We have arrived! (Barely!)

Well after what has seemed like the longest 3 weeks EVER, we are in Utah and in a house and finally getting settled. It's been an adventure, that's for sure.

Starting at the beginning of March, we were getting very anxious about getting our house rented with enough time to move before I got too pregnant. So three weeks ago, as the end of March was approaching and we still didn't have any renters, we started looking into just moving without our house rented just so we could get moved. We had worked out a plan and were about to buy me a ticket when we stopped and decided we didn't feel sure about it.

After a long (wonderful) day in Orlando going to the temple we both felt very strongly that we should just wait until our house rented. With a big sigh, we agreed we'd just wait. Well we showed our faith so then we didn't have to wait long! We got home late that evening and our broker called moments later with news of a renter. It was amazing.

After a week of packing, I was on the plane with Mikey. Mikey being just under two, he was still a lap child...blessing? curse? We saved money at least :) It was rough having a lap child with my lap quickly disappearing. Especially with the middle seat on the first flight!

We got into Utah at midnight and I was to go find my father-in-law's car in the economy parking lot. But what a surprise, my parents had called Brad to come and help me with my bags! Exhausted and Mikey half asleep, we found the car and found the hidden key. With a sigh of relief I started the car and thought, "I made it." I then got out to help load the bags. I shut the door and for some reason still unknown to all, the doors all locked! So with my purse and phone in the car and the car running, we were locked out the car. If Brad hadn't been there, I would have been without a phone, locked out with Mikey in the freezing weather at 1:30 am! After some time and phone calls to those with keys (by the way, that whole unlock your car through the phone thing does NOT work), we finally tracked down a security guard who called an officer for us.

Well for Lance, the fun had only just begun. He and his dad continued to pack for a few more days and pulled out of Florida on Friday. After a few minor traffic moments, things seemed to be going rather well. That is until....Wyoming >:[ Does anything good come out of Wyoming? They got to Cheyenne on Sunday night and were planning to push through a little longer, but were forced off the road due to weather. We were crossing our fingers that the roads would be open in the morning.

They left the next morning with the roads being open until Laramie and hoped they would be opened by the time they got there. Lance called me a while later with great news as they passed through Laramie! We thought, "yay, he'll be here soon!" He then called a little later....he was stopped again and didn't know why. After sitting completely still for four hours they managed to pull over and get off at a service station. There they found out that there was a huge accident that was not likely to be cleaned up that day. They had to drive BACK to Laramie and spend the night there. Sigh. I was going to cry.

So the next day we thought for sure the roads would be opened. How long does it take to clear an accident? Well when a gas truck burns to the ground and they have to resurface the road, a long time! They just had no idea when the road would be opened. By late morning they were formulating another route--a 12 hour route! (I-70 was also closed due to weather so they couldn't go that way either.) So they were off to get breakfast and then likely start on the long route home. Low and behold, the lights had been left on in the moving truck and they had no battery. Sigh.

As you can imagine, it takes something special to jump a 26' truck. So a few hours later, they had power and now needed lunch. Well in the middle of lunch they finally got word--the road was open!!! If it hadn't been for the battery dying they would have likely started along the long route home, but because they were forced to wait, they were still there when the road opened.

So! 6 hours later they finally rolled in and it was the best ever! Lance and I had to rush out to see our landlords because they had been holding their house for us to rent just because they liked me and wanted good renters. They had been putting off this other guy for days because they wanted Lance to see it before signing. But we did it. We signed and we moved and here we are!

A million thanks to everyone who has helped us to get here. We couldn't have done it without you all!

Once we get our main computer up and running maybe I'll find some pictures to post.

And finally Boston

I know it's taken me forever to get these few little things posted, but what can I say, I've been busy. Anyway, the last day of our trip was spent in Boston and if you'll notice, I don't even have a big coat on in some of the pictures! The weather was MUCH better than New York. It was a balmy 50 degrees (or something). Anyway, it was actually very nice for walking around.

We stopped at lots of the quick sites around town. You know, as much as you can do in one day in Boston (with a pregnant lady waddling around with you).

All the men showing us what men they are. (Mikey's just the cutest, don't you think?)

Mikey getting friendly with a horse. Actually, we were trying to get Mikey to sleep when Lance saw this horse and couldn't resist. As you may guess, it didn't help the sleep factor.

Cape Cod

Well of course you have to go to the beach when you're in Cape Cod! Okay, so most people don't visit Cape Cod in the winter, but you gotta do, what you gotta do. So we still wanted to go. It was gorgeous and sunny...just freezing.

The dads were up for a picture...the kids not as much.

All of us huddled at the beach :) And in case you were wondering, the fact that they were in snow coats and freezing, did not stop the kids from wanting to play in the water and splash around!

So my wonderful Aunt Tobey is a fabulous potter and after showing us all how easy it is (see the finished bowl next to Lance), she let us have a go. As you can see, Lance was a natural. Don't be surprised if little pots just like that one start showing up wherever you go.

