On being an adult: I will just start by saying that sometimes I wish I didn't have to deal with all the responsibilities involved in moving to a new state. My kids don't know how good they have it, not being adults that is. I needed to get new car insurance, because it is way cheaper and because I live here. But to do this I had to register the cars here which involved two trips to get safety and emissions for both cars and a trip down to the DMV with all the kids. And I had to get a Utah driver's license, which involved going to a different license agency, where they sent me to another location to get my birth certificate because mine is in the storage unit (I have everyone else's by not mine) and yet another location to get my marriage license--with all four kids. I forgot the snacks I packed for them (translation: long day with cranky kids) and I still don't have my license! Oh, and you also need two forms of proof of address which was a little tricky since we have no utilities here and a bunch of other things were only in Jared's name. Good thing I have that secret credit card only in my name (just kidding-it's not secret, but it is in my name). Also on the agenda yesterday was going to the bank with my sister-in-law and all 10 kids to get something notarized saying that we live with them so that Erin can get signed up for school. The kids weren't that bad, all things considered, but I'm pretty sure the bank will need to order some more suckers after our visit. And there are things to deal with involving the inspection of our home in Florida (water leak, termite spot treatment, A/C, one nail exposed in the roof--what's with that one?). Totally not fun to deal with all this when we are not even there. See how annoying it is to be an adult sometimes? I'm done complaining. This will all be taken care of soon.
On living near family: It is great! It has definitely been a shock just how busy family things can be and will probably take some getting used to, but I love being more involved with family. We've had a birthday thing on Monday, another one for a 2 year old niece the day before, BBQ's with grandparents, FHE with my brother's family, an extended family reunion for Jared's mom's family, my uncle's 90th birthday celebration, splash park with the sisters-in-law and kids, dinner for a sister-in-law who was visiting, the aviary with all the cousins on the Evans side, party up the canyon with cousins and grandparents, another campfire up the canyon with the family we live with, visit to my aunt's house, sleepovers and grandparents' house, outings with my mom and sister... so yeah, it's pretty busy. And let's not forget that we see family every day. We love living here with the cousins. Just think, nobody has to ask to go play with friends because they are always around. Everyone has gotten along really well too, which has been so good to see.
Cousins
More cousins
More cousins
Even more cousins
The cousins we live with (most of them)
Look, everyone has someone to play with. Lucky kids!
On living in 900 sq ft: Not bad at all. We actually had less until yesterday because there was a water leak and some mold issues in one of the bedrooms. They came to install the carpet last week and found another puddle of water which came from our washer this time. We got that fixed and had to wait another week for the carpet. So 3 kids have been sharing a small room and Connor has been with us for a month. And the dressers have been in the living area. Now that we have that third bedroom, it feels so roomy. The bad thing about a small space is how messy it can get. Remember how messy four kids was in our house if Florida? Same mess, smaller space. But the good thing is that it is pretty easy to get it clean again. And only one bathroom to clean. It is kind of like living in a small apartment with 6 roommates in college. A little bigger than Heritage Halls and a little smaller than King Henry.
You may wonder if I like having all these kids around. The answer is yes. I have always liked to be around people, not that I've always been a kid person. But I like company, I guess, so it doesn't bother me at all that there are 6 or 7 kids running through the house all the time (for the most part anyway). Living here sometimes makes me feel a little bit like a polygamist. I mean besides having our own husbands and all, which admittedly is the most important part about polygamy. But there are always lots of kids around and they are not all mine, but we are somehow all related. And there's another wife upstairs.
On milestones: Connor started walking all the time about three weeks ago and running a couple weeks later. We were at the cell phone store and he ran out the door behind someone leaving with a charger in his hand. That was an interesting "where's my child?" moment. Glad I noticed before he wandered into the parking lot. He has also mastered stairs, up and down. A great point to get to. Marissa is about 85% potty trained. Yay! She is in underwear all the time but has had a few accidents, including poop. But it is definitely time and she is doing a lot better than before. Alex is learning how to ride a bike with no training wheels. I think if we spent more time practicing he would get it by the end of the summer. Erin is learning to roller skate. Jared is getting used to getting up way earlier than he used to, and doing a fabulous job of it. Me? Not so much. I usually drag myself out of bed long enough to pack a lunch for the man and kiss him goodbye. My milestone is starting to ride a road bike. I've gone out a couple of times with my friend on one of her bikes. It seems pretty fun and maybe like something I could get into.
Connor walking
On other fun things we've done: Pioneer Day parade, fair and fireworks. Do you believe these people give you Pioneer Day off? Extra holiday, sweet!
The Third Annual Lehi Foam Day. The firemen spray foam all over a field and you just play in it. Then they wash you off with the water hoses. Marissa did not want to "go in the clouds" after I showed her a video of what it was--as in she wouldn't even get in the car with us. We left her at home with the upstairs neighbors to take a nap instead. It was really fun though, good clean fun.
Oh, and how could I forget Dress Like a Cow day at Chic-fil-a? $32 worth of food for free just for putting on a few spots, ears, nose and a tail. I still can't believe certain people wouldn't do this (i.e. Jared). No pictures, but next year, our costumes will be even better. Thank goodness I have Cheryl to do dumb stuff like this with me.Last, one of the top reasons for living in Utah, the Parade of Homes. I debated not going for about 5 minutes, due to the dragging kids along with me part, but decided in the end that I love it too much to not go. Turns out, my kids do love the Parade of Homes too. Poor Connor and Marissa by the end of each day... they are both so tired and I end up carrying them more than I want to. I figure I do enough things that are just for the kids, like parks and museums, that I can do something that I really love too. I don't think I will ever get tired of looking at homes, including my friends' homes. Yep, I'm the kind of annoying friend who will ask to see the rest of your house. Sorry, I like houses--a lot. One of the most awesome homes this year was a replica of the house from "Up". So fun. Loved it! They even had the old man outside and gave out balloons.
Good Clean Fun!
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