So, This is 29...

So, its my birthday. I am now officially, in the last year of my 20's
That's weird.
I mean, its not like its a super big deal really, and goodness knows I have friends older than me who are more than happy to "oh honey..." me about getting older and especially about entering my 30's next year, but this is me and I have never been this old before, and well,    its weird.
It's not necessarily a bad weird, just...weird.

I runned THIS many!

On the surface it's nothing more than a normal birthday. I don't do much for my birthday really since I turned 20. I did go out and buy myself a pair of long running pants (since its getting chilly in Milwaukee and my workout wardrobe is mostly suited for a Texas climate) and proceeded to run 7 miles in them.

So in honor of surviving 29 years on this planet, I have decided to take a personal inventory of sorts. To update and/or inform you (the anonymous readers of this fine interwebz) about my little ole' self. 

Here we go:

Physical: 

 I have returned to my habit of running and trying to get back into/stay in shape. I am happy to say that it is more or less paying off. With the use of Myfitnesspal and the Nike running app, at least I am back to "Pre-Evan" size/weight and energy level, and most of my old clothes fit comfortably. I have a 'personal fitness' goal that I am still well on my way towards, and achievement of that is in sight! Ideally I will have met that goal by the time E has reached nine months. Running has returned as a passion and I am planning on trying my first half marathon, sometime next year. 

     Getting/Staying fit at this point has become a necessity in my life, especially when I consider my family history. Multiple types of cancer, Depression, Type 2 Diabetes, and Heart disease are all things that have affected close family members. I feel like I HAVE to do what I can to keep myself more or less healthy, so I don't die.

And as responsible as that sounds I'd be an absolute LIAR if I said aesthetics had nothing to do with it.... It has a LOT to do with it, like "a lot" a lot.  

Thats why I like my "Jenny Craig side-by-side" pictures.

the gross 'six week postpartem'
"day-I-started-working-out" picture.

the much improved, 'seven months postpartem'
"I-just-ran-seven-miles-which-is-a-personal-best" picture

Spiritual:

This is something I have never really addressed directly on my blog. The four or five of you who read may have noticed I have a "What makes me happy" link on the right side over here---------------------->

and maybe you have clicked on it, maybe you haven't. It doesn't really matter because I am about to let you know: I am a proud member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Sometimes we are called Mormons. Mormon is a nickname because of the book of Mormon, which is a companion to the Bible (which we also believe in). I feel that it is important for me to 'declare myself' as it were. There is much more to what I believe, and if any of you, dear readers have questions or concerns in this regard, don't hesitate to ask me! There is a movie that came out this week called "Meet the Mormons" I haven't had a chance to see it yet, but I fully intend to as soon as Rob and I can get out to see it! Check it out, learn about us if you don't know about us. 

There are truths that I have learned being a member of this church that are so very dear to me. They make me a better person, a happier person. I certainly won't ever try to impose them on anyone who isn't interested, but I also wouldn't deny it if asked about it. ^_^

Social:

 I have never been the 'social' type. My sisters were better suited at that than me. I have always been more satisfied to curl up with a book or a good movie and a craft project. That isn't to say that I don't have friends, just that the friends I DO have a fewer in numbers, but hold a significant importance to me. It's been harder for me recently. Moving across the country took me physically away from the people I am closest to, including my parents and most of my siblings. It's hard to think about having my birthday so far away from almost everyone who really knows me. It's a good thing I am such a facebook addict, or I'd probably spend a lot of time curled up in fetal position with my kindle or something. (And for those who are "anti e-books, let me just say that I worked in a bookstore for 5 1/2 years and am very 'Pro-book', I have lots, but I also love my kindle and if anyone wants to send me amazon giftcards for my birthday, so I can download more books  I wouldn't say no...but I digress)

My 'social life' has never been extremely active, I think my personality was just too strange and off-putting when I was a teenager, and I cared too much what people thought of me, which made it even more off-putting. One nice thing about getting older, is that I care less and less what others think of me. 

On that same note though, I DO have a lot of friends on facebook and every "like" I get on every "selfie" I post makes me feel better about myself. 

"Please validate me by mindlessly clicking a button."

So maybe I haven't grown up as much as I like to think I have...I guess I still have my thirties to work on that.

Family:

My family is by and large, the very best part of my life. I am probably the luckiest girl in the whole wide world because I married my very best friend, and after almost 11 years together, and 9 years of marriage we still enjoy being together, a lot. 

*Swoon*

He and I together have our awesome kiddos! They are, as always, cute, and perfect and amazing, and growing up much faster than I bargained for.

*Triple swoon*

I also have my "extended" family, which I am missing a lot up here in the chilly north while they are still down "Deep in the heart of Texas" where it is not chilly. At all. Ever. 

My mom and dad are really some of the greatest people. 

