Parkerisms

Here are a few of the latest comments from our funny boy:

"After we're done living in Idaho Falls, lets move to Disneyland! I think I would LOVE to live there."

"I'm glad we're moving...then the twins won't LOVE me anymore." (Referring to the cute twins in his preschool class.)

"I'm so sick and tired of Landon IG-NOYYING me all the time." (ignore+annoyying=ignoyying)

(After we told him that we were moving), "But, can Grandma come too?"
He started to cry and then I asked him if it would be okay with him if we got a trampoline in the backyard for our new house. "Oh....yes, yes, yes! I can't WAIT to move!"

"I like to play soccer but I am so much awesomer at baseball."

"If dad is older than mom....then why is mom the boss in our house?" (hehe)

A little Saturday recap...and some pictures I'll regret posting later.

Not sure how we crammed it all in today.

Soccer games:

Sent 2 boys on missions. One to Japan, one to Brazil:

Played outside until complete exhaustion:

And packed up our Daddy. He leaves tomorrow afternoon. He starts his new job on MONDAY!  It will be strange not having him around again. We're all used to having him home ALL day EVERY day. We'll be joining him over in Idaho Falls in a few weeks.
 We've spent a lot of time together over the last month and a half. I've loved having him home and there have also been times it hasn't been pure bliss.(GASP) Actually, I don't think we have EVER spent so much time together....maybe when we very first started dating and neither one of us had jobs.
Hanging out so much has made me realize how much I love him but it has also made the both of us go a little crazy at times:

I'll miss him but I think he is ready to get back to the work world!

Baseball Fever

Take me out to the ball game

Take me out to the WEEDS.

Dust swirling, goat heads and thistles galore

My allergies and itchy skin can't take any more

But we'll root root root for the Yellow Jackets

If they don't win its a shame (the kids wouldn't even notice actually)

Cause its one two three

 (or however long it takes for the kid to hit the ball off the tee)

strikes your out in the old t-ball game!

Baseball time again. Parker absolutely LOVES baseball. The league he is playing with this year aquired some new land so our new fields are less than ideal. I guess thats what you get when you you live on the outskirts of town! O well, the kids still love it...and they are just so darn cute. :)

For Sale

Our house is officially on the market.

Keeping a house clean constantly with three boys....nearly impossible.

Keeping a house clean with three boys, and no husband around for a month....absolutely impossible.

Every morning I wake up and think that this whole moving thing is just a dream.

There is no way we can really be leaving.

Boise is our home.

We're happy here. We're comfortable here.

Two days ago I was getting a little bit excited about moving somewhere new.

New experiences. New sights. A new adventure.

Then the boys bathroom upstairs flooded.

Water everywhere.

Waterfall coming out of the light fixture downstairs.

Every towel, blanket, sheet in the house soaked.

My dad to the rescue.

Water stopped. Sink fixed. Better than new.

I'm really gonna miss my dad.

And my 24 hour handyman.

Soccer Mom Joys

What do I love MOST about being a soccer mom?

Perhaps it is watching my boys gain confidence and skill:  (Or maybe Parker doesn't really NEED any more confidence. hehe)

Or maybe it is the silly entertainment on the sidelines:

Or it could very well be the ever so handsome referee that I quite enjoy razzing from the sidelines:

I'm loving it all!

It's my horn....I'll toot if I want to!

Dallin received his report card yesterday. If you know Dallin you won't be surprised that he has done very well in school and continues to do so.
The comments section started out with: "Dallin did an exceptional job this trimester.....he is above grade level with reading, spelling, and in math.....yadda yadda yadda."

Then I read a line that made Mr. Dallin's MOM  start to choke up a little bit.. It was the part that said:

 "Dallin cares deeply for others and is an excellent role model."

Of course I am proud of how well he does in school but when I read that sentence I became proud in a very personal way. To know that I have the privilege of being the mom to a boy who is an EXAMPLE to others (whether he knows it or not) and who CARES about people....now that is something that I want to shout from the rooftops!  Way to go Dally Doodle! Mom loves you!

A spring day at the zoo

Butterflies and Houses

What a crazy couple of days. Sunday I broke the news to the Young Women. It was so incredibly difficult I can't even think about it without tearing up again. My lesson was all about the changes that happen in our lives. I compared change to the changes that happen to a butterfly. Just like caterpillars, we too have to experience changes and trials in life. Change…whether internal or external, whether spiritual or physical—can make us more beautiful. We also talked about the things that we can do to help make changes more bearable and how we can prepare for them becuase no matter what, they happen to EVERYONE.

I made some pretty cute handouts too.

Got me some cute fabric:

Cut some cute butterflies, sewed 3 together at time, starched the fabric, crumpled the butterlifes and glued some cute buttons on the clothespins: (Sigh....I SO need a baby girl)

On the back I added a tag that said:
"How does one become a butterfly? You must want to fly so much that you are willing to give up being a caterpillar." I wanted the girls to pin their butterflies in their rooms somewhere to remember our lesson. I think it went well....I hope it did anyway.

Yesterday Nate and I did a quick trip to Idaho Falls for a quick home hunting excursion. We had one small co pilot in the back with us. He was SO good...especially since he was in that carseat pretty much the entire day.

I thought for sure I knew which house we were going to go with before we got there. Here was a picture of it:

It's totally my style right? It even LOOKS a little bit like my house now. Things aren't always what they seem though. The problems with this house included:
1. Too small. Yeah, it has a unfinished basement but even with the basement DONE it was still only a little bit bigger then our home right now. I was envisioning the LONG winters with us all squished in this house. :-(
2. No storage space. One teeny closet downstairs....not going to cut it.
3. Next to an very busy street.
4. No fence in the backyard.

