July catch up!

We have spent the month in Utah and have had SO much fun! Here is a quick overview....

hiking, pedicures, sleepovers, playing with cousins, rodeo, fireworks, boating, swimming, water parks, horse riding, hot dog roasts, picnics, temple, family dinners, late nights, early mornings, shopping, movies, eating, Birthday parties, marshmellow guns, Park City, surfing (not at the ocean, on the lake behind a boat), and an occasional chore or two. Jared was able to join us for a week. We were so sad to see this trip come to an end. As we headed home, we really wished home was Iowa. We got back to Louisiana to find nothing had changed...still HOT and HUMID and our grass was still DEAD!

More exciting times from Louisiana to come.......... (I hope!)

Sorry for the picture overload. Click on the boxes to make them bigger.

Can this be home?

Thought I would post a few pictures of our home in Louisiana. It is starting to feel a little more like home, less boxes and our own pictures on the wall help. We went to church today and I must say it was very interesting. It is not like any ward we have ever been in, this will really be an adjustment for us. Nathan does have one boy in the ward his age and he will be starting 4th grade at the same school Nate will, so that is a good thing. I was a little depressed and home sick for Iowa today (yes, Iowa, I know shocker) after our experience at church. We miss you guys! The boys and I leave for Utah on Tuesday for a few weeks, so we are really looking forward to that!

WE MADE IT!!!!!!

Well we said good-bye to Iowa and our friends (actually we didn't say good-bye to everyone, it is SO much easier to live in denial....so for those of you who didn't get an official farewell, sorry, but it did spare me lots of tears!) As we were driving through Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas and Louisiana, we just kept thinking, "What are we getting ourselves into." We stopped to visit Jared's sister in Arkansas and then headed to Louisiana. We arrived in Bossier City on Monday morning at 4:30 a.m. Our movers arrived at 8:00 a.m. and it was move in time. Fast forward 5 days, lots of sweat, tears, work, and help (thanks mom, couldn't have done it without you) and we now have a great home that we feel we can be happy with. As for the negatives, the humidity is oppressive, it took Jared 2 hours to mow the lawn, the boys are stir crazy, I have no linen closet or coat closet, we have already flooded the kitchen, garage and Nate's room (the washer hose came off), milk is $4.12 a gallon and we had a gas dryer and the hook up is for electric. We will survive! Happy 4th of July!

I will post pictures soon!

Lost Island Waterpark

The kids and I found a hidden Iowa treasure.... Lost Island Water Park in Waterloo. It is the BEST water park I have ever been to. Gwen and I took Nathan, Joshua and Ethan (Nathan's friend) up for the day. The weather was perfect and we had a BLAST!!!!!

Oh my Gosh......

The dam before the water came over the spillway....

After the water came over...

Just wanted to let everyone know that we are alive. It is hard to believe what our town looks like. Roads I drove on 2 days ago, under water. Buildings I was in 2 days ago, under water. It is amazing to see how fast take over a city. We have just been watching the news and trying to stay entertained. We have also been praying that we don't loose power or water. The water is slowly starting to come down and then the real work will begin. Jared is home for the whole week. The University got hit hard. His clinic is okay, but they still closed for the week. Girls camp got cancelled. I-80 is closed and I-380 is closed. What a nightmare. Hopefully we will be out of here soon!

My favorite place to get drinks, under water...

Right by Jared's work. The building in the bottom left is a Walgreens and right behind that is our favorite Mexican resturant...

Storms continue to come, with wind, hail and tornados...

LAST DAY OF SCHOOL

The boys had a great "last day" of school at Penn Elementary. They had a big school party outside. (It was HUMID and I was VERY sticky) All the kids came outside with their sack lunches. I picked up Subway's for the boys and they were very happy. After they ate, the teachers put on a skit and then it was DANCE and MUSIC time. Joshua ran right to the play set, but Nathan and some friends got up and danced ( I was shocked and even more shocked that he actually let me take pictures). It was fun to watch the kids do line dancing, the Electric Slide, and the Macerana (spelling?). The PE teacher was the DJ and did a great job. Nathan did great and Joshua even tried a few moves. They both are going to miss all their friends at Penn.

Mrs. Hilsman!

Joshua has LOVED kindergarten and his teacher Mrs Hilsman.

Josh and I had a conversation about how after the last day of school he wouldn't get to see Mrs. Hilsman again.... this was the wrong thing to say. He got SO sad and couldn't believe that we couldn't visit again from Louisiana. I consoled him and then added that maybe we would see her at the swimming pool this summer. I didn't realize how sad he would be, and then I suddenly realized just how much time he has spent with her this past year. I guess saying "Good-bye" is hard even for a 6 year old.

Joshua spent a lot of time on a card for Mrs. Hilsman and even drew a portrait of her.