It was sad to say goodbye to friends and family, but we were thrilled to have a "real" job. We could not be more excited the Lord answered our prayers. Kevin is now working for the City of El Paso as a Planner. (Sometime he might go into that since nobody knows what that is.) It is exactly the position that we were hoping he would get. He loves going to work which makes all of us happy. As for the actual move. . . Kev drove the UHaul (with no cruise control, YIKES!!!) with help from his Dad. The kids and I spent a week in Idaho Falls with my family before a weekend romp in West Yellowstone. It was hard to be away from Kevin for so long, but good to have one last hoorah with my family. (I have never lived far from my family,so this is particularly hard on me.) Then we began the 3 day journey to TEXAS!!! Thank goodness Erin (Kevin's sister) was able to come along. She was so helpful!!! And now we are in Texas and all moved in to our new apartment. 
Maddy turned 5 in March. We celebrated with a butterfly cake and a few presents. She is such a big girl!!!
Geneva turned 3 in April. We went to the zoo and had a Mickey Mouse cake. Geneva got lots of games for her birthday and the kids love playing them!!
A few weeks after we arrived Alex got a killer fever. I took him to the doctor, but there was nothing obviously wrong. He woke up the next day just fine. Actually better that just fine. He started crawling. It was incredible!!! And now he is taking an interest in getting into everything and he even likes to stand on his own a couple times a day. He also likes to be a little brother to his big sisters.
This last weekend we traveled to Cloudcroft, NM for the day to escape the heat of the city. On the way there we traveled through a border patrol checkpoint. Our apartment is located about 3-4 miles from both New Mexico and Mexico so we were pretty surprised to run into a checkpoint an hour away from home. However, our obvious whiteness (blond hair and blue eyes) got us through pretty quick. It was odd/funny though to see a drug-sniffing dog checking out my minivan. We had a great trip and enjoyed our"hike" to Bluff Springs and the girls loved playing in the water. I would love to make the trip again in the near future.
As we were getting the kids ready for bed on Saturday Night we found out that Maddy had a loose tooth. She had not said anything about it but it was so loose that it came out that night and the toothfairy made its first appearance in our home. It was very exciting for everyone involved.
Since being in El Paso we have been to the zoo several times and we went to the Wyler Ariel Tramway.
I have busted out the sewing machine recently to create drapes/curtains for the bedroom. Mine and Kevin's bedroom gets the afternoon sun (which is killer). I sewed together a large blue sheet and a large blacksheet and now you have to turn on a light whenever you go in there, but it stays nice and cool. I also just hung drapes (again made from sheets from the local thrift store) in the kids room. One half is a lion king sheet and the other half is a purple leopard print. Classy, I know.
And I think that is all the happenings. We are adjusting to everything pretty well. It hit the low 90s the other day and I thought "Well, the heat isn't too bad today." Yup, my body is adjusting to Texas weather just fine. I will be excited when the pool opens. (If it actually happens before the real heat hits!!) We are enjoying the ward. Kevin was called to be the ward financial clerk and I am in the Primary (again). Maybe someday I will graduate from Primary like all the other kids.
For now we are enjoying life and Kevin's 3 day weekends. The parks here are covered in sand, not woodchips and they have huge shade structures over them so they are really nice to play at. We go the park about twice a week.
But, right now Alex want to eat and go to bed, so I sign off with an appropriate . . .
BYE Y'ALL
6 comments:
So great to hear from you!!! I am glad that Kevin is finally able to work as a planner which is what he has wanted to do and I am sure the stress in your home is much less :) I do know what a planner is and does so I am great :)
I can only imagine what the heat is like.....we get heat and humidity here but I am sure you win any day of the week :)
The good news is that you live in one of the safest cities in the U.S. I just heard that on a report so CONGRATS on that!!! Just don't go the "sister city" across the border :)
I LOVE your idea for curtains because we too have done that..it works and it is fun and it is affordable ALL great things!!
The kids look great and are sure growing up!!
I will tell you Kendra it is hard to move so far away from family and you will have days and times when the homesickness is a lot to take I find calling or e-mailing helps and a good cry every now and then is great as well!!
Great to hear from you!! FYI we are a private blog now so if you want to check it out just e-mail me at wendelton@gmail.com and you are added if I have not already done it...I forget :)
It's great to read an update on you. I've been wondering how you have adjusted. I'm glad to hear you're doing well. I like the black sheet idea. I might just have to try that for my girls room so they don't wake up with the sun!
You look happy in Texas! Great pictures, wonderful commentary. It's good that nothing was hiding in Alex's diaper when you went through the border patrol checkpoint. Keep up the postings on your blog; remember that Grandma and Grandpa Smith check it out every day or two. We love you!
What an exciting time of life!! You'll have to let me know the next time you're in Idaho Falls. Didn't even know you had a little boy. I'm behind and lame.
Kayla
Yeah, I've been waiting for an update! Glad you're there and all settled in.
BTW, I've used cheep bed sheets for curtains tons of times (and will be again once we close on our house).
Glad you're having fun and that Kevin likes his new job.
Your girls are getting so big we almost don't recognizing them. We hope you enjoy Texas. Mike's dad served a long part of his mission in El Paso, Texas and loved it! We miss you guys.
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