Whirlwind Week!

First of all....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR SWEET ABBY JADE!!!!!

Abby is such a sweet wonderful fun spirit in our family! I can't believe she's already 3!!! No fun to celebrate your birthday with pneumonia...but I'll cover that later in the 'whirlwind week' coverage. HAPPY BIRTHDAY ABS!!!

Abby chose this cute little set as her gift from Grandma Debbie. How could I say no?

She was so excited when she saw it was The Little Mermaid movie in her present!

Emma and I made a week trip to Arizona to find a house to rent when we move at the end of July. We flew with Katie and Liberty Wilkins, (Katie is from Mesa), and we stayed at Katie's parents house for the first few days of the trip. During this trip we as a family were helped out by SO many people...so here go the heartfelt thanks....

First of all, THANK YOU Katie for the hours of driving me around with screaming kids to help me get to know the areas better, and find a house. Thank you for the tips about schools, areas, neighborhoods, rent, etc... Thank you for putting up with my countless texts, phone calls, emails, chats, etc.. over the past few months, and all of your help to get us to find the best place we could in Arizona. You have been so selfless of your time and resources to help us out. You are such a great friend...THANK YOU AGAIN!!!!

Thank you to Katie's family who gave us first-class treatment for an economy price. Oh wait...who am I kidding? For free! Katie's family let Emma and I stay at their house, they fed us, they had a carseat base, bouncer, bassinet, and pack'n'play all waiting for us at their house. They put up with Emma's night fussiness, and gave me so much advice about where to live...and they are such sweet people. Thank you Dale & Jan! (And Katie's sisters and Mindy!)

Thank you to Pauline and Tasha who watched the girls for us when Nate's mom wasn't here. Nate's 'board study time' is so precious and few...that really helped out so that he could stay on-track and not fall behind.

THANK YOU ONE MILLION TIMES to Nate's Mom (Mom-diggity-dawg) for coming out for a week and stepping in as mom for Caitlin and Abby!!!!! She took a week off of work (missed Joseph's graduation), to fly out here and help so I could find a place, and Nate could still study. She dealt with an emotional Abby the whole time...and was such a sweet help to my girls. She took them swimming, played games, made them meals, and even took Nate his lunch to school every day. Thank you just doesn't cover it for what you've done for us this past week...but THANK YOU SO MUCH!

And last, BUT NOT LEAST....thank you to my mom...who last minute decided to make the trip to AZ to help me out. It was definitely a blessing and I wouldn't have made it without her help! Emma LOVED her so much, and was all smiles around Grandma Debbie. Mom was so good to drive around and stop anytime Emma needed to eat. She even had to eat lunch by herself for the most part at the Cheesecake Factory...as Emma decided to be super-high-maintenance in the restaurant. She never complained with my wishy-washy decision making, and she was such a good sport even when Emma was 'less than perfect'. THANK YOU SO MUCH MOM for you help and love and support in AZ. It was so wonderful that you ended up coming, I really truly appreciate it.

Emma's 1st plane ride (on the way to AZ)...she did wonderful!

Emma with Grandma Debs
Emma lovin' 100% attention from Grandma!
Big girl on the hotel bed.
This is the house we decided to rent. If you are familiar with Mesa/Gilbert...it's in Val Vista Lakes...La Jolla (something or other) neighborhood. It has a 3 car garage, and the owner is putting in all new flooring, among other finishing touches. Nate is so darn thrilled to have that 3rd spot in the garage for a little makeshift shop!The front of the house is around that side path...
Ignore the mess (the owner hasn't moved all their stuff out yet)...just imagine Nate workin' away in the 3rd spot...

This is the view from the street driving in...but that's the front door of the house (yes, it's on the side).

The park right down the street-the girls are gonna love it! Smart to cover the playground...why don't they do that at all parks?

Here's the kicker...the clubhouse area includes a lap pool, hot tubs, this man-made beach in the picture (like a pool only with sand on the shallow end), racquetball courts, tennis courts, a gym...and I'm sure there's more. The girls are pretty darn excited about this cool beach too! It's about 1/4 mile from 'our' house.

Another view of the 'beach' with a playground too!

Lap pool, hot tubs...

Whew! It was a week that flew by trying to find a house. The first day of looking was pretty discouraging, but I'm so grateful that Katie emailed friends and someone led us to our house. I had a hard time being away from Caitlin & Abby so long. The last few days of the trip Abby had a really hard time, and cried a lot. I thought it was just from missing me...but we found out the day after I got back (yesterday) that she has pneumonia! No wonder she was so sad. I feel so bad that I was gone when she was sick, but I'm glad that Nate's mom was there to take care of her. She's feeling ok now though, just on the mend.

A week or two BEFORE I headed to AZ we had a BBQ with some friends. It was so much fun, yet so sad to think that in 2 months we'll all go our separate ways. I'm going to miss the sweet friends I've made during the past 2 years in Kirksville. I've learned so much from them, and grown so close to all of them.

This is Caitlin & her friend Ellie horkin' the chips!

The guys. (I'm sure right now they all look a little more stressed than in this picture!) Oh...and I love Cade's pose...what a ham!

The gals...I love you all!

The ambulance district here has an open house every year. This year they had a blow up slide, bounce house, and pony rides, among other fun things. The girls loved it, and it was such a great day to get outside!

I don't know if I'd trust these two to save my life in the life flight helicopter!

Caitlin on the pony ride. Abby wouldn't get NEAR those ponies!

Once again...cute...but I wouldn't trust her to save my life! ;o)

Well, that about sums it up for THE LONGEST POST of my life! If you've stuck around for this whole post...sweet diggities! Hope you enjoyed!