Busy street + No fence= brain damage for an overly anxious mom

5. The last problem with the house was the breaking point for me. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate animals but I do hate ANIMAL STINK. The house reaked of DOG. I saw a pee stain on the carpet and THEN.........I couldn't even believe my eyes when I saw it:

Yep....a free roaming TURTLE in the house. Pooping and peeing at free will all over the house.

DEALBREAKER.

The good news is I think we found a house. It isn't new. It isn't fancy. It has plenty of room for my wild and crazy boys. It has 5 bedrooms, a craft room, a huge food storage room, a big playroom downstairs, and a big backyard. Best part of it is.....it's so affordable.

Wanna see it? Yeah....I knew you did.

Here is the outside:

And here is the kitchen:

Not a huge of fan of the white appliances. We have lots of painting to do but HEY, I won't have any friends...I'll have plenty of time for that!

As we drove back from Idaho Falls last night and saw the lights of Boise on the horizon Nate and I both had a mini meltdown. It's so hard to come back home to a HOUSE you absolutely LOVE in a PLACE that you love even more.

Random

I feel like my mind is racing a bazillion miles an hour. Suddenly we are confronted with SO many decisions. I thought after Nate actually received a job that things would get easier.
WRONG.
where will we live, can we sell our house, buy or rent, when do we tell the boys, which school districts are best, how will we move, when will we move, how long will we have to be apart, how can I break the news to the young women, how can I comfort my parents, will my kids be okay, will I be okay, will the people in Idaho Falls like us, will the community even compare to how great we have it right now, what will the ward be like, what do you do for fun over there, is Idaho Falls as awful as people say it is, .......

I need an OFF switch, or something else to think about.

Hey, guess what? I got a new camera.

Here are a couple of shots from the last week or so. I have a TON to learn about cameras. Guess I'll have PLENTY of time to read the 400 page guide once we get over to eastern Idaho.

Here is Landon on his scooter. He is pretty amazing on that little thing.

Here is Parker riding through the park on his bike:

And here he is crashing:

I just realized he isn't wearing a helmet. Who's kid is this again? Surely the son of a bike riding fanatic KNOWS to always wear a helmet!

Speaking of bike riding fanatics, here is a picture of Nate on a time trial bike. He had me take a ton of pictures of him so he could be properly "fitted" on it.

Here is my Dallin boy with his Easter basket. That kid is so easy to please. A few chocolates and a kite and the kid is thrilled:

Lastly, here is a picture of Landon with his best friend Daxton. Aren't they so cute?

Big Changes

A dear friend of mine brought me some delicious chocoloate chip cookies a few months ago. (She could tell I was having a really crappy day.) Along with the cookies was a quote that I immediately put on my refrigerator. I wanted it to be in a place where I could read it every single day.

"It isn't as bad as you sometimes think it is. It all works out. Don't worry. I say that to myself every morning. It will all work out. If you do your best, it will all work out. Put your trust in God and move forward with faith and confidence in the future. The Lord will not forsake us. He will not forsake us...if we put our trust in Him, if we pray to Him, if we will live worthy of His blessings. He will hear our prayer."
                                                            
                                                       President Gordon B. Hinckley

I know I have been heard. The tender mercies of the Lord have been shown to me again and again. Even though I may not completely understand the course our lives are about to take I am at peace knowing that there is a reason for everything that happens in life.

As terrifying as it is for me to realize that I am going to have to leave the place I have called "home" for the majority of my life, my parents and my brother, my absolutely incredible friends, my beautiful home, the Young Women who I love, and the entire life that we have created here in Boise......I'm ready for the next chapter. (Or at least I can say I'm working on it)

Brace yourselves Idaho Falls........here comes the Starnes Family.

Cali FERN ia!

Califernia...that is what Landon calls California. It's sounds so cute coming from his mouth we opted not to correct him!

Wow...what a magical, fantastic, amazing, exactly what we needed week! We had SO much fun we just didn't want it to end! I have the most incredible family. We had so much fun spending time together and of course the cousins loved being together. Here we go.....the Calfernia recap. (And THIS is the cliff notes version!)

We started out on Monday spending the day at the BEACH! It was 85 degrees, sunny and absoluely perfect. The boys had such a great time I wish I could even put into words how fun it was to watch them play in the ocean waves and getting FILTHY in the sand! It was so relaxing to lay out in the warm sunshine!

Day 2 was spent at the Wild Animal Park. It was another perfect day out and the kids loved seeing the animals...especially feeding the birds, watching the shows, and riding the tram out to see all of the free range animals.

Day 3 was spent at my favorite place: SEA WORLD! I think I had more fun watching the faces of my kids then I did watching the Shamu show. They were completely MESMORIZED. We stayed at Sea World from OPEN to CLOSE!

Last the best of all the game DISNEYLAND!!!

We crammed a TON into one day at Disneyland! Dallin and Parker BOTH went on Space Mountain, the Matterhorn, AND Thunder Mountain! I was impressed...pretty sure I didn't go on those rides when I was 5 or 7!!

We went to the Character Breakfast which was SO much fun. The kids got to see a ton of characters and they would come around and sign their autograph books. It was awesome!

We rode on Pirates, Buzz Lightyear, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Peter Pan, Dumbo, Autotopia, Space Mountain, Star Tours, Thunder Mountain, Small World, and the Matterhorn. We were actually riding on the Matterhorn WHILE the evening  fireworks were going off! It was so cool ripping down the mountain and having fireworks shooting off RIGHT next to us! AMAZING.

We had 8 kids with us 7 and under in age..and we didn't LOSE anybody! Pretty amazing considering we have quite a few "easily distracted" kiddos with us!! We played really hard and we came back to the hotel very TIRED every night! Thank you Starnes crew! We'll remember this trip forever!!