park days

 The weather has been so nice this week and we have been taking advantage of it. We have been outside as much as possible...and if you look at my house that would be very obvious!  Yikes.  But I wouldn't have a clean mopped floor if it meant missing all the fun I've had with my little cuties this week.

The first time Caimbree was in the swing, she wasn't such a fan but she really enjoyed it this time.  Heidi had fun pushing her and Savanna had fun testing out every single slide multiple times.  We are loving this beautiful weather and fresh air! Spring is the BEST!

9 months

 Happy 9 months, Caimbree!!  Oh my goodness is Caimbree a delightful baby.  I love this age.  Caimbree has such sweet, easy going personality.

 *Wants to crawl in the worst way, but just can't figure it all out yet.  If she would get up on her knees I don't think it would take long.  She dives for things and scoots backwards.
*Eating solids better but prefers finger food.
*Still refuses a bottle and sippy cups of every kind.
*Loves to be out and about.
*Loves her binky.
*Still super giggly.
*SO interactive.
*Super observant.  She is always watching everything going on around her.
*Takes a nap around 8:30 for about an hour or so and another nap around 12:00/12:30 for about 2 1/2 hours.
*Goes to bed around 7 and usually sleeps until about 6 or 6:30, but occasionally she wakes up around 3.
*When she wakes up she plays around with her binkys until we come get her and then she kicks her legs like crazy and starts squealing.
*The sounds we hear the most are "ba ba, ma ma, ra ra, da da"

 *Claps her hands.
*Likes to bang toys together.
*Absolutely LOVES music.  She gets so excited when we put music on and starts dancing.  She loves to sit next ti me while I play the piano.  She starts cooing and it sounds like she is trying to sing.
*Has her two bottom teeth and her top "fangs" are RIGHT on the surface.  I have no idea how they have not broken through already.  Looks like she will have those before her front teeth like Heidi did.
*Gets shy when people talk to her and hides her face in my chest.
*Her separation anxiety really isn't bad.  She loved my dad when he was here and snuggled right into him.  The only time she really cries when I'm not there is if she is hungry or tired and actually sees me walk away.

 *Caimbree is usually so happy and smiley but I have very few pictures of her actually smiling!  She's always too busy trying to figure out what is in front of my face to smile.
*Caimbree also makes the most HILARIOUS faces.  She cracks us up.  She is often found with her inner lip in.
*Everyone comments on her round little cheeks and bright blue eyes.
*Nicknames include, Caimb, Caimber baby, Rae Rae, Me Me (Savanna's way of saying her name), Maim (Savanna's nickname for her).

Caimbree really is a dream.  We all love our little doll. She is just easy to have around.  We love her and her funny, happy little personality so much!  Happy 9 months, Caimbree girl!

haircuts

 The girls got haircuts today.  They were SO excited all morning.  I had to run to two different banks and they were so antsy for me to get done so they could make their hair appointment.  It was Savanna's first haircut and she was so excited!!  As soon as Heidi was done she climbed right up in the chair proclaiming, "Zanny's turn!!"  She looked SO cute sitting in the chair!

 Heidi decided to be brave and chop her hair quite a few inches.  It is just above her shoulders and so cute.  I wanted her to go a little shorter.  I thought a little chin length A-line would be adorable and her hair grows so fast, but Jeff was a little nervous about it being so short.  I thought it was funny he had an opinion.  Heidi LOVED her hair cut and was excited to show everyone.

 Heidi was a cute big sister while Savanna was getting her hair done.  She as chatting with her and telling her she was doing a good job.

They both love their new look.

A few people told me their kids lost the curl after a haircut, but Savanna's seems to be curlier than ever.  Not sure where those curls came from, but we sure love them!

watch!

Savanna's new thing is to say, "WATCH!!!"  She will continue to repeat this until you say, "I'm watching."  Then she must also be convinced that you are in fact watching before she will do whatever trick she has up her sleeve.  Before she does whatever she wants you to see she says, "K."  It is really cute.  I can't believe how big she is getting.  I was looking at her the other day thinking how grown up her face is starting to look.  I have a really hard time watching them grow.  I don't know why it's so difficult for me.  I mean, I love watching them grow too and I love the new things they can do I just wish they could stay at each phase a little longer.  I can't imagine my life without babies and toddlers and it seems like it's all going so fast.  I'm trying to enjoy every single moment but time only seems to speed up.

