Family!

It has been so great to have seen so much family in the last two weeks!

I am so glad My Mom and Sister were able to come visit us! They flew in late friday night to the DC airport so we stayed the night in DC so we could go see some sights on Saturday. I was a lot of fun , But very cold! We weren't very well prepared for it so while we were there we were buying hats and gloves and scarves to keep us warm. We bought tickets for a bus that you could hop on and off thinking it was a fantastic idea, But we ended up waiting for the bus more than anything. It was nice not to have to drive and find places to park though. We saw a lot of things and had a good time anyhow. Sunday we went to the Luray caverns which we really cool and Milt and Shawn were able to come with us too so that was nice. Monday we went shopping at a fun outdoor mall that is a lot like the Gateway in Salt lake for those of you that have been there. Grandma wanted to pick out Christmas presents with the kids so she helped Elli do Build a Bear, or in her case Build a Kitty and Shawn got a really fun Bobble Head Train set. (Thank you Mom! Both the kids really love their gifts!) My sister enjoyed DC so much and there was so much that we didn't get to see and do that we wanted to that we decided to go back Monday night again and stay the night so we would have more time in DC Tuesday before they had to be to the airport. We went to the top of the Washington monument (Very Cool!) and we went to the National Archives building to see the Declaration of independence and other neat stuff that was there! It made us all want to watch "National Treasure". We had a lot of fun together and saw a lot of neat things! I was sad to have them go, I hope you will both come visit me again! 

Thanksgiving!

We had a really great time visiting Tia, John and Toma for Thanksgiving. It was a really long drive, it took about 14 hours to get there and about 10 hours to get home so the drive was crapy, but it was well worth it to be with family. We ate Thanksgiving dinner with some really nice people from Tia and Johns ward and it was really good. The kids enjoyed it too because they had lots of toys to play with. Tia and I went shopping the morning after and had a good time, I really enjoyed going with Her and it was great to be able to do something with out the kids screaming at me for a sec. and on the way home Tia stopped and treated us to some Dunkin' Donuts which I had never had before and the were great! Later that day we all packed up and went shopping followed by Olive Garden, YUMMY! (Thanks guys!) Then on Sat. we visited the Children's museum there, It was awesome! The kids loved it and i think the adults liked it almost as much as the kids it was really fun! I had so much fun with Toma The entire time. She called me mami it was so cute! man she is getting big! I am really grateful for the chance we had to spend time with them. (Thanks again for everything you two!)

Little Goober!

Here is a couple of little videos of our boy! he's growing up and learning fast, He has been a lot of fun lately, but he's a handful too. He keeps us on our toes and he likes to scream. His new favorite thing is telling us no! It's pretty cute right now, but I'm sure it won't stay cute for long. He knows how to crawl down the stairs finally so we don't have to worry so much about the gates anymore. He has a laugh that is so contagious and He makes us laugh every day! Oh and 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM POLL!!!

Med School Ball

The ball wasn't really what I expected it to be, But we had a good time anyway. I told Elli that we were going to the ball because I thought she would like that since she is so into the Cinderella princess thing and the first thing she said was "I want to go to the ball!" I tried to explain to her that the ball was only for big people and her reply was of course "I'm big!" she was devastated that she couldn't go to the ball.  When we got there there wasn't very many people there and if I remember right the music wasn't playing yet or anything, but they did have food so we filled our plates with fancy food that for the most part I had no Idea what it was and then decided to try out the deserts and the chocolate fountain which was delicious with the perfectly ripe strawberries that were there. Then we decided to make our way over to the pool table and play for a while since there really wasn't much else to do, it was a lot of fun! we were with two other couples that were really fun to be with and we had a good time! (I kicked trash at the pool table by the way!) I don't know what came over me but I think that's the best I have ever played. After people started showing up We walked around and Milt introduced me to all the great people he goes to school with and then we left we never even got to dance because the place was packed and the music really wasn't the kind I could see myself dancing to. Milt brought me home afterwards however and turned on a slow song so that we could say that we danced that night. Then we picked up the kids for Tim and Margo who were watching them for us. (Thanks You Two!)

Zoo Adventure!

