First Day of School for the Boys!

I've always looked forward to the first day of school. I always loved school shopping, getting my backpack and all the school supplies, picking out my outfits for the first week, it's all just so exciting! It wasn't quite like that for Ben, but he was still excited and a little nervous. He didn't love getting his picture taken, but he was a good sport. :)

That day Payson and I planned a surprise for daddy to congratulate him on his first day. Payson was so excited! He kept asking if daddy was coming home, and he kept talking about making a surprise for him. It was so cute. We decorated a little and made a card, and made a yummy dinner for him. It was fun! :)

Then a couple of weeks later, it was Payson's turn for his first day of school. He was SO excited! His cousin Jackson gave him his old Lightning McQueen backpack and Payson loves it. He would not take it off. It was adorable. We got him all ready and took pictures by the front door. A tradition in my family that has been around for years!

He loves preschool. He is learning a lot about each letter and loves coming home and telling me all about it. I love hearing him tell me about it. He tells me what they had for snack, what letter they did, and what craft they made. He is so smart and such a cutie. I love having these little conversations with him. He is growing up so fast!

6th Anniversary!

For our 6th anniversary this year, we were fortunate to be able to go to the Kansas City, Missouri Temple. It was so much fun. Thanks to Ben's Aunt Sally for watching Payson for us for the day. No longer are temple trips just a quick 10 minute drive, we have to drive 1 1/2 hours each way, plus the few hours actually in the temple. It's really not bad compared to so many other places, but it is an adjustment for us! The temple is beautiful and it was wonderful being there. After the temple we went to dinner at the Olive Garden. Then we picked up Payson and enjoyed the evening together as a family. We went and got ice cream and watched movies and just hung out. It was a fun day. Whatever we do, as long as we're together, that's all that matters. I sure love this man and I am grateful for him! It's crazy that 6 years have come and gone. Time flies when you're having so much fun. :) We've had our ups and downs, just like anyone, but being married is the greatest. It's hard, you have to work at it, but it's worth it. So glad we have eternity together!  

There will always be Hope in Kansas!

One of the first weekends we were here, the Rhodes invites us to go to Hope, Kansas with them. This adorable little town is where Grandpa Rhodes was born and raised. It was so fun to see it! Their slogan is "There will always be Hope in Kansas!"

This house is where Grandpa was born. 

This is Grandpa's high school, where he dominated at all the sports. 

The football and baseball fields. 

The reason for the trip was to go here, the Hope Cemetery. The family had bought some headstones for Grandpa and his two sisters to be placed in the Hope Cemetery. So we went and placed them. It was really neat. 

It was so hot and sunny!

This little one stole my camera, surprise, surprise. 

Grandpa's sisters

Grandma and Grandpa Rhodes

We also placed a headstone for Grandpa Rhodes' mom, who is buried in Arizona, but her husband is buried here. 

This is the house Grandpa Rhodes grew up in. 

The famous Hope water tower. 

After the cemetery we went to the town museum, which is in the church that Grandpa Rhodes used to go to. It was full of all sorts of history! Antique furniture, old phones, grocery store items and carts, lots of pictures and memorabilia.  It was so fun to see! Below is a picture that is hanging up in the museum of the basketball state champions, and Grandpa Rhodes was on the team. He is number 44. So cool!

I loved learning all about this little town, and more about Grandpa's life. We really miss him!

The Big Move

The time finally came for us to pack up and move out. It was so exciting and yet so weird! It felt so weird to say we were moving to Kansas. We worked hard to get everything packed up and ready to go. 

When we got the truck it really started feeling real. We were second guessing if we really needed that big of a truck... haha if you'll notice the pictures to come, we needed every single inch! 

Payson wanted to help and packed his box full of things he needed. :)

 

We were fortunate to have help from our family to get everything loaded into the truck! Thanks to my dad and Kevin who played a great game of Tetris, getting everything in there in the best possible way, maximizing every space! They did great! Since we had a storage unit with most of our stuff in, we went there first, loading the truck with those things, then came back and loaded the stuff from the house. It took all night! But we couldn't have done it without everyone's help! 

