Once upon a time...

(I'm on a storytelling kick with Lily, and it seems natural to start all of my sentences with "once upon a time". :-)
Wow! Moving does a number on me. You'd think I'd be used to it by now, but I have obviously been out of blogging commission for a couple months and am just now gaining access to a computer and internet at home, so I am thrilled to be updating. PLUS, thanks to the wonders of modern technology, I heard Cordelle's voice upstairs and ran up to discover Ryan video-chatting with the Morr"i"'s, which made me realize how grateful I am for and how much I miss all of our wonderful friends in Cedar!
We found an awesome apartment in Orem with 2 bedrooms, 2 family rooms, and a huge backyard that is completely fenced in, so we have been practically living outside and loving every minute of fenced-in freedom for our Lily. I just let her run and collect "goobers" (roly-polies bugs) while I follow Avery around and pull everything out of her mouth that she sticks in - which is anything she can get her hands on (including bugs! blech.) Lily puts the bugs and snails in the trunk of her tricycle and chauffers them around, feeding and watering them at regular intervals. Ryan and I laugh because we were so excited to have found a place with such a great yard area, and the girls seem to spend a large part of their time on the cement porch! Lily clims and jumps off the handrail, Avery practices her stairs and eats all the rocks along the way! We have unbelievably great neighbors, Shaun and Natalie, who have helped us settle in very comfortably and help us SO much ALL of the time! We received callings today as primary workers and are anxious to get our specific assignment from the Primary President. Ryan loves his work and I love being home, learning how to be a mom.
We have been spending so much time with family, it is the best! Both of our parents and siblings close by have been so much help while we've been moving in and taking care of crises (ie: Lily getting cellulitis and getting a staple in her head - placed by a doctor to patch a big cut Lily got while banging her head on the wall during a huge tantrum! :-( ... ) Plus we got to spend July holidays and plenty of birthdays with cousins, and returned yesterday from Bear Lake with the Huff fam! We were able to go at the last minute thanks to some help from the parents, since our car didn't seem safe (oh yes, the Nissan is still running...sort of) for such a long trip, we borrowed Ryan's mom's sweet ride and had a blast at the lake and camping up at St. Charles.
My Avery baby turned 1, is walking and talking a LOT(her first word was "peez" (please), and she can get just about anything she wants with it from daddy :-), and has such a funny sense of humor. She is still a little mama's girl, which I thoroughly enjoy, and loves to sing, climb, take baths, and snuggle. Lily turned 3!!! just before we moved up; she is so adventurous and independent and darling. She lives half of her life as a cat, still, and is working really hard on her potty training so she can wear princess underwear like Reagan. :-) Ryan and I had our FIVE year anniversary, and my lovely parents babysat overnight and we had a getaway to Olive Garden, Cold Stone (thanks Rindys for the gift certificates!) Nickelcade (seemed appropriate for our five year anniversary and we loved to go there in High School when we were dating), and went shopping for things we needed to fix up things in our apartment and visual aids for Ryan's seminary lessons. I love marriage and my husband and my kids and my life.
We have caught up with some friends from Cedar and old roommates of mine since we've been up here, which has helped with the homesickness. I was surprised when I thought of going home from Bear Lake and pictured returning to SUU housing! For a full minute I could NOT remember where I lived, and had to try really hard to come to the realization that it wasn't Cedar City! That was when I felt it the most...that home was in Orem now, and when we left Cedar I felt like I'd finally gotten used to not calling Spanish Fork 'home'. I hope it doesn't take me five years to adjust this time! But that is where our life has been since we've become a family, and it just seems lonesome to be so far away...
I have so much to catch up on , I can't remember it all. I will post pictures soon!
We love Orem!
We miss you Cedar City!