Slacker...

Why am I so UNMOTIVATED?!? I am so behind on everything, but have no motivation to get anything done. One of which is blogging. Maybe if I commit over cyberspace I will catch up. So heres to getting caught up....this week. I promise.

Lake Powell and Potty Training

About a week and a half ago, Nick and I took our first REAL vacation without Molly. (We went overnight last year, but it was a pretty quick trip) My brother John invited us to Lake Powell. It has been over 10 years since I had been to Lake Powell and since Nick had never been, I was really excited to show him the fun of Lake Powell. We skiied, knee boarded, wake boarded, cliff jumped, ate, explored canyons, visited, played games, saw rainbow bridge and simply enjoyed the warm weather and water. I really loved spending time with my hubby and seeing him enjoy Powell. Thanks John and Julia!!

When we got home, Molly was super interested in being potty trained. She has spent time with her 3 year old cousin Nathan while we were at Lake Powell (who was reciently potty trained) and decided it was her turn. The first day and a half went better than I expected. Then Friday and Saturday my sister Jess and sister Sherstin came to Price with their kids and Molly seemed too distracted to even care. I wasn't turning back this time though so we kept to it. Yesterday she went the whole day without an accident. I was so happy! Today she had a couple accidents, but I think she is getting it. Both of the accidents were while away from home. Guess she still isnt ready for that yet. Praying it continues to be better.

It's been a while...how quickly things change!

The Stadium of Fire 2011.

My sis-in-law Julia and I attended. We are like two high school girls when it comes to David Archuleta!! We screamed and cheered and sang along to all our favorites. We also got to see Brad Paisley and loved his music too. It was SO MUCH FUN! I had gone down a lone and Nick stayed with Molly, so I left to drive home at midnight, but it was all worth it!!

New Job:

About that same week Nick applied for a new job in Price. We did not plan on leaving Logan, but Nick was SUPER unhappy in his job and just needed to "look." He had applied at a few jobs in Ogden...with the intention to commute if needed and Sunshine Terrace wanted to interview him for a full time position, but we didn't think an interview in Price would do any harm. A week after the interview, Nick had the job and we had a BIG decision to make! In the OT world, the lowest paid jobs are pediatrics, but that is his favorite area to work. This job offer was making what the highest paid OT's make, but he would still have to opportunity to work with kids at least part time. It was too good of an opportunity to pass up, so without really telling anyone, Nick accepted the position. I stayed in Logan and semi-packed the house and prepared for surgery. I was planning on having a laperoscopy procedure to check for infertility issues. We left for a family reunion (more about that soon) and upon returning home, told our friends and family that we would be moving in about a week and a half!! That week Nick also told Sunshine Terrace that we were moving. They came in the next morning with another offer to get him to stay, but we still thought it was better to pick the job where he could work with kids. It was a good offer and we were thankful that they wanted Nick that bad. Nick also went in to CCSD and told his boss that he would not be renewing his contract. When he got home he said he felt like the biggest weight had been lifted.

Surgery:

The next day I had surgery. Mom came up and watched the kids and Jess stayed with me at the hospital. I was so thankful for my ward that week!! They really helped so much by bringing cards, flowers and meals. My friend Janell came over and cleaned and my friend Sharon helped pack some things. My recovery went quickly for which I was so thankful!! After about 3 days I wasn't hurting much and after 5 days I felt about 80%. Not too bad.

Now:

Fast Forward one week, and I am sitting in my parents basement wondering what to do. Got everything moved in, organized and cleaned. Life seems pretty simple right now. Only 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom and a family room to clean. Meals to cook only every other night. Even my shopping is more simple with less places to have to hop to and from. Nick works a typical 8-5 day. We have spent nights on walks, watching tv and eating popcorn and even reading.

I have been trying to get things organized for the new RS Pres. I am so thankful for the time I have had to serve as RS Pres. I sort of feel like I am coming off a mission...a little afraid of the spiritual high I might have to come down from...worried that all the blessings I was blessed with this last year will disappear. Missing my ward and friends and feeling like "my place" will be so quickly and easily taken. That I will be replaced.

