Improvising

I just finished washing my boys' sippy cups and water bottles in the bathroom sink with laundry detergent. Seriously . . . I feel like I could survive in the jungle if I needed to.

Posting from Pinedale!

Yep - we're here, although not settled quite yet because we're in adjoining hotel rooms. *Sigh. I never thought I would say that I missed the Provo Marriott, but at this moment, I miss the space, the kitchen . . . and the cleaning standards. We're four days into our hotel stay and will work really hard to stay sane for the next three days before we move into our rental house.

Our first day up here we went to the park, saw the children's fishing pond, went to the library, and I took the big boys to see Horton Hears a Who at the movie theater which is inside the car dealership and is free for children's movies every Saturday afternoon. The boys did great. Lincoln started to get restless, but as soon as I got him some juice to drink, we made it through the rest of the movie without any mishaps.

We're going a little crazier in this hotel than in the last. The weather here is still COLD (although not by Wyoming standards). When we left Utah, it was nearly 80 degrees, so the boys have tons of shorts and t-shirts accessible. However, when we got here, it was kind of snowing and the wind was BLOWING. We have since been in our little Uhaul trailer to dig out jackets and boots (and put the summer sandals away temporarily).

As for our new ward, it's FILLED with young families and kids. *Whew! I met a great gal at church who had pity on me and invited me and the little boys up for Sunday dinner (Greg had to work). We had a fantastic time. They have a darling little family - three little boys for my three to play with (6, 3, and 1). I hardly saw Ethan the whole time we were there . . . although he did come in with tears when he fell on his mouth outside and chipped his two front teeth a little. Thank goodness for baby teeth. We're going to play at our new friends' house again today - thank goodness for an excuse to get out!

We've been to our rental home a couple times to get a feel for it. It's in a fantastic neighborhood, and once it's cleaned/scrubbed (which the landlady will have done before we move in) and the little family that's in it now moves all their things out, I think it will be great. It's got a really big family room and is open enough for us to finally have some space again! Three bedrooms - all with queen beds. I'll flip one of the queen beds sideways for Ethan and Lincoln to share (which they're doing in their king-size hotel bed at this moment) and put Porter in a port-a-crib. That means there's an extra room with a queen size bed for anyone who feels like spending a weekend - or longer - in Wyoming!

Hotel Hopping - the latest craze

So we're back on for Wyoming. Greg will come down to Utah tomorrow after his overnight shift. We will spend tomorrow evening and Thursday morning packing up our little hotel lives and drive up to Wyoming to . . . you guessed it . . . move into another hotel! But only for a week or so. We found another house, but another couple (whose house also burned) is in the process of moving out, so our official move-in date is May 1. Don't worry - the home owner has been contacted directly and is approving of the situation.

I can do another hotel but only because I know it's more temporary than this one has been. Greg saw the house today from the outside only, surrounded by grass, in a nice newer neighborhood, set apart from busy streets, already furnished. Sounds about as ideal to me as anything could at the moment. We're excited again - almost. I think I will allow myself to get jazzed about the move when we're actually driving north.

If anyone wants to joint my hotel-hopping group, just let me know when your house burns down and your insurance company refuses to cooperate. We'll have a party.

Just kidding

Blech! Please accept this as my retraction of the last post. The house fell through. I don't know why I'm surprised . . . I really should have expected this. Apparently someone forgot to ask the homeowner if he was willing to take the house off the market for a couple months while we rented, which it seems he is unwilling to do. Perhaps that inquiry should have been, I dunno, maybe step 1 or 2? The girl who is helping us find housing has a couple other leads that we're waiting to look at, but we're back to square one . . . waiting.

So, tomorrow (Tuesday) we celebrate Porter's birthday, the five month anniversary from the fire, and we just keep on truckin' in our little hotel room. A little bit of silver lining, however: At least we have more time with family and don't have to face the teary goodbyes yet. Sigh . . .

WAHOO!!! Wyoming, here we come!

A milestone week lies ahead, including: Porter's first birthday, our eighth wedding anniversary, an outrageous five months in the hotel, and the beginning of yet another - and hopefully more permanent - chapter in our ever-adventurous lives. Here's to a happy farewell to our Marriott home!

After tens of home possibilities and denial after denial we finally found a home to move into! Of course, since it doesn't include acreage for Greg's horses, it won't be permanent, but for the time being, we're THRILLED at the prospect of being together again! Greg saw it this afternoon and said it's a charming brick home on a corner lot in the middle of town with a fully fenced back yard and a beautiful kitchen. What else could a girl ask for. Oh yeah...a great neighborhood and lots of kids included!

Greg will not come home on his next block of days off. Instead, he will stay in Pinedale and meet the furniture company that is bringing us a house FULL of rental furnishings - everything from sofas and beds to bath towels, sheets, silverware, and lamps. Dale, my father-in-law, will drive up with me, the boys, and our belongings. While I'm over the moon with excitement, I'm also feeling a little nostalgic. I'm so going to miss being near so many people who are so dear to me. So...plan a date and come visit!

