Video tour

Parents, this is for you.  Here is a video tour of our new house.  It was a lot easier doing it this way than posting a bunch of pictures.  I know it's jumpy, but I was holding McKenzie at the time.  I definitely shouldn't go into film making.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMnbYva3wpw

The move

We finally had our Internet hooked up yesterday, so now I feel like we're part of the outside world again.  This past week doesn't feel like it existed in real life.  All we did every day was unpack box after box.  Today I collapsed my last box and it is such a relief.  Moving is always an adventure.  

When we first arrived at the house Cambrie was so excited.  She got out of the car and started running circles around the house.  McKenzie did her best to keep up and was crawling at top speed, but whenever she got to her destination, Cambrie had already taken off again.  Unfortunately for me, she was so fast that my poor camera couldn't keep up either so the pictures are a little blurry. 

Upstairs in their room, Cambrie couldn't wait to show Kenzie where they would be sleeping. 

As Jeremy and I were checking out the kitchen, Cambrie came running in without McKenzie following behind.  We heard some happy squeals coming from the other side of the house and found that Cambrie had shut McKenzie in the office.  It was actually a great place for the girls to play while we unloaded stuff. 

Since we had no table unpacked the first night we ate on the floor.  It was quite a juggling act because all McKenzie wanted to do was grab at our plates.  At least our paper dishes were easy to clean up that night. 

After cleaning up we headed outside.  The only toy we had to play with that night was a bouncy ball.  Cambrie and Jeremy played fetch in the front yard until it was too dark to see anymore. 

When it came time to go to bed, we realized that it was going to be an interesting night.  We had two full size quilts, two baby blankets, and one pillow to share between us.  We put the girls to sleep in their room, but since McKenzie didn't have a crib or pack 'n play that night she kept crawling around and wouldn't settle down.  So we did what any responsible parent would do and locked her in the closet.  Once she fell asleep we felt a little guilty having her trapped in there, so we cracked the door open.  In the middle of the night Jeremy heard McKenzie screaming.  He found her in their bathroom standing next to the toilet looking confused and scared.  Poor girl!  After we put the girls down to bed, we cleaned all of the carpets.  Apparently the lady who lived here before us had cats, and Jeremy and I are both allergic.  She had to get as much cat hair out of here as possible.  When we were done and it was time to go to sleep, the carpets were still wet.  The living room was the driest, so that's where we settled down.  Since they were still a little damp, we had to open up a cardboard box and lay it under our blanket to keep us dry.  Jeremy and I ended up sharing one blanket and I stole Cambrie's pillow.  He used a package of diapers for his pillow.    Unfortunately it was really cold that night so it was pretty miserable and we looked very pathetic.  We were very grateful to have our bed the next day. 

Thursday all we did was unload and unpack.  Cambrie kept herself busy pretty well and found her Play-Dough early on.  She pulled me aside from unloading the kitchen to show me that she had made herself out of Play-Dough.  I couldn't believe the detail-fingers, shoes, eyes, and a design on her shirt.  Nice work honey! 

McKenzie kept following us around like a lost little puppy and quickly learned how to climb the stairs.  Rats!  I think we were only there eight hours before she had climbed up three stairs.  We'll have to keep an eye on her. 

Finally the truck was unloaded and I couldn't help but take a picture of Jeremy crashed on the dining room floor.  He was exhausted.  

Friday we started pulling things out of boxes.  Jeremy taught Cambrie how to use a socket wrench and she actually tightened all of the bolts that held those shelves together.  She now knows the difference between a Flathead and a Phillips screwdriver, and helped us pound some nails into the wall.  She was a great little helper. 

After the work of course comes the play.  Now that we have stairs....I can't wait to see what kind of craziness my husband and daughters have on those.  But now we can relax and settle into a routine.  We are done and I can't wait for life to return to normal. 

Utah State Fair

As a final tribute to Utah, Leesa took us to the State Fair yesterday.  I can't believe I've never been!  It was so much fun.  We started off the festivities by getting all dressed up, or Cambrie did anyway.  She got her face painted and it looked super cute and sparkly.  She loved it so much that she didn't wash it off that night, or the next.  I wonder how long it will last...

  Cambrie was so excited to ride the ponies.  She chose the littlest one among the bunch; apparently his name is Moose.  She was having a blast until the horse behind her snorted.  She spent the rest of the ride looking over her shoulder and trying to slide sideways off her saddle to avoid the black horse.  I had no idea what was going on until she told me after the ride that the horse growled at her.  I  couldn't hold back my laughter.  

We looked at the rest of the livestock then headed to the carnival.  Cambrie's history with carnival rides is rocky at best.  She used to scream and cry when she simply looked at the roller coasters, and would beg to get off if we forced her to ride.  But this little girl is growing up and went on ride, after ride.  Her first choice was the dragon roller coaster.  I was expecting terror from her, but she insisted that we put our hands in the air the whole ride.  I couldn't believe it.  Maybe my little girl has some guts in her after all!

Then is was the first Ferris wheel we found, which was another "hands-in-the-air" experience with Daddy.  She rode this ride at least three times.  

She was getting so comfortable going on all of the rides, that she insisted on going alone, even when I could have ridden with her.  Really?  I guess I shouldn't be surprised that she is so independent. 

After all of the thrill seeking rides she had been going on, this toddler ride was way too tame.  Unfortunately Jeremy and I joined her on this boredom ride.  But it is still a cute family picture at the fair. 

We found a house of mirrors which was pretty cool.  I had never been through one before and I can see how much fun they can be.  Cambrie kept running into the glass windows and saying, "Oops, I forgot there was a window there."  After hitting another wall, "Oops, I forgot there was a window there again!"  We finally made it through and were rewarded by being able to go down a very slippery and steep curly slide.