I have felt that about the house too. Living in Logan has fulfilled what I wanted. I beautiful home that I designed and loved, great friends and ward members, my sister being so close, Nick providing and allowing me to stay home and of coarse the opportunity to be a mother for the first time. All happened our two years in Logan. I'm telling you...like a mission...The Best 2 Years!! I will miss it! But...the grass is always greener where you water it. I guess I need to make the best of it. One friend told me, "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."

We will plan to stay at mom and dads until our home is sold. So the house is going up for sale soon!! Let me know if you know anyone who wants it! Then we will start looking for a home here. Until then, the Hawkes are staying in our home, taking care of it. Everything is going well. I feel good. Nick is loving his new job and being home has been good too. Just adjusting still, but it has all gone very smoothly.

The Reunion:

Now, rewind. Details of our family reunion. We had a Harry Potter Themed reunion. We were assigned 2 characters to be. A good guy and a villain. Nick was Hagrid and Lockheart. I was Cho Chang and Pansy Parkensen...although when we went to the movie dressed up I was Umbridge, and Molly was skabbers. The first night we had a grand feast and were sorted into houses. The weekend was full with, quittich, tri-wizard tasks...golden egg toss, HP trivia...which you got an extra point to try an every-flavored bean, some of which were VERY nasty, wand making, a service project relay where we make hygiene kits for humanitarian aid, a trip to the aquatic center, and cowabunga bay, talent show, yummy food, visiting, fhe with gospel truths found in hp, and a trip to see the final movie. What a BLAST!!

What do we do in the Summertime?

What do we do in the Summertime?

Too much to blog about...more coming soon.

Until then, here is a family picture from about a week ago when my brother Joseph came to Utah for a surprise visit. So much fun being all together!

Twin Falls & Photo Shoot

On Monday we drove to Twin Falls to visit some of our really good freinds from our days in Vegas. They are living with family, preparing to move to residency next week, so we took a quick day ttrip to visit. It was fun catching up. Here are some pics from the falls. They said there is more water coming down this year than there has been forover 10 years, so it was pretty cool.

Today I took Molly out for some pictures. She is now 2 and a half and since I never got 2 year pictures taken, here is 2.5 I think they turned out pretty cute. Molly's hair is actiually getting pretty long, but looks short because it is so curly.

ipad2

Got my new ipad2 a few days ago. Still learning how to use it...I think Molly runs it better than I do. It's a little bit different from my itouch. Anyway I am loving it. I won it from Box Home Loans where we did our mortgage so I took this picture and sent it in a thank you card to them.

Eyes, Thomas and Binkie Bye-bye

Last weekend was such a fun trip for our family. On Thursday Nick got Lasik on his eyes. He is loving the freedom of no contacts or glasses. The surgery went really well and was super quick.

Then on Friday we made the trek to Hill Airforce base museum. That is where we met all of Nick's family to kick off the first ever Sidwell reunion. We ate a ymmy lunch at a park in Kaysville, then headed to Eagle Mountain for shirt decorating, BBQ and talent show. On Saturday we drove to Heber for "Days with Thomas." We had been prepping Molly for weeks that she was going to give her binkies to Thomas and Thomas would give them to the little babies. Later that day when she was crying and asked for a binkie I reminded her that we left them on Thomas. She was pretty upset and has asked for it everyday since...not yet today though. Hopefully that means she is forgetting it. Nap time hasn't been as easy, but I think she is getting the hang of it. Anyway, we ate at a place in Heber after riding Thomas and doing the activities there. That night we hung out as a family at Keith and Ali's house.

Sunday we headed to Price to visit with my parents and to decorate Hunter and my Grandma Echers' graves. We enjoyed being with my parents. Molly loves being there. She loved playing at the Dino Park, seeing Grandpa Echer, and seeing some cousins.