so here is the story.....

GOOD GRIEF! May since I posted?!?! That is pretty pathetic but we have good excuses!

Since April Ben got a promotion and we moved from Plymouth (about two hours closer to London). This is something that we have wanted for a long time. Plymouth has been so good to us and when we drove away I could not help but sob leaving my little flat where I was first married and had my two babies. Many many good memories. We loved our ward and loved so many things about living there but also felt a tug to move on. Two of Ben's brothers live in Poole and it is SO much closer to London. Which means more temple trips and more visits to Ben's family in Hastings (which is now 2 hours closer). It used to take us 5 hours to get to his parents house! We've loved the ward here too even before we had an inkling of coming. It has been great so far and were happy to be here.

Ben literally packed up our entire flat and moved us to Poole while the kids and I were visiting in Arizona during March and April! So we flew back to a new city! We stayed with Ben's brother, his wife and their two girls while we searched for a home.....can I tell you how much NOT FUN that is?! Ugh, I wish I could just pay someone to find everything that I want and then move and unpack the entire house. We looked for weeks! Finally the house next door (literally next door!) came up in the right price so we took it. They had quite a bit of remodeling to do which took a few weeks longer than we hoped for so long that in fact we left for Arizona again at the end of July....we put the boxes in our new house and flew out the next day! SOOoooooo we got back here about a week and a half ago and have been sorting out the house ever since!!! We've been without a home since April! It is completely weird to be in our own place again but soooo nice!

Can I be honest and say that it is not exactly what I wanted?! We looked long and hard for the right place and this came up with a great price that we felt it would be a blessing to us financially. SO it is not my ideal home....I guess I am not there yet but the carpet is new and the kitchen is brand new. I have a new refridgerator and a new washing machine which, sad to say, are things that I am so excited about! AND we live next door to Ben's brother and his family which is great because our kids are the same age and we get on like Donkey Kong!

So that is how it has been over the past few months (gosh it feels so much longer than that!). Owen turned three. We had a big Buzz Lightyear party which he loved and had so much fun! He still talks about it all the time! Then we went to a great family reunion in Utah, it was my favorite of them all. We left from Utah straight to California for some beach time. I felt like it was a quick visit, even though it was two weeks! I am used to my big long stays when I come! Now were here, trying to sort this house out. My brain and emotions feel fried and I am sandbagging big time because this all more than the biggest of chores! Once it is done I will feel like a whole woman again!! Anyways, we did just have our photos done in April but I've been working out like a crazy woman, dieting like mad and I've lost over 30 pounds so I felt that some more updated photos needed to be done! We had our very good photographer friend in California take some family shots for us. Here are a couple.....we'll update soon with more photos....I PROMISE!!!

Just 35 more pounds to go and I may fit back into that wedding dress again!!!!