Last Saturday we decided to take a zoo adventure! This was the first time we have been to the zoo here and it was so awesome! We had to wonder when we pulled up to the place because from the outward appearance it really didn't look like it was going to be all that great, but it was! I think next year we will get passes so we can go often. It wasn't really big but there was so much to see and it wasn't like the Hogle Zoo where you feel like you can't hardly move because there are so many people everywhere. It was really relaxing and all the animals were so fun. A lot of the animals would interact with you and you could also interact with them. We were able to buy a cup of pellets at the front gate and feed them to any of the animals that would eat them. Their main purpose was for feeding the giraffes which was really fun! you could feed them out of your cup and they would stick their long slimy tongue down into your cup, then curl it around some food and lift it out. You could also just feed them right out of your hand if you didn't care about getting slimed. The kids loved it and Milt and I loved it as well. We will definitely be visiting the zoo again! 

Virginia in the Fall!

I have a fun new place I've been taking the kids! There is a park about ten minutes away that I really like. There are soccer fields, baseball fields, tennis courts, basketball courts, a fun playground for the kids to play on. My favorite part is the beautiful trails through the trees. You can go walking, running, biking, or whatever and they have different things you can do along the way like bars for doing pull ups and a balance beam ect. It is so peaceful and beautiful there, especially lately because all the trees have been so beautiful! They are all turning brown and falling off now, but i love Virginia in the fall! here's a few pictures that I've taken, but they really don't do it Justice.

While we were on one of our walks Elli decided she wanted to take some leaves home so we started collecting a variety of different colors and shapes of leaves for her to take home. She loved it and she was so proud of her leaves that I decided to help her with a little project that I really didn't think would turn out, but it did, see!

We hung it up in our family room so everyone can see it. I love being able to look at the pretty colors of the leaves without even leaving the house. Good Job El! And this is just a picture i took from our house.

I don't know what this place is like in the spring, but the last couple weeks in October and the First week in November are gorgeous here! Just incase any of you want to come see us next fall!!! :)

Places to go, People to see!

I am SOOOO Excited for the rest of this year!!! We have made plans to spend Thanksgiving with Milt's sister Tia and her family in Massachusetts. Also, We made Plans with some of our very close friends (James and Martha) to visit them in Philadelphia Right before Christmas. We will also be taking a day trip to New York with them to see a few sites, and as if that isn't enough my mom and sister just booked their plane tickets to come see us for a few days!!! They will be here the 5th-9th of Dec. I am so excited! (Wish you were coming too Brand.) Oh and not to mention Christmas, New years, and our anniversary too. It will be really fun to see you all and I can't hardly wait! It's great having fun things to look forward to.

Halloween!

Shawn was a cute little turtle!

& Elli was Cinderelli

 Elli Loved her costume and she was really excited about the whole trick or treating thing this year too! I really thought Shawn would hate his costume, I thought he would scream and try to tear it off but he didn't mind it at all. I think he even liked it.

Shawn's Little Giraffe friend Owen

Elli's little Dalmatian cousin Mariah 

Don't Really Know what I'm supposed to be?

Pumpkin Carving!!!

Elli helped Milt carve the little pumpkin and I carved the big pumpkin while Shawn ate it's cut outs. He's nasty! He'll eat anything!

Happy 1st Birthday Shawn!

Shawn had his first birthday yesterday the 21st. I can't believe how time fly's by when you have kids. It's sad and at the same time it is so much fun to watch him grow and learn knew things. he is so much fun right now. The other day Elli said "Shawn is going to be one tomorrow and he won't be zero anymore." I was almost in tears at the thought.

We had fun watching Shawn open his presents and Eat his cake. We also had fun and were very grateful we had friends here to share his special day with us (Thanks for coming!). Again we were sad that we couldn't have family here, We missed you! 

Today Shawn and Elli have had fun playing with all the new toys. Elli still has a really hard time sharing with Shawn, even if they are his toys. She's getting a little better though. 

Shawn learned to go down stairs today Yay! now maybe he won't have so many bumps and bruises all the time (Probably not). It's always been his favorite thing to go up the stairs, but refused to learn to go down them, Well.....I take that back, he could go down the stairs, Fast! I'm definitely glad he can do it the right way now.

