Monday, October 28, 2013

In-between

I feel like we have doing a lot of living in-between. In-between school and work, in-between countries, in-between moving and hotels, in-between road trips and work trips.  But I think we are finally on the road to getting settled. 
Here is a glimpse into our last week:






Our first dinner in our new place, cafe rio on tupperware containers, and a movie to keep Tracen in one spot.  We have now graduated to him eating in his highchair as we have no table or other chairs.



We made it to Rexburg last Sunday and Tracen and I were so happy to be reunited with our friends and a familiar place.  I really wish I would have taken more pictures!

We made it back to Porter Park to play, Tracen sure had missed that place.

Tracen on the drive back to Salt Lake Valley, he was tired.

Fall is so beautiful in Salt Lake.  We enjoyed a few days at Auntie Wilma's and Tracen still talks about Blade and his cars.  I enjoyed lunch with Nicole at Kyoto's (my first time there) and then Lunch with Auntie Wilma and Jamie at Kyoto's (my second time there) the next day.  It really was good enough to go back!  Not pictured was a quick trip for cupcakes with Kaiti - I love that girl and Tracen just helped himself to her cupshake.

Jamie and I went to Ikea and found these mini orchids in the AS-IS section of the store.  I got us each one, and it reminds us both of Grandpa Joe. 

We made it back to Vernal on Friday night.  This is the extent of our Halloween decorating this year.

We got a fridge!!! Well Luke picked it up on his drive back from Canada, and it is so nice to have one again.  He also got our oven working, which is also nice to again.

Luke also picked up some couches and a bed in Canada - graciously donated to us by his parents!  We are SOO grateful.  No more air mattress and somewhere to sit and eat (until a table comes into our lives).  Oh, and check out the wax paper in the windows, we have yet to get blinds.


And this is us right now:  Sitting at McDonald's to use the free wifi.  I am letting a few shows load on the computer to help keep us occupied while we unpack today.  Internet should be set up in the next 7-10 days ( I find it hard to believe that there is that high of a demand for internet in Vernal that it takes that long, but oh well).


We are so happy to have our place together and have it slowly come together.  We have been so blessed with Luke's job, and his awesome understanding boss that lets Luke take days so he can drive to and from Canada with furniture and our belongings.  But I can't wait to get out of this in-between.

Thursday, October 17, 2013

An Update - Although not thorough

There is so much to blog about and write about.  After over a month of living in a different country than Luke, we finally made our way to Utah last week.  My parents are amazing and made a quick trip over their Thanksgiving weekend so I didn't have to drive alone, and helped SO much with Tracen.  We had a couple of stops and were able to see Mike, Jamie, and most of the Gathers and eat some delicious food.  

We were finally reunited with Luke in Roosevelt, Utah, a small town that reminds me of Radiator Springs from Cars before they were inspired to fix everything up (it is probably nicer than that - but that is what I thought of when I saw it).  Roosevelt is where Luke's office is, and we ate dinner at The Pelican, and Dad was pleasantly surprised that his burger was "actually good", he kept saying how he felt like he was in a movie because everything was just so different there.  

Then it was on to Vernal, Utah - where we will be living.  We checked into our hotel and went on a tour of the town.  I am glad that Vernal is bigger, and it feels more "normal" if you ask my Dad.  It was hard to say good-bye to my parents, and the reality that I live in Vernal, Utah started to set in. 

Due to some things that need to be re-done and finished  in our place, we haven't been able to move in like we were supposed last Friday, so we have been living in hotel rooms.  Tracen enjoys having a pool.

Unfortunately, the weather has been a little rainy, and with access to mostly just summer clothes, we have been stuck inside most of the day.  Being in a hotel in Roosevelt really limited outings.  Also, eating out for almost every meal gets kind of old, especially when you usually like to eat at home to avoid exposing the public to your child's messy and crazy eating behaviours.  

So far we are surviving.  I am surprised at how difficult it has been to be without a home to go to.  In Calgary, we were at my parents, and it was home, but hotels just aren't the same.  I am grateful that we don't have to pay for the hotels and that we can be together as a family again.

