So Hard to Go (Utah- Part 2)

Grandma Great, Stephanie, Marie, Cassie

It was a rockin' good time at the cabin. It wasn't Parrydise- but we had a good time at Parris. Thank you so much Steve and Sharon for a fantastic time!

Rafting the Snake River was awesome, except for the part where I fell out... oh wait, that was awesome to. Brett and I were in the "ducky" and hit Lunch Counter (weird name for a rapid right?) sideways and away I went. Good thing I didn't tell Sharon I was pregnant.

But I suppose danger is in our blood. Marie is not even two here and she wants to go ATVing? Good thing Grandpa Ron had an ATV for toddlers. (Forgot to take a picture of that though! doh!)

These kids are ANIMALS. ...not. They are just funny. For 7 kids stuck in a cabin all weekend I didn't hear any fighting.... well except Marie instigating a few ones.

In Utah we ate at the glorious MAYAN! Finally. I can say I've been to the Mayan. Check off of my bucket list. Was the food good? No. But it was an awesome atmosphere. When the divers walked around to greet us Steph mentioned we came all the way from Georgia and Japan (ha!). So this gal took us backstage! Here is Jorja and one of the talented divers.

I got to see my childhood friends- and their kids! Marie and Cecelia were born a week apart. They are great friends... do you hear that Marie? You WILL be friends...

This is after an exhausting hour at Cherry Hill. Anyone ever been to Cherry Hill?

 

Brett got to see his old Posse (not saying they are old- like old men- but you get me). Here is Marie at the Posse BBQ- when left to her own devices she's all glamed up and strutting her stuff.

While Brett went cayoneering I snuck in a Youngberg family reunion. The name tags were very informative. Marie enjoyed them so much she started taking them from people.

 

Here is Marie's most awesome cake! Maysen made it! I taught my niece how to make fondant. She's a natural . Can you believe that is her first time? Go ahead, blow the picture up, it's seamless!

We had a pretty sweet joint birthday party for Ange and Matt who also share the birthday month of Harry Potter (who else is excited for the next movie!? I get shivers just thinking about it!) Anyways it was so nice to have a celebration with the Millburns!

 

We were at Ron's for almost 2 weeks. What did we do? Alot of games. Games... games... games... games...

Jk- I love them, but not as much as these brothers. Mike- see what you missed out on?

I also got a chance to take Marie to the house I grew up in. It's for sale if you are interested.

Here is Marie deciding if it's an investment worth making. I think she'll wait a couple more years for the market to fluctuate. (Also I would like to note how nervous I was taking this picture on the porch- I mean- what if someone just walked out the front door? Yikes).

Candy? I think THIS is why Marie is so obsessed with her Aunt Cassie. Actually this is the scripture case Cassie bought for Marie's new Book of Mormon- which Stephanie got enscribed with Marie's name on it. What cool aunts!

 

This is what we call a picture moment.

Ron, Cathy, and Max took us to Heritage Park. The train was rockin'.

Marie enjoyed swimming with Max and Beth.

 

My dad flew down just for the day! That was an awesome treat.

 

Max and Marie "hammin'" it up. Actually I don't know what they are doing here. But usually it involves putting something on her head. (Maybe a closet Harry Potter fan?). Max was so sweet to her- what a good cousin to have.

 

And YES Jesse came down again just to see us for 30 minutes at lunch. Maresa is such a sport! These girls, however, were little trouble makers!

 

I can't get over that Jesse and I are all grown up with our own kids. I don't think I ever imagined this far.

 

And lastly, Uncle Jesse comes to see us off at the gate. He also takes a moment to show Marie how to bring in an Airplane, if she ever happens to need to do so.


We loved Utah. Had a great time. It's crazy to think we won't be back for over a year. I hope we can still be Mormon! Love you Utah!

So Hard To Leave- Cali & Idaho (Part 1)

I don't even know what to write under this picture. But in words all I can say that I have missed Katie and her son Preston very much. I didn't want to STAY in California (at least not with the high taxes and our cramped apartment) but I did want to take them with me.

On the way out of Cali our car broke down in Auburn, two hours north of Vacaville. Luckily we found the most super Christian mechanic who took the time to drive us to the local pool while he fixed our car for 4 hours. We were so blessed that day.

 

It was so fun to celebrate the 4th with my family. It's cool being around people who know how to enjoy their fireworks. And when I say enjoy- I mean buy illegal ones and use the legal ones not so very safely.

My mom helped me with the cake- something I always love. She always makes things extra perfect. This is her free hand writing of the ship "Marie." We had an early celebration of Marie's 2 year birthday. The cake was "Dora and the Pirate Piggies." We wanted in incorporate Pirates considering her new venture with eye patches this year.