A camera at last!

Thanks to my daddy, we have a wonderful hand-me-down Nikon Coolpix at our disposal until our insurance settles and we're able to get another camera of our own. Thank goodness! Now that I'm not at Michelle's mercy for photos, the pics on my blog won't all be magazine worthy, but we're grateful to be able to document fun moments on our own.

We had a fantastic Easter weekend, attending a humongous (1000 to 1500 people) Easter egg hunt put on by Elaine's company on Saturday morning in the rain. The beautiful thing about little children is that they don't care if they get the coolest prizes or the most treats, they're just happy with a few eggs and a sugar rush. We got home, pants soaked to our knees, happy to defrost and inhale sugary treats.

Greg stayed home with Porter, so on the way home Ethan was considering what goodies to share with his daddy. "When we get home, I'm going to give daddy the popcorn egg because I think if I have a taste it definitely won't be good for me . . . It would turn me into an olive! (I laugh out loud) Or maybe a cucumber!"

On another note, Ethan has always loved to "work out" with me. He loves to lift my light dumbbells, do his version of sit-ups on my mats, and always has a new trick he "learned in preschool" to keep his body strong and healthy. Friday was the day he discovered that he wants to be a personal fitness trainer when he grows up. He spread a blanket and mat on the floor and proceeded to give Lincoln a tutorial on the correct way to do sit-ups and other exercises. Lincoln was a semi-attentive student, but Ethan didn't care. Just having an excuse to exercise kept him happy for a long time. I wish I enjoyed it as much as he did . . .

And we're off!

We just got approval today from the insurance company for me and the little boys to move up to Wyoming! They're in the process of finding a HOME for the five of us to move in to. As soon as they have a house, we'll drive away from the hotel and never look back. Although I can't wait to get to Pinedale, I'm feeling a little bittersweet because my boys will miss their cousins, I will miss my days with Michelle and being so close to the Kemps who I love so much. No insurance settlement yet . . . BUT progress is progress, and we'll take it in whatever shape or form it comes. And so . . . away we go!!!

Resilient

We had a marvelous afternoon with Michelle, Brody, and Jocelyn yesterday. We took FANTASTIC pictures of the kids and ate dinner at the park. Ethan earned a $1 toy at the store earlier in the day - a glow stick. He worked really hard to be handsome and compliant with pictures and was ecstatic to run around with the glow stick in his pocket. He spent time running, rolling down a grassy hill, falling of the bleachers he was climbing on...

When it was time to go, he discovered that he had lost the glow stick, much to his disappointment. In fact, he tried over and over to talk me into going back to Walmart to get another one before we went home. After failing to convince me, he got very teary and proceeded to tell me how sad and disappointed he was. After about 10 minutes of tears and begging, he quieted down for a moment and then said quietly (my favorite part - and his favorite word - in italics), "Perhaps my watch [read: Omnitrix] would make me feel better . . . will you please put it on four bags full?" Oooh, I just LOVE him!

Thinkin' Lincoln

Two things happened today that totally qualified as blog-worthy. First of all, Lincoln has lost his hat - his only hat, my favorite hat. It's a wonderful green baseball cap, and I'm heartbroken (although I know where to find another one). I told him today, "Lincoln, I'm so sad that you lost your hat." His eyes got really big and sweet, he hugged my leg, looked at me and he said softly, "I happy, mommy. It's okay . . . I here."

A short while later I took him out to the car with me to gather some things. When I closed the door, I decided to look once more in the back of the car behind his car seat in case he'd thrown his hat back there. I peered into the back window with my hand shading the window so I could see through the tint. Lincoln is at the darling age where he mimics everything. I didn't see the hat so I turned to go back inside. Lincoln wasn't on my heels so I glanced back to see where he was. He had his hand cupped backwards at his temple . . . he was peering into the tire.

Some days I can't wait for the boys to get bigger, go to school, get into sports . . . but moments like these make me want to freeze time for awhile . . . just to capture the candid innocence that so often brings so much tenderness and laughter.

Trying so hard

Ethan nearly killed me with sweetness yesterday. Do you ever have those moments when you just look at your children and want to squeeze them so hard that they melt into you? Ethan was trying to "trade" toys with his cousin so he could have a turn with the light saber. His cousin wasn't so keen on the idea . . . no matter how hard Ethan tried to bargain and persuade. Finally, cousin's mommy came in to help mediate. Ethan kept saying, "If you don't want to trade, it's okay, but I'm so sad." He was trying so hard to be stoic and keep from crumpling into tears. His face just melted me. His eyes were watering and his lip was stern but quivering, and when he saw us looking at him, he smiled a tearful smile, wipes his eyes and said, "I just have a couple little tears in my eyes, but I'm okay." Oh, I could just sweep him up and kiss him to death. Moments like that really help get me through the sometimes mundane days.