Also we are all adorable. Don't even pretend that, that wasn't your first thought 

So I guess I can go and enjoy the last year of my 20's, because 30 is a comin' for me. And to that I say: Bring it on 29, I can handle it.....I think.

 

Across the Universe.

Okay so its really just across the country, but it FEELS like we moved across the universe! Three months of no blogging, but with good reason(s). Because there is so much to write about I will have to resort to sub-sections again. Sorry guys but I've got a lot to cover!

On Loss
  Robert drove up to Milwaukee Wisconsin to train for his new job at the end of June. I was prepared to kick myself into high gear and get my house cleaned and packed and ready to move. It wasn't going to be an easy task (particularly since I had barely adjusted from two to three kids) but I was up for it. I was off to a good start but was hit with a massive emotional blow on July 9th. I had spent a productive day packing most of the kids room and had time to make a good dinner for us all (we'd been eating a lot of leftovers and mac and cheese)  the evening news was on in the background and I was in the middle of getting Andy seconds when I received a series of text messages that changed everything. The Stays, a family in our ward, good friends of ours, had all been murdered with the exception of one survivor, a teenage girl that had been one of our favorite babysitters. The story was all over the local and national news. It was like being in a bad dream for the next days and weeks. Memorials, funerals, and fundraisers filled so much of our time. I could write a whole series of blogs about losing the Stays. The whole situation brings up hundreds of topics and talking points, and perhaps I will revisit the subject at a later time, but for now I will just say that I miss my friend Katie. I miss her sweet children that I had the privilege of working with in primary. I miss the family that were such pillars of good in the community.

I just miss my friends.

On Andy's birthday and a cute baby photo dump
After that bit of sadness I have to enhance the happiness of this post before it gets depressing.
 My awesome, adorable little firstborn turned six in July!

I am pretty sure this is the handsomest 6 year old
 in existence. 

It's kind of unfair that he is already so big , because I am pretty sure he was just my little baby and now he is my biggest boy and he is smart and kind and takes care of his little sister and baby brother and, and....okay I'll stop the weepy mom rant.
While Rob was gone for his new job training and it was just me and the kiddos I took a lot of cute pictures of them. Because me kids are the most beautiful of all children alive, I think its only fair that I share some of them with you. So:

You're Welcome.

On packing and preparing to move, single mom style
Moving in general is stressful enough. Add to the mix, a husband who is across the country,

*sniff*

 three small kids, one of them a baby who feels desolate after a half hour of not being held/nursed

though, to be fair
 REALLY happy when he is held.

and you reach a level of stress that makes for a good blog! I had lofty aspirations of writing about the frustration of finding good boxes, stocking up on packing tape, and using pinterest ideas to plan the whole move. Unfortunately, I'd spend my days trying to get a modicum of work done, and never as much as I wanted to, so I could never justify sitting at my computer to write, when I couldn't even manage to get as many boxes packed as I needed to, even as my house turned into something that looked like it should be featured on an episode of "Hoarders"

SOMEHOW I was able to do it. In the end it wasn't without quite a bit of help from some very lovely people, but it got done. We packed up the moving truck and got on our way!

On traveling across the country
And so, we bid our home in Texas farewell (for now) and made our way to Wisconsin!

We started with your classic "Stand in front of the
'welcome to the state' sign" picture and decided it was
a tad on the dangerous side....

So I just started taking pictures of the state signs.

Had to stop in Memphis to take a picture of the house I
grew up in.

HELLO WISCONSIN!

On moving in and getting settled in Greendale
So after two LONG days of driving, (and I am pretty sure there was a governor on the truck that slowed us down. That plus the time required at pt stops to feed kids and babies, make bathroom runs and change diapers as well as the necessary refueling, made the trip drag oooonnnnn.) We FINALLY pulled in to our new home in Greendale Wisconsin!

Greendale is seriously one of the cutest little towns you could ask for! Walking around this neighborhood is like stepping back in time. In fact, most of the homes were built in the 30's and 40's. The "newest" ones around don't look any more recent than the late 60's. All the homes are beautifully maintained and have perfectly manicured lawns and flowers EVERYWHERE!

A freaking  ROOSTER ,WEATHERVANE!

A statue in the town square of Norman Rockwell
painting the town square.

This house was BEGGING to have its picture taken! Isn't
it adorable??

The weather is awesome (thus far) and I have finally gotten the house unpacked and more or less put together!

Welcome to our little home!

A tiny kitchen, in which to eat.

More of the tiny kitchen.

Living room, from the kitchen.

Aubrey's room

Andy and Evan's room.

We have started exploring our new home which is a cute little suburb of Milwaukee Wisconsin and on labor day I got my first look at the beautiful lake Michigan!

I think we will be okay here for a while. But just in case you guys aren't sure, here is a picture I took of an honest to gosh, double rainbow I totally saw outside of my house yesterday!

"What does it MEAN?!?!"