A Most Memorable Christmas

Presents, Anyone?

Best Beef Ever, Crash Hot Potatoes, Best Asparagus Ever, Cinnamon Roll Middles, 
Pineapple/Banana Slush and White Chocolate Party Mix

Highlights: Pikachu's Thundershock, Macho Mouse (or Of Mice and Men), the Bible, Titanic, twilight, Tree (thing?), King's Cross Station

Are we Really Here?

California Adventure!

Dusk in the Magic Kingdom

Star Tours (thinking of Jim every minute!)

Nighttime in the Magic Kingdom!

No longer home owners...

Summary: 

• Owned for 4 years
• On the market for 8 months
• Nice improvements, cost a lot
• Closing was yesterday, cost a lot
• Another military family bought it (and they are excited about it :)
• Now we move on, pay off, and count our many blessings!

Breakfast on deck

The view from the deck is amazing and it is so fun to eat a bowl of mom's granola with fruit, read a book and just enjoy the summer mornings. Sigh. Thanks for the chance to be here, Dad and Mom (and Grandma Beck for sharing her space with us!!).

Swimming Time

The Lehi Legacy Center with the Smith's

Family time!

Kicking back with family at Heather's and Mom and Dad's

Emmett's & Ethel's

Fun family eats. SCONES!

Thoughtful gifts and perfect card! Lucky me :)

Gardener Village

We stopped at this quaint and fun little shopping area just before the point of the mountain and enjoyed a little shop time. Mae loved it, and everyone found things there to enjoy (fudge!!!)

Nice flowers, thoughts, and a candy shop!

The ducks!

Remembering Grandma Ruth

Happy Birthday to Grandma Ruth! 

Mom took some beautiful flowers and we were so happy to think of her and the great grandma she was for us.

Favorite memories:

• one time in California we looked and looked for 4-leaf clovers in grandpa and grandma's lawn
• also picked strawberries there
• the Basic-H song
• visiting Logan (then Bountiful) in the summers and at Thanksgiving
• The great college years get-away
• Dill pickles--the best anywhere.
• Grandma's great homestyle cooking!
• Always a welcoming spirit in their home.

BYU blue!

We had a fun (and beautiful blue skies) day at BYU seeing the sights, remembering track days, dropping Trevor off for a week of swimming camp, and beginning to orient Jim to his future home away from home.

The bell tower (playing), Timp from Jim's dorm, saying bye to Trevor, The Track, me, and finally...BYU creamery ice cream

Looking at the view, looking at the dorm

Food, Fun and Family

 At Grandpa and Grandma Price's. Yummy burger place last night, yummy haystacks and desserts today. :)

At church the boys helped with the sacrament since there are only 4 young men in mom and dad's ward. Dad was called to the bishopric last week (another sustaining on Father's Day!), so we watched him stay awake on the stand during church!

Chess, smiles and patience.

Nice Sabbath day.

Fun with the Smith's

Aren't these kids so funny? We love Heather and her family. She has her hands full, a full house and energetic little ones. Their home is full of love (and beautiful signs for just about everything!). More with them later!

Lehi family round-up with Paul and Maddie

Time with Paul and Maddie and fam

Lehi Round-up Parade (the Friday edition)

Fun with Paul's clan at the movie at the park-fest

Meet me in St. Louis

 Science Center in St. Louis. No zoo. Chance of rain. Kids were GREAT sports.

The boys have so much in common! Ammon went to play in a Pokemon tournament and the rest of the boys browsed the Star Wars and other collectibles at this nearly open store called "The Neutral Zone." Wade saw it at the mall in their former location, which they grew out of and are now settling in a larger store. Jim was in paradise.

Fun with the Furniss'. LOVE that baby Rachel (And Ricky, Ammon, Bridgette and Simon, too). Love my friend, Anne. She is brave and good and stalwart and sweet. Our "girl's night out" was us sitting on the couch watching HP special features and commenting. Pathetic. Have to make up for it at the movies!!! Thanks for having us Rick and Anne!

Oh, Beautiful, For Spacious Skies

We spent 3 days last week driving safely across the country (with stops in St. Louis and Fort Collins). We are so grateful. Utah and the mountains are BEAUTIFUL!

And check out this Lehi sky!

Tropical Storm Coming? Run a 10K!

Yes, while the family is facing the hardships and reaping the rewards, I interrupted my routine here to run a 10K, which conveniently fell on the day of the week I typically run 6 miles.  Put on by the Korean Air Force (ROKAF), it was full of pre- and post-race ceremony, for which they asked me to come to the stage and represent the American forces in attendance, and after the run took a statement from me for their TV spot on the event.  I'm sure I will never see the footage...how would I ever find it?  Anyway, the run actually clocked in at 5.8 miles, thus my time of 48:17 extrapolates to an equivalent of 51:40, which is a personal  best either way!  By compartmentalizing this day and activity from everything else, things here are going great.

