A day of fun.

Yesterday was my most FAVORITE day so far living over here in IF. I opened the door in the moring to see my neighbor from Boise standing at my door. I told Chelsi, "Now THAT is the face I love to see when I hear a knock at the door!"

We took the kids to the Tautphaus Park Zoo. It was such a perfect day and zoo was actually a LOT better then I thought it was going to be. I was quite impressed.

We bought a membership so I know we'll be heading back lots and lots!

Later on in the afternoon our favorite friends the Perry's came to stay the night. The kids played hard all night and the bigger kids (or the adults) stayed up late laughing and talking. We love our friends. We are so blessed to have them in our lives....near or far. :)

Drop and GO.

Does anyone know who's kid this is? My child would NEVER just drop trou and wizz wherever he pleased.

It's not like he learned how to do such things from his RIGHTEOUS and OBEDIENT older brothers.

(wink wink)

Little boys.....gotta love 'em.

(1st time at the Ammon pool.....not nearly as nice as the pool across from out house in B-town but it was still fun!)

Adjusting

Moving is so hard. I'm not going to sugar coat it. I realize it takes time to get adjusted to a whole new life but as a mom, and a homemaker it is really tough. I miss my friends.

Nate has his job and his bike which keeps him busy. The boys step outside and neighbor kids start to come around.

Of course I'm busy setting up our house and keeping the boys busy. Its just hard going to Relief Society and sitting by myself. It pretty much sucks.

I want to go around with a sign on my neck that says, "HI! I'm Staci and I'm fun and normal. I promise!"

Idaho Falls is different. There are some things that I'm growing to love and some things that I'm coping with.

One thing I'm learning to adapt to is WIND:

All day long it blows here...the trees in my backyard are constantly in motion. I don't have to sweep the grass clippings on the sidewalk becuase it all just blows away. Thats a good thing...right?

My favorite thing so far would have to be this darling little library near my house. I feel like I've stepped back in time 100 years. It was built in 1908 and used to be an LDS church. I absolutely LOVE IT!

People can't drive here. The boys and I were walking into Albertson's and we were almost backed into 2 times. The cashier blamed it on all of the people who have moved here from Utah. I yelled at the second guy who almost hit us. I was so infuriated I yelled, "What is WRONG with you IDIOT Idaho Falls drivers?"

I scared the man who was behind the wheel. I was a mother bear again..in all my glory. Don't mess.

I've come to the conclusion that the Idaho Falls City Flower must be the dandelion. Everyone seems to grow them with pride in their yards. Ever since we got here I have spent HOURS trying to get rid of them. About $100 in weed killer and the front yard is FINALLY looking better.  

One thing I really like is the fact that houses in Idaho Falls all have basements. Basements are the greatest invention all all time. My kids have absolutely loved having a big area to play nerf guns and chuck balls at eachother. I love that I have a place to send the boys and I can't hear the fighting from upstairs. :)

Another good thing about living in "mini Utah" is the fact that homes have room for food strorage. This is wonderful seeing that I coupon. (Or used to....I need to get back into it!)

Apparently you aren't considered an official "Eastern Idahoan" until you have a trampoline in your backyard too. We're trying to blend in with the natives so we put ours up as soon as we could. The boys are really enjoying it.

One other thing I LOVE. Nate's extended Samoan Family. They have embraced us and FED us like no other. Every time they get together we are invited. The kids LOVE to play with the "cousins." I love that family is family to them....even if we are 2nd cousins once removed. :)

Our neighbors have been very nice too. While I was writing this blog some neighbors came over and dropped off some cookies.

Things are looking up.

LP 2010

Back from Powell and all is well....and TAN! We had a great time this year. One BIG change this year was the fact that my parents bought a new houseboat. We've been on the Last Resort for 25+ years so it was a big change to be on a different boat.

So here she is.........may I introduce the SunQuest.

Actual bedrooms, bigger kitchen, 2 bathrooms, air conditioning (wasn't working this year....but hopefully next), queen sized mattresses....it was a step up could say!

