Jed's Last Week

Sorry, I haven't been updating this like I should. We've been keeping busy and doing fun things together but I haven't been taking my camera to show any pictures of our little adventures. This was Jed's last week with us. Today is a sad day for us because Jed left early this morning to report to Basic Officer Training in Alabama and we won't get to see him for 92 days (yes, we're counting down the days). We've been so busy trying to get everything ready for him that we haven't really been able to do many outings this last week.

We were able to do a couple of things though. We had to go to base (Hill AFB) a few times to get Jed supplies and while we were looking at houses on base, Jed found this super cute splash park across the street from the houses. The kids love it! Elijah asks to go every day. Chloe is still unsure about it, but she loves to play in the frog misters and the drain (go figure).

During the week we went to a farm with Jed's sister, Bonnie's, family and his mom and grandma. Elijah loves playing with his cousin and he was so excited to see all of the animals. Chloe likes to watch them but doesn't like to pet animals anymore. It was a fun day and just nice to go out and spend the day together instead of running errands and cleaning all day.

Chloe tries so hard to be one of the big kids

 Chloe attempting to feed the ducks and geese

 Our last family pic for awhile

We did have a few family dinners that we went to and we had a farewell dinner for Jed on Pioneer Day (a Utah holiday) and we were able to finish the night with fireworks. It was a nice send off for Jed. (sorry no pics)

Jed's last day was spent running errands but he was able to play with the kids outside in the backyard a bit before he put them to bed.

 (Oh, and he cut his hair this week... this was not out of requirement but by his own choice)

We all miss Jed already. The kids really miss him. Elijah doesn't understand why he doesn't get to see him but hopefully it'll get better and easier after a couple of days. We love you, Jed, and miss you so so so much! But we are so proud of you!

Elijah's Tour of Our Temporary Digs

We're finally in Utah! We've been settling in since Saturday night when we got here. Elijah was so excited to come to Utah. On our drive here, anytime we asked if he wanted to eat or needed to use the potty he would just say "I'm going to do it in Utah". The drive wasn't too bad, especially in our brand new van, but it was still long just because the kids got really ansty staying in the car all day long so we took a few pit stops. It was really funny though, because when we finally got to Jed's parent's house, Elijah didn't believe we were in Utah and kept asking us to go to Utah. Elijah was so happy to see his grandparents and uncle. He talked about them all the time for the weeks before we moved. Now that he's in Utah he talks about all of his grandparents and uncles and aunts he left in California. Elijah is also having a blast getting to play with his cousins (who are right around his age).

 Right now we're staying with Jed's parents until he gets out of OTS at the end of October. Their house is being remodeled right now and our stuff is all over the place. Hopefully in the next few weeks we'll have our space all cleaned up again and put away. Please excuse the mess right now. The kids love exploring all of the rooms (this house is huge!) and love playing in the unfinished rooms. They also really love being able to play outside. They were able to play in my mom's yard while we stayed with her for a few weeks, but for all of their lives they've been cooped into tiny little decks off of our apartments so having a yard to play in is a lot of fun and a nice change for everyone.


Here's a small tour of a few of Elijah's favorite places of the house

 (This is the stairwell going down to the basement where we're staying. Both kids love playing here.)

(Our horrible mess and boxes)

 (Elijah jamming on his new drum set)

 (Elijah likes to rotate from the top bunk to the bottom)

I'll try to update later once things are packed away and not a horrible mess. We like Utah but we miss California and our friends and family! :)