Rexburg So Far & Thoughts

Yup, we're in Rexburg. Did I even mention that before? The family reunion officially starts tonight, but we got here on Friday afternoon. We had a very pleasant drive, thanks to McDonald's Play Place and Angry Birds. James and I were able to attend the temple that afternoon, which was wonderful.

and I'm blonde!

I had a very enjoyable time at Education Week on Saturday. The principles taught renewed my spirit when I didn't realize it needed renewing. I've been prompted to do something which really scares me, though not for the first time. Still, it's going to require a lot of faith on my part. Some impressions that come are simply undeniable, no matter how illogical they are. I'm starting to think that logic has nothing to do with it, at least not at first. In the end, though, every crazy, inspired idea I've followed has turned out exceptionally well. I'm sure that this one will be no different. I think (and hope) that I'm up for the challenge.

James and I went for a walk on BYU-I's campus Saturday night. It't just as beautiful as ever, though mostly deserted during this 7-week break. We stopped by G's Dairy on the way home, of course. We have many happy memories of Rexburg, and I can't say that it doesn't make me really nostalgic to be here.

The last few days have been really great: family dinners and games, hanging out and talking, a trip to Chick-fil-a with my mother-in-law, snuggling my babies. Joseph is having the time of his life with his uncles and aunts, and he's been really happy to have someone to play with that is closer to his size.

The Heads got 3 big bags of greens from the neighbors, so I've been in green smoothie heaven. (Hey, they still look more appetizing than prune juice!) My father-in-law says he thinks they're pretty good. If I convert him, then he will be my 2nd convert to green smoothies (that I know of.) Haha.

I'll admit it: my family's health is of utmost importance to me, even if it requires me to be a little nutty at times. I don't regret it for one minute.

An Apology

With 3 blogs now, it's really hard to keep current with all of them. I'm still amazed that I've found the time to write at all, but the boys keep coordinating their naps, so that works out really well for me. I'm feeling lazy, so here's a summary of our month so far.

July 3rd: Our 3rd anniversary! We had a sweet, candlelit lunch while the boys were asleep. We then watched a chick flick (The Importance of Being Earnest) and went to dinner with the boys at a Chinese buffet. All in all, a very yummy day. It also included chocolate.

July 4th: We attended the parade in Caldwell. Joseph loved grabbing the candy, even though a lot of it fell in the gutter, which was very wet.

July 6-7th: I went to Other Mothers and bought all the boys' clothes I need up till size 3T at the 25 cent sale. I spent 4.77. I went back the next day to get all the ripped up, stained jeans. I got a giant bag (33 pairs!) for 2 bucks. They will be making 3 jean quilts. Eventually.

Last week: We went to the pool a couple of times, once to the YMCA in Caldwell with some friends in the ward and once to ours. It was a blast. It's only slightly awkward to nurse a baby at the pool. Or anywhere in public, for that matter. I always feel like people are staring.

The same friends (the Pages) invited us for dinner on Saturday night. It was delicious and we got to hang out for a while. Joseph loves playing with their 5-year-old, even though the younger girl is closer to his age.

Sunday/today: James left to go to Vernal to look at housing. We now officially have an apartment! Thanks to the boom going on in the area, a cheap apartment is hard to find. We managed to get a really old, ghetto 3-bedroom apartment for 795 a month. We've been looking for months, but that's the best deal there is. Too bad, no upgrade this time. I won't have a dishwasher or AC, but I think I'll live. This is the sacrifice I make now in order to buy a house sooner in the future!

It's been a little lonely, but I've been reading, blogging, and working on the quilts. I have the twin quilt and one baby (crib size) quilt all designed and ready to go. I started sewing the twin together. It's going faster than last time because I'm doing it the same way and have an idea of where I'm going with it. I'm excited, because it's going to look cool. After those 2 blankets, I will still have 100 squares left! That's enough for another crib blanket, but I think I'll wait and see. The crib blanket is probably going to be a gift for a baby shower, because I have a billion blankets already, but we'll see.

anniversary lunch, complete with chocolate milk

the parade. I love the chubby arm.

a cool display of flags

Kenny's favorite game with Daddy: bouncing!

almost too tall for the Bumbo already!