Anyway, after the dance competition we stopped by a park because it was a beautiful day.  Savanna insisted on wearing her groovy glasses.  The girls ran and ran around and had so much fun.  They did not want to leave.  We are looking forward to spring.  I love watching my kids run and play and laugh together.

dance competition

 Today our little dancer had her dance competition!  I don't know how she slept last night because she was SO excited.  When I was putting Caimbree down for her nap yesterday she said, "Oh shoot!  We need to paint my nails for my dance competition!!  Don't you think that would be perfect?"  Such a girly girl and I LOVE it!

 She did such a good job!!  I seriously can't believe how much she has learned in the two years she has been dancing!  She did AWESOME!!!  I am so proud of her.  It was such a cute little dance.  She been singing the song and dancing her dance again ever since we have been home.

 She was grinning from ear to ear when I went to the dressing room to pick her up.  She was all smiles and kept saying how much she loved to do her dances on stage.

She told me she loved dance because she loves to get dressed up in her costume, she loves to get her hair done, and she loves to wear make up.  She reminded me about 30 times she wasn't going to be here for her recital in May and how sad she was.  I'm sad too.  It has been the best dance program.  Way to go, Heidi!! We love watching you dance!

are you ready for us, tennessee?

 Seven years ago, Jeff dragged me kicking and screaming to Wyoming. I, of course, learned to love Wyoming, especially the people.  We thought it was where we were going to be forever.  Three years ago we built our dream home in our small little town.  We have loved our house and we have loved the people we have met in both towns we lived in.  This past summer some changes happened at Jeff's job and it gave us the push to start questioning whether he wanted to stay with his company forever.  Since we were so happy with our house and the people we have met here, it took us a really long time to even consider switching employment.  We tossed around the idea of other companies around here, but the only thing that felt right, was leaving completely.  Jeff got in touch with a few recruiters and we were determined to be extremely picky about where we would actually consider moving. He had an interview with a company in Texas and they were ready to fly him out but we really, really did not want to go back to Texas.  I mean, ever.  There are a lot of jobs in the gulf but we really did not want to go that way.  The recruiters kept coming up with jobs, and we kept turning them down.  We decided if we were really going to move our family, there would be very few places we would consider: Tennessee was our number one choice, parts of North or South Carolina, or possibly parts of Kentucky or north Georgia.  The recruiters let us know we were being picky and that there just weren't a lot of jobs in the areas we wanted to be for chemical engineers.  That was no big deal for us.  I mean, Jeff had a good, steady job and we were in no hurry to leave our house.

Oh and the house.  When we built our house we knew selling it would be difficult, but that was no big deal to us because we weren't ever planning on leaving.  Houses around here don't really sell and there is really no market for a house in our price range.  We figured if we left, we would have to take a huge financial hit.  One day in October we decided to call a realtor and just see what kind of hit we were looking at so we knew if we should just drop the whole idea anyway.  She came over and told us there were no buyers really at all, and especially not in our price range but that if someone ever happened to come looking for a house like ours she would see if we were still considering selling.  We figured that was the end of it, but Jeff kept sending out resumes occasionally.  Every time we would think about staying, things at work would go really badly.  In January the realtor texted me asking if we were still considering selling.  I told her Jeff didn't have a job or any leads.  She said she might have someone interested.  They wanted to see it and I said that was fine, but I made sure to let the realtor know it was not for sale because we didn't have a job.  Long story short, the people wanted to buy it and were willing to go into a contract contingent upon Jeff finding a job in 30 days.  30 days.  Honestly. We thought, well, nothing has happened in 5 months, so the chances of anything working out were slim to none, but we had nothing to lose.  Around day 20, Jeff and one of his favorite bosses reconnected on LinkedIn.  Then Jeff found out from another colleague that this boss was in Tennessee.  Tennesssee?  What?  He was in the Nashville area and we were looking more towards Chattanooga.  Jeff sent him a message congratulating him on the new job and mentioned to keep him mind if any positions popped open.  His boss called him that night so excited about the possibility of hiring Jeff and that a job might open in the next few months.  Well, a job did open on day 28 of the contract with our house.  Another job opportunity for a local company came at the same time.  It was so confusing!  The buyers were willing to extend the contract on the house another 30 days since we had something concrete in the works.  We decided to fly out and visit my brother and check out the area just in case Jeff got an interview.  We knew Jeff's old boss, who is the plant manager at the plant, wouldn't be able to pick who they hired, but at least Jeff had a better chance for an interview.  We bought our plane tickets and figured he might fly out again at a later date, but at least this way I would see the area and know if I could picture us there.  A few days after we bought our tickets, the company called wanting to fly Jeff out for an interview the same weekend we were going to be there.  We figured this was perfect because if the company didn't buy the plane ticket and we decided against it, we wouldn't feel obligated that they had spent money, etc on us.  We went, and of course, there was that huge ice storm.  The interview went well, but we panicked.  This was a HUGE move and the reality of it started to sink it.  We thought we had made our mind up that we were not going to move.

