September and October weren't really THAT long ago...

September:

Once we got back from Utah we walked into our house and (wait, I don't think I have ever mentioned this in a post, I'll explain. About two weeks before we left to Utah for the summer we got a call from our landlord and she told us we needed to find a new place to live due to some SERIOUS problems/repairs in the house we had been living in for 2 years. We had about a week to find a place before we left for the summer. It was stressful but we found a pretty nice place. Then, while we were in Utah, our good friends and neighbors, who had just finished dental school and were about to sale their home called us and told us their sale, sadly (for them, but not for us:)) had fallen through and wondered if we would be willing to rent from them instead. Of course we said YES. Who wouldn't live in their friends really nice, renovated, awesome house, right next door??? So, once we got back from Utah we walked into our house and it was no longer liveable due to the major problems/repairs I mentioned and we literally didn't even unpack our luggage, we just moved next door the next day. It was crazy, there were many days spent cleaning, unpacking and organizing but we are moved in and have loved every minute of the new and improved place.

Helping dad clean the van.

This is Jace and some of our awesome friends helping us move. They just figured the window was easier than the door.

After the move Jace started his first rotation. It was a psych rotation which he did well on. He would come home with some really interesting stories, but, he is not interested in that as a career (lucky for me, I think he would spend most of his life diagnosing and psycho-analyzing me haha.) We did get a little break in September though and were able to go to Palmyra as a ward. That was an incredible experience. Unfortunately I didn't get as many pictures as I would have liked but it was still one of the neatest experiences we have been able to be a part of out here.

Walking through the Sacred Grove

October:

We really enjoyed October. Jace started his neuro rotation and started to be gone a lot more, working really hard, there were a few weeks in there where he got to do neuro surgery and he really thought that was awesome. The kids and I had a great time with the awesome fall weather and all the fun Halloween activities. We watched Halloween movies and made treats, went to the park a lot, the farmers market and carved pumpkins. Elliot started preschool which has seriously allowed him to blossom in so many ways! It has been so incredible to see him and Mae develop more independently from him being gone for a bit. We were able to go to his school parade and they invited Mae to join in. It is seriously so fun to see her participate in big girl things. Also, we were able to meet one of the Twelve Apostles, Elder Ballard. He was here for the 10th Anniversary of the Historical Kirtland sights. I was able to go to a private fireside with the youth in the Kirtland temple. We also were able to shake his hand and listen to him speak at our Stake Conference. It was such a special experience. Elliot kept calling him a "fossil," but we won't tell Elder Ballard that.

Playing with mom

Cool shades.

Jace found a praying mantice and decided to adopt him... against my better judgement.

How is this happening???

WHAT!!! She can't possibly be related to me haha!

Cool kids in cool hoods.

Meeting Elder Ballard, he photo bombed us but you can't really see him... he's hiding behind the young woman in the orange stripes!

First day of preschool. So excited!

Seriously, could he be cuter...

Trick-or-treating gorilla!

And giraffe!

Eating some of her loot, little squirt.

The Zoo keepers with their silly zoo animals!

Pumpkin carving time!

Our Halloween picnic.

Jace did the haunted house, after that neuro surgery rotation he was getting really good with intricate knife work haha!

Helping with the leaves!

 Well that's all for now. Hopefully I can do a November and December post before life gets crazy with another little one. That's my new year's resolution, oh, and to have a baby... so you better hold me to it!

Update: Utah summer and road-tripping

I think the reason, well two reasons, it's taken me so long to update my blog is, I keep getting so behind I don't know where to start and I am really not a picture taker. I blame everyone and their iphones who take way better pictures than my camera. They all have more adorable and better quality pictures of my family than I do, somewhere out there. I feel really guilty about it and sometimes really agonize over the lack of history I am documenting. I do this often. I'm working on it. Try to stay with me as I explain how awesome our summer was in mostly words and very few pictures... And if you are reading this and have cute pictures of my kids... I would love you to email them to me!