The big move

Good-bye, Ohio!

How do we say good-bye?

There are hardly enough photos considering all the good people we know and love and will miss from Ohio. The kids, their friends, notes from their teachers, dinners shared with us and lots of hugs have been happening here. We said good-bye to Obi Wan Kenobi (top left). He went to his new home with the Hammonds and will be loved. Apparently Karissa had been pining for another bird and was thrilled to have him. To all our friends--thanks for EVERYTHING! (To ourselves, it's ok and hang in there!)

 Jim is feeling just torn away from his friends. Duffy and Tony (pictured here) and Chris, Josh, Joey, and Sarah and Joe, and the older friends--Palmer and Jared--all will be missed so much. Jim LOVES Ohio and all the great people.
Jim asked Trevor a few days ago, "Is this how it's been for you, everywhere we have lived? Leaving friends behind?" Jim had an incredible experience here and made so many amazing friends. Thanks, all!

 My Primary connection has been so nice, especially this year with Wade gone. Clarissa and Laura are pictured here with me. Easier to smile and pose than say good-bye and cry.

And Sarah Sellers (who Mae admires so much :), brought her the stuffed version of the Pokemon Sarah made up. Mae remembers the first time she saw her, she was drawing Drapeon. Mae says it will comfort her during this move.

Lunch with the Phadkes--we will miss Aditya

And---Trevor with just a few of the great friends he is leaving in Ohio. Payton, Justin and Garrett are pictured here (with Andrew someone who Trevor knows from volleyball). There are so many team mates from swimming, too, who are sad to see Trevor go. His YMCA coach took him and the team to breakfast after practice last week in farewell. 

Then there is Owen who suggested we just move our house and yard (and his friends!) to California with us. He spent the most time with Seth who just lived 2 doors up from us. His mom took the morning off work as we were leaving so the boys could run and play one last time. Look what little hams they are!

Ohioans have been so good to us!!!

Father's Day

Dad (quintessential example), Wade (amazing spouse), Jim (Father-in-law supreme)

Oh, what a day. Wade spoke in church (for the second to the last time :) and we talked to him on Skype first thing. Beautiful messages shared in our meetings. Primary was great. I love the kids, the teachers, the leaders, and the little kids so much. Many said good-bye and thanks and it was sweet and sad all at once.

Too bad we didn't get to see these fathers today, but we did get to talk with each of them and within a month, we will get to see them all in person! Hurray. I'll see my dad in a few days, Jim in a couple of weeks, and Wade one month from today!!

Lots of change. Lots to do. Moving right along.... Leaving tomorrow!!!!

Tae Kwon Do double testing!

He did it! Congratulations, Owen. He has an orange belt, advanced now.

Sold it on Craigslist ;)

In all the hullabaloo of the move, we had a few things that we thought might make the move to CA a little lighter if we left them behind. The love seat used to belong to my grandparents. Wade and I had our first kiss while sitting there (after watching a Scarecrow and Mrs. King rerun!). Moving on... The heavy yet sturdy dressers from DI and the former Ricks College dorm bunk beds. It was their time. We did a reuse of them all by posting them inexpensively on craigslist. They went the way of the broken lawn mowers. Gone to good homes.

Now what about the giant old big screen tv from Wade's parents? Well, lets just say it did not fit through the doorway. No way. So in the basement it sits! Hopefully it will be welcome by the future buyers of our house (hurry and come find this house (tv included!) and buy it, people!).

CRUNCH!

Chicken with a semi at the truck stop/weigh station (we have to weigh the cars empty and full to get partial credit for moving some of our own stuff across the country--usually worth it. This time, not so much. Deductible, no fault, no ticket, not too bad :). And it was slow, no airbags deployed, no one was hurt. Just Mom screamed "NO! NO! NO!" over and over. Stomping and yelling. No crying. Just wailing. So embarassing. Oh well. Mae says it's humbling (that I lost it there for a minute). Trevor asked what lesson of faith this was supposed to teach us. Sigh. Just one more thing. But the nicest guys at the body shop (all for free :) put us back together (the Fit is fit for travel). So the move is still, "ON!"

Packin' it up!

It's all sort of a blur. Stuff has been consolidated, packed, and/or put in the cars. We're getting there! So strange, exciting, sad, and stressful (see next post!). I'd like to say I'm handling it. So I will. I'm handling it... with lots of love and support from family and especially the boys (Jim and Trevor). We're going to make it.

Farewell splash!

Julie and Ben Crossley had our family over for BBQ, watermelon, a plethora of chips and a dip in their pool. The boys played chicken and I had to avert my eyes for fear someone would be bleeding or worse, but all was well, we had a blast, then got back to the partially packed house. We are totally leaving Ohio. The reality is setting in :(.