Living Life

It's been a long time since I posted last. There are many reasons for that but I don't quite feel ready to talk about those particular things yet. So for now, I'm going to talk about the fun stuff we've been doing around our house for the past 2 months.

The boys are becoming the best of friends. They truly love each other and are pretty much inseparable. I love it! 

Jackson is in preschool and he loves it so much. He has made new friends and has 2 fantastic teachers that he adores. He is spelling words out that he sees. He can read any word by spelling it out and with some help from me, sounding it out. We have wonderful conversations with him about things he's thinking about and all of the fun stuff he imagines. Jackson also really loves being a Sunbeam at church. He loves his teacher and learning about Jesus. He is always encouraging us to say the blessing on our meals and he even says it himself sometimes. He is very protective and giving towards his little brother. If Remington falls down, he runs to get his blanket to comfort him. He also always shares his snacks, which may not be a big deal for us, but for Jackson, it's special. He helps out around the house as well. He loves to help me sweep the floors, do the laundry and make the beds. He is so optimistic and sweet, I hope that never changes! 

Remington has grown so much the past couple of months. He is now walking and running everywhere. He also does this little stomp, dance, walk thing that I really need to get on video sometime. If he hears upbeat music, he stops what he's doing and dances around the room. Within the last 3 weeks, his language skills have just exploded. He went from 10 words to about 30 and growing every day. He says "I love you" and is really good at copying what people say.

His favorite word, however, is "NO!" He also has a little attitude to go along with his favorite word. Here is a picture of his "NO" face:  

    Halloween was so much fun this year. Jackson picked out his costume and was so excited to wear it. Both boys were great while Trick or Treating although Jackson fell down twice because he was running from house to house. 

They love to snuggle together on the couch and watch movies together. Their current favorite is Tangled. 

I love this grumpy face. He apparently didn't want his pictures taken anymore. 

We have a rocking horse and a little ride on 4 wheeler. The boys love to "race" each other on them across the living room. 

We have been playing outside a lot this last week because of the nice sunny weather. Jackson and Remington love the leaf pile, making messes in the dirt, and climbing all over things in the backyard.

Remington is a little artist. He will play in the leaves and dirt and on the slide for a little while but his absolute favorite thing to do is to draw on the stairs and sidewalk with chalk. 

You don't often find Remington without his blanket. he calls it his "baby" and he LOVES it. I'm not sure what we would do without those blankets!

We are really enjoying that Davy is home and that we get to see him every day. I love that I get to stay home with the boys and be with them as they are learning and growing so much every minute. We are all really looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas and Jackson's birthday. Davy and I are especially looking forward to our trip to Salt Lake City to see the temple lights and have a weekend away from the boys. We love them dearly but it will be nice to have a small break to focus on us and sleep in a little bit. 

Thanks for reading about our family. I promise to update again soon!

Home.

We have really been enjoying our summer here in Idaho. We are loving being with our families and friends and our wonderful ward. Davy worked for two more months in North Dakota but he just came home for good this last Saturday. He had two job interviews on Monday but neither of them were going to work for our family. His old boss at Franklin offered him a raise and a job starting the next day so we took it and we are feeling very blessed to have so much opportunity.

The boys are growing up too fast. I know I say that a lot but it's the truth! Jackson learns so many new thing every day. He LOVES going to church and learning about Jesus and he even sings me the songs from Primary now. I can't even tell you how happy it makes me to know that he is learning all of these wonderful things and that he enjoys it. He is working on drawing his letters and counting higher up in numbers.  We are planning on keeping him home for this first year of preschool so I have some work ahead of me but it will be so fun and I know Jackson will teach me things as well.

Remington has really been walking everywhere lately. He also learns new words all the time. He loves to talk and walk around. He eats more than any kid I know. I swear this kid is always hungry. He has to have breakfast immediately upon waking up in the morning, a couple hours later he needs a nice big snack and it just keeps going all day until bed time. He is very loving and so funny. He giggles a lot and of course his giggles make us laugh as well. He is also a little climber, he has learned to climb up stairs and is learning to climb down them safely. The other day he climbed out of his high chair and onto the couch and from there to the floor. I was in the kitchen, thinking he was in his high chair eating lunch and I turned around and he was right behind me.