That night we slept on an air mattress in the Lamb's family room. The next day we spent the entire day cleaning the house and doing all those last minute things to get ready to move. We said good bye to the Lambs that night, which was no fun. Lots of tears. :( We drove the truck up to Taylorsville that night and spent the night there so we could just get up the next morning and head out. Ness was so sad. She just wanted to hold Payson all night. They fell asleep like this and I didn't want to move them. 

 Here we are, all loaded up and ready to go. Ben and I were in the moving truck, towing the Jeep. 

 My dad, mom, Grandma Tye and Payson were in the red truck, towing the Hyundai. We were quite the moving crew! It was so great of my parents to come out with us. They were such a big help! I was so stressed about how we were going to get out there. I really did not want to drive my car by myself. I don't do well driving long distances, I get so tired in the car! I was so relieved when my parents offered to go out with us. 

This was so exciting as we drove out, but so weird thinking about leaving this place! We said good bye to the Tye's that morning, and again tears. So hard to say good bye! Change is hard. 

Lina made us a Topeka or Bust cd for us to listen to on our way, and we loved it! Thanks Lina!

Payson loved driving the big yellow truck when we stopped. He didn't want to ride in there with us, he wanted to ride with Grandpa, but he liked driving it. 

 We had Jesus in a wheat field welcoming us to Kansas. We still don't know what that sign is advertising!

 The road signs on the way out are awesome!

 And the fields of sunflowers are beautiful!

We finally made it! We drove as far as we could the first day, and made it to the West side of Kansas. We found a hotel and stayed the night, then got up and drove the rest of the way. It was so exciting to arrive! It was so fun seeing our house again! We took up the whole road with our entourage! 

 Hoping nothing would fall out!

We were so lucky to have such great help moving in! A lot of guys from the ward came over and helped us! It was so nice! Again, there was no way we could have done it without everyone. People are so good! 

That night was surreal as we laid there thinking, this is our new home, in Kansas! It a little overwhelming at thinking about being in a new place, not knowing anyone or how to get around, having to unpack, etc. But we made it through!

We were so glad to have my parents and Grandma there. They helped us so much! And it was fun to have their company. We did a little unpacking, and also went site seeing. We went to the temple, Liberty Jail, and the Visitor's Center in Independence. We had a great weekend. Come Monday morning when it was time for them to leave, I was so sad. I had to start working that day, and they were  leaving and I just felt so overwhelmed! I broke down and cried and just wondered if I could do this! But luckily we have family here, and they took such great care of us. Sally is already like a sister, and she just helped me through everything. I wish I could have taken another week off work so I could spend the time getting settled, but that's life I guess. 

Also, we had decided to come out as late as we could so we could spend the summer with family and friends, however once we got here, we wished we came out earlier! There was so much to do and we only had a few weeks before school started for Ben. There is so much to do when you move! Cars, banks, setting up utilities, changing addresses, etc. It was a lot of work! I am so grateful to Ben for taking care of most of that. He is amazing and my rock, and I would be lost without him. It was an overwhelming first few weeks, but we made it through! And now, it feels like home... almost. :)

Summer Time and the Living is Easy

Our Summer of 2012 was jam packed full of fun! We had a list of things we wanted to do before we left for Kansas, along with all our regular summer traditions, and it was busy! Here is a quick recap. 

We got to go boating a few times, which has always been a favorite activity of mine! I just love being on the water! Payson got to ride the waverunner with Grandpa. He loved it. Even though it was a little windy and choppy, and he had water in his face the whole time, he did not want to get off. That's my boy! 

 We went to Taylorsville Dayzz and watched the Utah Symphony and Payson went on some of the rides. Some he liked, others he cried the whole time. It was very entertaining! His favorite ride was the train, and he also liked riding that motorcycle. 

 We also went to the Taylorsville Dayzz parade, which is always a blast! Not a lot of floats, but more candy than we know what to do with! 

