Surrounded By Family.

I cannot even begin to tell you how such a horrible, life changing year can become one of such great healing.  Anyone who knows our family or reads this blog understands that the past few years of our lives have been incredibly challenging, and yet incredibly special at the same time.  My faith has been challenged like no other.  My strength has been challenged like no other.  As I reflect on our lives, I see that God has done miraculous things through all of this.  I know that may sound strange given all that we have been through, but it is true.  

When Kevin got sick, we were told 12 months.  We received a gift of four years.  Kevin was able to live a fulfilling life right up until the end.  We had an opportunity to make memories and live life as if there was no tomorrow.  Even in his death, there were miracles.  He did not suffer.  We did not suffer watching him suffer.  When it was time for him to go, he did so very quickly.  God has continued to perform miracles in our lives.  I will not go into great detail, but I know that he is in control.  I am a worrier.  My friend joked and said she would rather call it an "extreme planner".  I have learned that life is fragile.  I have also learned that I should not worry so much.  If I let go for a minute, wonderful things can and will happen.  

One of those wonderful miracles was to have my parents move down here.  This is truly something that no one human could have made happen.  Many people gave up many things.  The path was clearly paved.  Their house sold day one, full price cash offer.  My dad got a job the first day he went looking.  A dream job for him.  They are building a house, three miles from me, three tenths of a mile from Terrell.  The house has also been a miracle.  Let me tell you that story some day.  My mother in law, Terrell, is a huge part of our lives.  She moved here 7 years ago and has been the primary care giver for our daughters.  Our granny nanny.  She loves her job.  We love her in that job.  Now she will have backup.  I am free to keep doing the job that I love.  My daughters will be surrounded by people they love and that love them.  You are probably thinking that I am seeing the world through rose colored glasses.  I am not.  Life is hard.  It will continue to have its challenges.  However, I do understand what is important in life.  It is the every day little things.  

Here is the countdown we put on our whiteboard the week before my parents arrived.  I was putting check marks.  Sidney erased them and found something even better.

 My parents, Dylan and Jason caravan-ed to Boise.  Two Uhauls, two vehicles, two dogs and a travel trailer.

 What took two days to load in North Idaho only took two hours to unload into a storage unit. 

The dogs have been getting along great.  They have been playing hard and sleeping even harder.

My dad has been keeping me busy on the course.

My mom even tried her hand at mini golf.

Sidney took them on a hike the first week they were here.  She raced up the hill and mocked them incessantly.

Thankful for These Girls.

Kendall has been spending a lot of quality time with her friends.  I will say it again, I am so thankful that these girls have found each other.

They are so awesome and building each other up and celebrating individual successes.

She floated the Boise river with Brookelynn and her family recently.  She had a blast.

Six Shooter Sid.

Sid has been channeling her inner cowgirl.  After watching 10 seasons of Heartland, she was ready to try her hand at horseback riding.  She has started taking lessons, and it has been a great fit.  Her confidence has really been growing.  Uncle Roy has affectionately dubbed her 'six shooter Sid'.  

She seems so relaxed and comfortable with the horses.  This past week she even had a taste of 'bronc riding' when Dot got spooked by a squirrel.  She stayed on and kept on riding.

Cousin AshLee has also recently taken to horseback riding as well.  They are having fun sharing pictures.

Staycation 2019 and Those Pesky Squirrels.

We have had a fun and busy summer.  In addition to our various trips here and there, we have had some fun time at home as well.  

Kendall went to Camp Pinewood again this year.  She loves seeing everyone and spending quality time with her friends.

Kaden was her for a week.  It happened to be during the time Kendall was at camp, so he and Sid spent time having their own adventures.

We had our annual Roaring Springs / Wahooz days.  We picked well this year, as it hit triple digits during our water park trip.  We broke our on personal record and spent 8 hours and 15 minutes at the water park.

I thought surely we would be way too tire the next day for Wahooz.  Not the case.  We met up with Tilston, Makenna and their cousins for 9 hours of go-kart racing and action packed fun.

Go-karts are even more fun when you know the people you are racing against!

Random spot for this little tidbit.  One of my neighbors feeds the squirrels.  They take their little peanuts and bury them in my yard.  I am constantly finding these little sprouts.  When I pull them up, there is a peanut shell at the root.  I find it rather hilarious!  Most people I tell this story to shake their head in disbelief.  Here is proof. 

Hello Mountains!

This has been an interesting year to say the least.  Now for the big reveal, which most of you may know by now.  My parents are moving to Boise.  The process of getting to this point has been filled with lots of emotional ups and downs.  My parents have agreed to give up their lives in Northern Idaho and come down here to help support Terrell, I and the girls.  My beautiful sister and her family are giving up living down the street from my parents.  It has been super hard for them.  At the end of the day, they want the girls to experience the closeness of grandparents that Dylan and Hallie had.  There was also a lot of discussion among the girls and I as to whether it was best for us (and Terrell) to move.  At the end of all of it, right or wrong, we have decided to stay in Boise.  This is home for us.  

All of this brings me to this post.  Typically the girls spend a week each summer at my parents.  Well this year, it was planned to be right before their house went on the market.  We decided to change course.  Kendall flew up the week before Sid and I.  She helped my parents start packing and spent some quality time with her cousins.

While Kendall was up playing (and working), Sid and I had a little fun ourselves.  We went to the musical Matilda.  It was amazing.  Absolutely Amazing!

We played a lot of SkipBo, ate a bit of ice cream and generally had a good time.

We arrived in North Idaho the weekend before the fourth of July.  One of our first stops was to Starbucks.  Hallie got a job as a barista.  It was great, because now I had a legitimate excuse to indulge!

Hallie and Johnny were so great with the girls.  They took each of them out for some one on one fun!

In between packing boxes, we managed to squeeze in some fun.  We spent the afternoon at the CDA beach with my sister.

Let us not comment on how much taller Kendall is than me and how much shorter she is than my sister.

I just love these girls.  It is moments like this that make me smile!

Of course we had to feed the fish at the golf course.

They are so huge, this picture does not even begin to do them justice.

I courageously (or naively) taught Kendall to drive the four wheeler.  She followed direction well and took it very seriously.

On the fourth of July, we drove to Montana to celebrate with Danielle and Kyle on their wedding day.

It was great to see everyone!

Sidney finally found her perfect genie dress!  She and cousin AshLee spent some quality hang out time together.

Me with my beautiful Sisters-in-Law.

They ended the night with an amazing fireworks show and sparklers.  It was a magical day!

Oh, my parents will be here Saturday!  Yay!