I took all 3 boys this year....Daddy couldn't come with becuase of the new job. They all had a fantastic time playing in the HUGE sandy beach that we found this year. They fished, swam, tubed and went off the slide. A little boy's dream.

James brought 4 friends plus his girlfriend. They were one crazy bunch! It was so funny how OLD they thought I was. They kept saying things like..."How do you know this song?...this isn't YOUR generation."

We had the usual Hawaiin night.....lots of fun!

We played the 3rd annual Red Rock challenge...we took some of the game ideas from Minute To Win It! It was crazy as always!

Water was good. It always is!

Initiation was hilarious. Every year the boys make a huge fire and everyone gets marshmallow smeared on them for accomplishing things at Lake Powell. They get smeared if they throw a tantrum, jump the wake, catch a fish, master the air chair.....things like that. Then they jump off the houseboat to wash all of the mess off. My boys were thrilled to be apart of the action.

We had some pretty intense weather this year and some very high stress situations but all in all it was a great trip. O yeah....and my dad is pretty much awesome.

Time to get back to the real world.....or at least figure out what my new real world is. It was 50 degrees in Idaho Falls when I got back home. Seriously???

100 degree temps AHOY!

Who's ready to enjoy doing nothing but hanging out with family, playing games all day, reading a good book on the beach while the boys play in the sand, doing ANYTHING other than unpacking, waterskiing and surfing to our hearts content in one of the most beautiful places on earth?

I AM!

Lake Powell 2010 here we come!

A chapter ends and a new one begins.

Wow...its amazing to me that 9 days have passed since my last post. It honestly feels like 90 days ago. So much to recap....I'll do my best.

Last Saturday we packed up our home with the help of MANY friends and family. Having so many people there really helped make the whole ordeal a lot easier. That day was honestly one of the WORST days of my life.....and not just becuase we were moving.

 Problem #1: Nate's car broke down in Twin Falls on his way home to Boise to help us pack up. He was supposed to be home by about 10am so he could pick up the moving truck. Nate's mom had to jump in the car and head over to Idaho Falls to resuce him and get his car into a shop there. I was already emotionally unstable due to the nature of the day so I was freaking out when I realized I would be the one who would have to pick up the HUGE truck. 30+ feet to drive. I was terrified. Luckily my dad (as usual) stepped and and rescued me. He told me not to worry about the truck and just worry about everything else I had to deal with.

Problem #2: I took the boys over to my mom's house to get them out of the way while we packed up the house. I jumped on the computer to look up some truck rental information when we heard a scream come from my mom's backyard. REMEMBER...I was already emotionally unstable due to Nate's car. I ran back there to find Landon with a huge CHUNK missing out of his forehead. That was it ladies and gents. I officially LOST it. I was crying, screaming, throwing things. OUT of control. Somehow we made it to the hospital in one piece. My brother and sister came with me and seemed a little concerned with my reckless driving on the way to the ER. When we checked Landon in I had a hard time remembering his last name and his birthday. I sobbed and sobbed in the waiting room...I'm pretty sure everyone in the hospital thought that I was the one who did something to my child and was crying out of guilt. 5 stitches later he was as good as new..chocolate face and all.

Needless to say, we all made it back to the house by 1:00 and were greeted by many friends an family members who were willing to help. Moving would be so much easier if we were surrounded by a bunch of JERKS:)

And with that....we said goodbye.

Fast forward to Monday morning.

Nate had told the Elder's Quorum about us moving in and that we were in need of some help. We were all ready to go at 9AM and NO ONE showed up. Nate and I started to unpack the truck by ourselves. I had to go into an empty room and have a moment to myself. I said a silent prayer that someone would come and help us. 10 minutes later my brother and his friends showed up willing to help. 5 minutes later I turned around to see a wonderful family that we knew from Boise. They moved to Idaho Falls last year. Christy (the mom) said, "We're ready to work!" and I started to cry. I gave her the biggest hug ever. 10 minutes after that, all of Nate's Samoan family started showing up. 45 people and 1 hour later the entire truck and trailer were unpacked. Humbled and grateful. The only 2 words that come to mind.

