Good times had by all at the 35th birthday party of Wes Holcombe.  It was a blas to say the very very least.  We had great grub and fantastic entertainment.  A lot of us came out of our shell.  Jeff and I had only been back in S.C. for about 6 weeks at this point and it was just the sort of thing we needed to feel like we were part of the group!

All of the kids went in together and bought my parents a cruise for Christmas.  They were surprised and excited.  It was a fun grown up gift to give.

Fondue is a tradition in Jeff's family so this year we were the only kids home and we invited the Escobedos over for Christmas Eve and we got our eat on.  We also went to the James Island Christmas lights.  It was actually a little more stressful than fun for us but oh well I'm sure the kids really enjoyed it.

These pictures were taken at the lake in December!  Yes December, mom was having her Christmas party at the house so we were sent off to the lake.  Although the boys couldn't swim they had a good time exploring and doing something different for a change.  This is when Cru was obsessed and addicted to the wii.

When Mitt Romney came to town me Jeff and my parents went downtown Charleston to hear him speak.  Afterwards we went to the sweet yogurt shop. It was great times!

This was what we drove home to, well actually only me because Jeff's phone was dead and it was pitch black outside and for 2000 miles Jeff and I were no more than fifty feet apart when fifty miles away from our destination he decides to have the car break down and go to some random town's gas station and I continue driving wihtout my children or husband.  Okay maybe he didn't decided to do that but we saw (after a minute) as a huge blessing that the car didn't break down in say Alberquerque or Amarillo or in the Appalachain mountains. 

This day was EXTREMELY difficult for me as a parent.  It was very hard and is still hard for me to think about

 because it was Cru's first day of school at his new school.  Kindergarden was already a big leap from 3 days a week and half days to all day 5 days a week and to make it harder it was half a day in spanish and then to make it EVEN harder we move in the middle of the year and put him in a brand new school across the nation. He was nervous and I was crying and had a stomach ache.  He continued to cry every single morning for 2 months.  It was the worst!!!  He ended up improving so much and becoming one of the very best readers in the class!  He loves his teachers and school and I think the daylight savings time really helped those tears.  Also I think moving into our own home and getting him off the floor helped a bit too!

After living in Utah for 10 years and saint George 7 of those 10 it was really hard to leave so many loved ones behind.  People that I had grown to feel like were family.  I know the Lord blessed our family to have so many "like family" people to watch out for us.  Saint George is my favorite place on earth besides where my parents are!  Because wherever my parents are is my favorite!

Our good friends the Kelsch's were kind enough to throw us a goodbye party pretty last minute.  It was great to say goodbye to everyone at once as it almost didn't seem real that way.  Also that night I went home to Sherri's house and proceeded to throw up all night.  We've been so richly blessed with so many experiences in Utah that were so important in our personal growth and as a couple and family.  Utah has been great to us and I highly recomment living there if you ever get the chance, even if it's only for a season like us!

 The last few weeks that we were in St.George we got to spend in the Remunds household.  The kids loved being with their cousins and we loved it too!

Something we didn't love is saying goodbye to people who have been just like family to us.  The Jamison's treated us like we were indeed family. They loved us, took care of us and were there for us during many difficult times.  They helped us with our boys and we are forever grateful for their unconditional love for us!

Once we hit the road I felt a huge weight lifted off of my shoulders.  I think the suspense of the unkown and the packing and cleaning and sigh all of it overtook us and when we were together ish on the road it was just family time, even though I was driving seperately behind them.

Rachel signed me up for a half marathon and I did run!

 Then I turned 29! The waitress thought it was my 19th birthday, so that was awesome :)