We are so blessed to all be together again as a family.

Until you're broken, you don't know what you're made of.
We have been feeling this way a lot lately. We are going through some things and despite our setbacks and bad things going on, we know we are so lucky and so blessed for so many reasons and we really are finding out what we are made of. We are strong and we will get through anything.

No Place Like Home

I never know what to tell people when they ask me what's going on in my life. Am I going back to North Dakota? If so, when? Where is Davy? When does he get to come home? Is he looking for jobs in Idaho? How's the job hunt going? How do you feel when he is gone? How do the boys do without their daddy?

The answers, unfortunately, are ever changing. They change day to day depending on how my day goes or how Davy's day went at work. They are having a company change over at the place Davy works for so raises, benefits, retirement, investments and all of that is being rearranged right now. Most of it is not good news for the employees. Davy is really missing Idaho and family so we are looking for work closer to (or in) Idaho. We have a few leads and he's sent his resume in to a few places so now we are waiting and watching for more opportunities.

I hope that he finds a job soon so that we don't have to go back to North Dakota and all of the trouble and hassle that comes with it. We liked North Dakota but it certainly wasn't home or a place that I would want to be forever. We met some great people and Jackson made some cute little friends that we will miss but there really is no place like home.

How do I feel when he is gone? I feel alone. I feel like a single parent even though I have plenty of help from family. I don't really make dinner because cooking for one is no fun. I make quick meals for the boys but I don't really eat well when Davy is not here (this could also have something to do with the heat we have been experiencing). Davy and I text throughout the day, usually just little "I love you" reminders, sometimes more details of how our days are going, etc. We both have accounts on Spotify and we share music with each other, songs that get us through our days, songs that remind us of the other person. It has really helped us to stay a little more connected. We talk on the phone every night and Skype each other once a week on Davy's day off. It's hard being hundreds of miles away from the one you love, there are good days and bad and we try to support each other through them, even with our limitations.

The boys do not like having their daddy gone. Jackson tells people that his dad is in North Dakota and it is always in such a melancholy tone. They truly thrive when he is home and when we are all with him as a family. We all get along better and are just all around happier when we're together. Remington's face lights up completely when he "talks" to Davy on the phone. When we Skype, he touches the screen and tries to grab his daddy's nose and lips. Jackson misses his daddy playing with him. Mommies just don't play the same way as daddies do.

Davy will be home in 10 days! We are planning Remington's 1st(!) Birthday party for the weekend when Davy will be home. I'm super excited, yet sad at the same time. My baby is learning very quickly how to walk. He goes further on his own every day and loves to prove how much he can do. He is also learning lots of new words and signs. He can say mama, dada, buh-buh, "I did it", dog, hi. He waves goodbye, blows kisses, and can sign "all done". He is so happy and sweet. He wakes up with a smile every day and stays that way most of the day. I couldn't ask for a happier little man.

Jackson is getting so grown up. He learns new things and can communicate very well with us. He is getting ready to go to preschool which is another happy yet sad moment for me. My toddler is now a preschooler and pretty soon he'll be a kindergartener and so on until he's no longer my "little" boy.  I was kissing his cheeks the other day and he tried to push me away so I snuggled him more and told him that even when he's 30 I'll still want to kiss him because he'll always be my little boy.  He is very in tune to how other's feel and is very empathetic of everyone. He loves to tell me what he is doing and show me what he is learning. I love playing and learning with him every day.

Idaho is definitely our happier place. We did fine in North Dakota but we really love the bonds with family and community that we have here in Idaho. I feel more connected to the world around me when I'm home and I feel so much happier. I can tell the boys and Davy feel the same way.

Anyway, thanks for reading about my feelings and how our family is doing. We missed you all and hope that you are having a wonderful summer!

 At our apartment in Tioga, ND. The boys loved playing on our balcony

We call this his "snooty" face

They snuck in to the snack cabinet

 Jackson "drilling for oil" in Williston, ND

Remington swimming in grandma's pool when we came back to Idaho

He wasn't too sure about it at that point

His very first sucker ...

