Missing Lindsay

I'm missing my best friend Lindsay today.  So that means I'll light the lemon candle she gave me and think of her and her lemon tree and the yummy lemonade I made with those lemons.  She is such a strength to me.  She has been through more than most people and still manages to put a smile on her face.  She loves those close to her so deeply that they can't help but feel it.

Before we left town, Lindsay took the kids and I on a date.  We went to the splash pad and then had lunch at Costa Vida (yum!).  Wish we could do that this afternoon!

So, Lindsay?  When are you coming to visit? ;)

While Daddy's Away

Hyrum, Lindi, and I spent the month of April living with my parents after Husband went off to Texas.  We sure missed him.  Poor Hyrum had a hard time wrapping his head around why his dad was gone.  He always cried, "I want my Daddy!!" when he didn't like me.  This was especially true when it was time to take a nap or go to bed.

We had lots of love and attention from the aunties and uncle.  They are such good buddies and we really miss them. 

For Easter we dyed eggs, had a visit from the Easter Bunny, and went to the Easter Pageant and ate pizza.

Hyrum turned three in April.  We had a fun day.  It started off with strawberry crepes (his favorite).  Lindi liked strawberries too.  She licked them off the plate! He got plenty of presents.  He helped make Oreo brownies for dessert and got to go swimming.  It was the best day of his life thus far.

Husband took the car along to Texas because there was no way I was going to drive two kids by myself, but that meant we were often stranded at Grannie and Pops' house.  We went to the park quite a bit. My favorite was when Hyrum decided to roll himself down the hill in the stroller. :)

We got to watch Uncle Hayden race in the Pinewood Derby.  He won third place!  Boy oh boy, did Hyrum think that was pretty exciting.  He can't wait until he gets to build a big race car with his dad.

Aunt Sydney was the best swim buddy.  The water was freezing, so I never did more than stick my feet in, but those kids sure loved it.

Lindi also threatened to start walking while her dad was away, but she didn't.  She still isn't, but she sure is close.  If she would just gather up enough gumption to let go and run, I know she could do it.

I don't think we'll ever plan to be apart for a month ever again, but we survived.

Making the Most Out of a Week and a Half

When we got back from Utah we only had about a week and a half before Husband needed to load up a Uhaul and take off to Texas.  He left mid-April with all of our things and the kids and I stayed behind so that I could finish up a few more shifts at the hospital and then go to Washington state with my dad to visit grandparents.  We were going to be apart for over a month, so we did our best to make the most of the time we had.

When we bought our house, we anticipated that we would live there for a long time, if not forever.  We had moved in 100% and gotten rid of all of our boxes.  Suddenly our house was in chaos again and we were so grateful for ward members who donated boxes to us.  Not only that, but at least a dozen ward members showed up the morning we were loading up and had the house emptied and loaded within an hour and a half.  It was an amazing site.  Some of the ladies came back later that afternoon to help me give the house a quick scrub down.  Thank you Dana Ward!  You rock!

We also want to shout out to some really good friends who brought dinner by amidst all the craziness and who watched our kids so that we could have some quality packing/house-fixer-upping time.  Lisa sent me these pictures from when she was watching the kids. We didn't know it until that day, but Lindi has proved to be a master climber.

And while there was lots of packing and projects, we did make time to be all together because we knew a month apart was going to be hard.  We took the kids to Riverview Park and tried out the new splash pad.  The water was freezing (note Hyrum's first reaction), but the kids warmed up to it and had a ball.  Tony and I weren't completely miserable once we found an area where we could stay out of the cold mist.

Tony and I also made a trip to visit the Gilbert Temple before we left (thanks Aunt Sydney for watching the kiddos!).  It is a beautiful building and a special place.  It will always be a special temple to me, because I made donations towards it's building fund.  I thought it would be the temple I got married in.  No doubt I'll be back to visit when my sisters get married. :)

Many thanks to Grandpa Brown for flying out to help us touch up the house and drive with Husband to Texas.  You're the best!

And so we said goodbye to the house we loved and to each other for a little while.  I cried myself sick that night.  Being apart for a month sounded alright in theory, but I said goodbye to my husband and it hurt so bad and those two sweet kiddos didn't understand why Daddy wasn't there to tuck them in at night.  Let's never do that again...

Utah Time

At the very beginning of April we made a trip to Utah (I will forever be playing catch-up on this blog, it would seem).  It was a short trip, but a fun trip.  I didn't get a ton of pictures, but we stayed with Kemp and Whitney in their beautiful new home.  We went to the dinosaur museum, Kangaroo Zoo (a warehouse type place full of bounce houses), played games, visited Kyle and Michelle Woodbury, and went to the Mt. Timpanogos temple.

I love that Jacie and Hyrum are six days apart.  I love watching how different two kids can be, even though they are practically the same age.  Jacie is loud and fun.  She is a puzzle whizz.  Hyrum is more reserved, but still just as silly. 

Santa Clause couldn't have gotten Lindi anything better than this hiking pack.  She just bounces right along, wherever you go.  She is certainly guaranteed to be smiling.

Lots of playing and few, if any, naps made for some serious crashing in the car!

Hyrum was fascinated by the snow!  Thanks to Kyle and Michelle for letting us hang out for an afternoon.  It was fun to catch up and visit.  Thanks for letting Hyrum pull out all of the trucks and tractors and for letting him steal a banana.  He had a blast.

From my journal, April 3, 2014:

Tony and I visited our 17th temple together this morning. We did initiatories in the Mt. Timpanogos temple and then sat in the celestial room together.  Tony was so handsome, sitting in his whites waiting for me.  He gave me an awesome hug when I joined him.  I don't know how many times we have gone to the temple thinking, "What next?"  We finally have a new adventure! (This is in reference to Tony's job offer at the Dallas Temple.)