Busy times

We have had a busy, but fun couple of weeks with the remodel, visitors, 4th of July, etc. The wall seperating the old part of the house and the addition came down on July 2nd. It was so awesome to stand in the kitchen and see what it is going to look like. That evening Roger and Maureen Roylance stayed the night on their way down to Utah. It was so fun to see them again. We sure miss everyone from Washington. We had some excitement that night when it decided to rain. And not just rain, but POUR! Unfortunately we didn't have anything on the roof (no paper, shingles, nothing) and the rain was pouring into the old part of the house and the addition. It was crazy. Luckily we had some plastic and were able to put it up where the wall used to be to help keep the water out of the living part of the house. Friday we had the final measure for the kitchen cabinets. I can't wait to see them in. My friend Ashleigh and her 5 boys dropped by on their way to Twin Falls. It was fun to catch up with her. Saturday, July 4th we took the boys to the parade in Rupert, although Matt and I wanted to be up on the roof instead. After the parade we picked up a roofing gun and got up on the roof. Doug, Kathryn, Mathew, and Nathanael were so AWESOME and came and spent the holiday helping us roof. It was a HOT day, but we got a lot done! Thank you guys we really couldn't have done it without you. That evening we had a BBQ, watched the fireworks from up on the roof, got attacked by JuneBugs, and ate homemade ice cream. It was a great day! Monday our friends the Freemans stopped by on their way back to WA. Again, it was so fun to see our friends. It makes us realize how lucky we are to have such good friends. Matt and I got up on the roof to finish the job. However with little kids it was hard for me to spend much of the day with him. Mama Barnes and Jordan came over that afternoon and brought us some new pets...two kittens. Jordan helped Matt finish the shingling that night which we are SO grateful for! My mom helped me the next coupld of days try to figure out what to do with my flower beds. They are quite overwhelming. We had a quick trip to the doctor for McKay and Zander (ear and sinus infections). It was fun to have her stay with us and so nice to have her help. And finally Wednesday night Matt and I finished the rid cap on the roof. Yay! It is done! I am so glad because it was terribly stressful doing it with kids. Zander climber up onto the roof (his brothers were supposed to be babysitting him) 4 times. Yes, all the way up onto the roof....talk about SCARY! Thank you to everyone for all of your help, we so appreciate it. And thank you to all of our friends that dropped in! It was so good to see everyone!

wall coming down and putting up plastic watching the parade (looking into the sun) and some of the roofing crew What the addition looks like now

Surprise Washington trip

A couple weeks ago Matt and I decided to make a trip up to Washington for Presidents Day weekend. We decided not to tell the boys and surprise them. We did tell them that we were going to Boise but left it at that. Thursday night we got ready to head to Boise to cut some time off the trip. Matt let the surprise slip a couple times but was able to recover and the boys still didn't know. Until the last slip up when they figured it out . . . and they were THRILLED!!!

When we arrived at Roger and Maureen's house their kids were watching a movie downstairs (they had no idea we were coming). So our boys went downstairs and surprised them. I wish that I could have gotten a picture of their reactions! Chase and Trey said that Easton and Sterling just stood with their jaws dropped open. It was so fun to see the boys together again with their friends. They have missed them so much! They spent the weekend playing outside on the trampoline, rolling in sand, playing Wii, and staying up way too late.

Brighton and Layton

Chase, Easton, Trey, and Sterling

On Saturday most of the boys and the dads went to help out with a service project while the women stayed home. Jeanette dropped by for a quick visit. It was fun to see her family and meet little Hazel (born the day before McKay).

Once the guys got home Maureen, Sage, Piper, and I (McKay too) went into Tri-Cities to do a little shopping. We went to a cute vintage store and then to Real Deals. We had a great time there and spend quite a bit of time. After we got home the adults went to dinner for Valentine's Day. We had planned on going to Tri-Cities but worried that with the drive there and back plus any wait time at restaurants that it would be to late. So we went to the yummy chinese restaurant in town. It ended up being the best decision. We heard that wait times at the restaurants in Tri-cities were topping 2 hours or more.

Sunday we went to our old ward. We shook Bishop Mollotte's hand and he said "Welcome Home". We truly felt like we were back at home. It was so nice but hard at the same time. We were asked multiple times if we were back to stay. I wish!!! Later that evening we went to Todd and Dena's for dessert. And then it was on to the Freeman's house. It was so nice to see all of our friends again. It truly felt as if we hadn't left. Zander was sick all weekend but definitely was in bad shape on Sunday. He wouldn't eat or drink and couldn't stay awake for more than 5 minutes. Matt and Roger gave him a blessing that night and I am pleased to say that he slept and is on his way back to being his happy self (no pics of Zan this weekend--he just felt too miserable).

Monday came way to fast and we had to head back home. It was so great to be able to visit. Thank you Roger and Maureen for letting us invade your home! It was so much fun! We appreciate your hospitality.

McKay and Porter

Feeling Homesick

Bear with me for a minute . . . I am feeling sorry for myself. We didn't know that when we moved from Hamer to Othello that we were moving into such a wonderful place. We had heard how great the people in Washington were but doesn't everyone say that about where they are from? I am here to tell you that it is very much the truth. Our ward was AWESOME! They are true examples of how we should be as members of the church--kind, welcoming, service oriented, spiritual, etc. We attended church while house hunting (months before moving) and knew that we were in the right place. Everyone made us feel right at home. For the two years that we were apart of the Othello 1st ward we had the pleasure to be surrounded by great members of the Church. They taught us to be more selfless, loving, missionary minded, etc by their examples to us. When the move to Idaho was brought up our first thoughts were "We love it here. We love the people. We don't want to leave." Leaving was terribly hard. We have such great friends in Othello. We had the hope that we would have a similar experience with our new ward. And thankfully we did. The ward that we attended while in our rental house was excited to have a new family and welcomed us with open arms. Then we found our home in Paul which meant another ward, another stake. We looked forward to settling into our new ward and making friends. Granted it has only been a month and a half but we feel very much alone. Nobody smiles at us let alone says hi. The ward is made up of a lot of families that have been here for years (very much like Othello), and they seem to keep to their own families and don't welcome newbies in. Now I know that we need to make an effort as well, which is why we will be choosing a random family to invite over for dessert on Sunday. But it sure would be nice to be welcomed in. Matt and I left church Sunday feeling very sad. We wish we hadn't left Washington. Don't get me wrong . . . we love being closer to family, the financial securtiy that moving has given us is great especially during these tough economic times, and the more rounded education our boys are getting, but we have to wonder if it is truly worth it. We have talked about waiting the year we are required to be here and then finding a position back in Othello. I never would have thought that Washington would be my "home" but I have to admit that I truly felt at HOME there.

Matt is having a similar experience with work. He enjoyed the people that he worked with. Everyone got along (for the most part) and respected him and his opinion. He liked going to work. Here it is the opposite story. There is so much contention at work, nobydy listens to what he has to say. He dreads going to work everyday. It makes me sad to see him not enjoying his job.

Ok, I gues it is time to stop feeling sorry for ourselves, I just needed to write my feelings down. I do want to say to all our friends in Washington thank you for your examples, your kindness and friendship. We are truly better people by being surrounded by you. Friends are truly a gift! You are AWESOME and we miss you tons!