THE HILLS ARE ALIVE.

Seriously, what?  Did I really not post these Christmas card photos?  I'm slacking in the blog department.  Blame it on the day job- three kids has got me in some sort of haze, man.  Moving on.

If you think these photos look somewhat reminiscent of The Sound of Music, good!  This is exactly what I was going for in my head.  Look at that mountain please, does it not scream the hills are alive?  There was snow on the ground, the children were in sweaters, the baby had a bonnet, all good things.  I love my dress and I love that I found it on clearance for 12 dollars or so- one hour before this shoot.  Love me some Loft clearance racks.  

Also, how cute are my babies?  Every second I look up they're breaking my heart again, growing up and things.  Griffin with that cutie smile and a comb over.  Avett, sweetly talking to his sister.  Most days he just scares the crap out of her with his loudness and crying.  He just SO LOUD.  Speaking of crying, I do believe each child took a turn during this 20 minute frigid, sound of music photo session.  Poor lydia, she gets stuck shooting all of our family photos.  At least the good ones.

HAPPY 4TH BIRTHDAY GRIFFIN!

photo taken by griffin

Honestly, I can't believe he's four today.  I cannot believe the time has flown by that fast.  We've been so busy with moving to utah, Chad starting a new job, buying a new house and my pregnancy- that the days have just run together. Today, at the crack of dawn Griffin woke us to see his new birthday surprise.  He was so excited to wear his new helmet and ride his new bike that he couldn't be bothered with things like getting dressed or eating breakfast.  We headed straight outside to try it out. He was so cute trying to figure out the balance bike and I must say, as the day went on he got better and better at it.  I managed to get a few action shots- as he's not much for smiling for the camera these days. Avett wanted in on the action too, of course, and took his turn riding around.  Only in his undies because the potty training is in full force.  Do what yah gotta do, man.  We let griffin choose where we went to eat for lunch and dinner, chick-fil-a and subway, his favorites.  We went to the park to ride more bikes and hit baseballs off his tee.  He loved his homemade cake and the gifts that his brother picked out and wrapped for him.  It was so sweet watching him act proud of his new age and how he told everyone that today was his special day.

Griffin's current favorites at 4 include:
Spiderman, though he's never seen it and I still think it's far too violent for such a little guy
the color orange
earning rewards from his sticker charts
Robin Hood, Peter Pan, Toy story, Cars and Planes
Cheerios for breakfast
spaghetti for lunch and dinner (i only buy wheat noodles!)
peaches, pears or mandarin oranges (we call them peter pan oranges) as the fruit of choice
still working on the vegetable of choice, not really getting anywhere
wheat bread only, no white (how awesome is that?)
his daddy
his brother, sometimes
popcorn
the idea of his baby sister
his aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents
the beach
Charleston and the things he remembers about being there
texting
not wearing shoes, ever
choosing his own clothes, usually some character tee with basketball shorts

We love you Griffin!  We are so lucky and so proud to call you ours.

SUNDANCE, UTAH.

Being around these guys has made all the difference as we keep adjusting to our new home.  Three of my siblings live within an hour of us.  And what lifesavers they have all been when we have needed help over the last month.  I'm so grateful for them!  Gran and Pop were in town this week from Boise, too.


Love, us.

BEAR LAKE, UTAH.

The water was so blue, it could not have been more beautiful.  This week we took a quick, much needed trip to meet Chad's parents up at Bear Lake.  Fall was the prefect time to drive through Logan and see the colors through the canyon.  Something about the cool mountain air makes me feel like I can breathe easy.  It was still warm out, but the lake was freezing.  My kids immediately thought they were at the beach and started stripping down once we got near the water.  I didn't have the heart to tell them no.

Utah is absolutely beautiful and if we had to leave Charleston, I'm glad it was to a view like this one.  The short answer is, we are doing fine.  It's still an adjustment.  My insides are a bit unsettled and we are all restless.  I think it's the trying to say goodbye to our old home that we loved so much and hello to this new one- all at the same time.  And it hasn't been such an easy thing.  The kids keep asking me to go to the beach, or back to our "real" house.  It hurts to try to explain it to them.

We moved a lot when I was a kid, my family was separated by several states and there were many changes.  I've never really known where home was even in my adult life.  After this past month of gut wrenching changes with my own kids, I've finally come to this conclusion.  Home isn't where your heart is or where it longs to be.  Home isn't necessarily where you were born or where you went to high school.  Home is wherever you are together.