Phew...I think I am caught up!

Sorry...I know after not posting anything for over a month it is a lot. But I think I am finally caught up. Enjoy!

WHAT IS THAT?!

YOU CAN TAKE ELLIE OUT OF CALIFORNIA BUT YOU CAN"T TAKE THE CALI OUT OF ELLIE!

A couple of days after we first got here. It started to snow pretty good. I bundled her up in all her snow stuff. She was excited. She loves all of her cold weather accessories. I opened the door to let her out to play and she exclaimed "WHAT IS THAT!?" she wasn't sure about the whole snow thing. I pushed her out the door. She didn't want anything to do with it. She kept saying..."I go inside"..."I go inside" She only lasted five minutes.

Then she was refusing to walk in the snow because she had fallen a couple of times. "It's slippery." Now she loves crunching the snow and ice. It takes forever to go anywhere because she is wondering around making footprints everywhere.

She found her sunglasses and had to wear them. It makes her feel like she is at home in Cali.

Today, she found her flip flops and tried to wear them to the store. Old habbits are hard to break. What a silly little girl! She has been a crack up.

Grandma's should skip this post.

We set out to find some better hills to sled on besides the little mounds of snow by our house. Overall we had so much fun. I even went down the slope without a sled on my stomach. I'm so glad I don't have a picture of that. But we did have a little incident...

Jared landed face first, he was ok...he had a little scratch on his lip and forehead. That didn't stop him! Later, he wanted to watch the video over and over again...can you hear him cry almost instantly?!

Here are some of the better moments.
Look mom no...sled?

It was tough trying to get back up the hill. She tried so hard but we usually ended up carrying her up.

Ellie getting a free ride up the hill.

Bill having fun with the girls.

Ellie getting another free ride. This time down the hill.

It was so slick that you didn't need a sled. It became a snow slide. ( Sorry I couldn't figure out how to turn the video the right way.)

Highlights...

Everyone say Cheese!

Rachel & Jared taking advantage of the new snow falling.

A breathtaking sunset.

I am really enjoying our new home. Yes, of course I miss things about California. Especially our family and friends. We have also had a lot of great experiences here and I look forward to all our memories we will make here.

Brothers are awesome!

My brothers, Colin & David, helped move us. They drove the rental truck up here with all of our stuff. We got a great deal on the truck but it had to be returned in the same location we picked it up. They were only planning on staying long enough to drive up here...unload...drive back. Well, because we had to downsize the place we are renting. (Hey...we are living the college life, we are on a budget!) We had to get a storage unit to store all the extras. Little did we know that all the storage units close by 2:00pm on a Saturday and wouldn't open again until Monday. We had no other way of getting our stuff to storage (like our fridge, washer/dryer...) so they were stuck until Monday.

I know they probably wanted to head home but I'm SOOOO glad they got to stay a few extra days. Monday rolls around, we go to start the truck, it won't START! We spend all day trying to get it started but it was to FREAKIN' cold and the truck refused. We had to have someone come out to help. It had gotten down to -10 degrees the night before. Needless to say they were stranded another day. Finally, Tues. we were able to get everything over to storage and we had to say our Goodbyes!


Oh..that has not been the end of my frustration with the cold, the pipes to the washer froze and I couldn't do laundry for two days. How warm did my friends in California say it got this week...in the 80's???

I REALLY dislike moving!

The next time we move, when we are done with school. I want it to be the last time. I want to find somewhere where we are going to retire. I only have a couple of boxes left and I'm finally putting pictures on the wall. It's staring to feel like home...

What a difference a year makes...

As many of you know my husband suffers from Crohn's disease. At the very end of 2007 Bill was in and out of the hospital/ER almost every other weekend with some complication from Crohns. Earlier that year he had been hospitalized for almost three weeks, he got down to 105lbs. He had to be put on a pic line for a month. (To receive nutrition) We decided to go ahead and have surgery to remove the diseased part of his intestine. The doctor said that there was a 30% chance of an improved life. On Dec. 27th 2007 Bill had the surgery. Everything went so well, he even recovered faster than thought.
This year had been a blessing. He hasn't had any complications or relapse. I can't tell you how amazing it is to not have to watch my husband curl up in ball because he is in so much pain. To not have to cancel another commitment we had with family or friends because he was too sick to go. The fact that we can put in a full days work. The fact that he can now finish school. The fact that I have my husband and my best friend and my kids have their father back. I can't tell you how grateful I am. How I cherish these moments we have him healthy and full of life. I wish I could express to you the blessings and love I feel from our Father in Heaven.
Once again I can't thank all of our family and friends that have helped along the way. There is no way I could have gotten through any of it without you. I can't wait to see what we have to look forward to.

GOODBYE CALIFORNIA!

GOODBYE CALIFORNIA!

