://twopeasinapodbow-tique.blogspot.com/

*** Bladen's Graduation ***

I can't believe my baby is old enough to graduate from Preschool!  He was so excited to graduate from the Hippo's class at Little Hearts and Hands... I on the other hand was devastated since this is where he has went to school since he was 12 weeks old.  His graduation day was his last day at school for good since my mom and sister will be here to watch him until we leave for San Diego... p.s. 5 weeks from today!!!

My graduate :) 

We were so excited that my mom was able to come and see us for 2 weeks! 

He looked so cute in his cap and gown 

L to R:  Lauren, Kyle, Elise, Bladen, May and Payton 

He couldn't wait to get his "graduation paper" 

And his yellow flower.  He told my mom that day that he wanted "a yellow flower with a surprise gift from my Nana for graduation"... we are thinking he got the yellow flower idea from this :) 

All graduated!  They sang us 3 songs, which made me cry like a baby - I'm a Little Graduate, Our God, and Jesus, Lamb of God.  As you can tell this is a Christian daycare and we have absolutely loved him going here.  We could not have asked for more wonderful teachers over the past 4 years! 

B & Clara 

B & Lauren

Clara and Lauren would fight everyday in class over who was going to marry Bladen and see who could make him the most love letters.   

B & Sean 

B & Ms. Jenny 

B & Ms. Kelsey 

B & Ms. Liz (Cheetah teacher) 

I can't believe these 2 will be starting Kindergarten in the Fall.  They have been little buddies since they were born. 

I guess I shouldn't say Bladen will be starting Kindergarten for sure... in Illinois he would not be able to start because of his November birthday, but in California the deadline in December so he would be eligible.  There are so many people that have given me pros and cons to both and so we are so torn on what to do!  This is one of the major stressors at the moment!  I am so proud of Bladen!  He is such a smart, little boy and we just love him to pieces!