I can't wait for James to get home tonight! It's going to be late, and I will likely be asleep. Someone named Joseph woke me up at 5:30 this morning. Stinker.

A Little Bit of This and That

I've been crafting a little bit over the last few months. No, really only a little bit. I'm still amazed at how many scraps and random things I end up with, so I still haven't actually bought anything to make these things out of. I'm working on a jean quilt for Kenny, and so far, I have 100 squares. Only about 170 to go!

organization for my thread. ghetto, but efficient.

potholder

table centerpiece thingy

knitted bathroom rug. crooked, I know. 

So Many Thoughts!

Don't you hate when you have a million things to say but have a hard time getting them all down on paper? For that reason, this blog probably won't make a lot of sense. Well, the paragraphs won't have anything to do with each other. That's okay, though, right? I mean, this is my blog, and it's not like anyone's paying me to write it. :)

I love the metaphor of being jealous of others' success as downing a quart of pickle juice. (Thanks, Elder Holland!) I've never liked pickles, and I definitely don't like their juice. I find myself drinking it on occasion, however. It's not always inherent qualities that someone has. It's the fact that "good" things happen to them and "bad" things happen to me. I forget that I'm comparing my trials with their blessings. Common problem? I think so.

Getting up early has been a real blessing this week. I've never loved any time before 7:00. I don't know how I made it through Seminary (with perfect attendance, even) for 4 years. However, a still, small voice has gently nudged me to wake up earlier and read my scriptures. I'm glad that I listened. It's the only time of day that I'm the only one awake. (I love to peek in on my sweet, sleeping boys: all 3 of them.)

Here's a nerd confession, but I really like watching Star Trek: the Next Generation. It's fascinating to me that Data, who is an android, desires to be human, even though he already appears to be perfect. Being human is a wonderful thing. I'm come to realize that our imperfections aren't so much imperfections but rather tools to help us become more perfect. I'm working on it.

I've been inspired to start a new blog after a 6-week experiment of living on our food storage (partially for the heck of it, and partially because we needed to.) You can find it here: http://realfoodstorageforrealbudgets.blogspot.com/. I'm still working out the kinks, because I forgot how little  I know about web design, even while using templates. I aim to post about twice a week, and it's geared toward college students! (Or anyone living in an apartment, really.) I hope it helps someone.

Back to Business

Now that the reunion's over...

1. James is working for the bishop of our ward M-F (or Saturday, maybe?) for the next 7 weeks doing door-to-door insurance quotes. Finally, something worked out!

2. I have a huge pile of smoky/dirty clothes and blankets to wash.

3. We get to start looking for house in Vernal soon.

4.  I get to go grocery shopping on Saturday! (Haven't gone for a while, but more on that later.)

5. I have several crafty things that I'm working on. (More to come later.)

Family!

It's good to be home after a wonderful family reunion with the Heads. We left on Thursday to travel to Ashton, ID, just north of Rexburg. It was a lot of fun, despite the mosquitoes and freezing cold nights! Well, they weren't literally freezing, but you know, it's Idaho. Thursday night we had a little family meeting and campfire with songs. We didn't sleep in the tent yet, because not all of the family had arrived, so we slept in one of the rooms. It was super hot, so I slept terrible. The boys did great, though. Kenny didn't grunt all night...hurray!

Friday, I learned how to braid rugs from Grandma Head! It was so awesome to learn, and it's really not that hard to do, either. I'm currently making a potholder to replace some of my really old ones. They're looking sad. After lunch, I took a nap with the boys while everyone went to Mesa Falls. I was in desperate need of one due to my lack of sleep the night before. It was a great nap, needless to say. Then, I helped make dinner. For those who have never had the Cafe Rio cilantro ranch dressing, it's the best dressing in the world. Period. My mother-in-law has the recipe. I just stuck all the stuff in the blender, but the whole family raved about it and kept asking for the recipe, so I had to tell them to go ask Melodie. Haha. I need to get it from her as well, but I never have fresh cilantro and don't remember to ask her. We had another family meeting around the campfire to do poetry. The Heads are CRAZY about Robert W. Service. I love it. (Think "The Cremation of Sam McGee".) We quote one of his poems at our house all the time...

