Two month hiatus, aka sebatical

July 1-September 1 Jason took two months off before he starts his associate position at Durrie Vision September 1st. We are loving all this time we have to do so many things that have been put on hold while he finished his training on June 30. First of all, we are so proud of Jason and all that he accomplished during his 10 years of medical training. I don't think I could've endured all he did to reach the level he has. He's found a career he loves and I'm so happy that he's able to help people get better vision by using his talents. And secondly, we are having so much fun going on family bike rides, vacations, etc. during his time off. So grateful we have this time with you Jasey!

It's Hot, Hot, Hot in KC!

Kansas City has been super hot this summer. It's been a lot of early morning and late evening bike rides, ice cream, and air conditioning that's gotten us through the worst of it. Not to mention a hiatus to some cooler places around the world, but more on that later. Jackson and Kate enjoyed visiting the animals at the petting farm and zoo while eating some ice cream on the worst of days. In their mind ice cream can make the most difficult situations so much better...I totally agree!

Festive 4th of July

We had a great time celebrating the Fourth of July this year. I took the kids to a neighborhood parade in the morning. They loved the Smarties they were tossed from the participants. Then, we ventured over to the ward barbecue. It was super hot but Jackson cooled off by emptying the water cooler and eating about four large pieces of watermelon. That evening we went south to a small community called Stilwell. There we enjoyed free food, games, and an even bigger parade. It reminded me of all the fun I had as a child growing up in a farming community. By the time the fireworks started coloring the sky, we all were fast asleep. Love our country and love celebrating its heritage as a family.

Best birthday party ever...and it wasn't even theirs!

Jackson and Kate were invited to attend the birthday party of their friend Kevin. They were so excited. They loved going to the store and picking out his present (they both had a hard time parting with it later). KaSarah had the park all decked out in kid-friendly toys and games and treats. I decided I would just let the kids go at it and as you can see they enjoyed every minute of it (yes, the white turned pink shirt Kate is wearing is now white again, thank goodness!). Happy 1st Birthday Kevin!

Playing tag with the stomach flu

For some reason our kids got the stomach flu back to back to back in June. Not a fun way to start out the summer. It seemed like just as we were getting back to venturing to the local pool, one of them would come down with it again. Thank goodness for tub baths, Desitin, Tylenol and Pedialyte (we should invest in stock with this one)!

New house

We moved into our new home over Memorial Day weekend. My parents and brother Jeff came back to help us with the feat. I thought that moving just a few miles from our rental home would be easier than moving from Utah to Iowa or from Iowa to Kansas. Not sure it was any easier, maybe a bit harder as it drug out over two months. But, regardless of the heat, or the two dozen trips back and forth, we finally got all of our stuff moved in. That is moved in to the home or the garage (that was so full of boxes we couldn't get a car in until mid-June). Then a couple of weeks later our basement was finished and we could finish moving our things in. We love our new home. We love the fact this is where our kids are going to be raised and celebrate so many joys of our lives together. And, I really enjoyed working with our contractor to finish the basement. It was a great learning experience for me and I think it turned out really well. If you're ever in Kansas City, come visit! We'd love to have you over.

Summer fun

Jackson and Kate have loved exploring their new neighborhood together. It's fun to watch how close they've become. Jackson won't do anything Kate wants to do. And Kate, well she has to be able to do everything Jackson does. They love helping around the house: blowing the leaves, sweeping, watering the flowers, etc. They also love getting into lots of mischief: letting all of the air in the bike tires out, climbing into our cars as if they are going to be the chaffeur for the day, and the new pantry is now "theirs" so any time they want food, they go in there and get it.