we made it!

We arrived in Idaho on Friday with 28 feet worth of stuff. We had originally just rented a 20 foot truck and quickly ran out of room. Dan ended up renting a unit to pull behind. We have so many people to thank for helping us move. It was miserably rainy and friends and family came to our aid to help with kids, meals, cleaning, organizing and lifting boxes down 3 flights of stairs. I have had a flood of emotions over the last week. I cannot believe this phase of our lives is over. (Dan began his new job today) I miss salt lake and all of the family and dear friends we made. I loved our time there and know that life will never be quite as simple and carefree. I had great friends surrounding me, lots of children for my kids to play with, a safe environment, could run downstairs to borrow a cup of sugar, etc.
There are little things like teaching our kids that a front yard is not as safe as a courtyard and we are not used to paying for utilities. I have been going around turning off lights and we will be without internet and cable for the summer (saving every penny for our house being built). These are all realities that are a bit hard to swallow. I am typing on my phone. But, here are the positives: we are in a rental with an amazing backyard (backs up to a park, fruit trees, a garden and a treehouse), we are 10 miles from the temple, are just down the street from Noelle's school, went to church and were pleased with what we saw and the people we met and are looking forward to paychecks, watching our house be built, making friends and living in a town without any stoplights. I think once we get settled, we will like it here. In the meantime I am going to fight off loneliness by focusing my attention on my kids. Phew, long post. I will continue to blog, but just won't have pictures for awhile. Have a great week and thanks for checking in!

We Have a New Niece!!!

My sister Nikki and her husband Julio brought a new baby girl into the world this morning...Tessa Raquel! She was 6 pound and 2 ounces and came after a long night of labor. Both mother and baby are doing well. I wish I could be there!

DAN GRADUATES!!!!

I am not sure where to begin. Our photos are all on our other computer that is now in a moving box, so I am afraid that my 400 plus pictures from the last month are not available for blogging. This has been a huge month for our family. About 2 weeks ago, Dan's parents came out to Salt Lake to help us get out to California for a visit. The time was priceless. We spent time with both families and were able to see a few friends. We played really hard and the kids cried when it was time to return home to Salt Lake. I could probably do quite a few posts from our trip. We celebrated birthdays and Easter and had a wonderful time. I must admit, I cried too. I miss Sacramento so much and all of the family that we have there. I also have 2 sisters who are ready to have new babies. Last Monday, Dan's mom and I braved two Southwest Airlines flights with the 3 kids to return back to Salt Lake. Did I mention that Dan had to stay home to study for his exam? The kids did great and we both agreed that even 2 flights beat the 13 hour drive. (We had to fly down to Las Vegas and up!) Once we returned home, we switched into party-mode, making preparations for graduation festivities. On Wednesday a bunch of our California family arrived!!! We felt really honored that so many people came to honor this big event in our lives. Wednesday night we had a pinning ceremony with Dan's small graduation class. This was a catered event on the 18th floor of the Zion's Bank building with just the parents. (My dad came too!) Elijah stayed behind with the Pierces and Noelle and Corom went out to dinner with Gina and Josh, Aunt Nancy, Grandma, Grandma and Grandpa. It was quite a treat for us to attend an event kid-less! On Thursday we did a catered Cafe Rio luncheon at the church with all of our family and attended the convocation ceremony for the College of Health at the Huntsman Center!!!! Dan looked stunning, I might add! We are so proud of him! On Friday, we did pictures on Temple Square and lunch, celebrating Deb's birthday before the group headed off to catch their flight home! We had a wonderful time. My dad just left tonight, so we continued our celebrations with a picnic in our courtyard with our Shirley family last night and another Mother's Day luncheon today with the same family. PHEW! It has been a busy week. This morning we went crazy filling boxes. We move in 12 days! Thank you all for your support and love. I am so grateful to everyone who has helped our family along this 9-year adventure through school! I am so proud of Dan and so glad to be done! We have a job waited for Dan in a skilled nursing facility up in Idaho. He received his Master's degree in Occupational Therapy! Have a great week!