We got home and I thought we would feel peace about staying where we were.  We didn't.  Both of us couldn't stop thinking about moving there.  A lot of other things happened that I won't go into detail about that just helped me feel more at peace with moving.  Every time I would have a doubt about something, literally the next day someone or something would happen that made me calm about whatever I was worried about.

The offer came this week and I have not seen Jeff so happy in a really, really long time.  I feel like we are getting him back.  He cannot wait for this opportunity. It's a great career move and he seriously cannot wait to work with his old boss.  I think it's going to be good for our family but when I think of all the things that have to happen before we move in 4 or 5 short weeks, I panic just a little.  I have lived in the west since I was 8, so I am really nervous.  BUT, I also feel an insane amount of peace.  I know this is what we are supposed to do.  I don't know why we are going or why that is where we are supposed to be, and maybe we won't be there forever, but for right now, this is right.  As our realtor in Tennessee said, "God has a plan for your family and it's going to work out."  I know that's true because I have never had everything fall into place like this. We are excited and hopeful to see what this new chapter will bring.

katlyn's big day

This weekend we went to St. George for our beautiful niece's wedding! What a gorgeous bride!  We love Katlyn so much...she is a fabulous example to my girls.  They adore her and loved seeing her sparkly dress.  Not only is she gorgeous on the outside, but she's just as gorgeous on the inside.  Braxton is a lucky man and we wish them lots of love and luck as they embark on their new chapter as husband and wife!

We went down Friday and went to dinner and to a park with cousins.  It was so nice and warm in St. George.  The girls loved the hotel, especially Heidi.  When she saw the nightstand and clock she said, "Oh my gosh!!!  This is like a dream!!"  She has been asking for her own nightstand for quite sometime.  They were wheeling their suitcases all around the hotel and really just could not believe their good fortune at staying at the fanciest Super 8 around, ha ha.  If only they slept...oy.  I don't know what to do about Savanna outside of her bed.  What a nightmare!!! All night long she kept saying, "Mom?  Mom?"  All.night.long. Needless to say we were all a quite sleepy eyed for the wedding.

Unfortunately they all got fevers and coughs that hit hard the day of the wedding.  We didn't make it to the luncheon and we are still fighting nasty fever and coughs.  At least we were there for the sealing to show Katlyn our support!  We sure love her and her family and can't wait to get to know her hubby!  Fun, fast weekend for our family.

grandpa

My dad was up in Idaho visiting my brother and he had a few appointments.  He decided to drive home our way and visit the girls.  What a treat!  My girls were in heaven!  They played hide and seek and he read them a bunch of stories.  It was so cute to see them all cuddled up to grandpa.  We don't get to see him nearly enough and we were glad he decided to come home our direction.

getting married

 On Wednesday I was cooking dinner and the girls were playing in the living room.  I heard Heidi say, "I'm sorry sweetie.  I can't marry you right now."  Followed by, "Okay, I can marry you now.  Let's get married!"  I don't know why, but my girls love to pretend they are getting married.  It was even more exciting this week because we had a real wedding we were getting ready for!

Usually they marry their dad.  How you play this game is you hold hands and you run around in a circle while holding flowers shouting, "Married, married, married!!!!"  It's a pretty exciting game.