Not Too Bad

It's been a great week.
Sunday: Went to our ward for the first time; it was filled with young couples, most of them in the medical field (five resident families alone!) While dropping Robbie off at primary, I ran into a familiar face from Kirksville, my friend Jolyn Smith who happened to live across the street from me then. I have a friend here! We went to their house that night for dessert and Robbie and Ty finally got to play with some friends.
Monday: We went to Liberty Jail for FHE--the boys thought it was awesome and even asked questions.
Tuesday: Went to the Royals game! First pitch of the game was a home run and the boys were totally pumped. It got much more boring after that (I thought it was so cute how Jimmy fell asleep), but their ice cream kept them entertained. More Kirksville reunions there too--ran into Bishop Jewell from our time at ATSU.

Friday: Went to a pool party and met more friends (love the people here)!
Saturday: Drove through the crazy flood zones in Iowa to get to the Winter Quarters Temple. It was beautiful and the Visitors' Center has fabulous exhibits. The boys pulled a handcart and slept in a pioneer bed. Ran into our friends Sonja and Kevin Staples there too (they are from our Kalamazoo days!) Small world out here, I swear.
Sunday: Enjoyed church. Reconnected with another face that I recognized from my Ricks days--it's just getting crazy I tell you! Had some of our new friends over and the kids loved it!
We have truly been blessed. We are happy and excited to be here, though so far away from family. But if the next five years are as fun as this one, it's gonna be just fine.

Rite of Passage

(Robbie showing off his new backyard)
Though Rob is 31 and is married with children, I think he still never felt like a grown up. Why?

A. He was still in school
B. He didn't have a paycheck
C. We moved like nomads, mooching housing from our parents a few times

But now . . .
A. He's graduated
B. He's getting paid (well, in a few weeks)
C. He owns a house.

Still, I think he lacked his manhood until Saturday when he mowed his own lawn, with his own lawn mower. Finally, he's made it!

(It only took 70 minutes--midwest yards are enormous! Our neighbors offered their riding lawn mowers, but Rob would have none of that! We all took turns pushing it with our used Toro we are so proud of!

Congrats Babe! You can relax now . . . you've made it--you're a MAN!

The Move

Yes those are my kids washing the windows on the truck. My mom was so horrified she couldn't look.
Stopping at a park to get wiggles out.

Letting the boys relax while we all unpack. So cute.
As always, moving was hectic and long--but having my mom with me made the trip so fabulous. She seems to know how to make things fun even when they are . . . well, not. I'm sure most of that has to do for her mandatory ice cream and custard stops, the nice hotels, the fun stacks and car gadgets . . . you get the picture. But we're here and safe. We love our new house (though there was a little drama with the leaking fridge that warped our wood floor . . .) and the neighborhood and ward are great; the humidity, not so much. I keep telling people how miserably hot it is and they all laugh and say "This is actually quite nice." Can't wait for August!

Baby Blessing

Our sweet little James Kezerian was blessed on June 5, 2011 by his daddy, Rob. In the circle were Grandpa Haas,and Uncles Kane, Daniel, and Johnny.

Leaving Paradise

We keep asking ourselves, "Why did we leave Midway again?" Our great friends, close family, swing set, three pools, four-wheeler, workout center, park, no stoplights, cable with DVR . . . What a blessing it was to live there. Someday, we just might call it home again, but for now--humidity, here we come!

W

Meet Miss Piggy

In keeping with Kyrsten tradition, I had a freak health issue. After over a year of strange head stinging, I underwent sinus surgery to get the mycetoma (fungal ball) removed from my sphenoid sinus. Could it really be that simple, though? No, as a result of my anticoagulants, I decided to hemorrhage. Rob took me to the ER where I spent 4 hours bleeding until they shoved packs up my nose--so painful! The nastiest part was yanking the blood clot out of my throat (so I could breathe) using my fingers! So fun.

Ty said it best. "Mom, your nose is huge! It's like as big as an alligator truck!" But now I am healed and all is well!