Family pic

Family pic

Sunday, September 22, 2013

How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard. – Winnie The Pooh


The last week in Albuquerque was a whirlwind of course.  The movers came on Friday August 7.  We stayed at our house Friday, Saturday and Sunday with all our stuff in boxes.  Monday we moved over to the hotel.  We had dinners with Friends every night (THANKS Wheelers, Wilcoxes, Andersons and Brooks!! I wish I had taken pictures!!) and after we weren't in our home anymore a million people offered to let us nap kids and feed us etc. play date, you name it.  I wish we could have been in all those places at once, and I'm so sad there were SO many people we didn't get to say goodbye to--many were still on vacation, and school was about to start as well so lives were busy.  Everyone took such good care of us I'm sad I won't have a chance to return the favor. Curt was still working non stop on the house, and thanks to Uncle Eric for coming and helping him hammer out all the painting that was left.   Wednesday morning they came to get our cars.  While we were waiting at our house the kids were playing on our tree swings just like they have for the past four years and Heidi fell off.  The swing came back and hit her smack dab in the middle of her mouth and she was bleeding quite a bit.  The swing had chipped her front teeth, loosened up her bottom two a little and scratched up her face.  Friends showed up shortly thereafter and we met at a park for lunch.  While we were there Kristine, awesome friend and our Bishop's wife offered to take Heidi to her husbands office (he's a dentist) to have her looked at.  We didn't have a car, so other kids were passed off and Kristine and Heidi and I went to the dentist.  Bishop Lines was so sweet with her, talking silly with her like only he can, helping her feel comfortable with letting him look at and work on her teeth.  (The week before I had taken them all in for a check up with our pediadontist and she wouldn't even sit in the chair.)  Her bottom teeth had bled some but no roots were cracked and he was able to file down her front teeth so they weren't so sharp.  Her front teeth are a little diagonal now instead of straight across thanks to the swing, but won't be cutting up her tongue.  I can't thank them enough for seeing her at a moments notice and without even asking for a penny.  If we would have waited until we got to CA, it would have taken a bit to get her to a dentist and who knows if she would have even let them work on her teeth. That night we had dinner at the Brooks' and other friends came to pick up Nicole so she could go to activity days for the last time.  Kathy even drove me and my kids to the hotel way down by the airport after feeding us dinner.  All the wards we've lived in have been great, but I've truly felt the reason we call each other brother and sister in our Bear Canyon ward.  So hard to leave.  7-8 years in one place, roots were deep.

 The past few weeks in Albuquerque I was snapping pictures everywhere.  "Mom why are you taking pictures of that?"  Here's our temple that was 7 minutes away. 
 Driving home on Tramway
 Alex and Isaac
 Brett at our newly refurbished neighborhood park.
 Oh these two!  If only I could have recorded all their fun conversations and play dates.  
Haley and Ryan

 Ditto.  Isaac and Adam

 AND Ditto again!  Nicole and Anna  (The arm thing was to cover her cast so she could go swimming.)
 One last swim at Eisenhower pool


 all boxed up
                                                       view of our house from the side

 Tuesday Cecy organized an aquarium, botanic garden day and quite a few people came at the drop of a hat-even rearranged piano lessons to come be with us.  Cecy and Maria and sweet Kate below.
 Heidi, Juliette, Eden and Lizzie
                                                              . . . and Kate!
 Claire stayed as long as her little guy would let her but had to sneak out early so she wasn't in on the group shot below.  We got to keep Lizzie with us though!
 Me (the one with the puffy eyes from crying) Maria, Kristine, Nicole, Cecy, Elise.  So sweet of them to come.  There are at least 20 other people I wish could have been there!  We almost exceeded the aquarium's capacity with all of our kids.  26 kids between just the six of us below. 
 Eli and Isaac and the jelly fish.
 Ryan, Scottie and Lars--3 musketeers
 Nicole and Anne
 Brett's friend Grant
                                                       Isaac talking with Amber at the hotel. 
At least someone is able to sleep through all the chaos!
 One last shaved ice at Cecy's

Sunday, September 1, 2013

Lots of Amber and more!



Super extreme colossal cuteness 




 There were actually four families moving from our ward (ourselves included) and they had a farewell party at the park for us.  Nicole and some of her close friends.
                                                     
Awesome Bishop Lines
Here are all of my kids I have LOTS.  I feel like I left four children in Albuquerque we've been a part of each others lives for so long!  Albuquerque, California, then Albuquerque together.
 Here is another kid I left behind . . . actually she moved too.
 Isaac got his wolf at the last pack meeting before we moved.  The last thing he had to do was build something useful with wood.  Yeah, that wasn't going to happen from me or Curt with all we had going on.  Thankfully a boy in the ward was doing an eagle scout project of building lots of bird houses for something and I sent Isaac and Curt over there so we could pass that off!

 Heidi and Lizzie. . . another child I left behind . . . sniff
 view from our front door--rainbow after a storm
 Amber is 3 months!!! Sorry, they were all so cute I couldn't decide.  Easier just to post all of them.
She's gotten pretty strong on her tummy, "talks" a lot and pretty loudly now, smiling all the time, starting to find her feet and pulls her toys off her bouncy chair a lot and they often hit her in the face--bad design because they are kind of hard toys.

Compliments to Sabrina for the super cute outfit and homemade bow--she made three that all matched the outfit.