Our New Home

Hello everybody!! We have slowly been getting settled into our new place. It has been one month since our move from Utah. I decided it is time to write a few of my thoughts and post some pictures of our new life in Virginia. This picture was taken on my favorite night here....dinner with the missionaries! The kids had so much fun helping me make the dinner and serve the missionaries. Luke ended up trying on their shoes at the end of the night, so they made sure he felt like a true missionary, tag and all. I loved how Emmie insisted on wearing a sparkly dress for the missionaries! This made us think of our missionary brothers, Parker and Scottie. We also thought of Shelby this night as it was her birthday :)

















We have made it into the city as a family one time since we've been here. It was such a fun day. I'm sure it's hard to tell from this picture how Emmie is feeling!!

























Metro ride



































































































The kids were enthralled by the "choo choo train" that daddy rides to work every day.





















There's a smile





















Walking in the cold to the Natural History Museum





















We saw a lot of cool things, but of course I had to post the giraffe...





















And these are the kids' faces while looking at....




















THIS!




















Luke was out once we stepped back in the metro for the ride home. We are excited to go back and explore DC!

























One of the greatest things about living here so far, has been the mild weather. This picture was taken the first week we were here (February) and we were out at the park at least once a day.






























































































We discovered little Korea here in Virginia. There is a huge Korean Market place about 10 min. from our house. Shopping there was honestly one of the most exciting things we have done here! And that is not saying it was lame, because it was absolutely fascinating. There were sample booths of Korean food, Asians left and right, everyone speaking Korean, aisles and aisles of food, accessories, kitchen appliances, clothes, etc etc. It was SO COOL. Anyway, we discovered that both our kids LOVE seaweed.














I think they are crazy. It is the only flavor in Asian food I have yet to develop a love for.




















We made an early birthday cake for Jono (he turns 30 this week...ahhhh!) Isn't this girl gorgeous?






















The kiddos are adjusting well. They really love their new house.





















Here they are showing off Luke's new sports sheets. This kid LOVES all the ball sports. He will correct us if we identify a ball wrong "baseball, basketball, football, etc". There is a basketball court at the park near our house. He will stand there and watch the boys play ball and skateboard while me and Emmie are on the swings. He wants to do the "boy stuff"

















Luke is learning how to sleep in a big boy bed. He is also potty training. Poor kid is going through a lot of changes, but he is doing SO WELL. I am so proud of my buddy!





















The kids love their beds because we have them on the floor right now. They can jump back and forth between them.

























A random shot of the dining room. I am getting used to having stairs in our house. I love it and I don't love it (especially by the end of the day when I think I am going to have my baby 2 months early because I am so tired)



























Boxes are our new favorite toys!
























































We love hanging out with our friend Lucy!






















Sarah and Cam (daughter Lucy above), and the Becks (Jenn and Dave) have been so good to welcome us here to Virginia. Sarah took us to the National Building Museum last week. They had a "building zone" for the kiddos.





















Luke liked being a "worker"

























One of the greatest blessings of moving to this area, was that I found a joy school group that welcomed Emmie right away. The kids are so much fun. Here we are painting with shaving cream. However, they all wanted to be like their moms and put shaving cream all over their legs!!

















Emmie loves to make beds, houses, and castles for her barbies and dolls. She can get very creative.






















And yes, we still have dance parties in our swimsuits :) I am so grateful that the transition has gone so well here. I feel overwhelmed by the generosity of people--both in Utah and here in Oakton. So many people have helped us with this move. We couldn't have done it without you. We feel your prayers daily!

MOVE TO VIRGINIA

Hey all, it is final now. Jon and I found a place to live in Virginia so he can start his new job in Washington DC by the first week of February. We are relieved that in our short trip to VA we were able to find a darling townhouse and feel good about this move. It has happened so fast as he received the new job opportunity December 1st and we will be relocating by February 6th. A wave of emotions are continually running through me, including: Excitement, Nervousness, Sadness, Stress, Happiness, Faith, Relief, Forgetfulness, Joy, and it goes on and on almost by the minute! We will miss desperately all our family and friends, but we look forward to starting new friendships in VA. Goodbye to my beloved hometown Bountiful. I look forward to places like this in my new hometown:

Happy Birthday Lukie!

My Lukie Ben is TWO! He is as sweet as ever.




























We went swimming at the rec center on his birthday (Nov. 29th).



























Emmie was loving it. That girl is our water bug for sure.























Luke was surprising himself with how much he could do!






















He makes the best faces!



























Kate made this adorable birthday sign for him.






















Before we went swimming, we opened up presents. This is what Emmie wrapped and gave to him! ha! He looks very thrilled..

























But then the big one came! A scooter! He was SO excited and kept saying "skateboard" at first! Gotta love his side rat tail.




























The Giraffe cake we made the following Sunday. Yes, Luke loves his stuffed "Giraff--ee" that he sleeps with.


























He was singing happy birthday to himself. It was so cute. He is pro at that song now. If you asked him what the day was, he would yell "MY BIRTHDAY!" He had 3 parties...one with each extended family and one with just ours. So now he still thinks we are going to his birthday party if we head out somewhere!

















He was so happy opening up his presents! Thanks everyone for spoiling him. A couple of weeks before, he tripped at the park and went head first into a metal pole. Hence, the scar on his eyebrow from the 3 stitches.






















The Saturday (Nov. 26th) before Luke's birthday, we got our Christmas tree. This is the earliest I've ever had a Christmas tree for the season. I love it. We had a lot of fun decorating it.





















Actually the kids had the most fun putting on the decorations. Jon had fun taking pictures and I had fun sitting on the couch, drinking hot cocoa and listening to Silent Night.


























A week or so before Thanksgiving, I took Em to Disney on Ice. She was in heaven with all the princesses. However, her favorite performance was the Incredibles!


























We had a great time together. I am determined to keep up the mommy daughter outings!


























My little bubs. He's not so little anymore! He and Em were weighed at the doctor's office yesterday. Luke was almost 31 lbs and Em is 36 lbs. He has almost caught up!!




















I love these two with all my heart. We are so excited to add another one to the bunch....a little angel GIRL will join us in April!

Halloween Surprise

HAPPY HALLOWEEN from Froggie and Bumble Bee


























These tags were part of mine and Luke's Halloween costumes. WE ARE EXCITED for baby #3 :)