 For the 4th of July we went to the Provo parade. Aunt Heidi was nice enough to go early and save us seats! They ended up being right before the parade started, so we only saw a little of it, but we still had fun! And it was in a nice shady spot which was so nice, especially for the 9 month pregnant lady! Heidi was due that day. We kept hoping she would have the baby that day, but he decided to wait a few more days. 

 We had a yummy BBQ at Nannies and Pop-pops, complete with yummy red, white, and blue cupcakes!

That night we went to the fireworks at Thanksgiving point. We had a blast as usual! We went early and got some good seats, and just hung out with the fam. Payson was so worn out, once we laid down to watch the fireworks, he fell right asleep, and slept through them. 

 On July 7 we welcomed baby Ryker to the world! We were so happy to finally meet him! Payson loves "Baby Ryker" and now thinks all babies are "Baby Ryker". Ryker decided he wanted to have the same birthday as his mom, so he was born on Heidi's birthday. 

 We love him so much already!

Payson took a few weeks of swim lessons this summer and loved it! He did so good and came a long way. He was one of those kids that can't keep their head out of the water. He loved sitting on the stairs just putting his head in and out of the water. But he did really well with his ice cream scoop arms and his kicks, and laying flat in the water. I think we have a little swimmer on our hands! Thanks Nannie for being the best swim teacher ever!

He wasn't even afraid to jump of the diving board. 

We had a farewell party with our friends and had lots of fun, despite that we were saying good bye! We are blessed with such great people in our lives! 

We said good bye to our great grandma "GG". After almost 102 years on this earth, she was finally called home. What a sweet, amazing lady she was! We are so happy for her and the reunion that took place in heaven. We loved having her here for so long and will miss her until we see her again. 

We went to the Days of '47 Rodeo, which is always a blast. Payson loved seeing all the animals. And he loved using the binoculars to look at everything!

We went to the Pioneer Day parade on the 24th of July which was downtown Salt Lake. I have wanted to go to this parade for a few years now, but we haven't been able to until this year. We loved it! We sat with the Heatons and enjoyed seeing all the great floats go by. We love parades! 

After the parade on the 24th, we met up with the Lambs and went to the zoo. We love spending time with our cousins! And Payson loved seeing all the animals. He kept saying the elephant was his favorite. 

 Nannie and Pop-pop spoiled us with yummy ice cream cones!

 Riding the train!

 These two boys love playing together. Payson just follows Jett wherever he goes. 

On my last day of working at the office, my work threw me an awesome swim party at Melissa's. They decorated with a Wizard of Oz theme and it was so cute! I work with such awesome people. I just love being around them. It was a bittersweet day. We had a lot of fun, but it ended in tears as we said goodbye. I don't do goodbye's very well. :( I just knew that it wouldn't ever be the same. And these are some of my closest friends. 

 They ordered me my favorite food- Zupas! 

 Lina got me some things to help make the trip a little easier. :)

 Love these guys! 

We also had a good bye party with the Lambs before we left. Since we weren't going to be there for Payson's birthday they threw him a party. Such a cute and thoughtful Nannie we have! We had ice cream and cake, and he even got to open presents. He is spoiled by his family! 

 For Janessa's birthday she wanted to go to the zoo, so we got to go again, this time with the Tye's. And again, we had a blast. We love the zoo! Payson always enjoys being outside and walking around. And he loves seeing everything. 

That night we went to Karaoke Kafe which is a fun little family friendly karaoke joint. We have been there a couple of time and have a blast! The boys did a few numbers, the girls did a few, and even Ben and I got up there. It's so much fun! 

We also had a good bye party with the Cox's, but I was having so much fun, I forgot to take pictures. I hate when that happens! It was a fun swim party at the Heatons. We had a great turnout, and it was so fun seeing everyone! It's things like that that we are really going to miss. 

We had such a fun summer! We hung out with lots of family and friends, enjoyed the sun, and soaked up all we could in Utah. We knew that once the summer was over, our lives were about to change! It was a weird feeling, but we were excited for the new adventure. We were so glad we were able to have so much fun with everyone before we left. We love summer!