A good day

So my sweetest cutest most adorable husband ever came home today with a great surprise! He was going to buy me flowers but decided to get me an iPhone! I was totally shocked and increadably excited, isn't he awesome?!!!
Then tonight we took the boys down to the beach at the lake. It was a perfect night and I can't believe that we can do that whenever we feel like a dip in the water. What a great day! (and no, our house is not unpacked. But, hey what good is life when it's all work and no play?)

Time to say Goodbye

Well, we are officially no longer residents of Boise. We have loved the last four years and are so grateful for the many memories and friendships we created. We have the most amazing family and friends that anyone could have ever dreamed of having. We are leaving better people because of all of you. Saying goodbye was harder than either Ernie or I thought it would be and more tears were shed than we ever thought would be shed. Here are a few of the things that we will miss (and all of the people involved in making them memories, you know who you are). And yes, this will be a long list, and I am editing it for length!

~Swimming at Grandma Doreen's
~Lunch at the park
~Boating
~Eating lots of calories once or twice a month because, lets face it girls, they just don't count that night!
~Kuna 11th
~Summer afternoons sitting on the deck at Grandma's
~Monday morning holiday breakfasts
~Tuesady night grocery shopping trips
~The family birthday parties
~Having someone to help me pick out my boys clothes (how will either of us be able to know for sure if their outfits match?)
~The boys playing with their cousins
~Costa Vida- you have been a constant, and now I feel like I will be cheating on you because there is a Cafe Rio in Vegas. But don't give up on me, I'll be back someday.
~Sledding down the driveway when it snows
~Having mini family reunions at church on Sundays
~Date nights (man we have had some fun ones, we love all of you guys!)
~The boys running through the sprinklers in the summer
~my violin students
~The zoo
~Baby Luke
~6 am golf (that would be Ernie's addition, no, I haven't picked up golf)
~Caleb and I helping at Ernie's class on Thursdays
~knowing that at the drop of a hat we had so many family members and friends that we could count on

We love you all and will miss you. At the same time we are excited for this new adventure in our life. (And we are also very grateful for employment!) We hope you come and visit us!
(I have been delaying posting this because I still don't have my computer set up, so I can't post pictures, but I decided to just go with it, and hopefully we will get the pictures up tomorrow!)

One Last Goodbye

We had some wonderful friends in Kuna.  I cannot never express how hard it was to leave them.  But we are better people for having made the friendships we have and I know that they will continue.  One of our last nights there, The Deckers had a final little goodbye get together for us.  I held it together until Andrea started to cry. And then that was it.  I bawled like a baby.  I wish I had gotten pictures of everyone there, but I got quite a few.  And looking at these, how can you not see what great and fun people they all are? We love you guys!

Two of our lasts, and more to come this week!

I have a few things to mention,
First...

the boys had their last day of swimming lessons, and they both improved a lot! Caleb is really close to swimming on his own, and is quite proud of himself. Ernie's best stroke is now the butterfly! And he almost has is dive down.

Okay, and second is that we got to attend my sis-in-law Karli's dance recital this weekend. As she just graduated, it was her last one! We have LOVED watching you over the years. Caleb and Ernie both had meaningful observations. Caleb said, "wow, she is really tall, she is taller than all the other dancers." And Ernie said, "mom, she is REALLY good." And seriously, she is an absolutely amazing dancer, and I had tears watching her at her last recital. We'll miss all the competitions, games, and recitals. I've never seen a girl with more grace, let alone one that is 6'2! We love you Karli!

The boys were being really silly and wouldn't pose for a picture with their Aunt!

And he escaped to do twirls on the dance floor.

One week to go

As most of you know, we have one week until the big day. The day our home gets packed. This can be a very overwhelming time for any body having to have their home packed and moved a few states over. So, I though I might let you all in on a few of the things I have been doing in preperation for the big move.....

*deciding what color to to get my toe nails painted, they are in serious need of attention. Bright or neutral, I can never decide.

*Eating lunch at the park with a friend which was great for the boys because they finally had a princess for their imaginative role plays. Caleb got to be in charge of protecting her while Ernie was out on dangerous missions. A busy afternoon for them, that's a lot of work. (Thanks Jody, it was fun)

*Finding a new place for all of the Ritz and Wheat Thins that Albertsons gave me today. Yes I am one of "those"...I even have a coupon binder! (Just a quick thought, I was thinking today as I was leaving Albertsons, and do you think I should send them a thank you note?)

*Planning more family and friend time, I just feel like I have to stuff every day as full as possible before I leave......ahhhhh, we're really going to miss you guys, but I will save that for another post.

*Buying scrapbook stuff, I am TOTALLY motivated this time, as soon as we move ;)

I know, you now all have extreme sympathy for me. Getting ready to move should be hard. But, if you noticed earlier, I mentioned that this "can" be overwhelming. I am very anxious to watch other people box up all of our belongings (thank you Pfizer). I am sure that I will feel the stress in a few days, but how nice is it that I can spend my last remaining days here.....well, relatively stress free.

RIP

This weekend moving became a true reality. We took down the swingset! Well, I shouldn't say 'we', it was really Mark. And he let the boys help unscrew a lot of bolts and they thought that was the coolest thing ever. Oh, so sad. But the good news is that because Mark took it down for us, we will get to move it to our new house! (It won't look quite the same without grass underneath- good ole' desert climate) So many great memories. And now our yard is left with the remains of a sand box.