Labor Day Weekend in IDAHO!

For Labor Day this year we took a quick trip to Idaho to see the family and AMY'S NEW BABY!!!  Jake had three day weekend already and then found out he didn't have anything going on on Friday either, so we took of Thursday night, stayed the night in Boise, then got down to Twin later on Friday.  It was so fun to see the family, but the trip also reminded us why we won't be traveling too much for the next few years.  I think sometimes we push ourselves too hard...  We're excited to find things in the West to keep us busy though, and we've already got plenty of fun things planned!

Those top pictures are of Amy's new 2 1/2 week old baby girl Renetta.  She was named after a lady Brett knew on his mission that he really admired.  She is a little DOLL and I just couldn't help but hold her all the time!  You forget what new little babies are like, even after you've just had two of them! :)  It was so awesome to ALL be together for the occasion!  Thanks to everyone for their sacrifices to be there with us!

Amy and Brett and Karen and Andrew live in the same complex in Twin Falls AND live kitty-corner from each other, so staying with them is SO nice and convenient!  They also have cute little fenced backyards that are perfect for family time while the kids play their hearts out!  I can't wait for my own backyard!  Thanks to Amy and Brett and the Farnsworths for all their help hosting, feeding and entertaining so many people, and KIDS!  Those kids are a chore already!  Its so nice to have family around who love their little relatives and give the moms a break!

It happened to be Sariah's B-day that weekend, so we were lucky to be there to help celebrate!  She got a tricycle from G&G Packham, a road rug from her parents, and we gave her some alpha/number magnets to play with on the fridge.  Those kids sure enjoyed the bike and that rug!  Isn't Sariah a little DOLL!!  So cute and I'm SO PROUD to be her aunt!  She is such a sweetheart and such a great friend to Hannah!  Those girls are crazy about each other! :)

More outside pictures!  It was so fun to watch them play with everyone and be so entertained!  I wish I could be closer so Hannah and Sariah could play together more.  Charlie and baby Renetta are just a year apart, so they'll have each other too!  We are hoping to be closer in two years, so it will probably happen sooner than I think!

Everytime I tried to get a good picture of these two dad would make some crazy face, so these are what I ended up with instead... :)  I'm so happy for dad to have his first little boy- how cute!  Two of the most important men in my life!  Love you two!

I love these little girls sharing their little table and eating together!  I just couldn't get enough pictures of it it seemed like!  I also enjoyed Hannah sharing with Charlie--every mom likes seeing that, right?  Makes you feel like you've accomplished something!  I'm so happy these two have each other to play and learn with.  I need to get moving on the learning thing too, because Preschool will here sooner than I know it! They're ready and eager to learn, so why not?   (Good thing I got some flash cards at the $1 store the other day! :)

What a little cutie pie!  I was so happy to finally catch a picture of her smiling!  Like I said before, I just couldn't get enough of this baby and Jake had to keep reminding me that I already had 2 babies to take care of.  I didn't really listen to him and kept thinking about having another baby to snuggle with, but the hard truth always manifested itself later when trying to manage my children...  Besides, there wouldn't be any more room in my arms while hugging my other two babies all the time!  Guess we'll wait till they get a little older. :)

I love these little babies, and I never was like that before.  Amy even mentioned how I never really liked babysitting or holding babies when I was younger, and how I've seemed to totally change.  And she's so right!!  I never enjoyed that stuff, but now I just can't get enough!  I'm so glad I've finally come around, or being a mom would be a nightmare, to say the least!  I love my calling as a mother and couldn't ask for a more fulfilling job!

Here are some more pictures of my babies...

Here are some pictures of the rental house my parents are staying in until they can find/afford a new house.  We would really like to sell our house in BL so they can have the money to get into a house in Burley, but at the same time it would be nice to keep the house in the family, as a cabin of sorts.  So we're good either way I guess.  The house is small, but it fits them and their storage pretty well.  They have a great lawn, patio and neighboring garden that they have full rights to, so thats really fun for them.  They LOVE the soil there and their gardens are going to be twice as much fun for them considering they can grow so many more things and pull them out that much easier!

I really admire my parents for their attitudes during this whole process.  We lived in Bear Lake for 20 years, and it was no easy task uprooting and starting ALL OVER AGAIN!  My mom just started her first job as a 2nd grade teacher, and its pretty trying on her, as most new jobs are.  (And she's no young recent graduate either--this change came a little later in life than expected...) And this job has the added stress of a lot of young blood with attitudes and some slow learners that make it much more exciting!  I really admire her for keeping her chin up through it all.  My dad has the same, yet more intense Extension job as he did in BL, so he's got a lot to deal with too.  AND they don't have a real house to settle into either!  How do they do it?! So many stressful things on their plate, but they're going to make the best of it no matter what.  Thanks for your example you two!  I couldn't have asked for better, more hardworking parents!

Yes, 7 hours of travel to Twin Falls and back through will wear out any kid.  There were a lot of screams, tears and restlessness, but nothing that a squirt bottle, fruit scacks and a dvd player can't handle...:)  They were watching Sesame Street Letters until almost 9pm on the way back when they could have been sleeping at 7!  I guess the car being so dark made the movie seem that more exciting!  Charlie was even wathcing from the other side, and he never cares about movies!  But of course, when a movie gets boring there is always Desitin to pass the time with.  Jake even tricked  Hannah into eating it before I finally got it away from her!  These dads and their mean tricks! :)

We had a great time and really enjoyed our time with the family!  We got to go to church with Mom and Dad in Heyburn and meet some people in their ward.  We got to have dinner with the missionaries afterwards too!  We're always up for a Sunday dinner with my family because food just doesn't get much better, even in a short amout of prep time!    We were so happy we got to spend so much time with everyone!

And a little sidenote-- On the way down Jake and I realized that this Labor Day was our 4th anniversary of meeting each other back in Bear Lake 4 years ago!!  (I think it was Amy and Brett's too!:) Jake's family was visiting for the holiday and his dad sat by me in church. By the time the meeting ended he had succeeded giving me A LOT of crap, introducing me to the extended family, and had a date lined up for me and Jake and the first devotional in two days!!  Mind you, I hadn't even seen Jake yet! :)  The Lord definatly had His hand in our WHOLE relationship because it was pretty similiar the rest of our courtship.

We just couldn't be happier!  We are so blessed and so grateful for all that we have!  And I'm so happy I get to share it all with Jake, FOREVER!!  Love you honey and thanks for all you do for me and the kids!