The couple weeks before we left we tried to fit in as much as we possible could. We said goodbye to our friends. ( I wish we could have seen everyone before we left.) We went to Disneyland, In and Out, Rubios (Bill loves the fish tacos)...
We had a bon fire at the beach...

We went to the San Diego zoo...

We went to Mulligans (Oh...by the way it was freezing that night around 35 degrees, I thought I had left Cali already.) It warmed up the last couple days before we left there so I could enjoy the warm califronia sun.

Happy New Year!

Well as always, the new year has brought our family a lot of changes. We have moved to Rexburg, Id to attend BYU-I. Bill is currently attending this semester and I hope to follow next. I want to thank so many people who helped us on our journey here. I knew that we were supposed to come here but there was no way we financially could afford the move. I have to say that Bill and I witnessed miracles in our lives. So many things happened and so many people helped us get here. I can't deny that they were answers to prayeres. If you are reading this blog, you know who you are. Thank you. You will never know how much this has meant for our family. You have opened up doors and opportunities to us. Without you none of this would be possible. I am so grateful to each of you. Also, thank for all the love and support of so many people.

Rexburg and back in 2 1/2 days.

We headed up to Rexburg right before Christmas to sign lease papers and look for a job.

We left Tuesday evening and came back Thursday morning. On the way up we stopped and saw my brother Kyle, his girlfriend Alysa, and his friend Kirk in Cedar City. It was 3 o'clock in the morning and they met at Denny's the only thing open. The picture is foggy because it was so cold.

Christmas...the condensed version.

Merry Christmas 2008!

Jared, Rachel & Ellie by the big Christmas tree on Main Street at Disneyland.

You'll never guess what Jared asked Santa for...yes, a sword.

Rachel stills believes in Santa...Ellie didn't want to even get close to Santa.

Getting the Christmas Tree. My brother David being eaten by the tree.

Christmas Morning...

We had a full house...my parents, siblings, my family, my cousin Brianne, & my sisters boyfriend.
Later the missionairies and my cousins friend came over also.

Jared LOVES watermelon...How did Santa know?

Rachel wanted an Easy Bake Oven...Poor kid we still haven't opened it.
Ellie playing dress up with her new accessories.

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Rachel's Ballet Recital!

Rachel loves to dance. She especially loved her ballet class. She is a little hesitant because she doesn't want to get it wrong but when she doesn't hold back she is so graceful and fun to watch. Rachel had been working really hard for her recital and was SUPER excited.

Rachel waiting...

Rachel is on the left...in the back.

Her Class

Isn't she just beautiful. I think what makes Rachel so pretty is that she is just as beautiful on the inside ans she is on the outside! Of course...we had to go and get ice cream afterwards (well, frozen yogurt from Golden Spoon) Yum!
Rachel & Auntie Mame.

School Award Ceremony!

I am so happy that Rachel and Jared are working so hard in school. Their elementary school had a trimester award ceremony. Rachel recieved student of the month for October. (I don't have a picture of her because my batteries died in the camera) I am really glad that Rachel got an award early on in the year. One because we were moving and two because she is so quiet and reserved that sometimes she goes unnoticed to the more outgoing students.
Jared got and award for showing good character. Jared getting an award came as a bit of a surprise to me...not that I don't believe Jared is a good kid. He's a great kid, he just has a lot of energy and likes to be the comedian. When Jared started kindergarten I had prepared myself for notes home from his teacher about his behavior. But when I went for teacher/parent conference his teacher said that Jared was one of her model students. What?! Are we talking about the same kid?! I love Jared's personality...I love his comedic relief around the house, I love that he is so easy going. I'm so glad that he has learned when it appropriate and when it is not.

Jared is 2nd from the right...the one covering his face.

Jared getting his award!

Ashley

My brother Kyle became friends with Ashley through playing an online game. Through that he was able to meet her and share the gospel with her. Now she is a family friend and we all love her. Mother's Day last year she was baptised and this past weekend she went through the temple.

The picture isn't that great...but that is my brother David, who since coming home from his mission has become friends with Ashley. Ashley and Andrew, who taught & baptised her in Michigan.

Thanksgiving!

This year we spent Thanksgiving with Bill's family. We went and saw the movie Bolt. What I saw of it, it was really cute. (Ellie and I fell asleep. oops!) Jared and Rachel wanted to see it again. After the movie we headed back to the house to get ready for the feast.

Grandpa Denos Carving the turkey, & Grandma Denos sneaking a piece before dinner.

Usually you take a nap after dinner when you are so stuffed that's basically all you are capable of. Jared fell asleep before dinner.

I'm sure Amy will appreciate this picture. Love ya!


Ellie loved the sparkling grape juice. I think she had 4 or 5 cups.



The feast.