Where did we go? Moscow!

It’s about time for a blog post wouldn’t you say? After about 3 months, here’s the scoop! (Sorry for the length)
 

Photos by Cierra Owens (amazing photographer in our ward), http://photographbycierra.blogspot.com/ don't worry, I asked her first

We moved to Moscow, Russia, Idaho. It was quite the experience moving for the first time after being married. We had no idea how much stuff we had accumulated in the past 3 years. Things like camping gear, food storage, snorkeling equipment, bikes, all sorts of kitchen appliances and gadgets, craft and jewelry supplies and the list goes on and on! I’m still feeling a bit of anxiety over it all and there are still random things around the apartment that there’s just no place for, so for now it sits where it is because the closets and cupboards are full. We stopped and stayed with Allie and Hyrum on the way up and we got to meet little Owen for the first time, what a cutie pie. I can’t believe babies come that small. Bailey seemed like a giant, and she was so excited to meet Owen she peed on Allie’s bed! 

I still can't believe we fit everything into this thing!



Our dads came to help us



My mom came too

Bailey: 3 months, Owen: 3 weeks

The excitement

In an earlier post I said we got the apartment we wanted. I spoke too soon. We didn’t. The apartment we’re in right now is fine (because I know it’s temporary) but the one we really, REALLY wanted didn’t have an opening the week we needed to move in. We’re planning on moving there in May after this first school year.

These are the reasons that make moving again worth it!
1) Washer and dryer in your apartment – ours doesn’t, coin op for now
2) Garbage disposal – ours doesn’t have this
3) Air conditioning – not this either
4) Larger kitchen and more storage – we have a tiny, tiny kitchen that can drive me nuts sometimes
5) Just about everyone around you are members of the church – I don’t know of any members in our complex
6) Newer, cleaner, and has two closets in the master bedroom and two bathrooms
7) The price difference is only $20

Sounds nice huh? Especially the part about the washer and dryer and air conditioning. The first few weeks we were here our apartment got up to 88 degrees. That’s hot! I remember thinking how nice grocery shopping was cause it was air conditioned! It’s cooled off here now so it’s not an issue anymore. The laundry part is what gets me the most. I refuse to do laundry more than one day a week, so for now it’s Mondays and here’s why: I load up the car with all our laundry and Bailey taking 3 trips up and down the stairs and drive over to the laundry place for our complex with about $5 - $10 in quarters. I load up 5 of the washers, leave for 45 minutes, come back, load up 4 dryers, drive home the hang dry items, go back for the dried clothes in 60 minutes, drive home and fold it all up while it’s still hot. All while trying to juggle Bailey with me and work it into her feeding/sleep schedule. It was really hard the first few times, but now I’ve gotten it down pretty well. The good part is that I can do 5 loads in about 3 hours; the bad part is that sometimes the washers are taken up so it takes the entire day rotating clothes, going back and forth and by the time dinner comes around I’m exhausted.
The only bad thing about moving in May is that I think we’d be in a different ward and I love this ward! I’ve become friends with some of the greatest girls I’ve ever met.

Loads and loads of laundry for Bailey to roll around in



Sunset from our balcony




Gotta love the power lines



Here are some things I’ve learned about Moscow:

1) It’s pronounced Mos-co not Mos-cow and you’ll get corrected
2) We live in Latah county, pronounced Lay-ta
3) Whoever named these places is very particular
4) Population: 21,000 no other cities or towns around for a few miles
5) The water is yellow, especially when it’s hot
6) I feel weird bathing my baby in yellow water and we’ve gone through two faucet purifiers
7) Don’t try to go grocery shopping at Winco on a Saturday
8) Safeway grocery store is expensive but so much more convenient
9) Food stamps are a blessing from Heaven, and the government, we’ve never eaten so well!
10) Our ward is great! It’s fun to be in a student ward again where everyone is your age and doing the same thing as you.
11) The wheat fields and open spaces are beautiful
12) There’s a JoAnn’s and a Michael’s so I’m not going crazy
13) The fastest I’ve driven is 40mph. The average speed is 25-30mph.
14) A tank of gas lasts 6 weeks
15) You can only buy baby toys at Wal-Mart so everyone has the same toys
16) There’s a sign that says, “Welcome to Moscow, a pedestrian priority area” but it should really say, “Welcome to Moscow, be prepared to slam on your brakes at any given moment”

So much more but I’ll save them for another time.

What a hottie on his first day of school, who wouldn't want him as their lawyer?

