April in a post (more or less)*****2013

April consisted of a couple things. But that is all you need to stay busy. Now that I have A LITTLE more time (hehe) before the baby comes, I'm really going to try to be a better blogger.

Cruz had his Pine Car Derby Race.  His dad and him designed their car and he painted it in the space of a week.  He named in "Lone Star".  It was pretty fast!

McKay started up spring volleyball.  She has really gotten her serve technique down.  She has improved her vertical jump and the "three hit" skills.  She had a block that the ref stopped the game to tell her congrats at how high she was above the net and that was the first "real" one of the season that he had seen.  I missed coaching with her and her friends mom.  Its a lot harder sitting on the sidelines letting someone else run the game.

McKay also had her fourteenth birthday!  Since Jacob was out of town that week, she had a birthday week which she milked it worth everything she could.  Her best friend turned 14 about 10 days later.  Now they are officially able to go to stake dances together.

McKay made this picture puzzle frame for her and got several letters from friends and teachers, parents, and leaders, and had them handed out throughout the day at school.  Their favorite quote was put in the top left corner.  It brought tears to my eyes several times as I helped her with this.  Here is the quote:

"We aren't sisters by birth,

But we knew it from the start.

Fate brought us together,

To be sisters by Heart."

I've always know we have been blessed to have been put here in Texas with so many great people.  My children have grown and been so accepted.  We love our community.

Catching up with old friends

While we were in Utah, my dear friend from Idaho came down to visit us with her family!  We decided to go to the zoo so the kids could walk around and (according to her husband) we could "skip, hold hands, and cry."  (Really we walked and talked.)The last time I saw her she was pregnant, but didn't know it was twins just yet.   Wow, this seems like a lot of people for just two families.

We got to meet Torri and Austin.

My kids got their "baby fix" for the day.  Although between the twins and my brother's baby, it has stirred McKay up again about having another baby.  (Not in the future!)

Katanya and Tyler used to play together all the time.....

....along with Cruz and Audrey.  Come to find out, Cruz had already kissed Audrey once a couple of years ago.

Even the dads got a turn to carry the sleeping babies.

In the 9 years I lived in Idaho, I never had a picture taken with Lindsey.  Not even with all the shopping, secret shopping, hotel nights, midnight movie premieres or any other fun we had.  So hopefully this is the first picture of still many activities we see each other for.

P.S.  My favorite is still the giraffes.

“Truly great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to forget.”

I'm not one that likes to say goodbyes. In fact, every time I think about saying goodbye to two of my closest friends or my family in Utah, I tear up. I know this move will be good for my family and it is a good start for Jacob's career but at the same time I'll be farther away and starting over. When we moved to Idaho in 2003, I cried the entire 4 hour drive up from Pleasant Grove. This was just saying goodbye to my family (for a couple weeks.) Little did I know then that with Jacob still working construction projects in Utah how much we would be down to visit. The first year we lived in Idaho, we spent more time in Utah than we did at home. Idaho has really been great to us. We have enjoyed living out in the country and raising our family there. We have had many different life experiences from starting new businesses, buying & remodeling a house, to graduating from college. Now it's time to move on.This is my closest friend, Lindsey. We have and take care of our own families but we are like sisters. I'm really going to miss her. She was my neighbor when we first moved here. It took a year for us to become friends (basically because my family traveled so much) but from there on, we were always involved with each other. Some how we always had kids around the same time too (without planning it.) We were just that in sync. I'm going to miss our late night Wal-Mart runs. It's always funner to go grocery shopping with a friend. Our "sneaky shopping" trips to Maurices. We both have an addiction for the clothes at that store. We taught primary together for 2 1/2 years. I couldn't have asked for a better partner. Midnight showing Twilight movies won't be the same without her. Lindsey is one of the least selfish people I know. I'm so grateful that she is my friend.