So now we've been here a full week. I wake up each day and wonder where the heck I am. I've done lots of unpacking and organizing a place we can call home. Here are a few shots of the house thus far:

Family Room:

Front Room: (Can't wait to paint that piano!)

Guest Bathroom:

My friend Nikki made me some vinyl before I left as a going away gift so I could put my favorite family picture decoration up again:

Hey...hey....what is that??? Yep....a GUEST room! In other words...COME SEE US! Hotel Starnes...open for buisness. Our rates are amazing.

Don't let me fool you...the rest of the house is a DISASTER! More pictures to come later!!

O yeah 2 more things......random but needs to be recorded.
Dallin enjoyed tennis lessons this week. Why not just dive in and make our lives even more crazy...right?

And finally.....Landon is POTTY TRAINED. We are officially a NO DIAPER HOME!

Hooray!

Last day.

Phew! It has been ONE emotional day for a certain girl in the Starnes home. It all started with dropping Dallin off at the bus stop this morning. I teared up as I watched him climb on the bus for the last time as a first grader and the last time as a student at Spalding Elementary. Then my friend Nikki turned her car around and she started to cry as soon as she saw me which of course made me start to bawl. Not a good start to the morning. :)

Then my mother in law and I went to work packing the house up. My mom in law is a SAINT and I don't know what I would do without all of her help. Having her here has helped me not only get ready for the move but she continues to make me laugh and try to focus on the positive. Her outlook and shared experiences really helps me to keep a long term perspective.

Packing up my house and watching the walls return to a bare state reminds me about how excited I was to move into this house 3 short years ago. As we have cleaned we have found all sorts of little treasures. We found Landon's baby binki, Tilly's (our short term puppy) leash and collar, funny pictures of friends under the fridge, old invitations to birthday parties, and my lost lost patriarichal blessing. What a tender mercy that I needed today.

Picking Dallin up from school was another HUGE emotional experience. The duty lady told me he was crying at lunch. Knowing that this is difficult on him really hit me hard. When I walked in to his classroom to take some pictures he was surrounded by his classmates. They kept hugging him over and over again.

One little girl said, "Dallin helps me with my homework every day. He is the smartest boy that I know."
One boy said, "Dallin was my very first best friend I ever had." I had to keep my sunglasses on while INSIDE the building.....trying to hide my tears.

Here is Dallin with Ms. Buch:

She could be a supermodel she is so pretty. (Dallin thinks so too!)

Here is his class:

When we got outside we HAD to get a picture with Miss Spaghetti the bus driver. (No that isn't her REAL name but that is what she is called and ALL of the kids adore her!) She is one incredible woman who LOVES her job. As Dallin would ride the bus 45 min to and from school every day I would have NO fear that he was in great hands. She even cleaned up some Dallin puke a few months back and she was more concerned about Dallin then she was about the mess. We'll really miss Miss Spaghetti!

Tonight I was able to get away to enjoy dinner with a good friend and I recieved some yummy treats from more friends when I got back home.It has been a really good night. I'm blessed. I'm so very blessed.

Tomorrow is moving day. It is already here and it came SO fast. It has been really hard but I'm ready to say goodbye to my house and ready to be HOME with my family. No matter where we go.....

home is being together.

Over and out until we get our internet up and running at the new house.

1st Piano Recital

He has worked hard this year....and he did a great job at his recital last night! It is funny watching my child play in the SAME place that I had recitals growing up. All things come full circle!

Too cool for school.....typical Parker.

Yesterday was Preschool Graduation for Parker and his fellow classmates.

I deocrated the house:

We signed little stuffed animals for each other so we could always remember the kids in our class:

I made caps and gowns for all of the kids:

Hey.....isn't someone missing from the picture???

O, yeah......its Parker. He is embarassed to be seen wearing this silly outfit.

He said....."MOM...that isn't even a HAT its a PLATE."

Here is where Parker spent the majority of the graduation:

Sometimes I wonder why I even try.

Luckily he came to his senses after all of the GIRLS left.