Jackson was SO happy to be reunited with his best friend and cousin

 

 

 

More summer fun in Idaho

  Don't worry, Remington was only on for a second

He just really wanted to be one of the big boys

 



 

 



 Grandpa Joe's Birthday and the new fire pit

Love them.

The Black Hole That is North Dakota

I really wish I had some pictures to share with everyone, but we forgot the camera cord in Pocatello. I'll upload them as soon as we come back. We started out living in a tiny town called Tioga and it was pretty miserable. I was sick for the first 2 weeks, I could hardly breathe and had a fever ... no fun! We had no contact with anyone because we were on the third floor and I could barely make it up and down the stairs with my breathing problems. We talked to the housing person and last week we moved to Williston which is a larger city and much nicer for us all.

We have met a few neighbors and Jackson has made a couple of friends in our building. We are also part of an oilfield wife playgroup that meets once a week at a park in town. It's been nice getting to know people and letting the boys get outside and play around with new little friends.

We talk to our families on Skype once a week, make phone calls and texts, but we still miss them all SO much. I know we are not the only ones missing our families right now, but it's still so hard.

Jackson is the funniest kid ever. He makes Davy and I laugh all day with his personality. He now thinks he has to shut and lock the door when he goes to the bathroom. Yesterday, he told us he had to go potty but he was taking a long time so Davy went to the door and knocked and asked him if he was okay. Jackson opens the door, comes out and says "What do you want, huh?" He had this exasperated expression on his face, like we were such a bother to him. He is a character and is growing every day into a such a big kid. He is so smart and I'm so grateful that he's my sunshine.

Remington is also growing up TOO fast! He has went from belly crawling to normal crawling. He can sit himself up from laying down and with the help of something to hold onto, he stands himself up and walks around things. He also gets ahold of Jackson's little fold up chairs and scoots around behind them, walking all over the kitchen floor. He has two little teeth on the bottom of his mouth and he has started to babble a lot. Davy walked in the door from work on Friday night, Remington looked up and saw him and said "Dada!" We are so excited that he is learning and growing but at the same time that means he's not going to be a baby for much longer, and I'm going to miss the "babyness". He is so happy all of the time and really makes all of us so much happier just to be around him.

Davy and I are doing well. Davy hates North Dakota but it's slowly growing on me. There are no mountains here so Davy is missing his escape into the mountains for camping and other fun stuff. He works a lot of hours (75+ hours per week) so he deserves a little break and he can't get that while he is here, so we are counting down the days until we are back.

We will be in Pocatello at the beginning of July and will be spending our week there cleaning out our house and boxing everything up so that we can either rent it out or sell it. We are going to try to make it work here in Williston and come to visit Pocatello as often as we can. It will be nice when we no longer have a house payment and all of the expenses that come along with keeping a house running properly. We will also be able to pay off our debt that much faster so that we can come back to Pocatello that much sooner someday.

We love you all and miss you all. See you in a few weeks!

Moving (for a little while at least)

The boys and I have decided to go and see how North Dakota is. We will be leaving in early May and will probably return in June or possible July depending on a lot of things. So we are busy getting ready for everything that entails.

I am having so much fun being a stay at home mom. I love it. It's my dream job and I'm happy to say that I get to spend every day taking care of the little men that I love so much.

Jackson is getting very inquisitive. He is always asking me about the world around him and why things are the way they are. He loves his brother more and more every day and he loves to play with him. He has crawling races with him and hugs him and kisses him all of the time. He takes things away from him that could choke him or hurt him and makes sure he has fun toys.

Since I've been home, we've done a few things that I never had time or the patience to do when I was working. We have made finger paints out of whipped cream and food coloring and I let him paint all over his high chair tray. He thought that was pretty amazing and delicious. He now asks to paint with "frosting" a lot. We also made home made sidewalk chalk paint and that was a huge hit. Jackson has always been a little artist, he loves to color and create pictures so when I told him we were going to paint on the sidewalk outside he was thrilled. A couple of times we have made necklaces, Jackson loves to wear his homemade necklaces and he loves to pick out the beads. We have been to the park a few times and as soon as it warms up more (and if we can find a park in Tioga, North Dakota) we will be going more often. I love seeing the joy on my kids faces when I wsing them or when Jackson goes down the slide.