So, we got to Utah at the end of June and stayed until the end of August. We were warned by everyone we know here in Ohio that it would probably be a terrible trip and we were going for way too long. But, I am here to tell you folks, it was a total success (in my opinion, maybe I should ask mine and Jace's family what they REALLY thought about us being totally in their business for 2 months.) However, I couldn't have survived the summer without them while Jace studied for 12-14 hrs. for Boards.  Bless his heart. While he was slaving away, we got to play and have a lot of fun. We went swimming almost everyday, Elliot got so brave and was holding his breath under the water, playing without his floaties and jumping off the diving board by the end of our trip. Mae, she was never even worried to begin with. That girl is fearless and a bit clumsy and reckless, but she has so much spunk! We did just about everything cool that you can do in Utah. We went to the Zoo, the state fair, Dinosaur park, the library, feeding ducks, paddle-boarding and jet-skiing at Pine-View, we shopped and had lunch with friends, visited grandparents, went to Bear Lake, Cherry Hill, Lagoon, got to take a weekend trip to see our awesome friends in Rexburg and got to play with the cousins, grandparents and aunts and uncles, which was the most important thing of all! There is truly nothing as amazing to me as a Utah summer. I love the heat, the mountains, the camping, the lakes and the people who share in the fun with us. We really miss "home," but feel blessed to have each other wherever we go.

Jace took Boards on a Friday and we hit the road that Sunday. We ended up buying a van and driving it back to Ohio (That's right, a mini-van, we're those people and we are not ashamed. Mini-vans are.the.best!!!) That was a really fun road-trip actually. The kids are so awesome on the road. They love good music and it was so nice to have such quality time with Jace after missing so much of him all summer. The kids would fall asleep in the van and Jace and I would just listen to music and talk all night until we were too tired to think, then we would find a hotel and crash. We were able to visit some friends in Missouri on our way back. And they were  nice enough to watch the kids for a few hours so we could see Liberty Jail. Elliot played his guts out with his buddy Cooper  and then on our way out we stopped at a few more church history places. It was so incredible to be there, I feel so blessed that we were able to stop. That's all for now. So, much has happened since we have been back, I don't think I will be mean and continue this post any longer. I will say though that posting has felt so good it almost feels like I just worked out or something! Man, I feel good! Apparently the lack of documenting my life has been affecting me more than I thought haha! I will work on that. Hopefully I'll be back soon!

Elliot and Pop on the paddle-board

Mae and her "big fwoaty"

COUSINS!!

Little bug

Mae's first hair-cut

Yikes, did I mention I am 6 mos. pregnant... Oh and behind me folks, is the RLDS temple....

Jace in front of Adam-ondi-ahman. 

Fortunately the kids woke up right after this and we were able to show them how cool Adam-ondi-ahman was! Anyway, that is really all I have for photos! Hope you enjoyed all...seven, oh wait ten! Have a good week!

It's time to catch up

I was going to do this post like a new episode of Arrested Development, where I bounce around hilariously playing catch-up. But, I immediately realized I'm no Ron Howard and it would be embarrassing to pretend. So instead we will do it this way.

Easter: It was Mae's first real Easter egg hunt and her and Elliot were obsessed with finding eggs. Elliot and Mae are buds and it makes things so fun. They work pretty well together...most of the time!

 

Haha this is a typical Sunday... totally burned out. You should see what Jace and I look like...

Washington DC:  Long story short the Bullard's were supposed to visit Cleveland but, due to some flight problems we decided to meet them in DC instead. We had such a great time with the family and we all got spoiled by the grandparents and Uncle Quinn and aunt Courtney.

Quinn taught him a thing or two...

As you can see...

Pretty girls

Silly boys!

A lot of other things have happened, like this: Elliot was invited to a "princess" party and was one of the only two "princes" on the invite list. They were asked to dress like royalty and I am no photographer, but couldn't resist this GQ photo shoot. Eat your heart out haha!

 And this: 2 car wrecks in one week was not ideal, but sure  made things fun! We were rear-ended (not the photo below) on a Monday, then, I was hit 2 days later. Car totaled. Super awesome. I survived with minor bumps!

 Needless to say, this made for a crazy month. We are now car owners to a fancy 1994, Navy blue and rusting, Honda Accord (with no AC) while we wait for the summer to get a bigger car. It's not that bad, it could have been a lot worse!!! We feel really blessed!

Here's to April, who came in like a lamb, and to May who came out like a lion!