We survived!

Well the first week of college has come and gone, we are still alive! Jeff has made it through his first week of late nights and tons of caffeine. I had survived young kids at college and home. It has been pretty easy so far. Homework as been a new thing for me and I am still trying to learn how to balance studying with my kids around. But luckily they start on Wednesday and so I will have the afternoons free, with the exception of Lauren-loo. I have enjoyed having my mind and thoughts challenged in a way other than whining kids :) We are finally starting to make some friends, mainly because we haven't unleashed our true personalities yet, we will suck them in before we let them see the real us! The whole family (Even Jeff and Emerson) went to church today and meet several other families in the same situation as us. The ward was very friendly and welcoming. If the Rolling Hills ward is even half as good as the original Country Lane ward we will be just fine!

School has started

Yesterday was the first day of school for Jeff, Lauren and I. It was very interesting :) I was really nervous, I totally felt like a fish out of water. I was stressed about finding my classes, getting there on time and if I would be able to get back to get Lauren on time. As usual all my stress was for nothing, it was easier than I thought and I was able to get everywhere without any major rushing. All in all it was a good day. Jeff is already swamped with homework and was up until 1 doing homework and went in early today to finish. I am totally going to be a single mom but it is for the greater good and my kids are being wonderful! Lauren has a wonderful pre-school that she goes to that she loves. They even serve her breakfast and lunch, one less thing for me to worry about. Today I only had one class and then had some time to go and use the gym. Who knows, I might get a better mind and body out of this whole experience!

Farmers market

Anyone who knows us knows that we are NOT heathly eaters. My husband has spent his life trying to put some weight on, as a result fresh veggies and fruit have never been on the top of my shopping list! Well every Sat morning they have a wonderful farmers market in town. We have heard wonderful things about it be as of yet hadn't made it. We decided that we would go yesterday and wow it was wonderful! They not only had fresh fruit and veggies but tons of homeade stuff. From fresh donuts to fresh bread, as well has lemonade, fresh honey and honey comb, followed by a bunch of stuff I have never heard of. Then there were paintings, carvings, clothing and jewelry all hand made. It was crazy! They also had live bands playing and dance instruction going on. We got fresh potatoes, corn and peaches and spent a total of 4 dollars. What a deal! We enjoyed the donuts, lemonade and honey sticks. We are so country!!!!!

I am so ready for school to start!

I am going stir crazy! Jeff has orentation all week from 8 to 5 which leaves me and the kids to entertain ourselves. It is hard to do, finding something that they all will enjoy. We went and walked around town today and showed Emerson the toy store and then went for ice cream. The kids rode their scooters because it is easier to walk them back up the big hills. While I was walking Lauren and her scooter up the hill she tripped and her scooter swung around and smashed into my foot. So my keepsake from the day is a swollen foot and ankle. I am hoping tomorrow will be a little less eventful! I have discovered I am defiantly not a stay-at-home mom! I enjoyed working a little each week, it gave me time to center myself and restore my patience. Going to school next week will be good for me. I don't think I could make it without it. And then the next week the kids go back, I just need to make it through 2 more days and I will be golden!

Finally all is right in the world!

Emerson finally made it home! It has been so weird not having him here. We all felt the difference of not having his sarcastic personality around, and Jeff was finally forgetting that he was balding (Emerson loved reminding him everyday!) We all drove into Spokane to get him, Jeff and the kids were able to go to the gate to get him. He isn't sure what to think of the town yet but he now knows where the worlds supply of grain and straw comes from! Then to top off this wonderful day we discovered that they have "Redbox" as well, sure there are only 2 of them for the whole town and everything good was gone, but hey at least they have one!

Family hiking

Daddy is so wonderful, he helps our nature challenged youngest through the wild. She had to wear her cowboy boots, not the best for hiking!

We are such a wilderness family, can't you tell? It was funny to watch Lauren she is soooo a city girl!


My way cute family hiking in the wilderness near our new house. So much fun!

I love my husband!