I’m sure you’re wondering about how Mark is doing in school. He likes it and is getting used to it. He gets called on in class and after about a month he said he feels comfortable giving answers and using some of the fancy legal jargon. He comes home and tells me about these crazy law cases he reads which just shows me that some people are insane and think they can sue anyone for anything. I guess that’s a good thing because those insane people may someday hire my husband and put my kids through college. But Mark is still most likely going to go into patent law and help people patent their awesome inventions. Got any? Mark leaves for school at about 8:00am and comes home at about 6:30pm just enough time to see Bailey for a while, we eat, Bailey goes to sleep, and he studies more until we go to bed at 10:00pm. I’m learning to be patient and give him what he needs. I’m also adjusting to only seeing him for about 2 hours of the day and trying really hard not to disturb him while he studies.

Dinner with the three of us

Bailey is of course getting cuter and cuter every day. I’ll have to do an entire post of just her and all the fun things she’s been doing since July. I can’t even describe how much I love her. It’s totally different than anything I’ve ever felt.
The sad thing about these pictures is that I just packed away all of those clothes, they don't fit her anymore! She's about 3-4 months old in these and she's 5 1/2 months old now, don't worry I have a TON of recent pictures too.

One more list before I end this post. These are some of fun things we’ve done since being here in Moscow:
1) We went on a hike and we go on walks when it’s nice out
2) We went to the county fair with the Muirs and saw all the prize winning animals and ate a delicious elephant ear scone
3) I’ve been to all the craft, fabric, thrift, and antique stores in town
4) I go to play group every Wednesday with the fun girls and babies in the ward
5) Had some craft days and nights with the girls
6) Sunday dinners with friends in the ward
7) Went to Costco in Lewiston

I wore the baby carrier on the hike and this is the cute face I got to look at the entire time

She liked most of the hike

Ranger Mark

I should also mention that we had our 3 year anniversary on August 11th. That was move in day so we celebrated by carrying boxes all afternoon. Actually my dad took us all out to dinner that night (me, Mark, my mom and dad, and Mark’s dad) to a great Italian restaurant. Thanks dad!



Love you Mark

 Okay that’s it for now, mostly because Bailey is awake now and I can’t get enough of that little girl!

8-10 Week Update, and the rest of July

I know I'm a little behind on posting, but I typed all this during the month of July when Bailey was 8-10 weeks old. I don't know when the next post will be, sometime after moving and settling down!

8-10 Week Milestones
• Holds her head up SO well while we burp her, all she wants to do is look out and explore everything
• Smiles like crazy while I change her diaper, which now takes about 15 minutes because we play after, she coos and smiles and I just can’t get enough of it!
• She smiles while looking at her mobiles and under her play gym. We call the animals of her mobile her “friends” and she seems to love them.
• She slept from 12:30 am to 8:00 am one night – that would have great for me, but I kept waking up thinking she was crying or wondering if she needed me.
• Got her shots, I’ve never heard her scream so long and loud, I felt so sad but knew it would be somehow good for her
• After the shots, it took 2 weeks to get back to her “normal” schedule; she wouldn’t eat or sleep well for those 2 weeks, so frustrating.
• She found her hands! Now she can’t stop sucking on them. It’s quite hilarious. We’ll be driving in the car and all we hear is this intense sucking and then her hand will move and loud POP sound comes from her tongue smacking the roof of her mouth. The hand sucking also soothes her, she’ll be tired and cry then find her hands and within a few seconds she’s out.
• Sporting 3 month clothes.
• She talks more and more with ahhhhs and grunts, love that!
• She likes bath time more and more. We make eye contact the entire time and I talk to her, oh it makes me melt she’s just so stinkin cute!

Her "friends" the elephants

Right after bathtime and a full meal

The baby legs I made her

Check up stats
Weight: 10lbs 12oz (50th percentile)

Height: 22.5 inches (75th percentile - where did that come from??? The doctor asked how tall Mark was, I said 5'7" on a good day)

Head Circumference: 37.5 cm (25th percentile)

7/11/2010

Dear Bailey,

One of my favorite memories this month was when we were at church. I had just fed you and we were in Relief Society. You started to whimper a bit so I held you over my shoulder and patted your back, you quickly fell asleep. I held you with your head resting on my shoulder and I softly rubbed our cheeks together. I love holding you like this. It seems rare that we have time to just sit and cuddle during the busy day. We stayed this way for the rest of the hour and I soaked up your gentle spirit.

Love you,

Mom

7/28/2010

Dear Bailey,

Last night was a great night for me. I was holding you right before I set you down in your crib, the night light was the only light on and your room was soft and dim. You weren’t looking at me, but I was looking at you thinking about how happy we are to have you in our home. Then you turned your head and looked up at me like you knew I was thinking about you. We made eye contact and you smiled a huge gummy smile, of course I couldn’t help but smile back. You kept on smiling and started your baby talk, it sounded like “hey, hey, hey, hey, gooooo” all with a big grin your face. I knew you were trying to say, “I love you too mommy!”

