Patches

Grammie & Papa came to visit and they brought the kids the surprise of their lives - a PUPPY!  They said since we now live 'in the country' we need a dog :)

Neither LeGrand nor I are really pet people, though we both grew up with pets.  So it was a  s t r e t c h  to allow the kids to get a puppy, luckily he's an outside dog and Laex knows if he doesn't take care of him, we'll have to give him away.

He's a Kelpie, Red Heeler mix, and Laex named him Patches.  He's already Laex's BEST BUDDY - I even catch him saying, 'come on patches, come here buddy' - so cute!  He's been running the dog like crazy and hauling him around in his Gator and carrying him like a baby, the puppy LOVES him!  Hopefully it will stay that way!

{apparently dog houses are for kids too!}

Animal Life

We've ran into some interesting (and some, not-so-interesting) creatures here in Grace.  Laex and I were out cleaning the shed/garage and caught this bad boy:

I had to look it up online to find out it's a Jerusalem Cricket (looks like a cross between a giant ant and a Cricket) - later we found out it's also known as a sand cricket.  About a week later we found an even bigger one - I had a hard time getting good pictures because he was fast, and no one was about to hold him and get bit by the big pinchers (he was probably 3 inches long and about an inch wide - ewwww)

We were on a walk one afternoon and ran into a blow snake - I didn't have a camera, but it was yucky and I hate snakes!

Best of all we have a family of deer that hang out by the house all the time - we love watching them, one day this spike was grazing right by the house and then planted himself under our tree!

Of course we've also had our share of spiders, flies, june bugs, and ladybugs in our house, I'm not a fan of bugs, especially inside :)

Drama

With a capital "D"!
This is one girly girl, through and through - and she already has the drama to prove it :) Hopefully this means it only gets better from here!  We were trying to take some nice pictures on our 2nd Sunday in Grace and Loa wasn't having it - as you can tell, Laex just tolerates :)

{in her defense, she ended up puking all over me in sacrament meeting [yes, it was only our 2nd week at church here] - I guess she really wasn't feeling well!}

She has a sassy little personality, but she's so darn cute that we can't help but love her to pieces!

We had our first 'feels like winter' day here in Grace (October 6th), it was freezing with snow falling and so while Laex was at school Loa and I whipped up some yummy homemade chicken noodle soup and wheat bread --it was my first time making bread and I have to say, I impressed myself :)  I love our 'girl time'!

Pre-School & Pre-Mission!

The Tuesday after we arrived in Grace, Laex got to start preschool!  This is the first year he has gone to preschool, he LOVES it and has been so excited to make new friends here in Grace!

 {SO excited about the first day of preschool!}

{this would be his 'cheeser' he thinks he's smiling nice;)}

What a handsome dude!

He insists that he takes his scriptures to church every Sunday and recently informed me he needs a Scripture Case :)  He got this 'Missionary' tag in primary and told me very seriously & adamant that he "CAN NOT loose this or he won't be able to be a missionary" - we put it in a very safe place!  We only have to keep track of it for another 15 years :)

Wish you were here!

It's getting cold, and I've been told to PREPARE for winter here in Grace.  Supposeably it's not unlikely to get 'snowed in' :(
Anyway, I'm having a REALLY hard time being motivated to get myself moving {as in EX.ER.CISE} I'm SO missing my favorite motivators right now! -Who want's to come to Grace so we can run all winter??

{Before I left they took me out for a super fun night of Zumba, <3 you girls!}

*Missing is VIP Kelly J. - could you photoshop your mug in Kel?*

Only in Grace...

do they take TWO weeks off school for this:

POTATO HARVEST :)

{Laex is only in Pre-School but his teacher goes by the same schedule as the school district so he is also out for two weeks! ALSO, here in Grace they have a 4-day School week!}
We took a walk (1/2 mile) to the mail-box the other day and the Johnson's (our FANTASTIC neighbors) were out and Laura gave the kids an I a tour of the Potato harvesting process - we got to see the HUGE cellar PACKED with Potatoes and all of the trucks carrying LOADS of Potatoes, people picking out the bad Potatoes and dirt & the Potatoes on the belt being transferred to the cellar! --YES! I am now a Potato pro!--
Here in Grace {AKA Gem Valley} they grow "seed" Potatoes which means they grow the Potatoes that they will sell in the Spring to the other Potato farmers who then grow the Potatoes that become the Potatoes we buy in the stores :)  Pretty much they're just POTATOES -- and they taste Yummy :)!

HOLY cow!

Just 10 quick days after we moved the kids and I returned to Utah County for the Holy Cow Boutique --Our good friends the Dillons & the Browns were kind enough to let us bombard them and stay a few days!  It was fun to see all our friends and the boutique did great!  We were very excited to head back to LeGrand and our quiet life in Grace though :)

Laex & Baby Hudson became good TV buddies!

We've MOVED!

WOWSER!  Moving isn't fun :)

We're Happy to be in Grace & we are REALLY liking it here {part of me can't believe I'm saying that!}  There's something SO nice about living a slower, simpler life and I'm grateful for the opportunity to re-asses and focus on what's important!

After a crazy four weeks of packing up the house we had an even crazier two days of packing up the truck, cleaning and moving!  I was pretty strong through all of the good-byes until I took a last visit to my backyard, I wanted to grab some veggies from the garden to bring with us and I broke down :(  I had floods of memories, we worked hard to make that place our home and then we spent lots of time enjoying it, I felt like all of the came back to me and I realized how sad I was to leave.  I know how excited and ready I am for new adventures and new opportunities but every time we move it seems I realize that life moves fast and I need to enjoy each moment more.  I'll miss our life in Saratoga Springs!

{We tried to remove the"U" to no avail :) }

We made it to Grace on Saturday September 11th around 1:45 pm --within 5 minuets of being at our house we had our nearest neighbor (1/2 mile away) Laura Johnson & her daughter Cali at our front door asking if they could help us bring in some boxes or something!  WOW!  I've NEVER had anyone be so prompt.  We told them that people were told to show up around 3 to help us (which they already knew because they had received a PHONE CALL that we were coming) so they said they would be back.  Well, not only did the show back up approx. 1 hr. later (Along with 5 others from the ward) but Laura brought us homemade Lasagna and cookies --she had gone home and whipped us up dinner in 1 hour.  I want to be more like Laura!  We've NEVER had a welcome as WARM as the one we received here in Grace.  Everyone we meet asks for our phone number and offers theirs in case we ever need anything.  They just have a way of making you feel comfortable and we can tell they sincerely care.  I feel like life has more meaning to the people here - it's all about helping others.

Our first week was spent unpacking, and we took our first trip to the "city" (Pocatello) the first weekend we were here (btw, we learned that when we need to go shopping we'll be heading to Logan rather than Pocatello...have you ever been there?).  We spent a lot of time at home depot picking up things for the house. We've moved in to a house provided by the company so I'm trying hard not to complain but the truth is we've had to do a lot of "repairs" since we arrived - old homes just have issues :)  Luckily for us, the company pays for them, we just usually have to do the labor unless it's something we can't do.


We are still in a mess of boxes but things are coming along good and we are happy to be here!

The Roadhouse & The Holleys

There's rarely a time we go to Texas Roadhouse without the Holleys joining us so it seemed fitting that we take one last trip before the move!

We ended the night with a trip to Wal-Mart to stock up on some last necessities in preparation for not having a Wal-Mart close by :)

Laex & Kayla were born just a few weeks apart and have been best buddies from birth!  We have lots of fun memories with our Condo Neighbors :) - we miss you guys!