 

She loves her uncle Mal, and despite his "too cool for school" attitude, he is really good with kids.

 

Marie enjoying the cotton candy sea.

On our last day Jesse and family made it up. They missed the canoe day at the lake, but we tried to recreate it for them with the background my mom painted for a stake dance. I think it was a hit with the girls.

I snuck in 3 visits with friends. This is Jen and Ruby whom will actually will be coming to Japan while we live there! Yay Idaho!

Pictures of a Goose!

Yes, we are here in Japan. But I don't want to blog about that yet,

Here are some of Marie's two year pictures. You can check them out at

nicolettefrancisphotography.blogspot.com

The photographer has been my best friend since the 6th grade. She was taking pictures even that young. Glad to have talented friends- Thanks Nicolette!

bye bye, Cali

Well, tonight is our last night in California.  Assuming no earthquakes occur in the next 12 hours, we'll have escaped unscathed.  This is also assuming our car can hold up long enough to get us out.  We've loved living here, the area is perfect.  Mountains, lakes, beaches, and baseball games all within a short drive.  We loved our ward and made some great friends.  Marie was born here and has a best friend that she gets excited to see every single day.  I'll miss the young men that I work with.  I hung out with them at least 2 hours every single week, plus a whole bunch of campouts on top of that.  I was too busy hanging out with them to remember to teach them anything.  But that's the way it goes sometimes.  It's kind of sad to be moving on, but mostly we are excited.  This next little move to Misawa should be a family adventure and hopefully we'll make some awesome memories.

Congrats Brett!

 

Recently, Brett's office threw him a going away lunch. He and three of his co workers are moving on. I dare say Brett has the best assignment of all. Here he is with his boss who is presenting him a plaque of thanks. It's inscribed "Third Times The Charm." Some inside joke, I suppose. But it's a very nice plaque he can remember Travis AFB by. It's got his name, title, and year of duty on it. And of course the best part is that there are 3 pictures of specific airplanes on the bottom- for decoration maybe. Or maybe they knew that I would never really know what a KC 10 was unless I had it inscribed on a piece of oak. That way when Brett points to a plane, which he often does, I can agree with him, "Yes, that is a KC 10, not a C 5." This type of acknowledgement is important to men.
However I digress...

 

Brett's boss gave a little speech about Brett. He's a nice guy. A really nice guy. He repeated that like 5 times so I guess he meant it. He also said Brett never had excuses for assignments, and always took things on and completed them thoroughly and accurately. He also noted him for being dedicated to his family (I totally high fived Brett in my head when he said that), and committed to his community as Brett has worked extensively with the Varsity Scouts this year. 
Brett had a lot of court-martials while here. Travis AFB is pretty much #1 in the AF for court-marshals. That means he and his co workers are always busy busy. But Brett wanted experience and that's what he got.
Marie and I are as proud as punch!

 

Marie was feeling a under the weather when we went the the party, but she managed to socialize anyways. She's always one for making friends with important people... or animals.

 

She also decided she wanted to go out for the WNBA. But we talked about it afterward, and she realized it wasn't really the career path for her. Instead, she will be a professional blanket snuggler. I think that's a good choice.

Presenting: "Busy Busy" with a our First Movie Clip

 

We have been so busy! A lot has happened and is yet to happen  in the next month. Marie got glasses! She started developing a lazy eye 4 weeks ago. The doctor she saw ( a nice LDS guy) said she needed glasses and have her strong eye patched 3 times a week. We are enjoying our new pirate lifestyle. We have yet to rob the neighbors, drink rum, or make anyone walk the plank, but I have a feeling you'll be seeing that soon enough on our blog.

Her glasses are adorable. Bendable, sturdy, blue rimmed. However, you will never see them because she has yet to keep them on her face, let alone get them on her face at all. She thinks they are fun to play with. We gave them to her and she managed to bend them within 5 seconds. We fixed them, but I'm confident they will be in the repair shop more than they will actually be on her face.

 

We are in the midst of moving. Which means a lot of eating out. Yay for me! (but not the check book)

 

And of course, we are "vacationing" in a week, so Marie got a fever of 105. This girl always gives me a good scare before we go on vacation. Maybe she doesn't want to travel. I don't know. But I definitely think she can sense that things are about to change drastically. However, we've been telling her good things, like they have water slides in Japan, and that it's illegal to make kids eat tomatoes. She appreciates that.

And finally- our first movie clip! Our blog needs to come alive. So hopefully I can put more of these up in the future. Here Marie is helping Daddy fix his bike. Now that I've sold the Honda we are biking fiends. Lance Armstrong watch your back!