Now you really can't go to Cape Cod without having lobster, but the whole town was conspiring against us to try and stop us! So again, not really the season to visit Cape Cod and lobsters weren't all that available, but my Aunt did not stop until she found some VERY tasty critters. (By the way, Mikey is actually eating out of a red bowl in that background there, not a lobster, but I had to double check when I saw the picture)

Saratoga Springs

Some of our best friends live in Saratoga Springs, NY so we were very excited to get to see them and see their home even if it wasn't during the best part of the year. The first morning we were there it snowed a ton so Mikey got to have his first experience playing in the snow. Between the few cold things we had rounded up for the trip and the extra things our friends had, we were able to outfit Mikey enough to jump into the snow (even if it was in purple pants and girly hat:).

Here he is, barely able to put his arms down and ready to play.

It took Mikey a bit to figure out what to do, but luckily he had Hallie there, who is quite versed in snow play, to show him the way.

Oh, and the dads helped some.

My cute boys in the snow. (The moms got to stay inside where it was warm.)

(Cape Cod is next...)

New York City...

We went on a wonderful (albeit FREEZING) trip to New York, Cape Cod and Boston. We got back a week ago and it has taken me that long to finally accept that it's over and to try to resume my normal life. (Well, that is if you call "normal" sitting by the phone and desperately willing it to ring with someone who wants to rent our house so we can move already!)

Anyway...we made 4 stops in 8 days so we moved fast, but we had fun. NYC was the first stop and the coldest.

I know we look adorable and "cuddly" at Rockefeller square, but trust me, it was all I could do to not DIE of cold. It was about 25 degrees, but with the added wind chill it said it was about 10.
These pictures were taken very quickly since we were about to freeze. But at least it wasn't raining, right? Incidentally, this was right before Mikey had his break down. He did remarkably well for two days of walking around in the cold. This was the last night we were there when the wind was blowing the hardest and he just suddenly started screaming. It was so sad. He refused to put gloves on that day so his hands continued to get colder and colder. He wouldn't let us touch them to try and warm them up. He didn't understand why they were hurting and suddenly it just got to him. We ran down into the subway and after cuddling with dad for awhile, he recovered.

(These pictures are out of order) This is the first day when it was cold, but not AS cold as the second. Mikey just quietly said, "burrr" and cuddled with dad to warm up.
Mikey dressed and ready for that dreaded, cold day. Luckily my good friend, Ash, had already for purchased a warm, winter coat for her son for next year that fit Mikey so he was plenty warm (until the aforementioned, hand incident). He has no memory of every having this much clothing on at one time!
Ash and I in her twinner hats getting ready for cold. (It's hard to see because of the black, but I looked like quite the stuffed pig with my belly protruding out of that borrowed skin-tight coat.)

More cities to come...

Water fights already?

Well I only have myself to blame for this. But I didn't think he'd be such a fast learner!

So the other day I was out planting some new flowers in the front yard while Mikey was doing his thing and running around. After I finished I got the hose to water the flowers. Mikey immediately wanted to help so I stood behind him and helped him. He quickly learned how to squeeze the trigger and stood there watering the flowers with me for awhile.
Suddenly he starts to laugh and turns the hose on me! It was actually quite funny and we had fun running around. I let him get me from time to time (and from time to time he would just get me because he seems to be a natural at aiming a water hose.) But I'm wondering if I should be concerned about his devious nature here. His little 22-month-old mind came up with the thought of how funny it would be to spray mama with water all on its own!

Daddy was actually the real victim here. He came home from Lowes for just a minute before needing to head back there. He was in the garage for only a few minutes before Mikey came in and got him good. He wasn't thrilled about having to return to the store like this. (Mama and Mikey laughed, though. Hee hee.)

Yes, I'm showing

I was starting to get questions about whether I was starting to show a lot. The answer is "yes!" It is now unmistakable (which is a good stage to be in--people at least know why I'm fat :) This was taken a few weeks ago when I was just over 5 months. Now I'm closer to 6 months, but I was pushing out my belly quite a bit in the picture so it's probably a pretty good representation of me now.

Mikey has already started to try and wrestle with the kid by trying to jump on my stomach every chance he gets. His brother is definitely a kicker, though, so I think he'll at least have a shot at defending himself. Luckily Mikey seems to have quite the soft spot for babies and is very gentle with them so I have high hopes for at least the initial meeting of baby brother.

Rise and shout, the Cougars are out!

Well it looks like BYU has decided that they, in fact, have NOT had enough of Lance during his undergrad and would like him to attend their Law School in September of 2008. We are very excited as this is really the only school we wanted to go to. Congratulations to Lance! We've missed Utah and are excited to return. Well, actually I have not missed the frigid winters AT ALL, but such is life. I guess we'll have to just go to Hawaii every February, right mom? ;) (Yes, my parents missed my birthday in February on many occasions due to a necessary trip to Hawaii in the middle of winter--it's okay, mom, I've recovered and now I most definitely understand :)

Socks and Stickers...