So sometimes I just feel like I need a little alone time, is that wrong? Well either way I felt like that today. I realized that Jeff is starting school next week and then after that I am going to be basically a single mom in a town where I know no one so I will have little time to myself in the near future. I asked Jeff if he would let me hide out in the other room by myself for the night and allow me to just read while he took care of the kids. He said yes and there you have it. I enjoyed a nice relaxing night all alone without fighting with anyone to do anything or breaking up any fighting. Of course the kids were on their best behavior with Jeff and he didn't have to deal with any of it but that's ok too! It was nice to just veg out with no worries. I think as women we all need to do this every once in awhile, you know just to recharge our batteries. I hope that all the busy women I know take any opportunity they can to do the same thing, it is good for the soul!

Another day in Moscow

We had another nice day with Jeff today. We got up and hung out in our jammies for awhile. Jeff longer than anyone else! Adison went with his friends Luke and Yohan (yes that is his name no joke) and they took him on a tour of Moscow. He learned out the toy store, and wandered around town; he had a lot of fun. They came back here and Jeff took sometime to teach them how to play guitar hero. Luke's dad came over and introduced himself, Jeff gave a great first impression, playing video games at 12 in the afternoon still in his pajamas! It was awesome!!!! Did I mention that our new neighbor is a Lawyer with his own practice here in town...I am not sure Jeff will be going to him for a summer internship :) We finally got Jeff to take a shower, and we headed out again to explore the town. We ended up going to the Goodwill store, the craft store, the rock store and finally the Toy Store. It was fun to see the kids run around, the rock store was cool and we learned that the 6 ray garnet is the Idaho state gem and that there is a place that we can go harvest them ourselves. We ended the day going to the kids favorite playground, the one downtown and coming home to eat fried chicken, mashed potatoes and green beans for dinner. All home cooked of course! Another great day here...but school is coming soon :) I am way excited!!!

Moscow

These are just a few of the Pictures from around town. We found a playground in downtown Moscow. The picture with Chloie shows that one and the clock is right across from it. And the big building is Adison's new school. We had a picnic lunch there today. It is fun to have Jeff around for a little bit just to hang out with us. Now once we get Emerson here our family will be complete!

Starting to settle in

Well it took longer than I thought, but Adison has a friend. His name is Luke and he lives right across the street. He is 10 and goes to the same school as Adison will be going to. But I found out the weirdest thing! Chloie will go to a different school than him. They have grades K-3 at one school and 4-6 at another. Crazy, so Chloie will walk to school with Adison and then take a bus to where she goes. It seems a little strange but what do you do? So all of my kids will be in different locations durning the day, and then when Lauren is going into 1st grade she will be there by herself and Adison and Chloie will be together, but just for one year. I don't know how I feel about it but not much can be done. I now am just hoping we can find some friends for Chloie and Lauren. Chloie + Barbies do not add up to happy Chloie!

Washing Dishes

This is something that I was sure that the kids would HATE.. shows how much I know. The kids are fighting over who gets to do the dishes. They think it is the coolest thing...all I can do is hope that the love last 3 yrs. I am not holding my breathe. Once Emerson gets here and complains about doing the dishes I am sure the rest of the kids will join his pessimism.

623 South Adams Moscow Idaho

Here are a few pictures from our new Home. The front is Very BLUE, it is nice and clean inside. We are getting use to the smaller rooms, and no dishwasher, but we are having fun so far. We are all missing our friends though...you can all come visit anytime~! The room with the 2 beds is the attic and Chloie and Laurens own playworld. We are still working on the layout and where to put everything, needless to say it is a work in progress. I love the shelves that are in the attic they are perfect for all the games and I have a table up there for them to play them on. It is kind of the opposite of my old house but instead of sending them downstairs to play, I send them upstairs :) I still have a bunch of boxes to unpack and my bed isn't anywhere close to being set-up but once Jeff gets back we will have a week to finish getting everything together before school starts. The Hope you in joy....