Mmm...ice cream

So today Jackson and I are having lunch. He's chomping down his watermelon, and I ask him what kind of sandwich he wants, fully expecting him to say peanut butter, which is his standard answer. He looks at me, tilts his head like he's thinking really hard and says, "umm....." scrunches up his little face like he's thinking really hard and says, "ice cream, I fink." (He adds "I think" on the end of 90% of his sentences these days.) I laughed out loud and wondered if it's my fault he wants an ice cream sandwich for lunch...I eat a lot of ice cream. Luckily he didn't protest too much when I said no and was quite happy to have his peanut butter sandwich. Maybe we'll have some ice cream when he's up from his nap.

Another year down

On Wednesday, 17 February, Sam and I celebrated our 4 year anniversary. Wow. It's gone by so quickly and has been heaps of fun. Sam is so good to me and the boys, and I'm so glad that he so willingly puts up with me! What a good man. Love you babe!

My Decade

I've seen this on a couple of other blogs, and thought it was pretty fun. I will warn you, it's kinda long.

2000

Went to Snow College. I graduated in May and wasn't very sad to be leaving San Pete County. I spent the summer in New Canaan, CT, as a nanny. Turned out to be one of the best decisions of my life! I had a great time. I came home at the end of the summer and decided not to go to school that fall. One of the worst decisions of my life. I ended up the year living at home and working at K-Mart.

2001

Started at USU (go Aggies!) and then went back to CT to nanny for the same family for the summer. In September, I headed off on my mission to Auckland New Zealand. The last 3 months of the year I spent in Mt Roskill, Auckland as a missionary. Good times. Those 3 months are also when I got to know Elder Ryland...which becomes important later on.

2002

Spent this entire year in New Zealand. Met some of my favorite people in the world. Ate a lot of good food. Luckily started riding a bike so I didn't gain any more weight. Got rained on a lot. Enjoyed teaching the gospel and seeing people change their lives. Definitely a good year.

2003

Came home from my mission in April. Had a rough time adjusting back to real life, but I think I made it eventually. Lived at home and spent a lot of time with my mom, which was fantastic. Love you Mom! Broke my ribs in a 4-wheeler accident. Not so fun. In October I went back to NZ for a few weeks. My friend Laura came with me and we had a great time! And I worked...but that wasn't very exciting. Kept in touch with Elder Ryland.

2004

Went back to USU. I was finally into my program (Special Education) and loved it. I spent the summer in Tulsa, OK living with my grandparents. Random. It was great. I had a crappy job and good times. And then back to USU to finish up the year. Lived with my best friends and had a great time! Kept in touch with Elder Ryland.

2005

Sam Ryland came to visit for 3 weeks at the beginning of this year. He spent a lot of time in Logan. Then he went back to Australia. And we began our long distance relationship. I still went to USU. In May I went to Australia and met Sam's family. Spent the rest of the summer on road trips and camping with my friends. Sam started school at BYU and we finally lived in the same state. He drove to Logan a lot. We got engaged in November. I graduated in December and moved back to Springville.

2006

Started my first teaching job at Oak Canyon Jr. High as a resource teacher. Jr. High was not my favorite. In February, Sam and I got married in Logan. It was cold, but one of the best days of my life. I have the best husband! In August I started teaching at Spanish Fork Middle School. It was pretty stressful, but I did really love it. Sam and I got to go to New York, which we loved.

2007

I got pregnant. Finished out teaching the school year and then didn't go back. Jackson was born 10 Sept and was perfect. He was such a good baby (except that he didn't sleep) and I loved being home with him. Most days. On Dec 29, we left for Australia.

2008

Spent the first 3 months in Brisbane with Sam's family. We had a great time with family and hanging out in Australia. On the way home, we spent 2 1/2 weeks traveling around NZ. At times hard with a 7 month old, but definitely worth it. Back in Utah, Sam graduated from BYU and then we spent 3 weeks with my parents and brother on the road trip of a life time. We saw family in Oklahoma and Tennessee and my sister in Maryland. Along with that, we saw Philidelphia, DC, Chicago, and Nauvoo. And lots of places in between. We finally settled down in Sept. and moved to Mapleton. Good choice. Sam got a job.

2009

I got pregnant. Jackson grew up. Sam mostly enjoyed work, and then got laid off. Sam got re-hired. We spent a lot of time with my family, which we loved. On 1 September Owen joined the ranks. I eventually got used to having 2 kids. Sam got his US citizenship and I got my Australian permanent residency. And on 28 December we said goodbye and flew to Australia.

2010

Off to a good start...

Cute kids

Sam's sister Charlotte just got a new fancy camera and has been taking heaps of photos of the boys. It's great! Here are a few shots that she's taken. The first one is Jackson with his cousin, Saxon, who is just 3 weeks younger than him.

Owen

Owen is growing up so fast. He's 5 months now and the cutest little guy ever. I love him to bits. I have a hard time being mad at him when he smiles at me, which is probably a good thing. He's teething right now so there is a lot of crying, and not a lot of sleeping. Luckily he is adorable.

We gave him rice cereal for the first time tonight and he did very well. He loved it! I think that he actually swallowed a lot of what I gave him and he was laughing and smiling the whole time. He also really loved the spoon and almost choked himself with it. And here are some photos of the little guy now.

This one makes me chuckle.

And we're back!

So much has happened that I'm not sure where to start. We've been here now for 5 weeks, and we are getting settled. What a relief! We found a car, which although is not at all new, is comfortable and reliable. We also found a townhouse to live in, which we are really happy about. We were hoping to get into a house, but opted to stay closer to Sam's mum instead. But we have air-conditioning, so we are really happy about that. And although we don't have a yard, we do have a large patio/courtyard out the back that Jackson can ride his bike around. We are pretty sure that we've filled in all the paperwork that we need to, we've got enough money to survive, we have internet again (!!), a phone, most of the furniture that we need, and Sam even has a calling! (He's teaching early morning seminary...and really happy about it). It's amazing how much has changed in the last 5 weeks! But we know that we are so blessed to have everything come together as well as it has. It's a miracle, really.

I wish that I could tell you about all the exciting things that we've been doing here in Australia...the kangaroos and koalas we've seen, the beaches we've frequented, and on and on, but there isn't much to tell unfortunately. We did go swimming one Saturday with some family and we did go to the beach for a bbq as well. Sadly, I didn't even go down to the water at the beach, so there are no photos. Jackson and Sam went, and had a great time. Jackson and his cousin, Noah, loved running into the water and splashing. But I'm sure there will be many adventures to come, so don't give up on us just yet. We have been enjoying fish and chips, meat pies, sausage rolls, mangoes, passion fruit, pavlova and all the other deliciousness found here. Probably a little too much!

And of course a few photos...

Mmm...fish and chips and passiona!

Owen's first glimpse of the water

Owen having a nap after his first swim

Jackson and Noah getting into trouble