Time for an update!!

Wow, it's already July and I'm behind on what seems like... everything!!! I know this may seem a little choppy but a lot has happened in 2 1/2 months!!

Journey walked for the first time April 9th!!! And boy... Has she been on the go ever since!!! She's extremely fast and has recently learned to climb on and in everything. Into boxes, onto her bookcase, up the step ladder... Oh! Let me tell you how scary that one was!!! I had been putting away some towels in the top of a closet & stepped away to get more. When I got back Journey was at the top of my step ladder BOUNCING up and down and giggling!! I about died!!! Any-who.. a lot has happened since my last blog...

In April we had some long talks and decided it was time to leave the Motel. It was time for a change. So we put in our 30 day notice & started packing.

May 15th was our two year anniversary! Time has sure flown and I am so grateful to be married to the man of my dreams! We went to Vegas & saw Phantom of the Opera!! It was so much fun!!! Derek wouldn't go sky diving with me though :P maybe next year ;)  

May 17th we lost our dearest family friend Grandpa Woody. He was 94 years old and he finally got to go home & join his loving wife Mary and his two sons. What a sweet reunion would that be? We will miss him a lot but I'm so grateful for the blessings of the gospel in my life and for the knowledge that there is life after death. I'm thankful for the knowledge that families can be eternal and that death is not the end. Thank you Woody for adopting our family & calling us your own. We really do miss you!!! Here is a photo of him & Journey a few weeks before he passed away.

During the process of packing up the apartment Derek & I starting looking at houses online. A huge thanks to Blake Boulter from Caldwell Banker!!! We called him up with a list of homes and he took us out to see them a few days later with his own list as well. We ended driving to Hurricane twice that day but we found a home we really liked so he immediately started the paperwork process. Thanks to Blake, the wonderful team at SGI mortgage, Southern Utah Title and a miracle... we closed in 20 days. It was a whirl-wind experience that left me in awe. So... if you ever go looking for a home in Southern Utah... Give Blake a call!!! He's fantastic to work with & helps get things done fast!!        

We closed on our home May 31st and were able to move into our home June 1st. What an incredible neighborhood we moved into!!! I called the primary pres. late Friday night (we didn't think we'd actually close Friday...)and she said she'd have people there first thing in the morning. Then, the next day, as Derek & I were sitting on the steps waiting for the key to our new home a lady ran by, turned around, walked back & asked if we needed help moving. I told her we were just waiting for a key & we'd love the help! So, she ran back home, woke up her husband and they both helped us move in!!! It was a fast move. We had 8-12 people and were done within an hour 1/2. Thank you to everyone who helped us move out of the motel and who helped us move into our new place!!! We are extremely thankful!!

It has been so much fun being in our own place. We finally went for a walk as a family... just because we could! It's a luxury we didn't have at the motel & it was so nice to just spend time together without any strings attached. It's also been nice to go to weddings, to the store, to our families house, to the bank... we can go anywhere together without having to schedule it. It's also nice to not deal with the phone calls and booking agencies. It's incredible... just nice to finally have the freedom we have missed the last year.

The motel wasn't all for nothing. While this last year has been a hard one.. we look at it this way... We gave up family events, friends weddings & receptions, baptisms, date nights, holidays & much much more... to be where we're at and to have the opportunities open up to us that have. While we wouldn't go back and do a second year.. we are very glad we did a year.

Journey continues to grow and make us laugh. She's getting so good an mimicking (although no real words have come through). She plays "hide & seek", loves to play with other kids & dogs, eats just about anything, jabbers constantly, climbs everything, runs everywhere and loves to get into everything. She loves making things open and close. Doors, cabinets, books.. you name it... she'll figure it out. She's even learned to unlock my mom's smart phone! She is so smart, so cute and so funny. We love her so much and enjoy having her in our life.

The water photo's are from the St. George splash pads (which Journey LOVES). And the rest (from here down) are from our new home.

The pictures of Journey with cookies...  One morning (shortly after we moved in) Journey disappeared into the living room and got awfully quiet.... As you can see... we had accidentally left the cookies down from the night before and she found them!

Well, I'll post again soon. A lot is still going on and there is still a lot to write about but this post is long enough ;) Love you all and hope things are going well for you!!!