8.06.2014

Home sweet home

We are here and well and I'm thrilled to have an automatic dishwasher and feel spoiled with 3 bedrooms so that the girls can sleep well day or night . . .

Almost all boxes are unpacked just waiting on a couple of furniture pieces to tie loose ends!  It has been a whirl wind week and a half and I'm glad mostly that I found a good deal on a piano and that the creaks in our floors can only come from us . . . those are creaks that I can control during nap time.

Our ward is going to be a blast and we also experienced the great "white coat ceremony" on Sunday.  They told each student as they walked across the stage to say one word that sums up how they got to this point in their life.  The first student said "family" and I thought . . . "well there goes everyone's answer".  There were some fun answers in there such as "coffee" and "luck" but what does Ryan decide to use as his one word? "Paperwork" . . .  I should have guessed.  It gave me a good laugh as he continued across the stage to pick up his stethoscope.  It was almost like a graduation ceremony for going through the process of applying to schools and being accepted.  Which is a full time job and takes a full years worth of paychecks, so it's well deserved.

Ryan is busy learning already; dissecting cadavers and knee deep in anatomy lectures (it'll reach his neck, he's only been at it for 2 days) and studying as we speak.  I have a feeling that we will both love this journey.  I enjoy learning second - hand medicine through his daily reports.

I took Charlotte and Annie to target yesterday.  It was our first outing just the 3 of us.  I looked ridiculous, but it went okay.  But I don't want to do it again... so maybe it was worse than I remember. 

Speaking of those two, they become better friends with every passing day.  It never gets old for Charlotte when she sees Annie first thing every morning, it's like she hasn't seen her for ages.  She grins a big grin and says "Oh, hug" as she clasps her hands around Annie's neck too tightly and gives her kisses.  Annie has a smile on her face the whole time.  She admires Charlotte and her craziness already! 

As I was busy wood working in the kitchen (or just child proofing our cabinets) Charlotte kept putting a pan on Annie's lap and sticking "hats" on her head made from bibs.  They were smiling and laughing and I was experiencing heaven...

So here are some pictures... I will get house pictures once it's finished up! All in all, I am just so happy to have our own space again where Barney and Daniel Tiger shows aren't a necessity to keep my busy 16 month old from destroying others sanity or property, and where I feel like it is us as a family again. Okay lost train of thought too tired.
Gotta go to bed...

P.S this little butterball is literally made of sunbeam, I swear it... and the blue eyes? We don't get it either!










6.22.2014

An overload of updates, info, and cute babies

My babies... (yes it's been that long) are all but grown and attending college now. Dramatic? Probably. But the truth of it is, time flies fast these days.  I remember everyone telling me that it  would, but now I am living in that warped time zone where sometimes the days are painfully slow, but overall so quick that I fear blinking.

Back to the beginning... my babies are growing and I love their guts. Truly. They are such a joy. Charlotte makes me laugh daily and Annie acts as if I'm the worlds greatest mom by the amount of smiles shining through her sweet self. 

If I could describe Char in a few words it would be: extremely literate female tom sawyer








This girl is unhealthily drawn to dirt and eating all forms of plant life, bark, rocks, etc. I really love her for it. She is also a book worm asking "rea-read?" while carrying books all day. I don't understand HOW she knows so many words, I am the last mother to do sign language or early phonics. She just loves words. It kind of breaks my heart that she is entering toddlerhood. She has taken the role of big sister with grace and a lot of love for "nannie"


 



 
Then Annie comes along to brighten our lives with smiles upon smiles and nary a cry! She is a dream. Little cinco de mayo babe.
 
 

 











 
Now on to some serious biz.
 
Ryan has been gone for 4 weeks in Montgomery, Alabama attending air force officer training camp (he received a scholarship for medical school through the military. Essentially, this means they keep us out of debt and he repays them with 4 years of service as an air force doctor following graduation. Sweet deal for a growing family!)
 
Our home is a bit dreary without him but I fly out to his graduation activities on Wednesday and look forward to lots of laughter again whilst attempting getting used to seeing him in air force garb and marching. The thought so very funny for some mystical reason.
 
When we arrive home on Saturday, he has one week of work left with his company in research park before we pack up our lives for the first of many moves to come. But first, we get to bless Annie, attend an epic Hunter family reunion in Midway, and spend 2 foreseeable glorious weeks with his family in Ventura county before moving straight to The Big Easy.
 
New Orleans, the last place in the US that I imagined living will be our home for the next 4-5 years.
 
I can hardly wait to taste the world famous cuisine, attend (most likely muted down) Mardi Gras parades, experience 65 degree winters, meet a completely new culture of people, and learn to speak in ma'ams and sirs. Everyone is already calling me "Miss Hunter" over the phone and the charm of it all seems almost unreal.
 
For a man whose catch phrase is "bring it on!", I think the lifestyle of the big easy will suit us.
 
So I spend my last 2 weeks in sugar house taking care of babies (ever grateful to be living with my mom while Ryan is away) and feeling nostalgic about leaving home with the possibility of never coming back to call it home again. Adventure is out there to be had and we can't wait to be in the midst of it!
 
May the beautiful chaos commence!