 I got all teary eyed knowing that you know who I am and that you’re happy to be here too.

 Love you,

Mom

Again, watching her "friends" on her mobile

The Rest of July

We went on a family walk to get snow cones, Bailey was so cute in her little seat watching everything around her. She liked the ride so much that she SCREAMED every time we stopped.

She met the horses

Bailey's cousin Aurora Kamas Jones was born July 9th! She was 7lbs, 1oz, 20 inches and one week old in this picture. They are exactly two months apart. Bailey looks ginormous next to her, I can't even remember Bailey being that small!

Mike's big 30! Mikey came up for Aunt Mae's funeral but was able to stay for a week and celebrate his Birthday with us. He came down and helped me pack for a day, it was fun to have him around and watch him play with Bailey. He makes a great uncle.

I went out to lunch with my work friends who all had babies! So fun to see all these babies grow and to see what's ahead of me. Cassie is due in about a month in this picture, and Bailey is 2 months.

Angela and Cooper (6 months)

Natalie and Landon (14 months), Lesha and Brayden (4 months)

I'm going to miss these girls!!!

Allie had her baby Owen Michael Zeyer, 7 lbs on July 31st. She had quite the delivery, it was about 24 hours from the time her water broke. What a trooper. We get to stay with Allie, Hyrum and Owen on our way up to Moscow next week. Can't wait to meet this little guy!

Just a few hours old.

I think that's all, now it's time to pack, pack, pack, and clean, clean, clean. Moscow here we come!

(Great) Aunt Mae

Aunt Mae at her 80th Birthday Party May 11, 2008

My Great Aunt Mae (my Grandma Hadley's sister) passed away this month, she was a great woman who loved education, a clean house, and good food. I will always remember spending Christmas with Aunt Mae when we were little, I was so excited for her unique gifts and playing games Christmas morning. One Christmas Eve at my Grandpa Hadley's home I met up with her dog Bibi under the dinner table, I let that dog lick my entire face clean! We named Bailey after Aunt Mae and they were able to meet each other a couple of times. Here's a little more about her amazing life:

"Mae Blanch, beloved sister, aunt, friend and educator, passed away July 13 of natural causes incident to age in Provo, Utah.

She was born May 11, 1928 in Ogden, Utah to Wheatley Lorenzo Blanch and Florence Eunice Palmer. Mae's father passed away, however, when she was 14 months old, but she developed a close relationship with her maternal grandparents, George Albert and Mary Catherine Knight Palmer.

Mae learned to read at an early age and loved books all of her life, starting with The Children's Friend and whatever was written on cereal boxes and Campbell soup labels. Mae said she didn't read the children's classics, the Pooh series or Wind in the Willows, until she was in graduate school getting a PhD in English literature.

Mae graduated from Weber High School in 1946, and BYU in 1950, where she graduated 2nd in her class and developed a love of learning and inclination toward education that remained throughout her life.

She taught English for two years at Brockbank JH, Magna, UT. Mae then left for Washington D.C., where she worked for two years at the Department of Agriculture, two years for Senator Dworshak from Idaho and two years for Senator Watkins from Utah. Mae lived with nine other young women during this time in a row house on Adams Mill Road nicknamed the AMR. This house became the meeting place for many of the young Mormon men and women who spent time in Washington in the military, government service or school.

While in Washington, Mae began her lifelong commitment and service to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints where she served as a MIA president and stake missionary. After she returned to Utah Mae served as Relief Society President, Gospel Doctrine teacher, and on the Gospel Doctrine Writing Committee that produced the Sunday School lessons for the Church. Additionally, Mae served in the community on the Utah County Planning Commission.

After her return to Utah, and a short time teaching English at BYU, Mae recognized that teaching would be her life work. She received a PhD on scholarship from the Univ. of Colorado in 1966, and returned to BYU where she remained until her retirement as a full professor in 1995. For another ten years Mae continued to teach the honors course "The Family and Fiction" that she created.

Among her many interests, Mae enjoyed cooking (especially her cheesecake), BYU sports, Pioneer Theater Company, Ballet West, Utah Symphony, and BYU productions. She was a devoted attendant of the Utah Shakespearean Festival where she attended all plays since 1970. Mae was an animal lover from childhood. Her dog, Schatzie, who lived to be 21 years old, and Bibi who lived to be 17 years old, shared her life."

80th Birthday Party

Aunt Mae meeting Bailey Mae June 8, 2010

We love you and will miss you Aunt Mae!