The Move!

This is everything we own, all inside that truck. We hooked our mini van on a trailer on the back, too. I don’t have a picture of the whole long thing, but it was long and huge! But we made it!

Some people say that the drive is very boring, but I actually loved watching the landscape change the more East we got. At first there was a lot of flooding.

I love the mountains. I am going to miss them.

I didn’t realize how pretty Wyoming actually is.

Then, in Nebraska, it started to get really flat with lots of trees. It was weird looking out over the horizon and seeing more and more clouds instead of mountains.

The trees just got more and more thick the further East we got. Aren’t they beautiful?

All of the sudden there was this big bridge and we were crossing the Mississippi. I was so excited! I have always wanted to see The Big River. It was so huge. The pictures just can’t capture how huge it is.

Overall the trip went really well. We had no problems, until right at the end when we pulled up to the apartment and realized that our mini van had a flat sitting on the trailer. One of our neighbors helped us put on a spare and we got it patched the next morning.

We also stopped in Nauvoo for a day. I’ll show you more pictures on another post!

Oh, and thanks so much to both of our parents for helping us clean and pack. You have no idea how much that helped!

And here we have Idaho…

As you all probably know, we just moved to Ohio. I will eventually show you pictures of our trip and our new home, but I will go chronological. We got to spend some quality time with our family in Idaho before we left.

Benj took our niece Lila and Nephew Ezra to the zoo in Pocatello. I was sad that I had to work, but it was fun to see the little ones and my sister Beth during my short  lunch break.

We also got to see my little sister Emily play her Clarinet at her band concert. She did amazing! I am so proud of her!

There was also an art display at the concert showing the junior high art classes’ work. Emily made a couple pieces in her 3D art class. This paper-mache bumble-bee was my favorite.

I also love her peacock that she was supposed to make our of random things that you might have other-wise thrown away.

Emily and I also stayed up late being silly. Can you tell?

We also got to go to an awesome Ber-B-Que birthday party for my cousin Luke. We love you all and miss you all so much! Come visit us in Ohio!!!

Boise Trip

Benj and I took a much needed vacation to Boise last week. We arrived just in time for Lunch and went to an AMAZING Indian Buffet. Benj was in heaven. I was surprised at how delicious it was.

After stuffing our faces we went to the mall and bought Benj some new swimming trunks. Then we hit the pool at the hotel. Then we got ready for the most wonderful night EVER!!!!

Can you see how excited I am to go to Wicked? I was waiting to see this show since 2003 when it first came out on Broadway. I have been a fan for eight years! And finally I got to see it! It was everything I hoped it would be. The acting and singing were amazing and I think I cried 3 times just because I was happy to be there.

The next day we had some time to kill, so we went to the zoo. There were a million fieldtrips going on and I think Benj and I were the only ones there without a stroller. It was a really fun day. My favorite were the monkeys. They were swinging all over the place. They were amazing.

You probably can’t see it, but there is a cute little Wallaby standing right behind me.

You can’t really tell, but there is the cutest little baby Wallaby in that momma’s pouch.

This sloth bear was so funny. He crawled up into that hammock thing and kept sticking his nose up over the top.

These funny little prairie dogs look like they are kissing. There were these little tunnels that the kids could crawl under and see the prairie dogs from inside their cage.

The Meer cat's were cute little guys, too. They were little entertainers.

Boise was so warm and flowers were blooming everywhere.

Anniversary Trip

Benjamin and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary in Utah. We spent our anniversary having fun in Salt Lake, just the two of us. We also got to spend some time with family for a couple of days.

We got to hang out with cute little Kalina and Anthony and Kylie. We went to church with them and had a delicious Sunday dinner that Kylie made. The next night we all went out to eat at The Cheesecake Factory.

We drove into Mapletown just as the sun started to set over Maple Mountain. Isn’t is it pretty?

We spent time with Grandma Alma. We also got to hold Benj’s cousin Philip’s new baby, Isabella.

Isn’t she just the cutest little thing you’ve ever seen? I just loved holding her.

Happy Anniversary, Benj!

Pomp and Circumstance

I graduated! Finally! I am so excited to be done with my bachelor’s degree. I am ready to move to Ohio and start a new phase of life.

Here are some pics from the graduation ceremonies.

Making the walk across the stage.

My awesome family at convocation.

My sweet brother and sister.

Papa Ben and me in our robes.

Both sets of parents were so supportive as I got my degree.

After commencement my mother threw a celebration party. There were so many people there to support me. My grandma Jo even made me a beautiful quilt with fuzzy minky. Emily was sweet to hold my niece Lila most of the time. Lila loves Emily.

Lila didn’t know what to think of my parent’s little dog Missy. It was a mix of sheer  joy and sheer terror.

It was a great weekend. Thanks everyone for being so supportive!