Updates and Getting Back to Our Happy Place

We are pretty much settled into our new place now. We had a couple of days at the beginning of last week that were frustrating but everything worked out. Brandon started work yesterday and was SUPER excited! It was fun to see him excited again and it made me excited too. We also FINALLY got Turner's social security card and were able to file taxes yesterday which was just one more thing marked off my checklist. This will probably sound a little weird to others but getting Turner's official birth certificate and social security card made it feel more final than standing in front of the judge. It was like putting in the last piece of the puzzle.

Turner is getting smarter and smarter each day. He is mimicking us (mostly Brandon) like crazy and says "uh oh", Daddy, Dada, and we are pretty sure he is saying my sisters dogs name "pixie." He is obsessed with her and it makes me want to get him a dog - and then I remember all the reasons we don't want a dog right now, mainly that we have no yard and we don't want a dog in the house. Turner is crawling up and down our stairs and does really well going up and does okay going down as long as you get him turned around to start. He eats almost anything we give him but shakes his head no when he is done and doesn't want anymore. He is super active and into everything and doesn't like to sit still at church which is completely normal for his age - but I am going to be investing in quiet toys, lollipops, and practicing sitting still with him at home - just to try to make Sundays a little more pleasant for all of us.

We like our new ward so far. We had three different people ask us if we sing and if we would join the ward choir, and many others who were friendly and introduced themselves. When we first got there we thought "man this is a loud ward" and then by the end of sacrament we thought "thank goodness this is a loud ward, we fit right in!"

I have been thinking a lot about why we were supposed to move to royal and although it was a hard experience for us, I am grateful for it.  Brandon was able to spend the last couple months of his dads mortal life with him- which was the greatest blessing- but we also learned a lot about ourselves during that time. We always had a what-if in the back of our minds about being farmers and this experienced taught us that it isn't for us. We really enjoy being close to big cities with lots of fun stuff to do and we enjoy the conveniences that come from having a stable job with benefits and paid vacation. I also learned a lot about myself and we both learned how to better take care of our marriage. We miss the friends we made and the ward we were in - but we sure are happy to be back in our happy place.


Here is a picture from our beautiful 4 mile hike this week!

Turner loved it but by the end he was pooped!