...are some of Mikey's favorite things

And it's no longer fun to put them on paper. Human flesh is the only acceptable surface for which he is willing to use a sticker. (Maybe if daddy wasn't demonstrating the fun with this kind of sticker-covered flesh display....)
His own socks, of course, aren't all that fun, he's only interested in daddy's socks.

Mikey's Messes

I think most little kids have a knack for making messes. Mikey is no exception.

Here he took a box of pretzels into our room and got on the bed. Before we knew it he had dumped the entire contents into our unmade bed which provided many folds and layers for little pieces of salt to remain in for the rest of eternity.

Now here, I'm not sure what happened because he's actually quite skilled at using a spoon and feeding himself. He usually ends up with food directly around the mouth and a bit down the front. So my best guess here is that this was intentional playing with food because it was everywhere!

And here is his first piece of wall art--directly on the wall. Luckily I discovered those little magic cleaning erasers. The crayon was gone in a flash!

Dressing himself

Much of the time Mikey is quite cooperative when it comes to getting dressed. Now and then he fights a little, but not usually too much. Well on this particular day he was VERY adamant about what he wanted to wear. You pick your battles and we weren't going anywhere right away so I let him decide....

He first chose sweat pants. At that point I tired to offer him a shirt. He wanted none of that! He then picked up his overalls. After getting them half way on I tried again with the shirt...and, well, the results of our exchange are clear.
He did venture out onto the back porch for awhile with this stylish outfit on so our neighbors got a free lesson on fashion, but luckily we were able to convince him to change before really leaving the house.

Aunt Kick-en

Aunt Kick-en (Kristen) came to visit for a day while she was in town with family and Mikey LOVED it! (Probably almost as much as mama :) Of course she did offer him candy in the first few minutes together--always a sure way to win his heart. But he never stopped showing off for her and asked for her when he woke up from his nap. Thanks for visiting Aunt Kick'en! We love you!

When Mikey wants attention and is trying to be silly he starts to eat his feet. He laughs uncontrollably at himself. He used this tactic throughout most of Kristen's stay.

And the fun continues!

The weather was so beautiful Christmas week that on Friday we decided to go to Busch Gardens for just a few hours to see some animals. And good thing we did it all last week because now it is COLD! I know, most of you are up to your necks in snow so we don't have much to complain about, but we hit record lows this week! And when you're thermostat is set to "cold," that first night when it hits 20, the heat doesn't kick on and it gets cold! We've had to dig around and find all the warm things we have which only includes like two pairs of sweats for Mikey so he's had to be very clean in them. (I do find watching the news a little funny as they talk about the weather and all these warnings about the wind chill factor making it so cold and worrying about people. I mean it's cold and they have crops to worry about, but it's not like anyone's going to die from this kind of cold! They get quite dramtic about it and it's funny.)

Look! A zebra pulling a sleigh!

Swimming after Christmas

Well we actually tried to go swimming on Christmas day. It was a gorgeous day and since there is often no one working at the clubhouse we thought it would still be open for those with keys. After getting Mikey all excited about it, we got there and it was closed. But luckily the weather held up for the rest of the week so we went the next day and he loved it.
There were these little girls swimming when we got there and they wouldn't leave Mikey alone! (See the kids starting to swarm in the first picture?) Honestly, we thought they were a little annoying after awhile, but they were throwing him his ball and he loves little girls (I know, should I start worrying now?) so he loved it.
It was actually a little chilly because there was a slight wind, but Mikey seemed to love it as much as ever!

In fact, after drying off, he wanted to go back in! So he and daddy did for a bit while mama warmed up in the sun on the patio chairs. :)

Christmas morning!

Mikey doesn't always have the sweet bedhead hair going on that he did Christmas morning. It was the best I'd ever seen it. He does, on the other hand, sleep with more and more stuffed animals every night and in the morning hands you each one to hold before you can pick him up. It can end up being quite an armful.
The stocking

Mikey was very good at opening presents and almost always had his cute little tongue sticking out while doing it.

I just had to display again, the awesomeness of his hair.

The problem came after a few presents were opened when he started running off to play with them. It ended up taking awhile to open them all. In fact, we finally just left 3 or 4 for later. The next day he found them and promptly wanted to open them.

Calling Grandma and Grandpa Bastian to thank them for his cool phone

He loves books so those were great presents

The tongue again

After awhile he started becoming more and more interested in the camera so finally I let him take some pictures. Not too bad for 20 months!

Before.

(Note that we counted our presents and in that pile there were about 6 or 7 for us combined, the rest were all for Mikey. Spoiled kid! :) Thanks to everyone who sent him gifts, he had a wonderful time opening them and we had a wonderful time watching.)



After.