  

Cambrie wasn't just content with one Ferris wheel ride.  We found the biggest one in the park and took the whole gang up there.  McKenzie was actually a little agitated by the whole thing and was just glad to get down.  But you can't go to the fair without going on the Ferris wheel.

 

The most extreme ride of the night for Cambrie was the Tilt O' Whirl.  They make me sick, but luckily Jeremy and Leesa were game to go and took Cambrie.  She laughed the entire ride.  Every time they came whirling around the corner, she was giggling, laughing, and holding on for dear life.

 

Another house we walked through had the craziest floors ever.  Some shook, some moved side to side, some twirled, some dropped, and some spun around in circles.  In order to make it out of the crazy house you had to walk through a spinning tube.  Leesa fell while helping Cambrie and it was so goofy to watch.  But that's what those houses are made for right?  

Toward the end of the night we were feeling goofy.  To spice up the pictures a little, Cambrie and I made silly faces for Jer as we passed by on our helicopter ride. 

McKenzie was a little trooper for the whole day.  We were hoping she would nap in the stroller awhile while Cambrie rode all the rides.  I think she slept for a grand total of thirty minutes.  The rest of the time she was pretty content to just be held, but she was plum tuckered out by the end of the night. 

In fact, we all were.  I did not think that we would stay very long riding the rides, considering Cambrie's history.  Imagine my surprise when I looked at my watch to go home and it said 10:30.  Thant's right folks, we stayed until closing time.  The girls were exhausted but they had so much it makes it totally worth it.   

USU Aggies

Jeremy and I love Logan.  Having him here brings back all sorts of memories of when we were dating and going to school at USU.  We wanted to take the girls around campus and just see our ol' stomping grounds.  We took a picnic lunch down to first dam and fed some crumbs to the geese. 

It was a good thing we ate our lunch before inviting the geese, as soon as they realized we had food they were all over us.  In fact, after all the bread was gone the flock started waddling toward the picnic blanket we left behind-straight towards McKenzie.  Cambrie wanted to save her baby sister who was laying helplessly on the blanket so she hopped on my back and we chased the geese.  This worked well two or three times, but then one of the geese got smart and started chasing us back.  Cambrie didn't like that at all!  Me either actually, so we turned tail and ran.

We walked over to the A and I had high hopes of getting some cute pictures of the girls.  At least McKenzie was cooperating.  What a cute little Aggie! 

Me and my hubby in front of Old Main.  It is such a gorgeous building.

Then tonight we finished off our Aggie extravaganza with a USU football game.  They played Idaho State and all I can say is that the game was awesome and they were a lot better than when I went to school.  We won 38-17.  Hurray!  I just wish "The Scotsman" was sung more often.  For those of you who are not familiar with the lyrics, let me enlighten you and share my wisdom: 

Show me a Scotsman, who doesn't love the thistle.

Show me an Englsihman who doesn't love the rose.

Show me the True-blooded Aggie from Utah,

Who doesn't love the spot where the sagebrush grows!

A home and a job!

You may have noticed that I haven't posted anything for awhile. Well, it has been a crazy week.  Jeremy spent last week driving across the country and interviewing at Comfort Dental offices in Colorado, and I've been house hunting like crazy.  Jeremy's office is in Westminster, which has some nice surrounding neighborhoods.  I had visited nearly a dozen other properties before I found this! 

It has 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms upstairs; the kitchen, living room, dining room, den, and 1/2 bath on the main floor; and an unfinished basement.  We also have a little patio out back and an attached two car garage.  I couldn't believe my luck!  When I called the homeowner to ask about the availability of the town home they said it had just been rented that day.  Agh!  I asked if they knew of any other properties in the neighborhood, because I LOVE the neighborhood, and he said that as luck would have it the lady next door had moved out the day before and was also renting her home.  We set up a viewing for the next day and as soon as I walked in I knew it was the home I wanted.  I mean look at this!  Vaulted ceilings, walk-around fireplace, and a huge kitchen. 

I hadn't told Jeremy what rent would be, but luckily when we asked the realtor said he wanted to ask the owner to lower the price because of the unfinished basement.  We waited all day for her to call us him back and confirm the deal.  I was a nut case.  We hung around the supermarket-because it had air conditioning, and the hotel-because it also has air conditioning (our car does not so we tried to limit our driving), but I kept asking Jeremy if we could call back.  No, no...I have to learn patience.  When I was totally despairing that she wouldn't rent us her home and we would have to find something else in very short notice, she called back and said she'd even lower the rent $150.  I can definitely handle that.  It was a such a blessed weekend.  Jeremy found a job, we found a house, and it all happened in just a few days.  Wow, I am totally out of breath.  I don't really even have time to breathe because we have to move in on Monday.  Oh boy.  But I am so excited for our life in Colorado!

Cambrie's gallery

Cambrie is getting very creative with her pictures.  I wanted to share them so here are a few from today:

This is a picture of Cambrie with her rectangle Rapunzel braids. 

Frog in yellow, and a little Cambrie in red. 

Cambrie is in yellow next to a giant red fish. 

Me. 

And a great robot.

Deckside picnic

While unpacking my parents' house, we came across a lot of extra sheets, many of them from when I was a kid.  Instead of throwing them out we made a picnic quilt out of my favorite one.  After many knots, stitches, and sore fingers, the picnic quilt was done and ready for use.  We had high hopes of going up the canyon for dinner, but since life is crazy and it never happened, we settled on having a picnic out on the deck.

 

McKenzie is a busy little baby and wanted to eat our dinner.  We were able to satisfy her with some Gerber Stars which she stuffed into her mouth with gooberry success.

But after awhile she decided that Cambrie's plate still looked more appetizing.  Cambrie had to escape to the Big Toy in order to eat in peace.