Luke had to be in Denver this week for work, and so Tracen and I decided to tag along.  It has been nice to be in a different hotel and the drive here was so beautiful.  It really made me miss home as we drove through the mountains.


Downtown Denver, the only part I have seen, feels just like Calgary.  We arrived here, and were not able to check into our room yet, and Luke had a meeting.  So Tracen and I took off with the stroller to explore 16th Avenue Mall (just like Stephen Avenue Mall, there is even an earls) and see what we could find.  There was lots of shopping, lots of places to eat, and we stopped in Barnes & Noble's twice to find some warmth and somewhere to sit and relax.  I was more than grateful when Tracen finally fell asleep in the stroller, he was exactly what you would think a 2 year old would be like after waking up at 5 am and not having a nap before crashing.

Luke had a late dinner "meeting" (I think he got back to the room at 11pm) and I was happy to have the hotel bring us a tray of chocolates, my name wasn't on the card, but it was all over that chocolate.  

We are supposedly moving into our place when we get back on Friday, but we are still without a fridge, so when Luke heads to Calgary for work next week, I am planning to crash in Rexburg, with a stop in SLC and Provo I am sure - I guess I am not done living like a gypsy yet.


Thursday, October 3, 2013

Tracen Turns TWO


We kept the birthday celebrations pretty simple and low-key this year.  We did sing and celebrate Tracen and Meika turning two with ice cream cake before their actual birthdays, but with Erika, Jamie, Mom, Dad and Chris not there, it felt like a small celebration.  Then we celebrated with Luke's family (with no Luke) and had cupcakes the day after Tracen's birthday, which was fun, but without Luke, it didn't seem like much of a party.  However, Tracen seemed to love blowing out the candles.

The day of his birthday was rainy and cold.  Mom and Dad were on their concert tour, Luke already living in Utah, and Jenelle was at work for the day -so Tracen and I enjoyed movies and he had a long bath.


We facetimed with Luke while Tracen opened his presents (in the picture below is not a present, but a hello kitty of Jenelle's that Tracen found).


We also kept the presents simple and small for easy transport to Utah (whenever we move there).


I decided it would be foolish to make any sort of cake, because I would have probably ended up eating it all (why Jenelle is so good at being disciplined is beyond me) and so I opted for a birthday donut instead.  It was a hit.
Jenelle got home from work as we were singing and then we headed to the NE to eat some Olive Garden because Tracen loves noodles (pronounced: noo-nils) and then to the movie Planes.   Tracen actually sat through the whole thing, and Jenelle said it was one of the best birthday parties she's been to in a while haha.
But some things about Tracen at 2 are:
He really loves cars, trucks and anything with wheels.  He loves to go for a ride in my Dad's van and calls it "the bus".  Most of his cousins also have the same van, and he always talks about how they went home in the bus.  

He recently figured out how to get the door knob lock of his door knob (the ones that you buy that go around the door knob, often found in nursery), which means he might be more like his mischief making Dad than I should want.

He is talking more and more, and I'm starting to understand more and more.  He is really into saying "get it" and sometimes it's "I get it" but when he is feeling lazy it is "mommy get it". 

He LOVES candy and chocolate, and "no-nuts" (donuts) which are donuts and muffins.  

He surprises me all the time by calling his Aunts, Uncles, and cousins by name, when I have never heard him say their name before.

He still loves rocks which makes it hard to come into the house when there are so many outside.

He loves to do puzzles.

He likes to make people laugh, whether throwing pillows at them, or his dirty socks, or pretending he is going to hug them and running right past them.

He loves to watch The Jungle Book, Emperors New Groove and most recently Tarzan.

He really misses his Dad, and being away from Luke this long has been tough on him, he has started to really get attached to Papahashi and insisted my Dad take him to nursery on Sunday, and not me (Grandpa doesn't mind).

He loves to eat noodles and toast (which is actually sandwiches).  

Oh, he knows that the sky is blue (he uses it as a conversation starter often), and Luke drives a white truck - we are working on recognizing and differentiating colors.

I guess i could go on and on about him... but he is as fun and energetic as ever, and I'm just so happy that I am blessed to be his Mom.