my month as a single parent

It's been almost 2 months since my last post--I had a pretty good excuse though.

That last month in Utah forced me to grow in a lot of ways. I feel I need to start this post with a dry list of our families accomplishments.

~Wesley started a brand new job in a brand new state--way to go Honey!!!!

~I played a "single mommy" for almost 4 weeks (and survived it)

~Mia learned how to roll over, and is now rolling all over the house.

~Jake became an excellent box packer/Mia entertainer. He is also finally not afraid of going to Nursery by himself (took him til he turned 3 but hey, better late than never!)

~I packed up my entire apartment (with some help here and there from the great Sydney. Also HUGE props to Jake's grandparents..they took Jake for a couple days and nights each week so that I could get some serious packing accomplished. Jake had sooo much fun playing over there nonstop!)

Wesley flew back home on a Wednesday night, and we had 2 days to finish with the last bit of packing before Saturday. That morning Wes picked up our moving truck, and together with some friends, we loaded everything up, squeaky cleaned our apartment, and turned in our keys. On Sunday and Monday, Wesley and I attempted (what we thought was) the impossible. We drove all the way to Phoenix (stopping in Vegas overnight)..... separately. Wes drove the giant Penkse truck (not too fun in the occasional strong winds) and I drove with the kids. I learned that thanks to a very organized passenger seat of snacks and toys, 2 dvd players (yep the 6 month old got to use one too), and a lot of breathing exercises--it can be done. Other than an hour long traffic jam at the Hoover Dam, where both kids decided to cry nonstop--it really wasn't too bad. :)

In between all the moving craziness, I managed to have a lot of fun spending time with friends and family, saying my goodbyes to them all. I'm just going to put up a bunch of pictures from that last month before we moved away. (Sydney took some great photos of the kids bedrooms, and of the kids in their Easter clothes, but those will have to wait til the next post..this one is already way too picture heavy.) And hopefully someday in the near future I will finally write about the newest chapter of my life. Until then, I hope you enjoy these pictures.

This is what my house looked like for a month. I just stopped caring after awhile. Keeping a house clean while packing and keeping a 3 year old entertained is a lot like shoveling snow in a snowstorm.

I'm so happy that Jake loves his sister so much. He definitely had his "3 year old" moments, but for the most part I couldn't ask for a better little helper.

Sydney was incredibly busy with her last term of school before graduation, but she still somehow managed to find time to help me pack here and there, and to spend time with Jake. He loves her so much. One day we met up with her at the Bean Museum at BYU between classes.

I said some sad goodbyes to lots of friends in May, but didn't get pictures of everything. However, I spent a lot of my spare time with my close friend Cheronne and her cute kids. We took pictures like crazy, and I need to post just a few of them on my blog.

Funny story: Cheronne and I love to shop together--a lot. When we found out we would be having our first baby girls, less than 4 months apart, the shopping became a little bit out of control. I guess our taste is really similar, because we later discovered that we had separately purchased that same Easter dress for our girls. Of all the frilly little spring dresses that were packed into every store, we picked the same one, from the same store. It was too cute a coincidence not to take a few pics of our sweet girls together!

One of the things I was saddest about when moving was taking Jake away from all his buddies! I made sure to schedule some play dates with them before we moved, and took some pictures so Jake would always be able to see them and remember. I am planning to frame a collage of them to put up in his new room in the near future.

Jake with Caitlin, the blonde bombshell. (If he wants to go ahead and marry her one day, that would be alright with me)

Jake and his cousin Scott have already logged a lot of hours playing in the beloved G.I. Joe room. I took some awesome "action shots" of them before we left.

We had a ton of rain in May, so I didn't get to do a lot of the fun outdoor stuff that I love in Utah. On one of my last couple days, the sun finally came out, and I went to my favorite Utah spot: Thanksgiving Point. Cheronne and her kids met me there, and we spent the day soaking up everything--we let the kids run around the gardens (while we took lots of pictures), ate at the Deli, shopped at the Emporium, and of course, went to the petting zoo. It was a wonderful day--the weather was perfect, and it was so nice to slow down and just enjoy.

Jake and Brayden. these 2 are kindred spirits, just like their mommies :)

This last picture is my favorite--it wasn't a posed picture, they just felt like they needed a quick squeeze. I won't forget this chapter of our lives. Jake was born in Utah--he learned to crawl, and then walk, he made his first friends, he learned so many things. It's been a wonderful home to us. It was sad to say goodbye, but we feel so hopeful for the future, and for all the new adventures to come.