July
We originally thought that we would be moving sometime around the middle of the month, but them ended up pushing back our move date a whole month so we ended up having more time to do some more last visits this month. Probably the hardest was our last trip to Vernal to see my grandparents.
The kids rode horses and four wheelers and had a great time. While Mom tried to soak up the feeling of being at Grandmas's houses just a little more, knowing that it would be a long time before I was going to be back.
My brother, Rhett, and his family came from Texas for a visit and the kids had fun hanging out with cousins they don't get to see very much.
We celebrated Josh's birthday a little early while they were here with a giant blow up water slide thing in my parents backyard. It was lots of fun and the kids played all day. My mom hurt her shoulder though and ended up having to have surgery later.
It was nice to get that extra month to hang out with family and friends that we would soon be leaving.
August
August brought the dreaded and anticipated moving day. It was hard to leave family, friends and our home of the last seven years, but knowing that we would be with Jake made it all worth it. It was weird to see my house full of boxes after the packers were finished. 
We also had to find out sweet dog, Ginger, a new home because she couldn't come with us. That was an emotional day, she ended up going home with one of the ladies that came to pack our house.
here she is with the kids a few days before that.
Although we left a lot we had a GREAT thing waiting for us in Minnesota. Jake!! We took 3 days to make the trip since it was just me and the kids. First stop was Matin's Cove in Wyoming. Too bad we got to visit on a Sunday, most things were closed, but it was still fun.
Our next big stop was Mt. Rushmore.
That was pretty cool. It was super busy and we were pretty tired but I'm glad we stopped.
Adjusting to Minnesota was and is challenging. When asked how we like it the best answer we have come up with is that it is different. Everything is different: climate, landscape, culture everything. It's not bad, just different. It was so good to finally be with Jake that no one minded that we had to sleep on either the ground or an air mattress the first night.
The movers had the truck unloaded in less than 4 hours and then came the daunting task of unpacking everything and finding new homes for it all.
Sometimes, even 5 months later I feel like some things still need to be rearranged.
September
September brought Ashton's birthday, he turned 6. His was the first to be celebrated far from the rest of our family. It was strange, but still good.
It also brought the first day of school for both Lexie and Ashton. Which meant big changes for both of them.
Lexie is in 6th grade, middle school here. She had 7 classes each day-way different from being in elementary school.
My "little" kindergartener. Ashton has all day kindergarten which is not what we are used to. But it had been really good for him so far. He looks so scared in this picture, but I think he was more excited than anything. He had been waiting for this day for a LONG time.
September also found us exploring our new home. We drove the river a few times which was amazing every time, found parks to play at and got a general feel for our new home.
October
In October we were still exploring our new home. We had the fun challenge of figuring out how to watch conference when it isn't broadcast on a major TV station. We don't have cable tv at our house so we decided the best would be to watch it over the internet. I am so thankful for technology because it let us hear and see our prophet just like we would have back in Utah (and it lets us see and talk to our family too.)
I also found out I was expecting.
We celebrated Halloween with all the usual actives.
gotta love that face...
getting to set off trick or treating.
Things seemed to be going so well, then November came....
November
November was not a kind month to me. I had just come to terms with being pregnant again when I found out that we had lost the baby and we would not be adding another child to our family. The shadow came then and stayed with me for most of the rest of the year. It was hard being far from family through the holidays.
This was the one and only picture I took in November, of Abbie so excited the first time that it snowed. She couldn't even wait to get dressed before donning her snow boots and going out in it. Even if was only a little.
December
December came with the rush of the holidays. Usually, this is my favorite time of year, but this year I found myself just going through the motions trying to make it good for the kids but not really enjoying myself. It didn't help that I smack dab in the middle of getting primary stuff ready for next year (I was called to be the second counselor back in November) and still trying to find my way out of the shadows.
Here's a few pictures of what we did.
we decorated...
made cookies, cookies and more cookies.
Santa came,
and we built more Legos than I care to admit.
While this year had it's struggles and challenges, we trusted in the Lord and learned a lot along the way. We've settled into our new home and are ready for more adventures to come our way.
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