Don't stab father with the bread knife, mother,

'Twas a gift when you were wed.

But if you must stab father with the bread knife, mother,

Please use another for the bread.

If that doesn't describe the family's sense of humor, I don't know what does. :)

Saturday, there was a bow and arrow contest, a basketball tournament, and then dinner at "the ranch" (G & G Head's house) in Victor. It was awesome to see how well those homemade bows worked. Sunday, we had a testmony meeting and Swedish pancakes before packing up to go home. James and I took the scenic route (US-20) rather than the interstate to get home. It's 20 miles shorter but takes about 15 minutes longer, due to slower speeds, but it's gorgeous! Most of it really is very scenic and beautiful. I got to see Craters of the Moon as well, which is really interesting. 

Needless to say, it was a fun, exhausting time. Joseph got to play with his uncles and aunts, and everyone thought his basketball obsession was pretty funny. Kenny got passed around so much that I only held him to feed him, pretty much. It was great to catch up with everyone and see how much the little ones have changed. Why do they have to grow up so fast? 

And why do I never take any pictures?

We will definitely be going camping again sometime. I know now how cold it really gets at night and that a sleeping bag and heavy blanket are a must. I also have confidence that I can sleep through it all just fine...on my air mattress! Man, that thing is comfortable, as long as it's inflated. :) Hopefully we will go again before winter hits. I'm still surprised at how much fun I had, once we figured out how to stay warm enough. (And thank you, Kenny, for sleeping from 10-6 every night!)

Hmm...

I'm not sure what to think of life right now. It's not making a lot of sense. James has applied to 12 or more jobs now but has had no luck in getting one. I guess it's hard because there are only 2 months left until we leave! That fact is in itself bittersweet to me. We've really loved Nampa and would have been very happy to stay here, but the Lord has other plans for us. Why we're going to Vernal, I don't know yet. I have a small idea of why we were here. This ward is amazing when it comes to taking care of people. In Rexburg, it's easy to assume that all college students are poor, etc., and that you're probably going to move again, so no big deal if you're new. We had the warmest welcome here. Lots of people in the ward seem genuinely sad that we will move away. That's a refreshing feeling after being in a ward where not many people noticed if we moved away.

Anyway, life goes on. It seems to be moving rather slowly right now. I don't mean to complain about that, because it really is rather good, just a little stressful. The boys are great, though. I have no complaints about them. I can't believe how big Kenny continues to get. He has to wear size 3-6 mos. now, because he got too long for the 0-3 mos. Sizewise, I think he's probably a month ahead of how big Joseph was at this age. He's already 12 1/2 lbs. I know that Joseph didn't hit 14 lbs. until 4 months. I guess we'll see, because it could all change.

Joseph loves his bed. I'm glad I decided to put him in it. It's still going really well, even at naptime (usually). He  loves to be able to get out of it instead of being stuck in the crib. Kenny does wake him when he eats at 4-4:30 a.m., but that's the only time I get up with him, and Joseph goes right back to sleep as if it never happened. I wish I could do that!

James started volunteering at the Old Penitentiary in Boise. We toured it on Saturday. Talk about creepy! The overall feeling there is just eerie. You can tell that there were lots of evil men in there. But it was a cool tour anyway. Joseph got scared when we went to see the cooler, so we didn't stay in there long. The part that James volunteers at is the arms exhibit. Apparently, this guy had million of dollars of guns, swords, etc. that he donated when he died. Any guy's paradise.

James had a decent Father's Day, I'd say. I cooked bacon and eggs for breakfast. James got a poster with candy on it as the words, a desk that he found for 5 bucks, and a pair of swim goggles. Hopefully it will be hot enough to go swimming. I'm thinking yes, because it's supposed to be 97 this Thursday. (Yikes!!!) For dinner, we enjoyed BBQ chicken, biscuits, corn, and baked beans. Dessert was lava cake. I'd say it was a good day.

This week, we head off to the Head reunion in Ashton. Here's to hoping for good weather, because we are crazy enough to go sleep in a tent for 3 nights! How I'll get any sleep, I'm not sure. Wish me luck!