All in all we are doing good and enjoying our time here. Milt is still doing well in school and he is liking what they are doing right now. I personally wouldn't like cutting into stiff, dead, stinky, Formaldehyde filled bodies, but if he gets into that sorta thing, More power to him. He always comes home and shares the nasty details with me, It just about makes me gag, but I like to know what he is doing so I listen. Anyway, we are doing good and having fun.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHAWN WE LOVE YOU!!!!

Happy Birthday Elli!

Elli just turned 3 years old yesterday the 15th. I can't believe I have a three year old daughter! We had a lot of fun though. I asked her awhile ago what kind of cake she wanted and she said "I want a castle cake!" I really didn't know what I was going to do, but the next time I went to the craft store i actually found a castle cake set. I don't know what I was thinking at the time, but I decided to tackle it. It took me a whole day to make it and it turned out ok, but when I got all finished the top tower fell over and wiped out all the towers on the left side of the cake, this happened twice in a row. We put it back together the best we could and then hurried and took pictures before it happened  again. Needless to say the cake didn't look quite as good as it could have, but Elli loved it anyway and that's all that matters. She got spoiled with lots of presents and had lots of fun! It was definitely weird not to have family at a birthday party. We miss you all so much! It will be interesting to see what Christmas will be like. It will be the first time ever that we did our own thing. I wish we could be with family, but it will be kinda fun to start our own traditions and spend more time focusing on each other. We love you all!

  

Oh the places we'll go!

Hurray! we finally set up a blog! I have been meaning to since we moved but I am way too dumb to figure it out on my own so I had to wait until I had some help from my incredibly intelligent husband. Speaking of which he is doing very well in school and he really enjoys it (most days). 
For those of you who don't know, we packed up all our things and moved our little family all the way across the country to Richmond, Virginia. Milt is attending VCU (Virginia Commonwealth University) for Medical School.  

We left Utah on July 31st and arrived in Virginia on August 5th. The move was good and the kids did a lot better in the car than I thought they would. Elli kept telling us the entire time that she wanted to go home We felt so bad and struggled trying to explain to our two year old what in the world was going on. I underestimate how smart she is sometimes, It wasn't until we had almost reached our destination that we realized that she was talking about her "new house" in "Virginia". When we got here we had a look at our new place but the truck that hauled our stuff wouldn't arrive until the next day so we had to sleep in a hotel one more night. Elli was so upset, she was so excited to finally be home and she just wanted to stay.  

We felt at home as soon as we got here and even more for me when I walked into relief society on Sunday and had such a warm welcome and instant friends. We are surrounded by other students. There are a few medical students, a few PHD students, and a bunch of dental students who live in the same apartments. It is really fun to have so many young families all around us who we can relate to. I don't know the exact numbers, but our ward feels like it's about half students (and families). Elli Has lot's of little friend to play with too and she thinks it's great!   

We are very grateful for the help we had from my wonderful parents who took so much time out of their busy lives to drive our second car out and help us get settled out here. Thanks Mom and Dad!  

The kids and I were able to go back to Utah for a visit just a few week after we got here, Thanks to my awesome brother and his awesome wife! Thanks again you guys! I was glad to be able to spend a little more time with every body and let Elli spend some time with her cousins. We had a lot of fun! I can't even express how much family means to me and how much I miss everybody. I'm no referring to my family alone, I think I was blessed with the most amazing inlaws i could possibly have asked for! I miss everybody so much. I try my hardest to take things one day at a time and try not to think about how long it will be before we are back for good. I know that this is where we are supposed to be though and I am so grateful for the opportunity! I know our family has been and will continue to be strengthened being away from home. There are so many awesome things that we would miss out on if it weren't for Milt's smarts and big dreams. He is truly amazing to me and I am so thankful for him. 
Shawn is doing OK, He's pretty ornery all the time because he's trying to get some teeth, He doesn't have any yet but it won't be long before he can bite Elli back. He is walking (almost running) all over the place. He has been so much fun lately, he's been learning so many things and it is so fun to watch. My favorite thing he does it shake his finger at you while saying "No No No!" It's really cute, I'll have to try to capture it on video.  

Elli still has her imaginary friends. She plays with Kyson and Ashley, and some new friends recently added to her Imaginary friends group are River and Chandra! What a funny girl. Oh ya! one more thing. Elli is potty trained Yay! she still requires a little help, but she is doing very well. It's nice to only have one kid in diapers again. We Love you all! and miss you all very much!