Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?

Uncle Travis decided that Carter looks like SpongeBob Square Pants. What do you think?

Today is our 7th anniversary! Right now we are staying with Tom's sister, so she watched the kids and we went out to dinner. Maybe I repeat myself every year, but Tom really is such a great husband and dad! It's been a great 7 years.....Happy Anniversary Tom!

So, who wants an update on what we've been up to the past few weeks!? I don't even know where to start. I've decided we could pretty easily live out of a van for the rest of our lives.... even though it IS NOT fun. We don't even need all the "stuff" we've accumulated over the years. Just a few duffel bags with the necessities!

Well, we've been driving around MT and WY staying with different family members (my parents in MT, Tom's parents in WY, and Tom's sister in WY) while Tom applied for jobs (in several different cities) and we looked for places to live. I can't thank our family enough! I know it can't be easy having 3 rambunctious kids and 2 messy adults living with you. Like I've said before, we have a GREAT family! It's funny because whenever we pull up to a family members house, Evan says,"We're Hooome!" and we laugh and say,"No Evan, we don't HAVE a home!" Funny, yet sad.

I think it's safe to say that Tom will be taking a job in Gillette, Wyoming. He has a good job offer here and another interview tomorrow. I'll have to post more once he accepts one of the jobs and tell you all about our new city. I can't wait for him to accept a job so we can get a place to live. I think we are all very anxious to get settled! A few pics. from the past few weeks:

UFO's & Aliens

The other night we were watching a show on TV about UFO sightings and alien abductions. I actually hate watching these shows because they freak me out! Anyways, we've gotten in a few discussions with both of our families about our opinions on UFO's and aliens, etc. Most of us came to the conclusion that we did NOT believe in alien abductions, but that we DID believe in UFO sightings. I believe there are some pretty credible people who claim to have seen UFO's.

Tom actually has seen a UFO and his mom says she's seen two. Tom said he was out on one of the ranches in Wyoming and saw a really huge bright ring of lights that was only 20-30 ft. above him in the sky. He said it was making a weird noise like a helicopter whooshing sound in slow motion. The next day, other people in the area said they saw it too.... pretty interesting. I actually think the UFO was just dropping Tom off.

So, we wanted to get everyone else's opinion on UFO's and aliens.

Have you seen a UFO or alien or know someone that has?
Do you believe in UFO sightings?
Do you believe there are aliens?
Do you believe in alien abductions?

Welcome Home Todd!

My little brother Todd just got home from his mission tonight! He served in the New York New York North Mission. We're so glad we got to be here to pick him up at the airport and welcome him home! We've been asking him a million questions and having fun listening to all of his stories. Here's a few of the things we asked him that I'm sure others in the family are wondering about too:
Best food he ate - Paella (a Colombian dish that consists of Rice, Salami, and Shrimp.)
Worst/Weirdest food he ate - Turkey neck
Celebrities he saw - Bob Costas, Deli guy from the David Letterman Show, Donnie Osmond (twice), cast member of SNL (couldn't remember which one), David Neeleman (Jet Blue CEO).
Are you going to grow facial hair now? (on your mission you can't have facial hair) Todd said,"Yeah, I'll try!"
What things did you learn on your mission that you will continue to do now that you are home? Be more tidy, Read scriptures and go to Institute, eat vegetables and not be so picky with food.

A few things that Todd told us when he got home:
He talked to people from at least 61 different countries (he kept track).
Central Park was WAY bigger than he was expecting.

A few funny things Todd said when he got home:
He said everything looked the same at the house, just smaller.
He asked if Carter was 2 years old. (he's 9 mo. old)
He said,"Liam's walking now?" (Liam's 3 yrs. old)

It's only been 4 hours since he's been home (when I posted this) so we have lots of catching up to do and a lot more questions! It's good to have Todd home!





Before & After

Arriving at the airport.

Isn't this the coolest picture? It's Todd's favorite from his whole mission.

An area of The Bronx.

For all you Seinfeld fans!

Todd said this street was probably the worst street for drugs and very dangerous. He also said they felt safe though because they were missionaries. Everyone knows who they are and just leaves them alone!

Todd at the MET.

I'm calling this one "A Day In My Life".

Carter trying to sneak a little snack from Rex. He is at the lovely stage where he wants to eat anything he can get his hands on, esp. little random things off the floor that are invisible to the adult eye. Don't you love that stage?

Here is a picture of my awesome MiaMaid girls (14-16 yr. old girls I helped out with at church). I don't think I've ever had such a "down to earth" group of girls. They really treated us like their friends, not their leaders. Me, Dani, Christy, Heather, and Melissa (also a leader). We were missing two girls, Brittany and Madi. I'm going to miss those girls!


Wendy, Jennie, Lori B, Bonnie, Abby, & Lori. I'm REALLY REALLY going to miss the Girls Night Out group. I'll have to start my own wherever we end up because it is so awesome to go out with no kids, eat good food, and talk with other moms. I forgot to take a picture at my last Girls Night so you'll have to check out their blogs to see who they are! Don't have too much fun without me!

Theme Song

I designated Coldplay's song, Viva La Vida, as our "theme song" for moving. I just love this song! I'm sure you've heard it because I think it's the #1 song right now. I don't know much about the lyrics but the tune just makes me feel happy and sad all at the same time. I also think it could be a good running song too... it has a good beat.

Now when I hear that song, it makes me think about our decision to move and all the emotions we've gone through so far. It also got me reminiscing about all of the other songs that remind me of certain events in my life.

For instance, whenever I hear Enya I think of when I was younger and we would drive to California or Utah to see my grandparents. It seemed like my dad would always play Enya. It's so funny because when I hear them now, I feel like I'm sitting in our van driving along on the interstate and staring out the window.

Second Song. Coldplay's song called Yellow. (I must really like Coldplay!) That song totally takes me back to the time when Tom and I were dating. We both loved that song and listened to it over and over.

Third Song. Almost any song by the Cranberries reminds me of my sister Jenny! I can't remember for sure, but we may have shared a room when she was really into the Cranberries. Probably "Dreams" and "Linger" are the ones I remember the most.

I have to include a couple of country songs too! I was really into country music during high school, and I still like to listen to it every now and then. Garth Brook's, The Dance, reminds of when me and my best friends Jeni and Bobbie were dating guys who all happened to be best friends too. They loved Garth Brooks and esp. that song! Lonestar's song Amazed reminds me of Jeni and Bobbie too. We had front row seats at their concert (we were in high school) and got lucky enough to meet the lead singer after the concert and get autographs. I could probably write a long post about that concert and how much fun it was. I'd post some photos of it but they're in boxes right now!

What songs bring back memories from different stages of your life???

We made it

We loaded up our things on Sat. morning and got to MT last night! We made the best decision EVER and decided to only go half way on Saturday. We kept saying that it felt like we were just going on vacation. I don't think it has sunk in that we aren't going back!

I really hate packing and moving, but I love getting rid of junk and old things! I had fun throwing tons of stuff in the trash, donating to D.I., and selling things on CraigsList. Now I feel like we don't have that much stuff anymore! (Those who helped us load are probably thinking otherwise!)

Thanks again to all those who helped us move so quickly! We couldn't have done it without you.

Evan "helping" pack.

Having a blast riding in the truck.

Yikes, Jordyn doesn't look very happy about moving.

Goodbye Idaho, we'll miss you.

Everything we own is in my parent's garage and it all fit!