Remington is growing up so fast! He learned to army crawl last month and hasn't slowed down since. He can also scoot on his bum if he needs to get anywhere. He started to shake his head "no" at things this week. It is super cute to see him shake his head and say "unh uh" to food, milk, toys and anything else he's just not interested in. I love seeing his little personality shine.

                                                                                                      

He loves to crawl under his walker

               Trying to escape the house

  Easter morning fun



Crawling behind the couch and giving mommy a

heart attack

             Remington found his first marker...    

   They learned how to "tow" Oh my.

Jackson and his cousin Jameson had their very first sleep over, super fun!

Needless to say, we have had a very fun month. We are looking forward to the warmer weather and all the fun that summer brings. I will update once we get settled in Tioga in a few weeks!

Life

I thought I had better give another update since we've had some crazy life changes happen this past month. Davy moved to North Dakota and we said goodbye to him yesterday morning. He took a job with a company there and he'll be back every 4 weeks for a week at a time. This means we won't get to see him as much as we are used to and that will be hard, especially for Jackson since he is daddy's little buddy.

So far we are doing alright. It's only been one day though so I'm sure that we'll have some tough days and nights ahead of us.

The bittersweet news is that the boys and I should be able to move to N.D. with him in April sometime. We aren't looking at living there full time as I want Jackson back by late August to start preschool, but it will be nice to be with Davy every night and his days off while he's on his "hitch". I say "bittersweet" because that means taking my boys away from all of their family, all of my family and all of Davy's family and all of our friends. I realize that we are lucky in that we have a huge extended family on both sides that are really a part of our lives and we get to see each other often. Jackson knows all of his cousins (and most of his second cousins) and loves them all. He and Remington go to play at his cousin Jameson's house while I'm at work Tue-Thur. and they go to visit grandma Mo on Fridays. We also have bigger family dinners with all of us weekly and we are all going to miss that.

I know that we will all make new friends, but it will be hard to be 11 hours away from our family and all of the support and unconditional love that they provide. We will come back to visit over the summer and we will most likely be back full time at the end of summer.

We are looking forward to all of the things we can do with a bigger paycheck. Here are the main things we want to accomplish and should be able to accomplish with this new adventure we'll be on:

I'll be able to be a stay at home mom (Yay!)
We'll be able to go on vacations
Davy will be able to get a truck (it's a big deal to him :)
We'll have peace of mind that we have money in our savings for an emergency
and the most important of all:
We'll be able to pay off ALL of our debt.
That's a big one, and the reason why we started this whole North Dakota oil job in the first place. We don't want to owe anyone money and that is a big motivation for us. We're working on it now but if we had more income, we could really "attack" our debt and be in a better place both financially and mentally. 

Anyway, that is all that's really going on with us right now. We are moving away from Idaho for the first time in our lives. We will experience a different "culture" and get to know some different people. I love looking back sometimes, but for now, I'm looking forward to what the future holds for us.

Here is a link to my other blog all about the oilfield and our experience so far. I don't know how often I will update it but I'll try to let everyone know how the oilfield wife experience is going and what our family is up to in the next few months. http://adventuresofanoilfieldwife.blogspot.com
Here are some pictures of the boys from the past month and what they've been up to:

 Jackson blowing out the candles on his 3rd Birthday!

 My mom and I made this cute little Lightning McQueen cake. Jackson loved it

and it was adorable!

 Remington has gotten the hang of rolling over in both directions

 He really wants to crawl!

 He can sit up on his own now!

 He loves toys and he really loves his brother's blocks

 He can scoot and roll himself all over the room now. He made his way over there

in under a minute starting from the play mat.

 Jackson made Remington and himself a "bed". I used to do the same thing

when I was little although I never included my brother, haha

 This little guy loves bath time