We are Homeowners!!

We closed on our house this past Thursday! On Friday afternoon we got the keys to the house.  We began moving in on Saturday morning with the few things we had put in storage ourselves. Monday and Tuesday we will be getting our shipments of Household Goods.  Below are pictures of the house:

Front:

Entry:

Office area:

Living Room:

Kitchen and Dining Area:

Laundry Room:

Half Bath off Living Room:

Master Bedroom and Bath:

Cydney's Room:

 

Baby's Room (may need painting):

Upstairs Bathroom:

Basement Entry:

Basement Sitting Area: 

(Will be Theater Room)

Guest Bedroom:

 Spare Bedroom:

Guest Bathroom:

Garage:

Backyard:

Making the most of TLF life...

Since arriving in Utah we have been living in the Temporary Lodging Facility (TLF). Thirty plus days in a small one bedroom suite can take it's toll on patience, especially with a toddler.  We have done our best to keep Cydney entertained both in and out of the room.  We have found tons of kid friendly activities and places to play.  Cydney especially loves going to the Treehouse Museum to explore, play dress up and play musical instruments; and the Classic Fun Center to skate, bounce, and climb. 


In the room she has found a few ways to keep herself entertained when it has been too cold to be outside.

Doing somersaults on her bed.

Jumping on the bed.

Building a tent in the bedroom to play with stuffed toys.

Creating a tunnel under the pull out sofa bed.

Making costumes out of paper bags.

 "Hmm, what can I be?"

 "I'm a robot!"

The most fun of all is being about to go outside,

to run up and down the hill.

 

Play with sticks and pine cones,

or run through the snow.

This week we are closing on our house and hope to be able to move in on Saturday, although the current owners have until Monday morning to turn over possession.  They have been great working with us to make this process move as fast as possible, we are closing a week earlier than previously contracted.  Yay!!  We are all excited to finally be able to get settled into our new home and get things ready for baby number two.  

(Inside pictures of the house to follow as we begin the move in process.)

Vacation and Christmas 2011

After Jared's Weapons School graduation he took 30 days of leave so we could take time to visit family in Florida and Oklahoma.

Walt Disney World!!

Just before Christmas we took Cydney to Disney World for the first time. Watching her experience Disney was so much fun. Seeing the biggest smile on her face for two days was magical, she loved seeing all the characters, riding a few rides and getting to spend time with Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and Cousins.

Wedding!

After spending two days at Disney we attended Jared's sisters wedding in which Cydney was the flower girl.

She was a beautiful Flower Girl and was very excited to wear her dress and dance the night away. She wanted to dance with anyone and everyone who would dance with her. Best night of sleep she has had in a while.

The Beach!!

We rounded out the week spending a couple days going to the beach and spending some down time around the hotel.

Merry Christmas!!

We then traveled to Oklahoma to visit more family and spent the Holidays in Tulsa.




We had a lot of fun spending time with both sets of grandparents and Cydney enjoyed being spoiled with attention by everyone.

Next up for us is finding a home in Utah and getting moved in. Wish us luck in our house hunting and buying adventure.

Looking forward to Fall

As the summer is winding down and the temperatures start to drop below the mid/teen hundreds we are beginning to look forward to fall. A few weeks ago Cydney started taking gymnastics, something she looks forward to each week. It has seemed to give her more confidence in doing things on her own and without me having to be right next to her. Her favorite event is the balance beam, as soon as we walk into the gym she is ready to get on the high beam and walk back and forth. She does a great job listening to the instructor give directions and taking her turn. She gets upset when it is time to leave and asks daily if she can go to gymnastics.

One of her other favorite activities to do is to walk to the park, she asks to go pretty much every morning. Now I have no excuse to get out for a little morning walk/jog. This fall is shaping up to be fun and busy. With a trip home to Tulsa for a week, followed by a trip to San Diego in October and more fun playgroup activities to new places in Vegas we want to check out before leaving. Cydney was also asked to be a flower girl in her Aunts wedding in December, now we are on a dress hunt. I can't wait to see her all dressed up and hope she does well and cooperates. We are also looking forward to some much needed time off once Jared is finished with Weapons School. It has been over two years since we took a vacation!

I have been working on her Halloween Costume. I had been wanting to do Boo (from Monsters Inc) and found a picture online and a blog post with instructions on how to sew the costume. I have never sewed anything before, so I bought a sewing machine and took a hack at it. I don't think it turned out too bad, there are still a few adjustments to do, but it is pretty much finished.

Now that I have got this sewing thing started I am excited to get to our next assignment and start learning how to make curtains, pillow cases, etc for decorating the house.

Until next time,
Lindsay

Two Years Ago......

we were welcoming Cydney into this world. The past two years have brought us so much joy and many heartwarming moments. We are blessed to have a sweet, smart, poliet and caring daughter. Couldn't ask for better. It has been a blessing to have someone to spend my days and nights with while Jared has been deployed, TDY or just working a late night. She certainly has both of us wrapped around her finger, especially Jared.

We are amazed at how fast she picks up new words, concepts and sayings. She will tell you her full name when asked, counts to 14 easily still needs help with 15-20 sometimes, knows all her letters, colors and shapes. Cydney loves Elmo, monkeys and books. She enjoys going to the library for story time and getting to sing songs and dance. Next week she is starting a weekly gymnastics class, and maybe swim lessons in the near future. Her favorite songs to sing are ABC's and Twinkle Twinkle, she also can be heard singing along with the radio in the car. Cydney loves to help push the shopping cart through the store. You will usually find her under me pushing the cart from the bottom.

Here are some of my favorite pictures over the last two years:

We were happy to be able to spend a week with Grandparents and Aunts, who all came out to Vegas for Cydney's Birthday Celebration. Turned into a week affair, getting gifts from everyone and enjoy a couple cakes. Cydney learned how to make Grandma Jodie's Chocolate Cake, and enjoyed helping mix the ingredients. Even if the first one did not turn out looking so great it was still fun to make and delicious to eat. Cydney received a play kitchen for her birthday and has enjoyed playing with it since. Every morning she wakes up and wants to make pancakes. It is fun to just sit back and watch her play and see her imagination developing daily.

Until next time,
Lindsay